Ultrasonic flow sensor and flow detection system

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of sensors, in particular to an ultrasonic flow sensor and a flow detection system.The ultrasonic flow sensor comprises a pipe section, and a first mounting part and a second mounting part are sequentially arranged on the outer wall of the pipe section and used for mounting a first ultrasonic element and a second ultrasonic element; a first reflector and a second reflector are installed in the pipe section, first ultrasonic waves emitted by one ultrasonic element can be reflected to form second ultrasonic waves parallel to the first direction, the second ultrasonic waves can be reflected to form third ultrasonic waves facing the other ultrasonic element, and the first ultrasonic waves and the third ultrasonic waves are detected. And the first ultrasonic element and the receiving element are both arranged on the outer side of the pipe wall of the pipe section, an additional sealing structure is not needed, and use is more convenient.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of sensors, and in particular to an ultrasonic flow sensor and a flow detection system. Background Art

[0002] The ultrasonic flow sensor calculates the flow velocity by the propagation time difference of the ultrasonic signal in the fluid in the pipe, thereby inferring the flow rate. Ultrasonic excitation and receiving elements are required. The ultrasonic excitation or receiving elements in the existing ultrasonic flow sensors are directly installed inside the pipe. Therefore, it is necessary to set a waterproof structure to avoid water leakage at the installation position of the element. In some pipe sections with poor water quality, scale is easy to form on the surface of the element during long-term use, affecting its use. Summary of the invention

[0003] In order to solve the above technical problems, on the one hand, the present invention provides an ultrasonic flow sensor, comprising:

[0004] A pipe segment, which can be connected to a pipeline to be tested, wherein a first mounting portion and a second mounting portion are sequentially arranged at intervals along a first direction on the outer side of a pipe wall of the pipe segment, and the first direction is parallel to a direction in which a medium flows in the pipe segment;

[0005] A first ultrasonic element and a second ultrasonic element, both of which are capable of transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, and the first ultrasonic element and the second ultrasonic element are mounted on the first mounting portion and the second mounting portion, respectively;

[0006] A first reflector and a second reflector are located inside the pipe section, and the first reflector and the second reflector are capable of reflecting a first ultrasonic wave emitted by one of the ultrasonic elements to form a second ultrasonic wave parallel to the first direction, and reflecting the second ultrasonic wave to form a third ultrasonic wave toward another ultrasonic element;

[0007] The first ultrasonic wave and the third ultrasonic wave are measured to calculate the medium flow in the pipe section.

[0008] Preferably, a first concave surface and a second concave surface are respectively provided in the inner wall of the pipe section at positions corresponding to the first mounting portion and the second mounting portion, and the first concave surface and the second concave surface are both formed by the inner wall of the pipe section being recessed toward the outer wall of the pipe section.

[0009] Preferably, the first concave surface and the second concave surface are both integrally formed with the pipe section.

[0010] Preferably, the emitting direction and the receiving direction of the first ultrasonic element and the second ultrasonic element are both directed toward the axis of the pipe segment along the radial direction of the pipe segment, the foci of the first concave surface and the second concave surface are both located on the axis of the pipe segment, and the foci of the first concave surface and the second concave surface fall on the reflecting surfaces of the first reflector and the second reflector respectively.

[0011] Preferably, the first ultrasonic element and the second ultrasonic element both use transducers capable of converting electrical signals into ultrasonic signals or converting ultrasonic signals into electrical signals, and the first ultrasonic element and the second ultrasonic element are both connected to a substrate, which is used to excite and receive electrical signals.

[0012] Preferably, an inner compartment is also provided on the outside of the pipe section, and the inner compartment is used to install a power supply and a signal processing module.

[0013] Preferably, the inner bin comprises a bin body and a bin cover, the bin body and the pipe section are integrally formed, and the bin cover is detachably connected to the bin body.

[0014] Preferably, the first mounting portion and the second mounting portion are both blind holes opened on the pipe wall of the pipe section, and the internal contours of the first mounting portion and the second mounting portion match the external contours of the first ultrasonic element and the second ultrasonic element respectively.

[0015] Preferably, the first reflector and the second reflector are reflective lenses.

[0016] On the other hand, the present invention also provides an ultrasonic flow detection system, comprising the above-mentioned ultrasonic flow sensor, and also comprising a display panel and an alarm, wherein the display panel is used to display the medium flow rate and / or flow rate in the pipe section, and the alarm has a threshold value, and when the medium flow rate and / or flow rate in the section is higher than the threshold value, the alarm can sound an alarm.

[0017] By applying the technical solution provided by the present invention, a first mounting portion and a second mounting portion are sequentially arranged on the outer wall of the pipe section along a first direction, which are used to install a first ultrasonic element and a second ultrasonic element respectively. The first ultrasonic element and the second ultrasonic element can both transmit or receive ultrasonic waves. The first direction is parallel to the direction of flow of the medium in the pipe section. A first reflector and a second reflector are installed on the pipe section. Through the arrangement and cooperation of the first reflector and the second reflector, a first ultrasonic wave emitted by one of the ultrasonic elements can be reflected to form a second ultrasonic wave parallel to the first direction, and the second ultrasonic wave can be reflected to form a third ultrasonic wave toward another ultrasonic element. Based on the corresponding parameters of the first ultrasonic wave and the third ultrasonic wave, the flow velocity and flow rate of the medium in the pipe section are calculated. The first ultrasonic element and the receiving element are both arranged on the outer side of the pipe wall of the pipe section, without the need for an additional sealing structure, and electrical components such as the first ultrasonic element and the receiving element will not directly contact the fluid, so that the overall structure is more stable and durable; and the second ultrasonic wave formed by the reflection of the first reflector and the second ultrasonic wave formed by the emission of the second reflector are both parallel to the first direction, so they propagate in the same direction and in the opposite direction of the flow direction of the medium in the pipe section, thereby performing forward and reverse dual detection of the medium flow velocity in the pipe section, thereby improving the detection accuracy. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 is a partial structural schematic diagram of an ultrasonic flow sensor provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an ultrasonic flow sensor provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Among them, 1. pipe section; 11. first mounting part; 12. second mounting part; 13. first concave surface; 14. second concave surface; 21. first ultrasonic element; 22. second ultrasonic element; 23. substrate; 24. battery; 31. first reflector; 32. second reflector; 4. inner bin; 41. bin body; 42. bin cover. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solution in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings 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.

[0022] Figure 1 It is a partial structural schematic diagram of an ultrasonic flow sensor provided in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] like Figure 1 As shown, the present invention provides an ultrasonic flow sensor, including a pipe section 1, which can be connected to a pipeline to be measured, and a first mounting portion 11 and a second mounting portion 12 are sequentially arranged along a first direction on the outer side of the pipe wall of the pipe section 1, wherein the first direction is parallel to the direction of flow of the medium in the pipe section. Figure 1 In the figure, the first direction is the horizontal direction, that is, the first mounting portion 11 and the second mounting portion 12 are arranged in a horizontal direction with a spacing therebetween, a first ultrasonic element 21 is installed in the first mounting portion 11, a second ultrasonic element 22 is installed in the second mounting portion 12, and a first reflector 31 and a second reflector 32 are also arranged in the pipe section 1;

[0024] When it is necessary to detect the flow in the pipe section 1, the first ultrasonic element 21 excites the first ultrasonic wave, the first ultrasonic wave passes through the pipe wall of the pipe section 1, and is transmitted to the first reflector 31, the first reflector 31 can reflect the first ultrasonic wave and form a second ultrasonic wave along the first direction, the second reflector 32 can reflect the second ultrasonic wave and form a third ultrasonic wave toward the second ultrasonic element 22, because the second ultrasonic wave is parallel to the flow direction of the fluid when propagating in the pipe section 1, that is, the direction is the same or opposite, so the second ultrasonic wave will be affected by the fluid in the pipe section 1 when propagating, so the third ultrasonic wave received by the second ultrasonic element 22 and the first ultrasonic wave emitted by the first ultrasonic element 21 have parameters that change, by detecting this change, the flow velocity and flow rate of the medium in the pipe section 1 can be calculated;

[0025] The first ultrasonic wave can also be excited by the second ultrasonic element 22, which is reflected by the second reflector 32 to form a second ultrasonic wave, and then reflected by the first reflector 31 to form a third ultrasonic wave toward the first ultrasonic element 21. During the two detection processes, the second ultrasonic wave propagates in the same direction and reverse direction of the medium flow direction in the pipe section 1, thereby performing forward and reverse dual detection of the medium flow velocity in the pipe section 1, thereby improving the detection accuracy.

[0026] By arranging the first ultrasonic element 21 and the second ultrasonic element 22 outside the pipe wall of the pipe section 1, no additional sealing structure is required, and electrical components such as the first ultrasonic element and the receiving element will not directly contact the fluid, so the overall structure is more stable and durable.

[0027] like Figure 1As shown, in one of the preferred embodiments, a first concave surface 13 and a second concave surface 14 are provided at the position of the inner wall of the pipe section 1 corresponding to the first mounting portion 11 and the second mounting portion 12. When the first ultrasonic wave emitted by the first ultrasonic element 21 passes through the inner wall of the pipe section 1, the first concave surface 13 can refract the first ultrasonic wave to make it focus on the first reflector 31. When the third ultrasonic wave reflected by the second reflector 32 passes through the inner wall of the pipe wall 1 and propagates toward the second ultrasonic element 22, the second concave surface 14 can refract the third ultrasonic wave to make it diverge and input into the second ultrasonic element 22. By providing the first concave surface 13 and the second concave surface 14, the ultrasonic wave is focused by utilizing the concave surface refraction and focusing principle, which can improve the efficiency and quality of the signal and reduce energy loss.

[0028] Among them, the first concave surface 13 and the second concave surface 14 are preferably formed integrally with the pipe section 1, so that the ultrasonic wave can propagate more evenly between the pipe section 1 and the concave surface, and its propagation will not be affected by crossing the medium; of course, in some other embodiments, the first concave surface 13 and the second concave surface 14 can also be set on the pipe section 1 in other ways, which will not be repeated here.

[0029] In one preferred embodiment, the emission direction of the first ultrasonic element 21 points to the axis of the pipe segment 1 along the radial direction of the pipe segment 1, and the focus of the first concave surface 13 is located on the axis of the pipe segment 1, that is, the first ultrasonic wave is focused on the axis of the pipe segment 1 after being refracted by the first concave surface 13, and at the same time falls on the reflection surface of the first reflector, so that the second ultrasonic wave transmission path formed after being reflected by the first reflector 31 is the axis of the pipe segment 1; by setting the second ultrasonic wave to propagate along the axis of the pipe segment 1, the ultrasonic flow sensor measures the flow velocity or flow rate of the medium near the axis of the pipe segment 1, reducing the friction between the pipe wall of the pipe segment 1 and the medium, etc., which affects the flow velocity of the medium and further affects the detection result;

[0030] The second concave surface 14 and the second reflector 32 are arranged in a similar manner to the first concave surface 13 and the first reflector, so that the second reflector 32 can reflect the second ultrasonic wave propagating along the axis of the pipe section 1 to the second concave surface 14 and smoothly further input it into the second ultrasonic element 22 .

[0031] The first mounting portion 11 and the second mounting portion 12 can be as follows: Figure 1 As shown, they are both located on the same side of the pipe segment 1, that is, the first mounting portion 11 and the second mounting portion 12 are located at the same circumferential position of the pipe segment 1, and their axial projections on the pipe segment 1 overlap. The first mounting portion 11 and the second mounting portion 12 can also be arranged at different axial positions of the pipe segment 1. At this time, the setting directions of the first reflector 31 and the second reflector 32 should be adaptively adjusted to ensure that the third ultrasonic wave can be successfully received by the second ultrasonic element 22.

[0032] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an ultrasonic flow sensor provided by one embodiment of the present invention.

[0033] like Figure 2 As shown, in one of the preferred embodiments, the first ultrasonic element 21 and the second ultrasonic element 22 both use piezoelectric ceramic sheets, which can convert electrical signals into ultrasonic waves and stimulate emission, or convert received ultrasonic waves into electrical signals, so as to realize the functions of emitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, and the first ultrasonic element 21 and the second ultrasonic element 22 are both connected to a substrate 23. When the flow rate of the medium in the pipe section 1 is measured, an electrical signal is excited on the substrate 23, and the electrical signal is transmitted to the ultrasonic generating element 21 and converted into an ultrasonic signal (a first ultrasonic wave). After the ultrasonic signal propagates in the pipe section 1, a third ultrasonic wave is formed. After receiving the third ultrasonic wave, the second ultrasonic element 22 converts the ultrasonic signal into an electrical signal and inputs it into the substrate 23. Based on the electrical signals excited and received by the substrate 23, the change in the ultrasonic signal when propagating in the pipe section 1 can be obtained, and then the flow rate of the medium in the pipe section 1 can be calculated.

[0034] In addition, the first ultrasonic element 21 and the second ultrasonic element 22 may also be other types of elements, such as transducers, or other ultrasonic elements such as surface acoustic wave elements, as long as they can achieve the function of exciting and receiving ultrasonic waves.

[0035] like Figure 2 As shown, in one of the preferred embodiments, an inner compartment 4 is provided on the outer side of the pipe section 1, and the inner compartment 4 is used to install a power supply 24 and a signal processing module; wherein the power supply 24 can supply power to the above-mentioned electrical components, and the signal processing module can coordinate and calculate the above-mentioned ultrasonic signal or electrical signal, and then calculate the medium flow rate. The signal processing module can adopt an existing mainboard and set a corresponding program, which will not be elaborated here.

[0036] In one of the preferred embodiments, the inner bin 4 includes a bin body 41 and a bin cover 42. The bin body 41 can be formed integrally with the pipe segment 1, so that there is no need to set an additional mounting structure on the pipe segment 1, etc., which can simplify the overall structure of the sensor. The bin cover 42 is detachably connected to the bin body 41, which facilitates the assembly of various components in the bin body 41 and the subsequent maintenance or replacement of internal components.

[0037] In one preferred embodiment, the first mounting portion 11 and the second mounting portion 12 are blind holes opened on the pipe wall of the pipe section 1, the first ultrasonic element 21 and the second ultrasonic element 22 are both installed in the blind holes, and the internal contours of the first mounting portion 11 and the second mounting portion 12 match the external contours of the first ultrasonic element 21 and the second ultrasonic element 22 respectively, so that the first mounting portion 11 and the second mounting portion 12 can stably install and limit the first ultrasonic element 21 and the second ultrasonic element 22.

[0038] Among them, the bottom of the blind holes of the first mounting part 11 and the second mounting part 12 should be set as a plane, and the ultrasonic signal will not have excessive fluctuations when passing through the plane of the bottom of the hole. Combined with the above-mentioned first concave surface 13 and second concave surface 14, the propagation effect of the ultrasonic wave can be further improved.

[0039] In addition, the first mounting portion 11 and the second mounting portion 12 may also be arranged in other ways, for example, the first ultrasonic element 21 and the second ultrasonic element 22 are mounted on the outer wall of the pipe section 1 by means of snap connection or threaded connection, which will not be elaborated here.

[0040] In one of the preferred embodiments, the first reflector 31 and the second reflector 32 both use reflective lenses, which may specifically be metal lenses, glass lenses or polymer lenses, etc. Such lenses can be directly inserted into the pipe section 1 without relying on additional structures to reflect ultrasonic waves, and the structure is stable and durable. In some other occasions, the first reflector 31 and the second reflector 32 may also use electrical components such as waveguide reflectors, which can also achieve a certain filtering and noise removal effect, thereby improving the accuracy of detection.

[0041] In addition, the first reflector 31 and the second reflector 32 can be set as a concave surface or a conical surface, etc., which can further focus the ultrasonic wave and improve the propagation effect of the ultrasonic wave. The first reflector 31 and the second reflector 32 can be set on a mounting plate, and the inner wall of the pipe section 1 is provided with a slot that cooperates with the mounting plate. The mounting plate is inserted into the pipe section 1 horizontally, so as to fix the first reflector 31 and the second reflector 32 in the pipe section 1. Among them, since the first concave surface and the second concave surface are used to focus the ultrasonic wave, the reflection area of ​​the first reflector 31 and the second reflector 32 can be appropriately reduced, that is, the first reflector 31 and the second reflector 32 can be set to be more miniaturized, thereby reducing the disturbance of the water flow in the pipe section 1 by the mounting plate and the reflector.

[0042] The present invention also provides an ultrasonic flow detection system, including the above-mentioned ultrasonic flow sensor, and a display panel and an alarm are also provided in the detection system, the display panel can display the measured medium flow rate and / or flow rate in the pipe section 1, and the alarm can issue an alarm when the detected medium flow rate and / or flow rate exceeds a certain threshold value; wherein, the display panel and the alarm can be arranged inside the inner compartment 4 and directly connected to components such as a signal processing module, or the signal processing module arranged in the inner compartment 4 is connected to the display panel and the alarm signal by wireless transmission or the like.

[0043] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Although the present invention is described in detail with reference to the embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that any modification or equivalent replacement of the technical solutions of the present invention does not depart from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the present invention and should be included in the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic flow sensor, characterized in that: include: A pipe segment, which can be connected to a pipeline to be tested, wherein a first mounting portion and a second mounting portion are sequentially arranged at intervals along a first direction on the outer side of a pipe wall of the pipe segment, and the first direction is parallel to a direction in which a medium flows in the pipe segment; A first ultrasonic element and a second ultrasonic element, both of which are capable of transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves, and the first ultrasonic element and the second ultrasonic element are mounted on the first mounting portion and the second mounting portion, respectively; A first reflector and a second reflector are located inside the pipe section, and the first reflector and the second reflector are capable of reflecting a first ultrasonic wave emitted by one of the ultrasonic elements to form a second ultrasonic wave parallel to the first direction, and reflecting the second ultrasonic wave to form a third ultrasonic wave toward another ultrasonic element; The first ultrasonic wave and the third ultrasonic wave are measured to calculate the medium flow in the pipe section.

2. The ultrasonic flow sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that: A first concave surface and a second concave surface are respectively arranged in the inner wall of the pipe section at positions corresponding to the first mounting portion and the second mounting portion. The first concave surface and the second concave surface are both formed by the inner wall of the pipe section being recessed toward the outer wall of the pipe section.

3. The ultrasonic flow sensor according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first concave surface and the second concave surface are both integrally formed with the pipe section.

4. The ultrasonic flow sensor according to claim 2, characterized in that: The transmitting direction and the receiving direction of the first ultrasonic element and the second ultrasonic element are both directed toward the axis of the pipe segment along the radial direction of the pipe segment, the foci of the first concave surface and the second concave surface are both located on the axis of the pipe segment, and the foci of the first concave surface and the second concave surface fall on the reflecting surfaces of the first reflector and the second reflector respectively.

5. The ultrasonic flow sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first ultrasonic element and the second ultrasonic element both use transducers, which can convert electrical signals into ultrasonic signals or convert ultrasonic signals into electrical signals, and the first ultrasonic element and the second ultrasonic element are both connected to a substrate, which is used to excite and receive electrical signals.

6. The ultrasonic flow sensor according to claim 5, characterized in that: An inner compartment is also provided outside the pipe section, and the inner compartment is used for installing a power supply and a signal processing module.

7. The ultrasonic flow sensor according to claim 6, characterized in that: The inner bin comprises a bin body and a bin cover, the bin body and the pipe section are integrally formed, and the bin cover is detachably connected to the bin body.

8. The ultrasonic flow sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first mounting portion and the second mounting portion are both blind holes opened on the pipe wall of the pipe section, and the inner contours of the first mounting portion and the second mounting portion match the outer contours of the first ultrasonic element and the second ultrasonic element respectively.

9. The ultrasonic flow sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first reflector and the second reflector are reflective lenses.

10. An ultrasonic flow detection system, comprising the ultrasonic flow sensor according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: It also includes a display panel and an alarm. The display panel is used to display the medium flow rate and / or flow rate in the pipe section. The alarm has a threshold value. When the medium flow rate and / or flow rate in the section is higher than the threshold value, the alarm can sound an alarm.

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