JPH0537101Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a gas cutoff valve control device, and more specifically, the present invention relates to a gas cutoff valve control device. The present invention relates to a gas cutoff valve control device having a return safety confirmation means, which issues an alarm in response to detection of a gas leak on the downstream side of a gas cutoff valve by the return safety confirmation means, and notifies the outside of the gas leakage detection.

[Conventional technology]

As a conventional device having this kind of return safety confirmation means, for example, one disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-9829 is known. In this known device, when a return (valve open) button is operated prior to gas use, the gas cutoff valve is opened once (about 3 seconds), gas is drawn into the pipe, and then the pipe is closed for a certain period of time, for example, 1 to 5 minutes. If the gas pressure does not drop, open the gas shutoff valve after the check is completed to allow the gas to be used normally, and if the gas pressure drops, the buzzer and indicator light will turn off. The system is configured to issue an alarm to notify gas users that there is a gas leak on the downstream side of the gas cutoff valve.

In addition, a transmission device is added to the device having the above-mentioned return safety confirmation means, and when the return safety confirmation means detects a drop in gas pressure, an abnormality detection signal is outputted to the transmission device, etc. In order to improve safety services, the central monitoring center of the gas company is notified, and the monitoring center that receives the notification calls the gas user's home to confirm, or in some cases dispatches a person to the user's home. A similar method has also been proposed.

[The problem that the idea aims to solve]

By the way, there are three possible cases in which a decrease in gas pressure is detected:

1. Accidental opening of the gas appliance by a gas user (opening the gas appliance appliance while using gas while checking the gas pressure) 2. Gas leakage from a crack in the piping downstream of the gas shutoff valve 3. Gas due to malfunction of the gas appliance Leakage In the case of pressure drop caused by gas leakage in 2) and 3) above, when this is detected, it is necessary to output an abnormality detection signal and notify the gas company's central monitoring center. However, in case 1), the gas tank is accidentally opened by the gas user, so if the gas tank is closed, the situation returns to normal and there is no need to issue an alarm to the gas company.

However, the conventionally proposed devices described above are configured to immediately issue a warning to the user and output an abnormality detection signal when a decrease in gas pressure is detected. For this reason, even in the case of erroneous opening of the gas tank in 1), an abnormality detection signal is output, and a notification based on the abnormality detection signal is sent to the central monitoring center of the gas company. When such a report is received, an operator at the central monitoring center will contact the gas user by phone or other means.

When gas users receive such a call from the gas company, they are intimidated and have a psychological burden of not wanting to make the same mistake again. Therefore, gas users may leave the gas shutoff valve open at all times and do not perform the return safety confirmation operation in order to avoid making mistakes. If the return safety confirmation is not performed forever in this way, a gas leakage test on the downstream side of the gas cutoff valve will not be performed, which will cause a safety problem. On the gas company side, on the other hand, erroneous notifications result in unnecessary phone calls and dispatch, which increases the workload, which poses a problem.

Therefore, the present invention provides a gas cutoff valve control device that prevents the output of an abnormality detection signal to the outside based on the detection of a pressure drop caused by a gas user accidentally opening the gas appliance lock during the return safety confirmation operation. The challenge is to do so.

[Means to solve the problem]

As shown in the basic configuration diagram of FIG. 1, the gas cutoff valve control device developed in the present invention in order to solve the above problems opens the gas cutoff valve 1 for a predetermined time and then closes the gas cutoff valve 1. A return safety confirmation means 4 is provided that confines gas on the downstream side of the gas cutoff valve and detects gas leakage downstream of the gas cutoff valve by monitoring changes in the pressure of the trapped gas, and detects gas leakage by the return safety confirmation means 4. In response to this, the alarm means L ₃ and B give an alarm and output an abnormality detection signal, and the return safety confirmation means 4 outputs the abnormality detection signal after a predetermined period of time has elapsed after the detection of the gas leak, and It is characterized in that the output of the abnormality detection signal is stopped in response to the operation of the reset means _SW3 within the predetermined time.

[Effect]

In the above configuration, the return safety confirmation means 4 opens the gas cutoff valve 1 for a predetermined period of time when gas is used, then closes the valve, and supplies the gas supplied through the gas cutoff valve 1 to the downstream side (secondary side) of the gas cutoff valve 1. containment, and detect gas leakage of the contained gas by detecting a drop in gas pressure. When a gas leak is detected, it is determined that it is in an abnormal state and the alarm means L ₃ and B are activated to give an alarm to the gas user. Further, the return safety confirmation means 4 outputs an abnormality detection signal after a predetermined period of time has elapsed from the detection of this abnormal state, and enables notification to the outside based on the abnormality detection signal.

Furthermore, the return safety confirmation means 4 does not output an abnormality detection signal when the reset means SW ₃ is operated before a predetermined time has elapsed since the abnormality detection.

Therefore, when the gas user is given an alarm by the alarm means L ₃ and B, the gas user must decide within the above-mentioned predetermined time whether or not the alarm is caused by his/her own erroneous operation, and reset the alarm based on that decision. By operating the means _SW3 , the output of the abnormality detection signal can be stopped. By stopping the output of the abnormality detection signal, various problems caused by false notifications being sent to the central monitoring center of the gas company can be solved.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the gas cutoff valve control device according to the present invention.
1 is a gas cutoff valve, which is controlled to open and close by pulse outputs from a valve return pulse output circuit 2 and a valve cutoff pulse output circuit 3, respectively. A gas appliance (not shown) having a cock C is connected to the tip of the pipe D on the downstream side of the gas cutoff valve 1.

4 is a microcomputer (hereinafter abbreviated as MPU) that functions as a recovery safety confirmation means, and in addition to ROM, RAM, etc. (not shown), input ports I ₁ to _{I 4}
and output ports _O1 to _O4 . Above input port
I ₁ to _{I 4} include a secondary pressure detection circuit 5 that detects the pressure in the pipe D based on a pressure detection signal from a sensor (not shown) provided in the pipe D on the downstream side of the gas cutoff valve 1. , an operation switch circuit 6, an open/close detection circuit 7 for detecting the open/close state of the gas cutoff valve 1, and a pressure check time setting circuit 8 are connected, respectively.
Further, the output ports _O1 to _O4 include a buzzer drive circuit 9, a display circuit 10, and each of the pulse output circuits 2 and 3.
A pulse control circuit 11 that outputs control signals PH ₁ and PH ₂ and an abnormal signal output circuit 12 are respectively connected to the terminals. The abnormality signal output circuit 12 is provided with a transmission device 1 that notifies a central monitoring center (not shown) of the gas company via a telephone circuit based on the abnormality detection signal from the circuit 12.
3 is connected.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the appearance of the device shown in FIG. 2,
The device has a valve open switch SW ₁ and a valve close switch of the operation switch circuit 6 provided on the operation panel 14.
It has SW ₂ and reset switch SW ₃ . Signals are input from the operation switch circuit 6 to the MPU 4 in response to the operation of these switches. Further, the operation panel 14 is provided with a valve open lamp L ₁ , a valve close lamp L ₂ , an alarm lamp L ₃ and a power indicator lamp L ₄ .
The lighting and extinguishing of each lamp is controlled by the output of the display circuit 10. Further, a buzzer B driven by the buzzer drive circuit 9 is attached to the operation panel 14 .

The above-mentioned MPU 4 performs a recovery safety confirmation operation, etc. according to a control program stored in advance in a ROM (not shown), and the operation will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

MPU4 is powered on or reset switch SW ₃
It is initialized by the operation.

After initialization, the MPU 4 starts executing the flowchart, and in the first step S1, the valve open switch is activated based on the output of the operation switch circuit 6.
Determine whether SW ₁ is being operated. If it is determined that the valve open switch _SW1 has been operated, the process proceeds to step S2, where the display circuit 10 is driven to blink the valve open lamp _L1 .

Next, the process advances to step S3, where the pulse control circuit 11 outputs the control signal PH ₁ , which drives the valve return pulse output circuit 2 to open the gas cutoff valve 1, and at the same time, the abnormality signal output circuit 12 is activated. If an abnormality detection signal is output to a non-operating device, it is stopped. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S4, where the signal from the open/close detection circuit 7 is input to determine whether the gas cutoff valve 1 is open. If the valve is not open, step
S5 drives the display circuit 10 and the buzzer drive circuit 9, causing the valve opening lamp _L1 to blink and the buzzer B to sound.

If the determination in step S4 is YES and the gas cutoff valve 1 is open, the process proceeds to step S6, where it is determined whether a predetermined time (for example, 3 seconds) has elapsed, and if the predetermined time has elapsed, the determination is YES. If so, proceed to step S7. In this step S7,
causing the pulse control circuit 11 to output a control signal PH ₂ ;
The cutoff pulse output circuit 3 is driven to close the gas cutoff valve 1. Next, the process proceeds to step S8, and it is determined whether the gas cutoff valve 1 is closed based on the output of the open/close detection circuit 7. If the determination is NO and the valve is not closed, the display circuit 10 and the buzzer drive circuit 9 are checked in step S9. Drive the valve close lamp _L2 to blink and sound the buzzer B, and then return to step S7.
Unless the judgment in step S8 becomes YES or the reset switch SW ₃ is not operated, the step continues.
S7 to S9 are repeated.

In executing steps S1 to S9 described above, when the valve open switch _SW1 is operated, the gas cutoff valve 1 is opened for a predetermined period of time, and gas is supplied to the pipe D on the downstream side (secondary side) of the gas cutoff valve 1. After supplying gas cutoff valve 1
The valve is closed to trap gas on the downstream side of the gas cutoff valve 1.

When the determination in step S8 is YES, that is, if the gas cutoff valve 1 is closed, step S10 is performed.
After lighting the valve close lamp _L2 at step S11. In step S11, a signal from the secondary pressure detection circuit 5 is input when the gas cutoff valve 1 is in the closed state, and it is determined whether the pressure on the downstream side, that is, the secondary side of the gas cutoff valve 1, is a normal value. In this step S11, when the pressure remains below the normal value for a predetermined period of time (for example, 5 seconds), it is determined that the pressure is not normal, that is, NO, and the process proceeds to step S12. In step S12, the display circuit 10 and buzzer drive circuit 9 are driven to blink the alarm lamp _L3 and sound the buzzer B, and in the next step S13, the valve open lamp _L1 is turned off.

After that, the process proceeds to step S14, where it is determined whether a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) has elapsed, and this step S14 is repeated until the predetermined time has elapsed, and if it has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S15, where the abnormal signal output circuit is 12 to output an abnormality detection signal to the transmission device 13. The transmission device 13 that receives this abnormality detection signal notifies the central monitoring center of the gas company of the abnormality via a telephone line (not shown).

While the above step S14 is being repeatedly executed for a predetermined period of time, that is, within 30 seconds after the abnormality is detected, the gas user notices that the gas tank has been erroneously opened due to the alarm generated by executing the above step S12, and accidentally opens the gas tank. Close the door and reset the switch SW ₃
When you operate the MPU4, the reset switch
The initialization operation is started by the input from the operation switch circuit 6 based on the operation of SW ₃ , and the process proceeds to the above-mentioned step S1.
The operation starts from. Therefore, MPU4 is 30
The process does not proceed to step S15 after seconds have elapsed and cause the abnormality signal output circuit 12 to output an abnormality detection signal.
It is possible to stop outputting an abnormality detection signal due to erroneous opening.

As a result of the pressure determination in step S11, if the secondary pressure is normal and YES, the process proceeds to step S16, where the pressure check time setting circuit 8 determines whether or not a preset time (for example, 1 minute) has elapsed. judge. This pressure check time can be set to, for example, 30 minutes by a switch installed inside the device or on the rear panel.
The pressure check time is selected from seconds, 1 minute, and 2 minutes, and data regarding this set time is input to the MPU 4 from the pressure check time setting circuit 8.

The above steps S11 and S16 are repeated until the judgment in the above step S16 becomes YES and a predetermined period of time has elapsed. When the predetermined time has elapsed, step S17
Then, the pulse control circuit 11 outputs a control signal.
PH ₁ is output to drive the valve return pulse output circuit 2 and open the gas cutoff valve 1. Next step S18
Then, it is determined whether the gas cutoff valve 1 is open or not based on the signal from the open/close detection circuit 7. If the valve is not open, the valve open lamp _L1 is blinked and the buzzer B is activated in step S19. make it ring,
If the valve is open, the valve open lamp _L1 is turned on and the valve close lamp _L2 is turned off in step S20.

As mentioned above, in executing steps S11 to S20, if the secondary pressure is not normal, the transmission device 13 notifies the central monitoring center via the telephone line after 30 seconds, and also turns on the alarm lamp _L3 and the buzzer. B to give an alarm to the user, and if normal, open the gas cutoff valve 1 and shut down the gas appliance.
Gas can be used by opening.

By operating the reset switch SW ₃ at any time as well as during the operation of driving each lamp and buzzer in steps S5, S9, and S19, the MPU 4 is reset and enters the initialization operation.
The driving of the lamp and buzzer is stopped.

〔effect〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, if a gas leak occurs on the downstream side of the gas cutoff valve after performing the return safety confirmation operation, an alarm is immediately given and an abnormality detection signal is output after a predetermined period of time. Since the output of the abnormality detection signal is stopped by the gas user's operation within a predetermined time, it is possible to prevent the abnormality detection signal from being output due to the gas user's erroneous operation. It is possible to eliminate the increased burden on gas users and gas companies due to false notifications caused by detection signals, and it is possible to improve safety by always appropriately using the return safety confirmation function.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of the gas cutoff valve control device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a circuit block diagram showing an embodiment of the gas cutoff valve control device according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is the same as that shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is an external plan view showing the panel surface of the device, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the work performed by the MPU in the device of FIG. 1...Gas cutoff valve, 4...Return safety confirmation means,
L ₃ (alarm lamp), B (buzzer)...alarm means,
SW ₃ ...Reset means (reset switch).

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] After opening a gas cutoff valve for a predetermined period of time, the valve is closed to trap gas on the downstream side of the gas cutoff valve, and changes in the pressure of the trapped gas are monitored on the downstream side of the gas cutoff valve. In a gas cutoff valve control device comprising a return safety confirmation means for detecting a gas leak in the return safety confirmation means, the return safety confirmation means gives an alarm by an alarm means and outputs an abnormality detection signal in response to the detection of gas leak by the return safety confirmation means. The means outputs the abnormality detection signal after a predetermined period of time has elapsed after the detection of the gas leak, and stops outputting the abnormality detection signal in response to operation of the reset means within the predetermined period of time. Gas cutoff valve control device.