JP2911158B2 - Fuel supply device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a fuel supply device for supplying a fuel such as kerosene or propane of a fuel storage device to a use portion via a fuel supply pipe.

(B) Prior art As disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 56-99248, for example, this type of fuel supply apparatus controls the amount of oil in an oil tank installed outdoors and an oil combustor installed indoors. The kettle oil in the oil tank is automatically replenished to the oil flow controller in the oil combustor by connecting the oil tank to the oil tank.

(C) Problems to be Solved by the Invention By the way, in the above-described fuel supply device, a consumer checks the remaining amount of kerosene in the fuel tank and places an order with the fuel supplier, or the fuel supplier periodically supplies the fuel tank. The refueling of the kerosene tank was performed by checking.

However, on the customer side, it is difficult to predict when to replenish,
Suddenly, water could not be boiled and heating could not be performed. On the other hand, on the fuel supplier side, frequent inspections and replenishment must be carried out as soon as possible so as not to cause such a situation, and the number of inspections and supply has increased, which has been a serious task. In order to cope with this, a liquid level monitoring device is installed at a monitoring center such as a gas station, which automatically dials the remaining hot water amount, and refuels based on this received signal. And the consumption speed information are transmitted at regular intervals every day, and the management center estimates the marginal time until the tank is empty.However, the amount of information from the refueling request signal becomes enormous, complicating refueling management. However, if an error occurs in the management system, a fuel supply error will eventually occur, causing problems such as inconvenience to consumers and loss of trust.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned facts, and has as its object to enable fuel supply to be performed accurately and easily for both consumers and suppliers.

(D) Means for Solving the Problems According to the present invention, a fuel storage device that supplies fuel to a utilization unit via a fuel supply pipe, a fuel remaining amount of the fuel storage device,
Or, a fuel amount detector for detecting a fuel amount such as a fuel consumption amount in a utilization unit, a mechanism for determining whether or not a fuel request is required based on a fuel amount signal from the fuel amount detector, and a fuel request The fuel supply device includes a fuel request control device for transmitting an order signal including a fuel status and a subscriber number together with the number of times of order transmission to the fuel supplier.

Further, according to the present invention, in the above-described fuel supply device, as a mechanism for determining whether or not a fuel request is required by the fuel request control device, a fuel consumption speed is obtained based on a fuel amount signal from a fuel amount detector. This is a fuel supply device having a configuration for determining the transmission timing of the order signal by comparing the fuel consumption speed and the residual oil amount.

(E) Operation It is determined that a fuel request is necessary before the fuel runs short, and a predetermined order signal is automatically transmitted from the consumer side to the fuel supplier side. There is no need to worry about inconvenience to consumers. In particular, since these signals are transmitted from the customer side to the fuel supplier side as the number of transmissions and the standby time, etc., as the number of transmissions and the urgency of the fuel request expressed as a message, the fuel supplier receives complicated orders. This eliminates the need for a management system, inspections, and frequent supply, and makes it possible to replenish fuel more easily while maintaining a simple and accurate relationship of trust with customers.

Further, according to the fuel supply device of the second aspect, the transmission timing of the order signal is adjusted according to the seasonal change of the fuel consumption or the like, and the fuel can be supplied more accurately with a simple system.

(F) Embodiment Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on an embodiment shown in the drawings.

In FIG. 1, (1) is a customer's house, and an oil heater (2) is connected to a fuel tank (fuel storage device) installed outdoors and a fuel pipe (fuel supply pipe) (3). 4)
A water heater (5) is installed inside and outside the house (1).
(6) is an oil dealer of an oil dealer, and when a customer orders kerosene via a telephone line (7), the kerosene is delivered using a tank lorry (8). (9) is a fuel supply control device connected to the fuel tank (2) and the telephone line (7).

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the fuel supply control device (9) is a float switch (fuel amount detector) that issues an ON signal when the oil level of the refueling tank (2) falls below a predetermined height.
(10) and whether or not a fuel request is required is determined in accordance with the on / off state of the float switch (10).
When 0) is ON, a fuel request control device (11) for transmitting a predetermined order signal required for a fuel request is connected to the fuel request control device (11) via photocouplers (12) and (13). A handset (14). The handset (14) is connected via a telephone line (7) to a handset (15) of an oil store (6), and the handset (15) is connected to a personal computer (16).

Next, the operation of the above-described embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

When the amount of residual oil in the refueling tank (2) is, for example, about three to four days and the oil level is equal to or lower than a predetermined height, the float switch (10) is turned on. At this time, the fuel demand control device (1
1) determines that a fuel request is necessary, and causes a predetermined order signal for the fuel request to be transmitted as follows. First, it is determined whether or not the transmission completion flag is “0”. Here, since the transmission has not been completed, it is next determined whether or not a call is in progress. The handset (14) is used, and when a call is in progress, the apparatus enters a call waiting state. If the call is not in progress, the dial number of the oil dealer (6) is transmitted to the handset (14), and at the same time, the built-in call timer is set to "0" in the initial state, and this timer is started. At this time, the handset (15) of the other party's oil sales point (6) is used, and the operation is stopped for 10 minutes during a call, and thereafter, the above operation is repeated. Also, if the other party is not on a call, it will be checked whether you can make another call, and when the call becomes available,
An order signal such as "number of transmissions", "fuel status", "subscriber number", "name", etc. is transmitted as a voice signal or a facsimile signal via the handset (14), telephone line (7) and handset (15). It is transmitted and stored in the personal computer (16). The number of transmissions is an actual number of orders from when an order is made to an oil dealer until refueling is performed, or a number that is automatically increased by an elapsed time after the order, or a message expressing these, and the like. The number of transmissions when a signal is first transmitted from a consumer to an oil dealer (fuel supplier) is “1”, which is the initial setting. The data of the personal computer (16) is output at any time, so that the oil dealer can confirm that the customer has placed the order. Thus, when a predetermined order signal is transmitted,
The call between the handset (14) and (15) is disconnected, the transmission completion flag is set to "1", the number of transmissions is added and stored (the number of transmissions is set to "2" in preparation for the next transmission). . If the call cannot be made, the call is continued for 30 seconds. If the call is not connected after the lapse of 30 seconds, the operation is stopped for 10 minutes, and then the above operation is repeated.

As described above, when the first transmission is completed, the fuel request control device (11) sets the built-in fuel waiting timer to 0 in the initial state, and starts this timer. This timer is set, for example, to one day. If kerosene is supplied to the refueling tank (2) within 24 hours after the transmission is completed, the flow switch (10) is turned off. At this time, the fuel request control device (11) sets the transmission completion flag to "0", returns the number of transmissions to "1", and stops the fuel waiting timer. If kerosene is not replenished within 24 hours, when the fuel wait timer expires, return to the transmission complete flag “0” and perform the above-mentioned call operation. To oil dealers. In this case, the petroleum dealer can confirm that the fuel is running out soon because the transmission count data is “2”. Further, the transmission message may be changed every time the number of transmissions increases. Thus, when the second transmission is completed,
The fuel demand control device (11) stops the call, stores the new transmission count, and sets the transmission completion flag to “1” at the same time.
The fuel waiting timer is restarted from "0". Also,
The on / off state of the float switch (10), the number of transmissions, and the presence / absence of transmission completion are indicated on the display (1) of the fuel demand control device (11).
It can be confirmed in 7).

In the embodiment described above, the fuel demand control device (1
In 1), when the float switch (10) for detecting the residual oil amount in the refueling tank (2) is turned on, it is determined that a fuel request is necessary, and a predetermined order signal is transmitted. A flow rate detector is provided in the pipe (3), and based on a signal from the flow rate detector, the amount of kerosene used in the utilization unit is calculated, and a predetermined order signal is transmitted when the amount of kerosene used is equal to or more than a predetermined amount. It may be something. Also, as shown in FIG.
The residual oil amount in the refueling tank (2) is detected by a residual oil amount detector (18), and based on the detection signal of the detector (18), the amount of kerosene consumed per a certain period is calculated and further calculated. The amount of kerosene consumed for several days required for fuel supply is calculated, and a predetermined order signal is generated when the kerosene remaining amount falls below this kerosene consumption, as shown in FIG. The remaining amount of kerosene after a certain period of time may be predicted from the amount and the consumption speed of kerosene, and a predetermined order signal may be generated when the predicted remaining amount falls below a predetermined amount. In this way, the kerosene ordering time will be adjusted according to the seasonal change in kerosene consumption, so that kerosene will be ordered later in summer and kerosene will be ordered earlier in winter. An accurate fuel supply can be performed.

(G) Effects of the Invention Since the present invention is configured as described above, a fuel order is automatically placed from a consumer to a fuel supplier before a shortage of fuel, and the fuel can be prevented from running out of fuel. Not only can you refuel with plenty of time,
If the fuel supply device of the present invention is installed in the fuel storage device on the customer side, the fuel supplier only needs to provide the receiving device, so that the fuel supplier and the customer side are integrated as in the related art. It does not require a large-scale system or a management mechanism to integrate the system, and furthermore, the number of consumers can be increased or decreased as needed, and simple and accurate fuel supply can be provided to both consumers and suppliers of fuel. It is very convenient.

Further, according to the fuel supply device of the second aspect, the fuel supply device according to the present invention is such that the ordering time of the fuel is adjusted and judged on the consumer side according to the change of the fuel consumption such as the season, and the order is placed. A more accurate activated fuel supply can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view of a fuel supply apparatus showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory view of a fuel supply control apparatus, FIG.
FIG. 4 is an electric circuit diagram, FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the fuel supply control device, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are block diagrams for explaining the internal configuration of the fuel demand control device. (2) ... refueling tank (fuel storage device), (3) ... refueling pipe (fuel supply pipe), (4) ... petroleum heater (utilization part), (5) ... water heater (utilization part) , (10): Float switch (fuel amount detector), (11): Fuel demand control device.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) F23K 5/02 F23N 5/26 101

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A fuel storage device for supplying fuel to a utilization unit via a fuel supply pipe, and a fuel amount detection unit for detecting a remaining fuel amount of the fuel storage device or a fuel amount such as a fuel consumption amount in the utilization unit. And a mechanism for determining the necessity of a fuel request based on the fuel amount signal from the fuel amount detector. When a fuel request is required, an order signal including the number of order transmissions, the fuel status, and the subscriber number is transmitted. A fuel supply device, comprising: a fuel request control device for transmitting the request to a fuel supplier. 2. A mechanism for judging the necessity of a fuel request of a fuel demand control device, the fuel consumption speed is obtained based on a fuel amount signal from a fuel amount detector, and the fuel consumption speed and the residual oil amount are determined. 2. The fuel supply device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission timing of the order signal is determined by comparing the order.