JP7411278B1 - measuring device - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to appropriately grasp the remaining battery capacity of a measuring device installed in a steam trap. [Solution] A measuring device 1 installed in a steam trap, which includes a battery 10 that supplies power to the measuring device 1, a measuring section 11 that measures the operating state of the steam trap and the remaining capacity of the battery 10, and a steam trap. and a processing unit 151 that executes a transmission process of transmitting the measurement results of the operating state of the battery 10 and the remaining capacity of the battery 10 to a predetermined server 2. [Selection diagram] Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a technique for transmitting measurement results of the operating state of a steam trap.

In a plant or the like equipped with a steam piping system, condensate (drain) may be generated within the piping system due to heat exchange, heat radiation, or the like. If this condensate remains in the piping system, it will cause a decrease in operating efficiency. For this reason, generally, a steam trap is installed at a suitable location in the piping system, and the steam trap is used to discharge condensate to the outside of the piping system.

If the sealing performance of the steam trap is impaired due to aging or malfunction, steam within the steam piping system will leak to the outside through the steam trap, resulting in unnecessary steam loss. For this reason, the temperature and vibration of the steam trap are periodically measured using an inspection device such as that disclosed in Patent Document 1 below, and based on these measurement data and necessary information such as threshold values, each Work will be done to diagnose the steam trap.

However, in large-scale plants, thousands to tens of thousands of steam traps may be installed. In this case, it takes a lot of time for an operator to manually diagnose each steam trap. For this reason, as disclosed in Patent Document 2, etc., a measuring device for measuring the operating state of each steam trap is permanently installed in each steam trap, and the measurement results are periodically sent to a server. There are also plants that perform all diagnosis at once. Such measurement devices are often installed in environments with complex piping and where it is difficult to supply power via power lines, so they are generally powered by batteries. It is composed of

Patent No. 2954183 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2022-124141

However, when the remaining capacity of the battery becomes less than the amount of power required for measuring the operating state of the steam trap and transmitting the measurement results, there is a problem that the measurement results are no longer transmitted to the server. Also, due to communication failure, the server may not be able to receive the measurement results sent by the measurement device, and depending on whether the server receives the measurement results from the measurement device or not, the battery of the measurement device may not have enough power left. It was difficult to know whether there were any.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a measuring device that can appropriately determine the remaining battery capacity of a measuring device installed in a steam trap.

A measuring device according to one aspect of the present invention is a measuring device installed in a steam trap, and includes a battery that supplies power to the measuring device, and a measuring device that measures the operating state of the steam trap and the remaining capacity of the battery. and a processing section that executes a transmission process of transmitting the measurement results of the operating state of the steam trap and the remaining capacity of the battery to a predetermined server.

According to this aspect, the measurement results of the operating state of the steam trap and the remaining capacity of the battery are transmitted from the measuring device to the server, so that the remaining capacity of the battery when the measuring device measures the operating state of the steam trap is can be properly understood.

The above aspect further includes a diagnosis unit that diagnoses the steam trap based on a measurement result of the operating state of the steam trap, and the processing unit, in the transmission process, after causing the diagnosis unit to diagnose the steam trap. , a diagnosis result of the steam trap may be further transmitted.

In this aspect, in the transmission process, the steam trap is diagnosed based on the measurement results of the operating state of the steam trap, and the results of the diagnosis are transmitted to the server. Therefore, according to this aspect, it is possible to omit diagnosing the steam trap in the server.
This makes it possible to reduce the processing load on the server.

In the above aspect, the processing unit further includes a timekeeping unit that measures the current time, and the processing unit starts supplying power from the battery to the measurement unit when the current time reaches a predetermined time, and performs the transmission processing. When the transmitting process is completed, the power supply from the battery to the measuring section may be cut off.

According to this aspect, the time during which power is supplied from the battery to the measuring section is limited to the time required to execute the transmission process, so it is possible to save the amount of power consumed by the battery by the measuring section.

In the above aspect, the steam trap includes a first steam trap and a second steam trap installed in an area including an installation location of the first steam trap among one or more areas, and the measuring device , a first measuring device installed in the first steam trap, and a second measuring device installed in the second steam trap, and the predetermined time in the first measuring device is determined by the second measuring device. The predetermined time may be set to the same time as the predetermined time.

In this aspect, the time at which the transmission process is executed by the first measurement device installed in the first steam trap is the time when the transmission process is executed by the second measurement device installed in the second steam trap in the same area as the first steam trap. is set to the same time as the execution time. Therefore, the server receives the measurement results of the operating status of the steam traps in each area at individual timings for each area, and can efficiently diagnose the steam traps in each area based on the measurement results. .

In the above aspect, a first reception unit receives a change instruction to change the predetermined time to a specified time from an external device, and when the first reception unit receives the change instruction, changes the predetermined time to the specified time. The information processing apparatus may further include a setting section for setting.

According to this aspect, the operator can change the time at which the transmission process is executed in the measuring device to any designated time by performing an operation on the external device to output the change instruction to the measuring device.

In the above aspect, a diagnosis unit that diagnoses the steam trap based on a measurement result of the operating state of the steam trap, and a second reception desk that receives a diagnosis necessity instruction indicating whether or not to diagnose the steam trap from an external device. When the second reception unit receives the diagnosis necessity instruction indicating that the steam trap is to be diagnosed, the processing unit is configured to cause the diagnosis unit to diagnose the steam trap in the transmission process. After diagnosing the steam trap, if the second reception unit receives the diagnosis necessity instruction indicating that the steam trap is not to be diagnosed, the second reception unit further transmits the diagnosis result of the steam trap, and in the transmission process, the The measurement results of the operating state of the steam trap and the remaining capacity of the battery may be transmitted.

According to this aspect, by performing an operation on the external device to output the above-mentioned diagnosis necessity instruction to the measuring device, the worker can determine whether to diagnose the steam trap and transmit the diagnosis result in the transmission process. It is possible to switch between transmitting only the steam trap operating state and battery remaining capacity measurement results without diagnosing the trap.

The above aspect further includes a third reception unit that receives an instruction to execute the transmission process from an external device, and the processing unit further executes the transmission process when the third reception unit receives the execution instruction. You can.

According to this aspect, the worker can cause the measuring device to execute the transmission process at the timing when the external device performs an operation to output the execution instruction to the measuring device.

In the above aspect, the operating state of the steam trap may be the temperature and vibration of the steam trap.

According to this aspect, since the measurement results of the temperature and vibration of the steam trap are transmitted to the server, the server can use the temperature and vibration of the steam trap included in the received measurement results for diagnosing the steam trap, etc. Can be done.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a measuring device that can appropriately grasp the remaining capacity of a battery of a measuring device installed in a steam trap.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a measurement data transmission system. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a measuring device and a server. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of measurement data transmission/reception processing. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing another example of the configuration of a measuring device and a server.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail using the drawings. In addition, elements given the same reference numerals in different drawings indicate the same or corresponding elements.

<System configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a measurement data transmission system 100. The measurement data transmission system 100 includes a plurality of measurement devices 1 and a server 2.

The plurality of measurement devices 1 and servers 2 have a function of performing short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) Mesh, and constitute a so-called flood type network.

The plurality of measuring devices 1 are permanently installed (installed) in each of a plurality of steam traps installed at appropriate locations in a piping system of a plant or the like equipped with a steam piping system. Each measuring device 1 measures the operating state of the steam trap at its installation location. Each measuring device 1 receives a packet containing measurement data indicating the measurement result of the operating state, information indicating the destination device (hereinafter referred to as destination information), information indicating the source device (hereinafter referred to as source information), etc. is transferred to the server 2 with or without one or more measuring devices 1 using the relay function of the flood type network.

A flood-type mesh network, also called a flood-type mesh network, is a network in which each device (hereinafter referred to as a node) installed in a mesh-like manner sequentially transmits data to other nodes like a flood. Specifically, each node belonging to the flood mesh network has a relay function. The relay function is a function that broadcasts a packet containing data to be transmitted and destination information, receives a packet broadcast by another node, and further broadcasts (transfers) the received packet.

Note that when packets are repeatedly transmitted and received between a plurality of specific nodes, as in a game of catch, the packets do not reach their destination. To avoid this, in the relay function, once received packets are temporarily stored (cached). Furthermore, in the relay function, if the same packet as the stored packet is received, the received packet is discarded without being broadcast.

For example, the solid thick arrow part in FIG. An example is shown in which a packet is broadcast by multiple nodes and transmitted to the server 2.

In addition, the dashed thick arrow part in FIG. 1 shows that when the server 2 transmits a packet to the measurement device 1 at the lower left end using the relay function of the flood mesh network, multiple packets transmitted from the server 2 An example is shown in which the data is broadcast at a node and transmitted to the measuring device 1 at the lower left end.

The server 2 diagnoses the steam trap where each measuring device 1 is installed based on the measurement data included in the packet received from each of the plurality of measuring devices 1. In addition, the server 2 associates and stores the identification information of the steam trap where each measuring device 1 is installed, the diagnostic data indicating the diagnosis result of the steam trap, and the measurement data used for the diagnosis of the steam trap. This allows you to manage the operating status of multiple steam traps.

Next, the configurations of the measuring device 1 and the server 2 will be described in detail. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the measuring device 1 and the server 2. As shown in FIG.

The measuring device 1 includes a battery 10, a measuring section 11, a communication section 13, a storage section 14, and a control section 15.

The battery 10 is replaceably mounted at a predetermined position within the measuring device 1 and supplies power to each part of the measuring device 1 . The battery 10 is configured by, for example, a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery. Note that the battery 10 is not limited to a secondary battery, but may be a primary battery such as an alkaline dry battery.

The measuring unit 11 measures the operating state of a steam trap (hereinafter referred to as a target steam trap) where the measuring device 1 is installed and the remaining capacity of the battery 10 . Specifically, the measurement unit 11 includes a temperature sensor 111, a vibration sensor 112, and a remaining capacity sensor 113.

The temperature sensor 111 is installed at the inlet (primary side) of the target steam trap, measures the temperature of the target steam trap, and outputs temperature data indicating the measurement result to the control unit 15. For example, the temperature sensor 111 is configured using a thermocouple, an amplifier circuit, an AD conversion circuit, and the like.

The vibration sensor 112 is installed at the discharge section (secondary side) of the target steam trap, measures the vibration of the target steam trap, and outputs vibration data indicating the measurement result to the control unit 15. For example, the vibration sensor 112 is configured using a piezoelectric element, an amplifier circuit, an AD conversion circuit, and the like.

The remaining capacity sensor 113 is built into the measuring device 1, measures the remaining capacity of the battery 10, and outputs data indicating the measurement result (hereinafter referred to as remaining capacity data) to the control unit 15. For example, the remaining capacity sensor 113 is configured using a voltage sensor that detects the output voltage of the battery 10, a memory that stores information indicating the relationship between the output voltage of the battery 10 and the remaining capacity of the battery 10, an arithmetic circuit, and the like. ing.

The communication unit 13 is configured using a communication circuit having a relay function of a flood type mesh network such as a Bluetooth (registered trademark) Mesh network. The communication unit 13 uses a relay function under the control of the control unit 15 to transmit the instructed transmission data to the instructed destination.

Specifically, as described using FIG. 1, the relay function of the communication unit 13 broadcasts a data packet including transmission data instructed by the control unit 15 and destination information. Moreover, in the relay function, a packet broadcasted by the communication unit 13 of another measuring device 1 is received, and the received packet is further broadcasted. In addition, the relay function temporarily stores (cache) a received packet in a memory (not shown) built into the communication unit 13, and when the same packet as the stored packet is received, the packet is broadcast. It is configured not to.

In addition, the communication unit 13 transmits a packet containing destination information indicating the measuring device 1, which is broadcast by the other measuring devices 1 and the server 2 using the relay function of the flood mesh network, to one or more other measuring devices. It is received via the communication unit 13 of No. 1. Note that the measuring device 1 refers to the measuring device 1 that includes the communication section 13. In addition, the communication unit 13 directly transmits a packet containing destination information indicating the measurement device 1 broadcasted by the communication unit 13 of any nearby measurement device 1 without going through another measurement device 1. Receive.

The storage unit 14 is configured by, for example, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive). The storage unit 16 stores information related to the transmission process, such as identification information of the target steam trap and measurement device 1, destination information indicating the measurement device 1 and server 2, and a startup time (predetermined time) to start the transmission process described later. Various information is stored.

Note that the destination information is information used to specify the external device as a communication destination (destination) when communicating with the external device. For example, the identification information and/or IP address of the measuring device 1 is used as the destination information indicating the measuring device 1 . Similarly, for the destination information indicating the server 2, the identification information and/or IP address of the server 2 is used, for example.

The control unit 15 is constituted by a microcomputer equipped with a CPU, memory, clock signal circuit, and the like. The control section 15 has a timer section 150. The control unit 15 also includes a processing unit 151 as a function realized by the CPU executing a predetermined program.

The timekeeping unit 150 includes a clock signal circuit, a memory, and an arithmetic circuit, and measures the current time. Specifically, the timer unit 150 uses an arithmetic circuit to count the number of clock signals output from the clock signal circuit at a predetermined period. The clock unit 150 uses an arithmetic circuit to add the product of the counted number and the period of the clock signal to the current time stored in the memory included in the control unit 15, thereby updating the current time.

The processing unit 151 executes a transmission process to transmit data (hereinafter referred to as measurement data) indicating the measurement results of the operating state of the target steam trap and the remaining capacity of the battery 10 to the server 2 .

Specifically, upon starting the transmission process, the processing unit 151 first causes the measurement unit 11 to measure the operating state of the target steam trap and the remaining capacity of the battery 10 . The operating conditions of the steam trap are the temperature and vibration of the steam trap.

The processing unit 151 then generates measurement data indicating the measurement results of the operating state of the target steam trap and the remaining capacity of the battery 10, identification information of the target steam trap, and measurement of the operating state of the target steam trap and the remaining capacity of the battery 10. A packet including information indicating the date and time (hereinafter referred to as measurement date and time information), destination information indicating the server 2, and source information indicating the measuring device 1 is broadcast by the relay function of the communication unit 13. The processing unit 151 then ends the transmission process.

Note that the measurement date and time indicated by the measurement date and time information may be the date and time when measurement of the operating state of the target steam trap and the remaining capacity of the battery 10 was started, or may be the date and time when the measurement was finished. . Sender information is information for identifying the device that sent the information. The identification information of the measuring device 1 stored in the storage unit 14 and/or the destination information indicating the measuring device 1 are used as the source information indicating the measuring device 1 .

Furthermore, when a predetermined startup time (predetermined time) (for example, 13:00) comes, the processing unit 151 cancels the sleep state of the measuring device 1 and starts the transmission process. Canceling the sleep state means starting to supply power from the battery 10 to the measurement unit 11.

After completing the transmission process, the processing unit 151 puts the measuring device 1 into a sleep state. The sleep state is a state in which power supply from the battery 10 to the measurement unit 11 is cut off.

In some plants, the plant is divided into a plurality of areas and the operating state of one or more steam traps installed in each area is managed for each area. In such a plant, multiple measuring devices 1 (first measuring device, second measuring device) installed in multiple steam traps (first steam trap, second steam trap) in the same area start transmission processing. The startup time (predetermined time) to be set to the same time is sufficient.

In this case, a plurality of measurement devices 1 installed in a plurality of steam traps in the same area start transmission processing at the same time. Therefore, the server 2 can receive the measurement results of the operating status of the steam traps in each area at individual timings for each area, and efficiently diagnose the steam traps in each area based on the measurement results. can.

The server 2 includes an operation section 21, a display section 22, a communication section 23, a storage section 24, and a control section 25.

The operation unit 21 includes a keyboard, a mouse, or the like for the operator to input various information. The display section 22 is configured using a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or the like. However, the operation section 21 and the display section 22 may be integrally configured by using a touch panel display. Note that the server 2 may have a simplified configuration that does not include the operation section 21 and the display section 22.

Like the communication unit 13, the communication unit 23 is configured using a communication circuit having a relay function of a flood type mesh network such as a Bluetooth (registered trademark) mesh network. Like the communication unit 13, the communication unit 23 uses the relay function under the control of the control unit 25 to transmit the instructed transmission data to the instructed destination device.

In addition, the communication unit 23 transmits a packet containing destination information indicating the server 2, which is broadcast by each of the plurality of measurement devices 1 included in the measurement data transmission system 100 using the relay function of the communication unit 13, to one or more other devices. is received via the communication unit 13 of the measuring device 1. In addition, the communication unit 23 transmits a packet broadcast by the communication unit 13 of any measuring device 1 existing in the vicinity of the server 2 and containing destination information indicating the server 2 to a measuring device other than the measuring device 1. Receive directly without going through 1.

The communication unit 23 outputs the measurement data, identification information of the target steam trap, measurement date and time information, and transmission source information included in the received packet to the control unit 25. The communication unit 23 further includes a communication circuit that performs long-distance communication via a network 9 such as the Internet, LAN, or a mobile phone network.

The storage unit 24 is configured using any rewritable storage device such as an HDD, SSD, or flash memory.

The control unit 25 is constituted by a microcomputer equipped with a CPU, memory, clock signal circuit, and the like. The control section 25 includes a clock section 250. The control unit 25 also includes a diagnosis unit 251 as a function realized by the CPU executing a predetermined program.

Like the timer 150, the timer 250 includes a clock signal circuit, a memory, and an arithmetic circuit, and measures the current time. Specifically, the timer section 250 uses an arithmetic circuit to count the number of clock signals output from the clock signal circuit at a predetermined period. The clock section 250 uses an arithmetic circuit to add the product of the counted number and the period of the clock signal to the current time stored in the memory included in the control section 25, thereby updating the current time.

The diagnosis unit 251 diagnoses the target steam trap at the installation location of the measurement device 1 that has transmitted the measurement data, based on the measurement data that the communication unit 23 has received from each of the plurality of measurement devices 1 .

For example, the diagnostic unit 251 compares the temperature data with a predetermined temperature threshold, and compares the vibration data of the target steam trap with a predetermined vibration threshold. The diagnostic unit 251 diagnoses whether the target steam trap is normal or abnormal (steam leakage, poor drainage, or blockage), depending on the combination of these two comparison results.

Note that the temperature threshold is a threshold used to diagnose whether the temperature of the target steam trap is high or low, and is stored in advance in the storage unit 24. The vibration threshold value is used to determine whether a target steam trap that has been diagnosed as having a high or low temperature is in a normal state, a steam leak state, a drain discharge failure state, or a blocked state. This is a threshold value to be compared with vibration, and is stored in the storage unit 24 in advance.

Furthermore, the diagnosis unit 251 determines that the battery 10 of the measuring device 1 that has transmitted the measurement data needs to be replaced based on the remaining capacity of the battery 10 included in the measurement data that the communication unit 23 has received from each of the plurality of measurement devices 1. Diagnose whether it is unnecessary.

Specifically, the diagnostic unit 251 compares the remaining capacity of the battery 10 included in the measurement data received from the measuring device 1 and a predetermined capacity threshold. The capacity threshold value is determined as the minimum amount of power required for the measurement device 1 to perform transmission processing, and is stored in advance in the storage unit 24. If the remaining capacity of the battery 10 included in the measurement data received from the measuring device 1 is less than the capacity threshold, the diagnostic unit 251 diagnoses that the battery 10 of the measuring device 1 needs to be replaced, and if the remaining capacity is greater than or equal to the capacity threshold. If so, it is diagnosed that the battery 10 of the measuring device 1 does not need to be replaced.

The diagnosis unit 251 stores in the storage unit 24 the identification information of the target steam trap included in the packet received from each measuring device 1, the measurement data used for diagnosis, and the diagnostic data indicating the diagnosis result, in association with each other. .

Note that the diagnostic data includes information indicating the date and time when the diagnosis unit 251 performed the diagnosis, and information indicating whether the temperature of the target steam trap is high or low. In addition, the diagnostic data includes information indicating whether the target steam trap is in a normal state, a steam leaking state, a drain discharge failure state, or a blocked state, and information indicating whether replacement of the battery 10 of the measuring device 1 is necessary or not. is included.

Note that when the operator performs a predetermined operation using the operation unit 21, the control unit 25 stores the identification information of the steam trap instructed by the operation stored in the storage unit 24 and the corresponding information. At least one of the attached measurement data and diagnostic data may be displayed on the display unit 22.

Next, the flow of measurement data transmission/reception processing will be explained. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of measurement data transmission/reception processing.

In each measuring device 1, when a predetermined startup time (for example, 13:00) comes (YES in step S101), the processing unit 151 controls the battery 10 to cancel the sleep state of the measuring device 1 (step S102). . Specifically, in step S102, the processing unit 151 causes the battery 10 to start supplying power to the measuring unit 11, thereby canceling the sleep state of the measuring device 1.

Next, the processing unit 151 executes a transmission process consisting of step S103 and step S104. Specifically, in step S103, the processing unit 151 causes the measuring unit 11 to measure the operating state of the target steam trap and the remaining capacity of the battery 10. In step S104, the processing unit 151 includes the measurement data indicating the operating state of the target steam trap and the remaining capacity of the battery 10 measured in step S103, measurement date and time information, destination information indicating the server 2, and itself (this measuring device 1). A packet including sender information indicating the information is sent to the server 2 using the relay function of the communication unit 13.

Thereby, in each of the plurality of measuring devices 1, the packet transmitted in step S104 is broadcast by the relay function of the communication unit 13. Further, packets are received from other measuring devices 1, and the received packets are broadcast. As a result, the measurement data included in the packet broadcast from each of the plurality of measurement devices 1 is transmitted to the server 2 with or without passing through one or more other measurement devices 1.

When the processing unit 151 finishes the transmission process consisting of steps S103 and S104, the processing unit 151 puts the measuring device 1 into a sleep state by cutting off the power supply from the battery 10 to the measuring unit 11 (step S105), and ends the process. do.

On the other hand, assume that in the server 2, the communication unit 23 receives the packets transmitted by each measuring device 1. In this case (YES in step S201), the diagnosis unit 251 diagnoses the operating state of the target steam trap at the installation location of the measuring device 1 that transmitted the measurement data, based on the measurement data included in the packet received in step S201. (Step S202). Furthermore, the diagnostic unit 251 diagnoses whether or not it is necessary to replace the battery 10 of the measuring device 1 that transmitted the measurement data, based on the measurement data included in the packet received in step S201 (step S203).

Next, the diagnosis unit 251 collects the identification information of the target steam trap diagnosed in step S202, the measurement data included in the packet received in step S202, and the diagnostic data including the results of the diagnosis in steps S202 and S203. are associated with each other and stored in the storage unit 24 (step S204). After that, the processing from step S201 onwards is performed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, measurement data including the operating state of the target steam trap and the remaining capacity of the battery 10 is transmitted from the measuring device 1 to the server 2. It is possible to appropriately grasp the remaining capacity of the battery 10 when the operating state of the steam trap is measured.

For this reason, for example, as described above, the server 2 appropriately determines whether or not it is necessary to replace the battery 10 of the measuring device 1 that has transmitted the measurement data, based on the remaining capacity of the battery 10 included in the measurement data. can be diagnosed. Furthermore, by displaying the diagnosis result on the display unit 22, it is possible to easily understand whether or not the battery 10 of the measuring device 1 needs to be replaced.

The above aspects are merely examples of embodiments according to the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention to the above aspects. For example, the following modified embodiment may be used. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing another example of the configuration of the measuring device 1 and the server 2.

(1) As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 15 of the measuring device 1 runs the diagnostic unit 152, which has the same function as the diagnostic unit 251 of the server 2, as a function realized when the CPU executes a predetermined program. It may be made to have.

In this case, in the transmission process, after step S103 (FIG. 3), the processing unit 151 sends the diagnosis unit 152 to the diagnosis unit 152 based on the measurement result of the operating state of the target steam trap in step S103, as in step S202 (FIG. 3). Have the target steam trap diagnosed. Then, the processing unit 151 further includes the result of the diagnosis in the packet transmitted to the server 2 in step S104 (FIG. 3).

On the other hand, in the server 2, the diagnosis unit 251 skips step S202 (FIG. 3) and performs step S203 (FIG. 3). Then, in step S204 (FIG. 3), the diagnostic unit 251 adds the diagnosis of the target steam trap included in the packet received in step S201 (FIG. 3) to the diagnostic data including the result of the diagnosis in step S203 (FIG. 3). are stored in the storage unit 24 including the results. Note that in the above embodiment and this modification, step S203 (FIG. 3) may be omitted.

According to this configuration, it is possible to omit diagnosing the target steam trap in the server 2. Thereby, the processing load on the server 2 can be reduced.

(2) As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 15 of the measuring device 1 may include a reception unit 153 and a setting unit 154 as functions realized by the CPU executing a predetermined program. .

Specifically, the reception unit 153 (first reception unit, second reception unit, third reception unit) receives a control instruction that the communication unit 13 receives from an external device. The control instructions include, for example, a change instruction to change the startup time for starting the transmission process to a specified time, a diagnosis necessity instruction indicating whether or not to diagnose the target steam trap, and an instruction to execute the transmission process. .

When the reception unit 153 receives the change instruction, the setting unit 154 changes the startup time stored in the storage unit 24 to the specified time indicated by the change instruction. In this case, the worker changes the time at which the transmission process is executed in the measuring device 1 to any specified time indicated by the change instruction by performing an operation on the external device to send the change instruction to the measuring device 1. can do.

It is assumed that the reception unit 153 receives a diagnosis necessity instruction indicating that the target steam trap is to be diagnosed. In this case, as shown in the modified embodiment (1) above, in the transmission process, after step S103 (FIG. 3), the processing unit 151 informs the diagnostic unit 152 of the operating state of the target steam trap in step S103. The target steam trap is diagnosed based on the measurement results.

Then, the processing unit 151 further includes the result of the diagnosis in the packet transmitted to the server 2 in step S104 (FIG. 3). That is, the processing unit 151 receives the measurement data indicating the operating state of the target steam trap and the remaining capacity of the battery 10 measured in step S103, measurement date and time information, destination information indicating the server 2, transmission source information indicating itself, and the step A packet containing the diagnosis result in S104 is transmitted to the server 2.

On the other hand, assume that the receiving unit 153 receives a diagnosis necessity instruction indicating that the target steam trap is not to be diagnosed. In this case, as shown in the above embodiment, the processing unit 151 does not cause the diagnosis unit 152 to diagnose the target steam trap after step S103 (FIG. 3) in the transmission process, and does not cause the diagnosis unit 152 to diagnose the target steam trap in step S104 (FIG. 3). ). That is, the processing unit 151 generates a packet containing measurement data indicating the operating state of the target steam trap and the remaining capacity of the battery 10 measured in step S103, measurement date and time information, destination information indicating the server 2, and source information indicating itself. is sent to server 2.

In this case, by performing an operation on the external device to transmit the above-mentioned diagnosis necessity instruction to the measuring device 1, the operator can determine whether to diagnose the target steam trap and transmit the diagnosis result in the transmission process. It is possible to switch whether to transmit only the measurement results of the operating state of the target steam trap and the remaining capacity of the battery 10 without diagnosing the trap.

When the reception unit 153 receives the instruction to execute the transmission process, the processing unit 151 assumes that the current time is the startup time and performs the processes from step S102 (FIG. 3) onward. In this case, in addition to the transmission process performed at the predetermined startup time, the worker executes the transmission process to the measurement device 1 at the timing when the external device performs an operation to transmit the execution instruction to the measurement device 1. can be done.

Note that the reception unit 153 may receive the diagnosis necessity instruction and the execution instruction at the same time. In this case, the processing unit 151 performs the processing from step S102 (FIG. 3) onwards when the execution instruction is received.

When the diagnosis necessity instruction indicates that the target steam trap is not to be diagnosed, the processing unit 151 performs step S104 (FIG. 3) after step S103 (FIG. 3), and performs step S104 (FIG. 3). In step S103 (FIG. 3), a packet containing the measurement data indicating the operating state of the target steam trap and the remaining capacity of the battery 10, measurement date and time information, destination information indicating the server 2, and source information indicating itself is sent. Send to server 2.

On the other hand, when the diagnosis necessity instruction indicates that the target steam trap is to be diagnosed, the processing unit 151 causes the diagnosis unit 152 to diagnose the target steam trap after step S103 (FIG. 3), and in step S104 ( In FIG. 3), a packet further including the result of the diagnosis is sent to the server 2.

In this case, by performing an operation on the external device to transmit the diagnosis necessity instruction and the execution instruction to the measuring device 1, the operator can check the operating state and battery of the target steam trap without diagnosing the target steam trap. It is possible to cause the measurement device to execute a transmission process of transmitting only the measurement result of the remaining capacity of 10 or a transmission process of diagnosing the target steam trap and further transmitting the diagnosis result at the timing when the operation is performed.

(3) In the above embodiment and its modified example, an example has been described in which the communication unit 13 included in each measuring device 1 is configured using a communication circuit having a relay function of a flood type mesh network. However, instead of this communication circuit, the communication unit 13 may include a communication circuit that performs long-distance communication via a network such as the Internet, LAN, or a mobile phone network. Thereby, the communication unit 13 and the server 2 may transmit and receive the packets via the network 9. In this case, the communication unit 23 included in the server 2 may not include a communication circuit having a relay function of a flood mesh network.

Alternatively, the communication unit 13 and the communication unit 23 may be configured using a communication circuit having various functions of a routed mesh network instead of a communication circuit having a relay function of a flood mesh network. In this case, one or more relay devices equipped with a communication circuit having a routing function of a routed mesh network may be provided in addition to the plurality of measuring devices 1. As a result, each relay device receives packets transmitted from a plurality of measurement devices 1 and servers 2, and transmits the received packets to the destination server 2 or measurement device 1 to one or more other relay devices. Each received packet may be directly transferred with or without intervening.

(4) Step S102 (FIG. 3) and step S105 (FIG. 3) may be omitted in one or more of the plurality of measuring devices 1. Thereby, in the one or more measuring devices 1, power may be constantly supplied to the measuring section 11 so that the measuring section 11 can be used at all times.

1: Measuring device 2: Server 10: Battery 11: Measuring section 150: Timing section 151: Processing section 152: Diagnosis section 153: Reception section (first reception section, second reception section)
154: Setting section

Claims (6)

A measuring device installed in a steam trap,
a battery that supplies power to the measuring device;
a measuring unit that measures the operating state of the steam trap and the remaining capacity of the battery;
a processing unit that executes a transmission process of transmitting the measurement results of the operating state of the steam trap and the remaining capacity of the battery to a predetermined server;
a diagnostic unit that diagnoses the steam trap based on a measurement result of the operating state of the steam trap;
a second reception unit that receives a diagnosis necessity instruction indicating whether or not to diagnose the steam trap from an external device;
Equipped with
The processing unit includes:
When the second reception unit receives the diagnosis necessity instruction indicating that the steam trap is to be diagnosed, in the transmission process, after causing the diagnosis unit to diagnose the steam trap, the second reception unit receives the diagnosis result of the steam trap. further send,
When the second reception unit receives the diagnosis necessity instruction indicating that the steam trap is not to be diagnosed, in the transmission process, the measurement result of the operating state of the steam trap and the remaining capacity of the battery is transmitted. ,
measuring device. It further includes a timekeeping section that measures the current time,
The processing unit starts supplying power from the battery to the measurement unit to execute the transmission process when the current time reaches a predetermined time, and when the transmission process ends, the battery cutting off the supply of power to the measuring section from
The measuring device according to claim 1 . The steam trap includes a first steam trap and a second steam trap installed in an area including the installation location of the first steam trap among one or more areas,
The measuring device includes a first measuring device installed in the first steam trap and a second measuring device installed in the second steam trap,
The predetermined time in the first measuring device is set to the same time as the predetermined time in the second measuring device,
The measuring device according to claim 2 . a first reception unit that receives a change instruction to change the predetermined time to a specified time from an external device;
a setting unit that changes the predetermined time to the designated time when the first reception unit receives the change instruction;
The measuring device according to claim 2 , further comprising: further comprising a third reception unit that receives an instruction to execute the transmission process from an external device,
The processing unit further executes the transmission process when the third reception unit receives the execution instruction.
The measuring device according to claim 1 . The operating state of the steam trap is the temperature and vibration of the steam trap.
The measuring device according to claim 1 .