Flow sensing assembly

Abstract

The utility model discloses a flow sensing assembly which comprises a shell, a throttling element, a magnet rotor and a rectification mesh, the shell is provided with a circulation channel, the throttling element is arranged close to the inlet end of the shell, the magnet rotor is rotatably installed in the shell, and the rectification mesh is located between the throttling element and the magnet rotor; the rectification mesh is provided with a plurality of mesh holes, and the mesh holes are circular mesh holes or regular polygon mesh holes. Through structural optimization, the consistency of the flow output performance can be relatively improved, and the consistency of the flow detection performance of the flow sensing assembly can be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of flow detection, and in particular to a flow sensor component. Background Art

[0002] In electronic devices such as wall-mounted boilers, washing machines, and water heaters, a flow sensor component is usually installed in the water inlet joint. The flow sensor component generally uses a magnet and a Hall sensor to detect the water flow. When water flows through the flow sensor component, it drives the magnet to rotate, and the Hall sensor converts the magnetic signal of the magnet into an electrical pulse signal to detect the water flow.

[0003] The magnet in the flow sensor assembly is arranged at the rear end of the throttling device. The high-pressure water flow passes through the throttling device and then flows to the magnet. After passing through the throttling device, the water flow will rush toward the magnet in a jet state. If the cavity between the throttling device and the magnet is too small, the magnet will be affected by the water flow velocity and cause irregular rotation or even no rotation. To solve this problem, a rectifier mesh is generally added between the throttling device and the magnet to stabilize the jetted water flow before flowing to the magnet, so that the water flow can flow to the magnet at a uniform speed, thereby stably outputting the flow size signal.

[0004] However, in actual use, it was found that there was a large deviation between the detection results of different flow sensor components of the same structure. Utility Model Content

[0005] The purpose of the present application is to provide a flow sensor component which, through structural optimization, can relatively improve the consistency of flow output performance, which is beneficial to improving the consistency of flow detection performance of the flow sensor component.

[0006] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present application provides a flow sensor assembly, including a shell, a throttle, a magnet rotor and a rectifying mesh, the shell having a flow channel, the throttle is arranged near the inlet end of the shell, the magnet rotor is rotatably installed in the shell, and the rectifying mesh is located between the throttle and the magnet rotor; the rectifying mesh has a plurality of meshes, and the meshes are circular meshes or regular polygonal meshes.

[0007] After adopting the above scheme, the mesh of the rectifier mesh is of regular shape. In this way, when installing the same type of products, even if the installation directions of the rectifier meshes of different products are different, since the mesh of the rectifier mesh is of regular shape, the difference in the driving effect of the water flow through the mesh of the rectifier mesh on the magnet rotor is not obvious, thereby reducing the impact of the different installation directions of the rectifier mesh on the rotation speed of the magnet rotor, greatly improving the consistency of the flow output performance, and thus improving the consistency of the product test results. Of course, when the installation direction of the rectifier mesh of the same product is different before and after due to maintenance and disassembly, the impact on its test results is also small, which is also conducive to improving the consistency of its test results. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Figure 1 A cross-sectional schematic diagram of a water valve with a flow sensor assembly according to a first embodiment of the present application;

[0009] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of the flow sensor assembly;

[0010] Figure 3 for Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the structure of the middle rectifier mesh;

[0011] Figure 4 A partial cross-sectional schematic diagram of a water valve with a flow sensor assembly according to a second embodiment of the present application;

[0012] Figure 5 for Figure 4 A partial enlarged view of the middle I part;

[0013] Figure 6 for Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the structure of the middle rectifier mesh;

[0014] Figure 7 The figure is a schematic diagram of the structure of a rectifier mesh in the prior art.

[0015] Description of reference numerals:

[0016] Water valve 10, valve body 11, water inlet channel 111, water outlet channel 112;

[0017] Flow sensor assembly 20, housing 21, throttling element 22, first filter mesh element 221, second filter mesh element 222, magnet rotor 23, rectifying mesh 24, mesh 241, folded wall 242, guide wheel 25, limiting seat 26, fixing seat 27, filter 28. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] For a long time, technicians in this field have mostly used the mesh size and layout density of the rectifier mesh to improve the detection accuracy of the flow sensor assembly, or how to increase the cavity volume between the throttling device and the magnet rotor in a limited space to improve the detection accuracy of the flow sensor assembly. However, after research, the applicant found that there are large deviations in the detection results of existing flow sensor assemblies, and the detection consistency of the same type of flow sensor assemblies is poor because the mesh shape of the rectifier mesh in the flow sensor assembly is a flat and long diamond hole. Due to the convenience and low cost of diamond holes, the industry has always processed the mesh of the rectifier mesh into a flat and long diamond hole.

[0019] The applicant has found that during the assembly of the flow sensor assembly or the subsequent reassembly after maintenance, the operator will not pay attention to the installation direction of the rectifier mesh. The installation direction here refers to the relative position of the rectifier mesh in the circumferential direction. However, the installation direction of the rectifier mesh affects the rotation speed of the magnet rotor, thereby affecting the detection results. Figure 7 It is understood that the existing rectifier mesh has a plurality of flat and long diamond holes, and the long diagonal length of the diamond hole is more than twice the short diagonal length. Figure 7 The long diagonal line of the rhombus holes of the rectifying mesh shown on the left is along the up-down direction of the paper, and the long diagonal line of the rhombus holes of the rectifying mesh shown on the right is along the left-right direction of the paper, that is, Figure 7 The circumferential positions of the two rectifier meshes are different, that is, the installation directions are different. After experimental comparison, it was found that under the same other conditions, Figure 7 The water flow of the rectifying mesh at the left position in the middle has a driving effect on the magnet rotor and passes through Figure 7 The water flow of the rectifying mesh at the position shown on the right side of the middle has different driving effects on the magnet rotor, that is, the installation position of the rectifying mesh in the circumferential direction affects the driving effect of the passing water flow on the magnet rotor, resulting in differences in the rotation speed of the magnet rotor. This leads to the problem of poor consistency in detection results for the same type of flow sensor components due to the failure to unify the installation direction of the rectifying mesh during assembly, or the installation direction of the rectifying mesh of the same flow sensor component after maintenance is different from before.

[0020] After the above research and analysis, the applicant has improved the structure of the flow sensor component, and the improved flow sensor component is conducive to improving the consistency of detection performance.

[0021] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the present application, the present application is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific implementation methods.

[0022] The axial direction involved in this article can be understood as the direction of the rotation axis of the magnet rotor of the flow sensor assembly.

[0023] Please refer to Figures 1 to 3, Figure 1 A cross-sectional schematic diagram of a water valve with a flow sensor assembly according to a first embodiment of the present application; Figure 2 for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of the flow sensor assembly; Figure 3 for Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the structure of the middle rectifier mesh. Figure 2 The dotted line with a solid arrow in the figure illustrates the flow path of water flowing through the flow sensor component.

[0024] This embodiment is described by taking the installation of the flow sensor assembly 20 on the water valve 10 of the wall-mounted boiler as an example.

[0025] The flow sensor assembly 20 is installed on the valve body 11 of the water valve 10. The valve body 11 of the water valve 10 has a water inlet channel 111 and a water outlet channel 112. After the flow sensor assembly 20 is installed on the valve body 11, the inlet end of the flow sensor assembly 20 is close to the water inlet channel 111 of the valve body 11, and the outlet end is close to the water outlet channel 112 of the valve body 11. After water flows into the water inlet channel 111 of the water valve 10, the water can flow out from the water outlet channel 112 through the flow sensor assembly 20. The flow sensor assembly 20 can detect the flow of water flowing through.

[0026] In this embodiment, the flow sensor assembly 20 includes a housing 21, a throttling member 22, a magnet rotor 23 and a rectifying mesh 24; wherein the housing 21 has a flow channel. Figure 1 and Figure 2 In the orientation shown, the lower end of the housing 21 is the inlet end of the flow sensor assembly 20, and the outlet end of the flow sensor assembly 20 is near the upper end. The throttle 22 is arranged near the inlet end of the housing 21, the magnet rotor 23 is rotatably installed in the housing 21, and the rectifier mesh 24 is located between the throttle 22 and the magnet rotor 23; the rectifier mesh 24 has a plurality of meshes 241 of regular shape, and the radial dimension of the mesh 241 has a maximum value and a minimum value, and the ratio of the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the mesh 241 to the maximum value does not exceed the set value. The set value can be set according to the application needs, and the set value can be determined by experiments or simulations. The set value can be selected in the range of 0.25~0.3.

[0027] The radial dimension of the mesh 241 refers to the dimension passing through the center of the mesh 241 in a plane perpendicular to the center line of the mesh 241. It can be understood that along the circumference of the mesh 241, the mesh 241 has multiple radial dimensions, which may be the same or different. There is a maximum value with the largest dimension and a minimum value with the smallest dimension among these radial dimensions. The ratio of the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value to the maximum value defines the deviation range between the multiple radial dimensions of the mesh 241.

[0028] After adopting the above scheme, the radial size of the mesh 241 of the rectifying mesh 24 is limited so that the ratio of the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value to the maximum value does not exceed the set value, and the set value can be set according to the actual application requirements of the product. In this way, when installing the same type of product, even if the installation directions of the rectifying meshes 24 of different products are different, due to the limitation of the radial size of the rectifying mesh 24, the difference in the driving effect of the water flow through the mesh 241 of the rectifying mesh 24 on the magnet rotor 23 is not obvious, thereby reducing the impact of the different installation directions of the rectifying mesh 24 on the rotation speed of the magnet rotor 23, and thus improving the consistency of the product detection results. Of course, when the installation direction of the rectifying mesh 24 of the same product is different before and after due to maintenance and disassembly, the impact on its detection results is also small, which is also conducive to improving the consistency of its detection results and can relatively improve the consistency of flow output performance.

[0029] In a specific implementation, the mesh 241 of the rectifying mesh 24 can be set as a regular polygonal mesh. When the mesh 241 of the rectifying mesh 24 is set as a regular polygonal mesh, the number of sides of the regular polygon is set as much as possible, for example, it can be set as a regular hexagon or a regular octagon, etc., so as to minimize the difference between different radial dimensions in the circumferential direction, thereby reducing the influence of the installation direction of the rectifying mesh 24 on the detection result.

[0030] In a specific implementation, the mesh 241 of the rectifying mesh 24 can be set as a circular mesh, such as Figure 3 It can be understood that when the mesh 241 of the rectifying mesh 24 is set to Figure 3 In the case of the circular mesh shown in the figure, the radial dimension of the mesh 241 is the diameter of its circular hole. At this time, the multiple radial dimensions of the mesh 241 are consistent, and the maximum and minimum values ​​of the radial dimensions of the mesh 241 can be considered to be the same. In this way, the circumferential installation direction of the rectifying mesh 24 has no effect on the water flow passing through the mesh 241, that is, the rectifying mesh 24 rotates at any angle in the circumferential direction without affecting the water flow passing through the mesh 241, thereby not affecting the driving effect of the water flow on the magnet rotor 23, and further not affecting the rotation speed of the magnet rotor 23, thereby ensuring the consistency of the flow output performance and the consistency of the detection results.

[0031] It should be pointed out that the above-mentioned scheme is particularly effective for the flow sensor component 20 when the cavity volume between the throttle 22 and the magnet rotor 23 is small. After the water flows through the throttle 22, the space between the throttle 22 and the magnet rotor 23 is small, and the water flow cannot achieve a steady flow effect in a small space. However, after the rectifying mesh 24 of the above-mentioned scheme is adopted, the installation angle of the mesh 241 will not have a significant impact on the water flow. Under the action of the rectifying mesh 24, the water flow can be evenly diverted, making the water flow more stable, and the flow rate of the magnet rotor 23 can be stabilized, thereby greatly improving the consistency of the performance of the flow sensor component 20.

[0032] In a specific implementation, the plurality of meshes 241 of the rectifying mesh 24 are arranged centrally and symmetrically relative to the center of the rectifying mesh 24. In this way, when the installation direction of the rectifying mesh 24 in the circumferential direction changes, the distribution of the meshes 241 thereon will not affect the water flowing through, which is more conducive to improving the consistency of the detection results of the flow sensor assembly 20.

[0033] In a specific implementation, the sizes and shapes of the multiple meshes 241 of the rectifying mesh 24 can be kept consistent, which is convenient for processing and is conducive to the arrangement of the multiple meshes 241 on the rectifying mesh 24.

[0034] In actual application, the number, specific size and arrangement of the meshes 241 of the rectifying mesh 24 can be set according to actual application needs, and is not limited to Figure 3 Example shown.

[0035] In a specific implementation, the rectifying mesh 24 can be a metal mesh or a plastic mesh, which can be selected according to application environment requirements.

[0036] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, in this embodiment, the flow sensor assembly 20 also includes a guide wheel 25, which is installed in the housing 21, the rectifying mesh 24 is axially limited between the guide wheel 25 and the throttling member 22, and one end of the magnet rotor 23 is rotatably inserted into the guide wheel 25.

[0037] The guide wheel 25 has a spiral flow channel, which can guide the water flowing through the rectifying mesh 24, so that the water flowing through the guide wheel 25 can impact the magnet rotor 23, driving the magnet rotor 23 to rotate. When the magnet rotor 23 rotates, its magnetic poles change alternately, which can be sensed by the Hall sensor (not shown in the figure) connected to the magnet rotor 23. The circuit board electrically connected to the Hall sensor can detect the signal of the alternating magnetic pole change and convert it into a corresponding flow rate.

[0038] The guide wheel 25 and the housing 21 are installed in an axially limited position, and specifically, an interference fit fastening method can be adopted, or matching step limit surfaces can be processed on the guide wheel 25 and the housing 21 to fix the relative positions of the two in the axial direction.

[0039] In this embodiment, the flow sensor assembly 20 further includes a flow limiting seat 26, at least a portion of which is fixedly inserted in the housing 21, and the throttle 22 can be installed in the flow limiting seat 26. The flow limiting seat 26 and the guide wheel 25 clamp the rectifying mesh 24, thereby limiting the position of the rectifying mesh 24. It can be understood that in the flow direction of the water flow, the flow limiting seat 26 is located upstream of the rectifying mesh 24, and the rectifying mesh 24 is located upstream of the guide wheel 25.

[0040] A sealing ring may be provided between the flow limiting seat 26 and the housing 21 to ensure the sealing between the two. A sealing ring may also be provided between the throttling member 22 and the flow limiting seat 26 to ensure the sealing between the throttling member 22 and the limiting seat 26 to ensure that the water flows to the rectifying mesh 24 only after passing through the throttling member 22.

[0041] In this embodiment, the flow sensor assembly 20 is further provided with a filter 28 at its inlet end, and the filter 28 can be specifically fixedly connected to the aforementioned flow limiting seat 26, and the two can be fixed by means of a clamping connection or the like. After such a configuration, the water flow entering the flow sensor assembly 20 is first filtered by the filter 28 before flowing in, which can avoid the blockage of the subsequent throttling member 22 or the rectifying mesh 24 and other structures, resulting in the failure of the flow sensor assembly 20 and other adverse consequences.

[0042] In this embodiment, the flow sensor assembly 20 also includes a fixed seat 27, which is arranged near the outlet end. The fixed seat 27 can serve as a mounting structure for the other end of the magnet rotor 23, that is, the other end of the magnet rotor 23 is rotatably mounted on the fixed seat 27, and a channel is formed between the fixed seat 27 and the shell 21 for water to flow out of the flow sensor assembly 20.

[0043] When installed with the water valve 10, the fixing seat 27 can be sealed with the valve body 11 of the water valve 10, and the housing 21 is also sealed with the valve body 1. Specifically, the outer peripheral wall of the fixing seat 27 and the outer peripheral wall of the housing 21 can be provided with an installation groove for accommodating a sealing ring.

[0044] In other embodiments, the structure of the flow sensor assembly 20 may also be adaptively changed. Figures 4 to 5 , Figure 4 A partial cross-sectional schematic diagram of a water valve with a flow sensor assembly according to a second embodiment of the present application; Figure 5 for Figure 4 A partial enlarged view of the middle I part; Figure 6 for Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the structure of the middle rectifier mesh.

[0045] Figures 4 to 5 The second embodiment shown is described by taking the flow sensor assembly 20 applied to the water valve 10 of a washing machine as an example. The components with the same structure and function in this embodiment are labeled the same as those in the first embodiment to illustrate the difference and connection between the two embodiments. Figure 4 The dotted line with a solid arrow in the figure illustrates the flow direction of water toward the flow sensor component.

[0046] In this embodiment, the flow sensor assembly 20 includes a housing 21, a throttle 22, a magnet rotor 23 and a rectifier mesh 24. The rectifier mesh 24 is located between the throttle 22 and the magnet rotor 23. The structure of the rectifier mesh 24 is similar to that of the first embodiment. Figure 6 In the figure, the mesh 241 of the rectifying mesh 24 is shown as a circular mesh. It can be understood that in other embodiments, the mesh 241 of the rectifying mesh 24 can also be a regular polygon or other hole structures with a small radial dimension deviation.

[0047] by Figure 4 In the orientation shown, the inlet end of the flow sensor assembly 20 is located at the top and the outlet end is close to the bottom.

[0048] The flow sensor assembly 20 also includes a guide wheel 25, which is used to guide the water flow passing through the rectifying mesh 24, so that the water flow can impact the magnet rotor 23 after passing through the guide wheel 25 and drive the magnet rotor 23 to rotate. The guide wheel 25 can also serve as a rotatable mounting structure for the magnet rotor 23.

[0049] The flow sensor assembly 20 includes a fixing seat 27 , and two ends of the magnet rotor 23 are rotatably inserted into the guide wheel 25 and the fixing seat 27 , respectively.

[0050] In this embodiment, the throttle element 22 of the flow sensor assembly 20 is disposed inside the housing 21, and the throttle element 22 includes more than two filter mesh elements, and the more than two filter mesh elements are arranged along the axial direction.

[0051] In the illustrated example, the throttling element 22 includes a first filter mesh 221 and a second filter mesh 222. Along the water flow direction, the first filter mesh 221 is located upstream of the second filter mesh 222. In the specific configuration, the first filter mesh 221 and the second filter mesh 222 may be in an open sleeve-like structure, the first filter mesh 221 may be placed on the second filter mesh 222, the opening ends of the first filter mesh 221 and the second filter mesh 222 face the rectifying mesh 24, and the opening ends of the two filter meshes have folded edges, and the two filter meshes may be interference-fitted with the housing 21 through the folded edges.

[0052] Of course, in other embodiments, the aforementioned filter mesh may also be fixed to the housing 21 in other ways. For example, a slot may be provided on the housing 21, and the filter mesh may be provided with a snap-fitting portion that cooperates with the slot. The snap-fitting portion may be elastically deformed in the radial direction to be snapped into the slot.

[0053] In this embodiment, the rectifying mesh 24 is directly clamped between the throttling member 22 and the guide wheel 25 .

[0054] In a specific implementation, an annular folded wall portion 242 is provided on the outer periphery of the rectifying mesh 24 . The folded wall portion 242 can be elastically deformed in the radial direction, and the rectifying mesh 24 and the housing 21 are interference fit.

[0055] In this way, the rectifying mesh 24 is not only clamped and limited by the throttling member 22 and the guide wheel 25, but also has an interference fit with the housing 21, which can improve the reliability of the assembly of the rectifying mesh 24 and the housing 21.

[0056] It can be understood that the rectifying mesh 24 uses the folded wall portion 242 that can be elastically deformed in the radial direction to achieve interference fit with the housing 21. Under normal conditions, the outer diameter of the rectifying mesh 24 (including the folded wall portion 242) is larger than the inner diameter of the housing 21. During assembly, the folded wall portion 242 can be compressed in the radial direction to reduce the outer diameter of the rectifying mesh 24. After the rectifying mesh 24 is installed in the housing 21, the folded wall portion 242 has a tendency to return to its original state and is pressed against the inner wall of the housing 21.

[0057] like Figure 5 As shown, there is a space between the folded wall portion 242 of the rectifying mesh 24 and the mesh body in the radial direction for the folded wall portion 242 to deform.

[0058] The above only uses the water valve used in the wall-mounted boiler and the water valve used in the washing machine as examples to illustrate the structure of the fluid sensor component 20 in two specific embodiments. In actual applications, depending on the application scenarios of the water valve, the specific structural composition and related connection relationships of the fluid sensor component 20 may change. In general, a rectifier mesh 24 is provided between the throttling device 22 and the magnet rotor 23 of the fluid sensor component 20. The shape of the mesh 241 of the rectifier mesh 24 and the related structure can refer to the above introduction and description, and no further examples will be given.

[0059] Specific examples are used herein to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of the present application, and the description of the above embodiments is only used to help understand the method and core ideas of the present application. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this technical field, without departing from the principles of the present application, several improvements and modifications can be made to the present application, and these improvements and modifications also fall within the scope of protection of the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A flow sensor assembly, characterized in that: It includes a shell, a throttling device, a magnet rotor and a rectifying mesh. The shell has a flow channel. The throttling device is arranged near the inlet end of the shell. The magnet rotor is rotatably installed in the shell. The rectifying mesh is located between the throttling device and the magnet rotor. The rectifying mesh has a plurality of meshes, which are circular meshes or regular polygonal meshes.

2. The flow sensor assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The plurality of meshes are arranged centrally symmetrically relative to the center of the rectifying mesh.

3. The flow sensor assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sizes and shapes of the plurality of meshes are consistent.

4. The flow sensor assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The rectifying mesh is a metal mesh or a plastic mesh.

5. The flow sensor assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The flow sensor assembly also includes a guide wheel, which is installed in the housing. The axial limit of the rectifying mesh is located between the guide wheel and the throttling element, and one end of the magnet rotor is rotatably inserted into the guide wheel.

6. The flow sensor assembly according to claim 5, characterized in that: The flow sensor assembly also includes a flow limiting seat, at least a portion of which is fixedly inserted in the housing, the throttling member is installed in the flow limiting seat, and the flow limiting seat and the guide wheel clamp the rectifying mesh.

7. The flow sensor assembly according to claim 5, characterized in that: The throttling member and the guide wheel clamp the rectifying mesh.

8. The flow sensor assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: An annular folded wall portion is arranged on the outer periphery of the rectifying mesh, and the folded wall portion can be elastically deformed in the radial direction, and the rectifying mesh is interference-fitted with the shell.

9. The flow sensor assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The throttling element includes more than two filter mesh elements, and the more than two filter mesh elements are arranged in the axial direction.

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