CN118517038A

CN118517038A - Fluid supply system, fluid supply device, maintenance method of fluid supply system, and maintenance method of fluid supply device

Info

Publication number: CN118517038A
Application number: CN202311633106.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 冈本茂; 北出哲史; 原田阳介; 伏见航
Original assignee: Ebara Corp
Current assignee: Ebara Corp
Priority date: 2023-02-20
Filing date: 2023-12-01
Publication date: 2024-08-20
Also published as: JP2024118370A

Abstract

The present invention provides a fluid supply system, a fluid supply device, a maintenance method of the fluid supply system and a maintenance method of the fluid supply device, which can carry out overhaul and maintenance of a pressure tank without operation of maintenance personnel, wherein the fluid supply system comprises: a pump for transferring fluid by using the motor as a driving source; a pressure tank provided on the discharge side of the pump and holding fluid pressure; a gas supply unit for supplying gas to the pressure tank; and a control unit for controlling the operation of the gas supply unit based on the pressure information in the pressure tank.

Description

Fluid supply system, fluid supply device, maintenance method for fluid supply system, and maintenance method for fluid supply device

Cross reference to related applications

The present application claims priority based on japanese patent application No. 2023-24746 filed on month 20 of 2023, and the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a fluid supply system for supplying a fluid to a supply target, a fluid supply device, a maintenance method of the fluid supply system, and a maintenance method of the fluid supply device.

Background

As a device for supplying water (tap water) to a water supply object such as an office building or an apartment, a water supply device is widely used. The water supply device generally includes a pump for pumping water, a motor for driving the pump, a control part for controlling the operation of the pump, and a pressure tank connected downstream of the pump.

The water supply device supplies water to the supply target by pumping the water by a motor. A check valve is disposed between the pump and a pressure tank provided downstream of the pump, and water pressure in the water supply pipe can be appropriately maintained and water can be supplied to the supply subject by the check valve and the pressure tank even after the pump is stopped.

Such a water supply device gradually deteriorates due to long-term pump operation or supply of water to a supply object. Therefore, the water supply device needs to be regularly maintained and deteriorated is delayed.

Conventionally, there has been disclosed a water supply device capable of detecting abnormality of a pressure tank of the water supply device with high accuracy and repairing or replacing the pressure tank in which the abnormality is detected quickly to solve the problems of an increase in maintenance cost, deterioration in pump life, and the like (for example, refer to japanese patent No. 4745654, japanese patent No. 5189608, japanese patent No. 5396503, japanese patent No. 5396504).

In the case of the conventional water supply device, when the pressure tank is overhauled or maintained, after a skilled maintainer stops the water supply device and disconnects the pressure tank from the water supply system, water in the tank is drained, and air pressure measurement and air replenishment in the pressure tank are performed. By such maintenance work, the air pressure in the pressure tank can be accurately measured, and the air can be supplied into the pressure tank.

Disclosure of Invention

However, in order to prevent various abnormalities from occurring due to an increase in the operation time, an increase in the power consumption and the number of start-up and stop times, it is recommended that the pressure tank of the water supply apparatus be subjected to maintenance and air replenishment more than once a year to half a year. In addition, the number of specialized maintenance personnel is limited, so that a large number of on-site maintenance is difficult to be performed by the small number of maintenance personnel at this frequency, and the burden is heavy.

In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a fluid supply system, a fluid supply device, a method of maintaining the fluid supply system, and a method of maintaining the fluid supply device, which can perform maintenance and repair of a pressure tank without requiring maintenance work by a maintenance person.

In order to achieve the above object, a fluid supply system according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a pump for transferring the fluid using the motor as a driving source; a pressure tank provided on the discharge side of the pump and configured to hold the pressure of the fluid; a gas supply unit that supplies gas to the pressure tank; and a control unit that controls the operation of the gas supply unit based on the pressure information in the pressure tank. According to the fluid supply system, the fluid supply device, the maintenance method of the fluid supply system, and the maintenance method of the fluid supply device of the present invention, maintenance and repair of the pressure tank can be performed without requiring maintenance personnel.

Other problems, configurations, and effects than those described above can be obtained by the means for carrying out the invention described below.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an example of a fluid supply system according to the present embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the data management device according to the present embodiment.

Fig. 3 is an overall configuration diagram showing an example of a fluid supply device to which the present embodiment is applied.

Fig. 4 is a hardware configuration diagram showing an example of a computer constituting a control unit of the fluid supply system.

Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing example 1 of a method for maintaining a pressure tank in the fluid supply system or the fluid supply apparatus according to the present embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing an example 2 of a method for maintaining a pressure tank in the fluid supply system or the fluid supply device according to the present embodiment.

Fig. 7 is start-stop data of a pump used in a method for determining a pressure drop in a pressure tank in a management control unit of a fluid supply system or a supply control unit of a fluid supply device according to the present embodiment.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The scope required for the description of the present invention for achieving the object of the present invention is schematically shown below, and mainly the scope required for the description of the corresponding portions of the present invention is described.

(Fluid supply System)

Fig. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an example of a fluid supply system 1 according to the present embodiment. The fluid supply system 1 functions as a system for managing the fluid supply apparatus 10. For example, the fluid supply system 1 of the present embodiment manages the fluid supply device 10 that moves the fluid to the discharge side of the pump 12 with the motor 13 as a drive source by the data management device 5. In particular, in the fluid supply system 1 of the present embodiment, the gas is supplied from the gas supply unit 21 of the fluid supply device 10, so that the pressure tank 20 holds the fluid pressure on the discharge side of the pump 12. The fluid supply device 10 of fig. 1 is configured such that two pumps 12 are driven by two motors 13, and the number of pumps 12 may be arbitrary, and the motors 13 may be provided correspondingly.

The main constitution of the fluid supply system 1 includes: a fluid supply device 10 to be monitored; a data collection device 4 configured to be able to communicate with the fluid supply device 10; a data management device 5 configured to be able to communicate with the data collection device 4; and a terminal device 6 configured to be able to communicate with the data management device 5. Each of the devices 4 to 6 is constituted by, for example, a general-purpose or special-purpose computer (see fig. 4 described later), and is configured to be capable of transmitting and receiving various data to and from each other via the network 7. The number of the respective devices 4 to 6 is not limited to the example of fig. 1, and may be one or a plurality of devices.

The fluid supply device 10 is an arbitrary device for transferring a fluid, and is used by being installed in, for example, an infrastructure (a sewage, a sewer, etc.), or a factory (petroleum refining, power generation, manufacturing, chemical process, etc.). The fluid supply device 10 includes: a pump 12 for transferring fluid from the suction pipe 11 to the discharge pipe 18; a motor 13 serving as a drive source of the pump 12; a pressure tank 20 for holding the fluid pressure on the discharge pipe 18 side of the pump 12; a gas supply unit 21 for supplying the high-pressure gas compressed by the compressor 22 to the pressure tank 20; and a supply control unit 30 for controlling the operation of the pump 12 and the gas supply unit 21.

The pump 12 is constituted by, for example, an impeller, a rotary shaft, a bearing, a mechanical seal, a gland seal, a casing, piping, and the like. The motor 13 is constituted by any type of motor such as a variable frequency motor. The supply control unit 30 is constituted by, for example, an embedded computer, and controls the rotation operation of the motor 13 based on a set value of an operation condition set by a user (an installation worker of the pump device 2, a manager, or the like) and detection values of sensors (not shown) provided in each portion of the pump 12 and the motor 13. The sensors and the supply control unit 30 provided in each portion of the pump 12 and the motor 13 may be configured to be able to communicate with each of the devices 4 to 6.

The fluid supply device 10 may be provided with a physical quantity measuring device 3, not shown. The physical quantity measuring device 3 is a device that measures a physical quantity based on the pump 12, and is mounted at an arbitrary position of the pump 12 or the motor 13, for example. The physical quantity measuring device 3 measures a physical quantity of a measurement object and processes physical quantity data at the time of measurement.

The physical quantity of the measurement object obtained by the physical quantity measuring device 3 is, for example, acceleration (vibration), velocity, displacement, environmental sound, or the like. The physical quantity measuring device is constituted by, for example, an acceleration sensor capable of measuring acceleration, a speed sensor capable of measuring speed, a displacement sensor capable of measuring displacement, a microphone capable of measuring environmental sound, and the like. The physical quantity to be measured is not limited to the above example, and may be, for example, a physical quantity such as pressure, load, temperature, current value, voltage value, or the like, and in this case, a physical quantity sensor such as a pressure sensor, a load sensor, a temperature sensor, a current sensor, or a voltage sensor may be used. The physical quantity measuring device 3 may include a plurality of sensors for measuring a plurality of physical quantities, respectively. The physical quantity measuring device 3 processes physical quantity data that converts an analog signal representing the measured physical quantity into a digital signal. The processed physical quantity data is used by the supply control unit 30 or the data management device 5.

The data collection device 4 is a device that collects processing data from the physical quantity measurement device 3 or the supply control unit 30, and is configured by a repeater such as a gateway, a server, a smart phone, a portable computer such as a tablet computer, and the like. The data collection device 4 collects the processing data from the physical quantity measurement device 3 by establishing communication with the physical quantity measurement device 3 or the supply control section 30. The data collection device 4 is provided with programs such as an application program and a browser, receives various input operations, and transmits the processed data to the data management device 5. Furthermore, the data collection device 4 may also be interconnected with networks using different network protocol technologies by transforming the protocols.

The data management device 5 includes a management control unit 50 for managing the processing data collected by the data collection device 4, and is configured by, for example, a server type computer or a cloud type computer. As described later, the data management device 5 either stores the processing data received from the data collection device 4 in the management storage unit 52, transmits notification information from the management communication unit 51 to the terminal device 6 when the processing data satisfies a predetermined notification condition, or transmits reference information of the management storage unit 52 to the terminal device 6 when a reference request for the processing data stored in the management storage unit 52 is received from the terminal device 6.

The terminal device 6 is a device used by a user (e.g., a manager of the fluid supply device 10, an inspection/repair worker, etc.) located at a remote location from the installation location of the fluid supply device 10, and is configured by, for example, a desktop computer or a portable computer. The terminal device 6 is provided with programs such as an application program and a browser, receives various input operations, and displays various information (notification information and reference information of the management storage unit 52) on a display screen. The terminal device 6 may also serve as the data collection device 4.

The network 7 is constituted by wired communication or wireless communication or a combination of wired communication and wireless communication according to an arbitrary communication standard. Specifically, for example, a standardized communication network such as the internet, a communication network managed in a building such as a local area network, or a combination of these communication networks can be used. As a communication standard for wireless communication, an international standard is typically used. Examples of the communication means of the international standard include ieee802.15.4, ieee802.15.1, ieee802.15.11a, 11b, 11g, 11n, 11ac, 11ad, ISO/IEC14513-3-10, ieee802.15.4g, and the like. Further, bluetooth (registered trademark), bluetoothLowEnergy, wi-Fi, zigBee (registered trademark), sub-GHz, enOcean (registered trademark), LTE, and the like may be used.

(Data management device (cloud))

Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the data management device 5 according to the present embodiment. The main components of the data management apparatus 5 include a management control unit 50, a management communication unit 51, a management storage unit 52, a management input unit 53, and a management output unit 54.

The management control unit 50 functions as the management processing unit 500 by executing the data management program 520 stored in the management storage unit 52, for example. The management communication unit 51 functions as a communication interface for transmitting and receiving various data to and from the data collection device 4 via the network 7, for example. The management storage unit 52 stores processing data, various programs (such as the data management program 520) used for the operation of the data management device 5, and data types (such as the management setting information 521). The management setting information 521 includes, for example, setting parameters referred to by the management control unit 50 when the data management device 5 operates. The management input unit 53 and the management output unit 54 receive an input operation by a user, and function as a user interface by outputting various information via a display screen and voice.

The management processing unit 500 performs an operation of downloading the data address, the data type, and the like of the physical quantity measuring device 3 or the supply control unit 30 registered from the terminal, the management input unit 53, and the like, to the data collection device 4. The management storage unit 52 stores the processing data collected by the data collection device 4 based on the monitoring cycle. For example, when the data collection device 4 starts communication with the management processing unit 500 and transmits the processing data acquired from the physical quantity measurement device 3, the management processing unit 500 executes management processing for causing the management storage unit 52 to store the processing data. The management process is repeatedly performed in accordance with the monitoring cycle, thereby storing management data.

The fluid supply system 1 according to the present embodiment performs maintenance and inspection of the pressure tank 20 in the data management device 5 based on data acquired from the physical quantity measuring device 3 or the supply control unit 30. For example, the management control unit 50 controls the operation of the gas supply unit 21 based on the pressure information in the pressure tank 20. Specifically, when it is determined from the pressure information that the pressure in the pressure tank 20 has decreased, the management control unit 50 causes the gas supply unit 21 to operate so as to supply the gas to the pressure tank 20.

(Fluid supply device)

The fluid supply device 10 supplies water (fluid) to, for example, a building such as an apartment, an office building, a public facility, a commercial facility, or a factory. In the present embodiment, the fluid supply device 10 is described by taking the case where water is supplied as the fluid as an example, but the fluid supply device 10 may supply a liquid other than water such as fuel and medicine, or a fluid containing a gas such as fuel gas, hydrogen gas, or oxygen gas.

The fluid supply device 10 introduces water from the fluid supply source 41 through the introduction pipe 42 from the suction pipe 11. The fluid supply source 41 may be a water receiving tank system using a water receiving tank. The discharge pipe 18 of the fluid supply device 10 is connected to the supply pipe 43. The supply pipe 43 is connected to a fluid supply object 44 such as a faucet of each building. The fluid supply device 10 pressurizes the fluid from the fluid supply source 41 and supplies water to each fluid supply object 44 such as a building. The fluid supply object 44 is, for example, a water heater, a faucet, a flush valve, or the like.

The fluid supply device 10 includes: a pump 12 for transferring fluid; a suction pipe 11 connected to a suction side (upstream side) of the pump 12; a discharge pipe 18 connected to a discharge side (downstream side) of the pump 12; a motor 13 that drives the pump 12; an inverter 14 that controls the rotation speed of the motor 13; a flow switch 15 for detecting a decrease in the amount of fluid in the discharge pipe 18; a fluid check valve 16 to prevent backflow of fluid; a pressure sensor 17 for detecting the fluid pressure in the discharge pipe 18; a pressure tank 20 provided on the discharge side of the pump 12 and holding the fluid pressure in the discharge pipe 18; a gas supply unit 21 for supplying gas to the pressure tank 20; and a supply control unit 30 for controlling the operation of the gas supply unit 21 based on the pressure information in the pressure tank 20. The flow switch 15 and the pressure sensor 17 constitute the physical measurement device 3.

The pressure tank 20 of the present embodiment has a diaphragm 20c dividing the interior of the container into a gas chamber 20a and a fluid chamber 20 b. The gas chamber 20a is filled with a gas such as air or nitrogen in advance, and the fluid flowing from the pump 12 into the fluid chamber 20b compresses the gas in the gas chamber 20a through the diaphragm 20c. A fluid check valve 16 is disposed between the pressure tank 20 and the pump 12, and the fluid pressure in the supply pipe 43 can be appropriately maintained even after the pump 12 is stopped by the fluid check valve 16 and the pressure tank 20. When the tap or the like of the fluid supply object 44 is opened, the fluid is discharged by the pressure in the discharge pipe 18. Diaphragm 20c returns from air chamber 20a side to fluid chamber 20b side.

(Gas supply unit)

The gas supply unit 21 includes a compressor 22 for producing compressed gas, a conditioning tank 23 for temporarily storing air compressed by the compressor 22, a pressure regulator 24 for regulating the pressure of the gas in the conditioning tank 23, an automatic control valve 26 for opening and closing a gas flow path 25 connected from the conditioning tank 23 to the pressure tank 20, and a gas check valve 27 for preventing the flow of the gas from the pressure tank 20 to the conditioning tank 23 side. The gas supply unit 21 may be installed outside the fluid supply device 10.

The compressor 22 compresses the gas to increase the pressure and sends it out to the conditioning tank 23. The compressor 22 may be a reciprocating compressor, a rotary compressor, a centrifugal compressor, an axial compressor, or the like. The gas is not limited to air, and may be nitrogen or the like. The gas supply unit 21 may use a blower such as a blower instead of the compressor 22.

The conditioning tank 23 temporarily stores air compressed by the compressor 22. Preferably, the compressor 22 is connected to a regulating tank 23 via a pressure regulator 24. The surge tank 23 can average pulsation of the compressor 22, prevent pressure in the pressure tank 20 from decreasing, and rapidly perform abnormal gas supply. The pressure regulator 24 can regulate the pressure in the regulating tank 23 to a constant pressure. The automatic control valve 26 opens and closes a gas flow path 25 connected from the regulator tank 23 to the pressure tank 20. The gas check valve 27 prevents the flow of gas from the pressure tank 20 to the regulator tank 23 side. The automatic control valve 26 may be a solenoid valve or an electric valve.

Therefore, the gas compressed by the compressor 22 is stored in the adjustment tank 23 in a state adjusted to a constant pressure by the pressure adjuster 24. When the gas pressure in the pressure tank 20 decreases, the automatic control valve 26 opens, and the gas in the adjustment tank 23 flows into the pressure tank 20, and the pressure in the pressure tank 20 increases.

The pressure regulator 24 may not be provided, and the gas in the regulator tank 23 may be regulated to a constant pressure by opening and closing the compressor 22 or regulating the amount of gas discharged from the compressor 22. In addition, the gas pressure in the pressure tank 20 may be adjusted by opening and closing the compressor 22, adjusting the amount of gas discharged from the compressor 22, opening and closing the automatic control valve 26, and the like, without providing at least one of the pressure adjuster 24, the adjustment tank 23, and the gas check valve 27.

(Supply control section)

The supply control unit 30 controls the fluid supply device 10. The fluid supply device 10 has an input unit, not shown, and an operator can input information necessary for control, such as an upper limit pressure, a lower limit pressure, and a stop pressure when the amount of water is too small, from the input unit to the supply control unit 30. The supply control unit 30 transmits a control signal to the motor 13 via the inverter 14 based on the information input from the input unit and the measurement value of the physical quantity measuring device 3, etc., and drives the pump 12 at a predetermined rotational speed.

The discharge amount of the pump 12 increases as the rotation of the motor 13 is changed to a high speed. At this time, the water pressure in the discharge pipe 18 increases, the discharge side pressure is successively detected by the pressure sensor 17, and the supply control unit 30 performs feedback control on the rotational speed of the pump 12 so that the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 17 matches the target pressure.

Here, when fluid is used for the fluid supply target 44 and the detected pressure detected by the pressure sensor 17 is reduced to or below the preset starting pressure, the pump 12 is started. When the pump 12 is driven by the motor 13, the fluid introduced into the pipe 42 is sucked into the pump 12 through the suction pipe 11 and discharged to the discharge pipe 18 at a predetermined pressure. The fluid discharged to the discharge pipe 18 is supplied to the fluid supply object 44 on the necessary side through the supply pipe 43. The fluid is pressurized to a pressure at which the fluid supply object 44 provided at the highest position of the middle-rise residence, the high-rise residence, the commercial building, or the like can sufficiently supply the fluid.

In the operation of the pump 12, the amount of fluid used in the fluid supply target 44 decreases, and when the fluid amount is smaller than the set amount and the flow switch 15 is operated, the operation of the pump 12 is stopped. When the pump 12 is stopped, the discharge pressure is increased by temporarily increasing the operation speed of the pump 12, so that a sufficient amount of fluid is accumulated in the pressure tank 20. Eventually, the fluid in the pressure tank 20 is pressurized to a predetermined stop pressure, and the pump 12 is stopped.

Then, when the fluid is used in the fluid supply object 44, the fluid is temporarily supplied from the pressure tank 20, and when the water in the pressure tank 20 becomes small and the detected pressure of the pressure sensor 17 falls below the above-described start pressure, the pump 12 is restarted.

It should be noted that the signal for detecting the too small amount of water from the flow switch 15 may be canceled within a certain period of time after the start of the pump 12. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the pump 12 from stopping due to detection of an excessively small fluid amount even in the case where no fluid flows for a period of time after the pump 12 is started according to each condition of the fluid supply apparatus. In addition, the supply control unit 30 may be programmed so that the stop process of the pump 12 is not performed even if the flow rate switch 15 sends an excessively small fluid amount detection signal when the discharge pressure of the pump 12 is lower than a predetermined value. This can keep the discharge pressure during operation of the pump 12 at a constant value not lower than a predetermined value, and can reduce the frequency of the stop process due to an excessively small amount of water.

Here, as described above, the supply control unit 30 controls the rotation speed of the pump 12 so that the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 17 matches the target pressure, but in this case, the control may be discharge pressure constant control in which the rotation speed of the pump 12 is controlled so that the discharge pressure of the pump 12 is constant, estimated end pressure constant control in which the target value of the discharge pressure of the pump 12 is successively calculated so that the end pressure of the pipe is constant, and the rotation speed of the pump 12 is controlled so that the discharge pressure of the pump 12 matches the target value.

The control of the supply control unit 30 may be performed by the management control unit 50. In this case, the supply control unit 30 may transmit and receive information input from the input unit and data such as measured values of the physical quantity measuring device 3 and the like to and from the management control unit 50.

(Computer)

Fig. 4 is a hardware configuration diagram showing an example of a computer 200 constituting a control unit of the fluid supply system 1.

The control unit of the fluid supply system 1 of the present embodiment is constituted by the supply control unit 30 of the fluid supply device 10 and the management control unit 50 of the data management device 5. Respectively, is comprised of a general purpose or special purpose computer 200. The data management device 5 itself may be constituted by the computer 200. As shown in fig. 2, the computer 200 includes main components including a bus 210, a processor 212, a memory 214, an input device 216, a display device 218, a storage 220, a communication I/F (interface) section 222, an external device I/F section 224, an I/O (input/output) device I/F section 226, and a medium input/output section 228. The above-described components may be omitted appropriately according to the application in which the computer 200 is used.

The processor 212 is composed of one or a plurality of arithmetic processing units (CPU, MPU, GPU, DSP, etc.), and operates as a control unit of the overall control computer 200. The memory 214 stores various data and programs 230, and is composed of, for example, a volatile memory (DRAM, SRAM, etc.) and a nonvolatile memory (ROM, flash memory, etc.) functioning as a main memory.

The input device 216 is constituted by, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, numeric keys, an electronic pen, or the like. The display device 218 is constituted by, for example, a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, an electronic book, a projector, or the like. The input device 216 and the display device 218 may be integrally formed as a touch panel display. The storage device 220 is constituted by, for example, an HDD, an SSD, or the like, and stores various data necessary for execution of the operating system and the program 230.

The communication I/F unit 222 is connected to a network 240 such as the internet or an intranet by wire or wireless, and transmits and receives data to and from other computers according to a predetermined communication standard. The external device I/F section 224 is connected to an external device 250 such as a printer or a scanner via a wire or wirelessly, and transmits and receives data to and from the external device 250 according to a predetermined communication standard. As means for wireless communication, communication means of international standards are typically used. Examples of the communication means of the international standard include ieee802.15.4, ieee802.15.1, ieee802.15.11a, 11b, 11g, 11n, 11ac, 11ad, ISO/IEC14513-3-10, ieee802.15.4g, and the like. Further, bluetooth (registered trademark), bluetoothLowEnergy, wi-Fi, zigBee (registered trademark), sub-GHz, enOcean (registered trademark), or the like may be used.

The I/O device I/F unit 226 is connected to I/O devices 260 such as various sensors and actuators, and transmits and receives various signals and data between the I/O devices 260 based on, for example, detection signals from the sensors and control signals to the actuators. The medium input/output unit 228 is configured by a drive device such as a DVD drive or a CD drive, for example, and reads and writes data from and to a medium 270 such as a DVD or a CD.

In the computer 200 having the above-described configuration, the processor 212 executes the program 230 by calling it into the work memory area of the memory 214, and controls the respective parts of the computer 200 via the bus 210. Note that the program 230 may be stored in the storage device 220 instead of the memory 214. The program 230 may be recorded in a non-transitory recording medium such as a CD, DVD, or the like in an installable file form or an installable file form, and provided to the computer 200 via the medium input/output section 228. Program 230 may also be downloaded from network 240 via communication I/F portion 222 to provide to computer 200. The computer 200 may also be implemented by hardware such as an FPGA, ASIC, or the like, and the various functions implemented by the processor 212 executing the program 230.

The computer 200 is an electronic device of any type, and is constituted by a desktop computer or a portable computer, for example. The computer 200 may be a client-type computer, a server-type computer, or a cloud-type computer. The computer 200 may be applied to other devices than the fluid supply device 3 and the machine learning device 4.

(Pressure tank maintenance)

Next, the maintenance of the pressure tank of the fluid supply system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

The fluid supply system 1 of the present embodiment controls the operation of the gas supply unit 21 based on the pressure information in the pressure tank 20. When the data management device 5 controls the operation of the gas supply unit 21 based on the pressure information in the pressure tank 20, data exchange is performed with the management control unit 50 via the supply communication unit 31 and the management communication unit 51. For example, when it is determined that the pressure in the pressure tank 20 is reduced based on the pressure information, the management control unit 50 causes the gas supply unit 21 to operate so as to supply the gas to the pressure tank 20.

The data management device 5 determines the pressure decrease in the pressure tank 20 using the number of start/stop times of the pump 12 in a preset period as pressure information. The period may be several hours, days, weeks or months, etc., and may be set by the user. The number of start/stop times of the pump 12 is the number of times the pump 12 is started or stopped. The number of times is used to create pressure information. For example, a one-day average value is obtained from the number of times of start and stop of the pump 12 for one week, and when the ratio of the changes reaches the threshold value, it is determined that the pressure in the pressure tank 20 is reduced, compared with the one-day average value of the number of times of start and stop of the pump 12 for the same day.

The data management device 5 determines the pressure drop in the pressure tank 20 using the detected value of the physical quantity measuring device 3 such as the flow switch 15 or the pressure sensor 17 as pressure information. If the physical quantity measuring device 3 can directly or indirectly recognize the pressure decrease in the pressure tank 20, it may be a device other than the flow switch 15 or the pressure sensor 17. When the detection value of the physical quantity measuring device 3 is used, the pressure drop in the pressure tank 20 can be more appropriately determined.

Next, maintenance of the pressure tank of the fluid supply device 10 according to the present embodiment will be described.

The supply control unit 30 of the fluid supply device 10 according to the present embodiment controls the operation of the gas supply unit 21 based on the pressure information in the pressure tank 20. For example, when it is determined that the pressure in the pressure tank 20 is reduced based on the pressure information, the supply control unit 30 causes the gas supply unit 21 to operate so as to supply the gas to the pressure tank 20.

The supply control unit 30 determines a pressure drop in the pressure tank 20 using the number of start/stop times of the pump 12 in a preset period as pressure information. The period may be several hours, days, weeks or months, etc., and may be set by the user. The number of start/stop times of the pump 12 is the number of times the pump 12 is started or stopped. The number of times is used to create pressure information. For example, a one-day average value is obtained from the number of times of start and stop of the pump 12 for one week, and it is sufficient to determine that the pressure in the pressure tank 20 is reduced when the ratio of the changes reaches the threshold value, compared with the one-day average value of the number of times of start and stop of the pump 12 for the same day.

The supply control unit 30 may determine the pressure drop in the pressure tank 20 using the detected value of the physical quantity measuring device 3 such as the flow switch 15 or the pressure sensor 17 as the pressure information. If the physical quantity measuring device 3 can directly or indirectly recognize the pressure decrease in the pressure tank 20, it may be a device other than the flow switch 15 or the pressure sensor 17. When the detection value of the physical quantity measuring device 3 is used, the pressure drop in the pressure tank 20 can be more appropriately determined.

(Pressure tank maintenance method of example 1)

Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing example 1 of a pressure tank maintenance method of the fluid supply system 1 or the fluid supply device 10 according to the present embodiment. The flow chart of the present embodiment is executed by the management control unit 50 of the data management device 5 or the supply control unit 30 of the fluid supply device 10.

First, in step S11, pressure information of the pressure tank 20 is acquired. The pressure information may be used to determine whether the pressure in the pressure tank 20 has decreased, and may be, for example, the number of start/stop times in a predetermined period, the pressure value of the pressure tank 20, the number of times the automatic control valve is opened in a predetermined period, or the like.

Next, in step S12, the management control unit 50 or the supply control unit 30 determines whether or not the pressure in the pressure tank 20 is reduced. As a result, when the management control unit 50 or the supply control unit 30 determines that the pressure in the pressure tank 20 has decreased (yes in step S12), the flow proceeds to step S13, and when it determines that the pressure in the pressure tank 20 has not decreased (no in step S12), the control is ended.

Next, in step S13, the management control unit 50 or the supply control unit 30 operates the gas supply unit 21. Next, in step S14, the management control unit 50 or the supply control unit 30 determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed after the operation. As a result, when the management control unit 50 or the supply control unit 30 determines that the predetermined time has elapsed (yes in step S14), the routine proceeds to step S15, and when the predetermined time has not elapsed (no in step S14), the routine returns to step S14. Next, in step S15, the management control unit 50 or the supply control unit 30 stops the gas supply unit 21. The operation from step 13 to step 15 is referred to as a supply operation.

Next, in step S16, the management control unit 50 or the supply control unit 30 sets the count i of the number of supply operations to i+1. Next, in step S17, the management control unit 50 or the supply control unit 30 determines whether or not the new i is equal to or greater than a preset threshold value a. If the new i does not satisfy i.gtoreq.a (no in step S17), the control is ended. If the new i satisfies i.gtoreq.a (yes in step S17), the routine returns to step S13. The management control unit 50 or the supply control unit 30 executes the control at predetermined time intervals.

That is, in the fluid supply system 1 or the fluid supply device 10 according to example 1, the management control unit 50 or the supply control unit 30 sets the preset time for supplying the gas from the gas supply unit 21 to the pressure tank 20 to one cycle, and determines that the pressure accumulation in the pressure tank 20 is sufficient when the cycle for supplying the gas from the gas supply unit 21 is equal to or greater than the preset threshold value a for each cycle, and ends the control.

(Pressure tank maintenance method of example 2)

Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing an example 2 of a pressure tank maintenance method of the fluid supply system 1 or the fluid supply device 10 according to the present embodiment. The flow chart of the present embodiment is executed by the management control unit 50 of the data management device 5 or the supply control unit 30 of the fluid supply device 10.

First, in step S21, pressure information of the pressure tank 20 is acquired. The pressure information may be used to determine whether the pressure in the pressure tank 20 has decreased, and may be, for example, the number of start/stop times in a predetermined period, the pressure value of the pressure tank 20, the number of times the automatic control valve is opened in a predetermined period, or the like.

Next, in step S22, the management control unit 50 or the supply control unit 30 determines whether or not the pressure in the pressure tank 20 is reduced. As a result, when the management control unit 50 or the supply control unit 30 determines that the pressure in the pressure tank 20 has decreased (yes in step S22), the flow proceeds to step S23, and when it determines that the pressure in the pressure tank 20 has not decreased (no in step S22), the control is ended.

Next, in step S23, the management control unit 50 or the supply control unit 30 operates the gas supply unit 21. Next, in step S24, the management control unit 50 or the supply control unit 30 determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed after the operation. As a result, when the management control unit 50 or the supply control unit 30 determines that the predetermined time has elapsed (yes in step S24), the routine proceeds to step S25, and when the predetermined time has not elapsed (no in step S24), the routine returns to step S24. Next, in step S25, the management control unit 50 or the supply control unit 30 stops the gas supply unit 21. The operation from step 23 to step 25 is referred to as a supply operation.

Next, in step S26, the management control unit 50 or the supply control unit 30 sets the count i of the number of supply operations to i+1. Next, in step S27, the management control unit 50 or the supply control unit 30 determines whether or not the new i is equal to or greater than a preset threshold value a. If the new i does not satisfy i.gtoreq.a (no in step S27), the routine returns to step S21. If the new i satisfies i.gtoreq.a (yes in step S27), the routine proceeds to step S28. Next, in step S28, the management control unit 50 or the supply control unit 30 determines that the pressure tank 20 is abnormal, and notifies the abnormality. Control is then ended. The management control unit 50 or the supply control unit 30 executes the control at predetermined intervals.

That is, in the fluid supply system 1 or the fluid supply device 10, the management control unit 50 or the supply control unit 30 determines the pressure in the pressure tank 20 for each cycle of gas supply by setting the preset time for gas supply from the gas supply unit 21 to the pressure tank 20 as one cycle. In addition, in the case where it is determined that the pressure in the pressure tank 20 is reduced despite the supply of the gas from the gas supply unit 21 to the threshold a of the pressure tank 20, it is determined that the pressure tank 20 is abnormal.

(Determination method)

Here, several examples of the method for determining the pressure drop in the pressure tank 20 in S12 or S22 used in the present embodiment will be described.

Fig. 7 shows start-stop data of the pump 12 used in the method for determining the pressure drop in the pressure tank 20 in the management control unit 50 of the fluid supply system 1 or the supply control unit 30 of the fluid supply device 10 according to the present embodiment. The management control unit 50 or the supply control unit 30 of the present embodiment may determine the pressure drop of the pressure tank based on the number of start/stop times of the pump. For example, the average value α0 is calculated from the start-stop data of one week shown in fig. 7. The average value α0 is obtained by adding the start/stop times of one week and dividing by 7. Next, the difference between the number of start/stop operations αt on the same day and the average value α0 is calculated, and if the difference is equal to or greater than the preset threshold value a, it is determined that the pressure in the pressure tank has decreased. The start/stop data is not limited to one week, and may be several hours, several days, several months, etc., and may be appropriately determined by the user. The fluid supply system 1 may transmit the set values required for determination and machine operation control from the management control unit 50 to the supply control unit 30 via external communication.

As a method for determining the pressure drop in the pressure tank, the management control unit 50 or the supply control unit 30 of the present embodiment may use the pressure sensor 17 that directly or indirectly detects the pressure in the pressure tank 20. In this case, when the detection value of the pressure sensor 17 is equal to or smaller than the preset threshold B, it is determined that the pressure in the pressure tank 20 is reduced.

The method for determining the pressure drop in the pressure tank 20 is not limited to the above, and may be any method. For example, the methods shown in patent documents 1 to 4 may be used.

As described above, according to the fluid supply system 1 or the fluid supply device 10 of the present embodiment, the pressure tank 20 can be inspected and maintained without requiring maintenance personnel.

(Other embodiments)

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications and implementations can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims. All of these modifications are included in the technical idea of the present invention.

Claims

1. A fluid supply system, comprising:

a pump for transferring the fluid using the motor as a driving source;

a pressure tank provided on the discharge side of the pump and configured to hold the pressure of the fluid;

a gas supply unit that supplies gas to the pressure tank; and

And a control unit that controls the operation of the gas supply unit based on the pressure information in the pressure tank.

2. The fluid supply system of claim 1 wherein the fluid supply system comprises a fluid supply system,

The control unit is configured to operate the gas supply unit to supply the gas to the pressure tank when it is determined that the pressure in the pressure tank is reduced based on the pressure information.

3. The fluid supply system of claim 1 wherein the fluid supply system comprises a fluid supply system,

The gas supply unit includes:

A compressor that compresses the gas;

A gas flow path that supplies the gas compressed by the compressor to the pressure tank; and

An automatic control valve for opening and closing the gas flow path,

The control unit is configured to control the compressor and the automatic control valve.

4. The fluid supply system of claim 1 wherein the fluid supply system comprises a fluid supply system,

The control unit is configured to determine a pressure drop in the pressure tank using, as the pressure information, the number of times of start and stop of the pump for a predetermined period.

5. The fluid supply system of claim 1 wherein the fluid supply system comprises a fluid supply system,

Comprising a physical quantity measuring device for detecting the pressure in the pressure tank,

The control unit is configured to determine a pressure drop in the pressure tank using a detection value of the physical quantity measuring device as the pressure information.

6. The fluid supply system of claim 1 wherein the fluid supply system comprises a fluid supply system,

The control section is configured to control the operation of the motor,

The supply operation is repeated when the pressure in the pressure tank is reduced, that is, the gas is supplied to the pressure tank by the gas supply unit, and after a predetermined time elapses, the supply of the gas by the gas supply unit is stopped,

When the number of times of the supply operation reaches a preset number of times, stopping the supply operation.

7. The fluid supply system of claim 1 wherein the fluid supply system comprises a fluid supply system,

The control section is configured to control the operation of the motor,

When the supply operation reaches a preset time or number of times, the supply operation is stopped, and it is determined that an abnormality exists.

8. A fluid supply system, comprising:

A fluid supply device having a pump for transferring a fluid using a motor as a drive source, a pressure tank provided on a discharge side of the pump and holding a pressure of the fluid, a gas supply unit for supplying a gas to the pressure tank, and a supply communication unit for notifying pressure information in the pressure tank; and

A data management device having a management communication unit for receiving the pressure information from the supply communication unit, and a management control unit for controlling the operation of the gas supply unit based on the pressure information received by the management communication unit,

The management control unit is configured to operate the gas supply unit to supply the gas to the pressure tank when it is determined that the pressure in the pressure tank is reduced based on the pressure information.

9. A fluid supply device, comprising:

a pump for transferring the fluid using the motor as a driving source;

a gas supply unit that supplies gas to the pressure tank; and

A supply control unit that controls the operation of the gas supply unit based on pressure information in the pressure tank,

The supply control unit is configured to operate the gas supply unit to supply the gas to the pressure tank when the pressure in the pressure tank decreases.

10. A maintenance method of a fluid supply system that manages a fluid supply device that transfers fluid to a discharge side of a pump using a motor as a drive source by a data management device, the maintenance method including the steps of:

The fluid supply device obtains pressure information in the pressure tank;

Transmitting, by the fluid supply device, the acquired pressure information to the data management device;

The data management device receives the pressure information;

When it is determined that the pressure in the pressure tank is reduced based on the pressure information, the data management device instructs the gas supply unit to supply the gas to the pressure tank; and

The instructed fluid supply device supplies the gas from the gas supply unit to the pressure tank.

11. A maintenance method of a fluid supply device that transfers fluid to a discharge side of a pump using a motor as a drive source, the maintenance method causing a pressure tank to hold a pressure of the fluid at the discharge side of the pump by supplying gas from a gas supply portion, the maintenance method comprising:

Acquiring pressure information in the pressure box; and

And supplying the gas from the gas supply unit to the pressure tank when the acquired pressure information indicates a pressure decrease in the pressure tank.