Measuring device with near-field antenna

Abstract

The invention relates to a measuring device (100, 300, 400) for detecting a measured variable, comprising: at least one communication device, which is configured for wireless short-range communication with a mobile operating device (200); wherein the communication device has one or more coil elements (106, 111, 306, 406, 411) designed in a planar manner, and wherein the coil elements are configured for electromagnetic coupling with at least one coil element of the operating device (200); and wherein at least two areas with different normal vectors are arranged on one coil element (106, 111, 306, 406, 411) or different coil elements (106, 111, 306, 406, 411) of the communication device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a measuring device for detecting a measured variable and to a system having such a measuring device. Background Art

[0002] Measuring devices for detecting measured variables are known in the prior art and are used in particular for various measurement and monitoring tasks in automation technology. For example, the level, flow, pressure or density of a medium can be detected and monitored by such a measuring device. The measuring device used must first be put into operation and adjusted / calibrated according to its specific operating conditions and measurement tasks. Usually, such a measuring device is also regularly maintained during operation and its functionality is checked. In this case, modern measuring devices provide a variety of settings and diagnostic options, wherein mobile operating devices such as smartphones, tablets or laptops are increasingly used in this regard, allowing access and data exchange with the measuring device via a wireless communication interface. For example, US 8,179,266 B2 discloses a measuring device that allows wireless communication with an operating device by means of an RFID interface. The measuring device includes a coil element that can be magnetically coupled to a coil element of the operating device, so that corresponding data exchange can be performed. In the case of energy transmission without energy transmission via an energy source arranged in the measuring device, inductive coupling also provides the possibility of transmitting the energy.

[0003] It has now been found that there is a further need to further improve or simplify the data exchange between such measuring devices and the mobile operating device. In particular, there is a further need to simplify the inductive coupling between the operating device and the measuring device, since it has been found in practice that in this process, in particular in the case of measuring devices with a substantially cylindrical housing, it is relatively easy to make mistakes and the user often needs several attempts in order to be able to establish a satisfactory inductive coupling between the two devices. Summary of the invention

[0004] The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a measuring device which can simplify the exchange of data with a mobile operating device. In particular, the object of the present invention is to simplify the exchange of data with a measuring device provided with a substantially cylindrical housing. These and other objects which are mentioned on reading the following description or which can be appreciated by a person skilled in the art are achieved by the subject matter of the independent claims. The dependent claims further develop the central idea of ​​the invention in a particularly advantageous manner.

[0005] The present invention provides a measuring device for detecting at least one measured variable, wherein the measuring device comprises: at least one communication device, which is configured for wireless short-range communication with a mobile operating device; wherein the communication device comprises one or more coil elements designed in a planar manner, wherein the coil elements are configured for electromagnetic coupling with at least one coil element of the operating device; and wherein at least two regions with different normal vectors are arranged on one coil element or different coil elements of the communication device.

[0006] The invention is based on the knowledge that in known measuring devices with a communication device based on inductive coupling between coil elements of the measuring device and coil elements of the operating device, the inductive coupling is greatest when the coil elements of the measuring device and the coil elements of the operating device are aligned parallel to each other and overlap. If, on the other hand, the coil elements are arranged orthogonally to each other, no inductive coupling or only very poor inductive coupling can be achieved. In the intermediate region, i.e. in the region between the parallel arrangement and the orthogonal arrangement of the coil elements, the coupling quality decreases accordingly. In practice, it has been found that problems exist in particular in the case of measuring devices with a cylindrical housing, since after installation, the user cannot usually see from the outside in which position the coil elements of the measuring device are arranged.

[0007] The invention now proposes to provide regions with different normal vectors on one coil element or on different coil elements. In other words, according to the invention, a region of one coil element or regions of a plurality of coil elements are provided, which are arranged in different orientations in the measuring device, so that there are a plurality of regions that can be oriented in parallel with the coil elements of the operating device. As a result, it is possible to provide an optimal inductive coupling not only in one direction, but also in at least two directions, so that the operator can more easily provide the inductive coupling of the operating device and the measuring device.

[0008] Here, the term "area" should be broadly understood to include not only a plane / flat surface arranged on one or more coil elements, but also a curved, angled or wound surface arranged on one or more coil elements, as long as at least two areas with different normal vectors (i.e. different orientations) are provided. In this example, the term "measuring device" should also be broadly understood to include all units such as sensors, field devices, etc., which can be used to detect measured variables and are configured to perform data exchange and / or energy exchange with a mobile operating device by means of inductive coupling of coil units. Preferably, in this example, short-range communication should be understood as so-called "strong coupling" or "remote coupling", which can be provided by an RFID interface or an NFC interface that is particularly preferably used in this article. Here, the term "short-range communication" has an effective range of up to several meters. Due to safety reasons, access to a greater distance is not provided in principle.

[0009] Preferably, the measuring device comprises a housing with at least one cylindrical section, wherein the at least one coil element is preferably arranged on or in the cylindrical section of the housing. However, the housing of the measuring device can have different geometries, wherein the invention can be used particularly advantageously in the case of a substantially cylindrical housing. Since the measuring device is often arranged in the installation position by means of a threaded section provided on the housing, the final orientation of the measuring device and thus of the communication device cannot be accurately determined and the operator cannot clearly see from the outside how the communication device is arranged in the measuring device.

[0010] Preferably, at least one coil element is arranged on a separate circuit board element. For example, the coil element can be part of an RFID module or an NFC module, which is configured as a printed circuit board component (PCB). Alternatively or additionally, at least one coil element can be configured as a separate component and electrically connected to a circuit board element arranged in a housing, wherein preferably, two coil elements are configured as separate components, which are preferably connected to a circuit board element, wherein the coil elements can also be connected to separate circuit board elements respectively. In other words, the present invention includes embodiments in which one or more coil elements are fixedly arranged on a circuit board element and embodiments in which a plurality of coil elements are arranged as separate components and are electrically contacted with the circuit board element, wherein a relevant circuit board element can be provided for each coil element, or only one circuit board can be provided for a plurality of coil elements. Electronic components required for communication and other electronic components required for various measurement tasks of the measuring device can be arranged on the circuit board element. Components for energy supply / transmission can also be provided at or on the circuit board element. In this article, it should be noted that the present invention includes both active communication devices and passive communication devices, i.e., communication devices with energy supply or communication devices without energy supply.

[0011] Preferably, the communication device comprises two coil elements, each of which is arranged in a plane and the normal vectors of the coil elements are arranged at an angle of 15° to 165°, preferably at an angle of 45° to 135°, and particularly preferably at an angle of 90° to each other, wherein the coil elements are preferably arranged on corresponding circuit board elements. In this context, it is particularly preferred that two circuit boards arranged orthogonally to each other and each having a coil element arranged thereon are arranged in a cylindrical housing part of the measuring device, so that good inductive coupling with the mobile operating device can be achieved in a large area around the measuring device.

[0012] Alternatively or additionally, preferably, the communication device includes at least one coil element having a curved surface, wherein the curved surface preferably corresponds to a partial surface of the cylindrical side surface. In this embodiment, it is particularly preferred that the coil element is constructed as a separate component and is connected to a circuit board element arranged in the housing accordingly. For example, such a coil element can be laid on the inner surface or outer surface of the housing. For example, such a coil element can be constructed as a film element, and the film element can be bonded to the inner surface or outer surface of the housing. In addition, more than two coil elements can also be laid on the inner surface or outer surface of the housing. Here, by using more than two coil elements, some redundancy can be provided, because in the case of failure of one of the coil elements, at least communication with another coil element can still be carried out. It is particularly preferred to construct the coil element as a film element, because they can be relatively easily arranged in or on the housing when manufacturing the measuring device, and can cover a larger area of ​​the housing without taking up a lot of installation space.

[0013] In addition, there is the possibility of printing at least one coil element or its turns / windings on the inner or outer surface of the housing. Thus, the housing surface can also be used to hold one or more coil elements and the coil elements used can be arranged without requiring a lot of installation space.

[0014] In addition, the coil element can also be integrated and accommodated inside the housing wall, wherein, preferably, the wall is at least partially made of non-metallic material (in particular, plastic material). For example, such an embodiment can be provided by a multi-stage injection molding process (mehrstufiges Spritzgussverfahren) or by a 2-component injection molding process (2-KomponentenSpritzgussverfahren). Preferably, non-metallic material is used at least at the position of the measuring device that provides unimpeded inductive coupling with the mobile operating device. Particularly preferably, the part of the housing other than the threaded part is made of plastic material so that as large an area as possible that allows good inductive coupling with the mobile operating device can be provided. However, the present invention is not limited to the use of such a housing. In addition, the coil element can also be arranged on a metal housing part, and a non-conductive material (e.g., a film) is arranged between the housing and the coil element to insulate the coil element from the housing.

[0015] Finally, there is the possibility of arranging at least one coil element on or in the cover element so that an inductive coupling to the mobile operating device can also be achieved on the cover element. This can further expand the area in which a good inductive coupling can be provided and, for example, also allow inductive coupling in a direction transverse to the longitudinal extension of the measuring device.

[0016] Furthermore, the invention relates to a system for detecting a measured variable, comprising at least one measuring device as described above and at least one mobile operating device, which is configured for electromagnetic coupling with at least one coil element of the measuring device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] A detailed description of the drawings is given below.

[0018] Figure 1 A plurality of schematic diagrams showing a first preferred embodiment of a measuring device according to the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 Two schematic diagrams showing a second preferred embodiment of a measuring device according to the invention; and

[0020] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing a third preferred embodiment of the measuring device according to the present invention is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] Figure 1 A number of schematic diagrams show a first preferred embodiment of a measuring device 100 according to the invention, for example in the form of a radar sensor.

[0022] The measuring device 100 comprises a cylindrical housing part 101, which is particularly preferably made of a non-metallic material (e.g., plastic). The cylindrical housing part 101 can also be formed only partially of a non-metallic material, in particular at positions adjacent to the coil element 106, so as to achieve inductive coupling at these positions. The threaded part 102 is preferably connected to the cylindrical housing part 101, by which the measuring device 100 can be arranged in an installation position. A main circuit board 105 with a first coil element 106 and a secondary circuit board 110 with a second coil element 111 are arranged in the cylindrical housing part 101.

[0023] The circuit boards 105, 110 can be configured as RFID modules, each of which has a corresponding RFID chip, or, as in the particularly preferred embodiment shown, they have only one RFID chip 107. Figure 1 It can be clearly seen in FIG. 1 that the circuit boards 105 and 110 are constructed to be planar and are positioned relative to each other so that their plane normals point in different directions, that is, in the particularly preferred embodiment shown, they are arranged to form an angle of approximately 90° relative to each other. Figure 1 Compared to the two upper views shown, the measuring device 100 in the two lower views is rotated by 90° about its longitudinal axis.

[0024] like Figure 1As shown, depending on the position on the circumference of the measuring device 100, the inductive coupling of the mobile operating device 200 and the measuring device 100 can be provided by the first coil element 106 or by the second coil element 111. Therefore, inductive coupling and thus communication can be achieved at any point along the circumference of the cylindrical housing part 101, so that the reliability of data exchange can be significantly improved. In particular, this can avoid the operator having to try multiple times to establish the inductive coupling between the measuring device 100 and the mobile operating device 200.

[0025] Figure 2 Two schematic diagrams of a second preferred embodiment of a measuring device 300 according to the invention are shown. The measuring device 300 comprises a cylindrical housing part 301 and a threaded part 302. In addition, in this embodiment, the measuring device 300 also comprises a main circuit board 305 with an RFID chip and a coil element 306 (here in the form of a film element 306), the main circuit board 305 having an RFID chip, and the coil element 306 connected to the main circuit board 305 by means of connecting wires and / or contact pins 307. The coil element 306 is arranged on the inner surface of the cylindrical housing part 301 and therefore has the shape of a part of the cylindrical side surface.

[0026] In the particularly preferred embodiment shown, the coil element 306 extends over more than half of the cylindrical inner surface of the cylindrical housing part 301. For example, the coil element 306 can be bonded into the cylindrical housing part 301 as a separate element or can also be introduced, for example, by printing on a metal sheet. In addition, the coil element 306 can be arranged integrally in the wall of the cylindrical housing part 301 (for example by a 2-component injection molding process). Alternatively, the coil element 306 can be arranged on the outside of the cylindrical housing part 301 (for example by bonding).

[0027] As an alternative to using non-conductive material for cylindrical housing part 301 , magnetically conductive material may also be provided on the side of coil element 306 facing cylindrical housing part 301 , so that inductive coupling can also be achieved in principle when using a full metal housing.

[0028] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a third preferred embodiment of a measuring device 400 according to the present invention is shown, the measuring device comprising a cylindrical housing part 401 and a threaded part 402. In this embodiment, two coil elements 406, 411 are arranged in the cylindrical housing part 401, the coil elements being located at different positions on the inner surface of the cylindrical housing part 401. The coil elements 406, 411 are connected to a main circuit board 405 comprising at least one RFID chip via connecting wires and / or contact pins 407. In addition, Figure 3The measuring device 400 shown further comprises a cover element 412 , by means of which the housing can be sealed with respect to the environment and in which the coil element can also be arranged.

[0029] However, the invention is not limited to the aforementioned preferred embodiment examples, as long as it includes the content of the claims. In particular, different coil elements or different combinations of coil elements can be arranged on the measuring device, for example in the form of independent RFID / NFC circuit board modules, independent membrane elements, coil elements formed integrally in the housing wall, wherein the coil elements can be arranged or formed in or on the housing in different ways (for example by means of bonding, printing, etc.),

[0030] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0031] This application claims the priority of German patent application 10 2019 211 607.8 filed on August 1, 2019, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0032] Reference numerals list

[0033] A first preferred embodiment of the measuring device 100

[0034] 101 Cylindrical shell part

[0035] 102 Threaded part

[0036] 105 Main circuit board

[0037] 106 first coil element

[0038] 107 RFID chip

[0039] 110 Sub-circuit board

[0040] 111 Second coil element

[0041] 200 Mobile operating equipment

[0042] 300 Second preferred embodiment of the measuring device

[0043] 301 Cylindrical shell part

[0044] 302 threaded part

[0045] 305 Main Circuit Board

[0046] 306 Coil Components

[0047] 307 Connecting wire / contact pin

[0048] 400 Third preferred embodiment of the measuring device

[0049] 401 Cylindrical shell part

[0050] 402 threaded part

[0051] 405 Main Circuit Board

[0052] 406 first coil element

[0053] 407 connecting wire / contact pin

[0054] 411 Second coil element

[0055] 412 Cover element

Claims

1. A measuring device (100, 300, 400) for detecting a measured variable, comprising: at least one communication device configured for wireless short-range communication with a mobile operating device (200), The communication device comprises one or more two-dimensionally designed coil elements (106, 111, 306, 406, 411), the coil elements being configured for electromagnetic coupling with at least one coil element of the operating device (200), and At least two regions with different normal vectors are provided on a coil element (106, 111, 306, 406, 411) or different coil elements (106, 111, 306, 406, 411) of the communication device, wherein at least one coil element (306, 406, 411) is configured as a separate component and electrically connected to a circuit board element (305, 405).

2. The measuring device (100, 300, 400) according to claim 1, wherein: The measuring device (100, 300, 400) comprises a housing having at least one cylindrical portion (101, 301, 401), and wherein at least one coil element (106, 111, 306, 406, 411) is arranged on or in the cylindrical portion (101, 301, 401) of the housing.

3. The measuring device (100, 300, 400) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: At least one coil element (106, 111) is arranged on a separate circuit board element (105, 110).

4. The measuring device (100, 300, 400) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The two coil elements (406, 411) are configured as separate components and are connected to the circuit board element (405).

5. The measuring device (100, 300, 400) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The communication device comprises two coil elements (106, 111), each of the coil elements being arranged in a plane, and the normal vectors of the coil elements being arranged to have an angle between 15° and 165° with respect to each other.

6. The measuring device (100, 300, 400) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The communication device comprises at least one coil element (306, 406, 411) having a curved surface, wherein the curved surface corresponds to a partial surface of a cylindrical side surface.

7. The measuring device (100, 300, 400) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The communication device comprises at least two coil elements (406, 411) having curved surfaces, wherein the curved surfaces each correspond to a partial surface of a cylindrical side surface.

8. The measuring device (100, 300, 400) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: At least one coil element (306, 406, 411) is constructed as a membrane element, which is arranged on the inner surface or outer surface of the shell part of the measuring device (100, 300, 400), and wherein the at least one coil element (306, 406, 411) is bonded to the inner surface or outer surface of the shell part of the measuring device (100, 300, 400).

9. The measuring device (100, 300, 400) according to claim 2, wherein: At least one coil element (306, 406, 411) is at least partially printed on an inner surface or an outer surface of the housing.

10. The measuring device (100, 300, 400) according to claim 2, wherein: At least one coil element is integrally accommodated within the wall of the housing.

11. The measuring device (100, 300, 400) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The measuring device (100, 300, 400) comprises a cover element (412), wherein at least one coil element is arranged on or in the cover element (412).

12. The measuring device (100, 300, 400) according to claim 2, wherein: At least one coil element (306, 406, 411) is provided, which is in electrical contact with a circuit board element (305, 405) arranged in the housing and at least partially surrounds the circuit board element.

13. The measuring device (100, 300, 400) according to claim 2, wherein: The housing of the measuring device (100, 300, 400) has at least one region formed from a non-metallic material, in particular a region made of a plastic material, and at least one coil element is arranged on or in the region of the housing.

14. The measuring device (100, 300, 400) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The communication device comprises an RFID interface and / or an NFC interface.

15. The measuring device (100, 300, 400) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The communication device comprises two coil elements (106, 111), each of the coil elements being arranged in a plane, and the normal vectors of the coil elements being arranged at an angle between 45° and 135° to each other.

16. The measuring device (100, 300, 400) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The communication device comprises two coil elements (106, 111), each of the coil elements is arranged in a plane, and the normal vectors of the coil elements are arranged to have an angle of 90° between each other.

17. The measuring device (100, 300, 400) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The coil elements (106, 111) are arranged on separate circuit board elements (105, 110).

18. The measuring device (100, 300, 400) according to claim 10, wherein: The wall is at least partially formed from a plastic material.

19. A system for detecting a measurement variable, comprising: at least one measuring device (100, 300, 400) according to any one of claims 1 to 18; and At least one mobile operating device (200) is configured to be electromagnetically coupled to at least one coil element of the measuring apparatus (100, 300, 400).

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