Gas Meter Area Information Matching for Remote Shutoff
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional gas meters require complex management and operations for remote shut-off instructions, as they need to individually select and send instructions to gas meters in a piping system, complicating the process of confirming relationships between gas pipes and meters during leak inspections.
Innovation Solution
A gas meter with a communication unit that receives area information about the piping system, stores it, and compares it with added area information in remote shutoff commands, only shutting off the valve when the information matches, allowing for efficient collective remote control of gas meters during leak inspections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If remote control instructions are sent to individual gas meters one by one, then each gas meter can be individually controlled, but the management and operation process becomes complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple individual gas meters into a single management group identified by area information. Instead of sending separate control instructions to each meter, the system combines all meters in a specific area under one collective control mechanism, allowing simultaneous remote shutdown of multiple meters through a single instruction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements universal area information that can identify and group multiple gas meters across different locations. This universal identifier enables a single remote control instruction to affect multiple meters simultaneously, making the control system multi-functional rather than limited to individual meter control.
2Productivity
If area information matching is implemented for remote shutdown, then collective control becomes efficient, but the system requires additional communication and comparison functions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by pre-storing area information in each gas meter before the remote control operation is needed. This advance preparation allows the meters to automatically match themselves with incoming control instructions based on pre-configured area identifiers, eliminating the need for real-time complex matching algorithms during actual shutdown operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The gas meters perform self-service by autonomously comparing their stored area information with the area information contained in remote control instructions. Each meter independently determines whether it should be shut down based on this comparison, without requiring complex centralized control logic to manage each individual meter.
Data Source
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AI summary
Gas meter (10) includes shutoff valve (1), return unit (2), flow rate measurer (3), display (6), communication unit (4) that communicates with an outside, controller (5), area information setting unit (7), and area information comparator (8). The gas meter compares, by area information comparator (8), a preset area information held in area information setting unit (7) with a specified value of area information added to a remote shutoff instruction received by communication unit (4), and when the preset area information and the specified value of the added area information match, shutoff valve (1) is closed.