Gas remaining amount management system and gas remaining amount management method

Abstract

To provide a gas residual quantity management system and a gas residual quantity management method capable of preventing gas shortage in a case of emergency while suppressing waste due to generation of unused gas.SOLUTION: A gas residual quantity management system includes: a gas container management unit for managing a capacity of a gas container installed in a customers house; a residual number-of-days estimation unit for estimating a residual number of days until gas shortage occurs in the gas container based on a use state of gas in the gas container in the customers house and a gas container capacity managed by the gas container management unit; a warranty days management unit for managing warranty days that are the number of days to be secured until gas shortage is reached being preset for each customers house; a number-of-days comparison unit for comparing the residual number of days estimated by the residual number-of-days estimation unit with the warranty days set by the warranty days management unit; and a notification unit for performing notification to prompt exchange of the gas container based on comparison results by the number-of-days comparison unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a gas remaining amount management system and a gas remaining amount management method. [Background technology]

[0002] A delivery date determination system has been disclosed that predicts the day when the remaining amount of gas will be a predetermined amount based on the consumer's gas usage, and delivers a gas container on this predicted day, thereby stabilizing the gas supply (see Patent Document 1). That is, the delivery date determination system of Patent Document 1 can prevent gas from running out by delivering a new gas container to replace the old gas container before the gas runs out. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2013-254415 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in this system, the old gas container is replaced with a new gas container when there is still a sufficient amount of gas remaining in the old gas container. Therefore, the amount of gas remaining in the old gas container is not used and is wasted. In response to this, it is possible to reduce waste by setting a small amount when predicting the day when the amount of gas remaining will be a certain amount. However, in this case, there is a problem that if delivery becomes impossible due to an emergency, it may occur that gas cannot be used in public facilities, etc.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a gas remaining amount management system and a gas remaining amount management method that can prevent running out of gas in an emergency while suppressing waste due to the generation of unused gas. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The gas remaining amount management system of the present invention comprises a gas container management unit that manages the capacity of a gas container installed in a consumer's home; a remaining days estimation unit that estimates the number of days remaining until gas runs out in the gas container based on the gas usage in the gas container at the consumer's home and the capacity of the gas container managed by the gas container management unit; a guarantee days management unit that manages a guarantee days number which is the number of days that must be secured before gas runs out, which is preset for each consumer's home; a days comparison unit that compares the remaining days estimated by the remaining days estimation unit with the guarantee days set by the guarantee days management unit; and a notification unit that issues a notification encouraging replacement of the gas container based on the comparison result by the days comparison unit.

[0007] According to the present invention, the number of guaranteed days, which is the number of days to be secured before gas runs out, can be set in advance for each consumer home. The number of guaranteed days set in advance for each consumer home is managed by a guaranteed days management unit. For example, consumer homes such as hospitals or nursing homes can be set to a relatively large number of guaranteed days to prevent gas from running out in an emergency when it becomes difficult to deliver gas containers. On the other hand, consumer homes such as general homes can be set to a relatively small number of guaranteed days because they use less gas than hospitals and nursing homes. In this way, unlike the conventional system that can set the predetermined amount small for all consumer homes when predicting the day when the remaining gas amount will be a predetermined amount, the present invention sets the number of guaranteed days in advance for each consumer home and issues a notification based on a comparison between the estimated remaining number of days and the guaranteed number of days. In this way, it is possible to prevent gas from running out in an emergency while suppressing waste due to the generation of unused gas, taking into account that the gas usage situation differs for each consumer home.

[0008] In the above invention, the warranty days management unit may determine the warranty days corresponding to the consumer's home based on a gas meter number corresponding to the consumer's home.

[0009] According to the above configuration, the number of warranty days corresponding to a consumer's home can be automatically determined from the number of the gas meter corresponding to the consumer's home.

[0010] The gas remaining amount management method of the present invention manages the capacity of a gas container installed in a consumer's home, estimates the number of days remaining until the gas in the gas container runs out based on the gas usage in the gas container at the consumer's home and the capacity of the gas container, manages a guaranteed number of days which is the number of days that must be secured before the gas runs out, which is set in advance for each consumer's home, compares the estimated remaining number of days with the set guaranteed number of days, and issues a notification encouraging the replacement of the gas container based on the comparison result between the remaining number of days and the guaranteed number of days.

[0011] The gas remaining amount management system of the present invention comprises a gas container management unit that manages the capacity of a gas container installed in a consumer's home; a gas remaining amount calculation unit that calculates the remaining amount of gas in the gas container based on the gas usage in the gas container at the consumer's home and the capacity of the gas container managed by the gas container management unit; a gas remaining amount management unit that manages a minimum remaining amount of gas in the gas container that is set in advance for each consumer's home; a gas remaining amount comparison unit that compares the remaining amount of gas obtained by the gas remaining amount calculation unit with the minimum remaining amount of gas set by the gas remaining amount management unit; and a notification unit that issues a notification to encourage the replacement of the gas container based on the comparison result by the gas remaining amount comparison unit.

[0012] According to the present invention, in order to prevent gas from running out in an emergency, the minimum remaining amount of gas that is desired to be secured before the gas runs out can be set in advance for each consumer's home. The minimum remaining amount of gas set in advance for each consumer's home is managed by a gas remaining amount management unit. For example, in order to prevent gas from running out in an emergency when it becomes difficult to deliver gas containers, the minimum remaining amount of gas can be set to a relatively large value such as 50% of the capacity of the gas container for consumer's homes such as hospitals or nursing homes. On the other hand, since consumer's homes such as general homes use less gas than hospitals and nursing homes, the minimum remaining amount of gas can be set to a relatively small value such as 10% of the capacity of the gas container. Thus, unlike the conventional system that can set the predetermined amount to a small amount for all consumer's homes when predicting the day when the remaining amount of gas will reach a predetermined amount, in the present invention, the minimum remaining amount of gas is set in advance for each consumer's home, and notification is made based on a comparison between the calculated remaining amount of gas and the minimum remaining amount of gas. This takes into account the fact that gas usage at each consumer's home varies, making it possible to prevent gas shortages in the event of an emergency while also reducing waste caused by unused gas.

[0013] The gas remaining amount management method of the present invention manages the capacity of a gas container installed in a consumer's home, calculates the remaining amount of gas in the gas container based on the gas usage in the gas container at the consumer's home and the capacity of the managed gas container, manages a minimum remaining amount of gas in the gas container that is preset for each consumer's home, compares the remaining amount of gas with the minimum remaining amount of gas, and issues a notification to encourage replacement of the gas container based on the comparison result between the remaining amount of gas and the minimum remaining amount of gas. Effect of the Invention

[0014] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a gas remaining amount management system and a gas remaining amount management method that can prevent running out of gas in the event of an emergency while suppressing waste due to the generation of unused gas. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1]1 is a block diagram showing a gas remaining amount management system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a guarantee days table stored in a storage unit in FIG. 1; [Diagram 3] 1 is a flowchart showing a flow of a remaining gas amount management method. [Figure 4] 1 is a block diagram showing a gas remaining amount management system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a minimum remaining amount table stored in the storage unit of FIG. [Figure 6] 1 is a flowchart showing a flow of a remaining gas amount management method. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] Hereinafter, a gas remaining amount management system and a gas remaining amount management method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The gas remaining amount management system and the gas remaining amount management method described below are merely one embodiment of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment, and additions, deletions, and modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention.

[0017] (First embodiment) Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a gas remaining amount management system 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a guarantee days table Th stored in the memory unit 8 of Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 1, the gas remaining amount management system 100 includes a center server 10 and a customer's home 20. Although Fig. 1 illustrates two customer's homes 20, the gas remaining amount management system 100 may have one customer's home 20 or three or more customer's homes 20.

[0018] Each consumer home 20 is provided with two gas containers 11, a switch 12, a gas meter 13, and two gas appliances 14. Examples of consumer homes 20 include, but are not limited to, hospitals, schools, municipal facilities, nursing homes, ordinary homes, and commercial facilities, and may be any building in which gas can be used.

[0019] The gas container 11 is also called a gas cylinder, and is filled with a gas such as LP gas (liquefied petroleum gas). The switch 12 switches the gas supply path so that the gas in one of the two gas containers 11 is supplied to the consumer's house 20. As a result, even if one of the two gas containers 11 runs out of gas, the gas in the other gas container 11 can be supplied to the gas appliance 14.

[0020] The above-mentioned gas shortage is defined as follows. In this embodiment, when the gas container 11 to be used is switched by the switch 12, it means that the gas container 11 used before the switch is in a gas-out state. In this case, the switch 12 detects a change in pressure in the gas container 11 and switches the gas container 11. Specifically, the switch 12 applies pressure to the gas container 11 to fill it with gas, and when the gas runs out, the pressure drops. The switch 12 detects the change in pressure and switches the gas container 11 at the timing when the pressure drops. Therefore, in this embodiment, the drop in pressure detected by the switch 12 can be regarded as gas shortage. This definition is applied to each of the gas shortages in the two gas containers 11.

[0021] The gas meter 13 measures the flow rate of gas supplied to each gas appliance 14. The gas meter 13 may take measures such as cutting off the gas supply path when it detects any abnormality. The gas meter 13 also includes a communication unit 13a. The communication unit 13a of the gas meter 13 has a function of communicating wirelessly with the center server 10. For example, a communication network such as the Internet, a LAN, or LPWA (Low Power Wide Area) can be used as a wireless communication method between the communication unit 13a and the center server 10. The communication unit 13a periodically transmits information on the flow rate of gas used by the gas appliance 14 in the consumer's house 20 to the center server 10.

[0022] The gas appliance 14 is, for example, a gas stove, a gas water heater, a gas fan heater, or the like, but is not limited to these, and may be any appliance that consumes gas.

[0023] The center server 10 includes a data collection unit 1, a gas bottle management unit 2, a warranty days management unit 3, a remaining days estimation unit 4, a days comparison unit 5, a notification unit 6, a communication interface (I / F) 7, and a storage unit 8. Among the above-mentioned components of the center server 10, the data collection unit 1, the gas bottle management unit 2, the warranty days management unit 3, the remaining days estimation unit 4, the days comparison unit 5, and the notification unit 6 are functionally realized by a microcontroller including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a memory (ROM (Read Only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory)) that stores a program, or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), etc. Also, as the storage unit 8, various memories or a hard disk, etc. can be used.

[0024] The data collection unit 1 periodically receives and collects information on the flow rate of gas used by the gas appliances 14 in the consumer's home 20 from the communication unit 13a of the gas meter 13 in each consumer's home 20 via the communication interface 7. Note that, as the information on the gas flow rate, for example, an integrated value of the flow rate or a meter pointer value may be used.

[0025] The gas container management unit 2 manages the capacity of the gas container 11 installed in each consumer's home 20. Specifically, the gas container management unit 2 stores the capacity of the gas container 11 in the memory unit 8, and also stores the changed capacity in the memory unit 8 when the capacity of the gas container 11 is changed. Information regarding the capacity of the gas container 11 installed in each consumer's home 20 is notified to the center server 10 by the installer using a communication device, for example, when installing the gas container 11 in the consumer's home 20. The center server 20 receives this information and stores it in the memory unit 8 via the gas container management unit 2 as described above.

[0026] The guaranteed days management unit 3 manages the number of guaranteed days, which is the number of days to be secured before gas runs out, preset for each consumer's home 20. In this case, the guaranteed days management unit 3 can determine the number of guaranteed days corresponding to the consumer's home 20 based on the number of the gas meter 13 corresponding to the consumer's home 20. The number of the gas meter 13 of each consumer's home 20 is stored in advance in the storage unit 8. For example, when a gas meter 13 is installed in the consumer's home 20, the installation company notifies the center server 10 of information regarding the number using a communication device. The center server 10, which receives this information, stores this information in the storage unit 8. Here, the number of the gas meter 13 is information that is set according to the capacity of the gas meter 13 (i.e., the maximum flow rate of gas that can be measured). Therefore, generally, the more gas a consumer's home 20 consumes, the more gas a gas meter 13 corresponding to a larger capacity is installed.

[0027] The warranty days management unit 3 also stores the determined warranty days in the memory unit 8 as a warranty days table Th in association with the consumer home 20. As shown in Fig. 2, the warranty days table Th indicates the warranty days set for each consumer home 20. For example, the warranty days for consumer homes 20 such as hospitals, schools, and nursing homes are set to a relatively large value to prevent gas shortages in the event of an emergency when delivery of the gas containers 11 becomes difficult. On the other hand, the warranty days for consumer homes 20 such as general households are set to a relatively small value because they use less gas than hospitals, schools, and nursing homes.

[0028] The remaining days estimation unit 4 estimates the number of remaining days until gas runs out in the gas container 11 based on the gas usage status in the gas container 11 at the consumer's house 20 and the capacity of the gas container 11. In detail, the remaining days estimation unit 4 can calculate the average gas usage (gas usage per day) for a predetermined period (e.g., 7 days, 10 days, or 20 days) based on the information on the gas usage amount sent periodically (e.g., daily) from the communication unit 13a of the gas meter 13. Then, the remaining days estimation unit 4 calculates the remaining days based on the calculated average value and the capacity of the gas container 11. Note that, in addition to calculating the remaining days using the average gas usage amount as described above, the remaining days can also be calculated by alternatively using information on the gas usage amount on the same day in the previous year or information on the gas usage amount in the same week in the previous year.

[0029] The number of days comparing unit 5 compares the remaining number of days estimated by the remaining number of days estimating unit 4 with the number of guaranteed days in the guaranteed days table Th set by the guaranteed days managing unit 3. In this case, the number of days comparing unit 5 determines, for example, whether the remaining number of days is equal to the number of guaranteed days + 1 so that the notification unit 6, which will be described later, will give a notification before the remaining number of days reaches the guaranteed number of days. Note that the number of days comparing unit 5 may also be configured so that the notification unit 6 gives a notification when the remaining number of days reaches the guaranteed number of days.

[0030] The notification unit 6 issues a notification to encourage replacement of the gas container 11 based on the comparison result by the day number comparison unit 5. Specifically, when the number of remaining days in the comparison result by the day number comparison unit 5 reaches the number of guaranteed days + 1, the notification unit 6 issues a notification such as sending a predetermined signal to the business operator who will replace the gas container 11.

[0031] Next, a method for managing remaining gas amount in the remaining gas amount management system 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to a flowchart. Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of the remaining gas amount management method.

[0032] 3, the gas container management unit 2 stores the capacity of the gas container 11 in the memory unit 8 (step S1). Next, the warranty day management unit 3 stores the warranty days preset for each consumer's home 20 as a warranty day table Th in the memory unit 8 in association with the consumer's home 20 (step S2).

[0033] Next, the data collection unit 1 collects information on the flow rate of gas used by the gas appliances 14 of the consumer's house 20 from the gas meter 13 of each consumer's house 20 via the communication interface 7 (step S3). In this case, the information on the gas flow rate may be, for example, an integrated value of the flow rate or a meter pointer value.

[0034] Next, the remaining days estimation unit 4 estimates the number of days remaining until the gas runs out based on the gas usage status in the gas container 11 in the consumer's home 20 and the capacity of the gas container 11 (step S4).

[0035] Next, the number of days comparison unit 5 determines whether the remaining number of days is equal to the number of guaranteed days + 1 (step S5). If the remaining number of days is equal to the number of guaranteed days + 1 (YES in step S5), the notification unit 6 transmits a predetermined signal to the business that replaces the gas container 11 (step S6). On the other hand, if the remaining number of days is not equal to the number of guaranteed days + 1 (NO in step S5), the process returns to the above-mentioned step S3.

[0036] As described above, according to this embodiment, the number of guaranteed days, which is the number of days to be secured until gas runs out, can be set in advance for each consumer home 20. The number of guaranteed days set in advance for each consumer home 20 is managed by the guaranteed days management unit 3. For example, the consumer home 20 such as a hospital or a nursing facility can be set to a relatively large number of guaranteed days to prevent gas from running out in an emergency when it becomes difficult to deliver the gas container 11. On the other hand, the consumer home 20 such as an ordinary home can be set to a relatively small number of guaranteed days because it uses less gas than hospitals and nursing facilities. Thus, unlike the conventional system in which the predetermined amount is set small uniformly for all consumer homes when predicting the day when the remaining amount of gas will reach a predetermined amount, in this embodiment, the number of guaranteed days is set in advance for each consumer home 20, and the above notification is made based on a comparison between the remaining number of days estimated by the remaining number of days estimation unit 4 and the guaranteed number of days. As a result, it is possible to prevent gas from running out in an emergency while suppressing waste due to the generation of unused gas, taking into account that the gas usage conditions differ for each consumer home 20.

[0037] In addition, in this embodiment, because the consumer's residence 20 can freely set the number of guaranteed days as described above, the business operator (gas supply business operator) can charge the consumer's residence 20 a fee according to the service level. This allows the business operator to provide the consumer's residence 20 with a service that includes the value of preparing for emergencies while securing gas inventory, rather than simply providing gas or optimizing gas inventory.

[0038] In addition, in this embodiment, the number of warranty days corresponding to the consumer's home 20 can be automatically determined from the number of the gas meter 13 corresponding to the consumer's home 20.

[0039] Second embodiment Next, a gas remaining amount management system 100A and a gas remaining amount management method according to a second embodiment will be described. In the following description, the same components as those in the first embodiment will be given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0040] 4, the configuration of the gas remaining amount management system 100A of the second embodiment differs from the configuration of the gas remaining amount management system 100 of the first embodiment in the configuration of the center server 10A. In detail, the gas remaining amount management system 100A of the present embodiment is provided with a gas remaining amount calculation unit 53, a gas remaining amount management unit 54, and a gas remaining amount comparison unit 55 instead of the guaranteed days management unit 3, the remaining days estimation unit 4, and the days comparison unit 5 in the gas remaining amount management system 100 of the first embodiment.

[0041] The gas remaining amount management unit 54 manages the minimum remaining amount of gas in the gas container 11, which is preset for each consumer's home 20. Here, the minimum remaining amount of gas is the minimum amount of gas that the consumer's home 20 desires to secure in the gas container 11, and is expressed as a percentage (%) of the remaining amount of gas based on the capacity of the gas container 11. In this embodiment, the gas remaining amount management unit 54 manages the minimum remaining amount of gas corresponding to the consumer's home 20 based on an application from the consumer's home 20. Specifically, the gas remaining amount management unit 54 associates the minimum remaining amount of gas requested by the consumer's home 20 with the consumer's home 20 and stores it in the memory unit 8 as the minimum remaining amount table Tg of FIG. 5. For example, when the gas meter 13 is installed in the consumer's home 20, the installation company notifies the center server 10A of information related to the minimum remaining amount of gas using a communication device. The center server 10A, which receives this, stores this information in the memory unit 8 as the minimum remaining amount table Tg.

[0042] As shown in Fig. 5, the minimum remaining gas amount table Tg shows the minimum remaining gas amount set for each consumer home 20, based on, for example, 20% of the capacity of the gas container 11. For example, the minimum remaining gas amount for consumer homes 20 such as hospitals, schools, and nursing homes is set to a relatively large value to prevent gas shortages in the event of an emergency when delivery of the gas container 11 becomes difficult. On the other hand, the minimum remaining gas amount for consumer homes 20 such as general households is set to a relatively small value because they use less gas than hospitals, schools, and nursing homes. Note that each numerical value of the minimum remaining gas amount in the minimum remaining gas amount table Tg in Fig. 5 is merely an example and can be set arbitrarily.

[0043] The remaining gas amount calculation unit 53 obtains the remaining amount of gas in the gas container 11 based on the gas usage status in the gas container 11 at the consumer's house 20 and the capacity of the gas container 11 managed by the gas container management unit 2. In this case, the remaining gas amount calculation unit 53 calculates the remaining amount of gas based on information on the amount of gas usage sent periodically (for example, daily) from the communication unit 13a of the gas meter 13 and the capacity of the gas container 11.

[0044] The remaining gas amount comparison unit 55 compares the remaining amount of gas obtained by the remaining gas amount calculation unit 53 with the minimum remaining gas amount set by the remaining gas amount management unit 54. In this case, the remaining gas amount comparison unit 55 determines whether the remaining gas amount is equal to the minimum remaining gas amount + 10% so that the notification unit 6 issues a notification before the remaining gas amount reaches the minimum remaining gas amount. Note that the 10% added to the minimum remaining gas amount is an example value, and the value may be less than 10% or more than 10%. Furthermore, the remaining gas amount comparison unit 55 may issue a notification by the notification unit 6 when the remaining gas amount reaches the minimum remaining gas amount.

[0045] The notification unit 6 issues a notification to encourage replacement of the gas container 11 based on the comparison result by the gas remaining amount comparison unit 55. Specifically, when the comparison result of the gas remaining amount comparison unit 55 indicates that the amount of remaining gas has reached the minimum remaining amount of gas + 10%, the notification unit 6 issues a notification such as sending a predetermined signal to the business operator who replaces the gas container 11.

[0046] Next, a method for managing remaining gas amount in the remaining gas amount management system 100A in the second embodiment will be described with reference to a flowchart. Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of the method for managing remaining gas amount in the second embodiment.

[0047] 6, the gas container management unit 2 stores the capacity of the gas container 11 in the memory unit 8 (step S11). Next, the gas remaining amount management unit 54 stores a minimum remaining amount of gas preset for each consumer's house 20 as a minimum remaining amount table Tg in the memory unit 8 in association with the consumer's house 20 (step S12).

[0048] Next, the data collection unit 1 collects information on the flow rate of gas used by the gas appliances 14 of the consumer's home 20 from the gas meter 13 of each consumer's home 20 via the communication interface 7 (step S13). In this case, the information on the gas flow rate may be, for example, an integrated value of the flow rate or a meter pointer value.

[0049] Next, the remaining gas amount calculation unit 53 calculates the remaining amount of gas in the gas container 11 based on the usage status of gas in the gas container 11 at the consumer's house 20 and the capacity of the gas container 11 (step S14).

[0050] Next, the gas remaining amount comparison unit 55 determines whether the remaining amount of gas is equal to the minimum remaining amount of gas + 10% (step S15). If the remaining amount of gas is equal to the minimum remaining amount of gas + 10% (YES in step S15), the notification unit 6 transmits a predetermined signal to the business that replaces the gas container 11 (step S16). On the other hand, if the remaining amount of gas is not equal to the minimum remaining amount of gas + 10% (NO in step S15), the process returns to the above-mentioned step S13.

[0051] As described above, according to this embodiment, the minimum remaining amount of gas in the gas container 11 that is desired to be secured before the gas runs out can be set in advance for each consumer home 20. The minimum remaining amount of gas set in advance for each consumer home 20 is managed by the gas remaining amount management unit 54. For example, the consumer home 20 such as a hospital or a nursing home can be set to a relatively large minimum remaining amount of gas to prevent gas from running out in an emergency when it becomes difficult to deliver the gas container 11. On the other hand, the consumer home 20 such as an ordinary home can be set to a relatively small minimum remaining amount of gas because it uses less gas than hospitals and nursing homes. Thus, unlike the conventional system in which the predetermined amount is set small for all consumer homes when predicting the day when the remaining amount of gas will reach a predetermined amount, in this embodiment, the minimum remaining amount of gas is set in advance for each consumer home 20, and the above notification is made based on a comparison between the remaining amount of gas in the gas container 11 calculated by the gas remaining amount calculation unit 53 and the minimum remaining amount of gas. As a result, it is possible to prevent gas from running out in an emergency while suppressing waste due to the generation of unused gas, taking into account that the gas usage conditions differ for each consumer home 20.

[0052] For the reasons described above, in this embodiment, the remaining gas amount is calculated from the viewpoint of directly managing the remaining gas amount, rather than estimating the number of remaining days as in the first embodiment. However, this is not limited to this, and depending on the consumer's home 20, the remaining gas amount can also be calculated based on the ratio of gas usage (average daily gas usage) to the number of guaranteed days to be secured. In addition, the minimum remaining gas amount described above is not limited to being managed as a percentage (%) based on the capacity of the gas container 11, but can also be managed based on the volume (m 3 ) or may be controlled in absolute terms, expressed as weight (kg).

[0053] (Modification) The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the following modifications are possible.

[0054] In the above embodiment, the warranty days management unit 3 determines the number of warranty days corresponding to the consumer's home 20 based on the number of the gas meter 13 corresponding to the consumer's home 20, but this is not limited to the above. The warranty days management unit 3 may determine the number of warranty days corresponding to the consumer's home 20 based on an application by the consumer's home 20. This allows the consumer's home 20 to freely determine the number of warranty days. In this case, the consumer's home 20 can apply for a smaller number of warranty days (a smaller value) from the perspective of reducing delivery costs, and on the other hand, can apply for a larger number of warranty days (a larger value) from the perspective of further improving the reliability of preventing gas shortages.

[0055] In the above embodiment, the gas meter 13 transmits information on the flow rate of gas used by the gas appliance 14 in the consumer's house 20 to the center server 10 via wireless communication, but the present invention is not limited to this. The gas meter 13 may transmit information on the flow rate of gas to the center server 10 via wired communication.

[0056] In addition, in the above embodiment, two gas containers 11 and two gas appliances 14 are exemplified, but this is not limited to this, and the number of gas containers 11 may be one or three or more, and the number of gas appliances 14 may be one or three or more.

[0057] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the gas container 11 is filled with LP gas (liquefied petroleum gas) as an example of a gas, but this is not limited thereto, and the gas container 11 may be filled with other gases such as oxygen. [Explanation of symbols]

[0058] 1 Data collection section 2. Gas Cylinder Management Department 3. Warranty Days Management Department 4 Remaining days estimation part 5 Days comparison part 6 Notification section 10,10A Center Server 11 Gas bottles 13 Gas meter 14 Gas appliances 20 Customer house 53 Gas remaining amount calculation unit 54 Gas Remaining Amount Management Unit 55 Gas remaining amount comparison section 100,100A Gas Remaining Quantity Management System

Claims

1. a gas cylinder management unit that manages the capacity of a gas cylinder installed in a consumer's home; a remaining days estimation unit that estimates the number of days remaining until the gas runs out in the gas container based on a gas usage status in the gas container at the consumer's home and a capacity of the gas container managed by the gas container management unit; a guarantee days management unit for managing a guarantee days, which is a number of days to be secured before the gas runs out and is preset for each of the consumer homes; a days comparison unit that compares the remaining days estimated by the remaining days estimation unit with the guaranteed days set by the guaranteed days management unit; A notification unit that issues a notification to prompt the user to replace the gas container based on a comparison result by the day number comparison unit, The guarantee days management unit determines the guarantee days corresponding to the consumer's home based on the number of the gas meter corresponding to the consumer's home or an application by the consumer's home, in accordance with a remaining gas amount management system.

2. Manage the capacity of gas cylinders installed at customers' homes, estimating the number of days remaining until the gas in the gas container runs out based on the gas usage status in the consumer's home and the capacity of the gas container; Manage a guaranteed number of days, which is a number of days to be secured before the gas runs out, that is preset for each of the consumer homes; Determine the number of guaranteed days corresponding to the consumer's home based on the number of gas meters corresponding to the consumer's home or an application by the consumer's home; Comparing the estimated remaining days with the set guaranteed days; The method for managing remaining gas quantity includes issuing a notification urging the user to replace the gas container based on a result of comparing the remaining number of days with the number of guaranteed days.

3. a gas cylinder management unit that manages the capacity of a gas cylinder installed in a consumer's home; a gas remaining amount calculation unit that calculates a remaining amount of gas in the gas container based on a usage status of the gas in the gas container at the consumer's house and a capacity of the gas container managed by the gas container management unit; a gas remaining amount management unit that manages a minimum remaining amount of gas in the gas container, the minimum remaining amount being preset for each consumer house; a gas remaining amount comparison unit that compares the remaining amount of gas obtained by the gas remaining amount calculation unit with a minimum remaining amount of gas set by the gas remaining amount management unit; a notification unit that issues a notification urging the user to replace the gas container based on a comparison result by the gas remaining amount comparison unit.

4. Manage the capacity of gas cylinders installed at customers' homes, determining a remaining amount of gas in the gas container based on a usage status of the gas in the gas container at the consumer's house and a capacity of the managed gas container; Manage a minimum remaining amount of gas in the gas container that is preset for each consumer house; Comparing the remaining amount of gas with a minimum remaining amount of gas; A gas remaining amount management method, comprising: issuing a notification urging the user to replace the gas container based on a result of comparing the remaining amount of gas with a minimum remaining amount of gas.

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