JP2021156582A - Measurement device - Google Patents

Abstract

To confirm a pulse signal transmitted from a measurement device is correctly counted in a higher-level device without much trouble.SOLUTION: An integration unit 102 integrates measured values output by a measurement unit 101. A transmission unit 103 transmits a pulse signal to a higher-level device each time an integrated value of the measured values integrated by the integration unit 102 reaches a set value. A counter 104 counts the number of pulses of the pulse signal transmitted by the transmission unit 103. A notification unit 105 notifies a user of the number of pulses counted by the counter 104.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a measuring device that outputs a pulse proportional to the physical quantity of the fluid to be measured.

Technology for measuring the flow rate and flow velocity of fluid flowing through a flow path is widely used in the industrial and medical fields. There are various types of devices for measuring flow rate and flow velocity, such as an electromagnetic flow meter, a vortex flow meter, a Koriori type flow meter, an ultrasonic flow meter, and a thermal flow meter, and they are used properly according to the application.

In control using this type of measuring device, the integrated value of the flow rate, which is the physical quantity measured by the measuring device, is obtained, the calculated integrated value is converted into a pulse signal and transmitted to the host device, and the received pulse is transmitted to the host device. There is a system that counts signals and controls a control target using the counted number of pulses (see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 05-157597

However, in the above-mentioned technique, there may be a case where the received pulse signal cannot be counted correctly in the host device. For example, the above-mentioned problem may occur depending on the combination of the pulse width and output cycle of the pulse signal output from the measuring device and the monitoring cycle of the pulse counter or PLC on the host device side. For example, when a part of the pulse signal is lost in the process of transmission, or when noise is added to the pulse signal in the process of transmitting the pulse signal, the above-mentioned problems occur. Such transitions and abnormalities of pulse signals in the communication path cannot be identified on the host device side.

Therefore, in order to confirm the above-mentioned problem, for example, the pulse signal output from the measuring device is measured with an oscilloscope or the like, and the output waveform obtained as a result is compared with the counter value counted on the host device side. However, it is conceivable to check whether the two match. However, in this confirmation, it is necessary to prepare a measuring instrument such as an oscilloscope, and there is a problem that it takes time and effort. Further, in order to confirm the above-mentioned problem, it is conceivable to collate the actual physical quantity (for example, the flow rate) with the counter value of the pulse counter. However, in this confirmation, it is necessary to measure the actual physical quantity, which also has a problem that it takes time and effort.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and it is possible to confirm that the pulse signal transmitted from the measuring device is correctly counted by the host device without much effort. The purpose is to.

In the measuring device according to the present invention, a measuring unit that measures a physical quantity of a fluid to be measured and outputs a measured value, an integrating unit configured to integrate the measured values output by the measuring unit, and an integrating unit integrate the measured values. Each time the integrated value of the measured values reaches a set value, a transmitter configured to transmit a pulse signal to a higher-level device and a transmitter configured to count the number of pulses of the pulse signal transmitted by the transmitter. It includes a counter and a notification unit configured to notify the user of the number of pulses coefficiented by the counter.

In one configuration example of the measuring device, the notification unit visually displays the number of pulses coefficiented by the counter to the user.

In one configuration example of the measuring device, the notification unit notifies the user of the number of pulses coefficiented by the counter via the network.

In one configuration example of the measuring device, a reception unit that accepts a reset operation by the user and a reset unit that is configured to reset the number of pulses coefficiented by the counter when the reception unit receives the reset operation are further provided.

In one configuration example of the measuring device, the reception unit receives a reset operation by the user via the network.

In one configuration example of the above measuring device, a signal generating unit configured to virtually generate a measured value output by the measuring unit and a measured value or signal output by the measuring unit from the measured value integrated by the integrating unit. It further includes a switching unit configured to switch to any of the virtual measured values generated by the generating unit.

In one configuration example of the measuring device, the measuring unit measures the flow rate of the fluid to be measured and outputs an analog output signal.

As described above, according to the present invention, the number of pulses of the pulse signal transmitted by the transmission unit is counted by the counter, and the number of pulses coefficiented by the counter is notified to the user. It can be confirmed that the pulse signal is correctly counted in the host device without much effort.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a measuring device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a measuring device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a measuring device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a hardware configuration of the measuring device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the measuring device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[Embodiment 1]
First, the measuring device according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. This measuring device includes a measuring unit 101, an integrating unit 102, a transmitting unit 103, a counter 104, and a notification unit 105.

The measuring unit 101 measures the physical quantity of the fluid to be measured flowing through the pipe 151 and outputs the measured value. The measuring unit 101 measures, for example, the flow rate and outputs the measured value. For example, the measurement unit 101 includes a sensor unit including a temperature measurement unit and a heater provided in contact with the outer wall of the pipe 151, and a calculation unit that calculates a flow rate from a sensor value output by the sensor unit to obtain a measured value. The sensor unit is a well-known thermal flow sensor, and the heater is set so that the difference between the temperature of the heater and the temperature of the fluid at a position not affected by the heat of the heater is the set temperature difference. It outputs the sensor value corresponding to the state of heat diffusion in the fluid heated by the heater when it is being driven. This sensor value, as is well known, correlates with the flow rate of the fluid.

The measuring unit 101 for measuring the flow rate as a physical quantity is not limited to the thermal type described above, and may be composed of an electromagnetic measuring device, a vortex measuring device, a Koriori type measuring device, an ultrasonic measuring device, and the like. Further, the measuring unit 101 can also be composed of a sensor that measures the amount of heat of the fluid. In this case, the physical quantity to be measured is a calorific quantity. Further, the measuring unit 101 can also be composed of a sensor that measures the mass (weight) of the fluid. In this case, the physical quantity to be measured is, for example, the mass (weight) of the fluid supplied by the pipe 151 per unit time.

The integrating unit 102 integrates the measured values output by the measuring unit 101. The transmission unit 103 transmits a pulse signal to a higher-level device each time the integrated value of the measured values integrated by the integration unit 102 reaches a set value. The host device receives the pulse signal and counts the number of pulses of the received pulse signal to obtain the integrated value of the physical quantity (for example, the flow rate).

The counter 104 counts the number of pulses of the pulse signal transmitted by the transmission unit 103. The notification unit 105 notifies the user of the number of pulses coefficiented by the counter 104. The notification unit 105 is, for example, a display device that visually displays to the user the number of pulses coefficiented by the counter 104. Further, the notification unit 105 can also notify the user of the number of pulses coefficiented by the counter 104 via the network, for example.

According to the first embodiment, the number of pulses of the pulse signal measured by the measuring unit 101 and transmitted to the host device each time the integrated value obtained by integrating the measured values by the integrating unit 102 becomes a set value. Is presented (for example, displayed) in the measuring device, so that comparison with the counting result in the higher-level device can be performed extremely easily.

[Embodiment 2]
Next, the measuring device according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. This measuring device includes a measuring unit 101, an integrating unit 102, a transmitting unit 103, a counter 104, and a notification unit 105. These configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment described above.

In the second embodiment, the reception unit 106 and the reset unit 107 are further provided. The reception unit 106 accepts a reset operation by the user. The reception unit 106 receives, for example, a reset operation by the user by operating a terminal device connected via a network. When the reception unit 106 receives the reset operation, the reset unit 107 resets the number of pulses coefficiented by the counter 104.

According to the second embodiment, more accurate verification can be performed with the counting result in the higher-level device. For example, in the case of flow rate measurement, first, before the verification is performed, the reset unit 107 resets the number of pulses coefficiented by the counter 104. Next, the flow rate of the fluid flowing through the pipe 151 is changed. Next, after a certain period of time has elapsed, it can be verified by confirming that the number of pulses notified by the notification unit 105 of the measuring device matches the number of pulses counted by the host device.

[Embodiment 3]
Next, the measuring device according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. This measuring device includes a measuring unit 101, an integrating unit 102, a transmitting unit 103, a counter 104, and a notification unit 105. These configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment described above.

In the third embodiment, a signal generation unit 108 and a switching unit 109 are further provided. The signal generation unit 108 virtually generates the measured value output by the measurement unit 101. The switching unit 109 switches the measured value integrated by the integrating unit 102 to either the measured value output by the measuring unit 101 or the virtual measured value generated by the signal generating unit 108.

According to the third embodiment, the comparison with the counting result in the higher-level device can be performed even in a state where no fluid is flowing through the pipe 151, as illustrated below. First, the signal generation unit 108 virtually generates the measured value output by the measurement unit 101. Next, the switching unit 109 switches the measured value integrated by the integrating unit 102 to a virtual measured value generated by the signal generating unit 108.

As a result, the integrating unit 102 integrates the virtual measured values, and the transmitting unit 103 transmits the pulse signal obtained from the integrated values based on the virtual measured values to the host device. The host device receives the pulse signal obtained from the integrated value based on the virtual measured value, and counts the number of pulses of the received pulse signal to obtain the flow rate integrated value. On the other hand, the counter 104 counts the number of pulses of the pulse signal obtained from the integrated value based on the virtual measured value. The notification unit 105 notifies the number of pulses coefficiented by the counter 104.

In the third embodiment described above, even when the pipe 151 is not transporting the fluid, for example, the comparison with the counting result in the higher-level device can be performed.

As shown in FIG. 4, the integrating unit 102, the transmitting unit 103, the counter 104, and the notification unit 105 of the measuring device according to the above-described embodiment are mainly the CPU (Central Processing Unit) 301. A computer device including a storage device 302, an external storage device 303, a network connection device 304, and the like, and the CPU 301 operates (executes a program) by a program deployed in the main storage device 302 to obtain the above-mentioned measuring device. It is also possible to realize each function. The network connection device 304 connects to the network 305. In addition, each function can be distributed to a plurality of computer devices.

As described above, according to the present invention, the number of pulses of the pulse signal transmitted by the transmitting unit is presented (for example, displayed) in the measuring device, so that the pulse signal transmitted from the measuring device is correctly displayed in the host device. You will be able to confirm that it has been counted without much effort.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and many modifications and combinations can be carried out by a person having ordinary knowledge in the art within the technical idea of the present invention. That is clear. For example, the second embodiment and the third embodiment can be combined.

101 ... measurement unit, 102 ... integration unit, 103 ... transmission unit, 104 ... counter, 106 ... notification unit, 151 ... piping.

Claims (7)

A measuring unit that measures the physical quantity of the fluid to be measured and outputs the measured value,
An integrating unit configured to integrate the measured values output by the measuring unit, and an integrating unit.
A transmission unit configured to transmit a pulse signal to a higher-level device each time the integrated value of the measured values integrated by the integration unit reaches a set value.
A counter configured to count the number of pulses of the pulse signal transmitted by the transmitter, and
A measuring device including a notification unit configured to notify the user of the number of pulses coefficiented by the counter. In the measuring device according to claim 1,
The notification unit is a measuring device characterized in that the number of pulses coefficiented by the counter is visually displayed to the user. In the measuring device according to claim 1,
The notification unit is a measuring device that notifies a user of the number of pulses coefficiented by the counter via a network. In the measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The reception section that accepts reset operations by the user,
A measuring device further comprising a reset unit configured to reset the number of pulses coefficiented by the counter when the reception unit receives a reset operation. In the measuring device according to claim 4,
The reception unit is a measuring device characterized by receiving a reset operation by a user via a network. In the measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
A signal generation unit configured to virtually generate the measured values output by the measurement unit, and
It is further provided with a switching unit configured to switch the measured value integrated by the integrating unit to either the measured value output by the measuring unit or the virtual measured value generated by the signal generating unit. Measuring device. In the measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
The measuring unit is a measuring device characterized in that it measures the flow rate of a fluid to be measured and outputs a measured value.

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