RU188921U1 - ELECTRONIC TACHOMETRIC COUNTER FOR ACCOUNTING LIQUID AND GAS FLOW RATE WITH DISTANCE TRANSMISSION OF MEASUREMENT RESULTS BY RADIO CHANNEL - Google Patents

Abstract

This technical solution, in General, relates to the field of measurement technology, and in particular, to measuring devices for determining the number of revolutions of the primary sensing element, rotating under the action of the flow of flowing water. Electronic tachometer meter for metering fluid flow, made with the possibility of transmitting measurement results modulo communication, comprising a housing with inlet and outlet nozzles, in which the primary sensing element mounted on an axis in the housing cavity and made rotatable under the action of flowing water; electronic counting mechanism, which is located under the top cover and on the base, made with the possibility of measuring the rotation of the primary sensing element in both directions using two Hall sensors; a liquid crystal display located on the electronic counting mechanism and under the top cover, configured to display the measured value of the volume of fluid determined by the electronic counting mechanism; power supply located on the electronic counting mechanism; two measuring transducers of the magnetic field, the outputs of which are connected to two separate inputs of an analog-to-digital converter of an electronic counting mechanism, made with the possibility of detecting the rotation of the primary sensitive element in two directions and located on the bottom of the electronic counting mechanism; a communication module located on an electronic counting mechanism and configured to transmit data on fluid consumption to a receiving device. The technical result is to improve the accuracy of measuring the speed of the primary sensitive element of the meter, measuring the volume of spilled water in both directions, while reducing power consumption and expanding the functionality of the meter. 7 hp f-ly, 3 ill.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[001] This technical solution, in general, relates to the field of measuring equipment, and in particular, to measuring devices for determining the number of revolutions of the primary sensing element, rotating under the action of a flow of flowing water. This technical solution can be used to measure the volume of cold and hot drinking water, as well as water in the heat networks of heating systems, in residential buildings, as well as in industrial buildings during accounting operations. Electronic meters with the transfer of measurement results through a communication module are designed to operate both as an independent device, and as part of software and hardware systems and measuring automated systems for monitoring and metering of energy resources.

BACKGROUND

[002] In tachometric water meters, the principle of operation is based on counting the number of rotations of the primary sensing element (impeller or impeller) with magnets mounted on its blades, as water passes through it. The counting mechanism is separated from the water (in which the primary sensing element is located) by a separating sealed membrane. At present, in standard tachometric water meters with a mechanical counting mechanism, the rotation of the primary sensing element (impeller or impeller) is transmitted through the action of magnetic forces through the membrane to the ring magnet of the central axis of the counting mechanism of the meter. The axis, by means of a gear, causes the rotation of the counting gear mechanism of the device, reproducing the number of revolutions of the impeller or impeller on the mechanical dial.

[003] From the state of the art, a counter is known for water accounting (US Pat. RU No. 233,320, patentee Rosita DMD LLC (RU), publication date: 10/27/2008). The counter contains an impeller installed in the housing cavity with two magnets diametrically arranged on it, one Hall sensor mounted on the outer part of the body above the path of the magnets during the rotation of the impeller, a pulse power generation unit for the Hall sensor, a control unit and calculations based on the microcontroller, an optimization unit conversion factor, timer, liquid crystal display, power supply, computer communication unit.

[004] Also, in the prior art, a counting device for water and gas flow meters (US Pat. RU No. 2131115, G01F 1/075) is known, which contains a device for removing information, an electronic device that converts the speed of a sensitive element into the number of substances passed through the meter with a power supply system sensors, a unit for optimizing the conversion factor depending on the current flow rate and a display device, the information removal device being made in the form of two diametrically installed through a diamagnetic partition relative to the axis of rotation of the magnet of the sensitive element of the Hall sensors, the interaction surfaces of which with the magnet of the sensitive element are identical, and the sensor outputs are combined, the sensors are electrically connected to the power supply system that generates pulses (for example, 250 pulses per 1 liter) of power supply to one of the Hall sensors by command the previous one, while the display device is equipped with a switch-on circuit only for a fixed time for taking readings.

[005] In the counters described in this patent, two Hall sensors are used only to determine the rotational speed of the impeller, without taking into account the direction of its rotation, thus, both direct and reverse fluid movement leads to an increase in the calculated readings of the meter flow.

[006] One of the drawbacks of this device is not sufficiently low power consumption, because even with a pulsed power, the Hall sensors consume significant current. In the presence of two Hall sensors, they make the main contribution to the consumption of the entire device and consume so much current that it becomes necessary to use high capacity batteries (batteries) and, consequently, increases the cost of the counting device, increases the dimensions of the technical solution, which is a significant negative factor for home appliance.

[007] Another disadvantage is the absence in the device structure of means for inputting conversion factors into the block of optimization of the transfer coefficient determined from the calibration results of the counting device.

ESSENCE OF TECHNICAL SOLUTION

[008] This technical solution is aimed at eliminating the shortcomings inherent in the solutions known from the prior art, as well as adding new functionality to the counters - transmission of measurement results through a communication module.

[009] A technical problem or technical problem solved in this technical solution is the measurement of the speed of the primary sensing element (impeller or turbine of the meter) in both directions, rotating under the action of the flow of flowing water using an electronic counting mechanism, as well as adding to this electronic the counting mechanism of the communication module for transmitting the measurement results, while achieving low power consumption of the device, allowing it to work during the entire service life of one battery.

[0010] The technical result achieved when solving the above technical problem is to improve the accuracy of measuring the speed of the primary sensitive element of the meter while reducing power consumption.

[0011] This technical result is achieved by eliminating mechanical rotating gears (which have a large static and dynamic moment of resistance, which degrades the sensitivity threshold and leads to an increase in the lower limit of the range of measured costs), realized by the ability to dynamically change the polling frequency of Hall sensors, depending on liquid consumption, reduced frequency of polling the second Hall sensor, which reduces the power consumption of the counting mechanism, the realized setting the conversion factors for the impeller rotation frequency to flow values determined from the calibration results of the counting device in the conversion factor optimization unit, adding a communication module to transfer measurement results.

[0012] In some embodiments, the primary sensing element is a wing member (impeller) or an impeller.

[0013] In some embodiments, the power supply is a battery that is built into the housing.

[0014] In some embodiments, the battery is a cylindrical or tablet lithium-thionyl chloride, or lithium-manganese battery.

[0015] In some embodiments of the counter, the communication module may be implemented using wired or wireless (using a radio module) technology.

[0016] In some embodiments, the receiving device is a base station or repeating device.

[0017] In some embodiments, the communication module is embedded in the counter in the form of additional electronic components and an antenna path on a single printed circuit board of the device.

[0018] In some embodiments, the electronic counting mechanism performs independent counting and display on the liquid crystal display of the volume of liquid that has passed through the meter in the forward or reverse direction.

[0019] In some embodiments, a certain amount or difference in the volume of fluid in the forward and reverse directions, or both, is transmitted to the receiving device via the communication module.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The features and advantages of this technical solution will become apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0021] FIG. 1 shows an example of the implementation of an electronic wing-type counter, where the device case and its internal components are shown, namely, a battery, an electronic module;

[0022] FIG. 2 shows an example of the implementation of the internal components of the claimed device, where an electronic module is shown, a communication module (as an example, this may be a radio module), an antenna path track, a liquid-crystal display (LCD display);

[0023] FIG. 3 shows an example of the implementation of the electronic module, under which the battery and two Hall sensors are located.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] A technical solution can be implemented as a component of a distributed computer system (centralized or decentralized), the components of which are cloud or local servers, measuring devices, routers, etc., without being limited to.

[0025] In this solution, a system means a computer system or an automated system (AC), a computer (electronic computer), a CNC (numerical control), a PLC (programmable logic controller), a computerized control system, and any other devices capable of a given, well-defined sequence of computational operations (actions, instructions).

[0026] The principle of operation of the proposed technical solution consists in measuring the speed of the primary sensing element, which may be an impeller or an impeller rotating under the action of a flow of flowing water. The number of revolutions of the impeller or impeller is proportional to the volume of water flowing through the meter. Water from the pipeline through the protective grid enters the measuring chamber of the flow transducer and causes the primary sensing element to rotate. The number of revolutions of the primary sensing element (impeller or impeller) for the same period of time is proportional to the volume of water that has passed through the meter.

[0027] The passage of the water jet provides rotation of the impeller or impeller, which depends on the speed of the flow. As a result of rotation of the impeller or impeller, a magnetic field is created in the circuit, which is transmitted to a magnetic field measuring transducer (for example, a Hall sensor), after which a pulse is output to the reader - a signal of a certain frequency. In the above example, the use of Hall sensors is based on the Hall effect — the appearance of a transverse potential difference when a conductor with a constant current moves in a magnetic field.

[0028] This technical solution contains an electronic counting mechanism (or an electronic module 110, as shown in Fig. 1), which detects the rotation of the impeller by an electronic counting mechanism using two measuring transducers of the magnetic field - Hall sensors, or inductors, which are located on the bottom counting board. Electronic counting mechanism 110 is part of a meter that allows you to determine the measured value value. The average power consumption of the counting mechanism is 100 μA⋅⋅ per 100 m ^{3 of} water, the instantaneous current consumption, depending on the water consumption, ranges from 15 μA at the minimum flow rate to 320 μA at the maximum flow rate. In various embodiments, the counting mechanism may be a mechanical, electromechanical, or electronic device containing both a storage device and an LCD display that stores or displays information, but in a particular reduced embodiment, it is an electronic device. This mechanism is located inside the meter housing under the cover of the top 130 and is located on the base 140.

[0029] Two Hall sensors 310 shown in FIG. 3 (or alternatively, other magnetic field measuring transducers - inductors or Wigand sensors) allow you to determine the direction of rotation of the impeller, and the number of revolutions of the impeller allows you to uniquely determine the volume of spilled liquid. For example, in the current implementation of a technical solution, one liter of spilled liquid corresponds to 34.7 revolutions of the impeller. Two Hall sensors 310, which have independent power circuits, are controlled by an electronic module 110 (shown in Fig. 3), which is a computing device built into the meter housing, under which they are located. As shown in FIG. 3 Hall sensors 310 are located in the meter housing above the pouring part. The outputs of the Hall sensors 310 are connected to two separate ADC inputs (hereinafter referred to as an analog-digital converter) of the counting mechanism 110. The counting mechanism 110 (including a programmed microcontroller or microprocessor) performs periodic power supply to the Hall sensors 310, measuring the analog level at the output of the sensors and subsequent power off. The measured data are processed in accordance with an algorithm that allows counting the number of periods of rotation of the magnetic field at the place of installation of Hall sensors 310. Rotation of the magnetic field corresponds to the rotation of the impeller of the pouring part 120 or a multiple of using magnets with more than two poles. The pouring portion 120 of the counter, as shown in FIG. 1, is made with the calculation of the required loads and is able to serve for many years, and in the pouring part 120 of the device, the camera (not shown) may consist of plastic parts, which allows to achieve better stability of readings. The frequency of measurement of the signals at the outputs of the Hall sensors 310 dynamically changes depending on the frequency of rotation of the impeller, which helps reduce the average power consumption of the device, as well as improve its accuracy. The signal from the second Hall sensor (which is located at a fixed angle of 135 degrees diametrically relative to the first Hall sensor), allows you to determine the direction of rotation of the impeller. The minimum sufficient polling frequency of the second Hall sensor is somewhat (on average, 2 to 5) times lower than the required polling frequency of the first Hall sensor, which reduces the power consumption of the inventive device by querying the sensors at different intervals. For example, in the current implementation of a technical solution, for every 10 revolutions of the impeller, one cycle of determining the direction of rotation is performed and it lasts 3 turns of the impeller. Thus, the ratio of the polling frequency of the first Hall sensor to the polling frequency of the second Hall sensor is 10/3. In addition, this technical solution in addition to the formation of a pulsed power supply of the Hall sensors 310, uses a mechanism for dynamically changing the poll frequency of the Hall sensors 310, depending on the flow. When counting the number of rotations of the impeller, the electronic counting mechanism 110 converts the number of rotations of the impeller into the spilled consumption, depending on the “weight” of each revolution, depending on the specific portion of the transfer characteristic of the flow at which the measuring system is at the current time. The weights that determine the normalization characteristic are stored in the non-volatile memory of the counting mechanism 110 and can be changed during the individual calibration of the product. For example, in the current implementation of the technical solution, seven sections of the transfer characteristic of the flow rate are used: 0-50 liters per hour (l / h), 50-70 l / h, 70-90 l / h, 90-500 l / h, 500-1000 l / h, 1000-2000 l / h, 2000-3000 l / h. These areas correspond to the weighting factors: 2863, 2878, 2892, 2907, 2917, 2927, 2932. This allows you to compensate for the nonlinearity of the transfer characteristics of the pouring part and significantly improve the measurement accuracy. The counting mechanism 110 produces an independent calculation of the volume of fluid passing through the meter, both in the forward and reverse direction. Depending on the configuration of the device operation, both the sum (difference) of these volumes and both volumes separately can be transmitted through the communication module. The liquid volume value is displayed on a liquid crystal display (LCD 210, as shown in FIG. 2) located on the counting mechanism 110. The measured volume is displayed, for example, in cubic meters. In some embodiments of the counter, the top cover 130 is completely transparent or has only one transparent area for the LCD 210.

[0030] As the Hall sensor 310, for example, sensors of the model DRV5053, TLV493D may be used, but not limited to.

[0031] In some embodiments, the coefficients for recalculating the rotational speed of the impeller or impeller into a flow value, depending on the flow rate, are preset or during operation. These coefficients can be predetermined for different parts of the transfer characteristics of the pouring part 120 (uniform coefficients for the entire batch of pouring parts), and can be set individually for each counter during the meter calibration process during production. For example, in the current implementation of the technical solution, seven sections of the transfer characteristic of the flow rate are used: 0-50 l / h, 50-70 l / h, 70-90 l / h, 90-500 l / h, 500-1000 l / h, 1000 -2000 l / h, 2000-3000 l / h. These areas correspond to the weighting factors: 2863, 2878, 2892, 2907, 2917, 2927, 2932. If the specified values of the coefficients do not ensure that a specific sample falls into a given class of metrological accuracy, then the values of the coefficients are refined and stored in the memory of this sample during product calibration.

[0032] In some embodiments, the liquid crystal display 210 in series or in parallel, depending on the size of the counter, may display the following information without being limited to:

[0033] For example, the value of the measured volume of flow of water, direct and reverse, can be displayed with the cost of dividing the low-order discharge of 0.0001 m3. The integer and fractional parts of the number are separated by the symbol ".".

[0034] The fractional part of the measured volume of the water flow can also be displayed, with a low-order division of 0.00001 m3. It is displayed as a line with “PR” symbols, then a blank, then a “.” Symbol and five symbols representing the fractional part of the measured water flow. The data can be used to accurately measure the measured volume of water when calibrating the device.

[0035] The identification name and version number of the counter firmware is also displayed. This information is displayed in the form of, for example, a line with the characters "ON", then a pass, then the identification name of the counter, the "-" symbol and the version number of the software. The firmware (software) installed in the non-volatile memory of the counting mechanism 110 at the time of manufacture cannot be modified, loaded or read through any interface during operation. This software is intended for collecting, converting, processing and displaying data on the indicator device 210 of the counting mechanism 110 (in FIG. 2 - LCD display 210) and transmitting these measurement results and diagnostic information to external measuring systems and software and hardware complexes for analyzing and processing.

[0036] The serial number of the counter is likewise displayed as a line with the characters "N.", then a blank, then the serial number of the counter.

[0037] The meter records the volume of the reverse flow of liquid, the volume of such a flow, depending on the requirements of the customer and the current legislation, may or may not be deducted from the accumulated volume, and also displayed separately.

[0038] The programmed microcontroller 240, located on the printed circuit board of the computing device 110, determines the rotation of the primary sensing element by means of an algorithm, thus accumulating data on the volume of spilled fluid in the internal memory based on the data on the number and direction of rotation, as well as the specified rotational speed conversion factors impeller in the flow value. The microcontroller, using a timer, periodically (depending on the configuration of a specific data transfer protocol) sends a message with the measurement results through the communication module to the receiving device. For example, in this technical solution, measurement reports are sent once every 24 hours and contain an hourly breakdown of the water flow in both directions. In addition to the measurement results, the sent message also contains a unique device identifier.

[0039] This solution contains a communication module (shown as a radio module 220 in Fig. 2) for remotely transmitting fluid consumption data to a remote or local server embedded in the counting mechanism 110. The communication module 220 may be embedded in the counter as additional electronic components and track 230 antenna path on a single printed circuit board device. The communication module (radio module 220) via data transmission channel (via NB-Fi protocol, LoRa, ZigBee, Wi-Fi, or other wireless data transfer protocol) transmits data about the current reading of the spilled water volume to the receiving device (base station or repeater device, other channel forming equipment).

[0040] The receiving device (base station or repeater device, other channel forming equipment) transmits data through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), or connection to an external computer (for example, via the Internet using Internet service providers ) to a server with server software that provides receiving, storing and processing the received data with measurement results. This server with server software, both in conjunction with the receiving devices, and without them, is the Software and Hardware Complex (abbreviated as PAK). The PACK provides the display of data in the user's personal account and generates the display of measurement data from the counters in a user-friendly form, in a tabular or graphical form in a browser (on an HTML page) or in a mobile application, and also makes it possible to obtain data through special program interfaces (API - application programming interface), for using data in external software products.

[0041] The main components of the meter can be made of brass alloy or plastic, harmless to human health, and its design (housing) contains the top cover 130 of the meter, which can be transparent, can be made of plastic, which provides resistance to external constant magnetic field, as well as the base 140 for internal electronic components and the pouring part 120, in which is located inside the primary sensing element (impeller or impeller). It is possible to use different colors of internal elements of the counters that meet state standards.

[0042] Protection against unauthorized access to the internal elements of the meter is provided by a single design (one-piece mounting of the counting mechanism 110 to the case), or a protective cover (ring) of the counting mechanism 110 to the case is provided. The ring prevents access to the internal elements of the meter without visible damage.

[0043] In a specific embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the power source is a rechargeable battery 150, which is built into the housing of the technical solution and is located under the counting mechanism 110. This rechargeable battery 150 may be cylindrical (as shown in Fig. 1) or a Li-Thionyl chloride or Li-Butt battery , for example, 3B or 3.6 V, which have an energy capacity, the ability to work in a wide range of temperatures -55 .. + 85. The line of lithium thionyl chloride or lithium manganese batteries is divided into three main groups that can be used in this utility model: high-capacity, high-power, high-temperature. This technical solution implements low power consumption (0.1 mA * h / m3) due to the following criteria:

- the use of modern sensors with low power consumption;

- use of software for processing the output signals of the Hall sensors using an energy-efficient microcontroller, which can significantly reduce the duration of the measurement cycle;

- a lower frequency of polling the second Hall sensor.

[0044] The elements of the proposed technical solution are in a functional relationship, and their joint use leads to the creation of a new and unique technical solution. As shown above, all the blocks are functionally and structurally related.

[0045] All units used in the device can be implemented using electronic components used to create digital integrated circuits, as is obvious to a person skilled in the art.

[0046] Thus, the implementation of all used blocks is achieved by standard means, based on the classical principles of the implementation of the foundations of computer technology.

[0047] As will be clear to a person skilled in the art, aspects of the present technical solution can be made in the form of a device, the elements of which are connected by assembly operations. Accordingly, various aspects of the present technical solution can be implemented exclusively as hardware, as software (including application software, etc.) or as an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects, which in general can be referred to as a “module” or "architecture". In addition, aspects of this technical solution may take the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-readable media having computer-readable program code that is implemented on them.

[0048] Any combination of one or more computer readable media may also be used. Program code embedded in computer readable media can be transmitted using any medium, including, without limitation, wireless, wired, fiber optic, infrared, and any other suitable network or combination of the above.

[0049] A computer program code for implementing this technical solution may be written in any programming language or combinations of programming languages, including an object-oriented programming language, such as Java, Smalltalk, C ++, and so on, and conventional procedural programming languages, such as language programming "C" or similar programming languages. The program code can be executed on the device, as well as in a software and hardware complex, partially, or as a separate software package, partially on the device, partially on the PACK server and partially on the remote computer, or completely on the remote computer. In the latter case, the remote computer can be connected to the meter via any type of network, including a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), or a connection to an external computer (for example, via the Internet using Internet service providers).

[0050] Aspects of this technical solution have been described in detail with reference to flowcharts, schematic diagrams, and / or diagrams of methods, devices (systems) in accordance with embodiments of this technical solution. It should be borne in mind that each block of the block diagram and / or diagrams, as well as combinations of blocks from the block diagram and / or diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a general purpose computer processor, special purpose computer, or other data processing device to create a procedure, so that instructions executed by a computer processor or other programmable data processing device create means for implementing the functions / actions specified in block or block diagram and / or diagram.

[0051] These computer program instructions may also be stored on a computer readable medium that can control a computer other than a programmable data processing device or a device other than those that function specifically, such that the instructions stored on a computer readable medium create a device that includes instructions that perform the functions / actions indicated in the block diagram and / or diagram.

Claims (14)

1. Electronic tachometer counter to account for fluid flow, made with the possibility of transmission of measurement results modulo communication, comprising a housing with inlet and outlet nozzles, in which are located: - primary sensing element mounted on an axis in the cavity of the housing and made with the possibility of rotation under the action of a stream of flowing water; - an electronic counting mechanism, which is located under the top cover and on the base, made with the possibility of measuring the rotation of the primary sensitive element in both directions using two magnetic field transducers and dynamically changing the frequency of measuring signals at the data outputs of the transducers depending on the rotation frequency of the primary sensitive element ; - liquid crystal indicator, placed on the electronic counting mechanism and under the top cover, made with the possibility of displaying the measured value of the fluid volume, determined by the electronic counting mechanism; - power supply located on the electronic counting mechanism; - two measuring transducers of the magnetic field, the outputs of which are connected to two separate inputs of an analog-digital converter of an electronic counting mechanism, made with the possibility of detecting the rotation of the primary sensing element in two directions and located on the bottom of the electronic counting mechanism; - communication module, located on the electronic counting mechanism and configured to transfer data on fluid consumption to the receiving device. 2. The counter according to claim 1, characterized in that the power source is a battery that is built into the case. 3. The counter according to claim 1, characterized in that the primary sensing element is an impeller or impeller. 4. The counter according to claim 1, characterized in that the measuring transducer of the magnetic field is a Hall sensor, or an inductor, or a Wigand sensor. 5. The counter according to claim 2, characterized in that the battery is a cylindrical or tablet lithium-thionyl chloride, or lithium-manganese battery. 6. The counter according to claim 1, characterized in that the communication module is embedded in the counter in the form of a radio module, additional electronic components and an antenna path track on a single printed circuit board of the device. 7. The counter according to claim 1, characterized in that the electronic counting mechanism produces an independent calculation of the volume of fluid passing through the counter in the forward and / or reverse direction. 8. The counter according to claim 6, characterized by the fact that through the communication module to the receiving device is transmitted the sum or difference of the volume of fluid in the forward and reverse direction, or both volumes separately.

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