WO1999021031A1 - Debitmetre optique - Google Patents

Debitmetre optique Download PDF

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Publication number
WO1999021031A1
WO1999021031A1 PCT/DK1998/000425 DK9800425W WO9921031A1 WO 1999021031 A1 WO1999021031 A1 WO 1999021031A1 DK 9800425 W DK9800425 W DK 9800425W WO 9921031 A1 WO9921031 A1 WO 9921031A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
optical
drop
transmitting means
drops
electronically
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/DK1998/000425
Other languages
Danish (da)
English (en)
Inventor
Jan Kikkenborg Larsen
Original Assignee
Alka Electronic Aps
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Alka Electronic Aps filed Critical Alka Electronic Aps
Priority to AU94325/98A priority Critical patent/AU9432598A/en
Publication of WO1999021031A1 publication Critical patent/WO1999021031A1/fr

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01W—METEOROLOGY
    • G01W1/00—Meteorology
    • G01W1/14—Rainfall or precipitation gauges
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01F—MEASURING VOLUME, VOLUME FLOW, MASS FLOW OR LIQUID LEVEL; METERING BY VOLUME
    • G01F3/00—Measuring the volume flow of fluids or fluent solid material wherein the fluid passes through the meter in successive and more or less isolated quantities, the meter being driven by the flow

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a method as stated in the preamble of claim 1, an electronic optical flowmeter as stated in the preamble of claim 3, and an electronic flowmeter as stated in the preamble of claim 10.
  • the optical transmitting means When, as stated in claim 1, the optical transmitting means is established to modulation of the light emitted from the optical transmitting means, an effective and reproducible flow measurement having minimal power consumption has been achieved.
  • the water may be guided from the output to a reservoir or directly out of the measuring apparatus.
  • the optical signals emitted from the optical transmitting means comprises of pulses
  • an particular advantageous embodiment of the invention has been achieved, as the power consumption of optical transmitting means may be further reduced.
  • the optical transmitting means are adapted to emit modulated light in dependence of a controlling electrical signal, a possibility of obtaining an accurate flower measurement and a low power consumption has been achieved.
  • the modulation of the optical transmitting means should, within the scope of the invention, be adapted to the current applications.
  • the modulation should in every circumstances be so that every drop is illuminated at least one time when it passes the optical path between the transmitting and receiving means.
  • the modulation should thus be adapted to the shape of the drop as well as the drop size and the relation between minimal and maximal drop flow.
  • the modulation frequency may also, depending on the utilised recognition procedures, be adapted such that each drop is illumination a number of times when passing the optical path between the transmitting and receiving means .
  • Another adjustment that may be made within the scope of the invention is an adjustment of the modulation width, i.e. the duration of time the optical transmitting means emits a light wave a light impulse in the direction of the optical receiving means.
  • the shape of the curve and an eventually variation of the modulated light may also be adapted the current applications within the scope of the invention.
  • the optical transmitting means are established to emit optical pulse signals
  • a particular advantageous embodiment of the invention has been achieved, as a periodic activation of the optical transmitting means may be established without the possibility of missing any drops, when carefully adjusting the electronically and optically system.
  • the pulses may have several shapes within the scope of the invention. It is moreover evident, that the number of necessary light impulses is particular dependent on the current application, as the number of pulses per time unit should be adjusted in such a way, that the light impulses ensures that no drop will be disregarded because no pulse were present when the drop passed the optical path between the optical transmitting and receiving means.
  • the duration of the pulses may moreover be adapted suitably from application to application.
  • the light pulse may e.g. be sustained until the drop has passed the optical path completely, thus resulting in a complete illumination during passage of the optical path. It would consequently be possible detecting the back-edge unambiguously of the drop when the front edge of the drop has entered the optical path.
  • the frequency and the duration of the pulses may likewise be adjusted.
  • Another example of the "trapping" of a drop in the drop counter may be implemented by increasing the frequency of the impulses when the threshold value has been exceeded.
  • the optical transmitting means are established to emit optical pulse signals having a constant period and a constant duty cycle, said duty cycle being the duration of the time the optical transmitting means emits light over the total period time
  • a particular simple and easy implementable embodiment of the invention has been achieved, as timer interrupts etc. may be performed by relatively simple and clear routines.
  • the invention provides a further significantly increasing of battery life time combined with a reproducible measurement.
  • the measuring unit converts the counts of detected drops to a measure of rain over a certain interval of time, which subsequently may be shown at a monitoring unit e.g. a display.
  • the measuring unit may export the count measurement to a memory unit, as the measurement is moreover connected to a time of registration. Consequently the time of reading the unit becomes less critical, in the sense that all data can be collected and evaluated subsequently.
  • the duty cycle of the pulse train is approximately 1%, and that the period time of the pulse train is approximately 32 ms, a further advantageous embodiment of the invention has been achieved, which under consideration of the electrical and mechanical features of an application, may provide a particular low power consumption combined with a very accurate registration.
  • the rain gauge comprises a signal interface connected with the calculation means for transferring data to an external unit, said data comprising representations of the measured drop flow or processed data thereof, an advantageous embodiment of the invention has been achieved, which e.g. may be utilised in measuring units of a more professional character, as data during a certain time interval, e.g. a week, may be transferred via a memory dump to an external calculation unit, e.g. a laptop computer via the data interface.
  • an advantageous embodiment of the invention has been achieved, which e.g. may be utilised in measuring units of a more professional character, as data during a certain time interval, e.g. a week, may be transferred via a memory dump to an external calculation unit, e.g. a laptop computer via the data interface.
  • This data interface may e.g. be wireless or be constituted by an ordinary RS-232 interface.
  • the calculation means converts the number of registered drops to a measure representation, which successively is displayed on a display unit, an advantageous and user-friendly application has been achieved.
  • the distance between the optical transmitting means and the optical receiving means are approximately 10 mm when the drop size is approximately 5/100 ml, an advantageous embodiment of the invention has been achieved.
  • this dimensioning likewise may be supplemented with an adjustment of the means converting the rain to a drop flow of uniform drops.
  • This adjustment may e.g. be implemented by adjustment of the drop nozzle.
  • the distance between these may e.g. be increased, if desired.
  • the means for collecting rainwater and the coupled means for converting the collected rainwater to drops is coupled to, or comprises, a filter for reduction of the drop flow fed into the drop path or the drop paths, a particular embodiment of the invention has been achieved, as it may be possible establishing a suitable slow drop flow, such that no drops will be disregarded as a result of that the drops passes the path without being illuminated during the periodic interruptions of the light
  • the filter for reduction of the drop flow comprises a sponge
  • the sponge e.g. may be inserted in the lower part of a collection funnel, and at the same time providing a maximal guidance of drops to a drop nozzle arranged in the very bottom of the collection funnel.
  • the sponge will in this case reduce the drop flow and moreover ensure that no water will adhere in the bottom of the funnel as a result of surface tensions, but rather be fed into the drop nozzle.
  • the optical transmitting means are adapted to emit modulated light in dependence of a controlling electrical signal
  • a further advantageous embodiment of the invention has been achieved.
  • the invention may be utilised for numerous different types of fluid flow, volume or weight measuring
  • the optical transmitting means are established to emit optical pulse signals, a particular advantageous embodiment has been achieved, as a periodic activation of the optically transmitting means, when dimensioning the electrical and optical system suitably, may be established in such a way that no drops are disregarded.
  • fig. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the invention
  • fig. 2 illustrates the light pulses utilised in a flowmeter according to the invention.
  • Fig. 1 shows the principles of a rain gauge according to the invention comprising a drop collector 1 having a output nozzle 2 in the bottom.
  • An output filter 3 consisting of a sponge is inserted relative to the output nozzle of the drop collector. Suitable dimensioning and positioning of the sponge relative to the output nozzle ensures that the drop flow from the output nozzle 2 consists of drops 4 which, according to the embodiment, does not exceed five drops per second.
  • one achieved advantage is that the fluid are conducted to the bottom of the drop collector without "adhering" in the input of the discharge duct in the bottom of the funnel due to surface tensions.
  • the filter 3 will suck the fluid into the nozzle, and the capillary effect will ensure the drops are guided further.
  • an important advantage is obtained as it may be possible to reduce the demands of the dimensioning of the optical system, as a relatively slow drop flow will reduce the risk of overlooking drops passing the optical path without being illuminated.
  • the drop nozzle has a well-defined flow interval, and in particular an upper limit, a possibility of avoiding a constant illumination of the passing drop flow is avoided.
  • the rain gauge further comprises a light emitter 5, such as e.g. a LED 5.
  • the light emitter is connected to a control unit 7.
  • the light emitter emits a light beam 8 directed to a corresponding light receiver 9.
  • the light receiver is connected to a control unit 7 via an electrical connection 11.
  • the light beam emitted from the light emitter 5 will, according to the invention, be pulse shaped in the sense, the light beam is only turned on in periods.
  • the controlling unit 7, which subsequently will increment a drop counting register, will register the change.
  • the light will be turned on for approximately 0.35 ms and turned off for approximately 32 ms, i.e. a duty cycle on approximately 1%.
  • the achieved reduction of illumination time according to the invention, and the resulting reduction of power consumption is surprisingly advantageous in connection with flow measuring.
  • The, the significant reduced power consumption combined with a reliable measuring should seen in the perspective that flow measuring is a continuously measuring going on for years.
  • the dimensioning of the light emitter and the performance of the light emitter should be adapted to the drop flow, such that the frequency of the light impulses sufficiently ensures that no drops will be overlooked.
  • Fig. 2 shows an illustration of how the pulse shape of the light emitter 5 is according to an embodiment of the invention.
  • the pulse peaks 20 and 21 determines the time duration when the light emitter is activated.
  • the structure of the shown activation of the LED has form of a pulse train having a constant period and a constant duration of the activation. It should nevertheless be noted that the shape of activation is not crucial. It is therefore within the scope of the invention possible to change the period or the time duration of activation dynamically as a function of currently applicable criteria's, as e.g. the state of the system can form the basis of the mentioned changes. As an example the system could be adapted to transmit bursts of pulse trains, if no drop flow has been detected over a given period of time and then return to a constant pulse train at the first indication of a fluid flow.

Landscapes

  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Hydrology & Water Resources (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Atmospheric Sciences (AREA)
  • Biodiversity & Conservation Biology (AREA)
  • Ecology (AREA)
  • Environmental Sciences (AREA)
  • Measuring Volume Flow (AREA)

Abstract

La présente invention porte sur un débitmètre rheumamétrique optique, destiné de préférence à mesurer la pluie et pouvant effectuer des mesures reproductibles en consommant peu d'énergie. L'invention bénéficie du fait qu'il suffit d'utiliser la lumière modulée pour obtenir un enregistrement optique des globules. L'utilisation de la lumière modulée permet d'obtenir une enveloppe suffisante en fonction de l'effet de l'écoulement par globules sur le trajet optique.
PCT/DK1998/000425 1997-10-07 1998-10-05 Debitmetre optique WO1999021031A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU94325/98A AU9432598A (en) 1997-10-07 1998-10-05 Optical flowmeter

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DK114497A DK114497A (da) 1997-10-07 1997-10-07 Optisk flowmåler
DK1144/97 1997-10-07

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO1999021031A1 true WO1999021031A1 (fr) 1999-04-29

Family

ID=8101511

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/DK1998/000425 WO1999021031A1 (fr) 1997-10-07 1998-10-05 Debitmetre optique

Country Status (3)

Country Link
AU (1) AU9432598A (fr)
DK (1) DK114497A (fr)
WO (1) WO1999021031A1 (fr)

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US7135146B2 (en) 2000-10-11 2006-11-14 Innovadyne Technologies, Inc. Universal non-contact dispense peripheral apparatus and method for a primary liquid handling device
US7169616B2 (en) 2002-01-25 2007-01-30 Innovadyne Technologies, Inc. Method of purging trapped gas from a system fluid contained in an actuation valve
GB2444512A (en) * 2006-12-06 2008-06-11 Jigsaw Project Services Ltd A rain gauge
WO2017060336A1 (fr) * 2015-10-09 2017-04-13 Vermes Microdispensing GmbH Dispositif de détection de goutte
JP2019501366A (ja) * 2015-10-09 2019-01-17 フェルメス マイクロディスペンシング ゲゼルシャフト ミット ベシュレンクテル ハフツンク 光学的な液滴検出のための光導波路装置
JP2019164134A (ja) * 2018-03-14 2019-09-26 伊藤　昇 雨量計

Citations (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3641320A (en) * 1970-12-23 1972-02-08 Us Air Force Raindrop counter
US3907429A (en) * 1974-08-08 1975-09-23 Ibm Method and device for detecting the velocity of droplets formed from a liquid stream
US4314484A (en) * 1979-10-09 1982-02-09 University Of Utah Research Foundation Self-compensating optical drop count apparatus for measuring volumetric fluid flow
US4321461A (en) * 1980-04-18 1982-03-23 K/W/D Associates Flow rate monitor and totalizer with count display
US4520667A (en) * 1983-09-07 1985-06-04 Nelson Joseph A Nonmechanical digital raingauge
US4680462A (en) * 1984-12-11 1987-07-14 Baxter Travenol Laboratories, Inc. Fluid drop detection system
US4681563A (en) * 1985-04-26 1987-07-21 Centaur Sciences, Inc. Flow control system
US5166667A (en) * 1990-11-29 1992-11-24 Jen Chung H Intravenous infusion counter and alarm apparatus
US5267978A (en) * 1990-08-29 1993-12-07 Random Corporation Pulsed drop detector for intravenous systems

Patent Citations (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3641320A (en) * 1970-12-23 1972-02-08 Us Air Force Raindrop counter
US3907429A (en) * 1974-08-08 1975-09-23 Ibm Method and device for detecting the velocity of droplets formed from a liquid stream
US4314484A (en) * 1979-10-09 1982-02-09 University Of Utah Research Foundation Self-compensating optical drop count apparatus for measuring volumetric fluid flow
US4321461A (en) * 1980-04-18 1982-03-23 K/W/D Associates Flow rate monitor and totalizer with count display
US4520667A (en) * 1983-09-07 1985-06-04 Nelson Joseph A Nonmechanical digital raingauge
US4680462A (en) * 1984-12-11 1987-07-14 Baxter Travenol Laboratories, Inc. Fluid drop detection system
US4681563A (en) * 1985-04-26 1987-07-21 Centaur Sciences, Inc. Flow control system
US5267978A (en) * 1990-08-29 1993-12-07 Random Corporation Pulsed drop detector for intravenous systems
US5166667A (en) * 1990-11-29 1992-11-24 Jen Chung H Intravenous infusion counter and alarm apparatus

Cited By (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US7135146B2 (en) 2000-10-11 2006-11-14 Innovadyne Technologies, Inc. Universal non-contact dispense peripheral apparatus and method for a primary liquid handling device
US7169616B2 (en) 2002-01-25 2007-01-30 Innovadyne Technologies, Inc. Method of purging trapped gas from a system fluid contained in an actuation valve
GB2444512A (en) * 2006-12-06 2008-06-11 Jigsaw Project Services Ltd A rain gauge
WO2017060336A1 (fr) * 2015-10-09 2017-04-13 Vermes Microdispensing GmbH Dispositif de détection de goutte
JP2019500578A (ja) * 2015-10-09 2019-01-10 フェルメス マイクロディスペンシング ゲゼルシャフト ミット ベシュレンクテル ハフツンク 液滴検出デバイス
JP2019501366A (ja) * 2015-10-09 2019-01-17 フェルメス マイクロディスペンシング ゲゼルシャフト ミット ベシュレンクテル ハフツンク 光学的な液滴検出のための光導波路装置
US10753850B2 (en) 2015-10-09 2020-08-25 Vermes Microdispensing GmbH Drop-detection device
US10809116B2 (en) 2015-10-09 2020-10-20 Vermes Microdispensing GmbH Light-guiding element arrangement for optical drop detection
JP2019164134A (ja) * 2018-03-14 2019-09-26 伊藤　昇 雨量計

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DK114497A (da) 1999-04-08
AU9432598A (en) 1999-05-10

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