A device and method for measuring air flow parameters

Abstract

The present invention relates to an airflow parameter measurement device and method, comprising: a processor, an ultrasonic transmitter as a center, and at least three receiving ends with an ultrasonic wave receiving function which are arranged in a ring and surround the center; on the one hand, by adopting the receiving end with the ultrasonic wave receiving function, the receiving end is sensitive to weak airflow such as breeze, etc., and can be used to measure airflow parameters within the range of breeze and strong wind, with a large measurement range and high measurement accuracy, and can perform measurements in low temperature, rainy and snowy weather environments; on the other hand, adopting the receiving end with the ultrasonic wave receiving function such as silicon microphone can also greatly reduce the cost and volume. Therefore, an airflow parameter measurement device of the present invention greatly reduces the cost and volume while ensuring the measurement accuracy and measurement range.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of airflow parameter measurement, and in particular to an airflow parameter measurement device and method. Background Art

[0002] Anemometers play an important role in meteorology, civil aviation, highways, agriculture and new energy fields. At present, commonly used anemometers include cup anemometers and ultrasonic anemometers. Specifically:

[0003] 1) Cup anemometer: As a mechanical wind speed and direction meter, the wind speed is obtained mainly by the wind driving the impeller to rotate. Specifically, the angular velocity of the impeller of the cup anemometer or the number of revolutions of the impeller is converted into a pulse electrical signal, and the wind speed is calculated based on this. The cup anemometer has a low cost, but because there are active structural parts such as impellers, they are prone to aging failures, resulting in a short lifespan. In addition, because the anemometer is mainly used in indoor windy environments, it may be stuck due to ice when the external environment is low temperature, rainy or snowy. In addition, as a mechanical wind speed and direction meter, the cup anemometer is not sensitive to breezes due to structural limitations and cannot accurately measure the wind speed of breezes. However, if the structure is improved to make it sensitive, it is more likely to be damaged in strong winds. Therefore, the cup anemometer can only be used in lower-end application scenarios, such as application scenarios that do not require high measurement accuracy.

[0004] 2) Ultrasonic anemometer: Ultrasonic anemometers based on the time difference method mostly adopt the time-sharing principle, and are generally arranged in a right cross with equal spacing, that is, two pairs of ultrasonic sensors, namely ultrasonic probes, take turns to send and receive signals, respectively measure the wind speed data in the x-axis direction and y-axis direction of a plane, and calculate the actual wind speed and direction through the time difference method. During the entire measurement process, the number of switching between sending and receiving is large, and the number of sampling times is large. Although the test accuracy is higher than that of the cup anemometer, the price of the four ultrasonic sensors is relatively high, generally about 10 times higher than that of the cup anemometer, and the size is larger;

[0005] There is also a reflection-based ultrasonic anemometer, which includes an integrated transceiver sensor (which can receive and send signals) and four ultrasonic receiving sensors arranged in an array. The integrated transceiver sensor is driven by a square wave to send ultrasonic waves. The time delay for the same signal to reach different ultrasonic receiving sensors is determined by the sending and receiving delays. The disadvantage is that it has high requirements on the installation structure (such as deformation and other factors), and the cost is also high and the size is large. Summary of the invention

[0006] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an airflow parameter measuring device and method in view of the deficiencies in the prior art.

[0007] The technical solution of an airflow parameter measuring device of the present invention is as follows:

[0008] It comprises: a processor, an ultrasonic wave transmitting head as a center, and at least three receiving ends with ultrasonic wave receiving function arranged in a ring shape and surrounding the center;

[0009] The ultrasonic transmitter is used to transmit ultrasonic waves to each receiving end simultaneously;

[0010] Each receiving end is used to generate an electrical signal according to the received ultrasonic wave and send it to the processor;

[0011] The processor is used to obtain the phase difference of the ultrasonic waves received by each receiving end according to the multiple electrical signals, and calculate the parameters including the airflow velocity and / or the airflow direction by using the phase difference method.

[0012] The beneficial effects of an airflow parameter measuring device of the present invention are as follows:

[0013] On the one hand, by adopting a receiving end with the function of receiving ultrasonic waves, the receiving end reacts sensitively to weak airflows such as breezes, and can be used to measure airflow parameters within the range of breezes and strong winds. The measurement range is large and the measurement accuracy is high. It can also perform measurements in low temperature environments and rainy and snowy weather environments. On the other hand, adopting a receiving end with the function of receiving ultrasonic waves, such as a silicon microphone, can also greatly reduce costs and volume. Therefore, an airflow parameter measurement device of the present invention greatly reduces costs and volume while ensuring measurement accuracy and measurement range.

[0014] On the basis of the above scheme, the airflow parameter measuring device of the present invention can also be improved as follows.

[0015] Furthermore, the ultrasonic transmitter is located on a center normal line of a circular plane formed by the at least three receiving ends.

[0016] The beneficial effect of adopting the above further solution is that the ultrasonic transmitter is located on the center normal of the annular plane formed by at least three receiving ends, further reducing the computational complexity of calculating parameters including airflow velocity and / or airflow direction using the phase difference method.

[0017] Furthermore, the ultrasonic transmitter and the at least three receiving ends are arranged on the same circuit board, and further include: an ultrasonic reflector arranged opposite to the receiving end, and the emitting direction of the ultrasonic transmitter is toward the ultrasonic reflector.

[0018] The beneficial effect of adopting the above-mentioned further scheme is: the ultrasonic transmitter and at least three receiving ends are all arranged on the same circuit board, so that the structure of the airflow parameter measurement device of the present invention is more compact, and also includes an ultrasonic reflector plate arranged opposite to the receiving end. The emission direction of the ultrasonic transmitter is toward the ultrasonic reflector plate. At this time, the ultrasonic wave emitted by the ultrasonic transmitter is reflected to the receiving end through the ultrasonic reflector plate, thereby increasing the travel distance between the ultrasonic wave emitted by the ultrasonic transmitter and the ultrasonic wave received by the receiving end, thereby further improving the measurement accuracy.

[0019] Furthermore, a power amplifier circuit for amplifying the ultrasonic transmission power of the ultrasonic transmission head is connected between the processor and the ultrasonic transmission head.

[0020] The beneficial effect of adopting the above further scheme is: the ultrasonic transmission power of the ultrasonic transmitter is increased by the power amplifier circuit, thereby enhancing the signal strength of the ultrasonic wave emitted by the ultrasonic transmitter, improving the signal-to-noise ratio with outdoor noise, and improving the measurement accuracy.

[0021] Furthermore, the processor includes a DA interface and multiple AD interfaces, the power amplifier circuit is connected to the DA interface, and each of the receiving ends is connected to a corresponding AD interface.

[0022] The beneficial effect of adopting the above further solution is that when adding a receiving end, the electrical signal of the newly added receiving end can be obtained by connecting the AD interface, which is more flexible and convenient.

[0023] Furthermore, a high-pass filter circuit is connected between each of the receiving ends and the connected AD interface.

[0024] The beneficial effect of adopting the above further scheme is that the non-ultrasonic low-frequency signal in the electrical signal sent by the receiving end to the processor can be filtered out through the high-pass filter circuit, making the processor process the received electrical signal more concise and convenient, and the amplification factor can be adjusted to increase the signal-to-noise ratio.

[0025] Furthermore, the receiving end is a silicon microphone or an ultrasonic probe.

[0026] The beneficial effect of adopting the above further solution is that when the receiving end is a silicon microphone, it is more conducive to reducing costs.

[0027] Furthermore, the silicon microphone is of bottom sound intake type.

[0028] The beneficial effect of adopting the above further solution is: better constraining the incoming sound direction from a structural point of view and reducing interference from other directions.

[0029] The technical solution of an airflow parameter measurement method of the present invention is as follows: using an airflow parameter measurement device as described in any one of the above, comprising:

[0030] The ultrasonic transmitter of the airflow parameter measuring device transmits ultrasonic waves to each receiving end simultaneously;

[0031] Each receiving end generates an electrical signal according to the received ultrasonic wave and sends it to the processor;

[0032] The processor obtains the phase difference of the ultrasonic waves received by each receiving end according to the multiple electrical signals, and calculates the parameters including the airflow velocity and / or the airflow direction by using the phase difference method.

[0033] The beneficial effects of the airflow parameter measurement method of the present invention are as follows:

[0034] An airflow parameter measuring device of the present invention, on the one hand, by adopting a receiving end with an ultrasonic wave receiving function, the receiving end reacts sensitively to weak airflows such as breezes, and can be used to measure airflow parameters within the range of breezes and strong winds. The measurement range is large and the measurement accuracy is high. Moreover, the measurement can be performed in low temperature environments and rainy and snowy weather environments. On the other hand, the use of a receiving end with an ultrasonic wave receiving function can also greatly reduce costs and volume. Therefore, an airflow parameter measuring method of the present invention, using an airflow parameter measuring device of the present invention, can ensure measurement accuracy and measurement range. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments of the present invention will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other accompanying drawings can be obtained based on these accompanying drawings without paying creative labor.

[0036] Figure 1 This is one of the structural schematic diagrams of an airflow parameter measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 2 This is a second structural schematic diagram of an airflow parameter measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 3 This is a third structural schematic diagram of an airflow parameter measurement device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 4 This is a fourth structural schematic diagram of an airflow parameter measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 5 This is a fifth structural schematic diagram of an airflow parameter measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0041] Figure 6The figure is a flow chart of a method for measuring airflow parameters according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0043] An airflow parameter measuring device according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises: a processor 9, an ultrasonic transmitter 1 as a center, and at least three receiving ends 2 with ultrasonic wave receiving function arranged in a ring shape and surrounding the center; specifically:

[0044] 1) If Figure 1 As shown, it includes three receiving ends 2 with ultrasonic wave receiving function arranged in a ring and surrounding the center, wherein the three receiving ends 2 may be arranged at equal intervals or at unequal intervals. It can be understood that in order to reduce the computational complexity of calculating the parameters including the airflow velocity and / or the airflow direction using the phase difference method, the three receiving ends 2 are arranged at equal intervals;

[0045] 2) If Figure 2 As shown, it includes four receiving ends 2 with ultrasonic wave receiving function arranged in a ring and surrounding the center, wherein the four receiving ends 2 may be arranged at equal intervals or at unequal intervals. It can be understood that in order to reduce the computational complexity of calculating the parameters including the airflow velocity and / or the airflow direction using the phase difference method, the four receiving ends 2 are arranged at equal intervals;

[0046] The ultrasonic transmitter 1 is used to transmit ultrasonic waves to each receiving end 2 at the same time;

[0047] Each receiving end 2 is used to generate an electrical signal according to the received ultrasonic wave and send it to the processor 9;

[0048] The processor 9 is used to obtain the phase difference of the ultrasonic wave received by each receiving end 2 according to multiple electrical signals, and calculate the parameters including the airflow velocity and / or the airflow direction by using the phase difference method, wherein the processor 9 can adopt a microcontroller unit, i.e., MCU or PLC, etc. The phase difference method is well known to those skilled in the art, and it can be understood that when an airflow parameter measurement device in an embodiment of the present invention includes 4 or more receiving ends and when it includes 3 receiving ends, the process of calculating the parameters including the airflow velocity and / or the airflow direction by using the phase difference method is well known to those skilled in the art, there is no technical difficulty, and it will not be elaborated here.

[0049] The receiving end 2 is a silicon microphone or an ultrasonic probe. When the receiving end 2 is a silicon microphone, it is more conducive to reducing costs. When the receiving end 2 is a silicon microphone, the silicon microphone is a bottom-inlet type.

[0050] An airflow parameter measuring device of the present application, on the one hand, by adopting a receiving end 2 with an ultrasonic receiving function, the receiving end 2 is sensitive to weak airflows such as breezes, and can be used to measure airflow parameters within the range of breezes and strong winds. The measurement range is large, and the measurement accuracy is high, and the measurement can be performed in low temperature, rainy and snowy weather environments. On the other hand, the use of a receiving end 2 with an ultrasonic receiving function such as a silicon microphone can also greatly reduce the cost and volume. Therefore, an airflow parameter measuring device of the present application greatly reduces the cost and volume while ensuring the measurement accuracy and measurement range. It can be understood that an airflow parameter measuring device of the present application can be used in a natural environment. When measuring the wind, the airflow velocity obtained is the wind speed, and the airflow direction obtained is then matched with the actual southeast, northwest, and northeast directions to obtain the real wind direction. The specific process is well known to those skilled in the art and will not be repeated here. It can also be used in indoor environments or some experimental environments to obtain parameters including airflow velocity and / or airflow direction.

[0051] Preferably, in the above technical solution, the ultrasonic transmitter 1 is located on the center normal of the annular plane formed by the at least three receiving ends 2, specifically:

[0052] like Figure 3 As shown, the ultrasonic transmitter 1 is arranged on a fixed component on the center normal of the annular plane formed by at least three receiving ends 2. The fixed component can be a circuit board or a plastic board. At this time, the transmission direction of the ultrasonic transmitter 1 is toward the receiving end 2, so as to transmit ultrasonic waves to each receiving end 2 at the same time.

[0053] Moreover, the ultrasonic transmitter 1 is located on the center normal line of the annular plane formed by at least three receiving ends 2, further reducing the computational complexity of calculating parameters including airflow velocity and / or airflow direction using the phase difference method.

[0054] Preferably, in the above technical solution, the ultrasonic transmitter 1 and the at least three receiving ends 2 are arranged on the same circuit board 3, and further include: an ultrasonic reflector 4 arranged opposite to the receiving end 2, and the emitting direction of the ultrasonic transmitter 1 is toward the ultrasonic reflector 4, specifically:

[0055] like Figure 4As shown, the ultrasonic transmitter 1 and at least three receiving ends 2 are all arranged on the same circuit board 3, so that the structure of an airflow parameter measuring device of the present application is more compact, and the ultrasonic reflector 4 is arranged opposite to the receiving end 2, and the emission direction of the ultrasonic transmitter 1 is toward the ultrasonic reflector 4. At this time, the ultrasonic wave emitted by the ultrasonic transmitter 1 is reflected to the receiving end 2 by the ultrasonic reflector 4. Compared with the ultrasonic transmitter 1 directly transmitting the ultrasonic wave to the receiving end 2, the distance between the ultrasonic wave emitted by the ultrasonic transmitter 1 and the ultrasonic wave received by the receiving end 2 is increased. In the phase difference method, this distance is used as a divisor to obtain the airflow velocity in a smaller range, thereby further improving the measurement accuracy.

[0056] The ultrasonic wave reflecting plate 4 may be made of ABS, PC or an aluminum substrate.

[0057] Preferably, in the above technical solution, if Figure 5 As shown, a power amplifier circuit 6 for amplifying the ultrasonic transmission power of the ultrasonic transmission head 1 is also connected between the processor 9 and the ultrasonic transmission head 1 .

[0058] The ultrasonic transmission power of the ultrasonic transmitter 1 is increased by the power amplifier circuit 6, thereby enhancing the signal strength of the ultrasonic wave emitted by the ultrasonic transmitter 1, improving the signal-to-noise ratio with outdoor noise, and improving the measurement accuracy. The power amplifier circuit 6 is well known to those skilled in the art and will not be described in detail here.

[0059] Preferably, in the above technical solution, if Figure 5 As shown, the processor 9 includes a DA interface 8 and multiple AD interfaces 7 , the power amplifier circuit 6 is connected to the DA interface 8 , and each of the receiving ends 2 is connected to a corresponding AD interface 7 .

[0060] When adding a receiving terminal 2, the electrical signal of the newly added receiving terminal 2 can be obtained by connecting the AD interface 7, which is more flexible and convenient.

[0061] Preferably, in the above technical solution, a high-pass filter circuit 5 is further connected between each of the receiving ends 2 and the connected AD interface 7 .

[0062] The high-pass filter circuit 5 can filter out non-ultrasonic low-frequency signals in the electrical signal sent by the receiving end 2 to the processor 9, making it simpler and more convenient for the processor 9 to process the received electrical signal, and can adjust the amplification factor to increase the signal-to-noise ratio. The high-pass filter circuit 5 is well known to those skilled in the art and will not be described in detail here.

[0063] Among them, an airflow parameter measurement device of the present application also includes a shell, and the shell can be designed according to actual conditions, and the specific structure of the shell is not limited here.

[0064] like Figure 6 As shown, a method for measuring airflow parameters according to an embodiment of the present invention adopts an airflow parameter measuring device as described in any one of the above items, including:

[0065] S1, the ultrasonic transmitter 1 of the airflow parameter measuring device simultaneously transmits ultrasonic waves to each receiving end 2;

[0066] S2, each receiving end 2 generates an electrical signal according to the received ultrasonic wave and sends it to the processor 9;

[0067] S3. The processor 9 obtains the phase difference of the ultrasonic waves received by each receiving end 2 according to the multiple electrical signals, and calculates parameters including airflow velocity and / or airflow direction by using a phase difference method.

[0068] An airflow parameter measuring device of the present invention, on the one hand, by adopting a receiving end 2 with an ultrasonic wave receiving function, the receiving end 2 is sensitive to weak airflows such as breezes, and can be used to measure airflow parameters within the range of breezes and strong winds. The measurement range is large and the measurement accuracy is high. Moreover, the measurement can be performed in low temperature environments and rainy and snowy weather environments. On the other hand, the use of a receiving end 2 with an ultrasonic wave receiving function, such as a silicon microphone, can also greatly reduce the cost and volume. Therefore, an airflow parameter measuring method of the present invention, using an airflow parameter measuring device of the present invention, can ensure the measurement accuracy and measurement range.

[0069] In the present invention, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of the present invention, the meaning of "plurality" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise clearly and specifically defined.

[0070] In the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "example", "specific example", or "some examples" etc. means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described may be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner. In addition, those skilled in the art may combine and combine the different embodiments or examples described in this specification and the features of the different embodiments or examples, without contradiction.

[0071] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described above, it is to be understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and are not to be construed as limitations of the present invention. A person skilled in the art may change, modify, replace and vary the above embodiments within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An airflow parameter measuring device, characterized in that: include: A processor, an ultrasonic transmitter as a center, and at least three receiving ends with ultrasonic receiving function arranged in a ring and surrounding the center; The ultrasonic transmitter is used to transmit ultrasonic waves to each receiving end simultaneously; Each receiving end is used to generate an electrical signal according to the received ultrasonic wave and send it to the processor; The processor is used to obtain the phase difference of the ultrasonic wave received by each receiving end according to the multiple electrical signals, and calculate the parameters including the airflow velocity and / or the airflow direction by using the phase difference method; The ultrasonic transmitter and the at least three receiving ends are all arranged on the same circuit board, and further include: an ultrasonic reflector arranged opposite to the receiving end, and the transmitting direction of the ultrasonic transmitter is toward the ultrasonic reflector; The ultrasonic transmitter is located on the center normal line of the annular plane formed by the at least three receiving ends.

2. The airflow parameter measuring device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A power amplifier circuit for amplifying the ultrasonic transmission power of the ultrasonic transmission head is also connected between the processor and the ultrasonic transmission head.

3. The airflow parameter measuring device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The processor includes a DA interface and multiple AD interfaces, the power amplifier circuit is connected to the DA interface, and each of the receiving ends is connected to a corresponding AD interface.

4. The airflow parameter measuring device according to claim 3, characterized in that: A high-pass filter circuit is also connected between each receiving end and the connected AD interface.

5. The airflow parameter measuring device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The receiving end is a silicon microphone or an ultrasonic probe.

6. The airflow parameter measuring device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The silicon microphone is of bottom-inlet type.

7. A method for measuring airflow parameters, characterized in that: An airflow parameter measuring device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising: The ultrasonic transmitter of the airflow parameter measuring device transmits ultrasonic waves to each receiving end simultaneously; Each receiving end generates an electrical signal according to the received ultrasonic wave and sends it to the processor; The processor obtains the phase difference of the ultrasonic waves received by each receiving end according to the multiple electrical signals, and calculates the parameters including the airflow velocity and / or the airflow direction by using the phase difference method.

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