JPH0247522A - Gas safety apparatus with power supply function - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field]

The present invention is applicable to devices such as gas leak alarms and incomplete combustion detectors that are connected to a microcomputer gas meter that transmits the measured value of the amount of gas used through a telephone line using a line device consisting of an NCU, a modem, etc. The present invention relates to a gas safety device, and particularly to one having a function of supplying power to the line device. Note that in the following figures, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts. Also logic or level “old gh”, “Lo
w” is simply written as H2L.

[Conventional technology]

Prior art of this type includes Japanese Patent Application No. 63-99479 ``Gas Safety Device with Alarm and Shutoff Function'', which is the applicant's earlier application. Microcomputer gas meters are installed at gas consumers and have the function of measuring the amount of gas used, but conventionally, meter readers visited each consumer and visually recorded the measured values (
meter reading). However, such meter reading methods increase labor costs, and in order to reduce these costs, methods of automatically reading meters via telephone lines have recently been considered. FIG. 3 shows an example of the configuration of such an automatic meter reading system. In the figure, 01 is a microcomputer gas meter that is attached to a gas consumer and measures the flow rate of gas used, and 02 is a gas leak alarm that transmits an alarm to the microcomputer gas meter 01 via a communication cable 03 and shuts off a gas cutoff valve (not shown). 09 is a telephone, and 08 is a telephone line. 05 is a line device that is connected to the microcomputer gas meter 01 via a communication cable 04 and is used to transmit the measured values of the gas meter 01 to the gas company etc. via a telephone line 08, and a modem 06. NCU (line control unit) 0
It is equipped with 7th class. Here, the modem 06 has the role of modulating the digital signal transmitted by the gas meter 01 into a voice band signal, or conversely, demodulating the voice band signal command etc. transmitted from the telephone line 08 side to the gas meter 01 into a digital signal. have The NCUO 7 also has functions such as making a call when transmitting data from the modem 06 side to the telephone line 08 side, and switching the telephone line 08 between the modem 06 side and the telephone set 09 side. In such an automatic meter reading system, the level of electrical energy that can be taken from the telephone line 08 is generally limited to a level that makes the telephone set 09 work due to the characteristics of the telephone line. For this reason modem 06. Devices such as the NCUO 7 cannot obtain energy for communication between the microcomputer gas meter 01 and the line device 05 from the telephone line 08. For this reason, this type of automatic meter reading system necessarily requires an energy supply means other than a telephone line, and the easiest way to achieve this is to use a household commercial power source.

Problem 8 to be Solved by the Invention However, the microcomputer gas meter 01 is installed outdoors and does not use commercial power. If an attempt is made to connect, for example, an ACIOOV commercial power source to this gas meter 01, outdoor wiring work will be required, which can easily lead to higher construction costs. On the other hand, it is also possible to connect a commercial power source to the telephone line side. However, since telephones are devices that are generally used very frequently and are therefore installed in places that are visually important, such as entrances and living rooms, it may be difficult to connect them to a commercial power source using this method. , there is a problem that it is not aesthetically pleasing. Further, telephone line work and commercial power supply work are in different technical fields, and it is difficult for one worker to carry out these two works at the same time, resulting in an increase in construction costs. Therefore, the problem of the present invention is to combine a microcomputer gas meter with a gas safety device that has a function of supplying power to line equipment in an automatic gas meter reading system, thereby eliminating the need for commercial power electrical work on the microcomputer gas meter and line equipment for telephone lines. The goal is to be able to supply the necessary energy to the

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to solve the above problems, the gas safety equipment of the present invention has the following features:
A cutoff valve control means (such as the shutoff valve control circuit 16) that controls the gas cutoff valve (such as 25) measures the amount of gas used (via the flow rate sensor S1, etc.), and transmits this measured value to the telephone line ( A gas leak alarm (such as 34), an incomplete combustion sensor (such as 35), etc., which is connected to a microcomputer gas meter equipped with a measurement value transmitting means (such as communication interface 3, line device 05, etc.), gas safety equipment (such as 02A), wherein the microcomputer gas meter shuts off the shutoff valve via the shutoff valve according to the alarm signal output from the gas safety equipment. The gas safety equipment shall be equipped with at least a power source (DC power source 011, etc.) for supplying the measured value transmitting means.

[For use]

The present invention provides gas safety equipment installed indoors and connected to a commercial power supply with a built-in function to supply electrical energy required for the microcomputer gas meter and telephone line equipment. The aim is to eliminate the need for a commercial power supply connection.

【Example】

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram as an embodiment of the present invention, which corresponds to FIG. 3 and shows more detailed contents. Moreover, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the mechanism of the main part of the microcomputer gas meter 01. In FIG. 2, 21 is a gas inlet, 22 is a gas outlet, and 26 is a metering rotation mechanism provided in the gas flow path from the gas inlet 21 to the gas outlet 22. It rotates in proportion to the flow rate of gas passing through this flow path, and rotates the sensor disk 27 that is interlocked with itself. A magnet 28 is provided on this disk, and one rotation of the disk 27 is converted into a one-pulse 0N10FF signal by a flow rate sensor S1 consisting of a reed switch that closes each time the magnet approaches. 1 chip microcontroller 1
inputs this ON10FF signal and reads the gas flow rate. Generally, this microcomputer 1 includes a pressure sensor S2 that detects pressure abnormalities in gas pipes, a seismic sensor S3 that detects large earthquakes, and a gas leak alarm S that detects gas leaks.
4. - The operation of the incomplete combustion sensor S5, etc. that operates when the concentration of carbon oxide gas is abnormal can also be read at the same time. However, although the pressure sensor S2 and seismic sensor S3 are built into the microcomputer gas make 01, the gas leak alarm S4 and incomplete combustion sensor S5 are installed indoors separately from the microcomputer gas meter 01. The microcomputer gas meter 01 can be connected to the microcomputer gas meter 01 from outside. For convenience, the gas leak alarm S4 and the incomplete combustion sensor S5 are collectively referred to as gas safety equipment 0 as shown in FIG.
However, in the present invention, a new gas safety device 0 is added to this safety device 02 with a power supply function as described later.
2A shall be used. 1 Chip microcomputer 1 has the above-mentioned sensors and alarms 32 to 32.
When an abnormality is detected in S5, or when an abnormal increase in the gas flow rate or a leakage abnormality in a gas pipe, etc. is detected by the program of the microcomputer 1 based on the time-series movement of the flow rate sensor S1, the operation coil 24 for the Shaarai 25 is energized. Then, the shield well 25 is closed, the gas supply is stopped, and a safe state is established. A return button 29 is attached to this shield well 25, and by pushing this button 29, gas supply can be resumed. At this time, the microcomputer 1 detects this return operation via the back electromotive force generated in the operating coil 24 and restarts the abnormality monitoring operation again. Next, FIG. 1 will be explained. In the figure, the gas safety equipment 02A which uses the commercial power source 010 as its input power source also uses the commercial power source 010 as its input power source, and uses low voltage direct current such as 5V, 12L or 24V to supply it to the microcomputer gas meter 01 and the line device 05. It is equipped with a power source 011. And this gas safety equipment 02A is this DC power supply 011
It is connected to the microcomputer gas meter 01 via a new communication cable 038 containing ten output lines. The line device 05 is also connected to the communication interface 3 in the microcomputer gas meter 01 via a new communication cable 04A that includes the output line of the DC power supply 011. A single-chip microcomputer 1 generally includes a transmission terminal Tx and a reception terminal Rx as serial communication ports, and these terminals Tx and Rx are connected to a line device 05 via a communication interface 3. As explained in FIG. 2, the 1-chip microcomputer 1 reads the operation of the flow rate sensor S1 to determine the gas supply status, and also uses the measured value as its own 1DNO. At the same time, when a predetermined condition is satisfied (for example, based on a command transmitted from the outside via the telephone line 08, etc., or at every predetermined period), the communication interface 3, the line device 0
5. It is transmitted to the gas company's office, etc. via telephone line 08. In addition, here, 1DN for each individual microcomputer gas meter 01
It is easy to specify o, using the conventional technology. In other words, such an iDNα can be specified by providing a digital switch for each meter, manually setting the iDNα using a communication means, or by using the microcomputer's memory as one DNo.
, can be realized by a method such as manufacturing such that it is stored. The microcomputer 1 also connects the gas leak alarm S4. The operating state of the incomplete combustion sensor S5 or the movement of the pressure sensor S2 or seismic sensor S3 is read. These sensors generally close the O circuit during abnormal conditions.
When the microcomputer 1 reads and confirms this operating status and determines that the gas should be cut off, the microcomputer 1 energizes the operating coil 24 via the Arai control circuit 16. , operates the shield well 25 to cut off the gas supply. By the way, the microcomputer gas meter 01 uses a battery 12 such as a lithium battery as its operating energy source, and one battery can generate 1
The operation must be maintained for 0 or 15 years. With the meter 01 having such characteristics, even though it is connected to an external device such as the line device 05, the battery 1 is used for communication.
It is not practical to use an energy of 2. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 1, the microcomputer system of the microcomputer gas meter 01 is operated by the battery 12, but the communication interface 3 is connected to the 10 and - output power lines from the DC power supply 011, and is used for communication. Efforts have been made not to utilize the energy of the battery 12 as much as possible. That is, the received signal from the line device 05 is sent to the Rx terminal of the one-chip microcomputer via the driver 4, and
simply reads and receives this signal. On the other hand, microcontroller 1
When transmitting from to the telephone line 08 side, comparator 5
However, since the comparator 5 is composed of a high impedance input circuit, it is designed so that the energy of the battery 12 is not consumed by simply inputting the H/L potential. The communication interface 3 requires a current of several mA or more to operate the driver 4 and the comparator 5, so if this is supplied from the battery 12, the battery 12 is extremely It becomes large and expensive. In order to avoid this, in FIG. 1, the 10 and - power supply lines as output lines of the DC power supply 011 in the gas safety equipment 02A are supplied to the communication interface 3 via the communication cable 03A. The reason for adopting this type of DC power supply method is that it is generally used for gas safety equipment.
The gas leak alarm S4 and the incomplete combustion sensor S5 as 2A are installed indoors as described above because it is necessary to monitor the indoor air condition in the kitchen or living room where gas appliances are used. Moreover, the commercial power supply is 010, which is device S.
4. It is used as an energy source for S5. For this reason, these gas safety devices 02A necessarily require wiring to the commercial type ao1o, and since they are installed indoors, it can be said that the wiring work is easy. Next, the output signal of this gas safety equipment 02A needs to be transmitted to the microcomputer gas meter 01, but in this case, it is not possible to connect the indoor gas safety equipment 02A and the outdoor microcomputer gas meter 01 using normal wiring. This requires drilling holes in the outer wall and wiring, which is difficult. For this reason, in FIG. 1, the microcomputer gas meter 01 and the gas safety device 02A are connected using a communication cable 03^ that is composed of a signal line for communicating the operation signal of the gas safety device 02A and a core wire for the DC power supply. It is something that The DC power supplied between the gas safety equipment 02A and the microcomputer gas meter 01 is connected to the communication interface 3 as described above.
It also supplies energy to the line device 05 via the communication cable 04A. In other words, using this energy, the modem 06. in the line device 05. NCU
O7 and possibly telephone 09 can be activated. In FIG. 1, electrical energy is supplied to the line device 05 via the microcomputer gas meter 01 as a relay, but if only electrical energy is supplied, the line device 0 is supplied from the gas safety equipment 02A.
5 may be directly connected to a power line to supply energy. If gas safety equipment 02A is installed near line equipment 05, or if both 02A and 05 are structurally
If measures have already been taken to make it easier to integrate with 5,
Rather, such a direct connection is also practical.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, a power source for operating an external device is added to gas safety equipment installed indoors, and
The microcomputer gas meter, modem, and NC are connected via a cable for connecting the gas safety equipment and the microcomputer gas meter.
Since electrical energy is supplied to the line device including U, the following effects can be obtained. (a) Since there is no need to connect a commercial power source to the line equipment, electrical work is not required for wiring work, making the work easier. (b) The energy usage of the built-in battery of the microcomputer gas meter can be reduced as much as possible. In other words, communication with line equipment can be achieved with very little battery energy consumption. (C) Redundant wiring work can be reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram as an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the main mechanism of a microcomputer gas meter, and FIG. 3 is a conventional system configuration diagram corresponding to FIG. 1. 01: Microcomputer gas meter, 02A: Gas safety equipment, 0
3A, 04A: Communication cable, 05: Line device, 0
6: Modem, 07: NCU, 08: Telephone line, 09: Telephone, 010: Commercial power supply, 011: DC power supply, Sl
Two flow rate sensors, S4: Gas leak alarm, S5: Incomplete combustion sensor, 1: One-chip microcomputer, 3: Communication interface, 4: Driver, 5: Comparator, 12
:Battery, Rχ: Communication terminal, Tx: Transmission terminal. Dan Kue 1 Diagram

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) A microcomputer equipped with a cutoff valve control means for controlling a gas cutoff valve, and a measured value transmitting means for measuring the amount of gas used and transmitting and outputting the measured value via a telephone line. Gas safety equipment such as a gas leak alarm or incomplete combustion sensor is connected to a gas meter, and based on an alarm signal output from the gas safety equipment, the microcomputer gas meter controls the shutoff valve via the shutoff valve control means. What is claimed is: 1. A gas safety device with a power supply function, characterized in that the gas safety device is equipped with a power source for supplying at least the measured value transmitting means.