ITTA20120007A1 - AUTOMATIC CHRONORABLE ADJUSTMENT DEVICE FOR LIQUIDS, VAPORS AND GASES, WITH CONTINUOUS CONTROL FUNCTION AND PREVENTION OF LOSSES OF THESE FLUIDS IN PIPELINES - Google Patents

Description

DESCRIPTION

The industrial invention for which protection is required refers to the field of chrono-regulation and safety devices for liquids and gases, for the prevention of accidents or leaks due to gas leaks and leaks of liquids in pipelines and water and gas for public, domestic or industrial use.

The only known "intelligent" safety devices concern the detection of gas leaks by analyzing the concentration thresholds of the same in closed environments (mg / m <3> or ppm), while the detection of gas leaks and gas leaks. liquid in pipelines with the use of pressure gauges or other types of sensors takes place through pressure tightness tests during the construction of the network or system, or following a presumption of a liquid leak or gas leak in public systems , domestic or industrial. There are also other systems which, upon reaching a pre-set maximum flow threshold, block the supply, acting mainly as timers.

The problem therefore arises of detecting any liquid leaks or gas leaks automatically, overcoming the technical limits of known detection systems.

The purpose of the present invention is to release the detection of said leaks from the mere foresight of man, creating a completely autonomous and automatic device from the first installation on the system and securing the users with the automatic blocking of the supply at the base of the supply, thus preventing any damage from leaks of liquids or gases and, in the case of explosive gases, preventing possible explosions.

The device in question consists of a chronoregulator, one or more flow sensors with pulse emitter, one or more solenoid valves or motorized valves, a user interface, a software / data logger and an electronic circuit created ad hoc for operation. of the same.

The chronoregulator, which can be powered by the mains or by batteries, must be mounted upstream of the users to be controlled and can replace the chronothermostat or timer sprinkler already installed on the user, it can replace both or add to them, acting as a safety system, system test, remote control and remote management.

In order for the device to perform the functions of the present invention, it must be tested on the system / user for a suitable period of time according to the type of system. During this phase, the software / data-logger created ad hoc for the device detects all user consumption data and, through a self-learning procedure of the habits of the single user, identifies the "normal" conditions of use of liquid or of gas and stores some parameters that will be used as a reference in the next phase of regular operation of the system.

Figure 1 shows an example of a graph of detection of these parameters during the self-learning period, with the quantities P1, P2, T, V, D representing respectively:

P1: minimum flow rate of continuous flow recorded in the learning period, corresponding to the minimum number of pulses recorded per unit of time

P2: maximum flow rate recorded in the learning period, corresponding to the maximum number of pulses recorded per unit of time;

T: maximum continuous flow time recorded, regardless of the flow rate

V: maximum total volume of liquid or gas dispensed for single continuous use, recorded in the learning period, corresponding to the maximum number of pulses for single dispensing

D Day of the week, month and time;

To these parameters is added the parameter micro-losses (mp), which unlike the other parameters is preset in the factory, being:

mp: micro loss: preset number of pulses, repeatable over time, with a frequency of less than one pulse per second.

Once these parameters have been memorized, which significantly identify the habits of use of the gas or liquid for the user in question, the device can be used for monitoring during normal operation of the system.

The flow of fluid at the base of the supply will be automatically interrupted when, during the use of the supply, anomalous values of the reference parameters "ΡΓ," P2 "," T "," V "," D "stored in the learning period and "mp", that is when:

- the meter registers a continuous flow with a flow rate lower than the minimum flow rate recorded in the learning period (P1);

- the device registers a flow rate higher than the maximum flow rate recorded in the learning phase (P2);

- the maximum continuous flow time (T) is exceeded, regardless of the flow rate read;

- the device measures, in a single use, the exceeding of the maximum volume of fluid that can be delivered (V);

- the quantity or duration of delivery is not in line with the average stored according to the corresponding hour, day of the week or month (D), based on the user's consumption habits;

- the device detects the presence of micro-leaks (mp);

Micro-losses are difficult to detect both because they are very small and because they occur discontinuously and can therefore remain invisible to any measuring instrument. They are influenced by variations in temperature, pressure, etc., which can affect the seals of the pipes or systems (thermal expansion, poorly executed welds, corrosion, defective seals, etc.).

The rationale for the behavior of the device lies in the fact that:

- with the recording of a continuous flow with a flow rate lower than the minimum flow rate (P1) recorded in the learning phase, a small leak on the system or pipeline is assumed;

with the recording of a flow rate higher than the maximum flow rate (P2) recorded in the learning phase, a net break in the pipeline or a loss of considerable importance is assumed;

- with the exceeding of the maximum continuous flow time (T) recorded in the learning phase, a loss of the duct or of a user, or the accidental forgetfulness of an open tap by the user, is assumed;

- when the maximum volume (V) recorded in the learning phase is exceeded, a loss is presumed to be added to the normal consumption of the users, determined in the learning period;

- a supply at an hour or on a day of the week (D) in which historically consumption is zero, it may mean the presence of a leak in the system;

- with the recording of a number of pulses below the minimum flow rate value (P1) and repeatable over time, the same number of pulses set for the "mp" parameter, it is assumed the presence of micro-losses (mp) on the plant.

This last function, being the mp parameter independent of self-learning, since it is set in advance, is also active in the learning phase.

Each of the aforementioned alarms and relative block of the system is appropriately signaled on the display of the chrono regulator, so that the user, at the time of manual reset of the device, is aware of the presumed reason why the system has blocked, taking the necessary measures.

In the event that the device locks up following an unusually prolonged use of liquid or gas (conscious excess of the "normality" parameters), for example due to long use of the bathroom or kitchen, the device warns the user of the exceeding of the maximum time with a short duration acoustic / visual alarm and, in the case of liquids, by activating an intermittent flow delivery. By intervening on the user interface, you can decide whether to validate the new parameter as "normal" or not.

Implementation variants of the example described are possible, without however departing from the scope of protection of the present invention, including all equivalent technical embodiments.

It is possible to use flow sensors other than the turbine one present in the description, such as ultrasound or rotary pistons, etc., provided they are equipped with a pulse emitter.

The solenoid valve (s) used can be integrated with the counter / pulse emitter or placed on the system in its immediate vicinity. It can be of the bistable type, motorized, normally open / closed, with automatic / manual reset and it is also possible to use valves of different types as long as they are electronically controlled by the device.

The user interface can provide for the mere acoustic or light signaling of the alarm (via different colored LEDs or alternating colors on multicolored LEDs) or the complete display of the data detected.

Figures 2 and 3 show, for explanatory but not limitative purposes, the different characteristics of the present invention, in particular:

- Figure 2 indicates the general composition of the device, with the elements whose interaction is the subject of the present invention; 1 indicates an optoelectronic turbine flow sensor (but in the same way any type of pulse counter sensor can be used: Hall effect, mass, volumetric, ultrasonic, etc.), with 2 a solenoid valve, with 3 the housing of the electronic board and the software / data-logger created ad hoc for it, with 4 the user interface, with 5 the power supply, with 6 the direction of the flow of liquid or gas, with 7, 8, 9 the electrical and electronic connections of the components.

- Figure 3 shows in detail the operating process of the device object of the invention; the turbine (2) of the flow sensor is in stop, the timer (6) is at 00:00, the solenoid valve (9) is open and the photoelectric beam (5) between the LED (3) and the photo detector ( 4) of the flow sensor is continuous. 8 indicates the housing of the software / data logger, the electronic circuit and the power supply. The gas or liquid circulates inside the luminaire (1), activating the turbine (2), which by rotating interrupts the photoelectric beam (which in the absence of circulation of fluids and therefore with the turbine stopped is continuous) between the LED (3 ) and the photo detector (4). The electrical pulses (5) emitted by the intermittence of the photoelectric beam between the LED and the photodetector activate the timer (6) and the general flow meter (7).

Detailed description of an embodiment variant

Figure 4 illustrates an embodiment by way of example but not of limitation, in which the device of the present invention is installed on a volumetric meter with deformable walls for gas, on which an incremental pulse-throwing encoder has been applied to one of the mechanical pins. of the counter or to one of the numbered rollers of the display of the same counter.

In Figure 4, 1 indicates the gas meter, 2 indicates the base of the mechanical viewer with numbered rollers, 3 indicates the incremental encoder installed on the rotating pin with the gas flow in the meter, 4 indicates the electronic board complete with microprocessor and software / data logger, with 5 the mechanical / electronic display and the user interface of the device in question, with 6 the inlet gas connection, with 7 the solenoid valve connected to the board (4), with 8 the connection of the counter in output on the system.

A system of this type, thanks to the presence of the incremental pulse-launcher encoder (3) connected to the electronic board (4) which reads the pulses, allows to detect gas consumption with measurement sensitivity even 50,000 times higher than that of meters. usually in use.

Claims (10)

CLAIMS 1. Automatic chrono-regulation device characterized by one or more flow sensors with pulse emitter, one or more solenoid valves or motorized valves, a user interface, an electronic circuit and a software / data logger which, after a self-learning period, detects leaks, micro-leaks and anomalous consumption of liquids, vapors and gases in pipelines or plants, using as reference parameters the time and day of the week, the minimum flow rates, the maximum flow rates, the maximum time and the maximum volume for each individual use and allows you to automatically stop dispensing. 2. Automatic device, as in claim 1, in which the flow sensor transfers the motion of the fluid passage to the electronic circuit, through a transducer which transforms said flow into electrical impulses. 3. Automatic device, as in claim 1, in which there is a first phase, called "system test", in which the device performs a leak test on the system, deeming it tight if during this phase the flow sensor does not emits no pulse; a second phase, called “processing”, in which the normality parameters are memorized for self-learning; a third phase, called "monitoring", in which the device, in real time, constantly compares the data recorded in the previous phase with the consumption of users. 4. Software / data-logger, as in claims 1, 2, 3 in which the data in the self-learning phase is processed by the software according to the parameters of maximum time, maximum total volume, minimum flow rate, maximum flow rate, time and day of the week and, taken as reference samples, determine the conditions of "normal use" of users. 5. Self-learning of the normal user use parameters, as in claims 1, 3 and 4, in which the maximum time parameter is intended as the maximum recorded continuous flow time, regardless of the flow rate, the maximum volume parameter is intended as the maximum number of pulses for a single fluid supply, the minimum flow parameter is intended as the minimum number of pulses recorded per unit of time, with a frequency not below one pulse per second, and the maximum flow parameter is intended as maximum number of pulses recorded per unit of time. 6. Automatic chrono regulation device, as in claims 1 and 3, in which the micro-loss parameter is factory preset as an x number of pulses, and the alarm relating to said parameter is intended as reaching, in each of the phases of claim 3, of the preset number of pulses, with a frequency lower than one pulse per second. 7. Automatic device, as in each of the preceding claims, in which when the thresholds of the normal parameters are exceeded there is an acoustic / visual warning and the intervention, intermittently or totally, of one or more electric, electronic, motorized shut-off valves or servant commanded. 8. Automatic device, as in claims 1 and 7, in which the shut-off valves can be placed at the base of the general supply or in any point of the network, and are directly connected to the electronics of the timer regulator, from which they can be controlled automatically or manually, via the user interface. 9. Automatic timer adjustment device, as in each of the preceding claims, in which the device can be used merely as a timer-sprinkler, as a timer-thermostat, as a combination of timer-irrigation and timer-thermoregulation, as a combination of each of these systems with leak detection functions or as a mere leak detection system; 10. Automatic device, as in each of the preceding claims, which can be used as a measuring instrument on low and high pressure systems, in series or in derivation, as a leak detector.