Inner pipe leakage determination device and inner pipe leakage determination method

Abstract

To enable the misdetection of inner tube leak to be avoided, as compared with conventional methods.SOLUTION: The present invention comprises: a period passage assessment unit 103 for assessing whether or not a period of first section has elapsed; an average flowrate acquisition unit 104 for acquiring a first average flow rate when it is assessed that the period of first section has elapsed; a period passage assessment unit 105 for assessing whether or not a period of second section has elapsed; an average flowrate acquisition unit 106 for acquiring as a second average flowrate when it is assessed that the period of second section has elapsed; a flowrate assessment unit 107 for assessing whether the dispersion of the first average flowrate in the second section is greater than or equal to a first flowrate, or whether the second average flowrate is greater than or equal to a second flowrate; a number of days assessment unit 108 for assessing whether or not the period in which it is assessed that the dispersion of the first average flowrate in the second section is greater than or equal to the first flowrate or the second average flowrate is greater than or equal to the second flowrate has elapsed a prescribed number of days; and an alarm unit 109 for issuing an alarm when it is assessed that the prescribed number of days has elapsed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an inner pipe leakage determination device and an inner pipe leakage determination method for determining the presence or absence of an inner pipe leakage. [Background technology]

[0002] In accordance with the Gas Business Act, gas meters are equipped with a gas leak detection function that issues an alarm if a gas flow rate is detected in the inner pipe (piping) to which the gas meter is attached for a specified number of consecutive days (30 days). However, in an environment where pulsation occurs, this gas leakage detection function may erroneously detect an inner pipe leakage even when there is no actual leakage.

[0003] As a method for avoiding false detection of an inner pipe leak, for example, there is a method disclosed in Patent Document 1. In this method, if the average flow rate in a specified period is within a specified allowable range, and the average of the average flow rates is not within a specified allowable flow rate, it is determined that there is a flow rate, and if the period with a flow rate continues for a specified number of days, it is determined that there is an inner pipe leak. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2010-216724 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, even when gas is not being used, gas may flow for a long period of time due to the effects of temperature changes, etc. Therefore, in such cases, the above method may erroneously detect an inner pipe leak.

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide an inner pipe leakage determination device that can avoid erroneous detection of inner pipe leakage, as compared with the conventional device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The inner pipe leakage determination device according to the present invention includes a first period elapse determination unit that determines whether a period of a first section has elapsed, a first average flow rate acquisition unit that acquires an average flow rate in the first section as a first average flow rate when the first period elapse determination unit determines that the period of the first section has elapsed, a second period elapse determination unit that determines whether a period of a second section consisting of a plurality of first sections has elapsed, a second average flow rate acquisition unit that acquires an average flow rate in the second section as a second average flow rate when the second period elapse determination unit determines that the period of the second section has elapsed, and The first section that constitutes The variance of the first mean flow rate in is equal to or greater than the first flow rate. Or A flow rate determination unit that determines the flow rate of the second section The first section that constitutes The variance of the first mean flow rate in is equal to or greater than the first flow rate. And The device is characterized by comprising a number of days determination unit which determines whether the determined period has passed a predetermined number of days, and an alarm unit which issues an alarm when the number of days determination unit determines that the predetermined number of days has passed. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, since it is configured as described above, it is possible to avoid erroneous detection of inner pipe leakage, as compared with the conventional art. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an inner pipe leakage determination device according to a first embodiment; [Diagram 2] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the inner pipe leakage determination device according to the first embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of an inner pipe leakage determining device 1 according to the first embodiment. The inner pipe leakage determination device 1 is provided in a gas meter and determines whether or not there is an inner pipe leakage in the gas meter. As shown in Fig. 1, the inner pipe leakage determination device 1 includes a memory unit 101, a timing unit 102, a period elapse determination unit (first period elapse determination unit) 103, an average flow rate acquisition unit (first average flow rate acquisition unit) 104, a period elapse determination unit (second period elapse determination unit) 105, an average flow rate acquisition unit (second average flow rate acquisition unit) 106, a flow rate determination unit 107, a number of days determination unit 108, and an alarm unit 109.

[0011] The inner pipe leakage determination device 1 is realized by a processing circuit such as a system LSI (Large Scale Integration), or a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that executes a program stored in a memory or the like.

[0012] The storage unit 101 stores data indicating various information handled by the inner pipe leakage determination device 1. The storage unit 101 stores, for example, data indicating a first average flow rate acquired by the average flow rate acquisition unit 104 and a second average flow rate acquired by the average flow rate acquisition unit 106. The storage unit 101 also stores, for example, data indicating the first flow rate, the second flow rate, and a predetermined number of days, which are threshold values. The storage unit 101 is configured with a memory and the like.

[0013] 1 shows a case where the storage unit 101 is provided inside the inner pipe leakage determination device 1. However, this is not limited thereto, and the storage unit 101 may be provided outside the inner pipe leakage determination device 1, and the inner pipe leakage determination device 1 may be configured to read data from the storage unit 101 as appropriate.

[0014] The timing unit 102 times the period of the inner pipe leakage. When the flow rate determination unit 107 determines that the variance of the first average flow rate in the second section is less than the first flow rate and the second average flow rate is less than the second flow rate, the timing unit 102 resets the period of the inner pipe leakage that is being timed.

[0015] The period elapse determination unit 103 determines whether the period of the first section has elapsed.

[0016] When the period elapse determination unit 103 determines that the period of the first section has elapsed, the average flow rate acquisition unit 104 acquires the average flow rate in the first section as a first average flow rate. At this time, the average flow rate acquisition unit 104 calculates a flow rate value from the instantaneous flow rate of gas in the inner pipe (piping) measured at regular time intervals by the gas meter, and calculates the average by integrating the calculated flow rate values ​​for the first section.

[0017] The period elapse determination unit 105 determines whether the period of the second interval has elapsed. The second interval is a period made up of a plurality of first intervals.

[0018] When the period elapse determination unit 105 determines that the period of the second interval has elapsed, the average flow rate acquisition unit 106 acquires the average flow rate in the second interval as a second average flow rate. At this time, the average flow rate acquisition unit 106 acquires the average flow rate in the second interval by integrating the first average flow rate for the second interval to calculate the average.

[0019] The flow rate determination unit 107 determines whether or not there is a gas flow rate in the inner pipe by determining whether the variance of the first average flow rate in the second section is equal to or greater than the first flow rate, or whether the second average flow rate is equal to or greater than the second flow rate. The flow rate determination unit 107 obtains the first average flow rate and the second average flow rate by reading data from the storage unit 101.

[0020] When the flow rate determination unit 107 determines that the variance of the first average flow rate in the second section is equal to or greater than the first flow rate, or when the second average flow rate is equal to or greater than the second flow rate, the number of days determination unit 108 determines whether the period of inner pipe leakage measured by the timing unit 102 has exceeded a predetermined number of days (30 days). Note that the number of days determination unit 108 obtains the predetermined number of days by reading out data from the storage unit 101.

[0021] When the number of days determination unit 108 determines that the period of inner pipe leakage has exceeded a predetermined number of days, the warning unit 109 issues a warning to notify that inner pipe leakage has occurred. At this time, the warning unit 109 issues the warning by, for example, displaying a screen on a display device (not shown), outputting a sound via a sound output device (not shown), or turning on a warning lamp (not shown).

[0022] Next, an example of the operation of the inner pipe leakage determining device 1 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIG. In an operation example of the inner pipe leakage determination device 1 according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, first, as shown in FIG. 2, the timing unit 102 starts timing the period of inner pipe leakage (step ST201).

[0023] Next, the period elapse determination unit 103 determines whether the period of the first interval has elapsed (step ST202). The first interval is, for example, a two-second interval.

[0024] In this step ST202, if the period elapse determination section 103 determines that the period of the first section has not elapsed, the sequence returns to step ST202.

[0025] On the other hand, in step ST202, when the period elapse determination unit 103 determines that the period of the first section has elapsed, the average flow rate acquisition unit 104 acquires the average flow rate in the first section as a first average flow rate (step ST203). The first average flow rate is, for example, an average flow rate for 2 seconds. Qave1 indicates the first average flow rate.

[0026] Next, the period elapse determination unit 105 determines whether the period of the second interval has elapsed (step ST204). The second interval is, for example, a period of 120 seconds.

[0027] In step ST204, if period elapse determination section 105 determines that the period of the second interval has not elapsed, the sequence returns to step ST202.

[0028] On the other hand, in step ST204, when the period elapse determination unit 105 determines that the period of the second section has elapsed, the average flow rate acquisition unit 106 acquires the average flow rate in the second section as the second average flow rate (step ST205). The second average flow rate is, for example, an average flow rate for 120 seconds. Qave2 indicates the second average flow rate.

[0029] Next, the flow rate determination unit 107 determines whether the variance of the first average flow rate in the second section is equal to or greater than the first flow rate, or whether the second average flow rate is equal to or greater than the second flow rate (step ST206). The variance of the first average flow rate in the second section is calculated by dividing the sum of the squares of the first average flow rates for the number of first sections constituting the second section by the number of first sections constituting the second section, and subtracting the square of the second average flow rate. The first flow rate is also the square of the allowable width of the variation in the inner pipe leakage. The allowable width of the variation in the inner pipe leakage is, for example, 1.5 L / h.

[0030] In step ST206, if the flow rate determination unit 107 determines that the variance of the first average flow rate in the second section is less than the first flow rate and the second average flow rate is less than the second flow rate, the timer unit 102 resets the timing of the inner pipe leakage period (step ST207). After that, the sequence returns to step ST202.

[0031] On the other hand, in step ST206, if the flow rate determination unit 107 determines that the variance of the first average flow rate in the second section is greater than or equal to the first flow rate or if the second average flow rate is greater than or equal to the second flow rate, the day number determination unit 108 determines whether the period of inner pipe leakage measured by the timing unit 102 has exceeded a predetermined number of days (30 days) (step ST208).

[0032] In step ST208, if the number of days determining unit 108 determines that the period of inner pipe leakage has not exceeded the predetermined number of days, the sequence returns to step ST202.

[0033] On the other hand, if the number of days determination unit 108 determines in step ST208 that the period of inner pipe leakage has exceeded the predetermined number of days, the alarm unit 109 issues an alarm to notify that inner pipe leakage has occurred (step ST209).

[0034] In this way, the inner pipe leakage determination device 1 according to the first embodiment calculates the average flow rate in the first section from the instantaneous flow rate, and also calculates the average flow rate in the second section consisting of a plurality of first sections, and determines that there is a flow rate when the variance value of the first average flow rate in the second section is equal to or greater than the first flow rate, or the second average flow rate is equal to or greater than the second flow rate, and determines that there is an inner pipe leakage when the period during which there is a flow rate has passed a predetermined number of days (30 days). This makes it possible for the inner pipe leakage determination device 1 according to the first embodiment to reduce the possibility of false detection of an inner pipe leakage due to gas flow caused by the influence of temperature change, etc., even when gas is not being used and there is no leakage. Furthermore, the inner pipe leakage determination device 1 according to the first embodiment can avoid false detection of an inner pipe leakage even in an environment where pulsation occurs.

[0035] Another method of detecting inner pipe leakage is to judge from the difference between the maximum and minimum values ​​of the average flow rate in the second section. On the other hand, the judgment method by the inner pipe leakage judgment device 1 according to the first embodiment is considered to be more accurate than the above-mentioned method. That is, in the above-mentioned method of judging from the difference between the maximum and minimum values ​​of the average flow rate in the second section, if there is even one singular value, it is judged that there is a flow rate. In contrast, the judgment method by the inner pipe leakage judgment device 1 according to the first embodiment uses the variance value of the first average flow rate in the second section, so that even in the above-mentioned case, the variation is reduced and it is possible to judge that there is no flow rate.

[0036] As described above, according to the first embodiment, the inner pipe leakage determination device 1 includes a time lapse determination unit 103 that determines whether the time period of the first section has elapsed, an average flow rate acquisition unit 104 that acquires an average flow rate in the first section as a first average flow rate when the time lapse determination unit 103 determines that the time period of the first section has elapsed, a time lapse determination unit 105 that determines whether the time period of a second section consisting of a plurality of first sections has elapsed, and an average flow rate acquisition unit 106 that acquires an average flow rate in the second section as a second average flow rate when the time lapse determination unit 105 determines that the time period of the second section has elapsed. and a flow rate determination unit 107 that determines whether the variance of the first average flow rate in the second section is equal to or greater than the first flow rate or the second average flow rate is equal to or greater than the second flow rate based on the results acquired by the average flow rate acquisition unit 104 and the results acquired by the average flow rate acquisition unit 106, a day number determination unit 108 that determines whether a predetermined number of days has elapsed during the period during which the flow rate determination unit 107 determined that the variance of the first average flow rate in the second section is equal to or greater than the first flow rate or the second average flow rate is equal to or greater than the second flow rate, and an alarm unit 109 that issues an alarm when the day number determination unit 108 determines that the predetermined number of days has elapsed. As a result, the inner pipe leakage determination device 1 according to the first embodiment can avoid erroneous detection of inner pipe leakage compared to conventional devices.

[0037] It should be noted that, within the scope of the present invention, the embodiments may be freely combined, any component of each embodiment may be modified, or any component of each embodiment may be omitted. [Explanation of symbols]

[0038] 1. Inner pipe leakage detection device 101 Storage section 102 Timing section 103 Period lapse determination unit (first period lapse determination unit) 104 Average flow rate acquisition unit (first average flow rate acquisition unit) 105 Period lapse determination unit (second period lapse determination unit) 106 Average flow rate acquisition unit (second average flow rate acquisition unit) 107 Flow rate determination section 108 Days determination section 109 Alarm section

Claims

1. a first period elapse determination unit that determines whether a first period has elapsed; a first average flow rate acquisition unit that acquires an average flow rate in the first section as a first average flow rate when the first period elapse determination unit determines that the first section has elapsed; a second period elapse determination unit that determines whether a period of a second section consisting of a plurality of first sections has elapsed; a second average flow rate acquisition unit that acquires an average flow rate in the second section as a second average flow rate when the second period lapse determination unit determines that the second section has lapsed; A flow rate determination unit that determines whether the variance of the first average flow rate in a first section constituting a second section is equal to or greater than a first flow rate based on the acquisition result by the first average flow rate acquisition unit and the acquisition result by the second average flow rate acquisition unit; a number-of-days determination unit that determines whether a period during which the flow rate determination unit has determined that the variance of the first average flow rate in the first section constituting the second section is equal to or greater than the first flow rate has elapsed a predetermined number of days; an alarm unit that issues an alarm when the day number determination unit determines that a predetermined number of days has passed; An inner pipe leakage detection device equipped with the above.

2. The flow rate determination unit divides the sum of squares of the first average flow rates for the number of first sections constituting the second section by the number of first sections constituting the second section, and determines the value obtained by subtracting the square of the second average flow rate as the variance of the first average flow rate in the second section.

2. The inner pipe leakage determination device according to claim 1.

3. The flow rate determination unit uses the square of the allowable width of variation in inner pipe leakage as the first flow rate.

3. The inner pipe leakage determination device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. a step of a first period elapse determination unit determining whether a first section period has elapsed; A step in which a first average flow rate acquisition unit acquires an average flow rate in the first section as a first average flow rate when the first period elapse determination unit determines that the first period has elapsed; a step of a second period lapse determination unit determining whether a period of a second period consisting of a plurality of first periods has elapsed; A step in which a second average flow rate acquisition unit acquires an average flow rate in the second section as a second average flow rate when the second period elapse determination unit determines that the period of the second section has elapsed; A flow rate determination unit determines whether the variance of the first average flow rate in the first section constituting the second section is equal to or greater than the first flow rate based on the result of acquisition by the first average flow rate acquisition unit and the result of acquisition by the second average flow rate acquisition unit; A step of determining whether a period during which the flow rate determination unit has determined that the variance of the first average flow rate in the first section constituting the second section is equal to or greater than the first flow rate has elapsed a predetermined number of days; a warning unit issuing a warning when the day number determination unit determines that a predetermined number of days has passed; The inner pipe leakage determination method has the following features.

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