JP4345282B2 - Gas shut-off device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a gas shut-off device that prevents a gas accident in advance.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, this type of gas cutoff device will be described with reference to FIG. 1 is a flow rate sensor that outputs a flow rate signal corresponding to the flow rate of the passing gas, 2 is a flow rate measuring unit that measures a passing flow rate from the flow rate signal of the flow rate sensor 1 and outputs a gas flow rate value, and 3 is a cutoff that opens and closes the gas passage A valve 4 is a valve drive unit that opens and closes the shut-off valve 3, and a pressure sensor 5 outputs a pressure signal corresponding to the pressure in the gas passage. 6 is a seismic sensor that outputs a seismic signal corresponding to shaking in the event of an earthquake, 700 and 701 are various sensor input units that output sensor values from the respective sensor signals, and 110 is a pressure sensor 5. The sensor input section 700 is a sensor power supply on / off section composed of a resistor and a transistor that turn on and off the power only when measuring the pressure because of a large current of several mA. Reference numeral 8 is an informing unit composed of an LED and an LCD, 9 is a communication unit that communicates with the center and the like, 14 is a battery as a power source for the gas cutoff device, and 10 is a control unit composed of a microcomputer.
[0003]
When the gas flow rate value from the flow rate measuring unit 2 is an abnormal value such as a gas leak or when the sensor value is abnormal from the various sensor input units 700 and 701 (the pressure is abnormally low or there is an earthquake) In this case, the valve drive unit 4 is driven to operate the shut-off valve 3 to close the gas passage to ensure the safety of the gas, and the content is notified by the notification unit 8, and the communication unit 9 is remotely notified to the center or the like. .
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in such a gas shut-off device, since the current leakage abnormality due to condensation or semiconductor deterioration is not known, not only the operation reliability of the gas shut-off device is lowered, but also the capacity of the battery which is the power source of the entire device In some cases, the service life was less than 10 years. Due to the downsizing and high functionality of the gas shut-off device, the control unit is made of a semiconductor and is downsized. Therefore, there is a high possibility that current leakage due to semiconductor leakage current or condensation will occur. If such leakage current occurs, for example, if there is a leakage between microcomputer ports, the input / output level of the microcomputer May change and cause malfunctions (when you do not want the gas passage to be shut off or when you want the gas passage to be shut off). And while this current leakage abnormality could not be discovered, the power source was a battery, and there was a case where the usage period was not 10 years.
[0005]
Therefore, the gas shut-off device of the present invention detects changes in the circuit current of the entire device, quickly finds malfunctions due to leaks between pins of the microcomputer, and responds quickly to abnormalities in the leak current of the gas shut-off device. can do.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In this gas shut-off device, current detection means for measuring the current value of the entire device provided between the battery as a device power supply and the circuit is provided, and the current value of the entire current detection device and the normal current value are periodically determined. The control unit determines that the current of the current detection means has become normal and the current is abnormal, and further displays the LED and LCD from the control unit or drives the valve drive unit to operate the valve The gas passage is blocked, and the communication unit notifies the center of the abnormality. As a result, it is possible to take quick measures such as replacement of the gas shut-off device.
[0007]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
According to the first aspect of the present invention, a resistor having a value that hardly causes a voltage drop with a current flowing between a battery as a device power supply and a circuit in a normal state is inserted according to the load of each circuit. The current value of the entire device fetched from the current detection means and the current detection means that periodically A / D-converts the voltage after the voltage drop of the resistance that occurs when the leak current flows is taken into the control unit is normal. The control unit is provided with a function for notifying by the notifying unit when the current value exceeds the value in the case, or driving the valve driving unit to operate the shut-off valve to shut off the gas passage and to notify the center or the like via the communication unit Thus, when there is an abnormality in the leakage current, it is detected by the current detection means, and the control unit determines that the current is equal to or higher than the normal current, and the control unit has a function of informing or shutting off the gas passage and informing the center. .
[0008]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a current value storage means for storing the current value of the entire apparatus fetched from the current detection means in an initial state in which the battery power supply is started, and the apparatus periodically fetched from the current detection means When the total current value is equal to or greater than the initial current value stored in the current value storage means, the notifying section drives the kettle valve driving section to operate the shut-off valve, shuts off the gas passage, and the center The control unit is provided with a function for informing through the communication unit, and when there is a leakage current abnormality, the current detection means detects the difference from the initial state, and the leakage current is more accurately detected. Detection is possible.
[0009]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, a non-volatile current value storage means for storing a current value of the entire apparatus periodically measured by the current detection means and each current value stored in the non-volatile current value storage means in time series. External reading means for reading out to the outside, even when the battery voltage drops due to leakage current etc., the external reading means reads out the current value stored in the non-volatile current value storage means by adding another power supply from the outside It is possible to analyze how the leak has occurred and take measures against the cause of the leak of the gas shut-off device in the future.
[0011]
【Example】
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0012]
Example 1
FIG. 1 shows a functional block diagram of the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, 1 is a flow rate sensor that outputs a flow rate signal corresponding to the flow rate of the passing gas, 2 is a flow rate measuring unit that measures a passing flow rate from the flow rate signal of the flow rate sensor 1 and outputs a gas flow rate value, 3 is a gas passage A shut-off valve that opens and closes, 4 is a valve drive unit that drives the shut-off valve 3 to open and close, 5 is a pressure sensor that outputs a pressure signal corresponding to the pressure in the gas passage, and 6 is a feeling corresponding to shaking in the event of an earthquake. Seismic sensors that output seismic signals, 700 and 701 are various sensor input units that output sensor values from the signals of the respective sensors, and 110 is the sensor input unit of the pressure sensor 5 because of a large current of several mA. This is a sensor power supply ON / OFF section composed of a resistor and a transistor that turn ON / OFF the power only when measuring pressure.
[0013]
When a normal current flows according to each load, a resistor having a value that hardly causes a voltage drop, a switch that short-circuits the resistor from a control unit described later according to various loads, and both ends of the resistor Current detection means comprising an A / D converter that takes in a voltage drop into a control unit, which will be described later, 8 is a notification unit composed of an LED and an LCD, 9 is a communication unit that communicates with the center, etc. A battery 15 is a control unit constituted by a microcomputer.
[0014]
The control unit 15 is a conventional function (Sunawa blood flow when the gas flow rate entering the INF terminal is an abnormal value of gas leakage and the like, various sensor input unit from IN1 terminal from the measurement unit 2, enters the IN2 terminal When the sensor value is abnormal, that is, when the pressure is abnormally low or when there is an earthquake, the valve drive unit 4 is driven to operate the shut-off valve 3 to close the gas passage to ensure gas safety. In addition to the function of notifying by the notification unit 8 and remote notification to the sensor or the like by the communication unit 9), the resistance of the current detection means is in a normal state (several μA), various sensors are operating (several mA), and the shut-off valve 3 is being driven ( (Several hundreds of mA) are output and switched from S1 to S3 (the current flows through 1 kΩ, 10 Ω, and 1 Ω depending on each load), and the current value at that time is obtained from the A / D converter. Read and fixed in ROM in advance When the A / D conversion value is equal to or greater than the value fixed in the ROM, the notifying unit 8 is driven to notify or the valve driving unit 4 is driven to operate the shut-off valve 3 and the gas passage And has a function of notifying the center or the like via the communication unit 9.
[0015]
Now, in a normal state, that is, when a current flows through a 1 kΩ resistor of the current detection unit 120, when a leak occurs between the terminals where the IN2 terminal input from the sensor input unit 701 outputs LOW (in FIG. 1) There is a possibility that the input value of the pressure sensor is fixed and an accurate current cannot be read at the broken line resistance). There is a possibility that the function as a gas shut-off device may not be fulfilled. At this time, a current flows from the power source VB to the terminal outputting the IN2 terminal and LOW via the sensor input unit 701 (indicated by the broken arrow in FIG. 1). Direction), the value read from the current detection unit 120 is greater than the value fixed in the ROM, so there is a possibility that the gas shutoff device may not function due to an abnormality such as a leak. When notifying the notifying unit 8 or driving the valve driving unit 4 to operate the shut-off valve 3 to shut off the gas passage to notify the center or the like via the communication unit 9 and when the gas shut-off device needs to be replaced It can be exchanged for quick response.
[0016]
The above-described control can be easily realized by using a calculation or determination function based on a program operation of the microcomputer. FIG. 2 shows a program flow when the control unit 15 detects an abnormal current.
[0017]
A program flow for detecting an abnormal current will be described below. In process 201, it is determined whether or not a certain period has elapsed. In process 202, the current flows through the resistance corresponding to each load by the output of the S1 to S3 terminals, and in process 203, the voltage data from the A / D converter of the current detection means 102 is captured and converted into a current value. The value converted into the current value in the process 204 is compared with the value previously stored in the ROM. If the value is greater than the value stored in the ROM, the process proceeds to the process 205. In the process 205, the information is notified by the notification unit 8, or the valve drive unit 4 is driven to operate the shut-off valve 3 to shut off the gas passage and notify the center or the like via the communication unit 9.
[0018]
(Example 2)
FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of the present invention. In FIG. 3, the same numbers as those in FIG. Reference numeral 16 denotes a control unit and current value storage means (a RAM of a macro computer) constituted by a microcomputer computer. The control unit 16 includes conventional features (Sunawa blood flow when the gas flow rate entering the INF terminal is an abnormal value of gas leakage and the like, various sensor input unit from IN1 terminal from the measurement unit 2, enters the IN2 terminal When the sensor value is abnormal, that is, when the pressure is abnormally low or when there is an earthquake, the valve drive unit 4 is driven to operate the shut-off valve 3 to close the gas passage to ensure gas safety. In addition to the function of notifying by the notification unit 8 and remote notification to the sensor or the like by the communication unit 9), the resistance of the current detection means is in a normal state (several μA), various sensors are operating (several mA), and the shut-off valve 3 is being driven ( (Several hundreds of mA) are output and switched from S1 to S3 (the current flows through 1 kΩ, 10 Ω, and 1 Ω depending on each load), and the current value at that time is obtained from the A / D converter. This A / D conversion when reading and turning on the power The value is stored in the RAM of the microcomputer 16 as an initial current value, and thereafter, the read A / D conversion value is compared with the initial current value, and when the A / D conversion value is equal to or greater than the initial current value. It has a function of driving the notifying unit 8 to notify or driving the valve driving unit 4 to operate the shutoff valve 3 to block the gas passage and to notify the center or the like via the communication unit 9. Now, in the normal state, that is, when a current flows through a 1 kΩ resistor of the current detection means 120, if a leak occurs between the terminals where the IN2 terminal input from the sensor input unit 701 outputs LOW, the pressure sensor There is a possibility that the input value of becomes fixed and an accurate current cannot be read. The microcomputer 16 may not function as a gas shut-off device. At this time, since the current flows from the power source VB to the IN2 terminal and the terminal outputting LOW from the sensor input unit 701, the microcomputer 16 detects the current. Since the value read from the unit 120 is equal to or greater than the initial current value, the notification unit 8 is informed that there is a possibility that the gas shutoff device may not function due to an abnormality such as leakage, or the valve driving unit 4 is driven. Then, the shut-off valve 3 is operated to shut off the gas passage and notify the center or the like via the communication unit 9, and when the gas shut-off device needs to be replaced, it can be replaced to take a quick response. It becomes possible to detect a change in the current of the gas cutoff device with higher accuracy.
[0019]
The above-described control can be easily realized by using a calculation or determination function based on a program operation of the microcomputer. FIG. 4 shows a program flow when an abnormal current is detected.
[0020]
A program flow for detecting an abnormal current will be described below. In process 401, it is determined whether the power is on. If the power is on, the process proceeds to process 402. If the power is not turned on, the process proceeds to processing 404. In process 402, current flows through resistors corresponding to the respective loads by the outputs of the terminals S1 to S3, and in process 403, voltage data from the A / D converter of the current detection means 102 is taken in and converted into current values. The current value is stored in an internal RAM which is current value storage means of the microcomputer 16, and the process proceeds to processing 404. In process 404, it is determined whether or not a certain period has elapsed. If a certain period has elapsed, the process proceeds to process 405. In process 405, the current flows through the resistance corresponding to each load by the output of the terminals S1 to S3, and in process 406, the voltage data from the A / D converter of the current detection means 102 is taken in and converted into a current value. The value converted into the current value in process 407 is compared with the initial current value. If the current value is equal to or greater than the initial current value, the process proceeds to process 408. In the process 408, the information is notified by the notification unit 8, or the valve driving unit 4 is driven to operate the shut-off valve 3 to shut off the gas passage and notify the center or the like via the communication unit 9.
[0021]
(Example 3)
FIG. 5 shows a functional block diagram of the present embodiment. In FIG. 5, the same number as FIG. 1 shows the same thing. Reference numeral 17 denotes a control unit composed of a microcomputer computer. Reference numeral 18 denotes a non-volatile memory (for example, EEPROM) as non-volatile current value storage means for storing a current value read from the current detection means 120. Reference numeral 19 denotes external reading means provided with a terminal for operating the nonvolatile memory. The controller 17 conventional functions (Sunawa blood flow when the gas flow rate entering the INF terminal is an abnormal value of gas leakage and the like, various sensor input unit from IN1 terminal from the measurement unit 2, enters the IN2 terminal When the sensor value is abnormal, that is, when the pressure is abnormally low or when there is an earthquake, the valve drive unit 4 is driven to operate the shut-off valve 3 to close the gas passage to ensure gas safety. In addition to the function of notifying by the notification unit 8 and remote notification to the sensor or the like by the communication unit 9), the resistance of the current detection means is in a normal state (several μA), various sensors are operating (several mA), and the shut-off valve 3 is being driven ( (Several hundreds of mA) are output and switched from S1 to S3 (the current flows through 1 kΩ, 10 Ω, and 1 Ω depending on each load), and the current value at that time is obtained from the A / D converter. Read and fixed in ROM in advance When the A / D conversion value is equal to or greater than the value fixed in the ROM, the notifying unit 8 is driven to notify or the valve driving unit 4 is driven to operate the shut-off valve 3 and the gas passage And has a function of notifying the center or the like via the communication unit 9. Further, the control unit 17 has a function of sequentially writing the current value read from the current detection means 102 in the nonvolatile memory 18 in time series. Now, in the normal state, that is, when a current flows through a 1 kΩ resistor of the current detection means 120, if a leak occurs between the terminals where the IN2 terminal input from the sensor input unit 701 outputs LOW, the pressure sensor There is a possibility that the input value of becomes fixed and an accurate current cannot be read. There is a possibility that the function as the gas shut-off device may not be fulfilled. At this time, since the current flows from the power source VB to the IN2 terminal and the terminal outputting LOW from the sensor input unit 701, the microcomputer 17 detects the current. Since the value read from the unit 120 is equal to or greater than the value fixed in the ROM, the notification unit 8 is informed that there is a possibility that there is an abnormality such as a leak and the function of the gas shut-off device may not be performed, or valve driving The unit 4 is driven to operate the shut-off valve 3 to shut off the gas passage and notify the center or the like via the communication unit 9. When the gas shut-off device needs to be replaced, it can be replaced to take a quick response. it can. Thereafter, when the gas shut-off device is returned and analyzed, even when the battery voltage is lowered due to the leak current and the operation is stopped, the current value sequentially stored in time series stored in the nonvolatile memory 18 from the external reading means 19 is obtained. By reading, it becomes possible to analyze what kind of leak current the battery is consumed, and it is possible to take an appropriate measure against the leak current of the gas cutoff device in the future.
[0022]
For the above-mentioned control in which can be easily realized by using the operation and determination function by the program operation of the micro computer. FIG. 6 shows a program flow when an abnormal current is detected.
[0023]
A program flow for detecting an abnormal current will be described below. In process 601, it is determined whether or not a certain period has elapsed. If the certain period has elapsed, the process proceeds to process 602. In process 602, the current flows through the resistance corresponding to each load by the output of the terminals S1 to S3, and in process 603, the voltage data from the A / D converter of the current detection means 102 is captured and converted into a current value. In step 604, the current value is stored in the nonvolatile memory 18 in time series. The value converted into the current value in the process 605 is compared with the value previously stored in the ROM. If the value is greater than the value stored in the ROM, the process proceeds to the process 606. In the process 606, the notification unit 8 notifies or the valve drive unit 4 is driven to operate the shut-off valve 3 to shut off the gas passage and notify the center or the like via the communication unit 9.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
By detecting changes in the circuit current of the entire gas shut-off device, it is possible to quickly detect malfunctions caused by circuit leaks and battery consumption, and to respond quickly to abnormalities in the gas shut-off device. Improve reliability.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a gas shut-off device in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a program flowchart of a gas shut-off device in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Functional block diagram [Fig. 4] Program flow chart of gas shut-off device in embodiment 2 of the present invention [Fig. 5] Functional block diagram of gas shut-off device in embodiment 3 of the present invention [Fig. 6] Gas in embodiment 3 of the present invention Program flow chart of shut-off device [FIG. 7] Functional block diagram of conventional gas shut-off device [Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Flow sensor 2 Flow measurement part 3 Shut-off valve 4 Valve drive part 701,702 Various sensor input parts 120 Current detection means 8 Notification part 9 Communication part 15 Control part 14 Battery

Claims (3)

A flow rate sensor that outputs a flow rate signal corresponding to the flow rate of the passing gas, a flow rate measuring unit that measures a passing flow rate from the flow rate sensor signal and outputs a gas flow rate value, a shut-off valve that opens and closes a gas passage, Provided between a valve drive unit that opens and closes, an external communication unit that communicates with the outside, a notification unit that performs display on the outside, a battery as a circuit power source of the device, and the battery and the circuit of the device Current detection means for measuring the current value of the entire device, various sensor input units for inputting signals from various sensors and outputting the respective sensor values, and when the gas flow rate value from the flow rate measurement unit is abnormal or the various types When the sensor value from the sensor input unit is abnormal, the valve drive unit is driven to operate the shut-off valve to close the gas passage, and when the current value of the entire device from the current detection means is a predetermined value or more The notification unit Consists of a broadcast or the valve driver control section for notifying to the outside by the communication unit is driven to close the gas passage by operating the shut-off valve, said current detecting means, the various sensors, such as shielding sectional valve Each load is provided with a resistance having a resistance value that hardly causes a voltage drop in the current flowing according to the load, and a current corresponding to the operating state of the load is connected between the battery and the circuit of the device. A gas shut-off device characterized by measuring. A current value storage means for storing the current value of the entire apparatus from the current detection means, and a comparison of the current value of the entire apparatus from the current detection means with the current value of the entire apparatus stored in the current value storage means; in the case of more than a predetermined value, the notification or 請 Motomeko first described which is a control unit for notifying to the outside by the valve by driving the drive unit closes the gas passage by operating the shut-off valve the communication unit to the notification unit Gas shut-off device. Non-volatile current value storage means for periodically storing the current value of the entire device from the current detection means periodically in time series, and external reading for reading the current value of the entire device stored in the non-volatile current value storage means gas cutoff apparatus 請 Motomeko 1, further comprising a means.

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