Intelligent switching consumable management system and method based on double gas cylinders

Abstract

The invention provides an intelligent switching consumable management system and method based on double gas cylinders. The intelligent switching consumable management system comprises a main control board, a two-position three-way electromagnetic valve, at least two pressure sensors and a remote communication module. A closed-loop system integrating gas path control, state sensing, decision execution and intelligent operation and maintenance is constructed, and the system takes a two-position three-way electromagnetic valve as an execution mechanism to realize automatic switching of double nitrogen sources; a pressure sensor is used as a sensing unit, gas supply pressure is monitored in real time, a main control board is used as a control core, an electromagnetic valve is judged and driven to act according to a pressure signal, a switching event is used as a trigger source, a consumable record and a remote alarm are synchronously generated, and the system analyzes accumulated data to generate predictive purchase suggestions; the pressure dynamic state is continuously monitored, diagnosis of the health state of the system is completed, and finally, the system achieves the crossing from basic automation to intelligence with self-sensing, self-decision-making and self-early-warning capabilities.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of consumable management, in particular to a kind of intelligent switching consumable management system and method based on double gas cylinder. BACKGROUND

[0002] In industrial, environmental monitoring, medical or laboratory environment, many precision equipment need continuous, stable high-purity nitrogen as protection gas, carrier gas or power gas, which usually uses double-bottle nitrogen source to switch through manual valve to ensure that when one bottle of gas is exhausted, it can be switched to another bottle in time to avoid interruption of equipment operation.

[0003] In the prior art, there are some devices for automatic switching of double gas cylinders, such as mechanical pressure regulating valve or simple pressure control circuit to realize switching. However, these schemes have obvious shortcomings, only solve the physical problem of uninterrupted gas supply, which is an "island" solution, and cannot combine equipment running state, consumable use data and information management platform. The switching action itself does not generate any data for management, and the consumption of consumables, consumption time point and other key information still rely on manual operation. It is impossible to realize fine and traceable management. The existing scheme only acts when the gas cylinder is exhausted, which is a passive response. The operation and maintenance personnel cannot know the consumption speed of the gas cylinder in advance, let alone predict when to replace the gas cylinder. It is difficult to carry out efficient inventory and scheduling. SUMMARY

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present application is to overcome the defects in the prior art. The present application provides an intelligent switching consumable management system and method based on double gas cylinders.

[0005] To solve the above technical problems, the technical scheme adopted by the present application is: an intelligent switching consumable management system based on double gas cylinders, comprising: a main control board, a two-position three-way electromagnetic valve, at least two pressure sensors and a remote communication module; The common port of the two-position three-way electromagnetic valve is connected to the gas supply pipeline of the gas-using equipment, and the normally open port and the normally closed port are connected to the first gas cylinder and the second gas cylinder respectively; The pressure sensor is used to monitor the gas supply pressure of the first gas cylinder and the second gas cylinder respectively, and transmit the pressure signal to the main control board; The main control board receives the signal of the pressure sensor, and when the real-time pressure value of any gas cylinder being supplied drops to a preset switching threshold, controls the two-position three-way electromagnetic valve to act to switch the gas cylinder; When each gas cylinder switching event occurs, record and store the gas supply duration data of the switched gas cylinder, and generate a consumable record containing gas cylinder identification, switching time and gas supply duration; The remote communication module sends the consumable record to the upper computer or remote server, and sends the gas cylinder replacement alarm information outward.

[0006] Preferably, the main control board continuously monitors the pressure changes of the gas supply pipeline during the period of stable gas supply from the gas cylinder; when the pressure drop value detected in a unit time exceeds the preset leakage judgment threshold, it is determined to be a suspected pipeline leak; when the abnormal pressure drop is confirmed in multiple consecutive monitoring cycles, a leakage alarm message is generated and sent.

[0007] Preferably, the main control board calculates the average usage time per bottle based on recent consumable usage time data stored in the database; combined with the current inventory level, it predicts the support time of the remaining inventory; when the support time is lower than a preset inventory warning threshold, it automatically generates and sends predictive procurement suggestions.

[0008] Preferably, the consumable record is automatically generated by the main control board when the gas cylinder switching event is triggered, and includes a timestamp.

[0009] Preferably, the remote communication module is one of a 4G / 5G communication module, an NB-IoT module, or an Ethernet interface.

[0010] Preferably, the system further includes performing predictive management of consumables using accumulated consumable record data.

[0011] Preferably, the records are stored locally on the device or uploaded to a remote server to form an audit trail that cannot be tampered with.

[0012] A method for intelligent switching consumable management based on dual gas cylinders, comprising the aforementioned intelligent switching consumable management system based on dual gas cylinders. The pressure of the current gas cylinder is monitored in real time. When the pressure drops to the switching threshold, the two-position three-way solenoid valve is controlled to switch the gas supply source from the current gas cylinder to the backup gas cylinder. Each time a gas cylinder switching event occurs, the gas supply duration of the switched gas cylinder is automatically recorded, and a consumable record containing the gas cylinder identifier and switching time is generated. Based on the gas cylinder switching event, a notification is sent to prompt the user to replace the depleted gas cylinder. Based on gas supply duration data accumulated from multiple historical records of the aforementioned consumables, future consumable consumption trends are predicted, and procurement recommendations are generated.

[0013] Compared with existing technologies, the beneficial effects of this invention include: by constructing a closed-loop system integrating gas path control, status perception, decision execution, and intelligent operation and maintenance, the system uses a two-position three-way solenoid valve as the actuator to realize automatic switching between dual nitrogen sources; a pressure sensor as the sensing unit to monitor the gas supply pressure in real time; the main control board as the control core to judge and drive the solenoid valve based on the pressure signal, and uses this switching event as the trigger source to synchronously generate consumable records and remote alarms; the system generates predictive procurement suggestions by analyzing accumulated data; and by continuously monitoring pressure dynamics, it completes the diagnosis of the system's health status. Ultimately, the system achieves a leap from basic automation to intelligent systems with self-sensing, self-decision-making, and self-early warning capabilities. Attached Figure Description

[0014] The disclosure of this invention is illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of this invention. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to refer to the same parts. Wherein: Figure 1 The diagram illustrates the connection of the intelligent switching consumable management system based on dual gas cylinders proposed according to the present invention.

[0015] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the control logic flowchart according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0016] Figure 3 The diagram illustrates a predictive management logic diagram for consumables according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 4 The schematic diagram illustrates a system health monitoring flowchart according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0018] It is readily understood that, based on the technical solution of this invention, those skilled in the art can propose various interchangeable structural methods and implementations without altering the essential spirit of the invention. Therefore, the following detailed embodiments and accompanying drawings are merely illustrative examples of the technical solution of this invention and should not be considered as the entirety of the invention or as limitations or restrictions on the technical solution of this invention.

[0019] Example 1 By using the "switching event" in pneumatic control as the "data trigger source" of the information system, a deep integration of operational technology and information technology has been achieved.

[0020] By accumulating data on consumable usage time, the operation and maintenance model has been upgraded from a passive "replace when exhausted" model to a proactive "predictive procurement" model, which significantly reduces the risk of production stoppages due to insufficient gas supply and optimizes supply chain management.

[0021] By utilizing existing pressure sensor data, not only was its core switching judgment function completed, but its ability to diagnose the health status of the system was also expanded, maximizing the value of single sensor data.

[0022] The system automatically generates consumable records with timestamps, which are directly generated by the equipment, completely eliminating the possibility of human modification or omission. This provides owners with an absolutely authentic and reliable audit trail of consumable consumption, achieving absolute transparency in management.

[0023] When the system is powered on and initialized, the main control board controls the two-position three-way solenoid valve to be in a de-energized state. At this time, the normally open (NO) port of the solenoid valve is connected to the common port (COM). Nitrogen gas from cylinder A is supplied to the equipment normally through the NO-COM passage. The nitrogen passage of cylinder B is closed because it is connected to the normally closed port (NC). When any cylinder starts supplying gas, the main control board records its initial pressure and starts timing the gas supply to that cylinder. At this time, the electronic pressure gauge installed on the nitrogen passage of cylinder A records the initial pressure of cylinder A, P_init_A, and continuously monitors the pressure of cylinder A, transmitting the analog or digital signal to the main control board in real time. The main control board also starts timing the gas supply to cylinder A.

[0024] The main control board has a preset pressure switching threshold P_Thre. The main control program reads the real-time pressure value P_real in a loop. When it is determined that P_real≤P_Thre, the following steps are executed.

[0025] a. Controlling the solenoid valve's operation: The main control board outputs an electrical signal to the two-position three-way solenoid valve, driving the valve core to switch directions. At this time, the normally closed port (NC) of the solenoid valve is connected to the common port (COM), while the normally open port (NO) is closed. The gas supply source seamlessly switches from cylinder A to cylinder B, and the equipment continues to be supplied with gas from cylinder B. The main control board records the initial pressure P_init_B of cylinder B and starts the timing for gas supply from cylinder B.

[0026] b. Generate consumable record: Stop the timing of cylinder A, and record the pressure of cylinder A P_Swit_A when the valve is switched off, calculate the total gas supply duration T_a of cylinder A this time; send a structured data packet to the host computer, the content of which should include at least: {Event type: cylinder switching, cylinder depleted: A, time: 202x-xx-xx14:30:25, initial pressure P_init_A, valve switching pressure P_Swit_A, usage duration: T_a}.

[0027] c. Send a text message to the pre-defined maintenance personnel's mobile phone: "Nitrogen cylinder A was depleted at 14:30 on 202X-xx-xx. Please replace it. The gas in this cylinder has been used for T_a hours."

[0028] When the gas in cylinder B is about to run out and the pressure drops below the set threshold again, the main control board will drive the solenoid valve to switch back to the initial state and supply gas from cylinder A (which should be the new cylinder that has been replaced at this time). At the same time, the main control board will repeat the information operation in step 3: stop the timer for cylinder B, send a signal to the host computer to record the consumption of cylinder B, and send a text message to the maintenance personnel to remind them to replace cylinder B.

[0029] The system periodically retrieves the usage duration of the most recent 10 consumables from the database and calculates a new average value T_avg_new; The system checks the inventory warning line and prioritizes 2 bottles. If the current inventory is below the warning line, the system automatically generates a predictive purchase recommendation and sends it to the purchasing agent via email or WeChat: "Warning: Only 2 bottles of nitrogen remain in stock. Based on the recent consumption rate (T_avg_new hours / bottle), it is expected to run out in (2*T_avg_new) hours. Immediate purchase is recommended." To diagnose faults such as pipeline leaks, the main control board continuously monitors pressure sensor data during periods of stable gas supply to the system. A pressure drop threshold ΔP_Thre is set within the main control board, preferably a pressure drop exceeding 0.2 MPa within 10 seconds.

[0030] Leakage detection: When the main control board detects that the pressure drop value ΔP ≥ ΔP_Thre within the ΔT time period, it is initially determined to be a suspected leak. The main control board immediately records the current pressure value P_leak1, and records the pressure value P_leak2 again after the next ΔT time period. If ΔP ≥ ΔP_Thre is satisfied for two consecutive cycles, then it is confirmed as a pipeline leak.

[0031] Alarm Execution: Once a leak is confirmed, the main control board immediately sends the highest-level alarm information to the host computer and simultaneously sends an emergency text message to the maintenance personnel. The alarm content should include "Suspected pipeline leak, pressure drops sharply".

[0032] Mechanism reset: If the pressure changes return to normal after the first suspected leak, the system will automatically reset the alarm record and will not trigger an emergency SMS.

[0033] The technical scope of this invention is not limited to the content described above. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to the above embodiments without departing from the technical concept of this invention, and all such modifications and variations should fall within the protection scope of this invention.

Claims

1. A smart switching consumable management system based on dual gas cylinders, characterized in that, include: Main control board, two-position three-way solenoid valve, at least two pressure sensors, and remote communication module; The common port of the two-way three-way solenoid valve is connected to the gas supply line of the gas-using equipment, and its normally open and normally closed ports are connected to the first gas cylinder and the second gas cylinder, respectively. The pressure sensor is used to monitor the gas supply pressure of the first gas cylinder and the second gas cylinder respectively, and transmits the pressure signal to the main control board; The main control board receives the signal from the pressure sensor and controls the two-position three-way solenoid valve to switch the gas cylinder when the real-time pressure value of any gas cylinder being supplied drops to a preset switching threshold. Each time a gas cylinder switching event occurs, the gas supply duration data of the switched gas cylinder is recorded and stored, and a consumable record containing the gas cylinder identifier, switching time and gas supply duration is generated. The remote communication module sends the consumable records to the host computer or remote server and sends out gas cylinder replacement alarm information.

2. The intelligent switching consumable management system based on dual gas cylinders according to claim 1, characterized in that, During the period of stable gas supply from the gas cylinder, the main control board continuously monitors the pressure changes of the gas supply pipeline; when the pressure drop value detected within a unit time exceeds the preset leakage judgment threshold, it is determined to be a suspected pipeline leak; when the abnormal pressure drop is confirmed in multiple consecutive monitoring cycles, a leakage alarm message is generated and sent.

3. The intelligent switching consumable management system based on dual gas cylinders according to claim 1, characterized in that, The main control board calculates the average usage time per bottle based on recent consumable usage time data stored in the database; combined with the current inventory level, it predicts the support time of the remaining inventory; when the support time is lower than the preset inventory warning threshold, it automatically generates and sends predictive procurement suggestions.

4. The intelligent switching consumable management system based on dual gas cylinders according to claim 1, characterized in that, The consumables record is automatically generated by the main control board when the gas cylinder switching event is triggered, and includes a timestamp.

5. The intelligent switching consumable management system based on dual gas cylinders according to claim 1, characterized in that, The remote communication module is one of a 4G / 5G communication module, an NB-IoT module, or an Ethernet interface.

6. The intelligent switching consumable management system based on dual gas cylinders according to claim 1, characterized in that, The system also includes predictive management of consumables based on accumulated consumable record data.

7. The intelligent switching consumable management system based on dual gas cylinders according to claim 4, characterized in that, The records are stored locally on the device or uploaded to a remote server, forming an audit trail that cannot be tampered with.

8. A method for intelligent switching consumable management based on dual gas cylinders, comprising the intelligent switching consumable management system based on dual gas cylinders as described in any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The pressure of the current gas cylinder is monitored in real time. When the pressure drops to the switching threshold, the two-position three-way solenoid valve is controlled to switch the gas supply source from the current gas cylinder to the backup gas cylinder. Each time a gas cylinder switching event occurs, the gas supply duration of the switched gas cylinder is automatically recorded, and a consumable record containing the gas cylinder identifier and switching time is generated. Based on the gas cylinder switching event, a notification is sent to prompt the user to replace the depleted gas cylinder. Based on gas supply duration data accumulated from multiple historical records of the aforementioned consumables, future consumable consumption trends are predicted, and procurement recommendations are generated.

Images