JP7213655B2 - Smoke tester - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a smoke tester used for smoke tests of smoke detectors.

A smoke test of a smoke sensor involves supplying test smoke to the smoke sensor to test its operation. As an example of a smoke tester used for such a smoke test, there is a smoke tester described in Patent Document 1.

The smoke tester disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a smoke container containing a smoke generating agent, a heater housed in the smoke generating container, and a metallic siphon placed in contact with the smoke generating agent in the smoke generating container. and a member. The wicking member is constructed by braiding fine metal wires. In this smoke tester, a solid smoke generating material is used as the smoke generating material, and first, preheating is performed to liquefy the smoke generating material. Specifically, the heater is turned on, and the heat of the heater is transferred to the smoke generating agent through the suction member, thereby melting and liquefying the smoke generating agent. Then, the smoke generating agent liquefied by the preheating is sucked up by the sucking member by capillary phenomenon, and the smoke generating agent sucked up by the sucking member is heated by the heater to evaporate the smoke generating agent and generate the test smoke.

JP 2013-127765 A

In Patent Document 1, since a solid smoke generating agent is used, preheating is required to liquefy the smoke generating agent, and there is a problem that it takes time to generate test smoke.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a smoke tester capable of shortening the time required to generate test smoke.

A smoke tester according to the present invention is a smoke tester that supplies test smoke to a smoke sensor to test the smoke sensor, and includes a tank portion that stores a liquid smoke additive that is normally in a liquid state; A suction member that is immersed in the liquid smoking agent in the tank and sucks up the liquid smoking agent, a heater that heats the suction member to vaporize the liquid smoking agent to generate test smoke, and a blower that blows air to the heater. , and an air pipe extending upward through the bottom surface of the tank portion, blowing air from the air blower to the heater from below through the air pipe, and an opening formed in the upper part of the tank portion. The test smoke is emitted from the

According to the present invention, the liquid smoke adding agent that is normally in a liquid state is sucked up by the suction member, and the liquid smoke adding agent sucked up by the suction member is heated by the heater to be vaporized, thereby generating the test smoke. The time required to generate test smoke can be shortened compared to the case of using a solid smoke additive.

1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a smoking tester according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a check valve in FIG. 1; 2 is a diagram showing another configuration example of the check valve of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing still another configuration example of the check valve of FIG. 1; FIG. It is a figure which shows the opening-and-closing state of the smoke exhaust door of FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a smoking tester according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a smoking tester according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a smoke tester according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

Hereinafter, the smoking tester of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings below, the size relationship of each component may differ from the actual size. Moreover, in the following drawings, the same reference numerals denote the same or corresponding parts, and this applies throughout the specification. Furthermore, the forms of the components shown in the entire specification are merely examples, and are not limited to these descriptions.

Embodiment 1.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a smoke tester according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
The smoke tester according to the first embodiment covers the main body 10 for generating test smoke inside and releasing it to the outside, and the smoke inflow part 100a of the smoke sensor 100 installed on the ceiling or the like. and a cover body 80 for guiding the test smoke emitted from the part 10 to the smoke detector 100 .

Each component will be described in detail below.

<Body part>
The main unit 10 controls a smoke generator 20 that generates test smoke, a blower device 30, a blower pipe 40 that guides the wind generated by the blower device 30 to a heater 24 described later in the smoke generator 20, and a smoke tester. It has a control board 50 and a power supply section 60 , which are arranged in a housing 70 .

The smoking section 20 includes a tank section 22 in which the liquid smoke enhancer 21 is stored, a suction member 23 that sucks up the liquid smoke enhancer 21 , and a heater 24 that heats the suction member 23 . The heater 24 is electrically connected to the control board 50 via a heater connector 24a. The control board 50 operates by power supply from a power supply unit 60 configured by a dry battery or a rechargeable battery. Control by the control board 50 will be described later.

The tank portion 22 has a cylindrical shape with a bottom, and a cylindrical wall portion 25 is erected at the center of the inner surface of the bottom surface. A smoking agent 21 is stored. The liquid smoking agent 21 is a smoking agent that is normally liquid, and is composed of, for example, liquid paraffin, glycerin, or propylene glycol.

A supply pipe 26 for supplying the liquid smoking additive 21 from the outside of the housing 70 into the tank portion 22 is connected to the cylindrical wall of the tank portion 22 . The supply pipe 26 is provided through the housing 70, and has an opening on one end side communicating with the inside of the tank portion 22 and an opening on the other end side communicating with the outside of the housing 70. is closed with a stopper (not shown) except when supplying medicine.

The suction member 23 has a curved bar shape, and both ends are immersed in the liquid smoking agent 21 in the tank portion 22 . Since both ends of the sucking member 23 are immersed in the liquid smoking agent 21 , the sucking member 23 sucks up the liquid smoking agent 21 by capillary action and holds the liquid smoking agent 21 . The suction member 23 is made of a fibrous material such as glass wool.

The heater 24 is formed in a coil shape, and the suction member 23 is inserted inside the coil. The heater 24 heats the wicking member 23 to vaporize the liquid smoking agent 21 held in the wicking member 23 to generate test smoke. Although FIG. 1 shows a configuration in which the suction member 23 is inserted inside the coil, it may be wound around the outside of the coil.

The air blower 30 is provided to efficiently guide the test smoke to the smoke sensor 100 and increase the amount of the test smoke, and is composed of an air pump, fan, or the like. The wind generated by the blower 30 is guided into the tank section 22 by the blower pipe 40 and blown to the heater 24 .

The blower pipe 40 is installed through the bottom surface of the tank portion 22 . Specifically, the blower pipe 40 is installed on the bottom surface of the tank portion 22 so as to penetrate the inner region of the wall portion 25 from the lower surface side and extend upward. A check valve 41 is provided at an air outlet 40 a that is an opening on the upper side of the air blow pipe 40 . The check valve 41 is provided to prevent the liquid smoke adding agent 21 from flowing backward from the wind outlet 40a to the blower pipe 40 when the main body 10 is tilted. Although any structure can be adopted for the structure of the check valve 41, a structural example is shown below.

2A and 2B are diagrams showing an example of the configuration of the check valve in FIG.
The check valve 41 shown in FIG. 2 includes a spring 90 and a valve body 91 that is biased by the spring 90 to close the wind outlet 40 a of the blower tube 40 . When smoke is not added, the biasing force of the spring 90 presses the valve body 91 against the air outlet 40a to close the air outlet 40a, as shown in (a). During smoking, as shown in (b), the valve element 91 is pushed up against the biasing force of the spring 90 by the wind from the blower pipe 40 indicated by the dotted arrow, thereby opening the wind outlet 40a.

3A and 3B are diagrams showing another configuration example of the check valve in FIG.
The check valve 41 shown in FIG. 3 has a ball 92 . When not smoking, the air outlet 40a is blocked by the weight of the ball 92 as shown in (a). When smoking, as shown in (b), the ball 92 is pushed up by the wind from the blower pipe 40 indicated by the dotted arrow, and the wind outlet 40a is opened.

4A and 4B are diagrams showing another configuration example of the check valve of FIG.
The check valve 41 shown in FIG. 4 has a hinge shape in which two plate portions 93 rotate around a shaft portion 94 . When not smoking, the air outlet 40a is blocked by the two plate portions 93 as shown in (a). During smoking, as shown in (b), the two plate portions 93 are rotated around the shaft portion 94 by the wind from the blower pipe 40 indicated by the dotted arrow, and the wind outlet 40a is opened.

Now, let us return to the description of FIG.

<Cover body>
The cover body 80 has a cylindrical portion 81 made of resin and a bellows portion 82 made of rubber provided continuously from the upper portion of the cylindrical portion 81 . The cylindrical portion 81 has a cylindrical shape with a bottom, and the bottom surface of the cylindrical portion 81 is formed with a smoke inlet 81 a for receiving the test smoke generated by the smoke generating portion 20 into the cover body 80 . A smoke exhaust door 83 is provided at the smoke inlet 81a.

5A and 5B are diagrams showing the opened/closed state of the smoke exhaust door in FIG.
The smoke exhaust door 83 can be manually opened and closed, and when not smoking, the smoke inlet 81a is closed as shown in FIG. prevent. When smoking, the smoke exhaust door 83 is slid to open the smoke inlet 81a as shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the smoke tester according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
The smoke tester is provided on a control board 50, and includes a control unit 51 that controls the entire smoke tester, a power switch 52 that connects the control unit 51 and a power supply unit 60, and a smoke detector 100 test. A smoke addition start switch 53 is provided for instructing the start of smoking by being operated by the operator.

The control unit 51 can be configured with hardware such as a circuit device that realizes its functions, or can be configured with an arithmetic unit such as a CPU and software executed thereon.

When the smoke addition start switch 53 is turned on while the power switch 52 is on, the control unit 51 starts supplying power to the heater 24 . Power supply to the heater 24 may be DC or PWM (Pulse Width Modulation). In power supply by PWM, a PWM-controlled voltage is supplied to the heater 24 . When power is supplied by PWM, the heater 24 can be heated while suppressing consumption of the power supply unit 60 .

Further, when the smoke adding start switch 53 is turned on while the power switch 52 is turned on, the control unit 51 starts supplying power to the blower device 30 . The control unit 51 controls power supply to the blower device 30 to intermittently operate the blower device 30 . If the air blower 30 were to operate all the time, the temperature of the heater 24 would drop, and it would be difficult to efficiently generate the test smoke. Therefore, the air blower 30 is operated intermittently. The operation of the air blower 30 is not limited to intermittent operation, and it may be operated all the time as long as the test smoke can be generated efficiently.

Here, comparing the case where the blower 30 is operated and the case where it is not operated, the amount of smoke can be increased when the blower 30 is operated. It is considered that this is because the vapor of the liquid smoking agent 21 is cooled and condensed when the air from the blower 30 hits the heated liquid smoking agent 21 that has reached the evaporation temperature or higher. . In this way, since the amount of smoke can be increased by operating the blower 30, it is preferable to have a configuration including the blower 30, but smoke is generated even if the blower 30 is not operated. Therefore, the present invention includes a configuration in which the blower device 30 is not provided.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment configured as described above will be described.
An operator who tests the smoke sensor 100 turns on the power switch 52 and also turns on the smoking start switch 53 . Then, for example, the smoke inflow part 100a of the smoke sensor 100 installed on the ceiling is covered from below with the cover body 80 as shown in FIG.

When the power switch 52 and the smoking start switch 53 are turned on, the control unit 51 supplies power to the heater 24 to start heating the heater 24 and operate the air blower 30 . Heating by the heater 24 evaporates the liquid smoking agent 21 held in the suction member 23 to generate test smoke. Here, since the liquid smoking agent is always in a liquid state, preheating for dissolving the smoking agent is not required as in the case of using a solid smoking agent, and the smoking start switch 53 is turned on. It is possible to shorten the time from when test smoke is generated.

When the blower 30 operates, the air from the blower 30 is blown from below to the heater 24 through the blower pipe 40 . As a result, the test smoke generated by the heating of the heater 24 flows upward in the tank section 22 . Then, the test smoke directed upward in the tank portion 22 is emitted from the upper opening 22a of the tank portion 22, flows into the cover body 80 through the smoke inlet 81a, and fills the cover body 80 with the test smoke. Here, since the blower 30 operates intermittently as described above, the vaporization of the liquid smoking agent 21 is efficiently performed without overcooling the heater 24 .

Then, when the cover body 80 is filled with the test smoke, if the smoke sensor 100 is operating normally, the confirmation lamp provided in the smoke sensor 100 lights up, indicating that the smoke sensor 100 is normal. can be confirmed. On the other hand, if the smoke sensor 100 has a problem, the confirmation light does not turn on, so that it can be confirmed that the smoke sensor 100 has a problem. The confirmation light is composed of, for example, an LED.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, by using the liquid smoking agent 21 that is always in a liquid state, preheating when using a solid smoking agent is unnecessary, and the smoking start switch 53 is It is possible to shorten the time from when the switch is turned on until the liquid smoking agent 21 is generated.

In addition, since the blower 30 that blows air to the heater 24 is provided, it is possible to increase the amount of test smoke compared to a configuration that does not blow air to the heater 24, and it is possible to shorten the time required for testing the smoke sensor 100. .

Further, a blower pipe 40 extending upward through the bottom surface of the tank portion 22 is provided, and the air from the blower device 30 is blown from below to the heater 24 via the blower pipe 40, and the tank portion 22 is cooled. The test smoke was emitted from the upper opening 22a. Since the smoke sensor 100 is installed on the ceiling, it is desirable that the test smoke generated from the smoke generating part 20 is directed upward. can be guided to the device 100.

In addition, since the blower 30 blows air intermittently, the heater 24 is not cooled excessively, and the liquid smoking agent 21 can be vaporized efficiently.

Embodiment 2.
In the first embodiment, the smoking is started by operating the smoke addition start switch 53 by the worker, but in the second embodiment, smoking is started by detecting the approach of the smoke sensor 100 Regarding. Further, although the heating temperature of the heater 24 is not controlled in the first embodiment, the second embodiment relates to a mode of controlling the heating temperature of the heater 24. FIG. The following description will focus on the differences of the second embodiment from the first embodiment, and the configurations not described in the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a smoke tester according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a smoke tester according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.
The smoking tester of the second embodiment further includes an approach detection sensor 54 and a temperature sensor 55 in addition to the smoking tester of the first embodiment shown in FIG. The proximity detection sensor 54 is a sensor that detects that the smoke sensor 100 has approached the proximity detection sensor 54 . The approach detection sensor 54 outputs a detection signal to the control unit 51 when detecting the approach of the smoke sensor 100 . The proximity detection sensor 54 is specifically composed of a proximity sensor, a limit switch, or the like.

The temperature sensor 55 is a sensor that measures the ambient temperature of the location where it is installed. A temperature sensor 55 measures the ambient temperature and outputs a measurement signal to the controller 51 . The temperature sensor 55 may be arranged outside the smoking section 20 to measure the ambient temperature of the smoking section 20 as shown in FIG. Alternatively, it may be installed inside the main body 10 (for example, on the control board 50) to measure the temperature outside the tank 22 and inside the main body 10 (housing). .

When the power switch 52 is turned on and the detection signal from the proximity detection sensor 54 is input, the control unit 51 starts supplying power to the heater 24 . Further, the control unit 51 controls the amount of power supplied to the heater 24 based on the measurement signal from the temperature sensor 55 to control the heating temperature. Since there is concern that the ambient temperature measured by the temperature sensor 55 may change the smoking efficiency, the ambient temperature is monitored by the temperature sensor 55 to control the heating temperature of the heater 24 and perform appropriate smoking. ing.

Next, the operation of the second embodiment configured as described above will be described. In the following, the operation of the second embodiment will be described with a focus on points that differ from those of the first embodiment.
A worker who tests the smoke sensor 100 turns on the power switch 52 and covers the smoke inlet 100a of the smoke sensor 100 installed on the ceiling, for example, with a cover 80 from below as shown in FIG. As a result, the proximity detection sensor 54 detects the approach of the smoke sensor 100 and outputs a detection signal to the controller 51 . The controller 51 starts supplying power to the heater 24 upon receiving the detection signal.

After starting power supply to the heater 24 , the control unit 51 controls the amount of power supply to the heater 24 according to the measurement signal from the temperature sensor 55 and controls the heating temperature of the heater 24 . Specifically, the control unit 51 adjusts the PWM cycle according to the ambient temperature measured by the temperature sensor 55 to appropriately add smoke. The power supply control of the heater 24 is a combination of DC and PWM. Immediately after the power switch 52 is turned on, for example, DC power is supplied for several seconds to rapidly increase the temperature of the heater 24, and then PWM control according to the ambient temperature. The power may be supplied by switching to the power supply by the .

As described above, according to the second embodiment, effects similar to those of the first embodiment can be obtained, and the provision of the approach detection sensor 54 further has the following effects. That is, since the approach detection sensor 54 detects the approach of the smoke sensor 100 and drives the heater 24, the test smoke can be generated only when the smoke sensor 100 is tested.

In addition, since the amount of power supplied to the heater 24 is controlled according to the ambient temperature measured by the temperature sensor 55, appropriate smoking can be performed. Specifically, the PWM period is adjusted according to the ambient temperature measured by the temperature sensor 55 to appropriately add smoke.

Further, by performing PWM control as power supply control of the heater 24, the heater 24 can be heated while reducing the power consumption of the power supply unit 60. FIG.

Also, immediately after the heater 24 is turned on, power may be supplied by DC for a preset time, and then switched to PWM control according to the ambient temperature. In this case, compared to the case where power is supplied by PWM control from the beginning, the heating temperature of the heater 24 can be increased at a faster speed, and the time until smoke is generated can be shortened.

In addition, here, the configuration further including the temperature sensor 55 in the configuration including the proximity detection sensor 54 is shown, but the configuration of the first embodiment may include the temperature sensor 55 .

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 main body 20 smoke generator 21 liquid smoke increasing agent 22 tank 22a opening 23 suction member 24 heater 24a heater connector 25 wall 26 supply pipe 30 blower 40 blower pipe 40a Air outlet, 41 check valve, 50 control board, 51 control unit, 52 power switch, 53 smoking start switch, 54 approach detection sensor, 55 temperature sensor, 60 power supply unit, 70 housing, 80 cover body, 81 cylinder Part 81a smoke inlet 82 bellows part 83 smoke exhaust door 90 spring 91 valve body 92 ball 93 plate part 94 shaft part 100 smoke sensor 100a smoke inlet part.

Claims (3)

A smoke tester for supplying test smoke to a smoke sensor to test the smoke sensor,
a tank portion in which a liquid smoking agent that is normally in a liquid state is stored;
a siphoning member that is immersed in the liquid smoking agent in the tank and sucks up the liquid smoking agent;
a heater that heats the wicking member to vaporize the liquid smoke additive and generate test smoke ;
a blower that blows air to the heater;
a blower pipe extending upward through the bottom surface of the tank portion from the bottom surface side,
A smoke tester that blows air from the blower to the heater from below through the blower pipe and discharges the test smoke to the outside from an opening formed in the upper part of the tank . A smoke tester for supplying test smoke to a smoke sensor to test the smoke sensor,
a tank portion in which a liquid smoking agent that is normally in a liquid state is stored;
a siphoning member that is immersed in the liquid smoking agent in the tank and sucks up the liquid smoking agent;
a heater that heats the wicking member to vaporize the liquid smoke additive and generate test smoke;
and a temperature sensor that measures the ambient temperature,
A smoking tester that performs PWM control for power supply to the heater and adjusts the PWM cycle according to the ambient temperature measured by the temperature sensor. 3. Immediately after the heater is turned on, DC power is supplied for a preset time, and then the power supply to the heater is switched to the PWM control according to the ambient temperature measured by the temperature sensor. 2. The smoking tester described in 2 above.

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