JPH0715650B2 - Pressure regulator self-inspection device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pressure regulator for depressurizing high-pressure gas on the upstream side into low-pressure gas in a predetermined range and supplying it to the downstream side. The present invention relates to an inspection device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Up to now, a functional inspection of a pressure regulator and a leakage inspection of a gas supply facility including the pressure regulator have been manually conducted by a gas supplier every two years.

However, in such a regular inspection method, if there is a malfunction or gas leakage at the time of the inspection, it is possible to detect the malfunction, and appropriate measures such as repair and replacement of the pressure regulator and the supply equipment should be taken. It can be taken immediately, but if a functional abnormality or gas leak occurs immediately after the inspection, it will be left undiscovered until the next inspection, which may lead to a dangerous state.

Further, in such a manual inspection method, the labor cost including securing personnel and training is high, and the burden on the gas supplier side is large. Therefore, there is a demand for the development of an automatic inspecting device that constantly automatically inspects and reports a malfunction of the pressure regulator and gas leakage.

Typical examples of abnormal function of the pressure regulator include foreign matter caught between the nozzle and the valve body, damage to the valve rubber and the nozzle, and the pressure rises to 350 mm or more of water column when closed, and finally Has a blockage failure in which a safety valve works and gas is released to the outside. This phenomenon can be confirmed by checking the gas pressure when the gas flow rate is zero.

Therefore, a flow rate sensor for measuring the gas consumption and a pressure sensor for measuring the gas pressure are installed on the downstream side of the pressure regulator, and the signals output from the respective sensors are input to the microcomputer. It has been proposed that a normal value and a measured value of the gas pressure at the time of zero gas flow rate are compared in a calculation process to automatically inspect and notify the presence or absence of blockage failure.

However, in this inspection system, when the gas pipe is warmed by solar radiation or the like, whether the pressure increase measured by the pressure sensor is due to the temperature increase of the gas or the pressure increase due to the blockage failure is caused. It will be impossible to determine if there is one. To solve this problem, it is proposed to measure the temperature rise with a temperature sensor, calculate the pressure rise due to temperature rise with a microcomputer according to Boyle-Charle's law, and judge if there is a pressure rise above the calculated value as a blocking failure. Has been done.

In the inspection method in consideration of the temperature compensation, there is a problem that the logic circuit of the microcomputer becomes complicated because a program, an arithmetic program and a comparison program for measuring the temperature rise and the pressure rise after a certain period of time are required. If the gas pipe is long and there is a large difference in temperature distribution, a large error will occur depending on where the temperature sensor is installed.To reduce this error, many temperature sensors should be installed. However, there is a problem that a program for calculating the average value of the output of each temperature sensor is required.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to constantly and automatically inspect and inform the presence or absence of malfunction or gas leakage by a microcomputer having a simplified logic circuit and a sensor connected thereto. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a self-inspection device for a pressure regulator that can take countermeasures such as repair and replacement at an early stage and is effective in preventing gas explosion.

[0010]

The self-inspection apparatus of the present invention will be described below with reference to the reference numerals in the accompanying drawings.
Instead of measuring the temperature rise with the temperature sensor, a method is used in which the flow sensor 3 detects the flow of gas flowing out from the nozzle 2 connected to the upstream side of the pressure regulator 1.
A flow rate sensor 4 for measuring gas consumption and a pressure sensor 5 for measuring depressurized gas pressure are installed on the downstream side of the pressure regulator 1, and the presence / absence of a signal input from each of the sensors and a value thereof are micro-measured. The computer 6 performs arithmetic processing to determine whether there is a functional abnormality or gas leakage, and outputs a notification signal or a cutoff signal.

[0011]

In the self-inspection apparatus of the present invention, as shown in Table 1, presence / absence of flow rate measured by the flow rate sensor 4, presence / absence of outflow of gas from the nozzle 2 detected by the flow sensor 3, and pressure sensor 5 The state of the pressure regulator 1 is ascertained from the combination with the pressure value measured in step S3, and gas leakage between the pressure regulator 1 and the flow sensor 4 is detected.

[Table 1]

The flow rate is not measured by the flow rate sensor 4 without gas consumption, the outflow of gas from the nozzle 2 is not detected by the flow sensor 3, and the pressure measured by the pressure sensor 5 is less than 350 mm water column. At times, it is determined that the function of the pressure regulator 1 is normal and there is no gas leakage.

Although there is no gas consumption and the flow rate is not measured by the flow rate sensor 4, and the outflow of gas from the nozzle 2 is not detected by the flow sensor 3, the pressure measured by the pressure sensor 5 is 350 mm When it exceeds, it is judged that the function of the pressure regulator 1 is normal, and the pressure rise is due to the influence of the temperature rise.

The flow sensor 3 detects the outflow of gas from the nozzle 2 even though the flow rate sensor 4 does not measure the flow rate because there is no gas consumption, and the pressure measured by the pressure sensor 5 is 350 mm water column. When crossing
The pressure regulator 1 has a poor blockage, and it is determined that gas leakage exists.

Although the flow rate is not measured by the flow rate sensor 4 because there is no gas consumption, outflow of gas from the nozzle 2 is detected by the flow sensor 3, and the pressure measured by the pressure sensor 5 is 350 mm water column. When it is less than, it is judged that a gas leak exists.

Although the flow rate is not measured by the flow rate sensor 4 because there is no gas consumption, outflow of gas from the nozzle 2 is detected by the flow sensor 3, and the pressure measured by the pressure sensor 5 is 560 mm water column. When crossing
The pressure regulator 1 is defectively closed, and the safety valve 19 operates.

The flow rate is measured by the flow rate sensor 4 by gas consumption, the outflow of gas from the nozzle 2 is detected by the flow sensor 3, and the pressure measured by the pressure sensor 5 is 230 mm water column or more and 330 mm water column or less. At times, it is determined that the function of the pressure regulator 1 is normal and there is no gas leakage.

When the flow rate sensor 4 measures the flow rate by gas consumption, the flow sensor 3 detects the outflow of gas from the nozzle 2, and when the pressure measured by the pressure sensor 5 is less than 230 mm water column, the downstream side The gas pressure is below the acceptable level.

When the flow rate sensor 4 measures the flow rate due to gas consumption, the flow sensor 3 detects the outflow of gas from the nozzle 2, and when the pressure measured by the pressure sensor 5 exceeds the 330 mm water column, the pressure regulator. No. 1 is judged to be poor pressure regulation.

[0020]

EXAMPLE A pressure regulator 1 includes a diaphragm 7 provided with an adjusting spring 8 for pressure setting in an upper compartment, an operating lever 10 of a valve body 9 arranged in a lower compartment, and a base end portion of the operating lever 10. Is supported by a horizontal pivot 11, and the tip of the operating lever 10 is inserted into the receiving hole 13 of the connecting rod 12 that projects to the lower center of the diaphragm 7, and the interlocking pin 20 at the proximal end of the valve body 9 is attached to the operating lever 10. It is a known diaphragm type inserted into the cam groove 22 at the base end portion, and a valve rubber 23 that is brought into contact with and separated from the outlet portion of the nozzle 2 is attached to the tip end portion of the valve body 9. The high-pressure gas introduced into the nozzle 2 from the upstream gas pipe is depressurized to a predetermined level and flows out from the compartment outlet 21 to the downstream gas pipe.

The flow sensor 3 is arranged between the outlet 14 of the nozzle 2 and the inlet 15 of the lower compartment and is attached to the pressure regulator 1. As the flow sensor 3, a well-known heat ray flow sensor, a sound wave sensor that detects a sound emitted from a nozzle, or the like can be used. The flow rate sensor 4 is attached to the gas meter 18. A gas cutoff valve 16 is installed on the upstream side of the pressure regulator 1, and the microcomputer 6
Drive signal is given from. A drive signal from the microcomputer 6 is given to the alarm device 17 installed in a gas supplier or a gas user by a wired or wireless method.

[0022]

As described above, in the present invention, the pressure regulator 1
A flow sensor 3 for detecting the flow of gas flowing out of the nozzle 2 connected to the upstream side of the pressure regulator 5 is provided, and the output from the pressure sensor 5 for measuring the gas pressure on the downstream side of the pressure regulator 1 and the flow rate for measuring the gas consumption amount. The output from the sensor 4 is input to the microcomputer 6 together with the output from the flow sensor 3, and the presence or absence and the value of the signal input from each sensor are arithmetically processed by the microcomputer 6, so that the function of the pressure regulator 1 is abnormal. It is possible to automatically inspect for leaks and gas leaks at all times, and by outputting warning signals and shutoff signals in a timely manner, it is possible to take necessary measures such as repairs and replacements at an early stage, and prevent accidents such as gas explosions. You can do it.

Further, instead of the temperature sensor, a flow sensor 3 for directly detecting the flow of gas flowing out from the nozzle 2.
Since an additional program related to temperature compensation is not required, the logic circuit of the microcomputer 6 can be simplified and the cost can be reduced, and the malfunction of the pressure regulator 1 can be reduced by the length of the gas pipe. It can be inspected without any error.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a pressure regulator self-inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the pressure regulator.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Pressure Regulator 2 Nozzle 3 Flow Sensor 4 Flow Rate Sensor 5 Pressure Sensor 6 Microcomputer 7 Diaphragm 8 Adjustment Spring 9 Valve Body 10 Operating Lever 11 Horizontal Axis 12 Connecting Rod 13 Receiving Hole 14 Nozzle Outlet 15 Separator Inlet 16 Gas Cutoff Valve 17 Alarm 18 Gas meter 19 Safety valve 20 Interlocking pin 21 Compartment outlet 22 Cam groove 23 Valve rubber

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A flow sensor for detecting a flow of gas flowing out of a nozzle connected to an upstream side of a pressure regulator, and a pressure sensor installed on a downstream side of the pressure regulator for measuring depressurized gas pressure. From a flow rate sensor that measures gas consumption, and a microcomputer that outputs a notification signal or cutoff signal by calculating the presence or absence of a signal input from each sensor and processing the value to determine the presence or absence of functional abnormality or gas leakage Self-inspection device for pressure regulator consisting of.