Fire Prediction Detection System

Abstract

To provide a fire symptom detection system capable of identifying factors and emitting an alarm when environmental air in a monitoring area turns into an abnormal condition.SOLUTION: A fire symptom detection system comprises: a fire symptom detection part outputting a fire symptom detection signal; an odor detection part outputting as an odor detection signal a physical quantity corresponding to odor generated in a monitoring area; an alarm emitting part outputting a change of a state of environmental air in the monitoring area from a normal state to an abnormal condition; and a control part controlling alarm emission by the alarm emitting part on the basis of the fire symptom detection signal. In order to identify, as a specific factor, refrigerant gas leakage caused by oil in refrigerant piping being misted together with refrigerant gas in an air conditioner to leak into a monitoring area, the control part stores in advance an odor detection signal when the specific factor occurs as specific factor odor detection signal, and when the specific factor odor detection signal as the odor detection signal is detected, causes the alarm emitting part to emit information capable of identifying the occurrence of the specific factor.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a fire omen detection system that detects a change in environmental air from a normal state to an abnormal state and prevents fires in advance.

Background Art

[0002] There is a fire omen detection system that detects abnormalities in the indoor environment with a highly sensitive smoke sensor like a fire omen sensor and prevents fires in advance (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1). The fire omen detection system according to Non-Patent Document 1 is a system that sucks air in a monitoring area from a large number of sampling holes and optically monitors the environmental air in the entire monitoring area.

[0003] The fire omen sensor performs monitoring at a high sensitivity level that can accurately capture normal environmental changes, and can quickly detect abnormalities such as the possibility of an electrical fire.

Prior Art Documents

Non-Patent Documents

[0004]

Non-Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Indoor air contains many floating substances such as dust that are invisible to the naked eye. The fire omen detection system according to Non-Patent Document 1 can quickly detect an environmental state different from normal by continuously and accurately monitoring this change in air.

[0006] However, when an abnormality in the indoor environment is detected by a highly sensitive smoke sensor, such as a fire warning sensor, it is difficult to visually confirm that what is detected is smoke. Therefore, it can be difficult for on-site responders to determine whether the cause of the abnormality is smoke or some other factor, and it may take time to identify the cause.

[0007] An analysis of incidents detected by fire prediction sensors shows that 52% were smoke-related incidents, and 20% were due to refrigerant gas leaks from air conditioners. When refrigerant gas leaks from an air conditioner, the oil in the refrigerant piping leaks out along with the refrigerant gas in the form of a mist. It is believed that fire prediction sensors are detecting this oil mist leak.

[0008] Therefore, there is a strong need for a fire prediction detection system that can identify the cause of an anomaly detected by a fire prediction sensor.

[0009] This disclosure is made to solve the above-mentioned problems and aims to provide a fire precursor detection system that can identify the specific cause of an abnormal condition in the ambient air of a monitoring area and trigger an alarm when such an abnormal condition is detected as a fire precursor. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The fire precursor detection system according to this disclosure comprises a fire precursor detection unit that outputs a fire precursor detection signal, an odor detection unit that outputs a physical quantity corresponding to an odor generated in the monitoring area as an odor detection signal, an alarm unit that issues an alarm when the ambient air in the monitoring area deviates from an acceptable range indicating a normal state and changes to an abnormal state, and a control unit that controls the alarm issued by the alarm unit based on the fire precursor detection signal from the fire precursor detection unit, wherein the control unit stores in advance the odor detection signal when a specific factor occurs as a specific factor odor detection signal in order to identify a specific factor among multiple factors that cause an abnormal state, and odor The system monitors the odor detection signal output from the detection unit, and if a specific factor odor detection signal is detected as an odor detection signal, it issues an alert from the alarm unit that identifies whether or not a specific factor has occurred. The specific factor is a refrigerant gas leak in which oil in the refrigerant piping leaks into the monitoring area as a mist along with the refrigerant gas of the air conditioner. The control unit has pre-stored the odor detection signal when a refrigerant gas leak occurs as a specific factor odor detection signal, and monitors the odor detection signal output from the odor detection unit to issue an alert from the alarm unit that identifies whether or not a refrigerant gas leak has occurred. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to this disclosure, a fire precursor detection system can be obtained that, when an abnormal condition in the ambient air of a monitoring area is detected as a fire precursor, can identify the specific cause of the abnormal condition and trigger an alarm. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram of the fire precursor detection system in Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an odor pattern detected by the odor detection unit according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] This is a flowchart showing the flow of a series of processes executed by the alarm control unit in Embodiment 1 of this disclosure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0013] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the fire prediction detection system of this disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The fire precursor detection system described in this disclosure is characterized by its configuration that allows for the identification of a specific factor by using fire precursor detection information and odor detection information in combination, pre-storing odor patterns of specific factors, and determining whether the odor detection information obtained when fire precursor detection information is obtained matches the odor pattern of a specific factor.

[0014] In the following Embodiment 1, we will explain in detail a specific example in which the specific cause is a refrigerant gas leak in which oil in the refrigerant piping leaks into the monitoring area in the form of a mist along with the refrigerant gas of the air conditioner.

[0015] Embodiment 1. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the fire precursor detection system in Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. The fire precursor detection system 1 according to Embodiment 1 comprises a fire precursor detection unit 10, a sampling tube 20, a suction fan 30, an odor detection unit 40, a control unit 50, and an alarm unit 60.

[0016] The sampling tube 20 is installed throughout the interior of a fire monitoring area, such as a cultural property, including the ceiling, and is equipped with sampling holes 21 for drawing in air from the monitoring area.

[0017] A suction fan 30, located downstream of the fire precursor detection unit 10 (which is equivalent to a highly sensitive smoke sensor), draws in air from the sampling tube 20 and brings it into the fire precursor detection unit 10. Through the action of this suction fan 30, the fire precursor detection unit 10 acquires ambient air from the monitoring area via multiple sampling holes 21 provided in the sampling tube 20 and optically monitors the acquired ambient air.

[0018] Furthermore, when the environmental air deviates from the allowable range indicating the normal state and changes to an abnormal state as a monitoring result, the fire omen detection unit 10 outputs a fire omen detection signal. For example, the fire omen detection unit 10 can determine the presence or absence of smoke generation by detecting whether the acquired environmental air contains smoke particles, and outputs a fire omen detection signal when it is determined that smoke has occurred.

[0019] Also, as described in [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] above, when the air conditioner refrigerant gas leaks in the monitoring area, the oil in the refrigerant pipe leaks in a mist form together with the refrigerant gas. Therefore, the fire omen detection unit 10 detects the leakage of this oil mist and outputs a fire omen detection signal.

[0020] Note that the position of the suction fan 30 is behind the fire omen detection unit 10 in FIG. 1, but it is not limited to such a position, and it is also possible to provide the suction fan 30 in front of the fire omen detection unit 10. That is, any configuration that can suck the air in the monitoring area from a plurality of sampling holes 21 and supply it to the fire omen detection unit 10 is acceptable.

[0021] The odor detection unit 40 monitors the ambient odor in the monitoring area. In the first embodiment, a crystal oscillator type sensor including a transducer and a plurality of types of sensitive films is adopted as an example of the odor detection unit 40. Also, in the following description, it is assumed that, as an example, the odor detection unit 40 is provided with 16 types of sensitive films.

[0022] Here, the sensitive film is a sensor that senses when it adsorbs odor components. The sensitive film is provided on the surface of the crystal substrate together with electrodes, and vibrates when a voltage is applied to the electrodes. The vibration frequency of this sensitive film changes according to the weight of the adsorbed odor component when the odor component is adsorbed.

[0023] The transducer detects the change in the vibration frequency generated in the sensitive film and converts this change amount into data in a form that can be digitally processed.

[0024] The odor detection unit 40 generates a waveform that represents the temporal change in the detected odor by acquiring the detected odor value corresponding to each sensitive membrane at a predetermined period. In this embodiment 1, 16 different sensitive membranes are provided in the odor detection unit 40.

[0025] Therefore, the odor detection unit 40 can generate 16-channel waveforms corresponding to the type of sensitive membrane and output them as an odor detection signal. The pattern formed by combining these 16-channel waveforms is referred to as the odor pattern or simply the pattern.

[0026] Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the odor patterns detected by the odor detection unit 40 according to Embodiment 1 of this disclosure. Figure 2 shows the detection results for three types of odor patterns: Pattern A, Pattern B, and Pattern C.

[0027] Pattern A: A pattern based on 16-channel odor detection signals when smoke is emitted due to server or production equipment failure in the monitoring area. Pattern B: A pattern based on 16-channel odor detection signals when smoke is emitted due to an air conditioning malfunction in the monitoring area. Pattern C: A pattern based on 16 channels of odor detection signals when an air conditioner refrigerant gas leak occurs in the monitoring area.

[0028] In Figure 2, the odor detection unit 40 was able to obtain a pattern in which, when smoke is emitted according to patterns A and B, channels 1 and 2 of the 16 channels react strongly, while the other channels react moderately or weakly.

[0029] Furthermore, regarding the odor detected when an air conditioner refrigerant gas leak occurs according to pattern C, the odor detection unit 40 was able to obtain a pattern in which, compared to patterns A and B, channels 1 and 2 of the 16 channels reacted less, while channels 5, 15, and 16 reacted more.

[0030] Therefore, pattern C can be clearly distinguished from patterns A and B, and smoke emission and air conditioner refrigerant gas leakage can be distinguished. In this way, the odor detection unit 40 is equipped with 16 different sensitive membranes suitable for distinguishing between smoke emission and air conditioner refrigerant gas leakage, and can output an odor detection signal having a pattern that can distinguish each odor.

[0031] Furthermore, by selecting an appropriate combination of multiple sensitive membranes according to the desired factors to be identified in the monitoring environment, the odor detection unit 40 can output an odor detection signal that can easily identify the desired factors.

[0032] The control unit 50 includes an alarm control unit 51 and a storage unit 52. The alarm control unit 51 is a controller that controls the alarm activation by the alarm unit 60 based on the fire precursor detection signal output from the fire precursor detection unit 10 and the odor detection signal output from the odor detection unit 40.

[0033] Furthermore, the memory unit 52 pre-stores odor patterns from multiple types of sensitive membranes when a specific factor occurs, as specific factor odor patterns. In this embodiment 1, we will describe the case where pattern C shown in Figure 2, that is, the pattern from 16 channels of odor detection signals when an air conditioner refrigerant gas leak occurs, is stored in the memory unit 52 as a "specific factor odor pattern".

[0034] The fire precursor detection unit 10 outputs a fire precursor detection signal regardless of whether smoke emission occurs due to pattern A, smoke emission due to pattern B, or air conditioner refrigerant gas leakage due to pattern C. Therefore, the alarm control unit 51 cannot distinguish between pattern A, pattern B, and pattern C simply by the fire precursor detection signal being turned ON.

[0035] Therefore, the alarm control unit 51 utilizes the odor detection signal output from the odor detection unit 40 to identify a specific factor from among multiple factors causing the abnormal condition. When a fire precursor detection signal is output from the fire precursor detection unit 10, the alarm control unit 51 monitors the odor detection signal output from the odor detection unit 40.

[0036] The alarm control unit 51 compares the odor detection signal, which is an odor pattern obtained from the odor detection unit 40, with the specific factor odor pattern stored in the storage unit 52, and determines whether the difference in output values ​​in each channel is within an acceptable range. Based on the comparison results of both patterns, the alarm control unit 51 determines that the specific factor odor pattern has been detected as an odor detection signal if the difference in output values ​​in all 16 channels is within an acceptable range.

[0037] As a result, the alarm control unit 51 can send an alarm via the alarm unit 60, along with information indicating that a fire precursor detection signal has been output from the fire precursor detection unit 10, and if a specific factor odor pattern is detected as an odor detection signal, it can send an alarm indicating that a specific factor has occurred.

[0038] In the specific example described above, the pattern generated by the 16-channel odor detection signals when an air conditioner refrigerant gas leak occurs is stored in the storage unit 52 as a "specific factor odor pattern" to identify the air conditioner refrigerant gas leak. However, by also storing smoke emission or other factors as "specific factor odor patterns" in the storage unit 52, it becomes possible to identify the desired factor.

[0039] Furthermore, by storing each of the multiple factors as a "specific factor odor pattern" in the memory unit 52, it is possible to identify each of the multiple factors.

[0040] Furthermore, instead of comparing the odor pattern obtained from the odor detection unit 40 with specific factor odor patterns pre-stored in the memory unit 52, the alarm control unit 51 can also employ a method of identifying factors using machine learning with AI (Artificial Intelligence).

[0041] When using machine learning, the alarm control unit 51 is pre-equipped with a machine learning discrimination function, which is obtained by training the machine learning function on each specific factor to be identified, using various odor patterns pre-generated by the odor detection unit 40 as training data.

[0042] Furthermore, the alarm control unit 51, using the odor pattern output from the odor detection unit 40 as an input parameter during monitoring, can identify specific factors corresponding to the odor pattern using a machine learning discrimination function.

[0043] The alarm unit 60 is an alarm device that issues fire alarms and can include an amplifier and a speaker. When the alarm control unit 51 receives a fire precursor detection signal from the fire precursor detection unit 10, it can cause the alarm unit 60 to issue information indicating that the ambient air has deviated from the acceptable range representing a normal state and has changed to an abnormal state.

[0044] Furthermore, if the alarm control unit 51 detects a specific factor odor pattern as an odor detection signal received from the odor detection unit 40, it can cause the alarm unit 60 to emit information that identifies the occurrence of the specific factor.

[0045] The alarm unit 60 may also be equipped with communication equipment that enables wireless or wired communication. If communication equipment is provided, the alarm unit 60 can transmit the information to be alarmed to an external device (not shown) located at a distance, a mobile terminal owned by a facility manager, etc.

[0046] Figure 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of a series of processes performed by the alarm control unit 51 in Embodiment 1 of this disclosure. In step S301, the alarm control unit 51 monitors the fire precursor detection signal output from the fire precursor detection unit 10 when monitoring a fire area.

[0047] Next, in step S302, the alarm control unit 51 determines whether or not the fire precursor detection signal has been turned on. If it determines that the signal has been turned on, it proceeds to step S303. If it determines that the signal has not been turned on, it repeats the processes in steps S301 and S302.

[0048] When the process proceeds to step S303, the alarm control unit 51 monitors the odor detection signal output from the odor detection unit 40 and determines whether or not a specific odor pattern stored in the storage unit 52 has been detected as an odor detection signal.

[0049] If the alarm control unit 51 determines that a specific odor pattern has been detected as an odor detection signal, it proceeds to step S304. If it determines that a specific odor pattern has not been detected as an odor detection signal, it proceeds to step S305.

[0050] By pre-storing odor patterns related to multiple types of factors in the storage unit 52 as specific odor patterns, the alarm control unit 51 becomes able to identify multiple types of factors.

[0051] When the process proceeds to step S304, the alarm control unit 51 signals that the ambient air has become abnormal because the fire precursor detection signal has been turned on, and also signals via the alarm unit 60 that a specific cause has occurred as the reason for this abnormality, thus ending the series of processes.

[0052] On the other hand, when the process proceeds to step S305, the alarm control unit 51 signals via the alarm unit 60 that the ambient air has become abnormal because the fire precursor detection signal has been turned on, and the series of processes ends. In addition, in step S305, the alarm control unit 51 may further signal if a factor other than the specified factor has occurred as the cause of the abnormal ambient air condition because the fire precursor detection signal has been turned on.

[0053] As described above, Embodiment 1 uses fire precursor detection information and odor detection information in combination, stores in advance the odor patterns of specific factors for which factor analysis is to be performed, and determines whether or not the odor detection information obtained when fire precursor detection information is obtained corresponds to the odor pattern of the specific factor.

[0054] As a result, when fire precursor detection information is obtained, a fire precursor detection system can be realized that notifies the system that the ambient air in the monitoring area has changed to an abnormal state, and that it is possible to identify whether or not the cause is a specific factor. In other words, it becomes possible to identify the specific factor to be identified based on the odor pattern, depending on the installation environment of various monitoring areas.

[0055] Specific examples of specific factors include refrigerant gas leaks from air conditioners and smoke emission from chemical solvents, and these specific factors can be identified based on the odor pattern.

[0056] With visual inspection, it was difficult to determine whether the cause of the detected anomaly was due to smoke or other factors, and identifying the cause took time. In contrast, by applying the fire prediction detection system according to this embodiment 1, which can achieve the effects described above, it becomes possible to easily identify the cause of the anomaly detected by the fire prediction detection unit based on the odor pattern.

[0057] Regarding the odor detection unit, instead of permanently installing it in the monitoring area, it is also possible to adopt a handheld configuration that can be carried by on-site personnel.

[0058] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment 1, a specific example was described in which a quartz crystal oscillator type sensor is used as the odor detection unit, which is equipped with multiple types of sensitive membranes and outputs the odor patterns detected by each sensitive membrane as an odor detection signal. However, the odor detection unit according to this disclosure is not limited to a sensor having such a configuration with multiple types of sensitive membranes.

[0059] For example, a semiconductor sensor like the one described below can be used as the odor detection unit. A semiconductor sensor employs a method that utilizes the fact that the resistance value of a semiconductor changes due to the adsorption of odor molecules on the semiconductor surface and the resulting surface reaction. On the upper surface of the sensor unit, an oxide semiconductor SnO2 (tin oxide), which is the gas-sensitive material, is formed on an alumina substrate. On the other hand, a heater for heating is attached to the lower surface of the sensor unit.

[0060] When placed in clean air, oxygen adsorbs onto the surface of the gas-sensing element. Because oxygen has electron affinity, it captures electrons in the gas-sensing element. At this time, the flow of electrons is obstructed, and the electrical resistance inside the gas-sensing element increases.

[0061] On the other hand, when placed in an odorous gas, an oxidation reaction occurs between the odorous gas and adsorbed oxygen on the surface of the gas-sensitive element, removing the adsorbed oxygen. As a result, electrons become more mobile, and the electrical resistance decreases.

[0062] Many odor molecules are reducing gases, and when these gases come into contact with a gas-sensing element, their electrical resistance decreases. Therefore, since the electrical resistance changes depending on the odor molecules present in the atmosphere, the change in electrical resistance can be converted into a voltage value, which can then be used as an odor detection signal to electrically identify and detect odors.

[0063] In other words, the odor detection unit according to this disclosure can be any method that can output a physical quantity corresponding to the odor generated in the monitoring area as an odor detection signal, and the desired odor detection unit can be adopted depending on the installation site, application, etc. It is also possible to use multiple odor detection units in combination.

[0064] Furthermore, if a "semiconductor sensor" is used as the odor detection unit 40 instead of a quartz crystal oscillator sensor equipped with multiple types of sensitive membranes, a "specific factor odor detection signal" will be stored in the storage unit 52 instead of a "specific factor odor pattern."

[0065] In systems using multiple sensing membranes, the ability to distinguish odors can be improved by increasing the number of types of sensing membranes and adopting odor patterns based on a larger number of channels. Furthermore, when using semiconductor sensors, the effect of humidity is significantly reduced because they are heated by a heater.

[0066] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment 1, a specific example was described in which the fire precursor detection unit uses a detection method that optically monitors the ambient air of the monitoring area by drawing in the air of the monitoring area through multiple sampling holes, and outputs a fire precursor detection signal when the ambient air deviates from the acceptable range indicating a normal state and changes to an abnormal state. However, the fire precursor detection unit according to this disclosure is not limited to such a detection method.

[0067] The fire precursor detection unit relating to this disclosure can be any unit that has the function of outputting a fire precursor detection signal when the ambient air in the monitoring area deviates from the permissible range indicating a normal state and changes to an abnormal state. For example, smoke detectors and heat detectors used in automatic fire alarm systems can be used as fire precursor detection units. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0068] 1 Fire Precursor Detection System, 10 Fire Precursor Detection Unit, 20 Sampling Tube, 21 Sampling Hole, 30 Suction Fan, 40 Odor Detection Unit, 50 Control Unit, 51 Alarm Activation Control Unit, 52 Memory Unit, 60 Alarm Activation Unit.

Claims

1. A fire precursor detection unit that outputs a fire precursor detection signal, An odor detection unit outputs a physical quantity corresponding to the odor generated in the monitoring area as an odor detection signal, An alarm unit that issues an alarm when the ambient air in the aforementioned monitoring area deviates from the permissible range indicating a normal state and changes to an abnormal state, A control unit that controls the alarm activation by the alarm activation unit based on the fire alarm detection signal from the fire alarm detection unit. Equipped with, The control unit, In order to identify a specific factor among the multiple factors that cause the aforementioned abnormal state, the odor detection signal when the specific factor occurs is stored in advance as a specific factor odor detection signal. The odor detection signal output from the odor detection unit is monitored, and if the specific factor odor detection signal is detected as the odor detection signal, the alarm unit is made to emit information that identifies the occurrence of the specific factor. The aforementioned specific cause is a refrigerant gas leak in which oil in the refrigerant piping leaks into the monitoring area as a mist along with the refrigerant gas of the air conditioner. The control unit, The odor detection signal received when the aforementioned refrigerant gas leak occurs is pre-stored as the specific factor odor detection signal. The odor detection signal output from the odor detection unit is monitored, and information that can identify whether or not a refrigerant gas leak has occurred is issued from the alarm unit. Fire warning system.

2. The odor detection unit is configured as a portable, handheld type. The fire precursor detection system according to claim 1.

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