TWM611652U - Level sensors - Google Patents

Abstract

A level sensor includes a device housing, a system assembly, an ultrasonic transducer module and an anti-tip sensor. The device housing has a first side and a second side, wherein the first side is in contact with a bottom of a tank, and the second side has a two-dimensional barcode. The system assembly includes a microcontroller, a signal processing device and a wireless signal device. The microcontroller sends out a control signal to make the ultrasonic transducer module measure a liquid level of the tank and make the anti-tip sensor measure the level of the tank. After measuring, the ultrasonic transducer module and the anti-tip sensor send back sensing signals to the signal processing device. The signal processing device processes the sensing signals, and the processed sensing signals are sent to a receiving device via the wireless signal device.

Description

Liquid level sensor

This creation is about a liquid level sensor, especially a liquid level sensor that measures the height of the liquid level in a container.

The technology of factory automation process is changing with each passing day, which promotes the development of today's industrial society, and enables products and materials that require complicated processes to be manufactured in the market at reasonable prices. One of the keys to the development of automated processes is that the transportation of solid, liquid and gaseous substances is changed from traditional manual handling to mechanical equipment movement, which can greatly improve operation efficiency and reduce related costs. Among them, the mobility and controllability of liquid substances has made it the basis of modern industrial society. For example, factories in the petrochemical industry, steel industry, pharmaceutical industry, and semiconductor industry can observe complex and diverse liquid transportation pipelines, transportation machinery, and storage. Slot equipment.

However, the transportation and storage of liquid substances are mostly carried out in pipelines and storage tanks of opaque materials. In the case of insufficient or excessive liquid substances, such as pump idling, insufficient lubricating oil, pressure increase beyond the design capacity, etc., transport or use Equipment with liquid substances will affect the safety of the equipment and increase the risk of use. Therefore, it is necessary to be able to grasp the method of the liquid volume inside the container at any time.

At present, the method of detecting the internal liquid content of the container, in addition to the direct visual observation of the transparent container, usually measures the static liquid pressure or the vapor of the gas component by means of an external pipeline. Pressure, and estimate the liquid capacity of the container through pressure changes. However, this method requires additional sensing lines on the pipeline, and the additional connections may cause additional leakage risks. At the same time, this method requires the sensing circuit to directly contact the liquid, so intrusive sensing also brings additional risks. In addition, due to the additional installation of these sensing lines, they are only suitable for liquid containers at fixed sites. For containers that need to be moved, such as tank trucks, gas drums, etc., the applicability and support are still insufficient. In view of this, a better sensing method of the liquid volume in the container is needed.

According to some embodiments, a liquid level sensor is provided, which includes a device housing, a system assembly, an ultrasonic converter module, and an anti-tip sensor. The device housing has a first side and a second side, wherein the first side contacts the bottom of the container, and the second side has a two-dimensional barcode. The system assembly includes a microcontroller, a signal processing device and a wireless signal device. The microcontroller sends a control signal to enable the ultrasonic converter module to measure the liquid level of the container and the anti-tip sensor to measure the level of the container. The ultrasonic converter module and the anti-tip sensor are sent back after the measurement The sensing signal is sent to the signal processing device, the signal processing device processes the sensing signal, and the processed sensing signal is sent to the receiving device via the wireless signal device.

According to other embodiments, a liquid level sensor is provided, which includes a device housing, a system assembly, an ultrasonic converter module, and a propane butane sensor. The device housing has a first side and a second side, wherein the first side contacts the bottom of the container, and the second side has a two-dimensional barcode. The system assembly includes a microcontroller, a signal processing device and a wireless signal device. The microcontroller sends out a control signal to make the ultrasonic converter module measure the liquid level of the container. The ultrasonic converter module sends the sensing signal back to the signal processing device after the measurement. The signal processing device processes the sensing signal and processes The subsequent sensing signal is sent to the receiving device via the wireless signal device. Propane butane sensor settings On the device housing.

100, 200: Liquid level sensor

102, 202: device housing

102a, 102b: first side

102b, 202b: second side

104,204: system assembly

110: container

120: opening

122: connection element

124: Two-dimensional barcode

130: Base

132: Ultrasonic converter module

134: Microcontroller

136: wireless signal device

138: Signal Processing Device

140: battery

142: Battery Management System

144: Anti-tip sensor

206: Propane Butane Sensor

208: Propane butane sensor opening

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the use of the liquid level sensor.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the liquid level sensor.

Figure 3 is a bottom view of the liquid level sensor.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the system assembly.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the liquid level sensor.

Figure 6 is a bottom view of the liquid level sensor.

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the system assembly.

The following describes the liquid level sensor according to some embodiments of the present creation. In this creation, by setting up an ultrasonic transducer in the liquid level sensor, the liquid level can be measured without touching the contents of the container, which increases the safety in use, and can transmit the liquid level through a wireless device. And other information to further enhance the safety and controllability of use.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the use of the liquid level sensor 100. As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid level sensor 100 can be provided on the bottom surface of the container 110. However, the liquid level sensor 100 can also be arranged at any position of the container 110, such as on the side wall or the top surface. The container 110 may have an opaque outer shell and contain liquid. For example, the container 110 may be a gas cylinder, a water tower, a chemical storage tank, or similar equipment.

2 to 4 are schematic diagrams illustrating the liquid level sensor 100 according to some embodiments. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the liquid level sensor 100. As shown in FIG. As shown in Figure 2, the liquid level sensor 100 includes a device Housing 102 and system assembly 104 (please refer to Figure 3). The electronic components of the liquid level sensor 100 are arranged on the system assembly 104, and the system assembly 104 is arranged in the device housing 102.

The device housing 102 may have a first side 102a and a second side 102b, the first side 102a and the second side 102b being different. The first side 102a of the device housing 102 can contact the bottom surface of the container 110 to be tested, and the transmission direction of the ultrasonic signal faces the normal vector of the bottom surface of the container 110. The device housing 102 may be made of metal, ceramic, or polymer materials.

As shown in Figure 2, the liquid level sensor 100 is a cylinder, and the first side 102a and the second side 102b are on the upper surface and the lower surface of the cylinder, respectively. However, the liquid level sensor 100 may have other shapes, and the first side 102a or the second side 102b may also be at other positions of the liquid level sensor 100.

As shown in FIG. 2, the opening 120 and the connecting device 122 are provided on the first side 102 a of the device housing 102. The opening 120 exposes the ultrasonic module 132 provided in the device housing 102 (please refer to FIG. 5). The opening 120 is not limited to the circular shape in the drawings, and may also be other suitable shapes, such as an ellipse or a quadrilateral.

The connecting element 122 can fix the liquid level sensor 100 to the bottom of the container 110, and can include an adhesive, a magnet, a devil's felt, or any suitable element. The connecting elements 122 can be arranged on both sides of the opening 120 as shown in the figure, but can also be arranged to surround the opening 120 or other suitable positions.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the liquid level sensor 100. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the two-dimensional barcode 124 is disposed on the second side 102b of the device housing 102. The two-dimensional barcode 124 can provide a hyperlink to the cloud host. The user can obtain device information through the two-dimensional barcode 124, including information about the container 110 and the liquid level sensor 100, such as product history, inspection content, filling times, or the aforementioned Combination of And/or other relevant information. The two-dimensional barcode 124 may include a QR code, a PDF417 code, or similar barcodes.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the system assembly 104. As shown in FIG. 4, the system assembly 104 includes a substrate 130 and electronic components disposed on the substrate 130. The substrate 130 may be used to support electronic components and provide connection lines between the electronic components. For example, the substrate 130 may be a printed circuit board. As shown in FIG. 4, the electronic components may include an ultrasonic converter module 132, a microcontroller 134, a wireless signal device 136, a signal processing device 138, a battery 140, a battery management system 142, and an anti-tip sensor 144. The types and positions of these electronic components are only exemplary, and the present invention may include more or fewer components in different embodiments, and the relative positions between the electronic components may be changed.

The ultrasonic converter module 132 can generate an ultrasonic signal, the ultrasonic signal is reflected on the liquid surface in the container 110, and the ultrasonic converter module 132 detects the reflected ultrasonic signal. The time difference between the ultrasonic signal and the reflected ultrasonic signal is twice the moving time of the signal in the liquid to be measured, as shown in formula (1), by which the liquid level in the container 110 can be obtained.

Formula (1) d=(ToF×c)/2 where d is the distance from the bottom of the container 110 to the liquid surface, ToF is the time difference between the signal generation and the reflection signal is received, and c is the ultrasonic wave's transmission speed in the side liquid . For example, in a gas cylinder, the liquid to be tested contains liquefied propane and liquefied butane.

The ultrasonic converter module 132 includes an ultrasonic generator and an ultrasonic sensor. The ultrasonic sensor senses the ultrasonic waves generated by the ultrasonic generator and reflected by the liquid surface. The ultrasonic converter module 132 may include a piezoelectric sensor. One side of the ultrasonic converter module 132 is connected to the base 130, and the other side is connected to the container 110 through the opening 120 of the first side 102a of the device housing 102 bottom. The position of the ultrasonic converter module 132 corresponds to the position of the opening 120 in FIG. 2. The portion of the ultrasonic converter module 132 connected to the container 110 may contain elastic materials, such as rubber, silicone, polyvinyl alcohol, polyolefin elastomer, or similar materials, to reduce the attenuation of the ultrasonic signal and further improve the sensing effect.

The microcontroller 134 can send, receive, process, and calculate electronic signals, and control the components connected to it. For example, the microcontroller 134 can process signals that need to be calculated and judged, such as the height of the liquid level, the degree of pouring of the container, and the like.

The wireless signal device 136 can transmit the measured liquid level and other device signals to other electronic devices, including network hosts, routers, mobile communication devices, display modules with wireless signal chips, or a combination of the foregoing. The communication protocol of the wireless signal device 136 includes Low-Power Wide-Area Network (LPWAN), mobile communication technology, wireless network (Wi-Fi), Bluetooth or similar communication protocols. For example, the low-power wide area network (LPWAN) may be the narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT).

The signal processing device 138 can convert the signal generated by the ultrasonic converter module 132 or other measurement devices into a signal type acceptable to the microcontroller 134. The signal processing device 138 can include an analog chip. The battery management system 142 can control the output power of the battery 140 through a built-in system or the microcontroller 134, and record and send battery information, including battery remaining, battery health, or a combination of the foregoing. The battery management system 142 may include a battery management chip, a power supply, and/or any suitable device.

The anti-tip sensor 144 can determine whether the container 110 is tilted or overturned through changes in the acceleration or angular acceleration of the device, so as to improve the safety of liquid storage. The anti-tip sensor 144 may include a gravity sensor, an acceleration sensor, a gyroscope, or a combination of the foregoing. accelerate The degree sensor may include a three-axis linear accelerometer.

The microcontroller 134 sends out a control signal to make the ultrasonic converter module 132 measure the liquid level of the container 110 and the anti-tip sensor 144 to measure the level of the container 110, the ultrasonic converter module 132 and the anti-tip sensor The detector 144 returns the sensing signal to the signal processing device 138 after the measurement, the signal processing device 138 processes the sensing signal, and the processed sensing signal is sent to the receiving device via the wireless signal device 136. In addition, signals of remaining capacity, signal strength, or a combination of the foregoing can also be sent to the receiving device.

Although the ultrasonic converter module 132, the microcontroller 134, the wireless signal device 136, the signal processing device 138, the battery management system 142, and the anti-tip sensor 144 are described above, the creation is not limited to this. For example, two or more of the device ultrasonic converter module 132, microcontroller 134, wireless signal device 136, signal processing device 138, battery management system 142, and anti-tip sensor 144 can be integrated in In one or more system-on-chips, the size of the liquid level sensor 100 can be reduced.

In the above embodiment, the liquid level sensor 100 includes the ultrasonic converter module 132, the anti-tip sensor 144 and the wireless signal device 136, so the user can know the liquid level of the container 110 and the container 110 through the wireless signal. 110 degree of inclination.

FIGS. 5-7 are schematic diagrams illustrating the liquid level sensor 200 according to other embodiments. The liquid level sensor 200 is similar to the liquid level sensor 100 described above, and similar reference numerals are used to indicate similar elements. For simplification, detailed descriptions of these elements are omitted. Compared with the embodiments in Figures 1 to 4, the following embodiments do not contain the anti-tip sensor, but include a propane butane sensor and a corresponding propane butane sensor opening to prevent liquids in the container Leakage, improve the safety of use.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the liquid level sensor 200. As shown in FIG. As shown in Fig. 5, the liquid level sensor device 200 includes a device housing 202 and a system assembly 204 (please refer to Fig. 7). The device housing 202 may have a first side 202a and a second side 202b, the first side 202a and the second side 202b being different. The first side 202 a of the device housing 202 has an opening 120 and a connecting device 122. The opening 120 exposes the ultrasonic module 132 provided in the device housing 202 (please refer to FIG. 7).

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the liquid level sensor 200. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the second side 202b of the device housing 202 has a two-dimensional barcode 124 and a propane butane sensor opening 208. The propane butane sensor opening 208 exposes the propane butane sensor 206 (please refer to FIG. 7) disposed in the device housing 202, thereby detecting whether propane and/or butane fluid leaks in the surrounding environment.

The two-dimensional barcode 124 and the propane butane sensor opening 208 can both be provided on the second side 202b of the device housing 202, or can be provided on different sides, for example, the two-dimensional barcode 124 is provided on the second side 202b of the device housing 202, and The propane butane sensor opening 208 is provided on a third side of the device housing 202 that is different from the first side 202a and the second side 202b.

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the system assembly 204. As shown in FIG. 7, the system assembly 204 includes a substrate 130 and electronic components disposed on the substrate 130. The electronic components include an ultrasonic converter module 132, a microcontroller 134, a wireless signal device 136, a signal processing device 138, a battery 140, a battery management system 142, and a propane butane sensor 206. The descriptions of the ultrasonic converter module 132, the microcontroller 134, the wireless signal device 136, the signal processing device 138, the battery 140 and the battery management system 142 are the same as those in the foregoing, so they will not be repeated. The types and positions of these components are only exemplary, and the present creation may include more or fewer components in different embodiments, and the relative positions between the electronic components may be changed.

The control signal sent by the microcontroller 134 causes the propane butane sensor 206 to detect the capacitance. After detecting the concentration of propane or butane outside the device 110, the propane butane sensor 206 sends a gas leakage signal to the receiving device. The propane butane sensor 206 can detect leaked propane and butane, and can include electrochemical, semiconductor, and gas chromatography sensing devices. The propane butane sensor 206 can also detect other gases, such as ethylene. The position of the propane butane sensor 206 corresponds to the position of the propane butane sensor opening 208 in FIG. 6.

Although the ultrasonic converter module 132, the microcontroller 134, the wireless signal device 136, the signal processing device 138, the battery management system 142, and the propane butane sensor 206 are described above, the creation is not limited to this. For example, two or more of the device ultrasonic converter module 132, microcontroller 134, wireless signal device 136, signal processing device 138, battery management system 142, and propane butane sensor 206 can be integrated In one or more system-on-chips, to reduce cost and product size.

In the above embodiment, the liquid level sensor 100 includes the ultrasonic converter module 132, the propane butane sensor 206 and the wireless signal device 136, so the user can know the liquid level and the liquid level of the container 110 through the wireless signal. The concentration of propane and butane in the surrounding environment.

Although the liquid level sensor 100 is described as including the anti-tip sensor 144 in Figures 1 to 4, and the liquid level sensor 200 is described as including the propane butane sensor 206 in Figures 5 to 7, it can be combined Use these components. For example, the liquid level sensor 100 may include both the anti-tip sensor 144 and the propane butane sensor 206.

In summary, this creation provides a liquid level sensor that measures the liquid level in the container by ultrasonic waves and outputs a signal to the outside through a wireless device. Since this creation includes an expandable, multi-functional integrated sensing system, compared to traditional mechanical measuring devices, such as pressure valves, this creation can provide users with a more real-time, non-invasive, and highly secure detection method. , and Can be used in industrial or household containers.

100: Liquid level sensor

110: container

Claims (10)

A liquid level sensor includes: a device housing with a first side and a second side, wherein the first side contacts the bottom of a container, and the second side has a two-dimensional bar code; a system assembly , Including a microcontroller, a signal processing device and a wireless signal device; an ultrasonic converter module; and an anti-tip sensor, wherein the microcontroller sends a control signal to make the ultrasonic converter module Measure the liquid level of the container and make the anti-tip sensor measure the level of the container, the ultrasonic converter module and the anti-tip sensor send back a sensing signal to the signal processing after the measurement Device, the signal processing device processes the sensing signal, and the processed sensing signal is sent to a receiving device via the wireless signal device. The liquid level sensor according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasonic converter module includes an ultrasonic generator and an ultrasonic sensor, and the ultrasonic sensor senses that the ultrasonic generator generates and Ultrasonic waves reflected by the liquid surface. The liquid level sensor according to claim 1, wherein the anti-tip sensor includes a gravity sensor, an acceleration sensor, a gyroscope, or a combination of the foregoing. The liquid level sensor according to claim 1, wherein the wireless signal device includes a low-power wide area network (LPWAN) technology. The liquid level sensor according to claim 1, further comprising sending signals of remaining capacity, signal strength or a combination of the foregoing to the receiving device. The liquid level sensor according to claim 1, wherein the receiving device includes a network host, a router, a mobile communication device, a display module with a wireless signal chip, or a combination of the foregoing. The liquid level sensor according to claim 1, further comprising a battery management system, wherein the control signal causes the battery management system to send a battery information, the battery information includes battery remaining, battery health signal or a combination of the foregoing . The liquid level sensor according to claim 1, wherein the user obtains device information through the two-dimensional bar code, and the device information includes product history, inspection content, filling times, or a combination of the foregoing. A liquid level sensor includes: a device housing with a first side and a second side, wherein the first side contacts the bottom of a container, and the second side has a two-dimensional bar code; a system assembly , Including a microcontroller, a signal processing device and a wireless signal device; an ultrasonic converter module, wherein the microcontroller sends a control signal to make the ultrasonic converter module measure the liquid level of the container , The ultrasonic converter module sends back a sensing signal to the signal processing device after measurement, the signal processing device processes the sensing signal, and the processed sensing signal is sent to a receiver via the wireless signal device Device; and a propane butane sensor, set on the device housing. The liquid level sensor according to claim 9, wherein the control signal causes the propane butane sensor to detect the concentration of propane or butane outside the container, and the propane butane sensor sends out after the detection A gas leakage signal to the receiving device.

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