JP2004132729A - Flow direction and flow speed meter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a current meter which detects the direction and speed of a flow of a fluid. <P>SOLUTION: This flow direction and flow speed meter has a fluid measuring sensor section equipped with an impeller having a plurality of propeller blades, a coupling section for connecting the meter airtightly to a pipe in which the fluid flows, and an arithmetic display section for calculating and displaying an instrumentation result obtained by the sensor section. Arrangement spacings between the plurality of propeller blades of the impeller are made nonuniform, excluding line-symmetrical arrangement spacings. Every time each propeller blade of this impeller arranged nonuniformly passes, a pulse is detected by a pick-off means, and the rotating direction of the impeller is found from the order of arrangement of the pulse intervals of these detected individual pulses, and the flowing direction of the fluid is determined from this rotating direction of the impeller. In addition, the speed of the flow of the fluid is measured from the rotating speed of the impeller. By this flow direction and flow speed meter, the direction and speed of the flow of the fluid flowing in a pipe can be detected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a flow direction anemometer capable of detecting a flow direction of a fluid and also measuring a flow velocity of the fluid.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In general, fluid measurement is widely performed from measurement of domestic tap water usage to various industrial fields. There are many types of sensor units used for various fluid measurement, such as a pressure sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a mechanical sensor, an optical sensor, a thermal sensor, and a magnetic sensor. Among these various types of sensor units, mechanical sensors generally have high accuracy and are often used as flow velocity flow meters. As a mechanical sensor, there is an impeller type sensor for measuring a volume flow rate, a flow velocity, and the like.
[0003]
Conventionally, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, a flow meter 50 using an impeller-type sensor unit has a sensor unit 51 inserted into a fluid flowing in a pipe and a coupling unit 52 for coupling to the pipe. And the detection unit 53 are connected by a shaft 54. In the impeller-type fluid measurement sensor unit 51, the impeller 55 is rotated by the fluid flowing in the pipe, and the number of revolutions of the impeller 55 is detected by the detection unit 53, and the flow rate and speed of the fluid are measured. It is configured to: The flow meter 50 and the pipe are connected to each other by a coupling part 52 and are tightened so that the fluid in the pipe does not leak outside. In addition, 56 is a handle.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, the conventional type is configured such that the impeller-type sensor unit 51 is simply arranged in the fluid in the pipe to detect the number of revolutions of the impeller 55, and thus flows in the pipe. Although the velocity of the fluid can be detected, the flow direction of the fluid flowing in the pipe cannot be determined.
[0005]
However, at a site such as an actual water supply work, the fluid flowing in the pipe does not always flow in a certain direction. For this reason, it has often been necessary to grasp the flow direction of the actual flow of the fluid, but it has not been possible to actually grasp the flow direction of the fluid. Therefore, there has been a demand for a flow direction anemometer capable of somehow detecting the flow direction of the fluid.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The invention according to claim 1 includes a fluid measurement sensor unit including an impeller having a plurality of propellers rotated by the passage of a fluid, a coupling unit for airtightly connecting a pipe through which the fluid passes, In a current velocimeter having a calculation display unit for calculating and displaying a result measured by a sensor unit, the arrangement intervals of a plurality of propellers of an impeller are unevenly arranged except for a line-symmetric arrangement interval. Each time a propeller of a uniformly arranged impeller passes, a pulse is detected by a pick-off means, and the rotation direction of the impeller is determined from the arrangement order of the pulse intervals of the detected pulses, and The flow direction of the fluid is determined from the rotation direction.
[0007]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, the rotation speed of the impeller is determined from the detected pulse, and the flow velocity of the fluid is measured from the rotation speed.
[0008]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the propellers of the impeller are arranged so that the intervals between the propellers are sequentially widened or narrowed so that the pulse intervals are sequentially increased or decreased. The flow direction of the fluid is determined by judging from the increasing tendency or the decreasing tendency.
[0009]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the arrangement intervals of the propellers of the impeller are arranged point-symmetrically and non-uniformly.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
【Example】
An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
1 to 3 show a sensor unit 2 of a flow direction current meter 1 according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a main part of the sensor unit 2, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 4 to 6 are flow direction calculation display sections 4, respectively. FIG. 4 is a front view, FIG. 5 is a side view, and FIG. 6 is a back view. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the periphery of the operation display unit 4 of the flow direction current meter 1, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the periphery of the coupling unit 5. 9 and 10 are perspective views respectively showing a state where the sensor unit 2 is inserted into a pipe 9 such as a water pipe and a state where the sensor unit 2 is pulled up. FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a main part of the operation display unit 4. FIG. 12 is a waveform diagram when the arrangement intervals of the propellers a of the impeller 6 are equal, and FIG. 13 is a case where the arrangement intervals of the propellers a (a ₁ , a ₂ ...) Of the impeller 6 are uneven. It is a waveform diagram.
[0011]
As shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, the flow direction anemometer 1 according to the present invention has a calculation display section 4 for measuring and calculating the flow direction and the flow velocity at the upper end portion of the shaft 7 inserted into the soil, and the calculation display section 4. Below the display unit 4, a handle 8 for pressing and inserting the flow direction current meter 1 into the soil is fixed. Further, at the lower end of the shaft 7, a sensor part 2 disposed in a fluid flowing through the pipe 9 and a coupling above the sensor part 2 for airtightly connecting the pipe 9 and the flow direction current meter 1 are provided. The parts 5 are fixed respectively.
[0012]
1 to 3, a sensor unit 2 includes a cylindrical housing 3 through which a fluid passes, and an impeller shaft 10 that is supported by the housing 3 so as to be located at the center of the housing 3 (to be described later). Further, in the case of this embodiment, the propellers a (a ₁ , a ₂ , a ₃ ...) Are rotatably mounted on the wing axle 10 by bearings on the wing axle bearing ₂ b). ..) (In this embodiment, six propeller wheels are used) and provided on the inner wall surface of the housing 3. When the impeller 6 rotates, the passage of each propeller is detected. And a pick-off means 2a.
[0013]
The impeller 6 of the sensor unit 2 has six propellers a ₁ , a ₂ , a _3, ... Fixed at irregular intervals. In the case of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the six propellers a are arranged at intervals of 55 °, 60 °, 65 °, 55 °, 60 °, and 65 °. When the impeller 6 rotates, a pulse is output each time the six propellers a ₁ , a ₂ , a ₃ ... Pass through the pick-off means 2a. The impeller 6 may be formed of a metal member that does not rust by a fluid, or may be formed of a material such as a synthetic resin that does not affect the human body.
[0014]
The number of propellers a is not limited to six as in this embodiment, and the arrangement interval is not limited to the above-mentioned interval. At least when the wheel 6 is rotated, uneven arrangement interval between the front and rear propeller a, for example, as shown in FIG. 13, the pulse interval t when converted into arrangement interval (time between the propeller a ₁ and the propeller a ₂ If the arrangement interval is such that _x ) can be detected, a similar effect can be obtained. Considering the mechanical force on the impeller 6 and the axle 10 when the fluid passes, the propellers a are preferably arranged point-symmetrically and unevenly. However, regarding the arrangement intervals of the propellers a, if the propellers a are arranged non-uniformly in line symmetry, the rotation direction of the propellers a cannot be determined from the pulse intervals, and this arrangement is not preferable.
[0015]
The impeller 6 is rotated by the fluid passing through the housing 3 of the sensor unit 2. As the pickoff means 2a for detecting the rotation of the impeller 6, there are many types such as an induction type, a carrier modulation type, and a magnetoresistive type. However, any format may be used. For example, the pick-off means 2a may be of a type in which the sensor 2A is embedded in the inner wall surface of the housing 3, such as a magnetoresistive type or an inductive type.
[0016]
In this embodiment, a photo-coupler is used as the pick-off means 2a. Therefore, as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 1, the photo sensor 2c and its light receiving portion are provided at the lower ends of the pair of wing wheel bearings 2b erected on the housing 3 with a gap through which each propeller a passes. A pulse is output each time each propeller a passes through the gap between the photosensor 2c and the light receiving section. In this embodiment, the applicable pipe diameter is designed to be about 75 to 500 mm, the detectable flow rate is about 5 cm / sec to the equivalent flow rate, and the maximum insertion amount of the sensor unit 2 is designed to be 1000 to 1500 mm from the ground surface. Have been.
[0017]
4 to 6, a segment type LCD is used for the display unit 11 of the operation display unit 4. In this embodiment, the flow velocity of the fluid is up to 999 cm / sec in three digits on the numeric display unit 12. Designed to be displayed, the flow direction display unit 13 that displays the flow direction of the fluid is displayed as a symbol indicating the flow direction, for example, with a symbol such as >>>>... <<<<. An LCD of character characters is used. A power supply unit 14 for searching for a battery is covered by an opening / closing cover 15 on the back surface of the operation display unit 4. In the case of this embodiment, about four AA batteries are used as the power source of the operation display unit 4.
[0018]
Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the calculation display unit 4 includes an initial setting 16, a pulse detection 17, a pulse interval reading 18, an arrangement order detection 19 of pulse intervals, a flow direction determination 20, and a rotation speed calculation 21 of the impeller 6. And an interface 23 for transmitting data to an external computer (not shown) or other measuring equipment, etc., and a fluid flow is calculated from a pulse detected by the rotation of the impeller 6. The direction and the flow velocity are configured to be calculated. Reference numeral 24 denotes an on / off unit for the power supply unit 14.
[0019]
Here, if the propellers a ₁ , a ₂ , a ₃ ... Of the impeller 6 of the sensor section 2 are uniformly arranged, as shown in FIG. 12, the pulses of the pulses detected by the pick-off means 2a The intervals are detected as equal intervals t, but in the present invention, the six propellers a ₁ , a ₂ , a ₃ ... Of the impeller 6 are arranged point-symmetrically and non-uniformly as shown in FIG. because it is, as shown in FIG. 13, temporally non-uniform pulse interval t _x, at t _y, t _z, pulse is detected.
[0020]
Next, a description will be given of a case where the flow direction and flow velocity of a fluid (when tap water is used) flowing in the pipe 9 in which a fire hydrant, a saddle faucet, and the like (not shown) are actually installed. .
First, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the sensor unit 2 of the current velocimeter 1 is inserted from a base portion (not shown) of a fire hydrant or a saddle faucet or the like, and a base of a fire hydrant or a saddle faucet or the like is inserted. To the coupling part 5. Next, a convex (not shown) is attached to the current velocimeter 1, and the fire hydrant, the saddle water faucet and the like are fully opened. Thereafter, the air inside the flow velocity meter 1 is sufficiently extracted from an air release valve (not shown), and the valve is closed. In addition, when using with a water diversion saddle (not shown), the coupling part 5 should just be replaced with the coupling part for water diversion saddles.
[0021]
In this state, the sensor 8 is pressed down to the bottom surface of the pipe 9 by grasping the handle 8 and the insertion length at this time is read by a convex (not shown). Is set up so that the sensor unit 2 is positioned at the center of the diameter of the pipe 9. Next, the sensor unit 2 is fixed by rotating a knob (not shown) for fixing the sensor unit 2. In this state, the fluid passes through the inside of the housing 3 of the sensor unit 2, and the impeller 6 rotates.
[0022]
Next, the power of the power supply unit 14 is turned on, and various necessary data are executed by the initial setting 16. First, the case where the flow direction is measured will be described. When the impeller 6 rotates, the six propellers a (propeller numbers a ₁ , a ₂ , a ₃ , a ₄ , a ₅ , and a ₆ ) of the impeller 6 are rotated as shown in FIG. A pulse generated each time the light passes through the pick-off means 2a is detected by the pulse detector 17. At this time, the propellers a ₁ , a ₂ , a ₃ ... Of the impeller 6 are arranged in an order of 65 °, 60 °, 55 ° and at an uneven arrangement interval as shown in FIG. since the pulse generated by the pick-off means 2a, propeller numbers _{a 1} and _{a 2} and _{a 4} and the pulse interval when the propeller spacing = 65 ° with _{a 5} = _{t x,} propeller numbers _{a 2} and _{a 3} and _{a 5} and the pulse interval when the propeller spacing = 60 ° with _{a 6} = _{t y,} propeller numbers _{a 3} and _{a 4} and _{a 6} and _{a 1} becomes a pulse interval = _{t z} when the propeller spacing = 55 ° with 3 Each pulse is detected at one pulse interval.
[0023]
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 13, when the impeller 6 is rotating in the direction of the propeller numbers a ₁ → a ₂ → a ₃ → a ₄ → a ₅ → a ₆ → a ₁ ... Moreover, when the fluid flow direction X flowing through the pipe 9, the order of arrangement of the pulse interval of the pulse to be detected, t _{x, t y,} is detected in the order of t _z.
[0024]
Similarly, when the impeller 6 is rotating in the direction of the propeller numbers a ₁ → a ₆ → a ₅ → a ₄ → a ₃ → a ₂ → a ₁ →, that is, in the direction opposite to the flow direction X. in the case of certain flow direction Y, the sequence order of the pulse interval of the pulse to be detected, t _{z, t y,} is detected in the order of t _x.
[0025]
Therefore, the pulse interval of each pulse detected each time the propellers a ₁ , a ₂ , a ₃ ... Pass through the pick-off means 2 a is read by a pulse interval reading 19, and then, in a pulse interval arrangement order detection 20, by order of arrangement of the read pulse interval _is determined in t _x> t _y> or is a sequence of _{t z, t z <t y} < direction determination 21 flow whether the order of _{t x,} the pipe 9 The flow direction of the fluid flowing in the inside can be determined.
[0026]
In addition, as another method of determining the flow direction from the detected pulse, the arrangement intervals of the propellers of the impeller are sequentially increased or decreased so that the pulse intervals are sequentially increased or decreased, and the impeller The direction of rotation of the fluid may be determined by judging the rotation direction from the increasing tendency or the decreasing tendency of the arrangement order of the pulse intervals.
[0027]
Next, a case where the flow velocity of the fluid is measured will be described. First, the number of revolutions of the impeller 6 is determined from each pulse a detected by the pick-off means 2a. Once the rotation speed of the impeller 6 is determined, the flow velocity can be determined by a conventional method.
[0028]
The flow direction obtained in this manner is displayed on the flow direction display section 13 as <<<< or >>>>, and the flow velocity is similarly displayed on the number display section 12 by a numeral. Note that various data such as measurement data can be transmitted to an external computer, a measuring device, or the like via the interface 23.
[0029]
【The invention's effect】
In the invention according to claim 1, the arrangement intervals of the plurality of propellers of the impeller are unevenly arranged except for the line-symmetric arrangement intervals, and each time the propellers of the unevenly arranged impeller pass. Since the pulse is detected by the pick-off means, the rotation direction of the impeller is obtained from the arrangement order of the pulse intervals of the detected pulses, and the flow direction of the fluid is determined from the rotation direction of the impeller. The flow direction of the fluid flowing in the pipe can be determined.
[0030]
In the invention according to claim 2, the rotation speed of the impeller is obtained from the detected pulse, and the flow velocity of the fluid is measured from this rotation speed. Therefore, the flow velocity can be measured together with the flow direction.
[0031]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the propellers of the impeller are arranged so that the intervals between the propellers are sequentially widened or narrowed so that the pulse intervals are sequentially increased or decreased. Since the flow direction of the fluid is determined based on the increasing tendency or the decreasing tendency of the pulse, the flow direction can be determined by detecting the pulse gradient, and the circuit can be simplified.
[0032]
In the invention according to claim 4, the propellers of the impeller are arranged point-symmetrically and non-uniformly, thereby facilitating the manufacture of the impeller. Further, even when used for a long period of time, there is an effect that each propeller is less damaged.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention and is a plan view of a main part of a sensor unit 2. FIG.
FIG. 2, showing the embodiment of the present invention, is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of the present invention, taken along line AA of FIG.
FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the present invention and is a front view of a calculation display unit 4.
FIG. 5 shows the embodiment of the present invention and is a side view of the calculation display unit 4.
6 shows the embodiment of the present invention and is a rear view of the operation display unit 4. FIG.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention and showing a peripheral portion of a calculation display section 4 of the flow direction current meter 1;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention and showing the vicinity of a coupling portion 5;
9 shows the embodiment of the present invention and is a perspective view showing a state where the sensor unit 2 is inserted into a pipe 9 such as a water pipe. FIG.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the embodiment of the present invention and showing a state where the sensor unit 2 is pulled up from inside a pipe 9 such as a water pipe.
FIG. 11 shows an embodiment of the present invention and is a block diagram of a main part of an operation display unit 4.
FIG. 12 is a waveform diagram when the propellers a ₁ , a ₂ ... Of the impeller 6 are arranged at equal intervals.
FIG. 13 shows an embodiment of the present invention, and is a waveform diagram in a case where the arrangement intervals of propellers a ₁ , a ₂ ...
FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a conventional flow meter 50.
FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a main part of a conventional flow meter 50.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 current direction and speed meter 2 sensor unit 4 operation display unit 5 the coupling section 6 wheel _{a (a 1, a 2 ......} ) Propeller

Claims (4)

A sensor unit for measuring fluid provided with an impeller having a plurality of propellers rotated by passage of fluid, a coupling unit for airtightly connecting a pipe through which fluid passes, and a result measured by the sensor unit A flow indicator that has a calculation display unit for calculating and displaying,
Arrangement intervals of the plurality of propellers of the impeller are non-uniformly arranged except for a line-symmetric arrangement interval,
Each time each propeller of the non-uniformly arranged impeller passes, a pulse is detected by pick-off means,
A flow direction anemometer characterized by determining the rotational direction of the impeller from the arrangement order of the pulse intervals of the detected pulses and determining the flow direction of the fluid from the rotational direction of the impeller. . The flow direction current meter according to claim 1, wherein a rotation speed of the impeller is obtained from the detected pulse, and a flow velocity of the fluid is measured from the rotation speed. As the pulse interval increases or decreases sequentially, the propeller arrangement intervals of the impeller are sequentially widened or sequentially narrowed,
3. The flow direction according to claim 1, wherein the rotational direction of the impeller is determined based on an increasing tendency or a decreasing tendency of the arrangement sequence of the pulse intervals to determine a fluid flow direction. Current meter. The current velocimeter according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the propellers of the impeller are arranged symmetrically with respect to the intervals of the propellers.

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