JP7084300B2 - Gas meter - Google Patents

Description

It relates to a gas meter or a gas meter having a function of searching for a device connected to an external communication terminal when installing or replacing a gas meter or a radio connected to the gas meter.

Conventionally, this type of gas meter has an external communication terminal, and a wireless slave unit equipped with a relay function is connected to the external communication terminal to communicate with the management center, etc., and a network using the wireless slave unit is constructed. A wireless telemeter system has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the wireless telemeter system described in Patent Document 1. As shown in FIG. 8, a wireless slave unit 102 is connected to each gas meter 101 to perform wireless communication with the wireless master unit 103, via the wide area wireless network 104, and via the center side network control device 105. It is connected to the host computer 106 of the management center.

FIG. 9 shows a general conventional gas meter 101. As shown in FIG. 9, a gas meter 101, a shutoff valve 112, a return means 113 by a return switch or the like, a display means 114 by a liquid crystal or the like, a flow rate measuring means 115 for measuring a gas flow rate, and a forced shutoff by a reed switch or the like. A terminal block for connecting a means 116, a control means 117 for controlling each means, a connected device search instruction means 118 for issuing a search instruction at predetermined time intervals, an external communication means 119 by, for example, U-bus communication, and an external device. It is composed of 120, an external device A121 such as a radio, and an external device B122 such as an alarm.

For example, when a wireless device is connected to the terminal block 120 (for example, a U-bus communication terminal) as an external device A121, the wireless device is connected and a predetermined setting (not shown) is made so that the device can be used. On the other hand, in the gas meter 101, the external device connected to the terminal block 120 by the connected device search instruction means 118 every time a predetermined time elapses (for example, once a day) regardless of the connection time of the external device A121. Perform a search such as A121.

Then, the gas meter 101 searches for an external device, and if there is a wireless master unit 103 among the connected external devices, the gas meter 101 is configured to acquire the ID of the wireless master unit 103, so that the gas meter 101 is a wireless master unit. Data can be transmitted and received by wireless communication between the 103 and the management center 106 via the wide area wireless network 104. The search function for an external device, which is performed every time a predetermined time elapses, compensates for forgetting to set when reconstructing a network or installing an external device by installing or replacing the gas meter 101 or the external device.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-92443

However, in the conventional configuration, when the gas meter's connection device search (for example, U-bus device search) is performed once a day, for example, the execution timing is controlled inside the gas meter and cannot be known from the outside. Due to the configuration, there is a problem that it takes a maximum of one day to acquire the ID of the wide area terminal device from the radio when installing or replacing the gas meter. It is conceivable to shorten the interval for searching for connected devices (for example, once an hour), but it is difficult to shorten the interval because the gas meter uses a battery as a power source.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a gas meter for searching for a device connected to an external communication terminal when a predetermined condition is satisfied.

In order to solve the problems of the prior art, the gas meter of the present invention includes a shutoff unit that shuts off gas, a flow rate measuring unit that measures the flow rate of gas, a return means for opening the shutoff valve, and the above. A gas meter having a forced shutoff means for forcibly shutting off a shutoff valve, an external communication means for communicating with an external device, and a control unit for controlling each of the above parts. It is provided with a connected device search instruction means for searching the external device connected to the communication means.

This makes it possible to specify when to search for a device connected to an external communication means using a gas meter, and it takes a long time to search for an external device like a conventional gas meter (for example, once a day). No need to wait for up to 1 day).

Further, the gas meter of the present invention is provided with a search result display means for displaying that the search for the device connected to the external communication means has been performed.

As a result, it becomes possible to confirm by displaying that the search for the external device connected to the external communication means has been performed by the gas meter.

In the gas meter of the present invention, since the search for the connected device of the external communication terminal (for example, the U-bus device search) performed by the gas meter is specified to be performed when a predetermined implementation condition is satisfied, the gas meter is operated from the radio. Since the time to acquire the ID of the wide area terminal device can be specified, it becomes possible to efficiently carry out the work of installing or replacing the gas meter or the radio.

In addition, by displaying that the search for the connected device of the external communication terminal (for example, U-bus device search) performed by the gas meter has been performed, it can be easily confirmed that the search has been performed, so that the gas meter or wireless can be used. It will be possible to carry out the work of installing and replacing the machine more efficiently.

Block diagram of the gas meter according to the first embodiment of the present invention Connection diagram of gas meter and radio in Embodiment 1 of this invention Schematic flowchart of the gas meter according to the first embodiment of the present invention Schematic flowchart of the gas meter according to the first embodiment of the present invention Schematic flowchart of the gas meter according to the first embodiment of the present invention Block diagram of the gas meter according to the second embodiment of the present invention Schematic flowchart of the gas meter according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Schematic configuration diagram of a conventional wide area information communication system Connection diagram of the radio of the conventional gas meter

The first invention is a shutoff unit that shuts off gas, a flow rate measuring unit that measures the flow rate of gas, a return means for opening the shutoff valve, and a forced shutoff means that forcibly shuts off the shutoff valve. A gas meter having an external communication means for communicating with an external device and a control unit for controlling each unit, and searching for the external device connected to the external communication means when a predetermined condition is satisfied. By providing a means for instructing the search for connected devices to specify the conditions for searching for external devices, the time to perform the search will be clarified, and work such as installation and replacement of gas meters and radios will be carried out efficiently. It will be possible to do.

In the second invention, in the first invention, the predetermined condition is that the opening of the isolation valve is completed, and the search for an external device can be performed at the time when the opening of the isolation valve is completed.

In the third aspect of the invention, in the first invention, the predetermined condition is that a predetermined time elapses after the opening of the isolation valve is completed, so that the search for an external device is performed after the opening of the isolation valve is completed. It can be the time when time has passed.

In the fourth invention, in the first invention, the predetermined condition is to carry out a predetermined operation.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is the invention of any one of the first to the fourth, wherein the predetermined condition is satisfied and the search result display means for displaying the search result of the external device connected to the external communication means is provided. , Search results such as whether or not to search for external devices can be easily confirmed, and it becomes possible to more efficiently carry out work such as installation and replacement of gas meters and radios.

A sixth aspect of the invention is the fifth aspect of the present invention, wherein the search result display means displays the number of the external devices that can be searched by the connected device search instruction means.

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

In FIG. 1, the gas meter 1 forcibly shuts off the shutoff valve 2, the return means 3 for opening the shutoff valve 2, the display means 4, the flow rate measuring means 5 for measuring the gas flow rate, and the shutoff valve 2. Forcibly shut off means 6, for example, an external communication means 9 by U-bus communication, a control means 7 for controlling each means, and whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied is determined, and if the predetermined condition is satisfied, external communication is performed. It is composed of a connected device search instruction means 8 for instructing a search for a device connected to the means 9. The gas meter 1 is connected to an external device A11 (for example, a radio device) or an external device B12 (for example, an alarm) via a terminal block 10.

FIG. 2 is a connection diagram between the gas meter 1 and the radio device 13 which is an external device A11. The gas meter 1 is connected to the radio 13 via the terminal block 10 and the dedicated line 14.

FIG. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a connected device search operation for searching a connected device carried out by the gas meter 1 in the first embodiment. Hereinafter, a case where the connected device search operation is performed when it is determined that the opening of the isolation valve 2 of the gas meter 1 is completed as the connected device search operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3.

In FIGS. 1 and 3, the control means 7 determines the start of opening by operating the return means 3 configured by, for example, a return switch while the shutoff valve 2 is in the shutoff state (step S1). Next, a return operation is performed by the control means 7, a predetermined leak is confirmed, and it is confirmed that there is no gas leak (not shown). Then, the control means 7 determines that the return operation is completed and the opening of the isolation valve 2 is completed (step S2). Then, the connected device search instruction means 8 determines that the shutoff valve 2 has been opened, and outputs a connected device search instruction (not shown) to the control means 7.

The control means 7 receives the connected device search instruction and executes the connected device search operation via the external communication means 9 (step S3). After that, the connected device search instruction means 8 restarts the predetermined time 1 for executing the connected device search operation at predetermined time intervals (step S4). After that, the elapse of the predetermined time 1 is awaited (step S5). Then, when the predetermined time 1 has elapsed, the connected device search operation is performed again (step S3).

Here, the gas meter 1 acquires a wide area terminal ID from the radio 13 by the connected device search operation, and stores the wide area terminal ID in the ID storage unit (not shown) of the gas meter 1. As a result of this operation, the gas meter 1 can transmit and receive, for example, the meter reading value and the abnormality information, which are the amount of gas used, to and from the monitoring center via the external communication means 9 and the radio device 13.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the execution time of the connected device search operation can be limited by determining that the opening of the isolation valve 2 of the gas meter 1 is completed and performing the connected device search operation. , It becomes possible to efficiently carry out work such as installation and replacement of gas meters and external devices.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart of a connected device search operation for searching a connected device carried out by the gas meter 1 in the second embodiment. Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4, as a connection device search operation, a connection device search operation is performed when it is determined that a predetermined time has elapsed after the opening of the isolation valve 2 of the gas meter 1 is completed. explain.

In FIGS. 1 and 4, the control means 7 determines the start of opening by operating the return means 3 composed of, for example, a return switch while the shutoff valve 2 is in the shutoff state (step S1). Next, the connected device search instruction means 8 starts counting for a predetermined time 2 (step S6). Then, the return operation is performed by the control means 7, a predetermined leak is confirmed, and it is confirmed that there is no gas leak (not shown). Then, the control means 7 determines that the return operation is completed and the opening of the isolation valve 2 is completed (step S2). Then, the time lapse of the predetermined time 2 that started counting in step S6 is awaited (step S7).

Next, the connected device search instruction means 8 determines the elapse of the predetermined time 2, and outputs the connected device search instruction (not shown) to the control means 7. The control means 7 receives the connected device search instruction and executes the connected device search operation via the external communication means 9 (step S3). The following is the same as that of the first embodiment described with reference to FIG.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the connected device search operation is performed by determining that a predetermined time has elapsed since the opening of the isolation valve 2 of the gas meter 1 is completed and performing the connected device search operation. The implementation time can be limited, and the work of installing or replacing the gas meter or the external device can be performed more efficiently.

(Embodiment 3)
FIG. 5 is a schematic flowchart of a connected device search operation for searching a connected device carried out by the gas meter 1 in the third embodiment. Hereinafter, a case where the connected device search operation is performed when it is determined that the predetermined operation has been performed in the gas meter 1 will be described as the connected device search operation with reference to FIGS. 1 and 5.

In FIGS. 1 and 5, only the differences from the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. 3 will be described. For example, when the connected device search instruction means 8 determines that a predetermined operation has been performed by combining the return means 3 (for example, a return switch) and the forced shutoff means 6 (for example, a reed switch) (step S8), the connected device A search instruction (not shown) is output to the control means 7. The control means 7 receives the connected device search instruction and executes the connected device search operation via the external communication means 9 (step S3). The rest is the same as that of the first embodiment.

As described above, in the present embodiment, after the opening of the isolation valve 2 of the gas meter 1 is completed, it is determined that the predetermined operation has been performed and the connected device search operation is performed to perform the connected device search operation. It will be possible to carry out the work at any time, and it will be possible to carry out the work of installing and replacing the gas meter and the external device more efficiently.

(Embodiment 4)
FIG. 6 shows a block diagram of a gas meter according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.
The difference from FIG. 1 used in the description of the first embodiment is that the gas meter 1 has a search result display means 15 for displaying the operation result of the connection device search operation by the connection device search instruction means 8.

Next, the display of the operation result of the connected device search operation will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.

For example, the display means 4 is switched to a special display state by pressing and holding the return means 3 (for example, a return switch) (not shown). Further, when a predetermined operation such as combining the return means 3 or the forced cutoff means (for example, a reed switch) is performed, it is determined that the display is started (step S9). Then, the operation result of the connected device search operation (whether or not the operation is performed, the number of connected devices, etc.) is displayed on the search result display means 15 (step S10). Then, it is determined that the display ends when a predetermined operation and a predetermined time have elapsed (step S11). Then, when the end of the display is determined, the display is returned to the normal display (step S12).

The display of the search result display means 15 does not have to be limited to the time when a predetermined operation is performed, and only the determination result such as whether or not the connected device search is performed and the presence or absence of the connected device may always be displayed on the display means 4. ..

As described above, in the present embodiment, it is possible to easily confirm the information on the connected devices such as whether or not the gas meter 1 is performing the search for the connected devices and the number of connected devices, and it is possible to install or replace the gas meter or the radio. It becomes possible to carry out work and the like more efficiently.

As described above, the gas meter according to the present invention can be specified so that the search for the connected device of the terminal block is performed when the predetermined implementation conditions are satisfied. Therefore, the work of installing or replacing the gas meter or the external device is performed. Since it can be carried out efficiently, it can also be applied to applications such as electric meters and water meters.

1 Gas meter 2 Isolation valve 3 Return means 4 Display means 5 Flow rate measuring means 6 Forced shutoff means 7 Control means 8 Connected device search instruction means 9 External communication means 10 Terminal block 11 External device A
12 External device B
15 Search result display means

Claims (4)

A shutoff valve that shuts off the gas, a flow rate measuring unit that measures the flow rate of the gas, a return means for opening the shutoff valve, a forced shutoff means for forcibly shutting off the shutoff valve, and an external device. A gas meter having an external communication means for communicating and at least a control means for controlling the external communication means.
A gas meter comprising a connected device search instruction means for instructing a search for the external device connected to the external communication means when a predetermined condition is satisfied, and the predetermined condition is that the opening of the isolation valve is completed . A shutoff valve that shuts off the gas, a flow rate measuring unit that measures the flow rate of the gas, a return means for opening the shutoff valve, a forced shutoff means for forcibly shutting off the shutoff valve, and an external device. A gas meter having an external communication means for communicating and at least a control means for controlling the external communication means.
A connected device search instruction means for instructing a search for the external device connected to the external communication means when the predetermined condition is satisfied is provided, and the predetermined condition is set to elapse a predetermined time after the opening of the isolation valve is completed. Is a gas meter. The gas meter according to claim 1 or 2 , further comprising a search result display means for displaying the search results of the external device connected to the external communication means when the predetermined conditions are satisfied. The gas meter according to claim 3 , wherein the search result display means displays the number of the external devices that can be searched by the connected device search instruction means.

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