CN215489088U - Intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model provides an intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device, and relates to the technical field of gas equipment. The intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device comprises a pressure adjusting unit, a flow measuring unit and a data processing and remote transmission module, wherein the pressure adjusting unit comprises a pressure adjusting body, a pressure adjusting valve and a first connecting port; the flow measuring unit comprises a flow measuring body, a flow sensing element and a second connecting port, a second flow channel is arranged in the flow measuring body and communicated with the first flow channel, the flow sensing element is arranged on the flow measuring body, and a sensing part of the flow sensing element is positioned in the second flow channel; the flow measuring body is fixedly connected with the pressure regulating body; the second connection port is disposed at one end of the flow measurement body and is communicated with the second flow passage. The intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device has the advantages of high measurement precision, high safety, convenience in measurement, easiness in remote management and low cost.

Description

Intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device

Technical Field

The utility model relates to the technical field of gas equipment, in particular to an intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device.

Background

The development of city energy promotion by using pipeline to convey clean fuel gas has become a task of governments around the world, but energy supply in many places is realized by using fuel gas cylinders. On the one hand, clean energy such as natural gas is not available everywhere, and on the other hand, pipeline construction costs are very high, especially in some remote areas with limited population. Thus, millions of gas cylinders are delivered to locations where they are needed every day throughout the world. To date, each gas cylinder has only one mechanical pressure regulator to ensure the safe use of the gas. In addition, the usage status of the gas cylinder is very important for the user and the manufacturer, warehouse, distribution and seller. At present, the measurement of the gas consumption of a gas cylinder has the following modes:

in the first mode, hot water is coated on the surface of the steel cylinder by utilizing the principle that the surface temperature of the steel cylinder is different due to the liquid level of gas, and then the residual volume of the gas in the steel cylinder is estimated by touching the surface of the steel cylinder and sensing the temperature change.

In the second mode, the user shakes the cylinder and listens to the sound to determine the volume of gas remaining in the cylinder.

In the first mode and the second mode, the operation is inconvenient and potential safety hazards exist.

In a third mode, a float is provided in connection with the valve, which float is placed in the cylinder, and the amount is calculated on the basis of the height of the float in the cylinder of the liquefied gas. Such devices are purely mechanical, usually with large tolerances, and are also inconvenient, since the user needs to constantly visually indicate the mechanical indicator, and moreover, they will not be able to detect the quantity of any gas in the gaseous state, which is becoming increasingly important after the cylinder has been emptied.

A fourth way, with a mechanical device with dial gauge and magnet for signalling the float level inside the cylinder of liquid gas, although solving the problem of signal transmission, is also the one of the mechanical floats of the third mentioned above, and at the same time, this way, which requires the gas cylinder to be perfectly horizontal, otherwise the actual gas use may be seriously misleading depending on the level and float position.

In the third mode and the fourth mode, a floater needs to be arranged in the gas steel cylinder, so that the cost is high, and the glass tube liquid level indicator is easy to damage in the transportation process.

In the fifth mode, the gas steel cylinder with the ultrasonic sensor inside is adopted, and the problems of low measurement precision, high cost, poor convenience, low safety and the like exist.

A sixth way, a system with a load sensor is used to monitor the propane gas usage in the gas cylinder, when the load sensor is used as a natural level, the gas cylinder is required to be in close contact with the sensor housing, the actual gas usage is calculated from the weight loss of the gas cylinder, which requires not only a clear knowledge of the weight of the empty cylinder, but also a clear knowledge of the weight of the cylinder each time it is filled with gas, since the gas cylinders of different manufacturers differ greatly in weight, these parameters are not easily available and accurate, furthermore, any deviation in gas density and improper engagement of the gas cylinder with the load sensor result in large deviations, and the load sensor generally has a small dynamic range and cannot measure the total amount of liquid and gas phases in the gas cylinder.

As known from the measurement modes of the gas consumption in the modes, the problems of low measurement precision, high cost, poor convenience, low safety and the like exist.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The utility model provides an intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device, which aims to solve at least one technical problem of low precision, high cost, poor convenience and low safety in measurement and management of gas consumption of a gas cylinder in the prior art.

The utility model provides an intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device, which comprises:

the pressure regulating unit comprises a pressure regulating body, a pressure regulating valve and a first connecting port, the pressure regulating valve comprises a regulating handle arranged on the pressure regulating body, the regulating handle protrudes out of the pressure regulating body and is used for regulating the pressure of gas in a first flow passage in the pressure regulating body, and the first connecting port is used for connecting a gas steel cylinder;

the flow measurement unit comprises a flow measurement body, a flow sensing element and a second connecting port, wherein a second flow passage is formed in the flow measurement body and communicated with the first flow passage, the flow sensing element is installed on the flow measurement body, and an induction part of the flow sensing element is positioned in the second flow passage; the flow measuring body is fixedly connected to the pressure regulating body; the second connecting port is arranged at the free end of the flow measuring body, is communicated with the second flow passage and is externally connected with a gas pipeline; and

and the data processing and remote transmission module is used for processing the information provided by the flow sensing element and sending the flow information and the processing result corresponding to the flow information to a user terminal and/or a cloud server.

Furthermore, the second flow channel is detachably and fixedly connected to the flow measuring body; the second flow channel is mainly formed by sequentially and fixedly sleeving a plurality of concentric cylindrical main bodies, and is divided into a plurality of annular flow channels by the concentric cylindrical main bodies.

Furthermore, the flow measurement unit further comprises a pressure sensing element, the pressure sensing element is fixedly connected to the flow sensing element, and a sensing part of the pressure sensing element is located in the second flow channel.

Furthermore, the flow sensing element is provided with a flow sensing carrier, a flow sensing part at one end of the flow sensing carrier is positioned in the second flow channel, and the other end of the flow sensing carrier is a wiring port; the pressure sensing element is fixedly arranged on the flow sensing carrier.

Furthermore, the data processing and remote transmission module comprises a circuit board, the circuit board is mounted on the flow measurement body, the wiring port of the flow sensing element is electrically connected to the circuit board, and the pressure sensing element is electrically connected to the circuit board.

Furthermore, the flow measurement unit further comprises a protective cover, wherein the protective cover is arranged outside the circuit board and fixedly connected to the flow measurement body.

Furthermore, the intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device comprises a battery and a battery carrier for mounting the battery, wherein the battery carrier is fixedly connected with the flow measurement body or the protective cover, and the battery is electrically connected with the circuit board.

Further, the circuit board has a data interface.

Furthermore, the data processing and remote transmission module comprises a wireless communication module, and a main body of the wireless communication module is fixedly arranged on the battery carrier.

Further, flow measurement unit includes the safety cover, the safety cover is the open shell structure of one end, and the rigid coupling in flow measurement body, circuit board, visor, battery carrier, battery and wireless communication module all are located in the safety cover.

Further, the antenna of the wireless communication module is arranged in the protective cover, and the end part of the protective cover, which is close to the antenna of the wireless communication module, can transmit wireless signals;

or, the antenna of the wireless communication module is arranged outside the protective cover.

Furthermore, a bamboo-shoot-shaped connecting joint for externally connecting a gas pipeline is fixedly arranged at the second connecting port;

and/or the flow measuring body and the pressure regulating body are integrally manufactured through a die;

and/or the flow sensing element is a MEMS mass flow sensing element.

The intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device provided by the utility model has the beneficial effects that:

when the intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device provided by the utility model is used, the gas circulation pressure of the first flow channel is regulated through the pressure regulating valve, and the flow of the gas flowing through the second flow channel is measured through the flow sensing element, so that the accurate measurement of the gas consumption is realized, namely: the intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device not only can adjust the pressure of a first flow channel in the use process of gas, but also can accurately measure the use amount of the gas; because at the in-process of measuring the gas quantity, only need the data transmission that the flow sensing component sensed with it carry out corresponding data processing to corresponding terminal can, need not the manual work and directly intervene gas bottle body and inside, do not receive gas bottle self parameter influence, consequently have that measurement accuracy is high, the security is high, measure convenient and advantage with low costs.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below, it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only embodiments of the present invention, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained according to the provided drawings without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural view of an intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device installed in a gas cylinder according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a first perspective schematic view of an intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a second perspective schematic view of the intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device provided in the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a schematic perspective exploded view of an intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic perspective exploded view of a partial structure of a flow measurement unit in the intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device provided by the embodiment of the utility model;

fig. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a first structure of a second flow channel in the intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device provided in the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a second structure of a second flow channel in the intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device provided in the embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of an interaction situation between the intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device provided by the embodiment of the utility model and the other party;

fig. 9 is a schematic flow chart of a control method of the intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device provided by the embodiment of the utility model.

Description of reference numerals:

100-a flow measurement unit;

101-a pressure sensing element; 102-a flow sensing carrier; 103-a patch port;

105-a flow measurement body;

110-a second flow channel;

111-a first outer cylinder;

112-a central window;

113-a first inner cylinder;

115-a second outer cylinder;

116-a second inner cylinder;

117-third inner cylinder;

120-a circuit board; 122-a data transmission interface;

130-a protective cover;

140-a battery carrier;

150-a wireless communication module;

160-a battery;

170-a protective cover;

180-an antenna;

200-a pressure regulating unit;

210-a knob;

220-bamboo-shoot shaped connecting joints;

230-a first connection port;

300-a gas cylinder;

310-standard connector;

400-user intelligent terminal;

500-third party service provider;

600-cloud.

Detailed Description

In order to make the aforementioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention comprehensible, embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the utility model and are not intended to limit the utility model.

The embodiment provides an intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device, is applied to gas steel bottle 300, as shown in fig. 1-8, and this intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device includes pressure regulating unit 200, flow measurement unit 100 and data processing module.

The pressure adjusting unit 200 includes a pressure adjusting body, a pressure adjusting valve and a first connection port, the pressure adjusting valve includes an adjusting handle installed on the pressure adjusting body, the adjusting handle protrudes out of the pressure adjusting body and is used for adjusting the pressure of the gas in the first flow channel in the pressure adjusting body, and the first connection port is used for connecting the gas steel cylinder 300.

The flow measurement unit 100 includes a flow measurement body 105, a flow sensing element and a second connection port, the flow measurement body 105 has a second flow channel 110 therein, the second flow channel 110 is communicated with the first flow channel, the flow sensing element is mounted on the flow measurement body 105, and an induction portion of the flow sensing element is located in the second flow channel 110; the flow measuring body 105 is fixedly connected to the pressure regulating body; the second connection port is disposed at a free end of the flow measuring body 105, and is communicated with the second flow passage 110, for externally connecting a gas pipeline.

The data processing module is used for processing the information provided by the flow sensing element.

The intelligence gas cylinder measurement and control device that this embodiment provided, during the use, adjust the gas circulation pressure of first runner through pressure regulating valve, measure the flow of second runner 110 circulation through flow sensing element to this realizes the accurate measurement to the gas quantity, promptly: the intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device not only can adjust the pressure of a first flow channel in the use process of gas, but also can accurately measure the use amount of the gas; because at the in-process of measuring the gas quantity, only need the data transmission that the flow sensing component sensed with it carry out corresponding data processing to corresponding terminal can, need not the people and directly intervene gas bottle body and inside, do not receive gas bottle self parameter influence, gas use data can directly and accurately measure, and do not need extra information or carry out too much calculation, consequently, have that measurement accuracy is high, the security is high, the measurement is convenient, easily remote management and advantage with low costs.

In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 1-4, in the pressure adjusting unit 200, the adjusting handle is a knob 210 for adjusting the gas output pressure, and the first connection port 230 is for connecting to the mechanical interface of the gas cylinder 300. The pressure adjusting body is preferably made of aluminum alloy.

The pressure regulating unit 200 is used for regulating the high pressure at the outlet of the gas cylinder to the acceptable low pressure of the gas appliance, has the same structure and function as the existing mechanical pressure regulator of the used gas cylinder, the internal pressure regulating structure and the appearance are maintained unchanged, the gas outlet end of the pressure regulating body extends to form a flow measuring body for installing a flow sensing element and the pressure sensing element, and a second flow channel in the flow measuring body is used for accommodating the sensing part of the flow sensing element and the sensing part of the pressure sensing element, so that the intelligent gas cylinder measuring and controlling device is integrated with the flow measuring function and the pressure measuring function.

The data processing module is internally provided with an application program connected in an embedded mode and can interact with a terminal, and the terminal can be a user terminal, a gas steel cylinder provider, a third-party service provider or a cloud. The user terminal may be a smart terminal device, such as a smart phone. The interaction means may be wireless transmission. So can send the status data and the service data of gas cylinder to user, gas cylinder provider, third party service provider or high in the clouds to optimize the use and the management to gas cylinder, to gas cylinder's application, provide safety control and corresponding service simultaneously. For example, the intelligent terminal device communicates and exchanges data with a designated cloud, and the data can be directly queried by a gas cylinder supplier in real time so as to carry out inventory and production management.

In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 6 and 7, the second flow channel 110 is detachably and fixedly connected to the flow measuring body 105; the second flow channel 110 is mainly formed by sequentially and fixedly sleeving a plurality of concentric cylindrical bodies, and the second flow channel 110 is divided into a plurality of annular flow channels by the concentric cylindrical bodies. By providing the second flow channel 110 to be detachably and fixedly connected to the flow measuring body 105, the second flow channel 110 can be separately processed without being affected by the external shape of the flow measuring body 105, and thus can be processed in batches, for example, molded integrally, thereby reducing the processing and manufacturing cost.

When the airflow is laminar flow, the fluid is in a parabolic shape, the flow velocity of each point on the parabolic surface is different, and the larger the pipeline section is, the wider the flow velocity distribution is; meanwhile, the shape of the projectile can be changed under the influence of the environment or the pressure of the pipeline, so that the test repeatability and the corresponding precision are poor. After the second flow channel 110 is divided into a plurality of annular flow channels by the cylindrical main body, the effective sectional area is reduced, and the distribution of the flow velocity of the fuel gas can be greatly reduced (which is equivalent to a small section of a large pipeline parabolic body), so that the flow stability of the fuel gas in the second flow channel 110 is enhanced, and the measurement accuracy is further ensured.

Specifically, the range of the thickness of the outer wall of the concentric cylindrical cylinder is as follows: 1.5-3 mm, preferably: 2mm, the thickness range of the inner cylinder wall is as follows: 0.8-1.5 mm, preferably: 1.0 mm. For flow channels with a diameter greater than 6mm, the addition of concentric cylindrical columns will make the flow more stable. For a flow channel with a diameter of 8mm, the number of the concentric cylindrical columns is two, as shown in fig. 6, the flow channel is formed by fixedly connecting a first cylinder 111 and a first inner cylinder 113, the middle of the flow channel is divided into a symmetrical semi-ring structure by a partition plate, the middle partition plate is provided with a central window 112, the central window 112 is communicated with a channel of the second flow channel, and the flow sensing carrier 102 can be inserted into the central window 112; for a flow channel with a diameter of 12mm, the number of the concentric cylindrical columns is three, as shown in fig. 7, the flow channel is formed by fixedly connecting a second outer cylinder 115, a second inner cylinder 116 and a third inner cylinder 117, the middle is divided into a symmetrical semi-ring structure by a partition plate, the middle partition plate is provided with a central window 112, the central window 112 is communicated with the channel of the second flow channel, and the flow sensing carrier 102 can be inserted into the central window 112; and so on. The second flow channel 110 is made of an engineering plastic or a material compatible with the requirements of the corresponding gas-wetting material.

In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, the flow measurement unit 100 further includes a pressure sensing element 101, the pressure sensing element 101 is fixedly connected to the flow sensing element, and a sensing portion of the pressure sensing element 101 is located in the second flow channel 110; preferably, the sensing location of the pressure sensing element 101 is located at the axial location of the concentric cylinder of high sensitivity within the second flow channel 110. The pressure sensing element 101 can measure the pressure in the second flow channel 110, and when the gas is not used, if the flow measuring element detects that a flow value exists, or the pressure sensing element 101 detects that the pressure in the second flow channel 110 changes, it indicates that gas leakage may exist, so as to remind a user of timely maintenance, further avoid waste of the gas, and ensure the use safety.

In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, the flow sensing element has a flow sensing carrier 102, a flow sensing portion at one end of the flow sensing carrier 102 is located in the second flow channel 110, and a wiring port 103 is at the other end; the pressure sensing element 101 is fixedly mounted to the flow sensing carrier 102. With the arrangement, the pressure sensing element 101 and the flow measuring element are integrated into a whole, and the structure is greatly simplified.

In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, the data processing module includes a circuit board 120, the circuit board 120 is mounted on the flow measurement body 105, the wiring port 103 of the flow sensing element is electrically connected to the circuit board 120, and the pressure sensing element 101 is electrically connected to the circuit board 120. The flow sensing element and the pressure sensing element 101 transmit the measured gas information to the circuit board 120, the circuit board 120 processes the gas information through the data processing unit embedded therein, and the user obtains the processing result, thereby obtaining the accurate gas usage amount and the pressure value.

In this embodiment, the circuit board 120 has a data interface. The data interface comprises a physical data port in the form of micro-USB, mini-USB, USB-C and the like, which is used for accessing download data under the condition that wireless data access is forbidden or is not easy to access, in particular, the physical data port is used for manually downloading gas use data and gas steel cylinder state data through a digital data processing device such as a notebook computer or a handheld instrument or a U disk, wherein the data port comprises historical data. The connected digital data processing equipment can transmit the wireless data to a specified cloud end so as to further perform cloud data processing. The physical data port is preferably not provided for the user, but only provides services for the supplier or third party service provider which guarantees data security and avoids interference risk requirements; only access by the provider or third party service provider is allowed.

In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, the flow measuring unit 100 further includes a protective cover 130, and the protective cover 130 is disposed outside the circuit board 120 and is fixedly connected to the flow measuring body 105. The protective cover 130 is provided to provide the necessary dust and water protection for the flow sensing element, the pressure sensing element 101, the circuit board 120, etc. The protective cap 130 may be screwed to the flow measurement body 105.

In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, the intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device includes a battery and a battery carrier 140 for mounting the battery, the battery carrier 140 is fixedly connected to the flow measurement body 105 or the protective cover 130, and the battery is electrically connected to the circuit board 120. The circuit board 120 is a printed circuit board. The battery carrier 140 may be fixedly attached to the protective cover 130 by screws 134, the battery carrier 140 being connected to the power interface of the circuit board 120. The circuit board 120 also has the function of monitoring the battery state of charge and triggering a power failure warning after the remaining battery charge is below 20%. The user can also set and program himself, and set the corresponding warning triggering function. The battery 160 provides power for the flow measuring element, and the battery 160 is selected from a large-capacity lithium ion battery or a plurality of alkaline batteries, preferably a high-capacity lithium ion battery with at least 9Ah, such as a C-type lithium ion battery, and the capacity of the battery can ensure that the intelligent gas cylinder measuring and controlling device can be used for more than two years. In addition, the power can also be two at least alkaline batteries, for example, select 4 at least AA type alkaline batteries, can ensure this intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device uses a year, and purchase more easily. Wherein the power supply circuit design complies with industry standard safety regulations.

In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, the data processing module includes a wireless communication module, and a main body of the wireless communication module is fixedly disposed on the battery carrier 140. Wherein the wireless communication module can be replaced according to local requirements or network availability. In a preferred embodiment, the wireless communication module comprises a Bluetooth Low Energy (BTLE) module and a Long-Range wireless data module, which may be NB-IoT (Narrow Band Internet of Things), LoRa (Long Range Radio), wifi (wireless fidelity), Sigfox (Low power wide area Internet), or other options. The BTLE module is used for communicating and exchanging data with an intelligent terminal of a nearby user, and the remote wireless data module is used for communicating and exchanging data with a remote data center or a designated cloud server. The wireless communication module can forward the gas use data and the state of the gas steel cylinder to the matched intelligent terminal equipment, the intelligent terminal equipment can be a smart phone, a tablet personal computer and the like, and the intelligent equipment can widely provide real-time information for users. The application software operated by the intelligent terminal equipment can record data and analyze information such as the use state of the fuel gas in the fuel gas steel cylinder, and the application software on the intelligent terminal equipment can also send the position information of the fuel gas steel cylinder to the cloud. Specifically, the intelligent terminal device runs an application program in the intelligent terminal device, and the application program further relays corresponding data of the gas steel cylinder to a designated data center or cloud for data processing. If no intelligent terminal exists nearby, the intelligent terminal interacts with another remote wireless data module according to local availability, such as NB-IoT, WIFI, LoRa or Sigfox, and directly forwards the gas data and the steel cylinder state to a designated data center or cloud for data processing. Wherein, one of the remote wireless data modules and the gas cylinder ID together can provide the geographical location of the gas cylinder. To improve the security of the positioning data, a GPS module may be combined to any of these remote modules, for example, the GPS module may be combined with the NB-IoT module to directly transmit the location of the gas cylinder to a designated data center or cloud to provide a specific detailed positioning of the gas cylinder. When the wireless communication fails, the data stored in the intelligent gas cylinder measuring and controlling device can be downloaded to an intelligent terminal device which can be connected with the intelligent gas cylinder measuring and controlling device through a USB data port and the like. The application or data connection through the data port will allow the user to program the smart terminal device to customize additional functionality (e.g., lower gas margin) desired by the user. In another preferred embodiment, the measured data may be relayed directly to the cloud of the designated cloud. The cloud can also download instructions to the intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device of the specified gas steel cylinder, and a gas steel cylinder supplier can manage production, inventory and distribution of the gas steel cylinder through data of the cloud, so that the intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device can greatly help the civil gas steel cylinder supplier to improve service quality and efficiency.

In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, the flow measurement unit 100 includes a protection cover 170, the protection cover 170 is a shell structure with an open end and is fixedly connected to the flow measurement body 105, and the circuit board 120, the protection cover 130, the battery carrier 140, the storage battery and the wireless communication module are all located in the protection cover 170. The protective cover 170 is fixed to the flow measurement body 105 by screws. The protective cover 170 is preferably made of an aluminum alloy for more stable protection of the entire device, and the protective cover 170 may be made of a strong engineering plastic. To ensure its sealing, a protective gasket may be provided between the protective cover 170 and the flow measurement body 105. The protective cover 170 can be made of other materials, such as aluminum alloy, so as to conform to the structure of the intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device and meet the requirements of the working environment and the safety requirements of the corresponding industrial gas industry standards.

In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, the antenna 180 of the wireless communication module is disposed in the protective cover 170, and the end of the protective cover 170 close to the antenna of the wireless communication module can transmit wireless signals, for example, the periphery of the antenna is made of a material that is permeable to wireless signals. The antenna 180 is a transmission antenna with a low-power wireless bluetooth function, and is arranged in the protective cover 170, so that the damage of the antenna can be reduced or even avoided, and the use safety of the antenna is ensured.

Of course, as shown in fig. 2 to 3, the antenna 180 of the wireless communication module may be directly disposed outside the protection cover 170.

In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 1 to 4, a bamboo-shoot-shaped connection joint 220 for externally connecting a gas pipeline is fixedly arranged at the second connection port.

In this embodiment, the flow measurement body 105 and the pressure adjustment body are integrally formed by a mold.

In this embodiment, the flow sensing element is a MEMS mass flow sensing element. The MEMS mass flow sensing element can continuously and accurately measure and record the gas usage amount and the state of the gas cylinder. Measurements can be made using a thermal time-of-flight protocol to obtain additional gas thermophysical data. The MEMS mass flow sensing element will preferably be made by micromachining with calorimetric mass flow sensing measurement capability. The pressure sensing element is selected to be a MEMS tube pressure sensing element and is manufactured through a micro-machining piezoelectric sensing process.

In this embodiment, the MEMS mass flow sensing element, the MEMS pipe pressure sensing element, and the temperature sensing element are integrated on the same chip, the pressure sensor measures the output pressure from the intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device, and the temperature sensor warns of any abnormal operating temperature. In addition, the pressure sensing element and the flow sensing element can detect the flow change and the pressure change in the pipeline to judge whether leakage exists or not, so that the final safety of the use of the gas steel cylinder of a user and a supplier is reminded in time. Furthermore, the MEMS mass flow sensing element directly and continuously measures the instantaneous and total gas flow used without the need for additional temperature and pressure measurements, such as averaging the recorded flows if the gas cylinder pipe outlets are connected to multiple end devices. The MEMS mass flow sensing element has a memory that can record the total usage of gas in use, which can be preset by the supplier or end user. If the preset value is reached, an alarm is sent to the user. The total amount of gas used will be superimposed on the value of each measurement and this information will be transmitted to the user or supplier in time. When gas is not used, the MEMS mass flow meter will go into sleep mode to conserve battery power. When the flow sensor enters the dormancy state, the pressure sensor detects the pressure in the pipeline, if the pressure is abnormal, the flow sensor is awakened to measure, whether leakage exists or not is determined, corresponding warning is sent to a user, and the warning is sent to a designated cloud end.

The data processing module at least comprises a physical storage chip such as an e-flash and can be directly accessed by the MCU to realize data storage and data security. The circuit board 120 and the wireless communication module 150 are electrically connected through a data transmission interface 122 provided on the circuit board 120.

As shown in fig. 1, the intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device is typically mounted on a gas cylinder 300. Is connected to the gas cylinder 300 by a standard connector 310 on the gas cylinder 300 that mates with the first connection port 230. The mechanical structure of the bamboo-shoot joint 220 is the same as that of the outlet end of the conventional mechanical pressure regulator. Therefore, the intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device is installed as the existing mechanical pressure regulator. Compared with the use of a conventional mechanical pressure regulator, the intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device provided by the embodiment can be used without training or any other additional requirements. In the application of the household gas steel cylinder, the user does not need to change any current use mode and add additional components, the pure mechanical pressure regulating valve of the current gas steel cylinder can be directly replaced, and in addition, any performance, especially the use safety characteristic of the current gas steel cylinder cannot be lost.

It should be noted that the battery 160 of the intelligent cylinder measurement and control device is preferably installed by the supplier or a third-party service provider to avoid the quality problem of the battery. Because this intelligence gas cylinder measurement and control device triggers the warning and sends user and appointed data center or high in the clouds 600 when the electric quantity is not enough, consequently can guarantee not to cause the use interrupt because of battery electric quantity brings usually. In the worst case of sudden battery failure, the normal use of gas is not affected because a shut-off valve related to a power supply is not provided. However, a service alarm is triggered immediately by the communication interruption, thereby ensuring timely diagnosis and repair of the fault.

In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 8, the intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device realizes continuous and accurate measurement through the instantaneous mass flow of the gas of the MEMS mass flow sensing element, and measures the total amount of the gas used by the intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device.

In this embodiment, the intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device has a plurality of physical storage chips or storage equipment, and the measured data will be safely stored in a plurality of physical storage chips or storage equipment respectively to realize ultimate data security. The data will communicate with the user's intelligent terminal through bluetooth wireless communication and send the data to the user within the prescribed time or when triggering the preset alarm. The data received by the intelligent terminal of the user is further seamlessly uploaded to the designated cloud 600 or the designated data center through the intelligent terminal wireless network for further data processing, and is used for providing remote information acquisition for a gas steel cylinder supplier or a third-party service provider. If the user's smart terminal does not have network access or the user does not have a smart terminal enabled, another remote wireless communication module will be activated and the measured data will be transmitted to the data center or designated cloud 600.

In this embodiment, the user or supplier or third party facilitator may program any measured value, such as total gas usage limits, maximum or minimum gas flow rates, and/or gas usage times. Other necessary functions, such as allowing password protection access, or user-defined functions, can be set through the intelligent terminal or the cloud. The information required by the user can be limited by the parameters programmed by the user's intelligent terminal, while other more rights and database maintenance of the data center are developed only to the supplier or third party service provider. The intelligent gas cylinder measuring and controlling device can digitize the collected mass flow, and further obtain the total amount of the used gas. The data is processed by set parameters as instructed by the gas cylinder supplier or a third party service provider to provide alerts during gas use that are required for all usage anomalies, such as exceeding or falling below set limits for set mass flow or total usage.

In this embodiment, the flow measurement body 105 is molded to have a scalable second flow passage 110 to accommodate larger flows and to accommodate pressure regulating units and gas cylinders of different specifications. The scalable structure of the second flow channel 110 may be an existing structure, and will not be described herein. Wherein, the MEMS mass flow sensing element is arranged at the center of the flow channel, and the size of the MEMS mass flow sensing element is adjusted according to the size of the second flow channel or the model of the gas steel cylinder, so that the production and the inventory management according to the size of each gas steel cylinder are convenient. As shown in fig. 5, the pressure sensing element 101 is located in the bottom center of the flow sensing carrier 102. A wiring port 103 (signal output interface) is located on the upper portion of the flow sensing carrier 102. The MEMS mass flow sensing element employs existing calorimetric or time-of-flight thermal mass flow sensing principles. An integrated thermal conductivity sensor on the sensing chip of the MEMS mass flow sensing element can be used to identify the gas composition so that the sensing unit can alert the user if an unwanted gas composition is present in the supply gas. The pressure sensor elements are integrated on the same flow sensing element. For most gas applications for civilian use, the gas supply pressure must be within the required range, otherwise the gas appliance will not work properly or cause safety problems. Monitoring of pressure data in the pipeline in combination with flow metering can further determine any possible gas leaks that not only waste gas, but can also lead to serious safety concerns.

For the preferred embodiment, fig. 8 illustrates the interaction associations between the gas cylinder 300, the user, the smart cylinder instrumentation, the cloud 600, and the data processing module and, for example, the gas cylinder provider or third party service provider 500. The gas cylinder 350 may be a single unit or multiple units, and each unit will have a unique numerical address and a preferred communication module or protocol for local requirements. Each intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device communicates with the user intelligent terminal 400 through bluetooth, and the intelligent terminal 400 has gas usage data and other gas cylinder status data such as leaks and alarms. The intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device can communicate with nearby WIFI or LoRa or other wireless protocols to give an alarm to a gas steel cylinder user, and relay data to a designated data center or a cloud for data processing. The communication with the smart cylinder measurement and control device may also be a direct cloud data transmission module, for example, an NB-IoT module (narrowband internet of things), i.e., a dual-module configuration that combines local data transmission requirements and data relaying. This module combines together with gas steel bottle's identification code, provides gas steel bottle's positional data to the high in the clouds, perhaps, can add the GPS module in the module in order to carry out extra position identification. The interaction between the intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device and a local user intelligent terminal (a smart phone or a tablet computer) is preferably unidirectional, so that users can be prevented from tampering or unintentionally interfering with the intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device. In addition, the intelligent terminal can be allowed to access the intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device through the set password, and the function is preferably provided for a steel cylinder supplier or a third-party service provider. The interaction between the intelligent gas cylinder measuring and controlling device and the cloud data center is preferably bidirectional interaction, and the intelligent gas cylinder measuring and controlling device can receive setting and data transmission requests from a remote cloud and execute corresponding commands besides uploading the gas use amount and the gas steel cylinder state. The interaction between the cloud data and the gas cylinder provider or third party service provider 500 will also preferably be a two-way interaction, allowing the provider or service provider to upload information into the cloud, which can be transmitted to the smart cylinder measurement and control device of the specified gas cylinder to provide real-time data required by the gas cylinder provider or third party service provider. Finally, the user, the supplier and the third-party service provider can interact with the application program on the intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device through the cloud end so as to execute various executable actions.

It should be noted that, in other embodiments of the present application, the pressure adjusting unit and the flow measuring unit may be fixedly connected in a detachable manner, and at this time, the flow measuring unit is separated from the pressure adjusting unit and is directly connected to the gas supply channel or the gas pipeline, so as to implement measurement and control of the corresponding gas delivery device.

In a word, the intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device provided by the embodiment integrates the gas flow sensor, the pressure sensor and the wireless communication module, can continuously and accurately measure the gas usage amount, digitizes the gas usage amount of the gas cylinder, and transmits the data to a gas cylinder supplier or a third-party service provider through the internet of things; meanwhile, the state of the gas steel cylinder is transmitted in time, and whether potential safety hazards exist in the gas steel cylinder or not is comprehensively determined through pressure and flow change in a pipeline, such as gas leakage amount and position information; through communication module to in time give users and suppliers with information transfer such as safety warning information and position, this efficiency that will improve the use, safety, measurement and control and supply commodity circulation of gas steel bottle greatly, ensure user's uninterrupted use simultaneously.

The embodiment provides a control method of an intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device, which is applied to the intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device, and refers to a flow schematic diagram of the control method of the intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device shown in fig. 9, and the method includes the following steps:

and S902, detecting the real-time flow value flowing through the second flow channel by the flow sensing element, and sending the real-time flow value to the data processing and remote transmission module.

And S904, the data processing and remote transmission module counts the total flow flowing through the second flow channel according to the real-time flow value and sends the total flow to the user terminal and/or the cloud server.

Optionally, the method may further include the steps of:

the pressure sensing element positioned in the second flow channel detects the pressure value in the second flow channel and sends the pressure value to the data processing and remote transmission module;

the data processing module sends the real-time flow value and the pressure value to the user terminal and/or the cloud server so that the user terminal and/or the cloud server can execute leakage detection according to the real-time flow value and the pressure value.

Optionally, the method further comprises:

the data processing module sends the real-time flow value, the total flow and the pressure value to the mobile data processing equipment through the physical data port, and the mobile data processing equipment is in communication connection with the user terminal and/or the cloud server.

According to the control method of the intelligent gas cylinder measuring and controlling device provided by the embodiment, the gas usage amount of the gas cylinder connected with the intelligent gas cylinder measuring and controlling device can be digitalized, the data can be transmitted to a cloud server, a user, a gas steel cylinder supplier or a third-party service provider, and whether the gas steel cylinder has a gas leakage problem or not can be comprehensively determined through the pressure and flow change in a pipeline; the physical data port supports the mobile data processing equipment to connect and download various data stored by the intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device, and transmits the data to a designated cloud server or a user terminal for further processing, so that the use, safety and measurement and control efficiency of the gas steel cylinder are greatly improved, and uninterrupted use of a user is guaranteed.

Finally, it should also be noted that, herein, relational terms such as first and second, and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. Also, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising an … …" does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the utility model. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims (12)

1. The utility model provides an intelligence gas cylinder measurement and control device which characterized in that, intelligence gas cylinder measurement and control device includes:

the pressure regulating unit comprises a pressure regulating body, a pressure regulating valve and a first connecting port, the pressure regulating valve comprises a regulating handle arranged on the pressure regulating body, the regulating handle protrudes out of the pressure regulating body and is used for regulating the pressure of gas in a first flow passage in the pressure regulating body, and the first connecting port is used for connecting a gas steel cylinder;

the flow measurement unit comprises a flow measurement body, a flow sensing element and a second connecting port, wherein a second flow passage is formed in the flow measurement body and communicated with the first flow passage, the flow sensing element is installed on the flow measurement body, and an induction part of the flow sensing element is positioned in the second flow passage; the flow measuring body is fixedly connected to the pressure regulating body; the second connecting port is arranged at the free end of the flow measuring body, is communicated with the second flow passage and is externally connected with a gas pipeline; and

and the data processing and remote transmission module is used for processing the flow information provided by the flow sensing element and sending the flow information and a processing result corresponding to the flow information to a user terminal and/or a cloud server.

2. The intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device according to claim 1, wherein the second flow channel is detachably and fixedly connected to the flow measurement body; the second flow channel is mainly formed by sequentially and fixedly sleeving a plurality of concentric cylindrical main bodies, and is divided into a plurality of annular flow channels by the concentric cylindrical main bodies.

3. The intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device according to claim 2, wherein the flow measurement unit further comprises a pressure sensing element, the pressure sensing element is fixedly connected to the flow sensing element, and a sensing part of the pressure sensing element is located in the second flow channel.

4. The intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device according to claim 3, wherein the flow sensing element is provided with a flow sensing carrier, a flow sensing part at one end of the flow sensing carrier is positioned in the second flow channel, and the other end of the flow sensing carrier is a wiring port; the pressure sensing element is fixedly arranged on the flow sensing carrier.

5. The intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device according to claim 4, wherein the data processing and remote transmission module comprises a circuit board, the circuit board is mounted on the flow measurement body, the wiring port of the flow sensing element is electrically connected to the circuit board, and the pressure sensing element is electrically connected to the circuit board.

6. The intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device according to claim 5, wherein the flow measurement unit comprises a protective cover, and the protective cover is covered outside the circuit board and is fixedly connected to the flow measurement body.

7. The intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device according to claim 6, comprising a battery and a battery carrier for mounting the battery, wherein the battery carrier is fixedly connected to the flow measurement body or the protective cover, and the battery is electrically connected to the circuit board.

8. The intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device according to claim 7, wherein the circuit board is provided with a data interface.

9. The intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device according to claim 8, wherein the data processing and remote transmission module comprises a wireless communication module, and a main body of the wireless communication module is fixedly arranged on the battery carrier.

10. The intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device according to claim 9, wherein the flow measurement unit comprises a protective cover, the protective cover is a shell structure with an open end and is fixedly connected to the flow measurement body, and the circuit board, the protective cover, the battery carrier, the storage battery and the wireless communication module are all located in the protective cover.

11. The intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device according to claim 10, wherein the antenna of the wireless communication module is arranged in the protective cover, and the end part of the protective cover, which is close to the antenna of the wireless communication module, can transmit wireless signals;

or, the antenna of the wireless communication module is arranged outside the protective cover.

12. The intelligent gas cylinder measurement and control device according to any one of claims 1-11, wherein a bamboo-shoot-shaped connecting joint for externally connecting a gas pipeline is fixedly arranged at the second connecting port;

and/or the flow measuring body and the pressure regulating body are integrally manufactured through a die;

and/or the flow sensing element is a MEMS mass flow sensing element.

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