JPH0834768B2 - Method for detecting remaining amount in storage tank for fluid articles - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application] The present invention is a bulk system in which storage tanks for fluid articles such as oil, gas, and chemicals are installed at a plurality of locations, and fluid articles are replenished according to their use. And a method for detecting the remaining amount of fluid articles in each of the storage tanks.

[Conventional technology and its problems]

For example, petroleum (heavy oil,
(Sales of petroleum such as light oil and kerosene) For sales, the petroleum seller (dealer) supplies petroleum at any time to the storage tank on the consumer side, and the petroleum is constantly stored in the tank, and the supply amount (usage amount) is measured. Then, the bulk sales method is adopted in which the sales volume is used.

Goods (oil) in storage tanks in this bulk system
As for the management, it is common for the consumer to grasp and manage the amount of oil remaining in his / her own storage tank, and to request the delivery by telephone, etc. Therefore, the seller is devoted to the management of the consumer and always ships. If you don't have the delivery method, you may be out of oil in the storage tank (out of stock) due to the carelessness of the consumer.
May occur. This is unfavorable for sales management, and in order for the seller to surely eliminate this out-of-stock, it is necessary to have a system that can be shipped at any time, but in that system there is a lot of waste and it is unreasonable due to factors such as people and vehicles. Therefore, when the management on the consumer side is insufficient, we regularly visit the customer to check the remaining amount of the storage tank and arrange delivery early, so we will strive to improve the efficiency of delivery by so-called inquiry. It is the current situation.

However, in recent years, due to the influence of the just-in-time Kanban system by producing a wide variety of products in small lots, the storage tank capacity is often smaller than the consumption quantity (insufficient capacity), but the consumption quantity is increasing year by year. Daily consumption trends are also becoming more unstable. For this reason, in order to prevent the seller from running out of stock, it is sufficient to increase the interval of confirmation of the remaining amount, but a large number of people are required and the cost increases.

By the way, in selling propane gas,
No. 124140 discloses the amount of gas used in a propane gas cylinder,
It counts with a flow meter that emits a unit pulse for each unit flow rate, and this count number is automatically transmitted to the management center (meter reading center) via a telephone line every predetermined time, and the management center monthly based on the received data. In addition to performing the meter reading, the technology for grasping (detecting) the remaining amount of gas in the gas cylinder and managing delivery (sales management) is disclosed.

If this residual amount detection technology for every predetermined time is simply applied to oil sales, the following problems occur. That is, propane gas is generally used mainly at home, the amount of use is almost constant, there is little fluctuation, and inventory (remaining amount) is easy to grasp. Therefore, it is possible to prevent out-of-stock by performing cylinder replacement with rough inventory grasping in comparison with the previous cylinder replacement cycle.

However, in the case of oil sales, large-scale consumers in factories, for example, suddenly need heating and the power generator suddenly goes into operation due to a power outage, and oil consumption suddenly rises from zero. There are many cases of large fluctuations in consumption, such as rising prices, and the only way to grasp such fluctuations and reliably eliminate out-of-stock is to increase the number of times the flowmeter's measured values are sent and to grasp fluctuations frequently. This is all the more so if the storage tank becomes smaller. If the number of transmissions from the consumer side increases, the communication cost will increase and the use of the telephone line will be hindered.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Under the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to reliably grasp the remaining amount of fluid articles such as oil in a bulk type storage tank at a plurality of locations at low cost.

[Means for solving the problem]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the present invention, when detecting the remaining amount of fluid articles in each of the bulk type storage tanks installed at a plurality of locations at a management center, the management center is provided with an arithmetic controller. , A receiver is installed, and each storage tank installation side is provided with the fluid article usage amount detection unit having a flow meter and a transmitter, and the fluid usage amount in each storage tank is set as a unit pulse for each unit fluid. Is counted by the flowmeter that emits a message, and the detection transmission unit calls the receiver of the management center via the telephone line by the automatic dial function of the transmitter for each predetermined count, and the receiver sends the call signal. Based on this, the incoming line detection circuit closes the station line, and when the line is closed, the detection / transmission unit causes the data transmission function of the transmitter to cause the predetermined transmission with the identification signal of itself. Number of packets is transmitted to the management center as transmission data, and in the management center, the arithmetic and control unit identifies from which storage tank side the transmission is based on the identification signal, and the storage of the fluid article in the storage tank is performed. From the stored value of the amount, the usage amount based on the transmission data is sequentially subtracted,
The amount of fluid articles remaining in the storage tank was determined.

[Action]

According to the method for detecting the remaining amount in the storage tank of the fluid article according to the present invention having the above-described configuration, the management center can grasp the article usage amount of each storage tank for each predetermined usage amount. For this reason, based on the data, the change over time in the storage tank usage and the inventory are accurately confirmed, and replenishment is performed based on the confirmation data.

〔Example〕

This embodiment is adopted for selling petroleum (heavy oil) from a seller (dealer) to each consumer (user), and as shown in the figure, the petroleum seller side has an arithmetic controller 1 and a receiver 2 , A management center A having a display device 2 ', etc. is installed, and a petroleum consumption detection transmission section B of a storage tank (not shown) is provided on each consumer side (user side).

The detection / transmission unit B includes a flow meter 3, a fire sensor 4, various other sensors 5, and a transmitter 6 that transmits detection signals thereof. The flow meter 3 has a built-in counter that generates a unit pulse for each unit flow rate and counts the generated pulse, and is installed in an oil pipe from a storage tank to equipment such as a boiler, and the amount of oil flowing through this oil pipe. Is detected and counted. The unit flow rate may be appropriately selected to be 0.01, 0.1, 1, etc., and the flow meter 3 has its changeover switch.

The transmitter 6 has an automatic dialing function and a data transmitting function, and automatically transmits the count value in the flowmeter 3 together with its own identification signal for each predetermined usage amount. Set to. It goes without saying that when the emergency sensor such as the fire sensor 4 is activated, the transmitter 6 is caused to act by the detection signal thereof.

Each detection / transmission unit B is connected to the management center A via a subscriber telephone line 7, a telephone station 8, and an inter-office relay line 9, and each detection data is sent as an identification signal from each transmitter 6 for each predetermined usage amount. Along with this, it is transmitted to the management center A via this telephone line.

This embodiment is configured as described above. Now, when the usage amount reaches a predetermined value, the transmitter 6 in each detection transmitter B is
Automatically dials and calls the receiver 2 of the management center A,
In the receiver 2, when an incoming call is received from the calling bell, an incoming call detection circuit works and automatically answers to close the station line. Then, the transmitter 6 transmits the count data read from the flow meter 3 to the management center A via the receiver 2 together with its own identification signal.

In the management center A, the arithmetic and control unit 1 identifies from which consumer the transmission is made by the identification signal, and from the stored value of the fluid article storage amount in the storage tank of the consumer, the count is calculated. The usage amount based on the data is sequentially subtracted and stored.

Based on these stored data, changes over time in the stock and usage of each consumer are calculated and displayed on the display device 2 ', and based on the data, oil is supplied by the tank truck.

When a detection signal from the fire sensor 4 or the like is transmitted to the management center A, a warning lamp, an alarm buzzer, or the like is used to notify that fact, and based on this, optimal processing such as abnormal contact with the seller is performed. .

Although this example was for oil sales, the present invention
It goes without saying that it can be applied to various fluid articles such as gas and chemicals. It is also possible to use the transmission of the usage amount for each predetermined time.

〔The invention's effect〕

The present invention is configured as described above, and exhibits the following effects in comparison with the remaining amount detecting method by transmission (communication) for a predetermined time described in the above-mentioned publication.

(A) Detecting the remaining amount by reporting at regular time intervals has almost no possibility of running out of gas for users who consume a certain amount every day, or for city gas, regardless of changes in consumers in general. Although it is an effective means for centralized supply and for controlling the amount of consumption by a meter in the container plate of city gas such as propane gas, it is not suitable for continuous and rapid changes in consumption. In other words, even if it is theoretically possible to grasp the detailed consumption situation by increasing the number of communication infinitely, the communication cost will be enormous in reality, and the user side and the receiving side (seller side) will always be involved. Line occupancy occurs and communication is lost, causing system confusion.

On the other hand, the remaining amount detection by the notification for each predetermined usage amount according to the invention of the present application, even if there is a continuous and rapid change in consumption, by reducing the number of flaws for each fixed amount, how much inventory will be kept if one notification is given. Since it is possible to understand whether the number has decreased and also its time change (change over time), it is possible to predict the next consumption situation even if the number of communications is reduced, and it is possible to deliver the greatest common denominator at the necessary timing. In other words, it becomes possible to accurately predict trends (due to changes over time) up to the consumption situation on the user side, such as when and how much the user consumes. For this reason, it is possible to maximize the number of supply lots per supply without running out of stock. In the case of cyclic delivery every day, if the delivery route is only optimized, it is sufficient to make a report every predetermined time.
It cannot be the highest common denominator delivery.

(B) As mentioned above, the consumption of oil, etc. is not continuous in quantity and time as described above, but may be irregular, intermittent, and rapidly fluctuating throughout the year. Considering the case, it is difficult to predict the actual number of consumption because the fluctuation range varies greatly depending on the season, weather, and temperature conditions such as day and night.

In such a case, when the remaining amount is detected by reporting every predetermined time, meaningless data is sent even if the user side does not consume it for a long period of time, which leads to an increase in communication cost.

On the other hand, if you detect the remaining amount by reporting for each predetermined usage amount,
With a small number of times of communication, the change in the remaining amount with time can be grasped based on the detected value, and the stock-out time can be accurately predicted. As a result, an optimal delivery system can be established according to the consumption situation of the user, and delivery loss such as waiting time for delivery of the truck (tank truck) can be eliminated, and extremely efficient logistics management can be surely performed.

In addition, the remaining amount detection by notification at regular time intervals can be the basis for planned delivery, but if the consumption increases or decreases rapidly during that interval (between notifications), the remaining amount will decrease sharply. May not be detected, resulting in out of stock and returned goods.

On the other hand, in the remaining amount detection by the notification for each predetermined usage amount, since it is notified each time the remaining amount is decreased by a predetermined amount, it is possible to grasp a sudden increase or decrease in consumption.

[Brief description of drawings]

The drawings are schematic views of an embodiment of the method for detecting the remaining amount in the storage tank according to the present invention. A: management center, B: detection / transmission unit, 1 ... arithmetic controller, 2 ... receiver, 2 '... display device, 3 ... flow meter, 4 ... fire sensor, 5 ... various sensors , 6 ... Transmitter, 7, 9 ... Telephone line.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── --- Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-60-124140 (JP, A) JP-A-58-155499 (JP, A) JP-A-51-129153 (JP, A) JP-A-51- 33347 (JP, A)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Storage tanks for fluid articles such as oil, gas, chemicals, etc. are installed at a plurality of locations, and the remaining quantity of the fluid articles in each of the bulk storage tanks for replenishing the fluid articles according to their use is determined. A method of detecting in a management center A, wherein the arithmetic controller 1 and the receiver 2 are installed in the management center A, and the fluid article has a flow meter 3 and a transmitter 6 on each storage tank installation side. A usage amount detecting and transmitting unit B is provided, and the amount of fluid used in each of the storage tanks is counted by the flow meter 3 which emits a unit pulse for each unit flow rate, and the detection transmitting unit B is The automatic dialing function of the transmitter 6 calls the receiver 2 of the management center A through the telephone line, and the receiver 2 closes the station line by the function of the incoming call detection circuit based on the calling signal and closes it. Tied up The detection / transmission unit B transmits the predetermined count number together with its own identification signal as transmission data to the management center A by the data transmission function of the transmitter 6, and in the management center A, the arithmetic controller 1 The identification signal identifies which storage tank the transmission is from, and from the stored value of the fluid article storage amount of the storage tank, the usage amount based on the transmission data is sequentially subtracted, A method for detecting a remaining amount of a fluid article in a storage tank, comprising: grasping the remaining amount of the fluid article in the storage tank.