JP2020045932A - Gas shut-off device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a gas shut-off device capable of shortening work time of a gas pipe inspection in a disaster.SOLUTION: A pressure determination part 3 determines whether or not the pressure is normal by comparing the drop with a predetermined value, and a timer 4 measures normal elapsed time at a normal time and measures dropped elapsed time at a drop time. An elapsed time determination part 5 determines the elapsed time of the timer 4, and determines whether the dropped or the normal elapsed time becomes the predetermined time. When the predetermined time has elapsed at the elapsed time determination part 5, a counter 6 regards it as the normal or the dropped is established and counts the number of times. When each count becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined value within a fixed time, a valve opening/closing control part 8 cannot open the valve.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a gas shutoff device capable of remote shutoff.

  When inspecting and repairing gas pipes, the gas company closes the valve of the gas shut-off device connected downstream of the gas pipe that needs to be inspected and repaired. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a pipe state of gas pipes from a gas supply source to each user's home. Gas carried by the gas pipe A from the gas supply source passes through gas pipes A1, A2, and A3 branched from the gas pipe A. It is supplied via gas shutoff devices m1 to m6 installed in each user's house. Then, at the time of inspection and repair of the gas pipe A, the valves of the gas shutoff devices m1 to m6 installed in all connected user houses are closed to shut off the gas supply. Further, at the time of inspection and repair of the gas pipe A3, the valves of the gas shutoff devices m5 and m6 installed at the target user's house are closed to shut off the gas supply.

  When closing the valve, communication is performed by a communication type gas shutoff device having a communication function by a telephone communication network or the like. If the valve is not provided with a communication function, an operator goes to the site to manually close the valve. I do. In addition, if it is possible to give a notice in advance, a time period during which gas cannot be used is given to perform inspection and repair.

  However, in the event of a disaster or the like, when the communication network cannot be used, all gas shut-off devices require on-site valve closing work by an operator. In addition, it was necessary to perform a valve closing operation in which the user could not open the valve so that the user could not open the valve when checking the gas pipe. In a widespread disaster, this required several days of time to deal with each house.

  In addition, as a remote control method that does not use communication through a telephone communication network or the like, transmission means using gas pressure of a gas pipe has been studied in the field of oil mining. This type of communication based on pressure fluctuation of gas is considered to transmit “0” and “1” by condensing and diffusing pressure instead of an electric signal (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  Further, the gas shut-off device has a pressure sensor, and has a function of shutting off the valve because it is not safe to use gas when the pressure drops.

JP-A-7-288505

  However, in the conventional gas shut-off device, when trying to use pressure fluctuations as communication means, the response is poor due to the capacity and length of the piping, and the fluctuations may affect gas equipment, which has been realized. Absent.

  In addition, in order to make the pressure sensor inexpensive, the gas shut-off device may also employ a pressure sensor that determines whether the pressure is normal and the pressure drops based on a fixed threshold value. It was not suitable.

Therefore, when a communication network such as a telephone line is interrupted, it takes time for a worker to go to the site and close the valve when the inspection is performed on a large scale, and it takes time to recover after the inspection.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide means for transmitting a pressure determination of a gas shutoff device as a valve closing command based on an elapsed time and the number of times and closing the valve.

  In order to solve the conventional problem, a gas shut-off device of the present invention includes a pressure sensor that detects a pressure of a gas, a pressure determination unit that determines whether a pressure detected by the pressure sensor is normal or a decrease, A timer for measuring a normal pressure elapsed time determined to be normal by the determination means and a pressure decrease elapsed time determined to be reduced; and an elapsed time determination for determining whether the normal pressure elapsed time and the pressure drop elapsed time are a predetermined time. A counter that counts the number of times A that the normal pressure elapsed time is determined to be the predetermined time and the number of times B that the pressure drop elapsed time is determined to be the predetermined time, a valve that shuts off gas, and controls opening and closing of the valve A valve opening / closing control unit, and a valve opening means operable by a user to open the valve, wherein the valve opening / closing control unit determines that the number A and the number B counted by the counter become equal to or more than a predetermined value. , With close the Kiben, the operation of the valve opening means is obtained so as to open without the valve.

  This makes it possible to close the valve to the end of the gas pipe to be inspected and repaired even when the telephone line communication network cannot be used in the event of a disaster or the like. This makes it possible to shorten the restoration time of the gas supply.

  Even if gas is being used, upstream gas supply is likely to be stopped during a disaster (such as an earthquake), but once supply is stopped, if gas is being used at the terminal gas shutoff, The valve closes due to the drop. On the other hand, when gas is not used, the gas shut-off device may not close the valve.

  In the event of a disaster (earthquake, etc.), it is dangerous if the upstream gas pipe is damaged, so it is necessary to close the terminal valve immediately, and restart the gas supply after inspection after confirming the leak. However, there is a possibility that a communication network such as a telephone line cannot be used, and workers must be dispatched to the site to close the valve.

  At the time of disaster (such as an earthquake), the gas is not used or cannot be used. Therefore, it is considered that it is not relatively unsafe even if the gas pressure fluctuates greatly. The safety of the end user can be ensured by transmitting the command to close the valve to all the gas shutoff devices at the end by changing the gas pressure of the gas piping to the atmosphere or by releasing the gas pressure to the atmosphere.

  The gas shut-off device of the present invention can enable the valve to be closed remotely without using a telephone line communication network.

System diagram of a gas cutoff device according to Embodiments 1 and 2 of the present invention Variation pattern diagram of supply pressure in Embodiments 1 and 2 of the present invention Flow diagram of the gas cutoff device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention Flow diagram of a gas cutoff device according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention Gas pipe system diagram

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pressure sensor for detecting a pressure of a gas, a pressure judging means for judging whether the pressure detected by the pressure sensor is normal or a decrease, and a normal pressure elapsed time determined by the pressure judging means to be normal. And a timer for measuring the elapsed time of the pressure drop determined to be reduced, an elapsed time determination unit for determining whether the normal pressure elapsed time and the elapsed time of the pressure drop are a predetermined time, and A counter for counting the number of times A determined and the number of times B for which the pressure drop elapsed time is determined to be the predetermined time, a valve for shutting off gas, a valve opening / closing control unit for controlling the opening and closing of the valve, and for opening the valve A valve opening means operable by a user, wherein the valve opening / closing control section closes the valve when the number A and the number B counted by the counter become a predetermined value or more, and the valve opening means In operation By using a gas shut-off device that does not open the valve, the gas company closes the valve of the gas shut-off device by changing the pressure of the supply gas in a predetermined pattern even when communication is not possible such as during a disaster. Therefore, the operation time for closing the valve can be shortened, and the time for restoring the gas pipe can be shortened.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, a release means operable by a business operator to release a valve closed state by the valve opening / closing control section is provided, and the valve opening / closing control section is counted by the counter. When the number of times A and the number of times B exceed a predetermined value and the valve is closed, the release means can open the valve.

  In a third invention, in particular, in the first or second invention, the elapsed time determination unit determines whether the normal pressure elapsed time and the pressure decrease elapsed time are a second predetermined time, and the counter is The number of times C in which the normal pressure elapsed time was determined to be the second predetermined time and the number of times D in which the elapsed time of pressure decrease was determined to be the second predetermined time were counted, and the valve opening / closing controller was counted by the counter. When the number of times C and the number of times D become equal to or more than a predetermined value, by opening the valve or enabling the valve opening operation by the valve opening means, it is possible to go around each user's house after inspection and repair of the gas pipe. The time required to open the valve can also be reduced. In addition, the valve opening operation by the user after gas pipe inspection and repair becomes possible, and the safety function of the gas shut-off device is temporarily used when users who do not need inspection or can not keep up with inspection visits by workers It will be possible for you to do it.

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

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 shows a system diagram of a gas shutoff device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the gas shut-off device 1 includes a pressure sensor 2, a pressure determination unit 3, a timer 4, an elapsed time determination unit 5, a counter 6, a count determination unit 7, a valve opening / closing control unit 8, a valve opening unit 9, It comprises a release means 10, a valve 11, and a flow path 12.

  The pressure sensor 2 measures the pressure in the gas pipe passing through the flow channel 12 and sends the pressure value to the pressure determination unit 3. The pressure determination unit 3 determines whether the received pressure value is normal or decreased by comparing it with a predetermined value, and sends the result to the timer 4.

  The timer 4 measures the normal elapsed time (normal pressure elapsed time) when the pressure value is normal, and measures the elapsed time of decrease (pressure decrease elapsed time) when the pressure value decreases. The elapsed time determination unit 5 determines the elapsed time of the timer 4 and determines whether the elapsed time of the decrease or the normal time reaches a predetermined time. The counter 6 counts the number of times that the normality or the decrease is established when the elapsed time determination unit 5 determines that the predetermined time has elapsed.

  The count judging unit 7 sends a valve opening disable signal to the valve opening / closing control unit 8 when each count of the counter 6 becomes equal to or more than a predetermined value within a predetermined time.

  When the valve opening / closing controller 8 receives the valve opening disable signal from the count judging unit 7, the valve 11 is closed. However, when the valve 11 is already closed, it does not have to be closed.

  At this time, even if a signal to open the valve is sent from the valve opening means 9 (for example, a return button) to the valve opening / closing control section 8, the valve 11 does not open because the valve opening / closing control section 8 has received the valve opening disable signal. Further, when the valve 11 is a one-way valve, the valve opening / closing control unit 8 does not perform the operation of opening the valve, so that the valve 11 is opened by the valve opening means 9 even after receiving the valve opening disable signal. In this case, the valve opening / closing control unit 8 sends a signal for closing the valve 11 to the valve 11 again to prevent the valve from remaining open.

  When the valve 11 is closed under the above conditions, a signal to be released is sent to the valve opening / closing control unit 8 by a release unit 10 (for example, a reed switch) that can be operated by a worker (gas company). Upon receiving a signal to open the valve 11 from the valve opening means 9, the valve 11 is opened. This allows the operator (gas company) to open the valve at the site after the inspection work is completed.

The pressure sensor 2 may be a sensor that determines a pressure drop based on a pressure difference from the atmospheric pressure.
Each of the determination value and the predetermined value may be a fixed value, or may be separately changed by communication.

  Next, the operation in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a change pattern of the gas supply pressure when the valve of the gas shut-off device is closed, and FIG. 3 is an operation flowchart of the gas shut-off device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  When pressure monitoring starts (S1), pressure measurement is periodically performed by the pressure sensor 2 (S2), pressure determination is performed by the pressure determination unit 3 (S3), and whether the pressure is normal or decreased is compared with a predetermined value Pr. Judgment.

  When it is determined that the pressure is normal, the elapsed time is counted as the normal pressure elapsed time Tu (S4). If it is determined that the pressure has dropped, the elapsed time is counted as the pressure drop elapsed time Td (S5). That is, the normal pressure elapsed time Tu is the time from the timing when the determination is made normal to decrease (A in FIG. 3) to the timing when the determination is made low (B in FIG. 3). Td is a timing from the timing when the determination is made to decrease from the normality (B in FIG. 3) to the timing when the determination is made from the decrease determination to the normality (A in FIG. 3).

  The elapsed time determination unit 5 determines whether the normal pressure elapsed time Tu or the pressure decrease elapsed time Td is a predetermined time (S6). The counter 6 determines the normal pressure elapsed time Tu according to the determination result of the elapsed time determination unit 5. If the pressure is a predetermined time, the normal number (number A) is counted, and if the pressure drop elapsed time Td is a predetermined time, the number of reductions (number B) is counted (S7).

  When the normal number (number A) and the number of reductions (number B) counted by the counter 6 exceed a predetermined value within a predetermined time, the count determination unit 7 disables the valve (S9) and initializes the number (S9). S10).

  In this embodiment, when the predetermined time is about 5 to 9 seconds and the number of normal times (number of times A) and the number of abnormal times (number of times B) are both two, the valve is cut off so that the valve cannot be opened.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The system configuration differs from FIG. 1 used in the first embodiment only in the operation of the elapsed time determination unit 5 and the count determination unit 7, and the other description is omitted.

  In the present embodiment, it is possible to determine whether the valve can not be opened or whether the valve can be opened based on the pattern of the gas supply pressure. The determination is made based on the difference between the elapsed time when the pressure is normal and the elapsed time when the pressure is decreased. Things.

  For this reason, the elapsed time determination unit 5 has two predetermined times as the determination values of the elapsed time, that is, a first predetermined time for determining whether the valve can be opened and a second predetermined time for determining whether the valve cannot be opened. The normal elapsed time and the elapsed time of the pressure drop are determined as to whether the valve can be opened or the valve can not be opened. It is determined whether to permit the valve opening based on the number of reductions (number of times B) for determination, the normal number of times (number of times C) for determining whether valve opening is possible, and the number of reductions (number of times D) for determining whether valve opening is possible.

  FIG. 4 is an operation flowchart of the gas cutoff device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  When pressure monitoring starts (S1), pressure measurement is periodically performed by the pressure sensor 2 (S2), pressure determination is performed by the pressure determination unit 3 (S3), and whether the pressure is normal or decreased is compared with a predetermined value Pr. Judgment.

  When it is determined that the pressure is normal, the elapsed time is counted as the normal pressure elapsed time Tu (S4). If it is determined that the pressure has dropped, the elapsed time is counted as the pressure drop elapsed time Td (S5). That is, the normal pressure elapsed time Tu is the time from the timing when the determination is made normal to decrease (A in FIG. 3) to the timing when the determination is made low (B in FIG. 3). Td is a timing from the timing when the determination is made to decrease from the normality (B in FIG. 3) to the timing when the determination is made from the decrease determination to the normality (A in FIG. 3).

  The elapsed time determination unit 5 determines the normal pressure elapsed time Tu or the pressure decrease elapsed time Td in two predetermined time ranges for determining whether the valve can be opened and determining whether the valve cannot be opened (S12). Here, for example, the normal time of the pressure value is 5 seconds to 9 seconds, the width of the pressure drop is 5 seconds to 9 seconds, and the normal time of the pressure value is For 10 to 20 seconds, and the range of the pressure drop is 10 to 20 seconds.

  The counter 6 counts the number of normal times (number A) for determining that the valve cannot be opened if the normal pressure elapsed time Tu is the first predetermined time, according to the determination result of the elapsed time determination unit 5, and calculates the pressure drop elapsed time. If Td is the first predetermined time, the number of drops (number of times B) for judging that the valve cannot be opened is counted, and if the normal pressure elapsed time Tu is the second predetermined time, the number of normal times (number of times) for judging that the valve can be opened is counted. C) is counted, and if the elapsed time of pressure drop Td is a predetermined time, the number of drops (number of times D) for judging whether the valve can be opened is counted (S7).

  The count determination unit 7 determines that the valve is openable or not open (S14) when the normal number and the number of drops counted by the counter 6 are equal to or more than a predetermined value for determining whether or not the valve can be opened within a predetermined time, The number is initialized (S10).

  Here, the number of times may be changed three times when the valve can be opened, three times normal, and two times when the valve cannot be opened. Further, when it is determined that the valve can be opened (S14), a signal for actually opening the valve may be output.

  That is, the elapsed time determination time and the number of determinations (number A, number B, number C, number D) of the normal pressure elapsed time and the pressure drop elapsed time when the valve can be opened and when the valve cannot be opened are shown in Table 1. become that way.

  Note that the elapsed time of the normal pressure elapsed time and the elapsed time of the pressure decrease when the valve cannot be opened may be set to different times, and similarly, the normal pressure elapsed time and the elapsed time of the pressure decrease when the valve can be opened. The time lapse determination time may be set to a different value. Further, the number of times of determination of the number A and the number of times B when the valve can not be opened may be set to be different. Similarly, the number of determinations of the number of times C and the number of times D when the valve can be opened is set to be different. May be.

  As described above, the gas company changes the gas supply pressure in a predetermined pattern, and in the first embodiment, determines the pressure of the gas shutoff device based on the elapsed time and the number of times to close the valve. In addition, it is possible to prevent the user from opening the valve, and it is possible to inspect and repair gas pipes upstream, greatly reducing the man-hours for gas pipe inspection for valve closing work on site, and being able to shorten time especially in the event of disaster recovery. Become.

  Further, in the second embodiment, by performing the inspection after the inspection is completed, the valve can be opened or the valve can be opened. By opening the, it is possible to further shorten the recovery time.

  As described above, the gas shut-off device according to the present invention can reduce the man-hours required for the user to close and open the valve of the gas shut-off device when communication via a telephone line or the like is not possible. It can also be applied to applications such as sensors.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Gas shut-off device 2 Pressure sensor 3 Pressure judging part 4 Timer 5 Elapsed time judging part 6 Counter 7 Count judging part 8 Valve open / close control part 9 Valve opening means 10 Release means 11 Valve 12 Channel

Claims (3)

A pressure sensor for detecting gas pressure,
Pressure determination means for determining whether the pressure detected by the pressure sensor is normal or decreased,
A timer for measuring a normal pressure elapsed time determined to be normal by the pressure determination unit and a pressure decrease elapsed time determined to be reduced,
An elapsed time determination unit that determines whether the normal pressure elapsed time and the pressure drop elapsed time are a predetermined time,
A counter that counts the number of times A that the normal pressure elapsed time is determined to be the predetermined time and the number of times B that the pressure drop elapsed time is determined to be the predetermined time;
A valve to shut off gas,
A valve opening and closing control unit for controlling the opening and closing of the valve,
Valve opening means operable by a user to open the valve,
The gas shut-off device, wherein the valve opening / closing controller closes the valve when the number A and the number B counted by the counter become a predetermined value or more, and does not open the valve by operating the valve opening means. A release means operable by a business operator to release the valve closed state by the valve opening / closing control unit,
2. The valve opening / closing control unit according to claim 1, wherein when the number A and the number B counted by the counter become a predetermined value or more and the valve is closed, the release unit can open the valve. 3. Gas shut-off device. The elapsed time determination unit determines whether the normal pressure elapsed time and the pressure drop elapsed time are a second predetermined time,
The counter counts the number of times C in which the normal pressure elapsed time is determined to be the second predetermined time and the number of times D in which the pressure decrease elapsed time is determined to be the second predetermined time,
2. The valve opening / closing control section, when the number of times C and the number of times D counted by the counter become equal to or more than a predetermined value, opens the valve or allows the valve opening means to open the valve. Or the gas shut-off device according to 2.

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