JP2009276234A - Gas leakage detector - Google Patents

Abstract

Leakage inspection suitable for the type of piping provided in a gas supply facility is made possible.
In a gas leak detection apparatus 1 for detecting a leak in a pipe of a gas supply facility, a judgment condition information storage means 3 for storing a plurality of judgment condition information corresponding to each of a plurality of types of pipes having different volumes, and the pipe Piping information acquisition means P1 for acquiring piping information for identifying the volume of the pipe, and determination conditions for extracting the determination condition information corresponding to the piping information acquired by the piping information acquisition means P1 from the determination condition information storage means 3 Information extraction means P2, and leakage detection means P3 for measuring the pressure in the pipe based on the judgment condition information extracted by the judgment condition information extraction means P2 and detecting leakage in the pipe from the measurement result It is characterized by that.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a gas leak detection device that detects a leak in piping of a gas supply facility.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a gas cutoff valve control device having an inner pipe leakage inspection means for inspecting a gas leakage in a pipe downstream of a gas cutoff valve when a gas cutoff valve in a valve open state after use of gas is closed. It has been. In such a gas shut-off valve control device, when the operation (valve closing) switch is operated after the gas is used, the gas shut-off valve is closed and the gas is sealed in the pipe on the downstream side of the gas shut-off valve. Whether the gas pressure in the pipe is reduced or not is monitored. If the gas pressure is reduced, an alarm is given as an airtight failure to alert the gas user. As such a gas shut-off valve control device, the one shown in Patent Document 1 is known.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-37102

  Since the above-mentioned inner pipe leakage inspection was used for all types of pipes with different diameters and volumes, the pressure monitoring time became constant, and when the pipe volume was small, the temperature changed within that time. As a result, it has been found that there is a problem that the pressure is 1 kPa or less and it is judged that there is a leak, or conversely, where the pipe volume is large, there is a problem that even if there is a leak, the pressure does not drop so much and the leak cannot be detected. For this reason, there is a possibility that leakage detection error due to temperature change or oversight of leakage occurs and the accuracy of leakage detection is lowered.

  Therefore, in view of the above-described problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a gas leak detection apparatus capable of performing a leak inspection suitable for the type of piping provided in the gas supply facility.

  In order to solve the above problems, the gas leak detection device according to claim 1, which is made according to the present invention, is a gas leak detection device 1 that detects leaks in piping of a gas supply facility, as shown in the basic configuration diagram of FIG. Determination condition information storage means 3 for storing a plurality of determination condition information corresponding to each of a plurality of types of pipes having different volumes, pipe information acquisition means P1 for acquiring pipe information for identifying the volume of the pipe, and the pipe Based on the determination condition information extraction means P2 for extracting the determination condition information corresponding to the piping information acquired by the information acquisition means P1 from the determination condition information storage means 3, and the determination condition information extracted by the determination condition information extraction means P2. And a leak detection means P3 for measuring a pressure in the pipe and detecting a leak in the pipe from the measurement result.

  According to the gas leak detection device of the present invention described in claim 1 above, when piping information such as piping to be inspected and gas supply equipment is acquired by the piping information acquisition means P1, determination corresponding to the piping information is performed. The condition information is extracted from the plurality of determination condition information stored in the determination condition information storage means 3 by the piping information acquisition means P1. And the leak detection means P3 measures the pressure in the pipe based on the judgment condition information, and the leak in the pipe is detected from the measurement result.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, as shown in the basic configuration diagram of FIG. 1, in the gas leak detection device according to the first aspect, the judgment condition information is a classification for classifying the detected leak into a plurality of stages. Leakage detection result output means P4 that has data and outputs a leak detection result obtained by classifying the leak detected by the leak detection means P3 based on the classification data.

  According to the gas leak detection apparatus of the present invention described in claim 2, the leak detected by the leak detection means P3 is classified into a plurality of stages such as large, medium and small based on the section data of the judgment condition information. A leakage detection result indicating that is output by the leakage detection result output means P4.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the gas leakage detection device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the setting means 2 has a plurality of switches for setting the volume of the pipe as shown in the basic configuration diagram of FIG. The piping information acquisition unit P1 is a unit that acquires piping information indicating the states of a plurality of switches of the setting unit.

  According to the gas leak detection device of the present invention described in claim 3, the operator or the like is set so that the plurality of switches of the setting means 2 correspond to the volume of the pipe. The plurality of switch states of the setting means are acquired by the pipe information acquisition means P1 as pipe information.

  As described above, according to the gas leak detection device of the present invention described in claim 1, plural types of determination condition information are stored in advance, pipe information indicating the volume of the pipe is acquired, and the pipe information is stored in the pipe information. Since the corresponding judgment condition information is extracted and leakage is detected based on the judgment condition information, the pipe volume to be inspected can be specified by the pipe information, so the judgment suitable for the pipe Leakage can be inspected and detected by condition information. Therefore, since leak inspection suitable for the piping state of the gas pipe supply facility is performed, it is possible to reduce erroneous leak determination and oversight of leak due to temperature change, and thus it is possible to prevent deterioration in leak detection accuracy.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, since the leakage determination result is divided into a plurality of stages and output, the operator can easily obtain the result of the leakage inspection. Therefore, quick and accurate measures can be arranged.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first or second aspect, the pipe volume or the like can be set by a plurality of switches. Therefore, maintainability can be improved.

  Hereinafter, one embodiment in the case of applying a gas leak detection device concerning the present invention to a gas security system is described below with reference to drawings of Drawings 1-4.

  In FIG. 2, the gas security system 1 includes an operating device 10 provided indoors and the like, and a shutoff valve unit 20 that shuts off a pipe 5 connected to the indoors and the like. And the operation apparatus 10 and the cutoff valve unit 20 can communicate by wire or radio | wireless.

  The operating device 10 has a microprocessor (MPU) 11 that operates according to a predetermined program. As is well known, the MPU 11 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 11a that performs various processes and controls according to a predetermined program, a ROM 11b that is a read-only memory storing a program for the CPU 11a, and various data. And a RAM 11c, which is a readable / writable memory having an area necessary for processing operations of the CPU 11a.

  The ROM 11b stores a shut-off valve unit activation processing program for causing the CPU 11a to function as piping information acquisition means and determination condition information extraction means. As described above, in this embodiment, the case where the CPU 11a functions as the piping information acquisition unit and the determination condition information extraction unit by executing the shut-off valve unit activation processing program will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It can be set as various different embodiments, such as realizing with the shut-off valve unit 20.

  The operation device 10 further includes a memory unit 12, a communication unit 13, a display unit 14, and an operation unit 15. Each of the memory unit 12, the communication unit 13, the display unit 14, and the operation unit 15 is electrically connected to the MPU 11.

  The memory unit 12 is capable of holding various stored data even when power supply is cut off, and an electrically erasable / rewritable memory (EEPROM) having various storage areas necessary for processing operations of the CPU 11a. Is used. And in this embodiment, the memory | storage part 12 functions as a judgment condition information storage means shown in FIG. 1 by memorize | storing the judgment condition information D1 corresponding to each of several types of piping volume in the memory part 12. FIG.

  In this embodiment, as an example of a plurality of types of determination condition information D1, as shown in FIG. 3, four types of diameters (32A or less, 40A, 50A, 80A) and two types of pipe volumes (standard, maximum) are provided. Are stored in the memory unit 12. Therefore, the operator can select the pipe diameter and select the pipe volume as “standard” or “maximum”, so it is not necessary to accurately grasp the pipe volume at the site, and the pipe can be easily grasped. Since only the diameter needs to be confirmed, the setting operation can be simplified. In addition, when the pipe volume can be easily grasped, by setting the pipe volume: OO liter, it becomes possible to store the determination condition information D1 more finely and improve the inspection accuracy.

  Examples of the data structure of the determination condition information D1 include various kinds of data such as determination time data for leak inspection corresponding to large, medium and small leaks in pipe diameter and pipe volume, and classification data for classifying the leak quantity into large, medium and small. I have data. Note that the data structure of the determination condition information D1 can be arbitrarily set in accordance with the above-described inspection items of the inner pipe leakage inspection, inspection contents, and the like.

  The communication unit 13 is controlled by the MPU 11 and a communication device capable of wired or wireless communication with the shutoff valve unit 20 is used. The communication unit 13 transmits a signal indicating various messages input from the MPU 11 to the cutoff valve unit 20 and outputs a message indicated by the signal received from the cutoff valve unit 20 to the MPU 11.

  The display unit 14 is controlled by the MPU 11 and includes an in-inspection display item indicating an inspection state of a leak inspection, a gas pressure decrease display item indicating a gas pressure decrease, a leak amount display item indicating a gas leak amount in large, medium, and small. Each display item is in a display state when the LED is turned on, and is in a non-display state when the LED is turned off.

  The operation unit 15 is electrically connected to the MPU 11 and has a plurality of operation switches for allowing a user, an operator, and the like to input and select various data. The operation unit 15 outputs an operation signal corresponding to the operation on these operation switches to the MPU 11. The operation unit 15 has a shut-off valve opening / closing switch for requesting closing / opening of a shut-off valve 24 described later. Then, the MPU 11 transmits a valve closing signal / valve opening signal to the shutoff valve unit 20 in accordance with the operation.

  The operation unit 15 has a setting dip switch 15a that is hidden by the case body of the operation device 10 and can be operated only by an operator, and the number of switches corresponding to the plurality of types of determination condition information D1 described above. It has become. That is, the dip switch 15a is set by an operator or the like when the operating device 10 is installed, and functions as the setting means 2 in the claims shown in FIG.

  Next, an example of the shut-off valve unit activation process executed by the CPU 11a will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. Note that it is assumed that the shut-off valve unit activation process is executed in response to the activation of the operating device 10.

  When the shutoff valve unit activation processing program is executed by the CPU 11a, in step S11, the setting state of the dip switch 15a of the switch unit 15 is acquired as piping information in the RAM 11C, and in step S12, determination condition information corresponding to the piping information. D1 is extracted from a plurality of types of determination condition information D1 stored in the memory unit 12, and then the process proceeds to step S13.

  In step S13, electric power is supplied to the shut-off valve unit 20 via the power line 4, and in step S14, the extracted determination condition information is transmitted to the shut-off valve unit 20 via the communication unit 13, and then the process ends.

  When the operation device 10 configured as described above is activated by power supply from an external power supply (commercial power supply or the like), the operation device 10 acquires the setting state of the dip switch 15a of the operation unit 15 at a predetermined timing, and the setting state Is obtained from the memory unit 12 and power is supplied to the shut-off valve unit 20, and the judgment condition information D 1 is transmitted to the shut-off valve unit 20 via the communication unit 13. In addition, when an inspection request is generated by a predetermined operation on the operation unit 15 by an operator or the like, the operation device 10 transmits the inspection request to the shutoff valve unit 20 via the communication unit 13.

  Next, an example of a schematic configuration of the shutoff valve unit 20 that operates by the electric power supplied from the operation device 10 described above will be described below with reference to the drawing of FIG.

  The shut-off valve unit 20 is driven by the power supplied from the operation device 10 via the power line 4 or the like, and operates according to a predetermined program, a microprocessor (MPU) 21, a memory unit 22, and a communication unit 23. And a shutoff valve 24 and a pressure sensor 25, and are electrically connected.

  As described above, the MPU 21 includes the CPU 21a, the ROM 21b, and the RAM 21c. The ROM 21b stores a leakage inspection processing program for causing the CPU 21a to function as a leakage detection means and a leakage detection result output means in the claims. And the memory part 22 uses EEPROM etc. and memorize | stores various information, such as the determination condition information D1 received from the operating device 10. FIG.

  The communication unit 23 is controlled by the MPU 21 that is electrically connected. For the communication unit 23, a communication device capable of wired or wireless communication with the operation device 10 described above is used. The communication unit 23 transmits a signal indicating various messages input from the MPU 21 to the controller device 10 and outputs a message indicated by the signal received from the controller device 10 to the MPU 11.

  The shut-off valve 24 is electrically connected to the MPU 21 via the drive unit 24a, and a motor drive shut-off valve, a solenoid shut-off valve, or the like is arbitrarily used. The shut-off valve 24 shuts off the gas supply in the pipe 5 when the MPU 21 is closed, and enables the gas supply in the pipe 5 when the valve is opened.

  The pressure sensor 25 is electrically connected to the MPU 21, and a mechanical or electronic sensor that converts the pressure of the gas in the pipe 5 into a pressure signal using a pressure-sensitive element is arbitrarily used. The pressure sensor 25 senses the pressure in the pipe 5 on the downstream side (gas supply side) of the shutoff valve 24 and outputs a pressure signal to the MPU 21.

  Next, an example of the leakage inspection process executed by the CPU 21a will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. It is assumed that the leakage inspection process is executed in response to receiving an inspection request from the controller device 10.

  When the leakage inspection processing program in the ROM 21b is executed by the CPU 21a, an inspection timer for counting down the measurement time corresponding to the determination condition information D1 received from the controller device 10 is started in step T21, and an in-inspection display is displayed in step T22. A request for display during inspection is transmitted to the controller device 10 via the communication unit 23, so that a display of inspection is displayed on the display unit 14 of the controller device 10, and then the valve is requested to the drive unit 24a in step T23. As a result, a valve closing signal is output from the drive unit 24a to the shutoff valve 24, whereby the shutoff valve 24 is closed, and then the process proceeds to step T24.

  In step T24, based on the inspection timer, it is determined whether t seconds, which is the gas pressure equilibration time, have elapsed. Note that t is selected corresponding to the determination condition information D1 received from the controller device 10. When it is determined that t seconds have not elapsed (N in T24), this determination process is repeated to wait for the measurement time. On the other hand, when it is determined that t seconds have elapsed (Y in T24), in step T25, the pressure signal measured by the pressure sensor 25 is acquired and stored in the RAM 21c as the pressure C1, and then the process proceeds to step T26.

  In Step T26, it is determined whether or not the pressure C1 is 1.2 kPa or higher. When it is determined that the pressure C1 is 1.2 kPa or more (Y in T26), it is determined in step T27 whether t seconds have elapsed based on the inspection timer. When it is determined that t seconds have not elapsed (N in T27), this determination process is repeated to wait for the measurement time. On the other hand, when it is determined that t seconds have elapsed (Y in T27), in step T28, the pressure signal measured by the pressure sensor 25 is acquired and stored in the RAM 21c as the pressure C2, and then the process proceeds to step T29.

  In step T29, it is determined whether or not the difference between the pressure C1 and the pressure C2 indicating the pressure change amount (leakage amount) is equal to or less than a predetermined determination threshold value ΔP (C1−C2 ≦ ΔP). If it is determined that it is not less than the determination threshold ΔP, that is, C1-C2> ΔP (N in T29), it is determined that a leak has been detected, and the process proceeds to Step T30.

  In step T30, the inspection timer is stopped, and in step T31, the leakage amount is compared with the determination time data of the determination condition information D1, and it is determined in which section the leakage amount is large, medium, or small. In step T32, Inspection result information (corresponding to a leakage detection result) indicating the leakage amount and its classification is generated, and the inspection result information is transmitted to the operation device 10 via the communication unit 23, so that the display unit 14 of the operation device 10 Inspection result information is displayed, and then the process proceeds to step T35.

  If it is determined in step T29 that it is equal to or smaller than the determination threshold value ΔP (Y in T29), in step T33, the inspection timer is compared with the determination condition information D1, and it is determined whether the measurement end condition is satisfied. . When it is determined that the measurement end condition is not satisfied (N in T33), the process returns to Step T27 and a series of processes is repeated. On the other hand, when it is determined that the measurement end condition is satisfied (Y in T33), the process proceeds to Step T34.

  In step T34, the inspection timer is stopped, and in step T35, an in-inspection display end request for requesting the end of the in-inspection display is transmitted to the operation device 10 via the communication unit 23, whereby the display unit of the operation device 10 is displayed. The display during inspection in 14 is terminated, and the process is terminated.

  If it is determined in step T26 that the pressure C1 is not 1.2 kPa or higher (N in T26), the inspection timer is stopped in step T35, and the gas pressure is decreased in step T36. Inspection impossible information requesting the display of open, gas leak “large” is generated, and the inspection impossible information is transmitted to the operation device 10 via the communication unit 23, so that the display unit 14 of the operation device 10 cannot be inspected. Information is displayed and then the process is terminated.

  As described above, when the CPU 21a executes the leakage inspection process, the CPU 21a functions as the leakage detection means and the leakage detection result output means in the claims. And step T29 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 corresponds to the leakage detection means, and step T32 corresponds to the leakage detection result output means.

  Next, an example of the operation (action) of the operation device 10 and the shutoff valve unit 20 in the gas security system 1 described above will be described below.

  For example, when the gas security system 1 is installed in a gas supply facility such as a house or a kitchen, a worker or the like grasps or estimates the volume from the diameter, length, and the like of the pipe 5, and the operation unit 15 of the operation device 10. With respect to the dip switch 15a, each switch is set so that the switch state indicates the volume, and the dip switch 15a is covered with the case body of the operating device 10 to complete the setting operation.

  When the operation device 10 starts operating by supply from an external power supply, the switch state of the DIP switch 15a is acquired as piping information, and the determination condition information D1 corresponding to the piping information (volume) is extracted from the memory unit 12. Then, the controller device 10 is activated by supplying power to the shut-off valve unit 20 and transmits the extracted determination condition information D1 to the shut-off valve unit 20. Then, the shutoff valve unit 20 stores the received determination condition information D1 in the memory unit 22. Thereby, the cutoff valve unit 20 has memorize | stored the determination condition information D1 corresponding to the volume of the piping 5 which controls interruption | blocking.

  When the operation device 10 detects that an inspection request has occurred in response to an operator's inspection operation on the operation unit, the operation device 10 transmits the inspection request to the shutoff valve unit 20. And the cutoff valve unit 20 will start a leak test | inspection on the determination conditions based on the determination condition information D1 of the memory part 22, if an inspection request | requirement is received.

  The shut-off valve unit 20 detects the pressure by the pressure sensor 25 every predetermined time, and monitors and checks the amount of pressure change based on the pressure and the determination condition. If no pressure change of the determination threshold value ΔP is detected, “no leak” is displayed on the controller device 10 to notify the operator or the like. Further, when a pressure change exceeding the determination threshold value ΔP is detected, the amount of gas leakage is classified into large, medium and small, and is displayed on the display device 10 to notify an operator or the like. For example, when the leakage amount is “large”, the operation device 10 displays the leakage amount “large” on the display unit 14 and also displays the opening of the gas stopper / appliance stopper. When the leak amount is “medium” or “small”, the controller device 10 displays only the leak amount “medium” or “small” on the display unit 14.

  According to the gas security system 1 described above, a plurality of types of determination condition information is stored in the memory unit 12 of the operating device 10 in advance, and the operating device 10 acquires piping information indicating the volume of the piping 5 and the piping. Since the judgment condition information corresponding to the information is extracted and the shutoff valve unit 20 detects leakage based on the judgment condition information, the volume of the pipe 5 to be inspected can be specified by the pipe information. Therefore, leakage can be inspected and detected with determination condition information D1 suitable for the pipe. Therefore, since leak inspection suitable for the piping state of the gas pipe supply facility is performed, it is possible to reduce erroneous leak determination and oversight of leak due to temperature change, and thus it is possible to prevent deterioration in leak detection accuracy.

  In addition, since the leakage determination result is divided into a plurality of stages of large, medium and small, and output, the operator and the like can easily determine the result of the leakage inspection, and thus can arrange quick and accurate countermeasures.

  Furthermore, since the volume of the pipe 5 and the like can be set by the dip switch 15a of the operating device 10, the operator can selectively set the volume of the pipe which is difficult to grasp, and thus the maintainability can be improved.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the operating device 10 includes the determination condition information storage unit, the piping information acquisition unit, the determination condition information extraction unit, and the setting unit in the claims has been described. The shut-off valve unit 20 may be an embodiment having all the means shown in FIG.

  In addition, the above-described piping information acquisition method can be variously different, such as acquiring from a management apparatus of a gas management company by wireless communication or the like. Furthermore, the leak detection result output method can be variously different embodiments such as transmitting to the management apparatus of the gas management company by wireless communication or the like and outputting the management apparatus.

  As described above, the above-described embodiments are merely representative forms of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiments. That is, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

It is a block diagram which shows the basic composition of the gas leak detection apparatus of this invention. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of a gas security system to which the present invention is applied. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the cutoff valve unit starting process which CPU of the operating device in FIG. 2 performs. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the leak test process which CPU of the cutoff valve unit in FIG. 2 performs.

Explanation of symbols

1 Gas leak detection device (gas security system)
2 Setting means (dip switch of operation device)
3. Judgment condition information storage means (memory part of operating device)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Operating device 20 Shut-off valve unit P1 Piping information acquisition means (CPU of operating device)
P2 determination condition information extraction means (CPU of operating device)
P3 Leakage detection means (CPU of shut-off valve unit)
P4 Leakage detection result output means (CPU of shutoff valve unit)

Claims (3)

In a gas leak detection device that detects leaks in piping of gas supply equipment,
Determination condition information storage means for storing a plurality of determination condition information corresponding to each of a plurality of types of pipes having different volumes;
Piping information acquisition means for acquiring piping information for identifying the volume of the piping;
Determination condition information extraction means for extracting the determination condition information corresponding to the piping information acquired by the piping information acquisition means from the determination condition information storage means;
Leakage detection means for measuring the pressure in the pipe based on the judgment condition information extracted by the judgment condition information extraction means, and detecting leakage in the pipe from the measurement result;
A gas leak detection device comprising: The determination condition information has classification data for classifying the detected leakage into a plurality of stages,
The gas leak detection apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a leak detection result output means for outputting a leak detection result obtained by classifying the leak detected by the leak detection means based on the classification data. Having setting means having a plurality of switches for setting the volume of the pipe;
The gas leak detection device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the piping information acquisition means is means for acquiring piping information indicating a state of a plurality of switches of the setting means.

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