KR20200092800A - System and method for lpg tank disaster prevention - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is an LPW tank-based LPG tank disaster prevention system and method. As the supply of small LPG tanks increases, safety management must also be made important. In the present invention, for the safety management of an LPG tank, an indicator is attached to the LPG tank to digitally display the remaining gas It detects the presence or absence of gas leakage using a sensor that detects and leaks gas, digitally converts the gas usage, and checks for gas leakage based on the gas residual amount and the amount used to inform the manager whether or not there is a gas leak, gas residual amount and usage, and when an earthquake occurs Based on the information collected by the earthquake sensor and disaster information received from the Korea Meteorological Administration, it provides the function to determine the risk of gas leakage and shut off the valve itself.

Description

LPG tank disaster prevention system and method{SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR LPG TANK DISASTER PREVENTION}

The present invention relates to an LPG tank disaster prevention system and method, and more specifically, to a small LPG tank facility, whether there is an earthquake, gas leakage accident, earthquake warning, and a disaster caused by a fire, regardless of whether there is a tank facility manager or not It relates to an LPG tank disaster prevention system and method that can control an LPG tank facility through communication and automatically control a gas valve when a gas leak is predicted in conjunction with a disaster safety net of the Korea Meteorological Administration.

Although LPG tanks are widely used in the general public and facility capacity of LPG tanks is increasing, there are risk factors such as fire and earthquake around the LPG tanks, so management of LPG tanks is a problem.

However, even if the LPG tank is carefully managed, if a fire or earthquake suddenly occurs, it is difficult to approach the LPG tank and, in an emergency, the location of the LPG tank is also difficult to find, so gas leakage from the LPG tank cannot be blocked.

On the other hand, it is very important to shut off the gas valve if gas is expected to leak or if gas is leaking, as gas and gas leaks can result in significant human and property damage.

Accordingly, there is a need for a system capable of automatically or remotely shutting off gas when a disaster such as an earthquake or fire occurs or is predicted or when a gas leak occurs.

Domestic registered patent No. 10-1115522 relates to a gas safety management system using wireless communication in a building. Specifically, if an abnormal symptom such as fire or gas leakage occurs when a wired/wireless sensor network is built in the building centering on home network equipment. The present invention relates to a gas safety management system capable of preventing a safety accident due to gas leakage or reducing an accident damage range by shutting off gas or operating an automatic fire extinguisher.

However, the prior art relates to indoor gas safety, and is different from the disaster prevention system of the LPG tank installed mainly outdoors, does not take into account the disaster caused by the earthquake, and does not use the disaster information that can be received from the Meteorological Agency, so respond to the disaster in advance. Can't.

In order to solve the above-described problems, embodiments of the present invention are a gas sensor unit for detecting a gas leak, an earthquake sensor unit for detecting an earthquake, an RF repair and maintenance unit for receiving disaster information including the location of the earthquake or fire, and An object of the present invention is to provide an LPG tank disaster prevention system and method comprising a control unit for opening and closing a gas valve based on at least one of detected gas leakage, detected earthquake, and disaster information.

In addition, the object of the present invention is to provide an LPG tank disaster prevention system and method that can determine whether or not a gas is leaked based on the remaining amount and amount of gas.

In addition, it is an object to provide an LPG tank disaster prevention system and method that operates while consuming minimal power.

An embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object is a gas sensor unit for detecting a gas leak, an earthquake sensor unit for detecting an earthquake, an RF repair and maintenance unit for receiving disaster information including the location of the earthquake or fire and the It provides an LPG tank disaster prevention system comprising a control unit for opening and closing the gas valve based on at least one of the detected gas leakage, the detected earthquake and disaster information.

In one embodiment, the LPG tank disaster prevention system includes an indicator for measuring the amount of gas remaining in the LPG tank and a meter signal processing unit for measuring the amount of gas used in the LPG tank, and the control unit includes the remaining amount And it is possible to determine whether or not the gas leak based on the amount used.

In one embodiment, the control unit may determine whether a gas is leaked by comparing a change in the value of the indicator to a digital signal and comparing the residual amount of gas and the amount of usage.

In one embodiment, the conversion is performed using the value of the ADC reference voltage and the value of the ADC reference voltage can be compensated according to the voltage change of the battery used in the LPG tank disaster prevention system.

In one embodiment, the remaining gas amount may be compensated according to the tank capacity or the compensated ADC reference voltage.

In one embodiment, the control unit may store the location of the LPG tank and allow the location of the LPG tank to be transmitted to the manager when the difference between the amount of change and the amount of gas remaining exceeds a specific value.

In one embodiment, the control unit may transmit the gas remaining amount and usage amount to a control server.

In one embodiment, the control unit closes the gas valve when the magnitude of the detected earthquake corresponds to a specific value or more, or the location of the LPG tank in which the location of the earthquake or fire included in the disaster information is stored in advance, and a certain time The gas valve can be opened if an earthquake or gas leak is not detected after a lapse.

In one embodiment, the control unit operates in a sleep mode in which power consumption decreases or in an active mode in which power consumption does not decrease, and when the gas leak or earthquake is detected at a period corresponding to a specific time or when disaster information is received, the sleep It is possible to determine whether the gas valve is opened or closed by switching from a mode to an active mode.

In addition, another embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object is an event receiving step of detecting a gas leak or an earthquake or receiving disaster information, the disaster information includes the location where the earthquake or fire occurred, the detected gas Provides a LPG tank disaster prevention method comprising a judgment step of determining whether a gas valve is opened or closed based on at least one of a leak or an earthquake or the received disaster information, and a control step of opening and closing the gas valve according to the determination. do.

In the present invention, for a small LPG tank facility, it is possible to safely manage the tank facilities from dangerous factors such as gas leakage, earthquake, and fire, and to check the gas level of the LPG tank for safe use with or without a safety manager. By preventing gas leakage and preventing gas leakage due to earthquakes, it is possible to safely control LPG facilities by collecting earthquake occurrence situation data in conjunction with the disaster safety net of the Korea Meteorological Administration, and operate equipment at low cost using the LPWAN wireless network. It is possible, and even in the event of a power outage, it is possible to operate the system in low power and to operate it with a battery, thereby improving the safety of the LPG tank and digitizing the gas remaining and gas consumption, so that the system administrator can check whether the LPG facility is abnormal through the mobile phone or PC regardless of the location. Make sure to check.

In addition, it is possible to automatically control the LPG tank in a dangerous situation due to gas leakage or earthquake because it is possible to supply power to the gas valve using the built-in battery even in an emergency situation where the LPG tank cannot be accessed or communication is impossible due to a power outage. It has an effect.

1 is a view showing an LPG tank disaster prevention system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a view showing an LPG tank safety management device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a view showing a voltage level of a battery according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a view showing an average value for each section of an indicator value according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a view showing a method for selecting a compensation function according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a view showing the operation of the earthquake sensor unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a view showing an example of the overall structure of a packet transmitted by the LPG tank safety management device to the control server, and FIG. 8 is a view showing a format for the payload field of FIG. 7.
9 is a view showing a management screen of the control server according to an embodiment of the present invention.
10 is a flowchart illustrating an LPG tank disaster prevention method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
11 is a flowchart illustrating an LPG tank disaster prevention method according to another embodiment of the present invention.
12 is a view showing an example of the procedure from the data transmission of the present invention to the transition to the sleep mode.

Since the description of the present invention is merely embodiments for structural or functional description, the scope of the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited by the embodiments described in the text. That is, since the present embodiments can be variously changed and have various forms, it should be understood that the scope of the present invention includes equivalents capable of realizing technical ideas.

In addition, the purpose or effect presented in the present invention does not mean that a specific embodiment should include all of them or only such an effect, and the scope of the present invention should not be understood as being limited thereby.

In addition, the accompanying drawings are provided to help understanding of the present invention, and provide embodiments with detailed description. However, the technical features of the present invention are not limited to specific drawings, and the features disclosed in each drawing may be combined with each other to form a new embodiment.

The LPG tank disaster prevention system disclosed in the following embodiments will be described in more detail with reference to each drawing.

1 is a view showing an LPG tank disaster prevention system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the LPG tank disaster prevention system 10 according to an embodiment includes an LPG tank safety management device 100, a control server 200, a disaster information providing server 300, and an administrator terminal 400. It is configured by. Here, LPG means liquefied petroleum gas.

The LPG tank safety management device 100 may be connected to the control server 200 through LPWAN (Low Power Wide Area Network). Here, LPWAN is designed for wireless communication, such as a battery-operated sensor, and conserves power because wireless communication is performed at a low bit rate.

On the other hand, the small LPG tank must be operated with direct current or battery according to the industrial safety management regulations. The LPG tank safety management device 100 that can be provided in the small LPG tank can save power by using LPWAN. The battery can be used for a long time.

The LPG tank safety management device 100 can transmit the gas remaining amount, the amount of gas used, the state of the gas valve, the location of the LPG tank, etc. to the control server 200, and the disaster information from the control server 200, the control information of the gas valve Etc. can be received.

The specific configuration of the LPG tank safety management device 100 will be described later with reference to FIG. 2.

The control server 200 may be connected to the LPG tank safety management device 100 through the base station 500 and may be connected to the disaster information providing server 300 and the manager terminal 400 through a communication network. Here, the communication network may mean a wide-concept network including a wired or wireless communication network.

The control server 200 can receive the gas remaining amount, the amount of gas used, the state of the gas valve, the location of the LPG tank, etc. from the LPG tank safety management device 100 and the disaster information, gas to the LPG tank safety management device 100 It is possible to transmit the control information of the valve.

In addition, the control server 200 can receive the disaster information from the disaster information providing server 300 and can receive control information of the gas valve from the manager terminal 400, and the remaining gas and gas in the manager terminal 400 The amount of gas used, the state of the gas valve, and the location of the LPG tank can be transmitted.

The specific configuration of the control server 200 will be described later.

The disaster information providing server 300 may be connected to the control server 200 through a communication network and transmit disaster information to the control server 200. Here, the disaster information may include the location of the earthquake or fire.

The disaster information providing server 300 may correspond to a server operated by a government agency or organization such as a national agency such as the Korea Meteorological Administration or the Ministry of Public Administration and Security.

The manager terminal 400 is connected to the control server 200 through a communication network and can transmit control information of the gas valve to the control server 200, and the remaining amount of gas, the amount of gas used, and the gas valve from the task server 200 The status, LPG tank location, etc. can be received.

The manager terminal 400 may correspond to a terminal used by the manager of the LPG tank. Here, the terminal is a server, laptop, mobile phone, smart phone (2G/3G/4G/LET, smart phone), PMP (Portable Media Player), PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) and tablet PC (Tablet PC) any one of It may be.

2 is a view showing an LPG tank safety management device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 2, the LPG tank safety management device 100 according to an embodiment includes a battery 102, an indicator 103, a power control unit 105, an ADC power stabilization unit 110, and an indicator ADC conversion. Unit 115, RF repair and maintenance unit 120, earthquake sensor unit 125, gas sensor unit 130, meter power control unit 135, alarm signal processing unit 140, control unit 150, RF communication unit 160 , A debug unit 165, an alarm display unit 170, a valve control unit 175, a serial communication unit 180, and a meter signal processing unit 190.

The battery 102 may be provided inside the LPG tank safety management device 100 and may be connected to the power control unit 105.

The battery 102 is used in a small LPG tank according to the industrial safety management regulations as described above. Since it is difficult to periodically replace the battery 102, the LPG tank safety management device 100 has been used for a long time without replacing the battery 102. The remaining components of the LPG tank safety management device 100 must be formed so that it can be stably operated with low power for a period.

The indicator 103 may be provided in the LPG tank safety management device 100 or the LPG tank, and may be connected to the indicator ADC conversion unit 115. The indicator 103 can measure the remaining amount of gas present in the LPG tank. In this regard, the indicator ADC converter 115 looks further.

The power control unit 105 may be connected to the battery 102, the control unit 150, and the like, so that the power of the battery 102 is not directly connected to the control unit 150, so that the control unit 150 receives currents of several tens of uA or less in the sleep mode. It can be used to keep the battery life for a long time. The sleep mode will be described later in the control unit 150.

The ADC power stabilization unit 110 may be connected to the control unit 150 and the like, and the ADC to Analog (Analog to Digital Conversion Reference Voltage) may be incorrectly set according to a voltage change due to a change in the remaining charge of the battery 102. Digital conversion) can be compensated as shown in Figure 3 to prevent the ADC from being performed incorrectly. Here, the ADC reference voltage is a reference voltage used when converting an analog value to a digital value.

3 is a view showing a voltage level of a battery according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the voltage level of the battery according to an embodiment is set to be 1690 when the voltage of the battery 102 is 3.6V, and the voltage level is set to a specific value according to the remaining battery capacity based on 3.6V It is done.

The ADC power stabilization unit 110 determines the voltage level value of FIG. 3 corresponding to the voltage of the battery 102 as the value of the ADC reference voltage and transmits it to the control unit 150 so that the ADC can be accurately performed.

The indicator ADC conversion unit 115 may be connected to the control unit 150 and the like, and converts the residual amount of gas measured by the indicator 103, that is, the value displayed on the meter of the LPG tank charge into a digital value (hereinafter, the residual amount of gas) ( ADC). At this time, the indicator ADC converter 115 may use the ADC reference voltage value compensated by the ADC power stabilizer 110.

However, since the converted digital value (remaining gas) may have an error depending on the capacity of the LPG tank or the compensated ADC reference voltage, the indicator ADC converter 115 may have to compensate the converted digital value (remaining gas). have.

Look at how to compensate for the remaining gas.

First, the indicator ADC converter 115 applies the compensated ADC reference voltage as in Equation 1 below to the converted digital value (remaining gas), and then shows the remaining gas as the average value for each section of the Nind value as shown in FIG. Can compensate.

<Equation 1>

Nind = gas level-(1.21 * (compensated ADC reference voltage) + 6.07) + 2000

4 is a view showing an average value for each section of an indicator value according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the average value for each section according to an embodiment is an average value of the Nind value for each section (5%) of the indicator value, and the indicator ADC converter 115 determines the gas residual amount of the Nind value. Compensation with the average value can improve the accuracy of the remaining gas.

Second, since the indicator value varies depending on the tank capacity of the LPG tank or the compensated ADC reference voltage, the indicator ADC converter 115 converts the converted digital value (remaining gas) to the tank capacity or the compensated ADC reference voltage. According to the method of FIG. 5, a mathematical expression (hereinafter, a compensation function) for calculating a Nind value may be selected to compensate accordingly.

5 is a view showing a method for selecting a compensation function according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5, the compensation function according to an embodiment is selected based on whether the tank capacity C exceeds 200 kg and the value of the compensated ADC reference voltage (Battery) exceeds 1700.

Specifically, when the tank capacity is 200 kg, the path S1300 is followed, and when the tank capacity exceeds 200 kg, the path S1400 is followed. In addition, for the case where the tank capacity exceeds 200kg, if the value of the compensated ADC reference voltage (Battery) is higher than 1700 (3.6V) based on 1700 (3.6V), select the compensation function of S1700 (Nind function). And if it is lower than or equal to 1700 (3.6V), the compensation function (Nind function) of S1500 is selected.

As described above, the indicator ADC converter 115 may improve the accuracy of the remaining gas amount by compensating the remaining gas amount according to the tank capacity or the compensated ADC reference voltage.

The RF alert repair unit 120 may be connected to the control unit 150 and the like, and may receive disaster information including the location where the earthquake or fire occurred from the disaster information providing server 300 and transmit it to the control unit 150.

In addition, the RF repair and maintenance unit 120 can store the location where the LPG tank is installed in advance, and if the location of the earthquake or fire included in the disaster information corresponds to the location where the LPG tank is installed, check the gas leakage to open and close the gas valve. Can. However, such a function may be included in the control unit 150 and may be configured as a part of the control unit 150.

The earthquake sensor unit 125 may be connected to the control unit 150 and the like, and may be attached to the LPG tank, and when vibration occurs for a certain period of time, the control unit 150 may be notified of an earthquake with the installation position of the LPG tank.

6 is a view showing the operation of the earthquake sensor unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the earthquake sensor unit 125 according to an embodiment is in a standby (STB) state (a state where INT2 corresponds to a high signal) to minimize power consumption, and when vibration occurs, INT2 is a low signal. When INT1 changes to a low signal after a certain period of time after changing to, it informs the controller 150 that vibration has occurred, and when the vibration ends, it switches to the standby state to minimize power consumption.

Here, the Standby (STB) state is the same as the sleep mode, which will be described later, and may mean a state in which power consumption is reduced.

As described above, the LPG tank safety management device 100 is provided with an earthquake sensor unit 125, thereby preventing gas leakage from occurring in a weak portion of the pipe due to an earthquake impact.

The gas sensor unit 130 may be connected to the control unit 150 and the like, and may be attached to an LPG tank or gas connection pipe, and detect LPG, LNG, butane gas, city gas, and natural gas. In addition, the gas sensor unit 130 may be formed of a semiconductor structure capable of stably operating at a temperature/humidity due to a heating function and being used for a long time rather than a one-time operation.

The meter power control unit 135 may turn on/off the power of the meter signal processing unit 190 to measure the usage of gas from the meter signal processing unit 190, which will be described later, and to receive the measured usage through serial communication.

The alarm signal processing unit 140 may be connected to the earthquake sensor unit 125, the gas sensor unit 130, the RF repair and maintenance unit 120, the control unit 150, and the like, and the earthquake and gas sensor units detected by the earthquake sensor unit 125 The alarm alarm may be transmitted to the controller 150 based on the gas leakage detected in the 130 and the disaster information received from the RF warning and repair unit 120.

However, the alarm signal processing unit 140 may be included in the control unit 150 and configured as a part of the control unit 150.

The control unit 150 may be connected to all components of the LPG tank safety management device 100 and control data flow or control flow.

In addition, the control unit 150 may include (i) gas leak detected by the gas sensor unit 130, (ii) earthquake detected by the earthquake sensor unit 125, and (iii) disaster information received from the RF repair and maintenance unit 120. And (iv) gas leakage determined based on the residual amount of gas measured by the indicator 103 and the amount of gas measured by the meter signal processor 190 through the valve control unit 175 to be described later. The gas valve can be opened and closed. (i), (ii), (iii), and (iv) are specifically examined.

In relation to (i), the control unit 150 closes the gas valve through the valve control unit 175, which will be described later, when the concentration of the gas detected by the gas sensor unit 130 is greater than or equal to a specific value, and a certain time has elapsed. Alternatively, the gas valve may be opened when no gas leakage is detected.

In relation to (ii), the controller 150 closes the gas valve through the valve control unit 175, which will be described later, when the magnitude of the earthquake detected by the earthquake sensor unit 125 is greater than or equal to a specific value. Alternatively, the gas valve may be opened when no gas leakage is detected. Here, a specific value may correspond to the Richter scale 5, for example.

In relation to (iii), the control unit 150 stores the location of the LPG tank in advance and when the earthquake or fire occurrence location included in the disaster information corresponds to the location of the stored LPG tank in advance, the gas is controlled through the valve control unit 175 to be described later. The gas valve may be opened when a certain time has elapsed after the valve is closed and no earthquake or gas leak is detected.

At this time, the control unit 150, even if the earthquake or fire occurrence location included in the disaster information corresponds to the location of the pre-stored LPG tank, the magnitude of the earthquake detected by the earthquake sensor unit 125 does not correspond to a gas valve May not close it.

In relation to (iv), the controller 150 may determine whether to leak the gas based on the residual amount of gas measured by the indicator 103 and the amount of gas measured by the meter signal processing unit 190. For example, the control unit 150 has a difference value (r1-r2) of the remaining amount of gas or the remaining amount of gas (r1, r2) measured at two time points (t1, t2) having a specific time interval between two time points (t2, t1) ) If it exceeds the error range and is much larger than the measured gas usage, it can be determined that gas leakage has occurred.

If it is determined that the gas leak has occurred, the control unit 150 may close the gas valve through the valve control unit 175, which will be described later.

In addition, the control unit 150 stores the location of the LPG tank in advance, and when the difference between the amount of change and the amount of gas remaining exceeds a specific value, the control server 200 transmits the location of the LPG tank to the control server 200 and registers it. The location of the LPG tank can be transmitted to the administrator. That is, if it is determined that gas leakage has occurred, the controller 150 may transmit the location of the LPG tank so that the manager can check the LPG tank.

In addition, the control unit 150 may transmit the remaining gas and usage amount to the control server 200 so that the control server 200 or the administrator can monitor the LPG tank in real time.

In addition, the control unit 150 operates in a sleep mode in which power consumption decreases or in an active mode in which power consumption does not decrease, and is activated in sleep mode at a period corresponding to a specific time or when gas leakage or earthquake is detected or disaster information is received. It is possible to determine whether the gas valve is opened or closed by switching to the mode.

Specifically, the control unit 150 normally consumes only a minimum amount of power in the sleep mode, and then changes to the active mode at a cycle corresponding to a specific time to collect information on the remaining amount of gas or the remaining amount of gas, the amount of gas, and whether or not the gas is leaked. It can transmit the collected information to the control server 200.

In addition, the control unit 150 is in the sleep mode or active state, information on the gas leakage detected by the gas sensor unit 130, information about the earthquake detected by the earthquake sensor unit 125 or the RF repair and maintenance unit 120 Upon receiving the received disaster information, it is changed to the active mode, and the gas valve can be opened and closed based on the received information, and status information regarding the opening and closing of the gas valve can be transmitted to the control server 200.

The configuration of the packet transmitted from the control unit 150 to the control server 200 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

7 is a view showing an example of the overall structure of a packet that the LPG tank safety management device transmits to the control server, and FIG. 8 is a view showing a format for the payload field of FIG. 7.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the controller 150 switches the sleep mode from the sleep mode to the active mode in the control server 200 to measure the gas remaining amount, etc. (pt), the measurement date and time (tm), and the gas remaining amount (ind1). , A packet including information on the compensated ADC reference voltage (Battery, ind2), and meter reading data may be transmitted.

A specific example of payload is as follows.

{"pt":"0","sno":"2001-0001","tm":"2018-06-12 18:38:40","ind1":"1962","ind2":"- 1","bat":"1490","imei":"0000000500000","ver":"0.12.2012","code":"SYSUP","stm":"2018-6-12 18:38 :38","btm":"2018-6-12 18:38:38","rsrq":"-108"}

The RF communication unit 160 may be connected to the RF repair and maintenance unit 120, the control unit 150, and the like, and the value of the residual amount of gas compensated by the indicator ADC conversion unit 115 and the amount of gas measured by the meter signal processing unit 190 to be described later. By collecting the values of and the information collected by the alarm signal processing unit 140 for a certain period of time, data can be transmitted to the control server 200 through RF communication (LPWAN).

In addition, the RF communication unit 160 can reduce power consumption by (i) communicating in LPWAN and (ii) using power only when transmitting data and using power to a minimum when there is no data transmission.

The debug unit 165 can check the operation status of the system and support functions required for SW upgrade. Also, the debug unit 165 may individually upgrade the control unit 150 or the RF communication unit 160 through the debugging switch 167.

The alarm display unit 170 may visually confirm an alarm due to gas leakage and may indicate that an alarm has occurred through a buzzer.

The valve control unit 175 may be connected to the control unit 150 to control the gas valve to be opened and closed. With regard to the opening and closing method of the gas valve, the valve control unit 175 may open and close the gas valve by controlling the power supply direction of the adapter power.

Specifically, according to the control signal received from the control unit 150, when closing the gas valve, forward power may be applied and when opening the gas valve, reverse power may be applied. At this time, the valve control unit 175 may prevent damage to the motor by shutting off the applied power after a certain period of time.

On the other hand, the valve control unit 175 may control the gas valve by receiving the power required to drive the motor from the power charging unit even when the external power is cut off due to an earthquake or power outage.

In addition, the valve control unit 175 may inform the alarm valve 170 when the gas valve is opened or closed.

In addition, the valve control unit 175 may close the gas valve when the alarm alarm is received from the alarm signal processing unit 140 and open the gas valve if a gas leak is not detected after a certain time has elapsed. However, such a function may be included in the control unit 150 and may be configured as a part of the control unit 150.

The serial communication unit 180 may be connected to the control unit 150, the meter signal processing unit 190, and the like, and may receive the amount of gas measured by the meter signal processing unit 190 and transmit it to the control unit 150.

The meter signal processing unit 190 may include a serial communication module 192, a power control module 194, a pulse signal digital conversion unit 196, and a display 198, and the meter power control unit 135 and the serial communication unit 180 and the like.

The meter signal processing unit 190 converts the LPG gas consumption value, which is measured through a gas meter, and is displayed as an analog to digital, to inform the controller 150 of the gas consumption.

Specifically, the pulse signal digital conversion unit 196 is displayed on the display 198 by changing the pulse signal generated according to the change of the last digit to a digital number displayed on the gas meter as a 6-digit number and displaying the number on the display 198. Can be transmitted to the control unit 150 through the serial communication module 192 and the serial communication unit 180.

The power control module 194 may be connected to the meter power control unit 170 or the like to allow power to be supplied only when it is necessary to measure the usage of gas or to read the measured value of usage.

Look at the control server 200.

Referring to FIG. 1, the control server 200 according to an embodiment may include a network unit, a service providing unit, and a disaster information receiving unit 270.

The network unit may include a terminal authentication unit 210, a data collection unit 215, a remote control unit 220, a connection management unit 225, a QoS management unit 230, and an ID/address setting unit 235.

The terminal authentication unit 210 may authenticate the LPG tank safety management device 100.

The data collection unit 215 may collect information on the remaining amount of gas, the amount of usage, the compensated ADC reference power (Battery), and the state of the gas valve included in the packet received from the LPG tank safety management device 100.

The remote control unit 220 may transmit a command to open and close the gas valve of the LPG tank safety management device 100.

The connection management unit 225, the QoS management unit 230, and the ID/address setting unit 235 establish or maintain a wireless communication connection with the LPG tank safety management device 100.

The service providing unit may include a configuration management unit 240, a control management unit 245, a failure management unit 250, a monitoring unit 255, and a data management unit 260.

The control management unit 245 may receive control information such as a gas valve from the manager terminal 400 and transmit it to the remote control unit 220.

The monitoring unit 255 may provide information on the remaining amount of gas, usage, compensated ADC reference power, and the state of the gas valve to the manager terminal 400.

The disaster information receiving unit 270 may receive the disaster information from the disaster information providing server 300 and transmit it to the LPG tank safety management device 100.

9 is a view showing a management screen of the control server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 9, on the management screen of the control server 300, one or more LPG tank safety management devices 100 (terminals) registered for each member or administrator are displayed, and each LPG tank safety management device 100 has a location and gas Status information such as remaining amount, compensated ADC reference power (Battery), valve status, and leak status can be displayed.

In addition, the location of the LPG tank safety management device 100 (terminal) can be displayed on a map in conjunction with a map providing server, and through the management screen of the control server 300, system configuration, terminal information, user (or administrator) information , Data collection information, fault management, remote control, network status information, disaster information, etc. can be comprehensively checked.

10 is a flowchart illustrating an LPG tank disaster prevention method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 10, the LPG tank disaster prevention method 600 according to an embodiment includes an event reception step (S610), a determination step (S620), and a control step (S630).

In the event receiving step (S610), the LPG tank safety management apparatus 100 may detect (i) gas leakage, (ii) detect an earthquake, or (iii) receive disaster information. Here, the disaster information may include the location of the earthquake or fire.

In addition, the LPG tank safety management apparatus 100 may receive an event (hereinafter, a timer expiration event) indicating that a timer having a specific time period has expired (iv). Here, the timer may be provided in the system of the LPG tank safety management apparatus 100, and a timer taking a specific time as a factor may be registered in the system.

In addition, the LPG tank safety management device 100 may be switched from the sleep mode to the active mode.

In the determination step S620, the LPG tank safety management apparatus 100 determines whether (i) the detected gas leakage corresponds to a concentration of the detected gas or more, and (ii) detects the detected earthquake. It is possible to determine whether the magnitude of the earthquake has exceeded a certain value, and (iii) for the received disaster information, it is possible to determine whether the location of the earthquake or fire included in the disaster information corresponds to the location of the pre-stored LPG tank. .

On the other hand, when determining (iii), it may also be determined whether the magnitude of the earthquake detected by the earthquake sensor unit 125 does not exceed a certain value.

In addition, the LPG tank safety management apparatus 100 (iv) for the received timer expiration event based on the residual amount of gas measured by the indicator 103 and the gas leakage measured by the meter signal processing unit 190 Can judge. For example, the LPG tank safety management device 100 is the remaining amount of gas or gas measured at two time points (t1, t2) of a time point when the timer expires and a time point when the current timer expires, having a specific time interval. If the difference value (change amount, r1-r2) of the remaining amounts r1 and r2 exceeds the error range than the amount of gas measured between the two time points t2 and t1, it may be determined that gas leakage has occurred.

In the control step (S630), the LPG tank safety management device 100 may open and close the gas valve according to the determination performed in the determination step (S620).

Specifically, the LPG tank safety management device 100 (i) when the concentration of the detected gas exceeds a certain value, closes the gas valve and opens the gas valve when a certain time has elapsed and no earthquake or gas leakage is detected. Can.

In addition, the LPG tank safety management device 100 may (ii) close the gas valve when the magnitude of the detected earthquake exceeds a certain value and open the gas valve when a certain time has elapsed and no earthquake or gas leak is detected. have.

In addition, the LPG tank safety management device 100 closes the gas valve and when a seismic or fire occurrence location included in the disaster information corresponds to the location of the previously stored LPG tank, a certain time has elapsed and no earthquake or gas leak is detected. If not, the gas valve can be opened.

However, in the LPG tank safety management device 100, even if the earthquake or fire occurrence location included in the disaster information corresponds to the location of the pre-stored LPG tank, the magnitude of the earthquake detected by the earthquake sensor unit 125 does not exceed a certain value. Otherwise, the gas valve may not close.

In addition, the LPG tank safety management apparatus 100 may close the gas valve when the difference between the amount of change in the remaining amount of gas and the amount of use exceeds a specific value.

In addition, the LPG tank safety management apparatus 100 may transmit information regarding the location of the LPG tank, the amount of gas remaining, the amount of use, and the state of the gas valve to the control server 200.

On the other hand, in the control step (S630), the LPG tank safety management device 100 can transmit and receive information using the control server 200 and the AT command, the wireless communication connection attempt to the control server 200 more than three times If it fails, the collected data (gas remaining amount, usage, etc.) can be transmitted together when processing the next timer expiration event.

In addition, the LPG tank safety management device 100 may reduce the consumption strategy by switching from the active mode to the sleep mode when the gas valve control or transmission ends.

11 is a flowchart illustrating an LPG tank disaster prevention method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 11, LPG tank disaster prevention method according to another embodiment of the LPG tank safety management system 100 of the system meter is applied (starting the meter) LPG tank safety management device 100 is initialized (IO initialization ) After the main program is run (MAIN), the remaining gas meter reading is performed, and the collected data is transmitted to the control server 200 through the LPWAN network, and the LPG tank safety management device 100 can be switched to the sleep mode.

The subsequent steps may correspond to steps S610 to S630 of FIG. 10.

Specifically, when the timer expires, the LPG tank safety management device 100 switches from the sleep mode to the active mode (S610), collects information such as the remaining amount of gas, gas concentration, and vibration level, and collects gas through the serial communication unit 180. Usage can be measured. (S620)

In addition, when the LPG tank safety management device 100 detects a gas leak or an earthquake in a sleep mode or an active mode or receives disaster information from a disaster information providing server 300 such as the Meteorological Agency, an interrupt occurs to generate an LPG tank safety management device ( 100) is switched to the active mode (S610) and determines whether the gas is above a certain concentration value or the magnitude of the earthquake is above a certain value (S620), the gas is above a certain concentration value or the magnitude of the earthquake is a specific value If the above is true, the gas valve can be closed and the state information of the gas valve can be transmitted to the control server 200. (S630)

12 is a view showing an example of the procedure from the data transmission of the present invention to the transition to the sleep mode.

Referring to FIG. 12, the LPG tank safety management device 100 operates in a sleep mode in a normal state, and when it detects an earthquake or gas, receives disaster information, or receives a timer expiration event, it switches to the active mode (START) control server It shows a process of attempting to establish a wireless communication connection with (200) (processing up to Nbiot_packet_send), transmitting collected data (makeDataGas) to the control server 200 (Nbiot_packet_send), and switching back to sleep mode.

Specifically, when the LPG tank safety management device 100 is in the active mode, the system information is transmitted using the control server 200 and the AT command, and when the data transmission is completed, the system is switched to the sleep mode. At this time, the control server 200 If the connection attempt is not made more than 3 times, it can be switched to sleep mode to minimize the power consumption of the battery.

Meanwhile, the LPG tank safety management apparatus 100 may transmit the collected data that has not been transmitted to the control server 200 when processing the next timer expiration event.

As described above, although described with reference to preferred embodiments of the present application, those skilled in the art variously modify the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention described in the following claims. And can be changed.

10: LPG tank disaster prevention system
100: LPG tank safety management device
110: ADC power stabilization unit 115: indicator ADC conversion unit
120: RF light repair unit 125: earthquake sensor unit
130: gas sensor unit 140: alarm signal processing unit
150: control unit 160: RF communication unit
175: valve control unit 180: serial communication unit
190: meter signal processing unit
200: control server 270: disaster information receiver
300: Disaster information providing server 400: Administrator terminal
600: LPG tank disaster prevention method

Claims (10)

A gas sensor unit detecting a gas leak;
An earthquake sensor unit for detecting earthquakes;
RF repair and maintenance unit for receiving disaster information including the location of the earthquake or fire; And
LPG tank disaster prevention system comprising a control unit for opening and closing the gas valve based on at least one of the detected gas leakage, the detected earthquake and disaster information.
The method of claim 1,
The LPG tank disaster prevention system includes an indicator for measuring the amount of gas remaining in the LPG tank and a meter signal processing unit for measuring the amount of gas used in the LPG tank,
The control unit LPG tank disaster prevention system, characterized in that for determining whether or not the gas leakage based on the remaining amount and the amount.
According to claim 2,
The control unit is a LPG tank disaster prevention system, characterized in that to determine whether the gas leakage by comparing the residual amount of gas and the amount of gas derived by converting the change in the value of the indicator to a digital signal.
The method of claim 3,
The conversion is performed using the value of the ADC reference voltage
The value of the ADC reference voltage is compensated according to the voltage change of the battery used in the LPG tank disaster prevention system LPG tank disaster prevention system.
The method of claim 4,
LPG tank disaster prevention system, characterized in that the remaining gas is compensated according to the tank capacity or the compensated ADC reference voltage.
The method of claim 3,
The control unit LPG tank disaster prevention system, characterized in that to store the location of the LPG tank and the difference between the amount of gas remaining and the amount of usage exceeds a specific value, the location of the LPG tank is transmitted to the administrator.
The method of claim 3,
The control unit LPG tank disaster prevention system, characterized in that for transmitting the remaining gas and usage to the control server.
The method of claim 1,
When the magnitude of the detected earthquake corresponds to a specific value or more, or if the earthquake or fire occurrence location included in the disaster information corresponds to the location of the pre-stored LPG tank, the controller closes the gas valve and a certain time has elapsed before the earthquake or gas LPG tank disaster prevention system characterized by opening the gas valve when no leak is detected.
According to claim 1 or claim 2,
The control unit operates in a sleep mode in which power consumption decreases or in an active mode in which power consumption does not decrease, and in a cycle corresponding to a specific time or when the gas leak or earthquake is detected or when disaster information is received, the sleep mode goes into active mode. LPG tank disaster prevention system, characterized in that to determine whether the gas valve is opened or closed by switching.
An event receiving step of detecting a gas leak or an earthquake or receiving disaster information;
The disaster information includes the location of the earthquake or fire,
A determining step of determining whether a gas valve is opened or closed based on at least one of the detected gas leak or earthquake or the received disaster information; And
LPG tank disaster prevention method comprising a control step of opening and closing the gas valve in accordance with the determination.

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