Gas detectors and gas detection systems

Abstract

To provide a gas detector that reduces power consumption and improves safety by extending continuous operating time, and a gas detection system that can strengthen safety management by sharing the status of workers and the atmospheric conditions of the measurement environment at a remote location away from the measurement area. [Solution] In the gas detector 120, the signal transmission unit, which transmits information related to the gas detector 120 as a beacon signal using a broadcast communication method via BLE, is controlled to transmit the beacon signal at a different transmission interval than normal when an abnormal condition is detected. In the gas detection system 100, the management terminal device 115, which is connected to the signal receiver 110 via a network N, is configured to acquire area information in which the gas detector 120 is operating, including the location information of the gas detector 120, based on the direction and strength of the beacon signal received by the signal receiver 110.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to, for example, a gas detector having a communication function carried by an operator and a gas detection system for sharing information related to the gas detector to grasp the state of the operator and information on the measurement area.

Background Art

[0002] Currently, some types of portable gas detectors carried and used by operators are configured to be capable of two-way communication between a gas detector as a peripheral (slave unit) and a terminal device as a central (master unit) by making a peer-to-peer connection with a terminal device such as a smartphone. The gas detector is configured to transmit data such as a gas detection result in response to an instruction (request) from the terminal device side.

[0003] Further, Patent Document 1 describes a gas detection system configured such that by receiving, with a portable information terminal, an advertisement in BLE communication, which is connection request information including detection information indicating a detection result of a predetermined gas transmitted from a gas detector, it is possible for a user of the portable information terminal who is at a remote location to grasp information on a predetermined event detected by the gas detector without performing pairing between the gas detector and the portable information terminal.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, data transmission from the gas detector consumes power. In the case of a battery-powered portable gas detector, reduction of power consumption is required in order to avoid a situation where the gas detection operation becomes impossible from the viewpoint of the safety of the operator. As described in Patent Document 1 above, in a system where data is transmitted from the gas detector to the portable information terminal via broadcast communication without pairing the gas detector with the portable information terminal, the gas detector will continue to transmit data at its own timing, regardless of whether there is a communication partner, rather than transmitting data in response to instructions from the portable information terminal acting as the master unit. This leads to the problem that power is wasted when there is no communication partner, resulting in a decrease in battery level. In the case of portable gas detectors, the wasted power consumption related to communication reduces the continuous usage time, making it difficult to ensure safety and resulting in decreased work efficiency.

[0006] The present invention has been made based on the circumstances described above, and aims to provide a gas detector that reduces power consumption and improves safety by extending the continuous operating time. Another object of the present invention is to provide a gas detection system that can enhance safety management by sharing the worker's condition and the atmospheric conditions of the measurement environment at a remote location away from the measurement area. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention provides a gas detector that is portable by an operator and has a communication function, comprising: a power supply unit equipped with either a primary battery or a secondary battery or both as a power source; a gas detection unit that detects a target gas in the measurement environment atmosphere; an abnormality detection unit that acquires environmental information of the measurement environment atmosphere and detects the operator's condition; a control unit that controls the operation of the gas detector; and a signal transmission unit that transmits information related to the gas detector, including the gas detection result from the gas detection unit and the detection result from the abnormality detection unit, as a beacon signal using a BLE broadcast communication method, thereby solving the above problem.

[0008] Furthermore, the gas detection system of the present invention comprises a gas detector that is portable by an operator and has a communication function, a plurality of signal receivers installed in each predetermined area and receiving signals transmitted from the gas detector, and a management terminal device configured to be connectable to each of the signal receivers via a network, wherein the gas detector is the gas detector described above, and the management terminal device is configured to acquire area information in which the gas detector is operating, including the location information of the gas detector, based on the direction and strength of the beacon signal from the gas detector received by the signal receiver, thereby solving the above problems. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the invention of claim 1, by appropriately switching the data transmission interval from the gas detector according to the situation, it becomes possible to take a quick response when a gas alarm or other alarm is issued, thereby improving safety. Furthermore, since it is possible to reduce power consumption due to communication, it is possible to avoid shortening the continuous operating time of the gas detector. Therefore, it is possible to avoid situations in which the gas detection operation itself cannot be performed due to a decrease in battery level.

[0010] According to the invention of claim 2, it is possible to reliably avoid situations in which the gas detection operation itself becomes impossible, and thus avoid a decrease in worker safety. According to the invention of claim 3, by including a motion sensor in the abnormality detection unit, the worker's condition can be reliably notified in emergencies such as when an abnormality occurs in the worker. Furthermore, due to the characteristics of the BLE communication method, a worker manager receiving the signal can obtain information about the area where the gas detector is operating, enabling a quick response and improving safety. According to the invention of claim 4, for example, it becomes possible to receive instructions from a work supervisor, which makes it possible to take necessary measures to ensure safety quickly, and also makes it possible to change the settings of the gas detector etc. to appropriate ones based on the information acquired by the supervisor.

[0011] According to the invention of claim 5, by using the gas detector described above, it is possible to quickly and easily share the worker's condition and the atmospheric conditions of the measurement environment at a remote location far from the measurement area, thereby strengthening safety management.

[0012] According to the invention of claim 6, it is possible to construct the desired gas detection system even in explosion-proof areas where flammable substances that could cause fire or explosion are present in the air. Furthermore, by configuring the signal receiver to have a gas detection function, it is possible to construct the gas detection system at a cost advantage and reduce the number of locations where signal receivers need to be installed. Furthermore, according to the invention of claim 7, it is possible to construct a simple or temporary network system. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an example of the gas detection system of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of an example of a gas detector. [Figure 3] This figure shows examples of communication control for a gas detector, where (a) shows an example of controlling the transmission interval of a beacon signal based on the gas detection result by the gas detection unit, and (b) shows an example of controlling the transmission interval of a beacon signal based on the detection result by the anomaly detection unit. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0014] As shown in Figure 1, the gas detection system 100 according to this embodiment is configured such that a plurality of signal receivers 110a, 110b, 110c (hereinafter referred to as signal receiver 110 unless otherwise specified) placed in the space to be measured and a management terminal device 115 located in a remote location away from the space to be measured are connected via a network N such as the Internet. The signal receivers 110 receive signals from a gas detector 120, which is carried by an operator in the space to be measured and has communication capabilities, so that the information obtained by the gas detector 120 can be shared by the management terminal device 115. The method of connecting the signal receivers 110 and the management terminal device 115 to the network N may be either a wired connection or a wireless connection.

[0015] Multiple signal receivers 110 are installed so that parts of their respective signal receiving areas overlap. In the illustrated example, the signal from the gas detector 120 operating in the receiving area Ra1 of the first signal receiver 110a can be received only by the first signal receiver 110a, while the signal from the gas detector 120 operating in the position where the receiving areas Ra2 and Ra3 of the second signal receiver 110b and the third signal receiver 110c overlap can be received by the second signal receiver 110b and the third signal receiver 110c.

[0016] The signal receiver 110 is not particularly limited as long as it is configured to be connectable to a higher-level network system, but for example, a stationary gas detection device with communication capabilities can be used. In such a configuration, the signal receiver can be installed in explosion-proof areas where flammable substances that could cause fire or explosion are present in the air, making it possible to construct a gas detection system 100 that enables safety management related to work in explosion-proof areas. Furthermore, as the signal receiver 110, for example, a portable gas detector can be used, which is installed at a fixed point in the space to be measured and driven by power supplied from an AC power source. In such a configuration, the installation location of the signal receiver 110 can be freely set, and a simple or temporary network system can be constructed.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 2, the gas detector 120 according to this embodiment includes a power supply unit 121, an operation unit 122, a display unit 123, an alarm unit 124, a gas detection unit 125, an abnormality detection unit 126, a memory unit 127, a control unit 128, and a signal transmission unit 129.

[0018] The power supply unit 121 includes either one or both of a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery and a primary battery such as an alkaline dry battery as a driving power source.

[0019] The operation unit 122 is configured to be able to perform, for example, power-on, setting of an operation mode, various setting changes, alarm解除, etc. by the operation of an operation button by an operator.

[0020] The display unit 123 is composed of, for example, an LCD, and can display a gas detection result, a battery remaining amount, etc.

[0021] The alarm unit 124 includes at least one alarm notification mechanism selected from an alarm notification mechanism by a buzzer sound of an alarm buzzer, an alarm notification mechanism by light emission of an alarm light-emitting element, and an alarm notification mechanism by vibration of an alarm vibration generator.

[0022] The gas detection unit 125 includes at least one gas sensor selected according to the purpose from, for example, a combustible gas sensor, an oxygen sensor, a carbon monoxide sensor, a hydrogen sulfide sensor, a carbon dioxide sensor, a sulfur dioxide sensor, a nitrogen dioxide sensor, a hydrogen cyanide sensor, a phosphine sensor, an ammonia sensor, etc.

[0023] The abnormality detection unit 126 includes at least one environmental sensor selected from, for example, a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, a smell sensor, and other sensors, and a motion sensor (including an acceleration sensor) that detects the state of an operator.

[0024] The memory unit 127 stores information related to gas detection operations, such as calibration curve data for calculating gas concentrations for various target gases; information related to alarm operations, such as alarm points for various target gases; information related to determining abnormal conditions in the measurement environment atmosphere and the condition of the worker; and information related to fault diagnosis of the gas detector 120.

[0025] The control unit 128 is composed of, for example, a CPU, which is a central processing unit, and has the function of controlling the operation of the gas detector 120. Furthermore, the control unit 128 has the function of calculating the concentration of the target gas based on the gas detection signal from the gas detection unit 125, the function of determining whether or not an abnormal state has occurred in the measurement environment based on the environmental detection signal from the environmental sensor constituting the abnormality detection unit 126, the function of determining the status of the worker, such as whether or not an emergency such as a man-down has occurred, based on the motion detection signal from the motion sensor constituting the abnormality detection unit 126, and the function of diagnosing whether or not a malfunction of the gas detector 120 has occurred, such as a system malfunction, clock malfunction, battery voltage malfunction or sensor malfunction.

[0026] The signal transmission unit 129 is configured to transmit information related to the gas detector 120 as a beacon signal using a broadcast communication method based on BLE, thereby enabling one-way communication from the gas detector 120 to the signal receiver 110. Information related to the gas detector 120 to be transmitted as a beacon signal may include, for example, the identification ID of the gas detector 120, the detection results from the gas detection unit 125 and the anomaly detection unit 126, and information related to various alarms, but it is not necessary to transmit all of this information.

[0027] In the gas detector 120 according to this embodiment, the control unit 128 controls the signal transmission unit 129 to transmit a beacon signal at a shorter transmission interval than normal when it detects an abnormal condition, including an event that makes it difficult to perform gas detection. With this configuration, area information of the measurement environment atmosphere can be reliably transmitted to, for example, a work manager operating the management terminal device 115, enabling a quick response and improving safety. In addition, by setting a longer signal transmission interval under normal conditions, power consumption due to communication can be reduced.

[0028] Figures 3(a) and 3(b) schematically show examples of controlling the transmission interval of a beacon signal based on the gas detection result from the gas detection unit 125 and the motion detection result from the motion sensor constituting the anomaly detection unit 126, respectively. In Figure 3(a), Ap is the alarm point. The beacon signal transmission interval T1 under normal conditions can be set within a time range of, for example, 10 to 1800 seconds, and the beacon signal transmission interval T2 when an abnormal condition occurs (alarm) can be set within a time range of, for example, 1 to 5 seconds. This makes it possible to optimize the power consumption of the gas detector 120 due to communication while reliably transmitting information related to the gas detector 120.

[0029] In the above, abnormal conditions that make it difficult to perform gas detection operations include situations in which a gas alarm is issued because the concentration of the target gas is detected to exceed the alarm point; situations in which an environmental abnormality alarm is issued because an abnormality in the temperature, pressure, or odor of the measurement environment is detected; situations in which a panic alarm (SOS) is issued by the operator to notify those around the area of ​​the abnormality; situations in which a malfunction alarm is issued because an abnormal operation such as a system malfunction, clock malfunction, battery voltage abnormality, or sensor malfunction is detected; and situations in which a man-down alarm is issued because it is detected that the operator has not moved for a certain period of time or longer.

[0030] In addition, when the remaining battery level of the driving power supply reaches a certain level or lower, the control unit 128 controls the signal transmission unit 129 to stop transmitting the beacon signal, and preferentially uses the power for the gas detection operation.

[0031] In the above gas detection system 100, when the operator turns on the power of the gas detector 120 and the gas detector 120 enters a state (measurement mode) where it can perform the gas detection operation, a beacon signal is transmitted from the gas detector 120 at a predetermined time interval T1. When the beacon signal from the gas detector 120 is received by the signal receiver 110 installed in the measurement area, it is transmitted from the signal receiver 110 to the management terminal device 115 via the network N. In the management terminal device 115, based on the direction (azimuth) and intensity of the beacon signal from the installation position of the signal receiver 110 that received the beacon signal, area information of the area where the gas detector 120 including the position information of the gas detector 120 is operating is acquired and information is shared at a remote location away from the measurement area. Thereby, for example, it becomes possible to grasp the signs of a disaster and give appropriate warnings, and the safety management can be strengthened. When it is detected that an abnormal state including an event that makes it difficult to perform the gas detection operation has occurred, the signal transmission unit 129 is controlled by the control unit 128 of the gas detector 120 so that the beacon signal is transmitted at a transmission interval T2 (<T1) shorter than normal. For example, an operation manager who operates the management terminal device 115 can quickly grasp that an abnormal state has occurred and can promptly take appropriate measures. Also, in the measurement area, an alarm is issued from the gas detector 120 to notify the operator himself or a person around the operator in the measurement area that an abnormal state has occurred.

[0032] As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been explained, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made. For example, in the above embodiment, the gas detector was described as being configured to perform one-way communication from the gas detector to the receiver. However, the gas detector may be paired with a specific signal receiver to enable two-way communication between the gas detector and the specific signal receiver.

[0033] In a gas detector with this configuration, a signal receiving unit is further provided to receive signals from a signal receiver, and the control unit is configured to switch between one-way communication from the gas detector to the signal receiver and two-way communication between the gas detector and a specific signal receiver. The signal transmitting unit transmits a connection request to establish communication with the signal receiver as a beacon signal until the gas detector and the signal receiver are paired, and transmits information related to the gas detector after the connection with the signal receiver is established. This makes it possible to reduce power consumption during the waiting time until the connection with the signal receiver is established.

[0034] In a gas detection system using such gas detectors, workers can receive instructions from, for example, a work supervisor by operating a management terminal device. This allows for the rapid implementation of necessary safety measures, and enables the supervisor to adjust gas detector settings appropriately based on the information obtained.

[0035] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example was described in which the transmission interval of the beacon signal is switched to a shorter transmission interval T2 than the normal transmission interval T1 when an alarm occurs. However, the transmission interval may be switched in stages, for example, according to the urgency. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 100... Gas detection system 110a ··· First signal receiver 110b... Second signal receiver 110c... Third signal receiver 115 ··· Management terminal device 120... Gas detector 121... Power supply section 122...Operation unit 123... Display section 124... Alarm section 125... Gas detection unit 126 ··· Anomaly detection unit 127... Storage section 128 ··· Control Unit 129 ··· Signal transmission unit N ··· Network Ra1 ··· Reception Area Ra2 ··· Reception Area Ra3 ··· Reception Area

Claims

1. A gas detector configured to be portable by an operator and having a communication function, A power supply unit equipped with either a primary battery or a secondary battery, or both, as a power source for driving, A gas detection unit that detects the target gas in the measurement environment atmosphere, An anomaly detection unit that acquires environmental information of the measurement environment and detects the worker's condition, A control unit that controls the operation of the gas detector, A signal transmission unit transmits information related to the gas detector, including the gas detection result from the gas detection unit and the detection result from the abnormality detection unit, as a beacon signal using a BLE broadcast communication method. Equipped with, The gas detector is characterized in that, when the control unit detects that an abnormal condition has occurred, including an event that makes it difficult to perform the gas detection operation, it controls the signal transmission unit to transmit the beacon signal at a different transmission interval than normal.

2. The gas detector according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit controls the signal transmission unit to stop transmitting the beacon signal when the remaining battery level of the drive power supply falls below a certain level.

3. The gas detector according to claim 1, characterized in that the abnormality detection unit includes an environmental sensor that detects at least one of the conditions of temperature, pressure, and odor in the measurement environment, and a motion sensor that detects the state of the worker.

4. It further comprises a signal receiving unit that receives signals from a signal receiver, The gas detector according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit is configured to switch between one-way communication from the gas detector to the signal receiver and two-way communication between the gas detector and the signal receiver.

5. A gas detection system comprising a gas detector that is portable by an operator and has communication capabilities, a plurality of signal receivers installed in each predetermined area to receive signals transmitted from the gas detector, and a management terminal device configured to be connectable to each of the signal receivers via a network, The gas detector is the gas detector described in claim 1, The gas detection system is characterized in that the management terminal device is configured to acquire area information in which the gas detector is operating, including the location information of the gas detector, based on the direction and strength of the beacon signal from the gas detector received by the signal receiver.

6. The gas detection system according to claim 5, characterized in that the signal receiver is configured as a stationary gas detection device.

7. The gas detection system according to claim 5, characterized in that the signal receiver is comprised of a portable gas detector installed at a fixed point in the space to be measured and driven by power supplied from an AC power source.

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