JPH02287797A - Method for signal transmission and reception between meter for automatic inspection and cutoff valve - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To install and detach an electronic part of a meter for automatic inspection and an electronic part for driving of a cutoff valve independently of each other to improve installability and safety by using photocoupling for signal transmission and reception between them. CONSTITUTION:An electronic part 7 for automatic inspection of meter and an electronic part 14 for driving of the cutoff valve are coupled by photocouplers 9 and 16 in a water meter, a hot water meter, a calorimeter, a gas meter, or the like for automatic inspection of meter which measures the amount of fluid used. Thus, the meter for automatic inspection and the cutoff valve can be installed independently of each other because both electronic parts are independently unitized and connection between both units is unnecessary, and the installability, the maintainability, the reliability, dielectric strength, noise resistance, surge resistance, and resistance to radio wave are improved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an automatic meter reading meter for measuring the amount of fluid used, such as a water meter, a hot water meter, a calorie meter, or a gas meter, and to an automatic meter reading meter that measures the amount of fluid used. This invention relates to an improvement in the method of transmitting and receiving signals to and from a shutoff valve that shuts off.

[Prior art]

A water meter, hot water meter, calorimeter, gas meter, etc. for automatic meter reading that measures the amount of fluid used is equipped with a shutoff valve that shuts off the fluid, and a cutoff signal from the automatic meter reading center is transmitted to the meter for automatic meter reading. When the automatic meter reading electronic part receives the signal, the automatic meter reading electronic part determines that it is a cutoff signal, and sends a signal to the shutoff valve driving electronic part of the shutoff valve to close the shutoff valve.A telecontrol system is used. ing.

[Problems to be solved by the present invention]

In the above system, there is a strong desire to improve installation ease and security by making the automatic meter reading meter and the shutoff valve separate structures so that they can be installed or removed separately.

However, if they are made into separate structures, the electronic part for automatic meter reading and the electronic part for driving the shutoff valve will have separate unit structures.
It is necessary to send and receive signals between the two. If wire coupling, which is a well-known technique, is used to send and receive these signals, the wiring is difficult and the reliability is low.

More specifically, there are the following problems.

Since the shutoff valve is a solenoid valve, the insulation resistance between its coil and plunger is low, and since the plunger is electrically grounded, the insulation resistance between the electronic circuit of the shutoff valve drive electronics and the ground is low. It turns out that. Therefore, noise, lightning surges, radio waves, etc. that enter the meter's automatic meter reading electronic circuit from the communication circuit enter the shutoff valve drive electronics from the automatic meter reading electronics through the wire coupling.
Furthermore, it flows from the solenoid valve coil to ground via the plunger,
Causes malfunction or destruction of electronic circuits. That is, there is a problem that the voltage resistance and noise resistance of the electronic part for automatic meter reading are deteriorated.

If you need to install a shutoff valve at a later date after installing an automatic meter reading meter, do you have to solder the wire to connect the shutoff valve drive electronics to the automatic meter reading electronics installed earlier? It is necessary to connect with a connector, but it is impossible to solder at the installation site, and the reliability of the connection with a connector is low, so it cannot be used practically. In the end, the problem is that it is not possible to install just the shutoff valve at a later date, and the entire valve must be replaced.

Furthermore, the power supply voltages of the electronic part for automatic meter reading and the electronic part for driving the shutoff valve are often not the same, and if the voltages are different, for example, 3■ for the former and 6■ for the latter, it is difficult to match them.

Furthermore, even if a common battery is used to power the electronic part for automatic meter reading and the electronic part for driving the shutoff valve, if the battery voltage drops due to the shutoff valve being operated many times, the electronic part for automatic meter reading will malfunction. Moreover, when the excitation current is passed through the cutoff valve, the voltage of the battery decreases, which also poses a problem in that the electronic section for automatic meter reading is more likely to malfunction.

An object of the present invention is to propose a signal exchange method that does not cause the above-mentioned problems even when the automatic meter reading meter and the shutoff valve are constructed as separate units, and the electronic parts of both are constructed as separate units.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, in the method of transmitting and receiving signals between an automatic meter reading meter and a shutoff valve according to the present invention, signals are exchanged between the automatic meter reading electronic part and the shutoff valve driving electronic part in a non-contact manner. It is characterized by the following.

[Effect]

Signals are exchanged between the electronic part of the automatic meter reading meter and the electronic part for driving the shutoff valve through a coupling to H1.

〔Example〕

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a water meter for automatic meter reading, which is equipped with a measuring section 3 having an impeller 2 at the bottom and an electronic section 4 for the water meter at the top. A permanent magnet 5 is fixed to the upper end of the rotating shaft of the impeller 2, and a flow rate sensor 6 provided in the electronic section 4
converts the rotating magnetic field of the permanent magnet 5 into an electrical signal. This electrical signal is counted and integrated by the automatic meter reading electronic section 7 to measure the amount of water used. Reference numeral 8 is a battery that supplies power to the electronic part for automatic meter reading, 9 is a light emitting diode that converts the signal from the electronic part for automatic meter reading into light and transmits it to the electronic part for driving the shutoff valve, which will be described later, and 10 is an input/output line for automatic meter reading. be.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a shutoff valve connected and installed in series with the measuring section of the water meter 1, and has a coil 12 and a plunger 13 operated by the excitation of the coil 12, and the valve is opened and closed by movement of the plunger 13. 14 is an electronic section for driving the shutoff valve; 15 is a battery for supplying power to the electronic section; 16 is a phototransistor that receives the light from the light emitting diode, converts it into an electrical signal, and transmits it to the electronic section 14 for driving the shutoff valve; 17 This is the shutoff valve drive unit. In this embodiment, a light emitting diode 9 and a phototransistor 16 are used to couple the automatic meter reading electronic section 7 and the shutoff valve driving electronic section 14.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the parts designated by the same reference numerals as in FIG. 1 perform the same functions as those in FIG. 1, and their explanation will be omitted. Reference numeral 18 is an anzapasok switch for notifying the automatic meter reading center of the vertical movement of the plunger 13, that is, the opening and closing of the shutoff valve. 19 is the electronic section 1 for driving the shutoff valve.
The light emitting diode 20 operated by the light emitting diode 4 is a phototransistor that receives the optical signal from the light emitting diode 19, converts it into an electric signal, and transmits it to the electronic section 7 for automatic meter reading. In this embodiment, the automatic meter reading electronic section 7 and the shutoff valve driving electronic section 14 are connected by two photocouplings. One photocoupling is composed of a light emitting diode 9 and a phototransistor 16, and the other photocoupling is composed of a light emitting diode 19 and a phototransistor 20.

The operation when the shutoff valve is closed by telecontrol from an automatic meter reading center (not shown) in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

First, an automatic meter reading shutoff valve closing message (downward message) from the meter reading center passes through the automatic meter reading input/output line 10 to the automatic meter reading electronic section 7.
When entering, the light emitting diode 9 emits light for a short time, and the coil 1
2, the shutoff valve drive current flows for a short time and the shutoff valve closes. At the same time, the answer hack switch 18, which had been closed until then, opens, and an automatic meter reading uplink message is transmitted from the automatic meter reading electronics section.

Next, referring to FIG. 4, the operation of opening the shutoff valve by telecontrol in response to an automatic meter reading shutoff valve opening telegram (downward telegram) from the automatic meter reading center will be explained.

When the automatic meter reading shutoff valve telegram (downward telegram) is received by the automatic meter reading electronic unit 7 via the automatic meter reading input/output line 10, the light emitting diode 9 emits light for a short time.

The way the light is emitted at this time is different from when the shutoff valve is closed, and the shutoff valve drive electronic unit 14 determines the difference and moves the shutoff valve in the opposite direction to open the shutoff valve. A shutoff valve driving current is passed through the coil 12 for a short time to open the shutoff valve. Then, the answer hack switch 18 is closed and turned on, and the light emitting diode 16 emits light.
Then, the automatic meter reading electronic section 7 sends an automatic meter reading message, and the series of operations ends.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Since the electronic part for automatic meter reading and the electronic part for driving the shutoff valve are photocoupled, both electronic parts can be made into separate units, and there is no need for wiring between the image units. can now be installed separately, improving ease of installation and maintenance.

Photocoupling eliminates electrical connections, improving reliability.

The shutoff valve drive electronics, which has low insulation resistance to ground, is isolated from the automatic meter reading electronics by photocoupling, resulting in improved voltage resistance, noise resistance, surge resistance, and radio wave resistance.・Since both electronic circuits are isolated by photocoupling, power supplies for both electronic circuits can be provided independently. As a result, the power supply voltages of the side electronic parts can be matched, and there is no problem even if the power supply voltages of both electronic parts are significantly different, and commercial power can be used to drive the shutoff valve. Further, even if the battery of the shutoff valve driving electronic section is discharged before the battery of the automatic meter reading electronic section, it is expected that the automatic meter reading operation of the automatic meter reading electronic section will not be adversely affected.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of an automatic meter reading water meter and a shutoff valve using the method of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of main parts of another embodiment, and Figs. 3 and 4 are implementations of Fig. 2. It is a timing chart explaining operation of an example. 1...Water meter, 7...Electronic part for automatic meter reading, 9.
...Light emitting diode, 11...Shutoff valve, 14...
Shutoff valve drive electronics section, 16... phototransistor,
19... Light emitting diode, 20... Phototransistor

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A method for transmitting and receiving signals between an automatic meter reading meter and a shutoff valve, characterized by transmitting and receiving signals between the automatic meter reading electronic unit and the shutoff valve driving electronic unit in a non-contact manner. 2. A method for transmitting and receiving signals between an automatic meter reading meter and a shutoff valve, characterized in that the electronic part for automatic meter reading and the electronic part for driving the shutoff valve are photocoupled. 3. The method for transmitting and receiving signals between an automatic meter reading meter and a shutoff valve according to claim 1, wherein the automatic meter reading meter is a water meter.