JP5070838B2 - Flow rate measuring device and fluid supply system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a flow rate measuring device provided with a device discriminating means for discriminating a device connected to a flow path based on flow rate information, and a fluid supply system using an ultrasonic flow meter as the flow rate measuring device.

  Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 9, this type of flow rate measuring device includes a gas flow rate measuring unit 1 that measures the flow rate of gas flowing in a gas flow path, and a flow rate increase detecting unit 2 that detects an increase in flow rate from the measurement result. The flow rate increase / decrease detection means 3 for detecting the instantaneous increase / decrease change of the gas flow accompanying the increase of the flow rate, the instrument determination means 4 for determining the start of use of a new gas combustion instrument when the instantaneous increase / decrease change is detected, and the flow rate increase detection means The flow rate registration means 5 for registering the increase in the gas flow rate detected in step 1 as the increase in the gas flow rate associated with the start of use of the new gas combustion appliance (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

With the above configuration, pay attention to the fact that the gas flow rate increases and decreases instantly when it starts to use a new gas combustion device, and it becomes a stable gas flow rate. By determining, the start of use of a new gas combustion appliance can be determined by a simple method.
JP 2002-174542 A

  However, in the conventional configuration, there is a problem that it is difficult to make a determination when it is difficult to determine only by information at the time of increase / decrease change, such as when an instrument operates at the same time.

In order to solve the conventional problem, a flow rate measuring device of the present invention includes a flow rate measuring unit that measures a flow rate of a fluid flowing through a flow path, a storage unit that stores a flow rate value measured by the flow rate measuring unit, Calculating means for calculating the flow rate of the instrument connected downstream of the flow path using the flow rate value stored in the storage means from the time of 1 to the second time, the calculating means comprising: The first flow rate from the first time to the third time is calculated as the flow rate when the flow rate value at the first time continues to the third time, and the second flow rate from the third time to the second time is calculated. The second flow rate up to the time is calculated by linear interpolation approximation from the flow rate value in the first time and the flow rate value in the second time, and the first flow rate and the second flow rate are added. Calculating the flow rate of the instrument, and the third time is the first time It is characterized in that it is time and the time between the second time.

  As a result, even if it is difficult to determine only by the information at the time of increase / decrease, such as when the instrument operates at the same time, it is not possible to determine at that time by storing the information from that time in the flow rate information storage means In addition, the accuracy of discrimination is improved by discriminating the state of the appliance based on the combination of the next increased / decreased information and the stored information, and the discrimination processing is performed in accordance with the storage amount in consideration of the limit of the storage capacity. Thus, it is possible to determine the appliance state without being affected by the number of appliances and the amount of flow rate information.

  When it is difficult to discriminate the flow rate measuring device of the present invention, the discrimination accuracy is improved by discriminating the state of the appliance by the combination of the information stored in the flow rate information storage means and the next increase / decrease information, By performing the discriminating process according to the memory capacity in consideration of the limit of the memory capacity, it is possible to perform the instrument state discrimination without being affected by the number of instruments or the amount of flow rate information even with a small memory capacity. .

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a flow rate measuring unit for measuring a flow rate of a fluid flowing in a flow path, a storage unit for storing a flow rate value measured by the flow rate measuring unit, and the storage from a first time to a second time. Calculating means for calculating the flow rate of the instrument connected downstream of the flow path using the flow rate value stored in the means, wherein the calculating means includes a first time from the first time to a third time. 1 is calculated as the flow rate when the flow rate value in the first time lasts until the third time, and the second flow rate from the third time to the second time is calculated as the second flow rate. The flow rate value at the time 1 and the flow rate value at the second time are calculated by linear interpolation approximation, the first flow rate and the second flow rate are added to calculate the flow rate of the instrument, The time 3 is the time between the first time and the second time. When it is difficult to discriminate, the accuracy of discrimination is improved by discriminating the state of the appliance by the combination of the information stored in the flow rate information storage means and the next increased / decreased information. By performing the discriminating process according to the amount of memory in consideration of the capacity limit, it is possible to discriminate the appliance state without being affected by the number of devices or the amount of flow rate information even with a small amount of memory. is there.

A second invention is, in particular, is the third time of the first invention, by from said first time is a predetermined time elapsed time, the storage amount of the flow rate information storing means exceeds the capacity Can be prevented, and the operation of the appliance state determination means can be performed stably.

A third invention is, in particular, the third time of the flow rate measuring apparatus according to the first invention, the flow rate value said storage means stores the time der Rukoto was Tsu name in a predetermined amount, than the storage capacity And the operation of the appliance state determination means can be performed stably.

A fourth invention is, in particular, the third time of the flow rate measuring apparatus according to the first invention, at the time der Rukoto free capacity of the storage amount is Tsu Na to a predetermined amount of the storage means, the storage capacity It can be prevented from exceeding, and the operation of the appliance state determination means can be performed stably.

In the fifth invention, in particular, the first time of the first to fourth inventions is a time when an instrument different from the instrument connected downstream of the flow path starts to operate, and the second Is the time when the instrument has stopped operating.

  In particular, the sixth aspect of the present invention accurately measures flow rate information in which the flow rate has changed by using a fluid supply system using an ultrasonic flowmeter as the flow rate measuring device according to the first to fifth aspects of the invention. Gas supply that can be used for gas meters as a system that can accurately determine the appliance state by capturing changes in the flow rate with a high degree of accuracy and can manage the flow rate of each appliance. As a system, it can appeal for service improvement over other energy supply services.

  In the seventh aspect of the invention, in particular, the fluid supply system of the sixth aspect of the invention can manage the flow rate for each instrument by using a billing system that charges the usage amount of each fluid for each instrument and a security system that performs safety management for each instrument. Therefore, by using the gas meter, it is possible to perform appliance-specific fee services and appliance-specific security services.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the present embodiment.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a gas meter as a flow rate measuring apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, the flow rate measuring device stores an ultrasonic flow meter 7 that measures an instantaneous flow rate as a flow rate measuring unit that measures a flow rate of gas flowing in the flow path 6, and a flow rate value and time information of the ultrasonic flow meter 7. A storage memory 8 as a flow rate information storage means, and a gas appliance 10, a gas appliance 11, and a gas as appliances connected to the downstream side of the ultrasonic flowmeter 7 based on the flow rate information based on a predetermined determination criterion Of the appliances 12, an appliance state discriminating means 13 for discriminating which appliance is used and how is used. Here, 9 is an operation unit, 14 is a flow-off valve, 15 is a flow rate calculation unit for each instrument, 16 is a memory capacity management unit as a storage amount management unit, 17 is a display unit for displaying a measured flow rate, and 18 is a display unit. A gas meter 19 is a gas pipe connected to the flow path.

  The operation and action of the flow rate measuring apparatus configured as described above will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 2 shows a flow pattern when two gas appliances are used. First, the operation of the gas appliance 10 starts at time Ta1, and the gas appliance 11 starts at time Tb1. Then, the gas appliance 10 changes the operation state at time Ta2 to change the flow rate from Q1 to Q2. The gas appliance 11 stops at time Tb2, and the gas appliance 10 stops at time Ta3. And by measuring the instantaneous flow rate using the ultrasonic flowmeter 7, it is possible to accurately capture and analyze such a flow rate change.

  In the case of such a flow rate pattern, the appliance state determination means 13 can specify that the appliance a is the gas appliance 10 by comparing the flow rate change at the time Ta1 with a flow rate pattern registered in advance. Since the flow rates overlap at time Tb1, it is possible to determine that the appliance b is the gas appliance 11 by obtaining the differential flow rate. There are various discrimination rules, but as a typical example, the discrimination can be made by a combination of two parameters of the differential flow rate at the time of change and the change time. If discrimination is still difficult, other parameters may be used. In addition to determining the appliance, it is also possible to determine the operating status of the gas appliance, for example, whether the hot water heater is operating as a hot water bath or a hot water shower. It is noted.

  And when calculating | requiring each flow volume, the flow prediction of the two gas appliances between the time Tb1 to Tb2 which the gas appliance 10 and the gas appliance 11 operate | move simultaneously becomes a problem. As one method, in this time zone, it can be estimated until the gas appliance 11 stops, assuming that the gas appliance 10 is maintained at the flow rate Q1 immediately before the flow rates of the gas appliance 10 and the gas appliance 11 overlap. . However, in actuality, since the flow rate of the gas appliance 10 is changed at the time Ta2, an error occurs in the integrated flow rate for each appliance.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the flow rate between the times Tb1 and Tb2 is linearly calculated by using the flow rate Q1 immediately before the gas appliances 10 and 11 overlap, and the flow rate Q2 immediately after the gas appliance 11 stops. If the flow rate is obtained by interpolation approximation, the error can be reduced. That is, the instantaneous flow rate of the gas appliance 10 is
Qa (t) = Q1 + (Q1-Q2) / (Tb2-Tb1) * (t-Tb1) (Expression 1) can be obtained as a time function.

Similarly, in order to obtain the flow rate Qb of the gas appliance 11, the instantaneous flow rate QT (t) measured by the ultrasonic flowmeter 7 between the times Tb1 and Tb2 is stored, and from QT (t) It can be obtained by subtracting the instantaneous Qa (t) obtained by (Equation 1).
Qb (t) = QT (t) −Qa (t) (Formula 2)
However, in order to store the instantaneous flow rate QT (t), a rewritable memory is necessary, and how much the time interval from time Tb1 to Tb2 becomes depends on the usage conditions of the gas user. Therefore, it is necessary to be able to cope with any amount of overlap time with a limited storage memory 8 capacity. Here, the example of FIG. 3 shows a case where the overlap time is less than the allowable value of the memory capacity, and the lower diagram of FIG. 3 is a state transition diagram showing how the memory usage increases.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, assuming that the capacity of the storage memory 8 is close to the limit when the predetermined time has elapsed for two gas appliances, the flow rate of each gas appliance is temporarily set. I decided to calculate. That is, when the time Ta2 'that is the predetermined time is reached, the gas appliance 10 estimates that the flow has changed at the flow rate of Q1 and calculates up to the time Ta2', as in the example of FIG. Similarly, the flow rate Qb of the gas appliance 11 is obtained up to the time Ta2 '. Then, the storage memory 8 is cleared and necessary flow rate information is stored again. When Tb2 is reached, the flow rate Qa (t) of the gas appliance 10 is determined by linear interpolation approximation from time Ta2 'to Tb2, as in the example of FIG. Then, by obtaining Qb (t) from the stored flow rate, the estimated flow rate for each instrument is obtained by linear interpolation approximation within the storage memory 8 and the accuracy is increased.

  Further, in FIG. 5, the memory capacity management means 16 manages the memory capacity, and when the predetermined capacity is reached, the flow rate up to that time is once calculated and the storage memory 8 is cleared as in the example of FIG. Then, the necessary flow rate information is stored again, and when Tb2 is reached, the flow rate Qa (t) of the gas appliance 10 is linearly interpolated from the time Ta2 ′ to Tb2, as in the example of FIG. It was determined by approximation. Then, by obtaining Qb (t) from the stored flow rate, this method can also increase the accuracy of the estimated flow rate for each instrument within the range of the storage memory 8.

  Furthermore, in FIG. 6, when the memory capacity management means 16 manages the memory capacity and the free capacity of the memory reaches a predetermined capacity, the flow rate up to that time is once calculated as in the example of FIG. The memory 8 is cleared and the necessary flow rate information is stored again. When Tb2 is reached, the flow rate Qa (t) of the gas appliance 10 is changed from the time Ta2 ′ to Tb2, as in the example of FIG. Between the two is determined by linear interpolation approximation. Then, by obtaining Qb (t) from the stored flow rate, this method can also increase the accuracy of the estimated flow rate for each instrument within the range of the storage memory 8.

  Note that the estimated flow rate has been described by linear interpolation approximation, but when a periodic flow rate pattern is repeated as shown in FIG. 7, the flow rate pattern of the gas appliance 12 is applied to the overlapping time zone. Can also be estimated. Even in this case, it is possible to obtain the flow rate of other devices by interpolating a periodic flow rate pattern by storing the flow rate of the time zone in which the two gas appliances are operating in an overlapping manner. .

  In addition, although the description has been given for the case of two gas appliances, if the number of gas appliances increases, the overlap time and the flow rate value to be stored increase, so that a storage memory is further required. As described above, the memory capacity management means 16 can calculate the flow rate of each predetermined number of devices without managing the memory by managing the free space while considering the number of operating devices. .

Although the above description has been given of the case where an ultrasonic flowmeter is used, it is obvious that the same effect can be obtained with other instantaneous flow rate measuring means. And, it was explained as a memory memory that stores instantaneous flow rate, but not only the instantaneous flow rate, but when trying to analyze more complicated segmental flow rate such as flow rate by many appliances and time segments, the memory memory is insufficient. But
It is clear that it can be applied to such a case. It is difficult to handle a large amount of data using only the memory built into the microcomputer, and the method of performing the above processing has been explained. Even when an external memory is attached to handle a large amount of data. In the same way, more data can be processed.

  In addition, although the explanation of the processing after determining the appliance state has been omitted, the gas meter has an appliance-specific charge based on the measurement of the integrated flow rate for each registered appliance and a safety management function for each registered appliance. It is possible to set.

  FIG. 8 shows a configuration diagram of a gas supply system using such a gas meter. Here, 20 is a gas supply device, 21 is a gas business office, 22 is a gas business, and 23 is a wireless communication device that transmits data.

  Thus, by supplying gas using the gas meter 18 provided with the appliance state discriminating means, it is possible to set a gas charge for each appliance, and to help reduce the energy cost at home. It can also counter price competition with other energies and continue to develop the gas business. Furthermore, since the usage state for each appliance can be managed, the safety standards for the appliance can be set in more detail, and a safer usage environment for the gas appliance can be prepared. For example, a gas fan heater is used continuously, but if maximum combustion continues continuously, a mechanism for alarming in 3 hours like an oil fan heater is conceivable.

  Furthermore, although it demonstrated with the gas meter, in an industrial flow meter and a water meter, it can use for the state discrimination | determination of the instrument used connected to the downstream of a flow measuring device similarly.

  Although various embodiments of the present invention have been described, the present invention is not limited to the matters shown in the above-described embodiments, and those skilled in the art may modify or apply the description based on the description of the specification and well-known techniques. The present invention is intended to be included in the scope for which protection is sought.

  As described above, the flow rate measuring device according to the present invention performs the determination process of the appliance state determination unit according to the storage amount of the flow rate information storage unit, so that when the appliance is changed at the same time, etc. Even if it is difficult to identify only with the information, it is possible to improve the discrimination accuracy, so it is possible to calculate the fee after discriminating the equipment used and the state of use of the equipment, and responding to various requests of users It is possible to promote the use of gas and water, and to set safety standards according to the equipment to ensure safety.

The block diagram of the flow measuring device in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Flow pattern diagram measured with the same flow measuring device The figure which shows the state transition of the flow pattern and memory capacity which are measured with the same flow measuring device The figure which shows the state transition of the flow pattern and memory capacity which are measured with the same flow measuring device The figure which shows the state transition of the flow pattern and memory capacity which are measured with the same flow measuring device The figure which shows the state transition of the flow pattern and memory capacity which are measured with the same flow measuring device Flow pattern diagram measured with the same flow measuring device The block diagram which shows the gas supply system using the flow measuring device of this invention Block diagram of a conventional flow measurement device

Explanation of symbols

7 Ultrasonic flow meter (flow rate measuring means)
8 storage memory (measurement information storage means)
10, 11, 12 Gas appliance 13 Appliance state discriminating means 16 Storage memory management means 18 Gas meter 19 Gas pipeline

Claims (7)

A flow rate measuring means for measuring the flow rate of the fluid flowing in the flow path;
Storage means for storing a flow value measured by the flow measurement means;
Using a flow rate value stored in the storage means from a first time to a second time, and calculating means for calculating the flow rate of the instrument connected downstream of the flow path,
The calculating means includes
Calculating the first flow rate from the first time to the third time as a flow rate when the flow value at the first time continues to the third time;
A second flow rate from the third time to the second time is calculated by linear interpolation approximation from the flow value at the first time and the flow value at the second time;
Adding the first flow rate and the second flow rate to calculate the flow rate of the instrument;
The flow rate measuring apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the third time is a time between the first time and the second time. The flow rate measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the third time is a time after a predetermined time has elapsed from the first time. 2. The flow rate measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the third time is a time when the flow rate value stored in the storage unit reaches a predetermined amount. The flow rate measuring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the third time is a time when a free capacity of a storage amount of the storage unit becomes a predetermined amount. The first time is a time when the instrument starts operating, and the second time is a time when an instrument different from the instrument connected downstream of the flow path stops operating. The flow measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. A fluid supply system using an ultrasonic flowmeter as the flow rate measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. 7. The fluid supply system according to claim 6, wherein the fluid supply system is a billing system for charging the usage amount of the fluid for each device and a security system for performing safety management for each device.