JP2024031037A - Submersible pump equipment and submersible pump systems - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to perform simple and diverse liquid level control. A submersible pump device includes a pump, a float switch, and a wireless communication section. The pump is provided within the housing. A float switch is disposed at the top of the housing and starts the pump when the level of the liquid rises and reaches a first level. The wireless communication unit is disposed at the bottom of the casing, and determines the liquid level based on whether wireless communication with the outside is possible. The control unit controls the pump to stop when the liquid level decreases and reaches a second liquid level lower than the first liquid level. [Selection diagram] Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a submersible pump device and a submersible pump system that drain liquid.

2. Description of the Related Art As a drainage device used for discharging domestic wastewater, etc., there is a known technology that uses a submersible pump device in which a float switch is provided at the bottom of the casing and a wireless communication function is provided at the top of the casing. Submersible pump devices detect the liquid level using a float switch and a wireless communication function, and control driving and stopping of the pump (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2020-12398 Publication

However, the float switch according to Patent Document 1 is a switch for stopping the pump, and when performing a test run after installing a submersible pump device or after maintenance, a wireless connection is established using a wireless communication device before starting the pump. The work is cumbersome because it is necessary.
An object of the present invention is to be able to perform simple and diverse liquid level control.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a submersible pump device includes a pump, a float switch, and a wireless communication unit. The pump is provided within the housing. A float switch is disposed at the top of the housing and starts the pump when the level of the liquid rises and reaches a first level. The wireless communication unit is disposed at the bottom of the casing, and determines the liquid level based on whether wireless communication with the outside is possible. The control unit controls the pump to stop when the liquid level decreases and reaches a second liquid level lower than the first liquid level.

According to the present invention, simple and diverse liquid level control can be performed.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a submersible pump device according to the present embodiment. The figure which shows another example of the submersible pump apparatus based on this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a cover around a wireless communication unit according to the present embodiment. 1 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the submersible pump device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a submersible pump system including a plurality of submersible pump devices. FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing an example of alternate operation of the submersible pump system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of alternate and parallel operation of the submersible pump system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of alternate and parallel operation of the submersible pump system according to the present embodiment.

Hereinafter, a submersible pump device and a submersible pump system according to embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that, hereinafter, elements that are the same or similar to elements that have already been explained will be given the same or similar numerals, and overlapping explanations will basically be omitted. For example, when there are multiple identical or similar elements, a common code may be used to explain each element without distinction, or a common code may be used to distinguish and explain each element. In addition, alphabets or branch numbers may be used.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of a submersible pump according to an embodiment of the present invention. The submersible pump device 10 is configured to be capable of pumping water stored in a water storage tank 100 toward an external pipe 200.

Liquids such as water, wastewater, and sewage flow into the water storage tank 100 from the outside. The set liquid level L0 is a stop liquid level at which the submersible pump device 10 is stopped. The set liquid level L1 is a liquid level higher than the set liquid level L0, and is a starting liquid level for starting the pump of the submersible pump device 10.

The submersible pump device 10 includes a cylindrical casing 20, a pump 22 provided in the casing 20, a motor 23 provided in the casing 20 for driving the pump 22, and a motor 23 provided in the casing 20. It includes an electrical equipment section 30 and a float switch 40 (liquid level detection sensor) provided outside the housing 20.

The float switch 40 is arranged at the upper part outside the housing 20, and swings up and down depending on the liquid level, and is turned on when it is on the upper side and off when it is on the lower side. Specifically, the float switch 40 has a function of starting the pump 22 when the liquid level of the water storage tank 100 reaches a set liquid level L1 (first liquid level).

The pump 22 is provided inside the housing 20, sucks up water in the water storage tank 100 from an opening 22a provided at the bottom of the housing 20, and discharges it from a discharge port 22b.

The electrical equipment section 30 includes a control section 31, an inverter 32, a time measurement section 33, a temperature measurement section 35, a current measurement section 34, an operating frequency measurement section 36, a storage section 37, an input interface 38, and a wireless communication section 39. Connected by system bus.

The control unit 31 performs control based on the output value of the float switch 40, the wireless signal of the wireless communication unit 39, and the wireless propagation status according to a predetermined program. The control unit 31 stops the pump 22 when the liquid reaches the set liquid level L0 (second liquid level). The control unit 31 can switch between the "constant frequency mode" and the "constant current value mode" as necessary. The program for operating the control unit 31 causes the submersible pump device to perform either alternating operation or alternating parallel operation, as will be described later.
The inverter 32 controls the motor 23 at variable speed and transmits information on the current applied to the motor 23 and the operating frequency of the motor 23 to the control unit 31 . Inverter 32 may also include a current measurement sensor and a temperature measurement sensor.

The time measuring unit 33 measures the cumulative operating time of the pump 22, the operating time from startup, and the like.
The current measurement unit 34 measures the current flowing through the motor 23.
The temperature measuring section 35 measures the temperature of the electrical equipment section 30 and the motor 23.
The operating frequency measurement unit 36 measures the operating frequency related to the operation of the motor 23.

The storage unit 37 is, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a RAM (Random Access Memory), and stores pump operation information and pump operation information acquired from other submersible pump devices.
The input interface 38 accepts input from external devices.
The wireless communication unit 39 is disposed at the bottom of the housing 20 and includes wireless communication functions such as LTE (Long Term Evolution) (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), wireless LAN, and the like. The wireless communication unit 39 determines the liquid level depending on whether wireless communication with the outside is possible.

Next, another example of the submersible pump device 10 is shown in FIG.
The submersible pump device 10 shown in FIG. 2 shows a case where an electrical component 30 is disposed outside the housing 20. Thereby, maintenance of the electrical equipment section 30 such as the wireless communication section 39 can be facilitated. Note that since the electrical equipment section 30 is immersed alone in the liquid, the electrical equipment section 30 may be covered with a shielding material using metal or resin. Additionally, the electrical equipment section 30 can be potted with resin to prevent condensation and waterproofing.

Next, an example of a cover around the wireless communication section 39 will be described with reference to the conceptual diagram of FIG. 3.
FIG. 3 shows an example in which the wireless communication section 39 is surrounded by a shield 301. More specifically, with respect to the radio wave emission part from the wireless communication unit 39, the upper side in the direction of rise in the liquid level is made of a metal part that blocks radio waves, such as iron, stainless steel, or aluminum, or a first part that is made of a material that attenuates radio waves, such as carbon. It is surrounded by a shielding material 302, and the lower side is surrounded by a second shielding material 303 such as resin that transmits radio waves.

When the wireless communication unit 39 is immersed in liquid such as waste water or sewage, radio waves in the frequency band of 2 GHz or higher, such as LTE and Bluetooth, are significantly attenuated in the liquid as the frequency increases. , unable to send or receive data from outside. Furthermore, since the metal component that is the first shielding material 302 attenuates or shields radio waves, even when the liquid level is low and the wireless communication unit 39 is not immersed in the liquid, the metal component that is the first shielding material 302 is attached to the top of the wireless communication unit 39. It is difficult to send and receive signals, or it becomes impossible to send and receive signals.

On the other hand, since the second shielding material 303 made of resin can transmit radio waves, signals can be transmitted and received downward. That is, the outer sheath around the radio wave emitting part in the wireless communication section 39 is such that the upper side of the wireless communication section 39 is a first shielding material 302 that attenuates radio waves or does not transmit radio waves, and the lower side of the wireless communication section 39 is a first shield material 302 that transmits radio waves. If the wireless communication unit 39 can communicate wirelessly by covering each with a shield 301 formed of the second shield material 303, it can be determined that the liquid level of the water storage tank 100 is lower than that of the wireless communication unit 39, so the wireless communication unit The pump 22 can be stopped when wireless communication via the pump 39 becomes possible.

Note that by arranging the float switch 40 as high as possible in the upper part of the housing 20 and the wireless communication unit 39 as lower as possible in the housing 20, the liquid level width related to the operation of the pump 22 can be set widely. Depending on the arrangement of the wireless communication unit 39, the pump 22 may be controlled to stop immediately when wireless communication becomes possible, or the pump 22 may be set to stop after a predetermined period of time has passed. It's okay. For example, even if wireless communication is enabled by the wireless communication unit 39, there may be cases where liquid remains in the water storage tank 100 and further drainage is possible. Therefore, the time from when the submersible pump device 10 is actually installed in the water storage tank 100 and wireless communication becomes possible until the liquid in the water storage tank 100 cannot be drained is measured, and the time is set as a predetermined time. It's okay. Thereby, the pump 22 can be driven until the water level reaches a low level regardless of the arrangement of the wireless communication unit 39 in the housing 20.

Further, although FIG. 3 shows an example of covering the wireless communication section 39 that includes a wireless communication function and an antenna section, the present invention is not limited to this, and only the antenna section may be covered. For example, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA ( A signal processing unit (wireless communication board) such as a field programmable gate array (field programmable gate array) may be placed within the housing 20 or on the top of the housing 20.

Furthermore, in the example of FIG. 3, the upper part is surrounded by the first shielding material 302 and the lower part is surrounded by the second shielding material 303, with the middle position of the horizontal plane in the rising direction of the liquid level relative to the wireless communication part 39 as a boundary; however, the present invention is not limited to this. Alternatively, the ratio of covering with one of the shielding materials may be increased. For example, the first shield material 302 may cover two-thirds of the wireless communication unit 39 in the rising direction of the liquid level, and the remaining one-third may be covered by the second shield material 303. For example, by increasing the proportion of the wireless communication unit 39 covered by the first shielding material 302, radio waves can only be transmitted and received from below, so the set liquid level L0, which is the trigger for stopping the pump, can be lowered. .

Next, an example of the operation of the submersible pump device 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4.
In step SA1, after the user turns on the power of the submersible pump device 10, the control unit 31 brings the submersible pump device 10 into a stopped state.

In step SA2, the wireless communication unit 39 determines whether wireless communication is possible. Specifically, for example, if the wireless communication unit 39 periodically transmits a beacon signal and receives an ACK signal for the beacon signal from another external device, it may be determined that wireless communication is possible, and the ACK signal is not transmitted. If reception is not possible, it may be determined that wireless communication is impossible. If it is determined that wireless communication is possible, it is considered that the liquid level is lower than that of the wireless communication unit 39, so the process returns to step SA1 and the pump continues to be stopped. On the other hand, if it is determined that wireless communication is not possible, the process proceeds to step SA3.

In step SA3, for example, the control unit 31 can determine that the liquid level is present at or above the installation position of the wireless communication unit 39, and that the liquid level is rising. The control unit 31 determines whether the float switch 40 is on. If the float switch 40 is off, the liquid level has not risen to the set liquid level L1, so the process returns to step SA2 and the same process is repeated. If the float switch 40 is on, the process advances to step SA4.

In step SA4, since the liquid level has risen to the set liquid level L1, the control unit 31 starts the pump 22 to discharge the liquid in the water storage tank 100.

In step SA5, the control unit 31 determines whether the float switch 40 is off. If the float switch 40 is not off, the float switch 40 remains on, so the determination in step SA5 is repeated until the float switch 40 is turned off. On the other hand, if the float switch is off, the process proceeds to step SA6.

In step SA6, for example, the control unit 31 can determine that the liquid level is falling because the float switch 40 has been changed from on to off. The wireless communication unit 39 determines whether wireless communication is possible, similarly to step SA2. If it is determined that wireless communication is possible, the process proceeds to step SA7, and if it is determined that wireless communication is not possible, the process returns to step SA5 and repeats the same process.

In step SA7, the control unit 31 determines whether the stop condition is satisfied. Here, if wireless communication by the wireless communication unit 39 is possible, it may be determined that the liquid level has decreased to the set liquid level L0, and it may be determined that the condition for stopping the pump 22 is satisfied. Moreover, in addition to the determination by wireless communication, at least one of a current value and a measured value of temperature may be used as another method for determining that the liquid level has decreased to the set liquid level L0 or lower. Specifically, when making a determination using current values, during droughts, the pump repeats a dry operation state where air enters and an operation state in which it sucks up water returned from the discharge pipe, which is the so-called "sounding water operation". Determine the stopping conditions based on the In the idle running state, the current value is lower than in the state in which water is being sucked up, and in the "rumbling water running" state, the current value changes periodically and the current pulsates, that is, a pulsating current occurs. Therefore, based on the current value measured by the current measurement unit 34, the control unit 31 determines that the liquid level has reached the set liquid level L0 if a pulsating current is occurring or the current is below a predetermined value. Therefore, it is determined that the conditions for stopping the pump 22 are satisfied.

In addition, when determining using temperature, the current value continues to be high while the pump is operating, but if the liquid level is above a certain level, the liquid cools the housing 20 and the pump 22. The temperature is maintained within the range, and the temperature increase value after a preset period of time for measuring temperature changes also falls within the predetermined range. However, when the liquid level decreases, the housing 20 and pump 22 are no longer water-cooled, and their temperature increases. Therefore, when the temperature of the motor 23 or the electrical equipment section 30 measured by the temperature measuring section 35 is equal to or higher than the threshold value, or it is calculated from the temperature at the first point in time and the temperature at the second point in time after a preset period has elapsed. When the temperature increase value is equal to or greater than the threshold value, it can be determined that the liquid level has reached the set liquid level L0, and therefore the control unit 31 determines that the condition for stopping the pump 22 is satisfied. If it is determined that the stop condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step SA8, and if it is determined that the stop condition is not satisfied, the process returns to step SA5 and the same process is repeated.

In step SA8, the control unit 31 controls the pump 22 to stop. Thereafter, the process returns to SA2 and continues to control the operation of the pump 22 using the wireless communication function and the float switch 40.

Note that even if the liquid level reaches the set liquid level L0, if the wireless communication unit 39 cannot continuously communicate wirelessly with the outside for a predetermined period of time, the control unit 31 shifts to the standalone operation mode without using the wireless communication function. The pump 22 may be stopped based on the stopping conditions of at least one of the current and temperature in step SA7 described above.
Further, instead of the current measurement section 34 and the temperature measurement section 35, a current measurement sensor and a temperature measurement sensor included in the inverter 32 may perform the same measurement processing.

Next, a configuration example of a submersible pump system including a plurality of submersible pump devices 10 is shown in FIG.
The submersible pump system shown in FIG. 5 includes two submersible pump devices 10A and 10B arranged in a water storage tank 100. In the example of FIG. 5, two submersible pump devices 10A and 10B are illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this, and three or more submersible pump devices 10 may be installed in the water storage tank 100.
The configurations of the submersible pump device 10A and the submersible pump device 10B are similar to the submersible pump device 10 shown in FIG. do.

Here, the wireless communication unit 39A of the submersible pump device 10A communicates status signals (operation/stop status, liquid level information, timer value, etc.) with the wireless communication unit 39B of the other submersible pump device 10B, and mutual operation permission.・Wireless communication of driving prohibition instruction information.

Further, the wireless communication section 39A of the submersible pump device 10A and the wireless communication section 39B of the submersible pump device 10B exchange pump operation information. The pump operation information includes at least one of an operation mode, an operation order, operation information, liquid level information, cumulative operating time, cumulative number of starts, identification number, failure history, and sensor information. The operation mode indicates which mode is the individual operation mode, the alternate operation mode, or the alternate parallel operation mode, for example. The operation order indicates whether the main engine operates first or the slave engine operates later when the operation mode is an alternate operation mode or an alternate parallel operation mode. In addition, when three or more submersible pump devices 10 are set, the order of operation may be set among the slave machines, such as slave machine 1 and slave machine 2.
The operation information is an operating state indicating the operating status of the submersible pump device 10, and for example, whether the submersible pump device 10 is in operation, stopped at a low water level, stopped due to a failure, or is issuing an alarm. Indicates whether The liquid level information indicates on/off information of the float switch or information on the level detected by the float switch with respect to the set liquid level L1. The identification number is a number that uniquely identifies the submersible pump device 10. The failure history indicates information such as the failure location and failure date and time when the submersible pump device 10 fails. The sensor information is, for example, sensor information when a failure occurs in the submersible pump device 10, and includes the temperature measured by the temperature measuring section 35, the current value measured by the current measuring section 34, and the current value measured by the operating frequency measuring section 36. This is the operating frequency value.
Based on the pump operation information, for example, liquid level information detected by the float switch 40A and liquid level information detected by the float switch 40B are exchanged. The acquired pump operation information of the other party is stored in the storage unit 37, for example, together with the pump operation information of the other party.

The drainage operation performed by the submersible pump device 10A and the submersible pump device 10B configured in this way will be described below. First, the alternate operation operation will be explained along the flowchart of FIG. 6. The alternating operation is an operation in which only one of the submersible pump devices 10A and 10B is operated.

First, when the user turns on the power, the control section 31A and the control section 31B are activated.
In step SB1, the control section 31A confirms that the operation of the pump 22A has stopped, and the control section 31B confirms that the operation of the pump 22B has stopped.

In step SB2, the wireless communication unit 39A and the wireless communication unit 39B exchange pump operation information and set the assignment of the main machine and slave machine. As a method for determining the main engine and the slave engine, for example, information on the cumulative operating time or the cumulative number of starts is exchanged with each other, and the one with the shorter cumulative operating time and the smaller cumulative number of starts is set as the main engine. Alternatively, numerical values may be determined at random, and the one with the larger determined value may be set as the main engine. Here, the submersible pump device 10A is set as the main device, and the submersible pump device 10B is set as the slave device. Alternatively, it may be determined whether the wireless communication unit 39A and the wireless communication unit 39B can communicate wirelessly with each other. As a result, if wireless communication becomes impossible, it can be determined that the liquid level is rising.

In step SB3, the control unit 31A determines whether the float switch 40A is turned on. If the float switch 40A is on, the process proceeds to step SB4, and if it is off, the determination process is continued until the float switch 40A is turned on. Note that in the submersible pump device 10B, which is the slave device, the submersible pump device 10A, which is the main device, starts initially, so when the float switch 40A is turned on, the float switch 40B is basically also turned on, but the operation is different. Does not start.

In step SB4, it is determined by the float switch 40A that the liquid level in the water storage tank 100 has exceeded the set liquid level L1, and the control unit 31A starts the pump 22A. Note that information for starting the pump 22A is transmitted from the wireless communication section 39A to the control section 31B of the submersible pump device 10B.

In step SB5, it is determined whether the float switch 40A is turned off. If the float switch 40A is turned off, it can be determined that the liquid level in the water storage tank 100 is decreasing. If the float switch 40A is off, the process proceeds to step SB6, and if the float switch 40A remains on, the liquid level in the water storage tank 100 exceeds the set liquid level L1, so the process continues until the float switch 40A is turned off. The process of step SB5 is continued. Note that if the pump 22 is operated, the float switch 40 should be turned off, but if the float switch 40 is not turned off even when the pump 22 is operated, the control unit 31 increases the operating frequency of the motor 23A. Control may be performed to increase the drainage capacity of the pump 22 by rotating it at high speed.

In step SB6, it is determined whether the wireless communication section 39A and the wireless communication section 39B are capable of wireless communication. If wireless communication is possible, the process advances to step SB7; if wireless communication is not possible, the process returns to step SB5 and repeats the same process.

In step SB7, since the liquid level has decreased until wireless communication becomes possible, the control unit 31A determines whether the stop condition is satisfied. Here, it is assumed that if wireless communication becomes possible, it is assumed that the stop condition is satisfied and the process proceeds to step SB8. The presentation conditions may be determined by performing a threshold determination based on the value. For example, the control unit 31A may determine that the stop condition is satisfied if wireless communication is possible between the wireless communication units 39A and 39B and a pulsating current is generated.

In step SB8, the control unit 31A stops the pump 22A.
In step SB9, the wireless communication section 39A and the wireless communication section 39B communicate with each other, thereby setting the main machine and the slave machine to be exchanged. After the pump 22A stops, the control unit 31A sets itself as a slave device and transmits stop information indicating that the pump 22A has stopped from the wireless communication unit 39A to the wireless communication unit 39B. The control unit 31B receives the stop information of the pump 22A received by the wireless communication unit 39B, and sets its own submersible pump device 10B as the main engine.

After that, the control unit 31B executes the role of the main engine of the submersible pump device 10A from step SB1 to step SB9. In this way, alternate operation of the plurality of submersible pump devices 10A can be realized by the float switch and wireless communication.

In this way, when the submersible pump device 10A and the submersible pump device 10B operate alternately, the submersible pump device uses the float switch 40 to detect the set liquid level L1, which is the starting reference for the submersible pump device 10A and the submersible pump device 10B. The set liquid level L0, which serves as a stop reference, can be detected by wireless communication. In addition, by performing the startup alternately, it is possible to equalize the operating time and reduce maintenance costs.

Next, an example of alternate parallel operation of the submersible pump device 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 7 and 8.
Alternate parallel operation operation means that when the set liquid level L1 is exceeded, one of the pump devices 10A and 10B is started first, and if the set liquid level does not fall below the set liquid level L1 even after a while, both are operated. It is an action.

First, when the user turns on the power, the control section 31A and the control section 31B are activated.
Steps SB1 to SB4 are the same processes as in FIG. 6, and are a case where the submersible pump device 10A operates independently.

In step SC1, the control unit 31B determines whether the float switch 40B remains on even after a predetermined period of time has passed since the pump of the submersible pump device 10A was started. The time may be measured by the time measuring section 33. If the float switch 40B remains on after a predetermined period of time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step SC2; otherwise, the submersible pump device 10A and the submersible pump device 10B shown in FIG. 6 may be operated alternately.

In step SC2, the control unit 31B starts the submersible pump device 10B. That is, simply starting the pump of the submersible pump device 10A will not reduce the liquid level, and if the pump of the submersible pump device 10A is operated alone, the liquid may overflow from the water storage tank 100. Execute parallel operation to run at the same time.

In step SC3, the control unit 31B determines whether the float switch 40B is off. If the float switch 40B is off, the process proceeds to step SC4, and if the float switch is not off, that is, it is on, the determination process of step SC3 is continued. Note that if the parallel operation continues, the float switch 40 should turn off, but if the float switch 40 does not turn off even during parallel operation, the control unit 31 will stop the operation of the motors 23A and 232B. Control may be performed to increase the drainage capacity of the pump 22 by increasing the frequency and rotating it at high speed.

In step SC4, the control unit 31B determines whether the wireless communication unit 39B is capable of wireless communication with the wireless communication unit 39A of the submersible pump device 10A. If wireless communication is possible, the process proceeds to step SB9, and if wireless communication is not possible, the process returns to step SC3 and the same process is repeated.
In addition, in the example of FIG. 7, it is assumed that the liquid level decreases due to the parallel operation, wireless communication by the wireless communication unit 39 becomes possible, and the submersible pump device 10A stops as it satisfies the stop condition. Subsequently, in step SB9, the main engine and the slave engine are switched between the submersible pump devices 10 through communication between the wireless communication section 39A and the wireless communication section 39B.

In step SC5, the control unit 31B determines whether the conditions for stopping the pump 22B are satisfied. The stop condition may be determined using the same criteria as in step SA7. If the stop conditions are met, the process proceeds to step SC6. Note that if the stop condition is not satisfied, the process shifts to the process shown in FIG. 8 .

In step SC6, the control unit 31B stops the pump 22B. After that, the submersible pump device 10B executes the main machine operation shown in the submersible pump device 10A in FIG. 7, the submersible pump device 10A executes the slave machine operation shown in the submersible pump device 10B, and the same process is repeated alternately. .

Next, FIG. 8 shows an example of operation of the submersible pump device 10 when the stop condition is not satisfied in step SC5.
Here, by the process of step SB9, the submersible pump device 10A is set as a slave device by wireless communication after being stopped, and the submersible pump device 10B is set as a main device by wireless communication even though it is in operation, and then parallel operation is canceled. However, assume that one submersible pump device 10B is not able to drain water in time and the liquid level rises. It is assumed that while the liquid level is rising, wireless communication by the wireless communication unit 39A and the wireless communication unit 39B becomes impossible and the float switch 40 is turned on.

In step SD1, the control unit 31A determines whether the float switch 40A remains on even after a predetermined period of time has passed since the pump of the submersible pump device 10B was started. If the float switch 40A remains on after a predetermined period of time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step SD2, and if not, alternate operation of the submersible pump device 10A and the submersible pump device 10B shown in FIG. 6 is performed.

In step SD2, the control unit 31A starts the submersible pump device 10A and executes parallel operation. After that, the roles of the submersible pump device 10A and the submersible pump device 10B are switched, so a detailed explanation will be omitted.

In addition, depending on the actual operating environment, by replacing the main engine and slave engine between two submersible pump devices 10 every time the pump stops, the cumulative operating time and cumulative number of starts may not be averaged, and one submersible pump It is also conceivable that there may be a bias due to the short operating time of the equipment. In this case, the main engine and the slave equipment are not switched alternately, but the cumulative operating time or cumulative number of starts is transmitted and received between the wireless communication unit 39 at the start of operation, and the submersible pump device 10 with the smaller cumulative operating time or cumulative number of starts becomes the main engine. You can start it as . As a result, although a certain submersible pump device 10 may operate as the main machine continuously, the timing of maintenance of the plurality of submersible pump devices 10 can be aligned, and efficient operation can be realized.

In addition, when multiple submersible pump apparatuses 10 are used, switching between the main engine and the slave apparatus may not be set properly, and multiple submersible pump apparatuses 10 are set as the main engine and start at the same time, or when one submersible pump apparatus 10 is set as the main engine. It is also conceivable that the engine is not set as such and none of them start. In such a case, the fact that one submersible pump device 10 is a "priority device" is stored in the storage unit 37, and if multiple main engines are set or no main engines are set, The control unit 31 may perform a reset operation between the submersible pump apparatuses 10 through wireless communication, and the "priority machine" may be set as the main machine, and the other submersible pump apparatuses 10 may be set as the slave machines.

Although an example has been described in which the operating order of the main engine and the slave engine is determined by exchanging pump operation information between the plurality of submersible pump apparatuses 10, the present invention is not limited to this, and each submersible pump apparatus 10 can A switching instruction between the alternating operation mode and the alternating parallel operation mode is received from an external terminal, and the control unit 31 of each submersible pump device 10 switches between each alternating operation mode and the alternating parallel operation mode in accordance with the switching instruction. Good too.

As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, in the submersible pump device 10 according to the present embodiment, when the amount of liquid to be drained increases and the submersible pump device 10A and the submersible pump device 10B are installed, the submersible pump device 10A and the submersible pump The configurations of the devices 10B can be made the same, and the manufacturing cost per pump device can be reduced. Furthermore, by manually moving the float switch 40, the pump can be easily started. Furthermore, by leveling out the operating time, it is possible to reduce maintenance costs.

Furthermore, although it has been explained that the control unit 31A and the control unit 31B switch between the "constant frequency mode" and the "constant current value mode" as necessary, it is not possible to set the "constant frequency mode" and the "constant current value mode" at the same time. It is also possible.

According to the present embodiment described above, a float switch is placed at the top of the submersible pump device, and a wireless communication section is placed at the bottom, and the float switch starts the pump, and the wireless communication section allows the wireless communication to stop the pump. Control. This makes it possible to easily test run the pump by simply turning on and off the float switch located at the top of the submersible pump device, which is often located at a lower level than the user. Furthermore, when wireless communication becomes possible, the pump can be stopped, or the main machine and slave machine can be switched during alternate operation and alternate parallel operation. In this way, simple and diverse liquid level control can be performed.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention at the implementation stage. Moreover, each embodiment may be implemented in combination as appropriate, and in that case, a combined effect can be obtained. Furthermore, the embodiments described above include various inventions, and various inventions can be extracted by combinations selected from the plurality of constituent features disclosed. For example, if a problem can be solved and an effect can be obtained even if some constituent features are deleted from all the constituent features shown in the embodiment, the configuration from which these constituent features are deleted can be extracted as an invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Submersible pump device, 20... Housing, 22... Pump, 22a... Opening part, 22b... Discharge port, 23... Motor, 30... Electrical equipment part, 31... Control part, 32... Inverter, 33... Time measurement part, 34 ... Current measuring section, 35... Temperature measuring section, 36... Operating frequency measuring section, 37... Storage section, 38... Input interface, 39... Wireless communication section, 40... Float switch, 100... Water storage tank, 200... External piping, 301 ...Shield, 302,303...Shield material

Claims (17)

A pump installed inside the housing,
a float switch that is disposed on the top of the housing and starts the pump when the liquid level rises and reaches a first liquid level;
a wireless communication unit that is disposed at the bottom of the casing and determines the liquid level based on whether wireless communication with the outside is possible;
a control unit that controls the pump to stop when the liquid level of the liquid decreases and reaches a second liquid level that is lower than the first liquid level;
A submersible pump device equipped with. Claim 1: The outer cover surrounding the radio wave emitting part in the wireless communication unit is such that an upper part including the radio wave emitting part is made of a material that attenuates radio waves, and a lower part of the radio wave emitting part is covered with a material that transmits radio waves. The submersible pump device described in . The wireless communication unit includes a signal processing unit that processes a wireless signal, and an antenna unit that transmits and receives the wireless signal,
The submersible pump device according to claim 1, wherein the antenna section is arranged at a lower part of the housing. The submersible pump device according to claim 1, wherein the wireless communication unit determines that the liquid has reached a second liquid level lower than the first liquid level when wireless communication with the outside becomes possible. . a motor that drives the pump;
further comprising: a current measuring unit that measures the current flowing through the motor;
The control unit controls the pump to stop when the current measurement unit measures that the current is in a pulsating state or that the current value is less than or equal to a predetermined value. Submersible pump equipment. a motor that drives the pump;
further comprising a temperature measurement unit that measures the temperature of at least one of the electric equipment including the motor and the control unit,
The control unit is configured to increase the temperature when the temperature becomes equal to or higher than a first threshold value by the temperature measurement unit, or when the temperature is calculated from the temperature at the first time point and the temperature at a second time point after a predetermined time has elapsed from the first time point. The submersible pump device according to claim 1, wherein the submersible pump device is controlled to stop the pump when the value is equal to or higher than a second threshold value. a motor that drives the pump;
an inverter that controls the motor at variable speed and includes a current measurement sensor that measures the current flowing through the motor and a temperature measurement sensor that measures the temperature of at least one of the motor and an electrical component including the control unit;
The control unit controls the pump to stop when the current measurement sensor detects that the current is pulsating or the current value is less than or equal to a predetermined value, or controls the temperature measurement sensor to stop the pump. or when the temperature increase value calculated from the temperature at the first point in time and the temperature at a second point in time after a predetermined period of time has passed from the first point in time is greater than or equal to the second threshold value. The submersible pump device according to claim 1, wherein the submersible pump device is controlled to stop the pump. The control unit does not execute a multi-unit control operation using wireless communication of the own device if the wireless communication unit cannot communicate wirelessly for a predetermined period of time even if the liquid reaches the second liquid level during pump operation. The submersible pump device according to claim 1, wherein the submersible pump device is shifted to an independent operation mode. The submersible pump device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the first submersible pump device is set as a main engine that operates first;
The submersible pump device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising one or more second submersible pump devices set as a slave device that operates later,
When the float switch of the first submersible pump device is turned on in response to a rise in the liquid level, the first submersible pump device starts operating the pump, and the first submersible pump device and the at least one second submersible pump device start operating the pump. A submersible pump system that stops the pump when each wireless communication unit becomes capable of wireless communication with the submersible pump device. The submersible pump system according to claim 9, wherein the wireless communication section of the first submersible pump device and the wireless communication section of the second submersible pump device transmit and receive mutual pump operation information. The pump operation information is
Operation mode indicating whether the mode is individual operation, alternating operation, or alternating parallel operation;
an operation order indicating whether it is the main machine or the slave machine;
an operating state indicating the operating state of the pump;
On/off information of the float switch, cumulative operating time of the pump,
cumulative number of starts of the pump;
an identification number of the pump;
The submersible pump system according to claim 10, comprising at least one of a failure history of the pump and sensor information at the time of failure of the pump. The pump operation information includes information regarding the order of operation indicating whether the pump is a main machine that operates first or a slave machine that operates later;
When transmitting and receiving the pump operation information when the power is turned on, the control unit of the first submersible pump device and the control unit of the second submersible pump device control the operation order of the own device based on the pump operation information. 11. The submersible pump system of claim 10, wherein the submersible pump system determines. The first submersible pump device and the second submersible pump device receive an instruction to switch between the alternating operation mode and the alternating parallel operation mode from an external terminal, and switch between the alternating operation mode and the alternating parallel operation mode in accordance with the switching instruction. The submersible pump system according to claim 9, wherein the submersible pump system switches. When the operation of each of the first submersible pump device and the at least one second submersible pump device is stopped, the first submersible pump device is set as the slave device during the next operation, and at least The submersible pump system according to claim 9, wherein one of the second submersible pump devices is installed in the main engine. 15. The submersible pump system according to claim 14, wherein a second submersible pump device with the smallest cumulative operating time or the smallest cumulative number of starts among the at least one second submersible pump device is set as the main engine. The second submersible pump device includes:
If the float switch of the own device remains on after a predetermined period of time has passed since the float switch of the own device was turned on, starting the pump of the own device;
The submersible pump system according to claim 9, wherein the submersible pump system stops the pump of the first submersible pump device if the wireless communication is possible even after a predetermined period of time has passed after the pump of the first submersible pump device stops. one of the first submersible pump device and the at least one second submersible pump device is preset as a priority device;
If the main engine is not determined to be one of the first submersible pump device and the at least one second submersible pump device, the submersible pump device that is the priority device is set as the main engine. 14. The submersible pump system according to 13.