KR20080097803A - Flow-metering device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

The flow rate detection device includes a flow sensor which is located on a fluid movement path in the pipe and rotates according to the flow rate, and detects the flow rate, and detects a frequency according to the rotation of the rotor and is proportional to the flow rate. Flow rate detection unit for generating a; and a control unit for measuring the flow rate by analyzing the frequency.

Description

Flow measuring device and method {FLOW-METERING DEVICE AND METHOD}

1 is a view showing the configuration of a flow measurement device according to an embodiment of the present invention

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the mechanical configuration of the flow sensor of FIG.

3 is a flow chart showing an operating procedure of the flow measurement device according to an embodiment of the present invention

4 shows an example of a system using the flow measurement device of the present invention.

The present invention relates to a flow rate detection apparatus and method, and more particularly to an apparatus and method that can detect the flow rate using the principle of power generation.

Generally, water and gas are supplied to the house through pipes. And such pipes are buried underground and have a configuration that is connected to the supply side and the devices in the home.

Therefore, it should be possible to always check the state of the pipe, such as the tap water and gas is moved. In the case of tap water, the tap water is supplied through pipes of various paths from the pressurization station to each home. At this time, the pipe may be broken due to the aging of the pipe or various constructions, or the drop of the pipe may be caused by the ground subsidence due to natural or artificial influences. As described above, the loss of expenses due to leakage caused by the abnormality of the pipe is becoming serious, and the contaminated material may be introduced into the home through the pipe due to the leakage.

Therefore, it is preferable to inspect the condition of the water pipe to manage in advance so that such a situation does not occur. However, since it is common to be buried underground, which is a pipe for delivering tap water as described above, it is impossible to visually manage the condition of the pipe. In addition, current pipes are obsolete, so it is very difficult to predict what will happen at which location.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method capable of measuring the flow rate delivered through a conduit.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method having a rotating body installed in a conduit, and capable of measuring a flow rate according to the rotation ratio of the rotating body.

Still another object of the present invention is an apparatus and method capable of performing error correction using a wired / wireless communication in a flow measuring device, in which a rotating body is located in a pipeline and the flow measuring device can measure the flow rate according to the rotation ratio of the rotating body. In providing.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a flow rate measuring device capable of measuring the flow rate according to the rotational ratio of the rotating body is located in the conduit, and the data measured by the flow measuring device by the established communication method It is to provide an apparatus and method for collecting and maintaining the condition of the pipeline.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION A detailed description of preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the same components in the figures represent the same numerals wherever possible.

In the following description, specific details such as impeller, Zigbee communication scheme, etc. are shown to provide a more general understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention may be readily practiced without these specific details and also by their modifications.

In general, the flow rate measuring device differs in the way of detecting the flow rate of the fluid according to the principle of measuring the flow rate. The method of measuring the flow rate using the impeller method, the turbine method, the volume (P / D meter) method, etc. uses the principle that the rotational amount of the rotating body is proportionally changed according to the amount of fluid. At this time, in order to detect the fluid amount, the flow rate measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention uses a power generation principle to attach a permanent magnet to the rotating shaft, and to form a core and the power generating coil to detect a signal every time the rotating shaft rotates. The strength of the frequency and voltage induced into the coil by the rotational speed and the number of rotations of the rotating shaft is proportional to the amount of fluid. Therefore, the flow rate measuring device analyzes the fluid signal by connecting the signal induced by the power generation coil to the electronic circuit part according to the rotation of the rotating body, calculates the fluid amount and displays it on the storage and display part. In the embodiment of the present invention, it is assumed that the rotation method uses an impeller method.

The flow rate measuring device performing the above operation may be installed at a specific position of the pipeline for delivering the fluid. At this time, the flow rate measuring device is preferably installed in a weak position of the pipe, such as a seam of the pipe line, a branch of the pipe. The flow rate measuring device measures and stores the flow rate of the pipe, remotely transmits the stored data through a wireless device, and transmits the condition of the flow rate measuring device as a screen and a wired / wireless signal. In addition, the flow rate measuring device outputs a pulse proportional to the amount of fluid to the outside, and may be provided as a circuit capable of wired and wireless communication. And the flow rate measuring device can improve the accuracy rate by inputting the correction coefficient through the wired and wireless communication without separating the error occurred in the process of testing the flow rate measurement meter. In addition, the flow rate measuring device preferably uses a control method and a communication method with low power loss. In the embodiment of the present invention, it is assumed that the communication method uses a Zigbee method with good power efficiency, and the power supply is preferably configured to ensure performance for about 9 years if the power can be maintained for at least one year. Do.

Therefore, the flow rate detection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention as described above, the flow rate sensor for detecting the flow rate is provided on the fluid movement path in the tube, and rotates according to the flow rate, and the rotation of the rotating body A flow rate detection unit for generating a frequency proportional to the flow rate by detecting the frequency according to the, and may be composed of a control unit for measuring the flow rate by analyzing the frequency.

The flow rate sensor may include a metering unit rotated at a flow rate in the pipe and a permanent magnet connected to a rotating shaft of the metering unit, and the metering unit may be an impeller. The flow rate detection unit may include a coil installed to face the permanent magnet and a flow rate detection unit generating a rotation frequency and a power generation signal by converting a magnetic field induced in the coil into pulses. The flow rate measuring device may further include a memory, and the controller calculates a flow rate from the rotation frequency and the power generation signal, and accumulates and stores the calculated flow rate data in the memory. The flow rate measuring device may further include a communication unit to transmit the accumulated flow rate data to an external device under the control of the control unit.

In addition, the flow rate detection method according to an embodiment of the present invention, the flow rate is sensed by the flow rate sensor, the flow rate sensor is located on the fluid movement path in the pipe and the process comprising a rotating body rotated according to the flow rate, and Detecting a frequency according to the rotation of the rotating body to generate a frequency proportional to the flow rate, and may be made of a process of measuring the flow rate by analyzing the frequency.

And the flow rate detection process, it may be to detect the magnetic field signal of the permanent magnet connected by the rotating shaft of the rotating body rotated by the flow rate flowing into the tube. And the process of generating the frequency according to the flow rate, the magnetic field of the permanent magnet may be induced through a coil to convert to a pulse to generate a rotation frequency and power generation signal. The flow rate measuring method may further include accumulating and storing the measured flow rate data and transmitting the accumulated flow rate data to an external device.

In addition, a process of integrating and converting the calculated flow rate data and applying a correction coefficient k constant upon occurrence of mechanical error may further include correcting the error value through communication without disassembling the instrument.

1 is a view showing the configuration of a flow rate detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the flow rate sensor 190 may be installed at a specific position in a pipeline for delivering fluid, and may be configured as a mechanical device including a sensor. 2 is a view showing the configuration of a flow rate sensor 190 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the fluid is output to the outlet 245 through the inlet 240. A strainer 215 is positioned at the inlet 240, and the flow rate sensor 190 is surrounded by the upper outer shell 211 and the outer shell 223. The flow rate sensor 190 may have a metering unit 219 located in the inner case 217, and the metering unit 219 may be an impeller. In addition, a fluid blocking plate 213 is installed at an upper end of the inner case 217, and a permanent magnet 221, a coil (power coil and core) 225, a circuit unit 250, and the like are positioned at an upper end of the fluid blocking plate 213. By this configuration, the circuit unit 250 and the like can be protected from the fluid.

As described above, the flow rate sensor 190 attaches the permanent magnet 221 to the rotating shaft of the metering unit 219 rotated according to the flow rate, and installs the coil 225 at a position close to the permanent magnet 221. Therefore, when the metering unit 219 is rotated, the permanent magnet 221 is also rotated, the strength of the frequency and voltage induced by the coil 225 according to the rotational speed and the number of rotations of the permanent magnet 221 has a result proportional to the amount of fluid. The signal induced in the coil 225 is transmitted to the circuit unit 250 to calculate the fluid amount and store it.

Looking at the method for measuring the flow rate in the fluid detector 190, the metering unit 219 is rotated when the fluid flows through the inlet 240. In the embodiment of the present invention, the metering unit 219 may use an impeller. The impeller may be composed of a disk or cylinder that rotates with a plurality of feathers (or wings) arranged at equal intervals on the circumference. At this time, fluids such as air, water, and oil are supplied with energy from the feathers as they flow between the blades of the vanes that rotate at high speed. In vanes, the centrifugal vanes are divided into centrifugal and axial streams, where the fluid flows mainly perpendicular to the axis of rotation, i.e., in the direction of the outer circumference from the center of the circle, and mainly in the direction of the axis of rotation in the axial vane.

At this time, the metering unit 219 has a rotational speed proportional to the speed (or pressure) of the fluid, and the permanent magnet 221 connected to the rotating shaft is also rotated by the rotation of the metering unit 219. Then, the magnetic field is formed by the rotation of the permanent magnet 221, the magnetic field is induced to the coil 225 by the magnetic field. Accordingly, the coil 225 transmits a signal induced in proportion to the speed (or pressure, fluid amount) of the fluid to the circuit unit 250. In addition, the circuit unit 250 receives the intensity of the frequency and voltage proportional to the amount of fluid.

The output of the fluid detector 190 having the configuration as shown in FIG. 2 is transmitted to the flow rate detection unit 140. The flow rate detection unit 140 may include a pulse output unit for detecting a signal transmitted from the oscillation circuit and the coil 225 of the flow rate sensor 190 and converting the signal into a digital waveform. Therefore, the flow rate detection unit 140 generates a fluid detection signal for converting a signal proportional to the flow rate in the flow rate sensor 190 in the form of a frequency signal. Then, the control unit 110 receives the flow rate detection signal detected by the flow rate detection unit 140, analyzes the fluid signal, calculates the flow rate and stores it in the memory 120, and displays it on the display unit 150.

The memory 120 stores a program for controlling the overall operation of the flow rate measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and may also determine the flow rate by the flow rate detection signal and store reference data for alarming when the set range is exceeded. have. The flow rate reference data may be stored as a conversion table for converting the frequency and / or voltage intensity detected by the flow rate into flow rate data, and the control unit 110 calculates the flow rate in accordance with the flow rate detection signal. It may be stored in the form. In addition, the alarm reference data may be composed of the upper limit and the upper limit alarm reference data of the normal flow rate, wherein the upper limit alarm reference data may be the reference data for alarming the excessive flow rate into the pipeline, the lower limit reference data Is to alert the flow of less than normal flow rate into the pipeline. When the excessive flow rate is introduced, foreign matters are introduced into the pipeline to narrow the width of the pipeline, or more fluid is introduced than the set flow rate. In this case, there is a risk that the joints of the pipe may be separated or the pipe may be lost. It is desirable to alert you that there is. In addition, when a low flow rate is introduced, the pipe may be dislodged or the abnormal state of the connection state may cause the fluid to move out of the pipe. In this case, it is preferable to alert.

The display unit 150 may display the flow rate data and the alarm data output from the control unit 110 and may include a liquid crystal display and / or an LED. In addition, when the flow rate measuring device as shown in FIG. 1 is installed in a pipeline embedded in the basement, the display unit 150 may be omitted, and may be installed on the ground by wired or wireless connection to the flow rate measuring device.

The communication unit 160 may perform a communication function with an external device under the control of the controller 110. The communication unit 160 may be configured as a wired or wireless communication unit, it is assumed in the embodiment of the present invention to use a wireless communication unit. In addition, when configured as the wireless communication unit, the communication unit 160 may be configured as a short range wireless communication unit or a portable wireless Internet communication unit. The short range wireless communication unit may be a Zigbee, ultra wide band (UWB) or Bluetooth communication method, and the portable wireless Internet communication unit may use one of wireless LAN, Wibro, and Wimax communication methods. In an embodiment of the present invention, it is assumed that the communication unit 160 uses a Zigbee communication method. The Zigbee communication method is suitable for using simple data communication, and is a power efficiency communication method.

The power supply unit 130 may use a battery and performs a function of supplying overall operating power in the circuit unit 250. The control unit 110 measures the battery voltage of the power supply unit 130, and stores the data of the memory 120 in a low voltage state, and operates the flow detection device in a limited manner. For example, when the power supply unit 130 transitions to a low voltage state, the flow rate detection time may be controlled to slow down the measurement time interval. When the power supply unit 130 transitions to a set low voltage state, the accumulated flow data stored in the memory 120 and the state information of the flow measurement device may be used. And store the data in a non-volatile memory and terminate the operation of the flow rate measuring device.

The controller 110 analyzes the flow rate detection signal detected by the flow rate detector 140 as described above, calculates the flow rate in the conduit using the flow rate reference data stored in the memory 120, and accumulates the calculated flow rate in the memory 120. It also stores and displays it on the display unit 150. In addition, the controller 110 displays the measured flow rate on the display unit 150 when it is lower than or exceeds the set normal flow range. The abnormal state may be transmitted to an external device through the communication unit 160. However, when the flow rate measuring device is installed in the underground pipe, the control unit 110 may store the abnormal state in the memory 120, and convert the communication data into the communication data when the external device requests the communication to the external device. have.

The communication request at the external device may occur randomly. Therefore, the controller 110 accumulates and stores the measured flow rate in the memory 120. The controller 110 may collectively transmit the measured flow rate data accumulated in the memory 120 and delete the accumulated flow rate data stored in the memory 120 when the external device requests communication. In this case, the flow rate data transmitted may transmit state information of the flow rate measuring device (excessive flow rate inflow, low flow rate inlet setting range, battery voltage state of the power supply unit 130, etc.).

3 is a flow chart showing an operation procedure of the flow measurement device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, when the fluid flows into the flow sensor 190, the metering unit 219 is rotated, and the permanent magnet 221 is rotated by the rotation of the metering unit 219 so that a flow rate detection signal proportional to the inflow amount of the fluid is provided. Is generated. Then, the controller 110 detects this in step 311, and in step 313 analyzes the flow rate detection signal to calculate the flow rate, accumulates and stores the calculated flow rate in the memory 120 and displays it on the display unit 150. The above operation is repeatedly performed, and the flow rate calculation timing may be executed at set time intervals.

When a communication point is reached during the flow measurement operation as described above, the controller 110 controls the communication unit 160 to transmit the flow data accumulated in the memory 120 to an external device. In this case, the data transmitted through the communication unit 160 may include alarm data according to a result of analyzing the flow rate data in addition to the accumulated flow rate data, and power data of the power supply unit 130. In addition, the communication time may be performed by the controller 110 in a set time unit, or may be executed when a communication device requests communication from an external device.

In addition, the controller 110 checks the voltage state of the power supply 130. At this time, the power supply unit 130 may be a battery for supplying the operating power of the flow measurement device. Therefore, in step 317, the controller 110 compares the voltage of the power supply unit 130 with a set reference voltage and checks whether it is in a low voltage state. At this time, if the power supply voltage is a voltage in the normal range, the flow rate measurement and communication operation as described above is repeated. However, if the voltage of the power supply unit 130 is determined to be low voltage, the control unit 110 detects it in step 317 and backs up and stores the accumulated flow data and state information of the flow measuring device stored in the memory 120 in step 319. The operation of the flow measuring device transitions to the standby state and ends. In this case, when a communication request is generated from an external device, a message for alerting the low voltage state of the power supply unit 130 may be transmitted.

4 is a view for explaining an example of a system for measuring the flow rate using the flow rate measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and controls the flow rate in accordance with the measured flow rate.

Referring to FIG. 4, the flow rate measuring device may measure the amount of liquid or gas as described above. In the following description, an example of measuring the amount of tap water will be described. The flow rate measuring device 100 is installed in a pipeline buried underground. At this time, the position where the flow measurement device 100 is installed is preferably a seam of the pipe, the wireless communication unit is configured to communicate with the outside. For example, the equipment inside the manhole can be configured in a form that can be read from the outside. In addition, the controller 110 may include a method of detecting a flow rate at a predetermined time interval (for example, 1 minute) by using an RTC, and the flow measurement data is accumulated and stored for a predetermined time (for example, 1 month). In addition, it is preferable to use a battery (at least one year or more) capable of supplying the operating power of the flow measuring apparatus 100 for a long time. Each of the flow rate measuring apparatuses 100 has unique identification information ID, and the unique identification information may be information for identifying a location where the flow rate measuring apparatus 100 is installed.

The data collector 200 may be mounted on a moving object such as a vehicle. The data collecting unit 200 includes a wireless communication unit, and collects unique identification information and accumulated flow rate data of the flow rate measuring device 100 while moving through the wireless communication unit. The data collection unit 200 is configured to enable the setting of the parameters and unique identification information of the flow measurement device 100. The data collection unit 200 may be a portable computer such as a PDA or a notebook.

The analysis device 300 includes a database for downloading and storing the unique identification information and accumulated flow rate data of each flow measurement device to the data collection unit 200. In addition, the analysis device 300 may analyze the flow rate data flowing through the entire pipeline by connecting the data collected from the flow rate measuring device 100 and the pipe configuration. In addition, the analysis device 300 can display the hydraulic pressure data in the pipe data based on this, can analyze the abnormal data and create statistical data, and can create daily data and monthly hydraulic pressure management data.

Looking at the operation of the system having the configuration as described above, the hydraulic measuring device 100 can be mounted in the home in the pressurizing station in the proper position of the pipes, the number can be installed variable as needed. In addition, the analysis device 300 and the data collection unit 200 knows the unique identification information of each flow measurement device 100 installed in the pipeline and the installation location information in the pipe. In this case, when the fluid flows into the conduit, the flow rate measuring device 100 may rotate in proportion to the flow rate, and the flow rate measuring device 100 may detect a rotation frequency proportional to the flow rate. At this time, the flow rate measuring device reads the flow rate detection signal detected by the flow rate sensor 190 at a predetermined time (which may be 1 minute), analyzes the flow rate, and stores it in the memory 120. Therefore, the memory 120 accumulates and stores flow rate data in the pipe measured in units of 1 minute. In addition, the flow rate measuring device 100 may analyze the flow rate data and store corresponding state information in the memory 120 when the flow rate exceeds or falls below a set range. In addition, when the display unit 150 is provided, the flow rate measuring device 100 may display a corresponding alarm state.

When the data collecting unit 200 is mounted on the moving body and moved in the state where the flow measuring device 100 operates as described above, the data collecting unit 200 requests transmission of accumulated flow rate data at the position where the flow measuring device 100 is installed. Then, the corresponding flow measurement device 100 transmits the accumulated flow data and status information together with the unique identification information. Therefore, the data collection unit 200 is mounted by a moving body to collect and store the flow rate data of the flow rate measuring device 100 with the corresponding unique identification information. Then, when the collected data is downloaded to the analysis device 300, the analysis device 300 stores the collected flow rate data in a database, analyzes them, and displays them together with the piping diagram. Therefore, the system operator can analyze the flow measurement data displayed in the installed piping configuration to check the flow rate for each system pipeline.

In addition, a process of integrating and converting the calculated flow rate data and applying a correction coefficient k constant upon occurrence of mechanical error may further include correcting an error value through communication without disassembling the instrument.

As described above, it is possible to effectively measure the flow rate in the pipe by configuring the flow rate measuring device using the power generation principle, it is possible to efficiently process the measured flow rate.

To this end, the flow rate measuring device according to the embodiment of the present invention is configured to attach a permanent magnet to the rotating shaft, and to configure the core and the power coil so as to detect a signal every time the rotating shaft rotates, in this case the rotational speed of the rotating shaft and The intensity of the frequency and voltage induced into the coil by the number of rotations is proportional to the amount of fluid. Therefore, the flow rate measuring device may connect the signal induced by the power generation coil to the electronic circuit unit according to the rotation of the rotating body to analyze the fluid signal, calculate the fluid amount, and display the calculated amount on the display unit.

Claims (11)

In the flow rate detection device, A flow rate sensor which is located on a fluid movement path in the pipe and has a rotating body that rotates according to the flow rate; A flow rate detector for detecting a frequency according to the rotation of the rotating body and generating a frequency proportional to the flow rate; The flow rate detection device, characterized in that the control unit for measuring the flow rate by analyzing the frequency. According to claim 1, wherein the flow rate sensor, A metering unit rotated at a flow rate in the pipe, The flow rate detection device, characterized in that consisting of a permanent magnet is connected to the rotating shaft of the metering unit is rotated. The flow rate detecting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the metering unit is an impeller. The method of claim 3, wherein the flow rate detection unit, A coil installed to face the permanent magnet, The flow rate detection device, characterized in that consisting of a flow rate detection unit for generating a rotation frequency and a power generation signal by converting the magnetic field induced in the coil into a pulse. The device of claim 4, further comprising a memory, And the controller calculates a flow rate from the rotation frequency and the power generation signal, and accumulates and stores the calculated flow rate data in the memory. The flow rate detecting apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a communication unit which transmits the accumulated flow rate data to an external device under the control of the control unit. In the flow rate detection method, Detecting a flow rate by a flow rate sensor, the flow rate sensor being provided on a fluid movement path in the pipe and having a rotating body rotating according to the flow rate; Detecting a frequency according to the rotation of the rotor to generate a frequency proportional to the flow rate; The flow rate detection method comprising the step of measuring the flow rate by analyzing the frequency. The method of claim 7, wherein the flow rate detection process, The flow rate detection method characterized in that for detecting the magnetic field signal of the permanent magnet connected by the rotating shaft of the rotating body rotated by the flow rate flowing into the tube. The process of generating a frequency according to the flow rate, The flow rate detection method, characterized in that the magnetic field of the permanent magnet is induced through a coil to convert into a pulse to generate a rotation frequency and a power generation signal.  The method of claim 9, Accumulating and storing the measured flow rate data; The flow rate detection method further comprises the step of transmitting the accumulated flow rate data to an external device. The method of claim 10, Integrating and calculating the calculated flow rate data; And a process of correcting the error value through communication without disassembling the instrument by applying a correction coefficient k constant upon occurrence of the mechanical error.

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