JPS63172097A - Gas meter monitoring device with cut-off function - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To confirm the operating condition of a cut-off valve by a center and prevent the occurrence of trouble at the time of resuming service after a long time cut off by sending out the opening/closing condition of said cut-off valve to a communication line via a transmitting interface part. CONSTITUTION:An output from a gas flow rate abnormality judging part 3 is inputted into a cut off control part 4, while an output from a cut-off valve return signal input part 5 which receives the signal of a cut-off valve which is opened and returned, is also inputted into the cut off control part 4, and a signal from the cut off control part 4 is sent out to a communication line via a cut off existence signal generating part 6 and a transmitting interface part 7. Thereby, the operating condition of the cut-off valve can be confirmed by a center side, enabling more secure cut off control. Also, a rapid countermeasure can be taken when abnormality in gas flow rate is occurred, while preventing the occurrence of trouble at the time of resuming service after a long time cut off because of an unoccupied house, etc.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a gas meter monitoring device with a shutoff function that can automatically shut off a gas flow path in the event of an abnormality and can also shut off the gas flow path by remote control.

Conventional technology In the past, when a gas meter's gas flow rate per unit time was monitored and an abnormal increase in the flow rate or a long time elapsed at the same flow rate (forgetting to turn off the appliance) was determined to be abnormal, or when the gas supply company There is a gas cutoff device that cuts off the gas flow path when a cutoff command is sent from a center (hereinafter referred to simply as the center) via a communication line, and if the gas flow path is cut off due to an abnormal flow rate, the user can restore the cutoff valve. (If the abnormality continues, it will be shut off again.) However, if the center forcibly shuts it off due to a disaster or vacant house, the user will not be able to restore it unless the center issues a command to cancel the shutoff. Alternatively, there is a gas cutoff device that shuts off immediately even if the gas returns to normal.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, with such conventional gas cutoff devices, when a cutoff command is issued from the center, the center cannot confirm whether or not the cutoff has actually occurred. Even if a problem occurs and a shutdown command is issued from the center, the shutdown may not actually have occurred, but the center may not be aware of this and may continue to assume that the shutdown has been completed. In addition, if the center shuts off in an empty house, etc., after a period of time passes, the center will no longer be able to tell that it is shutting off, and when you start using it again, you can open the shutoff valve and it will shut off immediately. Therefore, there was a risk that the gas meter would be mistakenly recognized as having some kind of abnormality.

The present invention solves such conventional problems, and aims to enable the center to confirm whether or not the gas meter is shut off, and to also enable the center to confirm that the gas meter is shut off.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the gas meter monitoring device with a shutoff function of the present invention has a shutoff function that sends a shutoff signal to a shutoff valve that shuts off the gas flow path when an abnormality in the gas flow rate is determined. a control unit, a shutoff valve return signal input unit that inputs a signal when the shutoff valve is opened and returns to the shutoff valve and returns the signal to the shutoff control unit; and a shutoff valve return signal input unit that inputs a signal indicating whether the shutoff valve is opened and returns to the shutoff control unit; a blocking presence/absence signal generating section that generates a blocking presence/absence signal; a transmitting interface section that sends the blocking presence/absence signal from the blocking presence/absence signal generating section to a communication line; and a receiving interface section that receives a remote blocking signal from the communication line; The remote cut-off storage section inputs and stores the remote cut-off signal from the reception interface section and sends it to the cut-off control section and the transmission interface section.

According to the above-described configuration, the present invention causes the shutoff control unit to shut off the shutoff valve when an abnormality occurs in the gas flow rate or when a shutoff signal is sent from the center via the communication line, transmission interface unit, and remote shutoff storage unit. When the shut-off valve returns, the shut-off valve returns a signal to the shut-off control unit via the shut-off valve return signal input unit, so the shut-off control unit always knows whether there is a shut-off or not. Through the signal generator and the transmission interface, a signal indicating whether or not there is a disconnection can be sent to the line. In addition, when a remote cutoff signal is sent from the center via the communication line and reception interface unit, the remote cutoff memory unit stores this signal, sends a remote cutoff signal to the cutoff control unit, and sends a remote cutoff signal to the cutoff control unit and the communication interface unit and communication unit. It is also possible to send a signal back to the center via a line indicating that a remote shutdown is in progress. Therefore, the center side can check the actual operating state of the shutoff valve when it is forcibly shut off from the center, and in the unlikely event that the shutoff has not been executed, it is possible to take measures such as sending a shutoff command again. Not only will it be.

It is also possible to confirm that a shutoff command is given from the center and that the shutoff is in progress, so even if the shutoff valve is shut off and cannot be restored, it can be immediately determined whether it is due to an abnormality in the gas flow rate or a shutoff from the center. Even if the system is shut off for a long period of time, such as in an empty house, no trouble will occur when the system is restarted.

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 indicates a flow rate sensor input section for inputting the flow rate number from the gas meter, and 2 indicates a gas flow rate calculation unit per unit time for inputting the signal from the flow rate sensor input section 1 to calculate the gas flow rate per unit time. , 3 monitors the state of the gas flow rate per unit time calculated by the gas flow rate calculation means 2 and detects abnormalities in the gas flow rate such as an abnormal increase in the flow rate or a long period of time at the same flow rate (forgetting to turn off the appliance). 4 is a cutoff control unit that sends a cutoff signal to a cutoff valve that shuts off the gas flow path when the gas flow rate abnormality judgment portion 3 judges that the gas flow rate is abnormal; 5 is a cutoff control unit that opens the cutoff valve; A shutoff valve return signal input section inputs a signal when the operation returns and returns the signal to the shutoff control section 4, and 6 is a shutoff section that inputs the state of shutoff from the shutoff control section 4 and generates a signal to indicate the presence or absence of shutoff. 7 is a transmission interface unit that converts the shutdown status from the shutdown signal generation unit 6 into a message format and sends it to the communication line; 8 is a message format sent from the center side via the communication line. A reception interface section 9 receives and decodes the remote cutoff signal of the receiving interface section 8, inputs and stores the decoded remote cutoff signal, sends the remote cutoff signal to the cutoff control section 4, and sends the remote cutoff signal to the cutoff control section 4.
This is a remote cut-off storage unit that outputs a remote cut-off signal to the terminal.

In the above configuration, the flow rate signal from the gas meter is transmitted via the flow rate sensor input section 1 to the total gas flow calculation means 2 per unit time.
is input, and the gas flow rate per unit time is calculated. Then, the gas flow rate abnormality determination unit 3 monitors the value of the calculated gas flow rate per unit time and its time course, and detects abnormally large flow rates, abnormal increases in flow rates, or long-time elapsed at the same flow rate. If so, it is determined that there is an abnormality and a shutoff signal is sent to the shutoff valve via the shutoff control unit 4 to shut off the gas flow path. In addition, in the event of an emergency such as a major earthquake or fire, or if gas is not being used in a vacant house, etc., the center can send a telegram-based shut-off signal via a communication line. is decoded by the reception interface section 8 and stored in the remote cutoff storage section 9, and simultaneously sent to the cutoff valve via the cutoff control section 4 to cut off the gas flow path. At this time, the signal indicating that remote shutdown is in progress, which is stored in the remote shutdown storage section 9, can also be sent back to the center via the transmission interface section 7 and the communication line. Furthermore, when the shutoff valve is reset by opening the shutoff valve on the gas meter side, the return signal is input to the shutoff control section 4 via the shutoff valve return signal input section 5, but if the shutoff is due to an abnormality in the gas flow rate, the return is not performed as is. (However, if the abnormality continues, the shut-off signal is sent from the shut-off control unit 4 to the shut-off valve again.) If the center shuts off via the communication line, the remote shut-off memory unit 9 stores this signal. The cutoff control unit 4
A signal to that effect is constantly sent to the controller, and if the return layer number is input at this time, the cutoff control unit 4 sends the cutoff signal again to operate the cutoff valve (return is invalidated). Therefore, the state of the shutoff valve is always grasped by the shutoff control section 4, and this information is sent to the shutoff presence/absence signal generation section 6 to generate a shutoff presence/absence signal.

The data can be sent to the center via the transmission interface section 7 and the communication line. Note that the signal indicating that remote shutoff is in progress, which is stored in the remote shutoff storage unit 9, will be cleared if a shutoff release command is sent from the center, and the shutoff valve can be restored on the meter side. At the same time, the signal indicating that remote cut-off to the center is in progress is also canceled.

In this way, according to this embodiment, the center side can monitor the shutoff status of the shutoff valve at any time.
When a shut-off command is given from the center, it can be confirmed whether the shut-off valve has actually operated, and in the unlikely event that some kind of failure occurs in the communication line or other route, the shut-off is not actually shut off. If the shutoff valve is activated, it is possible to take measures such as sending a shutoff command again, and at least avoid the situation where the shutoff valve is left as it is without knowing that it has not been shut off. Since the center can also determine whether the problem is due to an abnormality or a shutdown from the center, it is possible to quickly respond when an abnormality occurs, and also when reusing the system after a long-term shutdown in a vacant house, etc. Since the status of the shutoff valve can be immediately known, troubles can be avoided.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described using FIG. 2. The difference in FIG. 2 from the embodiment described above is that a gas flow rate integrated value calculation/storage means 10 is provided which inputs the signal from the flow rate sensor input section 1 and calculates and stores the integrated value of the gas flow rate. The integrated gas flow rate value stored in the value calculation/storage means 10 is input to the transmission interface section 7. According to this structure, the integrated gas flow rate value is also transmitted to the communication line via the transmission interface section 7. Since the flow rate sensor input section 1 and the transmission interface section 7 can be used in common for both the gas cutoff monitoring function and the remote meter reading function, it is possible to achieve a more economical system configuration.

In FIG. 2, the same blocks as in FIG. 1 are given the same numbers.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the gas meter monitoring device with a shutoff function of the present invention provides the following effects.

(1) Since the open/closed status of the shutoff valve can be sent to the communication line via the transmission interface, the operating status of the shutoff valve can be confirmed when a shutoff command is given from the center side, making it possible to perform more reliable shutoff control. Not only will you be able to
A signal indicating whether or not the system is being shut off remotely can also be sent to the communication line, allowing quick response in the event of an abnormal gas flow rate, and also avoiding trouble when restarting use after a long shutdown in an empty house, etc. It will be done.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a gas meter monitoring device with a shutoff function in a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a gas meter monitoring device with a shutoff function in another embodiment of the present invention. 1...Flow rate sensor input unit, 2...Gas flow rate calculation means per unit time, 3...Gas flow rate abnormality determination unit, 4...Block control unit, 5...Shutoff valve return signal input section, 6...Shutoff presence/absence signal generation section, 7...Transmission interface section, 8...
...Receiving interface section, 9...Remote cutoff storage section.

Claims (1)

[Claims] a flow rate sensor input section that inputs a flow rate signal from a gas meter; a gas flow rate calculation unit per unit time that calculates a gas flow rate per unit time by inputting the signal from the flow rate sensor input section; and a gas flow rate calculation unit per unit time. a gas flow rate abnormality determining unit that monitors the state of the gas flow rate per unit time calculated by the means and determines whether the gas flow rate is abnormal; and a gas flow path is shut off when the gas flow rate abnormality determining unit determines that the gas flow rate is abnormal. a shutoff control section that sends a shutoff signal to the shutoff valve; a shutoff valve return signal input section that inputs a signal when the shutoff valve is opened and returned and returns the signal to the shutoff control section; and the shutoff control section a cutoff/presence signal generation unit that inputs a cutoff/presence status from a block and generates a cutoff/presence signal; a transmission interface unit that sends a cutoff/presence signal from the cutoff/presence signal generation unit to a communication line; A gas meter monitoring device with a cutoff function, comprising a reception interface section that receives a cutoff signal, and a remote cutoff storage section that inputs and stores a remote cutoff signal from the reception interface section and sends it to the cutoff control section and the transmission interface section. .