KR101890300B1 - Fuel level and Diameter change instrument use ultrasonic wave - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an ultrasonic measuring instrument, and more particularly, to an ultrasonic measuring instrument, and more particularly, to an ultrasonic measuring instrument using ultrasound to measure CNG remaining amount, CNG tank diameter change rate detection, CNG tank and CNG fuel anomaly, CNG remaining amount measurement error correction, The present invention relates to an ultrasonic measuring instrument capable of minimizing residual noise measurement noise.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to an ultrasonic fuel level meter,

The present invention relates to an ultrasonic fuel level meter capable of detecting a change in diameter, and more particularly, to an ultrasonic fuel level meter capable of detecting a change in diameter, and more particularly, to a method of measuring an amount of CNG using ultrasonic wave attenuation through a compressed natural gas (CNG) The present invention relates to an ultrasonic measuring instrument capable of improving the reliability of CNG residual quantity measurement and measuring the diameter of a CNG tank which can be varied by using at least one of a plurality of CNG tanks.

Conventionally, a plurality of laser sensors or ultrasonic sensors are mounted on the upper end of a fuel tank for measuring the fuel of an automobile, and the distance to the fuel surface is detected as an average value, and the remaining amount of fuel, Is widely used.

1, a conventional fuel measuring apparatus includes a fuel tank in which fuel is stored and has a predetermined space therein, a plurality of fuel tanks in the ceiling of the fuel tank for precisely detecting the remaining amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank A sensor unit for measuring the distance to the surface of the fuel; an average value calculation unit for calculating a mean value by receiving a signal detected by the sensor unit, and comparing the average value with the volume of the fuel tank built in, And a display unit for receiving the output signal of the control unit and displaying a remaining amount of fuel, a distance traveled by the vehicle, and an average fuel consumption rate, etc. .

However, since the conventional fuel measuring apparatus measures the amount of fuel remaining in the fuel tank by using the distance value from the top of the fuel tank to the surface of the liquefied fuel, the amount of the fuel, which is the liquefied fuel, Gas), it is difficult to measure the residual amount of CNG (compressed natural gas) provided in a gaseous state.

In order to solve this disadvantage, the pressure measuring device 2 is attached to the outlet of the fuel tank 1 as shown in FIG. 2, and the pressure of the compressed natural gas discharged is measured, It is difficult to measure the amount of compressed natural gas remaining in the fuel tank 1 because the compressed natural gas is a pure gas and the volume of the natural gas varies greatly according to the temperature .

Accordingly, there is a need for a fuel measuring device capable of accurately measuring the amount of compressed natural gas provided in the fuel tank.

Korean Patent Publication No. 2005-0038461

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method for reducing the amount of compressed natural gas remaining in a gas tank by using the principle that the ultrasonic waves collide with particles of compressed natural gas, The remaining amount is measured.

Further, the diameter of the CNG tank changed by the expansion phenomenon of the CNG is grasped and the presence or absence of the normal state of the CNG tank is judged.

Further, the change in the diameter of the CNG tank, which changes in response to the expansion of the CNG tank, is substituted in the process of obtaining the CNG remaining amount in real time, thereby minimizing the error in the CNG remaining amount measurement.

The remaining amount measurement region, which represents the amount of ultrasonic waves, is limited among the attenuation signals of the ultrasonic waves to be measured, thereby preventing the noise value included in the measured signal from affecting the CNG remaining amount measurement.

In addition, by setting a noise threshold that occurs outside the remaining amount measurement area, if the noise is amplified to a threshold value or more, it is displayed so that the user can respond to the abnormal change.

In order to achieve the above object, the ultrasonic fuel level measuring instrument according to the present invention includes an ultrasonic transmission sensor 110 attached to one side of a CNG tank to emit ultrasonic waves, an ultrasonic transmission sensor 110 disposed on the other side of the CNG tank, An ultrasonic transmission / reception unit (100) including an ultrasonic reception sensor (120) for receiving an ultrasonic signal emitted from the transmission sensor (110); And a diameter detector 200 for detecting the diameter of the CNG tank using the ultrasonic signals measured by the ultrasonic transmitting / receiving unit 100.

The diameter detecting unit 200 may use at least one of a distance change of the ultrasonic waves measured by the ultrasonic transmitting and receiving unit 100 and a frequency delay phenomenon.

The diameter detector 200 further includes a normal presence / absence determiner 210 for determining whether the CNG tank is in a steady state based on a change in the diameter of the detected CNG tank.

The ultrasonic transducer 100 may further include a residual quantity detector 300 for measuring the residual quantity of CNG located in the CNG tank using the attenuation of the ultrasonic wave measured by the ultrasonic transmitter-receiver 100.

An integrated controller (10) that correlates the diameter data of the CNG tank detected by the diameter detector (200) with the CNG remaining amount data measured by the remaining amount detecting unit (300) to correct the remaining amount measurement error due to the diameter change of the CNG tank ). ≪ / RTI >

The remaining amount detecting unit 300 further includes an error correcting unit 310 that defines an ultrasonic signal area used for the CNG remaining amount measurement.

The error correction unit 310 includes a signal display unit 11 that sets a threshold value of an ultrasonic signal appearing outside the residual measurement area A and displays an abnormal state when the ultrasonic signal exceeds a threshold value .

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a CNG residual amount detection method, including: an ultrasonic transmission / reception step (S100) of transmitting an ultrasonic wave from one side of a CNG tank in which a CNG fuel is located, and receiving ultrasonic waves from the other side; A diameter measuring step (S200) of measuring the diameter of the CNG tank using at least one of a distance change of the ultrasonic wave measured in the ultrasonic transmission and reception step (S100) and a frequency delay phenomenon; A remaining amount detecting step (S300) of detecting the CNG fuel remaining amount using the diameter of the CNG tank measured in the diameter measuring step (S200) and the ultrasonic attenuation measured in the ultrasonic transmitting and receiving step (S100); And a control unit.

The ultrasonic measuring instrument according to the present invention can measure the diameter of the CNG tank using the ultrasonic signal, and thus it is possible to determine whether or not the CNG tank is in a steady state.

In addition, since the CNG tank diameter can be measured in real time and the CNG remaining amount can be measured in the variable CNG tank, the CNG tank diameter can be substituted into the CNG remaining amount measurement process to improve the reliability of the CNG remaining amount measurement.

Further, since the ultrasonic signal region for measuring the remaining amount of CNG can be defined, the noise generated by the force applied by the peripheral system or the outside can be removed, thereby further improving the reliability of the CNG residual amount measurement.

In addition, when a threshold of a noise generated by a peripheral system phenomenon or an external force is designated and a noise exceeds a critical point, the user is notified of the noise, thereby preventing a safety accident.

1 is a perspective view showing a conventional fuel measuring device.
2 is a perspective view showing a conventional fuel measurement device.
3 is an external conceptual diagram of an ultrasonic measuring instrument according to the present invention.
4 is a conceptual view of the inside of a CNG tank of the ultrasonic measuring instrument of the present invention.
5 is a conceptual diagram showing a change in diameter of a CNG tank of an ultrasonic measuring instrument according to the present invention.
6 is an experimental data showing the swelling phenomenon of the ultrasonic wave according to the change of the diameter of the CNG tank of the ultrasonic measuring instrument of the present invention.
7 is an external schematic diagram of an ultrasonic measuring instrument according to the present invention.
8 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a residual amount measurement method using attenuation of an ultrasonic measuring instrument according to the present invention.
9 is an experimental data showing a method for measuring the remaining amount of an ultrasonic meter according to the present invention.
10 is an external conceptual diagram of the ultrasonic measuring instrument of the present invention (at the time of forming the error correction part and the signal display part)
11 is an experimental data showing an error correction method of the ultrasonic meter of the present invention.
12 is a conceptual diagram of an ultrasonic measuring instrument according to the present invention (at the time of forming the remaining amount measuring portion, the diameter measuring portion, the error correcting portion, and the display portion)

Natural gas (NG) is a fossil fuel mainly composed of methane (methane). Compared to compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG) and adsorbed natural gas (CNG) compressed natural gas at a high pressure of 200 ~ 250kg / _cm ² , and LNG is made by cooling the natural gas to -161.5 ° C or lower to be in a liquid state, ANG is a natural gas compressed to 30 to 60 kg / _cm ² on an adsorbent such as activated carbon.

LNG requires expensive cooling or cryogenic tanks (insulation), but CNG does not require such equipment and can save money. On the other hand, CNG has a volume three times as high as LNG and has to use a high-pressure fuel tank, so there is a risk of explosion when the storage container (fuel tank) ruptures, but CNG itself is safe against fire risk due to high auto ignition temperature. Natural gas such as CNG and LNG has almost no emissions of sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides, which are the main pollutants of air pollution, and the amount of carbon dioxide emissions is less than gasoline (gasoline), light oil and LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) .

Natural gas powered natural gas vehicles were first built in the 1930s and have become a means of energy conservation since the 1970s and have become a means of preventing air pollution since the early 1990s. Natural gas buses, which have been in service in Korea since 2000, are also called CNG buses because they use CNG as a fuel, and a large number of cities in the world are expanding CNG buses.

In recent years, automobiles using CNG as a fuel have been widely used, and there is a need for a device capable of accurately measuring the amount of CNG. Hereinafter, an ultrasonic measuring instrument according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

3, the ultrasonic measuring instrument according to the present invention includes an ultrasonic transmission sensor 110 attached to one side of a CNG tank 3 to emit ultrasonic waves, and an ultrasonic transmission sensor 110 disposed on the other side of the CNG tank 3, An ultrasound transmitting and receiving unit 100 including an ultrasonic receiving sensor 120 for receiving an ultrasonic signal emitted from the ultrasonic transmitting sensor 110 and an ultrasonic transmitting and receiving unit 120 for receiving ultrasonic signals emitted from the CNG tank 3 using the ultrasonic waves measured by the ultrasonic transmitting and receiving unit 100. [ And a diameter detector (200) for detecting the diameter.

Referring to FIG. 4, the diameter detector 200 detects a change in the movement distance of the ultrasonic waves measured in the course of the ultrasonic wave being emitted from the ultrasonic transmission sensor 110 and transmitted to the ultrasonic reception sensor 120, Of the CNG tank 3 is detected by using at least one of the frequency delay phenomena according to the above-described equation (1).

5, the CNG tank 3 can be changed from the existing D1 diameter to the D2 diameter by the pressure expansion of the CNG inputted from the outside as shown in FIG. 5, and the CNG tank 3 is expanded, When changing from D1 to D2, the measured ultrasonic signal changes from the ideal CNG both-level signal (a) to the level signal (b) due to the diameter change as shown in Fig.

)를 측정하여 CNG 탱크(3)의 정상상태 유무를 판별 가능한 것이다.That is, since the diameter detector 200 measures the change of the ultrasonic wave by the distance and the received voltage, when the diameter of the CNG tank 3 is changed, the distance of the received ultrasonic signal is varied The distance at which the ultrasonic signal is positioned when the CNG tank 3 is in the steady state is set as a reference point and the change in the position of the ultrasonic reception signal in which the diameter of the CNG tank 3 is varied

) To determine whether or not the CNG tank 3 is in the steady state.

)에 따른 CNG 탱크(3)의 직경 변화를 판단하여, 초음파 수신신호의 위치변화가 일정 이상에 이르면 사용자에게 CNG(3) 탱크에 이상이 생겼음을 알리는 정상유무 판단부(210)를 포함할 수 있음은 물론이다.At this time, the diameter detecting unit 200 stores the distance value of the steady state ultrasonic signal of the CNG tank 3, and changes the position of the ultrasonic receiving signal

And a normal presence / absence determiner 210 for informing the user that an abnormality has occurred in the CNG tank 3 when the change in the position of the ultrasonic reception signal reaches a predetermined value or more Of course it is.

7, the ultrasonic measuring instrument according to the present invention includes a residual amount detecting unit 300 for measuring the residual amount of CNG located in the CNG tank 3 using the attenuation of the ultrasonic wave measured by the ultrasonic transmitting / receiving unit 100 .

Specifically, ultrasound refers to a sound wave having a high frequency that can not be heard by the human ear, and a sound wave having a frequency of 20,000 Hz or more is called ultrasound. Such high frequency ultrasonic waves are hardly transmitted in the air and are easily transmitted in liquid or solid. Such ultrasonic waves have properties such as linearity, transmission, refraction, reflection, scattering, attenuation, resolution, focusing, propagation, etc. At this time, in the present invention, the characteristics of weakening by attenuation (absorption, scattering, diffusion appearing by propagation of ultrasonic waves) .

8, the ultrasonic waves emitted from the ultrasonic transmission sensor 110 are transmitted to the ultrasonic reception sensor 120 through the CNG particles 4 existing in the gaseous state inside the CNG tank 3, The signal is attenuated due to absorption, scattering, diffusion, etc., and the amount of change in attenuation of the ultrasonic signal is proportional to the number and amount of CNG particles (4). That is, if the number of the CNG particles 4 located inside the CNG tank 3 is large, the attenuation becomes large, and if the number of the CNG particles 4 is small, the attenuation becomes small.

Accordingly, since the ultrasonic signal changes according to the number of the CNG particles 4, the CNG temperature is changed by the peripheral system (external, CNG tank) and the pressure of the CNG located inside the CNG tank 3 It is possible to measure the remaining amount of CNG accurately.

In addition, the remaining amount detecting unit 300 can display the amount of CNG located inside the CNG tank 3 by the level (the total amount is divided into a constant amount) by using the measured ultrasonic signal.

Referring to FIG. 9, since the ultrasonic wave shows a difference in the voltage value according to the degree of attenuation, the voltage value corresponding to the attenuation value of the ultrasonic signal measured by the signal measuring unit 200 is expressed as the amount of CNG So that the driver operating the vehicle can check the remaining CNG amount.

9, the voltage measured by the signal measuring unit 200 increases as the amount of CNG located in the CNG tank 3 increases, and the amount of CNG located inside the CNG tank 10 increases And the voltage value measured by the signal measuring unit 200 is reduced as the number of CNGs is decreased. However, the voltage value may be varied according to an algorithm or a display method. This is not a limitation. The CNG fuel level meter using the ultrasonic attenuation signal of the present invention can measure the remaining amount of CNG by measuring the area (area) of the voltage appearing in the signal layer 200.

7, the diameter detecting unit 200 and the remaining amount detecting unit 300 are interlocked with each other so that the ultrasonic measuring unit 300 can detect the diameter of the CNG tank 3, It is possible to correct the measured CNG remaining amount measurement error.

In detail, the real-time diameter of the CNG tank measured by the diameter detecting unit 200 is applied to the ultrasonic signal data measured by the remaining amount detecting unit 300, and the CNG remaining amount detecting error corresponding to the diameter change of the CNG tank .

In other words, since the measurement of the remaining amount of the CNG fuel located inside the CNG tank 3 corresponds to the attenuation of the ultrasonic wave, the measurement error of the residual amount of CNG with respect to the change in the volume of the CNG fuel that varies in accordance with the temperature is minimized. However, when the inner diameter and the outer diameter of the CNG tank are increased due to the internal pressure, the CNG fuel particles 4 located in the region through which the ultrasonic waves pass may be reduced and an error may occur. Therefore, the diameter of the CNG tank, which is variable in the diameter detecting portion 200, The remaining amount of the CNG detected by the remaining amount detecting unit 300 is minimized corresponding to the change in the diameter of the CNG tank.

Also, in the present invention, the remaining amount detecting unit 300 may further include an error correcting unit 310 that defines an ultrasound signal area used for CNG remaining amount measurement.

11, when data is received in order to measure the CNG amount, the received data is generated in a predetermined area in which the remaining amount measurement area A used for CNG amount measurement is designated. Therefore, the error corrector 310 , The signals appearing in the remaining region A and the region B are separated from each other and only the data appearing in the remaining region A is reflected in the CNG amount measurement to minimize the error due to the noise.

11, the threshold value of the ultrasonic signal appearing outside the remaining-amount measurement area A of the error corrector 310 is set, and when the ultrasonic signal exceeds the threshold value C, The abnormal state can be displayed through the display unit 11. [

More specifically, the ultrasonic signal is sensitive to a change of a peripheral system (pressure, temperature, etc.) and an external force transmitted to the CNG tank. The ultrasonic signal becomes stronger as the external change becomes stronger, The noise value exceeding a certain level at which a problem may arise is designated as the noise threshold value and the signal is displayed on the signal display unit 11 when the noise exceeds the threshold value to notify the user of the abnormality.

At this time, the signal display unit 11 may be a device that implements a visual signal transmitted in the field of view, and may be an apparatus that implements an auditory signal transmitted by sound. In addition, And may be a device that implements a tactile signal represented by "

12, the ultrasonic fuel level meter of the present invention includes a diameter detecting unit 200 that detects the diameter of the CNG tank 3 using the ultrasonic transmitting / receiving unit 100, a remaining amount detecting unit 200 that measures the remaining amount of CNG, (300) and the error corrector (310) can be integrally controlled by the integrated controller (10).

More specifically, the CNG remaining amount measured by the remaining amount detecting unit 300 is corrected using the diameter of the CNG tank 3 measured by the diameter detecting unit 200 to measure a more accurate CNG remaining amount, And the corrected fuel level is displayed on the display unit 400 to the user.

The CNG remaining amount detecting method of the present invention includes an ultrasonic transmitting and receiving step S100 for transmitting ultrasonic waves from one side of a CNG tank 3 in which a CNG fuel is located and receiving ultrasonic waves from the other side, A diameter measuring step S200 of measuring the diameter of the CNG tank 4 using at least one of a distance change of the ultrasonic wave measured in the diameter measurement step S200 and a frequency delaying effect of the CNG tank 4 measured in the diameter measuring step S200, And a remaining amount detecting step S300 for detecting the remaining amount of CNG fuel using the ultrasonic attenuation signal measured in the ultrasonic transmitting and receiving step S100.

The technical idea should not be interpreted as being limited to the above-described embodiment of the present invention. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Accordingly, such modifications and changes are within the scope of protection of the present invention as long as it is obvious to those skilled in the art.

A:
1: Conventional CNG tank
2: Conventional measuring device
3: CNG tank
4: CNG particles
10:
11: Signal display section
100: Ultrasonic transmission /
110: transmitting sensor 120: receiving sensor
200: diameter detector
300:
310: error correction unit
400:

Claims (8)

An ultrasonic transmission sensor 110 attached to one side of the CNG tank 3 to emit ultrasonic waves and an ultrasonic transmission sensor 110 disposed opposite to the ultrasonic transmission sensor 110 on the other side of the CNG tank 3, (100) including an ultrasonic receiving sensor (120) for receiving ultrasonic waves; And
And a diameter detector (200) for detecting the diameter of the CNG tank (3) using the ultrasonic signal measured by the ultrasonic transmitting / receiving unit (100)
The diameter detector 200 detects a change rate of the diameter of the CNG tank 3 using at least one of a change in travel distance of the ultrasonic wave and a frequency delay phenomenon in accordance with the change in distance. When the CNG tank 3 is in a normal state And determines the presence or absence of the steady state of the CNG tank 3 by measuring the position change? D of the ultrasonic reception signal, which is variable in diameter of the CNG tank 3, And a normal presence / absence determiner (210) for informing the user that an abnormality has occurred in the CNG tank (3) when the positional change of the ultrasound reception signal reaches a predetermined level or more according to the development,
And a remaining amount detecting unit 300 for measuring the remaining amount of CNG located in the CNG tank 3 by using the attenuation of the ultrasonic wave measured by the ultrasonic transmitting and receiving unit 100 when the CNG tank 3 is in a normal state and,
The remaining amount detecting unit 300 measures the remaining amount of CNG located in the CNG tank 3 using the amount of change in which the ultrasonic signal is attenuated in proportion to the number and the amount of the CNG particles 4, Display,
The real-time diameter of the CNG tank 3 measured by the diameter detecting unit 200 may be correlated with the CNG remaining amount data measured by the remaining amount detecting unit 300 to detect the CNG remaining amount corresponding to the diameter change of the CNG tank 3 And an integrated controller (10) for correcting the error.
delete delete delete delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the remaining amount detecting unit (300) further includes an error correcting unit (310) that defines an ultrasonic signal area used for CNG remaining amount measurement.
The method according to claim 6,
The error correction unit 310 includes a signal display unit 11 that sets a threshold value of an ultrasonic signal appearing outside the remaining amount measurement area A and displays the ultrasonic signal when the ultrasonic signal exceeds a threshold value. Level meter. delete

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