JP7539282B2 - Smoke detector test equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a smoke detector testing device for performing sensitivity tests on smoke detectors.

Conventionally, smoke detector sensitivity tests are performed by circulating smoke in a test chamber and placing the smoke detector to be tested in the circulating air duct. One example of a test device used for such sensitivity tests is the smoke detector test device disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1.

The smoke detector testing device in Non-Patent Document 1 has a test chamber made up of a roughly rectangular parallelepiped container, with a partition plate installed horizontally in the center to form upper and lower divided spaces, and a circulation air duct that uses a blower fan to circulate smoke in one direction from the lower space to the upper space and from the upper space to the lower space. Smoke generated by a smoke heater placed in the lower space is circulated in the circulation air duct to create a uniform smoke concentration inside the test chamber, allowing sensitivity testing of the smoke detector placed in the upper space to be performed.

In the smoke detector testing device in Non-Patent Document 1, the size of the smoke detector is approximately 30 mm in height and 100 mm in width, while the upper space in which the smoke detector is installed is approximately 400 mm in height and 500 mm in width.

Japan Fire Equipment Inspection Association Inspection Procedures Appendix 10

In the smoke detector testing device of Non-Patent Document 1, the upper space in which the smoke detector is installed is large enough to accommodate the entire smoke detector. For this reason, during sensitivity testing, after smoke is started to be generated from the smoke heater, it takes time to uniformly distribute the smoke concentration throughout the entire test chamber, including the upper space, to the specified level, resulting in a problem of longer test times. In addition, smoke needs to be uniformly distributed not only in the upper space where the smoke detector is installed, but also in the lower space, so a correspondingly larger amount of smoke must be generated.

The present invention has been made in consideration of these points, and aims to provide a smoke detector testing device that can shorten the test time and reduce the amount of smoke produced.

The smoke detector testing device of the present invention is a smoke detector testing device that supplies smoke to a smoke detector to test the smoke detector, and includes smoke generating means that generates smoke, and a testing section that tests the smoke detector using the smoke generated by the smoke generating means, and the testing section includes a retainer having an internal test space through which the smoke passes, and a portion of the smoke detector that includes a smoke detector, which is the part that detects smoke, is placed in the test space of the retainer to test the smoke detector.

According to the present invention, the test space in which the smoke detector of the smoke detector is installed and the sensitivity test is performed is set to a size that can accommodate a part of the smoke detector including the smoke detector, and is the minimum necessary space, which shortens the test time and reduces the amount of smoke generated.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a smoke detector testing device according to an embodiment; 2 is a schematic plan view of a test section including a holder of the smoke detector test apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 2.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a smoke detector testing device according to an embodiment.
The smoke detector testing apparatus according to this embodiment is a smoke generating device for supplying smoke to a smoke detector under test to test the sensitivity of the smoke detector, and includes smoke generating means 1 for generating smoke, and a circulation circuit 2 for circulating the smoke generated by the smoke generating means 1. In the circulation circuit 2, a testing section 3 for testing the smoke detector 10 under test, a primary buffer tank 4, a blower fan 5, and a secondary buffer tank 6 are arranged.

The smoke generating means 1 is a means for generating smoke, for example, an aerosol. The smoke generating means 1 generates smoke by smoldering liquid paraffin or filter paper, for example, with a heater at 400°C. The method of generating smoke in the smoke generating means 1 is not limited to this method, and other methods may be used.

The circulation circuit 2 has an outward path 2a that guides the smoke generated by the smoke generating means 1 to the test section 3, and a return path 2b that returns the smoke flowing out from the test section 3 to the outward path 2a. The outward path 2a is configured by connecting the primary buffer tank 4, the blower fan 5, the secondary buffer tank 6, and the test section 3 with piping 20. The return path 2b is configured with piping 21. The circulation circuit 2 also has a clean air inlet 22 that introduces clean air into the circulation circuit 2, and a smoke exhaust port 23 that exhausts smoke from the circulation circuit 2. The clean air inlet 22 is an opening for taking in clean air from the outside. The smoke exhaust port 23 is an opening for exhausting smoke from the circulation circuit 2. The clean air inlet 22 and the smoke exhaust port 23 are configured to be opened and closed by electrical control when it is desired to lower the smoke concentration in the smoke detector test device or to replace the air.

The test section 3 is a section where sensitivity tests of the smoke detector 10 are performed. The test section 3 has multiple retainers 30 that hold the smoke detector 10. The multiple retainers 30 are connected in parallel by piping 20. Details of the retainers 30 will be explained later. Note that while FIG. 1 shows an example in which the test section 3 has multiple retainers 30, the number of retainers 30 is arbitrary and may be as few as one.

The blower fan 5 is a fan that circulates the smoke generated by the smoke generating means 1 in the direction of the arrow in Figure 1.

The primary buffer tank 4 and secondary buffer tank 6 are tanks that temporarily store the inflowing fluid. The primary buffer tank 4 is located upstream of the blower fan 5, and temporarily stores the smoke from the smoke generating means 1, the clean air from the clean air inlet 22, and the smoke that flows out of the test section 3 and returns to the outward path 2a. The secondary buffer tank 6 is located downstream of the blower fan 5 and between it and the test section 3, and temporarily stores the smoke from the blower fan 5.

In the primary buffer tank 4, the smoke from the smoke generating means 1, the clean air from the clean air inlet 22, and the smoke that has flowed out from the test section 3 and returned to the outward path 2a are mixed. The mixed smoke is stirred by the blower fan 5 to a uniform concentration and sent to the secondary buffer tank 6. The secondary buffer tank 6 temporarily stores the smoke from the blower fan 5, suppressing fluctuations in the smoke flow rate and stabilizing the supply amount to the test section 3. In this way, by providing the primary buffer tank 4 and the secondary buffer tank 6 upstream of the test section 3 in the circulation circuit 2, smoke with a uniform concentration is stably sent to the test section 3. The primary buffer tank 4 and the secondary buffer tank 6 constitute a homogenizing device that homogenizes the smoke concentration.

The secondary buffer tank 6 is provided with a smoke density measuring means 7. The smoke density measuring means 7 is a means for measuring smoke density. The smoke density measuring means 7 measures the amount of smoke particles present in the air. The smoke density measuring means 7 performs measurement, for example, by a method of optically measuring density. The method of optically measuring density is a method in which a certain amount of light emitted from a light emitting unit is received by a light receiving unit, and the smoke density is detected according to the amount of light received. The measurement method in the smoke density measuring means 7 is not limited to this method, and other methods such as a measurement method using the ionization current change rate of a radioactive material may also be used. In addition, one of the smoke detectors 10 attached to the multiple holders 30 may be used as a reference detector, and the smoke density output from the reference detector may be replaced with the measurement value of the smoke density measuring means 7. The measurement result of the smoke density measuring means 7 is output to the control device 8 described later.

The smoke detector test device further includes a control device 8 that controls the entire smoke detector test device. Based on the measurement results of the smoke concentration measuring means 7, the control device 8 controls the rotation speed of the blower fan 5, the opening and closing of the clean air inlet 22, the opening and closing of the smoke exhaust outlet 23, etc.

Next, the operation of the smoke detector testing device configured as above will be described.
When the smoke generating means 1 and the blower fan 5 are driven by a drive command from the control device 8, the smoke generated by the smoke generating means 1 circulates within the circulation circuit 2. The control device 8 controls the opening and closing of the clean air inlet 22 and the smoke exhaust outlet 23 so that the concentration measured by the smoke concentration measuring means 7 is kept constant at a preset set concentration.

The smoke circulating in the circulation circuit 2 flows through the primary buffer tank 4 and secondary buffer tank 6 to be homogenized in concentration before flowing into the test section 3. Then, in the test section 3, where the smoke concentration is kept constant at the set concentration, a sensitivity test of the smoke detector 10 is performed.

Conventional smoke detector testing equipment performs sensitivity testing by homogenizing the entire space in the testing chamber, including the entire smoke detector, with smoke of a set concentration. However, for sensitivity testing, it is sufficient to configure the smoke of a set concentration to flow into the smoke detection section, which is the part of the smoke detector that detects smoke. Therefore, in this embodiment, a test space is formed in the holder 30 that holds the smoke detector 10, the size of which is limited to a portion of the entire smoke detector 10, specifically the portion that includes the smoke detection section, and the smoke concentration in the test space is homogenized to perform sensitivity testing.

The details of the retainer 30 are described below.

Fig. 2 is a schematic plan view of a test section including a holder of a smoke detector test device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line AA of Fig. 2.
The holder 30 has a rectangular parallelepiped housing 31. Housing 31 is formed with an inlet 31a through which smoke generated by smoke generating means 1 flows in, and an outlet 31b through which smoke flows out. An upstream pipe 20a is connected to inlet 31a, and a downstream pipe 20b is connected to outlet 31b. The upstream pipe 20a and the downstream pipe 20b form part of pipe 20.

Inside the housing 31, a test space 32 is formed for performing sensitivity tests on the smoke detector 10. The dotted area in Figures 2 and 3 is the test space 32. The test space 32 is connected to the inlet 31a and the outlet 31b, so that smoke flows in from the inlet 31a and flows out from the outlet 31b.

The test space 32 has a cross-sectional height H and width W in a direction perpendicular to the direction of smoke passage that are large enough to accommodate the height and width of the smoke detector 11 of the smoke detector 10. In other words, the test space 32 accommodates a portion including the smoke detector 11 so that the area of the test space 32 in a direction perpendicular to the direction of smoke flow in the test space 32 is limited and smoke mainly flows only through a portion including the smoke detector 11. The length L of the test space 32 in the direction of smoke passage is not particularly limited, but it is preferable that it is not too long from the viewpoint of reducing the amount of smoke required to make the smoke concentration in the test space 32 the installation concentration. Specifically, for example, the length L of the test space 32 may be large enough to accommodate the length of the smoke detector 10 in the same direction. When forming the test space 32 of the above dimensions in the housing 31, any configuration can be adopted, such as fixing multiple plate materials in the housing 31.

In this embodiment 1, the height H, width W, and length L of the test space 32 are the same as the height, width, and length of the smoke detection section 11 of the smoke detector 10. This "same" is not limited to being strictly "the same," but means being substantially the same.

A circular insertion hole 33 for inserting the smoke detector 10 is formed on the surface of the housing 31 that faces the direction of smoke passage (the top surface in FIG. 3). The diameter of the insertion hole 33 is larger than the outer diameter of the smoke detector 10. The insertion hole 33 is connected to the test space 32, and by inserting the smoke detector 10 into the insertion hole 33, the smoke detection section 11 of the smoke detector 10 is positioned within the test space 32.

During the sensitivity test, smoke of uniform concentration flows through the primary buffer tank 4 and the secondary buffer tank 6 into the test space 32, and the smoke concentration in the test space 32 is kept constant at the set concentration, and the sensitivity test of the smoke detector 10 is performed.

As described above, in this embodiment, the test space 32 is a space large enough to insert a portion including the smoke detector 11, so the size of the test space 32 is smaller than when the space is large enough to accommodate the entire smoke detector 10. Specifically, the height H and width W of the test space 32 are set to a height and width that can accommodate only the portion including the smoke detector 11. This allows the space in which the smoke concentration is made uniform to the set concentration to be narrowed down to a space of a size that is actually necessary to perform a sensitivity test. Therefore, the time required to make the test space 32 a set concentration can be shortened compared to the conventional method, and the test time can be shortened. In addition, the amount of smoke generated by the smoke generating means 1 required to make the smoke concentration in the test space 32 a set concentration can be reduced.

In addition, in this embodiment, the test section 3 is equipped with multiple holders 30, which are connected by piping 20 so that sensitivity tests can be performed simultaneously on multiple smoke detectors 10. When attempting to simultaneously test multiple smoke detectors using conventional smoke detector testing equipment, the multiple smoke detectors would have to be distributed and positioned within the upper space. In this case, there is a possibility that variation will occur in the amount of smoke flowing into each smoke detector 10.

In contrast, in this embodiment, each retainer 30 is connected by a pipe 20, and smoke flows directly from the pipe 20 into each retainer 30, reducing the variation in the amount of smoke flowing into each smoke detector 10. Also, in this embodiment, each retainer 30 is connected in parallel, further reducing the variation in the amount of smoke compared to when they are arranged in series.

In addition, in conventional smoke detector testing equipment, increasing the wind speed of the blower fan tends to deteriorate the smoke inflow characteristics into the smoke detector. In contrast, in this embodiment, smoke is directed into the retainer 30 through the piping 20, so smoke can be directed into the retainer 30 stably regardless of the wind speed, from low to high, without being affected by the wind speed.

In addition, in the smoke detector testing device of this embodiment, smoke flows into the testing section 3 via the primary buffer tank 4 and the secondary buffer tank 6, so smoke with a uniform concentration can be stably supplied to the testing section 3.

The retainer 30 only needs to accommodate a portion including the smoke detector 11 in the test space 32, which has a minimum dimension, and does not necessarily need to mechanically hold and fix the portion including the smoke detector 11.

1 smoke generating means, 2 circulation circuit, 2a outward path, 2b return path, 3 test section, 4 primary buffer tank, 5 blower fan, 6 secondary buffer tank, 7 smoke concentration measuring means, 8 control device, 10 smoke detector, 11 smoke detector, 20 piping, 20a upstream piping, 20b downstream piping, 21 piping, 22 clean air inlet, 23 smoke exhaust port, 30 retainer, 31 housing, 31a inlet, 31b outlet, 32 test space, 33 insertion hole.

Claims (4)

A smoke detector testing device for testing a smoke detector by supplying smoke to the smoke detector, comprising:
A smoke generating means for generating smoke;
a testing unit that tests the smoke detector using the smoke generated by the smoke generating means,
The smoke detector testing device is characterized in that the test section includes a retainer having a test space inside through which the smoke passes, and a portion of the smoke detector including a smoke detection section, which is the part of the smoke detector that detects smoke, is installed in the test space of the retainer to test the smoke detector. The smoke detector testing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the test section has a holder that contains a portion including the smoke detector so that the area of the test space in a direction perpendicular to the direction of smoke flow in the test space is limited and smoke mainly flows only through the portion including the smoke detector. A plurality of the retainers are provided,
3. A smoke detector testing device as described in claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that a plurality of the retainers are connected in parallel by piping, and the smoke generated by the smoke generating means is supplied in parallel to a plurality of the test spaces via the piping. a circulation circuit including an outward path for guiding the smoke generated by the smoke generating means to the test section, and a return path for returning the smoke flowing out from the test section to the outward path;
a clean air inlet provided in the circulation circuit and configured to inject clean air into the circulation circuit;
A blower fan disposed upstream of the test section on the forward path for circulating the smoke through the circulation circuit;
A homogenizing device for homogenizing the concentration of the smoke flowing into the test section,
The homogenizing device includes:
a primary buffer tank disposed upstream of the blower fan for storing the smoke generated by the smoke generating means, the clean air introduced through the clean air inlet, and the smoke flowing out of the test section and returning to the outward path;
4. The smoke detector testing device according to claim 3, further comprising a secondary buffer tank arranged between the test section and downstream of the blower fan, for storing smoke from the blower fan.

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