EP2279394A2 - Water flow meter - Google Patents

Abstract

Water flow meter that contains in its interior a copper alloy of high purity degree A with 99.99% of purity, of very low thickness, next to 0.5 mm forming a vessel coated with a polymer which provides it with rigidity and lightness.

Description

"WATER FLOW METER"

Field of the Invention

Such invention refers to a case manufactured in copper 99.9% pure and 0.01% of silver. Just the fact of the material used represents an invention of extraordinary influence to human health since the pure copper, after years of survey, has been considered by the North American DDA as a metal of high germicide capacity, which projects it in the future as a component used in the manufacture of instruments for surgical medicine including for incorporation in doses not yet quantified into human food. Such feature of eliminating germs, bacteria and all kinds of harmful microorganisms, through rubbing or its composition, showed Codelco representatives that copper properties imply for Chile an advantage of the size of the existence of a further "Chuquicamata".

Therefore, a strong reason for the invention of the case manufactured in pure copper results in a substantial contribution to health, provided that the water flow until homes nowadays is being performed in PVC pipelines and high quality polymers and using copper pipelines in the interior of the houses, apartments and institutions. Thus, we its possible to say that the meter existing currently in the Chilean Norm 1730-2002 allows the alloy R 85 for manufacturing of meters' cases, where the components of such bronze are: 85% of copper; 5 to 6% of lead; 5% of zinc and 5% of nickel.

The water passage through the current case results in the risk of transporting lead particles which is a heavy metal that cannot be removed by means of natural systems of the human body, generating options of cancer developing for being already confirmed that said metal is clearly carcinogenic. Background state of the invention

In Chile, a case is currently used in the water flow meter which the technical norm calls R85 (85 copper; 5 lead and 5 stain) or brass (60% copper, 40% zinc) manufactured in bronze casting, which contains from 3 to 8% of lead. Such percentages are sufficiently high to be discharged in countries requiring high standards in such kinds of objects such as the European norm ISO 4064 and the Chilean Norm 1730-2002 for being deemed dangerous the releasing of lead particles during such elements' long useful life since the people are exposed to the accumulation of such carcinogenic element.

Add to this, the fact that the contaminating processes used to prepare such current case R85, such as the casting with bores and sand boxes coated with PHENOLIC RESINS for its hot agglutination and molding. This is a harmful circumstance for the environment since that once such sand boxes coated with bores of the same material filled with alloy R85 at 1,200 degrees of heat give shape to the case and leave as later task the cracking of such boxes and the removal of the sand from the bore in an industrial process which contaminates those who perform it. With the aggravating circumstance that said sand is not degradable and, therefore, the landfills, to where it is supposed to be taken, refuse it for being a contaminant impossible to be eliminated.

Furthermore, during such casting process of the material R85 at 1,200 degrees of temperature, the air in the premises is contaminated, which must be obligatorily filtrated to be launched in the atmosphere. Besides, such filtration and cleaning process of such contaminated air (which few national casting plants comply with) contaminates the employees of such casting plant, which in the experience has showed that the "furnace men" and mainly that hot metal spillway in the box input funnel with inside bore to give shape to the future case, normally in a one-year inspection by the Health Department, must be removed from work since the same, with the use of filtering masks, showed in their blood tests from 4 to 8 particles per milligram in their blood, which turned them into candidates to serious health consequences, mainly carcinogenic.

In addition to the aforementioned, the currently used case R85 has a high value in the metal black market, since it is an element which contains copper in large quantities and heavy weigh (1 kg).

Therefore, the present invention not only avoids high concentrations of harmful minerals in contact with the water flow in one meter case by using copper alloy of high purity degree A with 99.99%, considered the most innocuous, but also is manufactured through a process which allows it to rely on a thickness of 0.5 mm, which reduces the value of metal used in the case and helps to prevent the robbery made by the reducers.

However the invention goes further because in order to reinforce the copper case of 0.5 mm a matrix was invented so that in a second process a high quality polymer is adhered to such copper body, colored in aqua blue, which covers entirely said case and provides it with a consistency and rigidity of high power, with the advantage of having a lighter product and so or more resistant than the current case cast as per the terms mentioned above.

Not only the components of such new case differ it from that manufactured through casting process, but also its manufacturing methods are more innovating than the own case since they represent a considerable saving of harmful emission.

Actually, during the manufacture of the pure copper case already mentioned, a cold stamping process is used by means of a press which gives it shape, after two or three strokes with a strength higher than 20 tons and where a reinforcement process of the copper vessel interior, plus its handles corresponding to the water input and output channels, are completed by the insertion of solid mechanisms of one volume below more or less a tenth of millimeter, which in the moment immediately prior to the injection activation, ACTIVATES MANUALLY OR ELECTRONICALLY a mechanism which traces such species of bores for the formation of water input and output sides tubes. Such pair of metallic bores is moved upon the plastic injection on the copper to allow the reinforcement of the vessel walls and the handles so that the coating with high impact polymer already mentioned does not squeeze the copper bodies and turn such case into a "PLASTIMETALLIC" product, where the machine injecting it does the same with a closing power higher than 160 tons and a temperature oscillating between 130 and 200 degrees.

All such implement of shaping matrixes and strength matrixes has required a wide survey so as to reach such product, which providing the best manner of water measurement supplied to the consumers, employs "innocuous elements", "eliminates harmful casting processes" and "decrease the cost", with which Chile may compete successfully in the measurement world market. It is important to stress out further that the plastic injection process on the copper also eliminates the POWDER PAINTING TUNNEL, with the resulting hot furnace to complete the process, which once more results in an improvement of production environment and decreases the interest of meter robbers which nowadays generates serious replacement problems for the companies and supply for their clients. Description of the figures

Figure IA: View in longitudinal section of the flow meter case of the present invention.

Figure IB: View in transversal section of the flow meter case in B direction indicated in Figure IA.

Figure 1C: View in transversal section of the flow meter case in C direction indicated in Figure IA.

Figure ID: View in higher plan of the flow meter case of the present invention.

Figure IE: View in lower plan of the flow meter case of the present invention.

Figure 2A: View in section of the copper vessel, in direction similar to Figure IA.

Figure 2B: View in section of the copper vessel in direction similar to Figure IB.

Figure 2C: View in section of the copper vessel, in direction similar to Figure 1C. Figure 3: View in longitudinal section of the copper case with the input and output tubes, before the coverage or polymer injection.

Figure 4: View in longitudinal section of the copper case with the input and output tubes, after the coverage or polymer injection.

Figure 5: View in longitudinal section of the preferred performance of the flow meter of the present invention.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention The pieces of the meter object of such invention are the following: Meter Components.

1. The Meter is composed of CASE or its body, which we could call of connection metallic valve between the supplier (drinkable water company) and the consumer.

2. The INJECTION BOX, composed of a "Flake" (four windows for ¹A inch, 6 for ³A of inch), with oblique windows through which the water enters, deriving from supplying pipeline, winding a turbine which has a magnetic higher head.

3. A METER or RECORDING BOX with magnetized gear which receives the Injection Box impulses and transmits the same to a body of reducing gears which through a wormscrew moves a set of numbered rollers which metrically compute the cubic meters consumed.

4. A DISPLAY (similar to a car kilometer counter) which allows to read the consumption in cubic meters so that the company compares the prior reading and based on the difference charges from the user the water consumed in one month.

5. The remaining of the components are THICK GLASS COVERS which vacuum close the meter display to prevent its external handling, stressing out that said Glass is inserted into the copper vessel and injected with polymer, which allows the external handling to evade the water consumption.

A Regulating Screw to calibrate the Meter as per the norms which set forth for such a start-up, marking at 5 liters per hour a position inside the bend which allows an error of 5% at 30 liters per hour and at maximum of 2% of error at 120 liters per hour.

As a manufacture summary of such product, we can say: The meter manufacturing process in question is composed of several stages for the Copper Vessel manufacture:

Such Vessel is manufactured through the employment of a stamping matrix, using an eccentric press of 25 tons, which provides exact shape to the case inside body upon three steps.

Later, such Vessel must be drilled exactly so that the Meter arms fit, which allow the water input and output and the corresponding connection of the matrix to the user. Soon, such 3 bodies are inserted into the interior of a plastic injection matrix, which coats them with a 2.5 -millimeter wall, leaving the case absolutely hermetic, both inside and outside. The injection and stamping matrix details are part of our INVENTION and it is more than a complicated mechanical device. They represent the simultaneity of injection for the core body, manufactured with the eccentric press and the motorization of said matrix to allow the case outside wire, where the meter closing nut is screwed.

As regards the numbering of Plastic Coating process stages, we must say that here there is only one process which has as coupling a matrix motorization which once the copper metallic body has been placed inside the plastic injection matrix and the invention is performed, such motorization allows, by means of a mechanical system, to release the case plastic higher wire and the matrix may then be opened and the piece extracted.

Claims

1. Water flow meter CHARACTERIZED by containing in its interior a copper alloy of high purity degree A with 99.99% of purity, of very low thickness, next to 0.5 mm forming a vessel coated with a polymer which provides it with rigidity and lightness.

2. Water flow meter, as per claim 1, CHARACTERIZED by the fact that the copper case is made by means of a cold stamping process which uses a press that provides power of up to 30 tons on the 0.5-mm copper blade, which forms a vessel with openings for input and output pipelines, of the same copper alloy which are sustained holding said pipelines and in whose vertex, forming the input arm with the remaining of the meter body, is contained a cavity with wire to allow the coupling of a meter closing nut.

3. Water flow meter, as per claim 1, CHARACTERIZED by the fact that the vessel is coated with a low thickness plastic which meets the characteristics of rigidity and impact strength.

4. Water flow meter, as per claim 1, CHARACTERIZED by the fact that the plastic or strong and rigid polymer allows the color incorporation indicating the norm corresponding to the water passage.

5. Water flow meter, as per claim 1, CHARACTERIZED by the fact that the case contains in its higher portion an injection box to measure the meter water flow, protected by an unbreakable and translucent glass or plastic, thicker than the case.

6. Manufacture process of a water flow meter CHARACTERIZED by the fact that it is manufactured based on a stamping matrix which used 25-ton eccentric press, which in three stages gives shape to the inside body or copper vessel of the case.

7. Manufacture process of a water flow meter, as per claim 6, CHARACTERIZED by the fact that the vessel is drilled so that the meter arms fit in it through which the water will enter and leave and which shall contain the connections corresponding to the water matrix.

8. Manufacture process of a water flow meter, as per claim 6, CHARACTERIZED by the fact that the vessel and its arms are inserted into the interior of a plastic injection matrix which coats the same with a thin wall of one or more polymers resistant and rigid, leaving the case absolutely hermetic both inside and outside.