KR20140145243A - Apparatus of sensing backflow in plumbing - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device for sensing backflow in a pipe which can sense the backflow of flowing water due to the inner freezing of the pipe and contaminants. The device for sensing backflow in a pipe comprises a floating part which is made of a material having specific gravity smaller than water and is inserted into the pipe to be slid; and a sensing part which is installed on one side of the pipe and recognizes the position of the floating part.

Description

[0001] Apparatus of sensing backflow in plumbing [0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a pipe backflow sensing device, and more particularly, to a pipe backflow sensing device capable of sensing reverse flow of inflow water due to icing or contaminants in a pipe.

Generally, in an apartment or apartment house, a sewage outlet of a washing machine is connected to a pipe installed in a veranda, and washing water is sent to an underground pipe. These pipes are arranged vertically from high to low and are bent in the horizontal direction and connected to the underground drain pipes. Thus, in the refracted section of the pipe, water is accumulated or sewage is accumulated to prevent backflow of odor. These stagnant wastewater and water are frozen during the winter months and interfere with the flow of sewage flowing into the underground drain pipe, preventing the sewage and water from flowing smoothly into the under drain pipe.

In addition, the freezing phenomenon of sewage is a main cause of the backwashing of sewage, and this backwash usually creates an environment for propagating pathogens such as bacteria and fungi in the piping of low-rise residents, It causes great inconvenience to the resident generation.

Therefore, only the households living in the low-rise through the sewage flowing from the high-rise generation suffer the backflow phenomenon, causing discord and conflict between the low-rise generation and the high-rise generation.

Therefore, various methods and structures have been devised to solve this problem. For example, Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2009-0088503 discloses a monitoring system and method using sensing piping.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2009-0088503 2009.08.20

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a pipe backflow sensing device capable of sensing the reverse flow of inflow water by freezing or contaminating substances inside a pipe.

The technical problem of the present invention is not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems which are not mentioned can be understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a backflow sensor for a pipe, comprising: a floating unit formed of a material having a specific gravity smaller than that of water and slidably inserted into a pipe; .

And a first stopper and a second stopper, which are respectively formed at both ends of the movement path of the floating portion inside the pipe to limit movement of the floating portion.

The sensing unit may include a radio frequency identification reader capable of recognizing the radio frequency identification tag, and the sensing unit may detect that the floating unit is within a reference range .

The floating portion slidably moves in close contact with the inner surface of the pipe, and at least a part of the floating portion penetrates to form a drain hole.

Wherein the sensing unit is formed in a ring shape that is in close contact with the inside of the pipe, the floating unit includes a ring-shaped rim portion closely in contact with the inside of the pipe, a tag portion in which the radio frequency identification tag is located at the center, And a connection unit connecting the tag unit.

And an alarm unit receiving the sensing signal from the sensing unit and generating at least one of tilt and light.

And a freezing solution dissolving unit for dissipating freezing in the pipe by applying heat to the inside of the pipe when the sensing signal is inputted from the sensing unit.

The freezing solution dissolving unit may include a hot wire inside or outside the piping, or may spray hot air inside the piping.

And at least one water blocking portion formed at an upper portion of the floating portion of the pipe to block water flowing into the pipe.

And at least one water blocking portion formed at an upper portion of the floating portion of the pipe to block water flowing into the pipe.

The water blocking portion may further include an irrigation portion that overlaps a plurality of blocking plates to open and close the passage of the pipe.

The present invention has the effect of sensing the inflow water flowing back to the piping, freezing the ice in the piping in a short time, and allowing the inflow water to smoothly flow into the underground piping.

In addition, there is an effect that the amount of inflow water flowing into the piping can be controlled and cut off, thereby suppressing the reverse flow phenomenon occurring in the piping.

FIG. 1 is a partial cutaway perspective view of a pipe backflow sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.
2 is a cutaway plan view showing the floating portion of Fig. 1 in more detail.
FIGS. 3 to 4 are cross-sectional views taken along line AA 'of FIG. 1 illustrating the operation of the backflow device.
5 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the control of the water flow cutoff portion on each layer through the pipe backflow sensing device.
6 is a plan view of a diaphragm portion of the water flow cutoff portion according to an embodiment.

Brief Description of the Drawings The advantages and features of the present invention and methods of accomplishing the same will be apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. To fully disclose the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art, and the present invention is only defined by the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification.

Hereinafter, a pipe backflow sensing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a pipe backflow sensing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cutaway plan view illustrating the floating unit 200 of FIG. 1 in more detail.

Referring to FIG. 1, a pipeline counterflow sensor 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a sensing unit 100 fixed inside a pipeline 10, a floating unit 200 slidably moved, 10) at a high speed.

The pipe backflow sensor 1 includes a floating unit 200 formed of a material having a specific gravity smaller than that of water and slidably inserted into the pipe 10 and a floating unit 200 installed at one side of the pipe 10, The backflow phenomenon of the inflow water can be detected and the inflow water can be prevented from being discharged to the one end of the pipe 10 by quickly taking measures corresponding to the backflow phenomenon .

Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, each component of the pipe backflow sensor 1 will be described in more detail.

The pipe 10 may be formed in a through-hole shape in which an opening is formed at one end and the other end is connected to an underground drain pipe. The pipeline 10 includes a sensing unit 100 including a radio frequency identification reader, a floating unit 200 including a radio frequency identification tag 211, a first stopper 11 for restricting movement of the floating unit 200, A second stopper 12, an ice-free breakdown unit 300 for removing ice from the piping, and an alarm unit 400 for notifying the detection of backflow.

Although a cylindrical pipe 10 is shown in the drawing, the shape of the pipe 10 is not limited thereto. The pipe 10 may be deformed into a different shape as long as it is a through type in which one end portion and the other end portion are penetrated.

The sensing unit 100 reads a radio frequency signal and may be formed in a ring shape closely contacting the inside of the pipe 10. In addition, the sensing unit 100 may be fixed to one surface of the second stopper 12, and may not move in the up-and-down direction and the left-right direction in the inflow or backward flow of inflow water.

The sensing unit 100 may sense the position information of the floating unit 200 when the sensing unit 100 enters the sensing unit 200 within a reference range including a radio frequency identification reader.

The floating portion 200 is in close contact with the inner surface of the pipe 10 and is placed on one surface of the first stopper 11. The sliding portion 200 is slidingly moved from the first stopper 11 to the second stopper 12, The mobile station 100 can transmit the radio signal. The floating unit 200 includes a tag unit 210, a radio frequency identification tag 211, a frame unit 220, a connection unit 230, and a drain hole 231.

The tag unit 210 includes a radio frequency identification tag 211 including an integrated circuit for storing information and an antenna for wirelessly transmitting stored information, and may be formed in various shapes. The tag unit 210 may be located at the center of the floating unit 200 and serve as a moving center for sliding movement of the floating unit 200.

The radio frequency identification tag 211 is installed at the center of the tag unit 210 and can transmit the same radio frequency signal to the sensing unit 100 in a dry and wet environment. In addition, it is preferable that the radio frequency identification tag 211 uses a passive tag method which requires no external power supply and is simple in structure and has a short information transmission distance.

However, the radio frequency identification tag 211 is not limited to the passive tag method. The radio frequency identification tag 211 can be used also as an active tag system capable of data exchange by temperature and data exchange by a long read distance depending on the environment in which the radio frequency identification tag 211 is used.

The rim portion 220 is formed in a ring shape corresponding to the shape of the pipe 10, and the inside is filled with air to form a buoyant force, so that it can easily float on the surface of the wastewater. It is preferable that the rim portion 220 is formed to be smaller than the diameter of the pipe 10 so as to smoothly move within the pipe 10.

The connection part 230 connects between the tag part 210 and the frame part 220. The inside of the connection part 230 may be filled with air in the same manner as the frame part 220, Accordingly, the connection portion 230 can also easily float on the surface of the wastewater together with the rim 220. A drainage hole 231 is formed between the rim 220 and the tag 210 connected by the connection part 230.

The drain hole 231 may be formed at least partly between the rim portion 220 of the floating portion 200 and the tag portion 210. A plurality of drain holes 231 may be formed with the connection portion 230 as a boundary.

The inflow water flowing from one end of the pipe 10 through the drain hole 231 can smoothly flow inside the pipe 10 without being blocked by the floating portion 200.

That is, the tag portion 210, the rim portion 220, and the connection portion 230 are preferably formed of any one of materials such as polypropylene, plastic, etc., The volume of the rim portion 210 and the connecting portion 230 is increased to increase the size of the buoyancy force, so that the floating portion 210 can float along the wastewater.

Therefore, the floating portion 200 can be easily moved in accordance with the rising of the wastewater

.

Here, the sliding movement of the floating portion 200 can be limited by the first stopper 11 and the second stopper 12. [ At least one of the first stopper 11 and the second stopper 12 is formed on the inner side of the pipe 10 at both ends of the sliding movement path so that the sliding movement of the floating part 200 inside the pipe 10 And it is possible to prevent the floating portion 200 from being released to the outside of the pipe 10.

On the other hand, the freeze breaking unit 300 may include a device capable of containing hot air or spraying hot air on the inner end of the pipe 10 and the outside of the pipe 10.

Here, the apparatus including the hot wire and the apparatus capable of spraying the hot air are for preventing the freezing of the wastewater in the pipe 10 or freezing the water in the pipe 10. For example, it is formed by a heater embedded with hot wire, Or may be formed so as to blow freezing by injecting heated air including a fan or a duct into a frozen portion.

The freeze cancellation unit 300 is operated through a sensing signal transmitted from the sensing unit 100 to eliminate the frozen part in the pipe 10 so that the inflow water flowing from the one end of the pipe 10 and the inflow water flowing into the pipe 10, My running sewage can flow smoothly to the underground drain pipe.

In addition, the alarm unit 400 that alerts the detection of the backflow generates at least one of the tilt and the light by using the sensing signal transmitted from the sensing unit 100, thereby causing the user of the piping 10 to perform the backflow phenomenon in the piping 10 Can be informed. The alarm unit 400 is shown on the inside of the pipe 10 in order to notify the user of the amplification of the trueness generated in the alarm unit 400 in a short period of time and is not limited thereto. And a light mixing device can be installed on the inside or the outside of the pipe 10 and used.

As for the sliding movement of the floating unit 200 due to the radio frequency communication and the flow of influent water between the sensing unit 100 and the floating unit 200 for the operation of the alarm unit 400 and the freezing unit 300, This will be described later in detail.

Hereinafter, referring to Figs. 3 to 4, the operation of the pipe backflow sensor 1 will be described in more detail.

Hereinafter, the reference range in the specification refers to a certain range in which it is possible to determine whether or not the inflow water in the pipeline 10 has a reverse flow phenomenon, and may be determined within a range in which the floating unit 200 and the sensing unit 100 can communicate with each other. have.

Whether or not the backflow phenomenon occurs can be determined as a distance value within the reference range L2 within the movable distance L1 of the floating unit 200. [ It is to be noted that the distance value is not limited to a specific value and can be changed depending on the installation place of the pipe 10 and the surrounding environment of the pipe 10. [

3 to 4 are cross-sectional views taken along the line A-A 'showing the operation of the pipeline backflow device of FIG.

3, the external inflow water (see arrow) flows into the open end surface of the pipe 10 and can be discharged to the underground water pipe P.

At this time, the inflow water descends in the gravity direction, and the floating unit 200 is slid in the gravity direction while passing through the drain hole 231 of the floating unit 200, so that the rim 220 can be moved to the first stopper 11). ≪ / RTI >

In this case, while the distance from the sensing unit 100 to the sensing unit 100 is maintained, the sensing unit 100 can not receive information on the backflow phenomenon from the floating unit 200, Information about the occurrence can be received.

In addition, the ice-freeze resolution unit 300 and the alarm unit 400 also receive information corresponding to the non-occurrence of the backflow phenomenon, and can perform the corresponding operation.

4, the inflow water (see arrows) continuously flowing from the outside when the sewage is frozen in the section where the pipe 10 is refracted and the pipe 10 connected to the underground water pipe P is defrosted, ) And can flow backward.

At this time, the floating part 200 having a specific gravity smaller than that of water is limited to the second stopper 12 in the direction in which the sensing part 100 is positioned with the rising of the wastewater around the tag part 210 which is the center of the sliding movement (L2), while moving up to the reference range (L2). That is, the sliding movement of the floating unit 200 rises with the rising of the wastewater, and falls along with the falling of the wastewater. The sensing unit 100 may receive the sensing signal related to the occurrence of the backflow phenomenon from the floating unit 200 when the floating unit 200 enters the reference range L2 according to the increase of the wastewater.

In addition, the ice-freeze removing unit 300 and the alarm unit 400 can also be operated by receiving the detection signal corresponding to the occurrence of the backflow phenomenon. Here, the freeze-removing unit 300 may generate an action to remove ice, and the alarm unit 400 may generate at least one of tilt and light.

Accordingly, the alarming situation of the inflow water is informed to all the users who use the piping 10 through the alarm unit 400, so that the user of the piping 10 can prevent the inflow water from flowing into the piping 10 for a predetermined time, So that it can be prevented from being discharged to the opening of the discharge port.

Also, the freezing of the wastewater, which is a main cause of the reverse flow of the waste water, can be eliminated through the operation of the freezing / breaking unit 300, so that the inflow water flowing in the opening of the pipe 10 can be smoothly discharged to the underground pipe P .

Residents of all households using the piping 10 through the alarm unit 400 and the freezing unit 300 can participate to suppress the backflow phenomenon.

Hereinafter, with reference to Figs. 5 and 6, a method for suppressing the reverse flow phenomenon of the water from the pipe 10 will be described in detail.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual view for explaining the control of the water blocking portion in each layer through the pipe backflow sensing device 1, and FIG. 6 is a plan view of the diaphragm 500 of the water flow blocking portion according to an embodiment.

5, the I / O interface A in the piping 10, the central control unit C located outside the building B, and the layer control units B1 to Bn ) Can be used to explain the control of the flow blocking part located in the piping of each layer.

The I / O interface A can transmit information of the backflow phenomenon inputted through the pipeline backflow sensor 1 to the central control unit C and the floor controllers B1 to Bn.

The central control unit C is a device for confirming the operation state of the backflow sensor 1 and the control units B1 to Bn of the respective layers and transmits information received from the I / O interface A to the control units B1- Bn). For example, when the control unit Bn of the nth layer of the building B does not receive the information of the I / 0 interface A from any error and the control unit Bn of the nth layer does not operate, the central control unit C, the information can be individually transmitted to the control section Bn of the n-layer, and the control section Bn of the n-layer can be operated.

This control method can be used as a communication network of an existing network installed in the central control room, that is, an interphone, thereby reducing the cost of reconstructing the communication network.

On the other hand, in the drawing, the central control unit C is shown to be capable of transmitting information only to the respective layer controllers B1 to Bn located on the respective layers of the building B, but it can be transmitted only to the respective layer controllers B1 to Bn But the information can be transmitted to the blocking plate control units D1 to Dn on each side according to the convenience of the user.

Each layer controller B1 to Bn receiving the information controls the opening and closing of the water blocking unit by controlling the blocking plate control units D1 to Dn of the respective layers, For example, there is a Bluetooth (Bluetooth) which can use the ISM frequency band while taking a frequency hopping scheme.

By using such wireless communication, it is possible to smoothly control the diaphragm portion 500 of the water blocking portion formed on the upper portion of the floating portion 200 of the pipe 10.

Further, residents of all the households using the piping 10 through wireless communication participate in the control of the backflow phenomenon, so that the backflow phenomenon is quickly eliminated, and the effect of the backflow phenomenon is eliminated . Also, the discordance and conflict between the high-rise generation and the low-rise generation may disappear.

6 includes a diaphragm 510 and a blocking plate 520 and is formed on the floating portion 200 of the pipe 10 so that the passage of the pipe 10 Can be opened and closed. The shutoff plate 520 is controlled through an externally transmitted signal so that the size of the opening 501 can be adjusted so that inflow of inflow water flowing into the inside of the piping 10 and discharge of the inside of the piping 10 can be blocked .

In addition, the blocking plate 520 can vary the size of the opening 501 through the sliding movement of the diaphragm 510 from the left and right. The blocking plate 520 may be formed in the form of a blade whose width gradually decreases toward one end and may be disposed at regular intervals along the periphery of the edge 510 of the diaphragm, When the water contacts between the overlapped blocking plates 520, the attraction force between the blocking plates 520 is formed to be larger, so that the overlapped portions between the blocking plates 520 are more densely overlapped It is preferable to use a material such as rubber to prevent inflow water from leaking through the overlapping gaps.

The rim 510 of the diaphragm is formed to correspond to the shape of the drain pipe and the pipe 10 of each building and can be installed so as to be in close contact with the drain pipe and the upper surface of the pipe 10, 10 and the edge portion 510 of the diaphragm may not flow.

In addition, at least one roller may be included in the rim 510 to allow the blocking plate 520 to smoothly slide left and right.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, You can understand what you can do. It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive.

1: piping backflow sensing device 10: piping
11: first stopper 12: second stopper
100: sensing unit 200:
210: tag unit 211: radio frequency identification tag
220: rim 230: connection
231: Drain hole 300:
400: alarm unit 500:
510: rim portion 520: shield plate
L1: Movable distance of the floating part L2: Within the reference range

Claims (10)

A floating portion formed of a material having a specific gravity smaller than that of water and slidably inserted into the pipe;
And a sensing unit installed at one side of the pipe to recognize the position of the floating unit. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a first stopper and a second stopper formed at both ends of a path of movement of the floating portion inside the pipe to limit movement of the floating portion. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
The sensing unit may include a radio frequency identification reader capable of recognizing the radio frequency identification tag. The sensing unit may include a pipe backflow sensing unit that detects that the floating unit is within a reference range, Sensing device. The backflow detection device of claim 3, wherein the floating portion slidably moves in close contact with an inner surface of the pipe, and at least a part of the pipe extends through the drain hole. The radio frequency identification tag according to claim 4, wherein the sensing unit is formed in a ring shape that is in close contact with the inside of the pipe, and the floating unit includes a ring-shaped rim portion that is in close contact with the inside of the pipe, And a connection portion connecting the rim portion and the tag portion. The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an alarm unit for generating at least one of a tilt and a light by receiving a sensing signal from the sensing unit. 3. The pipe backflow sensor according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a freezing solution removing unit for removing heat in the pipe by applying heat to the inside of the pipe when a sensing signal is inputted from the sensing unit. The pipe backflow sensor according to claim 7, wherein the freeze-free part includes a hot wire inside or outside the pipe, or injects hot air into the pipe. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising at least one water blocking portion formed at an upper portion of the floating portion of the pipe to block water flowing into the pipe. 10. The pipeline backflow shutoff device according to claim 9, wherein the water flow cutoff portion further includes an irrigation portion for opening and closing a passage of the pipe by overlapping a plurality of blocking plates.

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