Flow monitor
By designing a flow monitor with sealed pressure plate, pressure spring and piston structure, combined with proximity sensors, the problem of inability to detect minor flow changes in the prior art is solved, real-time monitoring and alarm functions for fluids such as gas and tap water are realized to ensure safe operation.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202421767421.2
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-07-25
- Publication Date
- 2025-07-11
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-07-25
AI Technical Summary
Existing gas flowmeters and pressure sensors cannot effectively detect tiny flow changes in the pipeline, limiting the leakage measurement and analysis of subdivided areas and cannot meet the minimum flame use or leakage detection of household stoves.
A flow monitor is designed, using a sealed pressure plate, compression spring and piston structure, combined with a proximity sensor to detect flow changes through the tiny displacement of the piston, so as to achieve monitoring of tiny flow and large flow.
It can monitor the fluid status in the pipeline in real time, especially small flow changes, promptly alarm, ensure safety of gas operation, and is suitable for monitoring fluids such as gas and tap water.
Smart Images
Figure CN223091345U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of fluid monitoring, and particularly relates to a flow monitor. Background Art
[0002] At present, for the safe operation and management of gas, gas companies generally adopt two methods: installing a gas flow meter on the main pipeline to detect the flow value and using a pressure sensor to detect the pressure fluctuation, and uploading the data to the management platform for analysis and management by connecting to a wireless remote transmission terminal. Due to the characteristic of the flow range of the flow meter that "the larger the diameter, the larger the lower limit flow, and it cannot take both into account", it needs to reach a specific starting flow value and minimum flow value to rotate and correctly measure, which limits the scope of use and cannot perform leak detection analysis on subdivided areas. The pressure sensor has insufficient sensitivity to minute fluctuations of 1 - 3 Kpa. For example, for the use (or leakage) of the smallest flame of a household cooking stove, neither the flow meter nor the pressure sensor can perfectly detect the gas flow fluctuation. Therefore, a flow monitor that can detect minute flow changes in the pipeline is needed. Content of the Utility Model
[0003] The purpose of the utility model is to provide a flow monitor to solve the problem in the prior art that minute fluid flow changes in the pipeline cannot be monitored.
[0004] To achieve the above purpose, the flow monitor of the utility model adopts the following technical scheme: The flow monitor includes a housing. The housing has an inlet connection end and an outlet connection end for connecting with the pipeline. The inner cavity of the housing includes an inlet channel and an outlet channel. A sealing pressing plate for blocking the inlet channel is arranged in the outlet channel. An installation frame is arranged above the sealing pressing plate in the outlet channel. A compression spring that can be compressed and deformed up and down is arranged between the installation frame and the sealing pressing plate. The sealing pressing plate blocks the inlet channel by its own weight and the pre-tightening force of the compression spring; a cylinder sleeve communicating the inlet channel and the outlet channel is arranged on the sealing pressing plate. A piston that can move up and down is arranged inside the cylinder sleeve. The piston freely sinks under its own weight to be close to the inlet of the cylinder sleeve or block the inlet of the cylinder sleeve. A gap is provided between the piston and the inner wall of the cylinder sleeve for the fluid to pass through. An anti-disengagement structure for preventing the piston from disengaging is arranged inside the cylinder sleeve; the gravity of the piston is less than the sum of the gravity of the sealing pressing plate and the pre-tightening force of the compression spring. A sensor for detecting the piston is arranged on the housing.
[0005] A lower constriction structure is arranged at the lower end of the cylinder sleeve. The central hole of the lower constriction structure forms the inlet of the medium. The lower constriction structure forms a lower anti-disengagement structure to prevent the piston from disengaging downward.
[0006] The sealing pressing plate includes a hollow screw rod. The hollow screw rod has an upper external thread section and a lower external thread section. A pressing plate body is sleeved on the hollow screw rod. A locking nut is connected to the upper external thread section. The above-mentioned cylinder sleeve is connected to the lower external thread section. The locking nut and the cylinder sleeve fixedly lock the pressing plate body.
[0007] The pressing plate body includes an upper pressing plate, a rubber pad, and a lower pressing plate that are sequentially arranged from top to bottom, and the size of the lower pressing plate is smaller than the inner diameter of the inlet channel, so that the rubber pad can block the inlet channel.
[0008] The upper end of the inlet channel has a raised ring extending into the outlet channel for the rubber pad to contact and block.
[0009] The housing includes an upper housing and a lower housing. The lower end of the upper housing is provided with an upper connecting flange, and the upper end of the lower housing is provided with a lower connecting flange. The upper and lower connecting flanges are connected by bolts; the inlet channel is arranged on the lower housing, and a ring groove is provided between the upper end of the lower housing and the outer side of the inlet channel so that the upper end of the inlet channel forms the raised ring, and the ring groove and the inner cavity of the upper housing form the outlet channel.
[0010] A spring fixing structure for fixing the upper end of the compression spring to prevent its position from deviating is provided on the mounting bracket.
[0011] The spring fixing structure includes a spring sleeve with an opening facing down for the upper end of the compression spring to be inserted; or the spring fixing structure includes a limiting post extending into the inner cavity of the upper end of the compression spring.
[0012] An upper rectifying plate is arranged in the outlet channel to form the mounting bracket.
[0013] The sensor uses a proximity sensor.
[0014] Advantages of the present utility model: When there is no use or leakage at the downstream, under the action of gravity and the pre-tightening force of the compression spring, the sealing pressing plate blocks the inlet channel. The piston approaches or blocks the inlet of the cylinder liner under the action of gravity, and the piston is detected by the sensor. At this time, it is in a state of no use or no leakage. When the pipeline end starts to be used and the consumption is small or there is a minor leakage, the fluid in the pipeline will first lift the piston to open the inlet of the cylinder liner. The fluid enters the outlet channel through the gap between the piston and the inner wall of the cylinder liner. After the piston is lifted, the signal detected by the sensor changes. At this time, even if there is a very small consumption, such as the minimum consumption of a user's gas stove, or a minor leakage, as long as the piston can be lifted away from the detection area of the sensor, it can be immediately detected. As the consumption or leakage increases, at this time the piston is still located above the cylinder liner, and the sealing pressing plate is lifted to open the inlet channel, which can meet the requirements of the maximum downstream consumption at this time. The present utility model can not only detect tiny flow changes, but also meet the requirements of the maximum downstream consumption. Moreover, through the change of the monitoring signal of the sensor, it can be monitored in real time whether the fluid inside the pipeline is in a flowing or static state. Especially for the consumption situation during the valley value time period, if there is a long-term use (leakage) signal, the pre-set signal duration alarm function can be triggered to send an alarm to the on-duty personnel, contact the direct department in time or send personnel to the site to conduct safety hazard inspections, thus ensuring the operation safety of gas and the safety of people's lives and property. It can be used in major enterprises, restaurants, shopping malls, office buildings, hotel users. The flow monitor of the present utility model is not only applicable to gas, but also applicable to other fluids such as tap water. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of the flow monitor of the present utility model;
[0016] Figure 2 is Figure 1 a partial enlarged view of part A in
[0017] Figure 3 is Figure 1 a partial enlarged view of part B in
[0018] Figure 4 a schematic structural diagram in the state of no use or no leakage;
[0019] Figure 5 is Figure 4 a schematic structural diagram in the state of small consumption or small leakage;
[0020] Figure 6 is Figure 4 a schematic structural diagram in the state of large consumption or large leakage. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0021] For ease of understanding the present utility model, the following provides a more detailed description of the present utility model in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. The preferred embodiments of the present utility model are shown in the drawings. However, the present utility model can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described in this specification. On the contrary, the purpose of providing these embodiments is to make the understanding of the disclosure of the present utility model more thorough and comprehensive.
[0022] It should be noted that unless otherwise defined, the technical and scientific terms used in this specification have the same meanings as those commonly understood by those skilled in the technical field to which the present utility model belongs. The terms used in the specification of the present utility model are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not used to limit the present utility model.
[0023] An embodiment of the flow monitor of the present utility model is as Figures 1-6 shown and includes a housing 1. The housing has an inlet connection end 5 and an outlet connection end 4 for connecting to a pipeline. The inner cavity of the housing includes an inlet channel 6 and an outlet channel 7. Specifically, the housing is an upper and lower split structure, and the housing includes an upper housing 2, a lower housing 3, and a sealing ring located therebetween. The inlet channel 6 is provided on the lower housing 3. A ring groove 9 is provided on the upper end of the lower housing outside the inlet channel, so that a raised ring 8 is formed at the upper end of the inlet channel. The ring groove 9 and the inner cavity of the upper housing form the above-mentioned outlet channel 7. The lower end of the upper housing is provided with an upper connection flange, and the upper end of the lower housing is provided with a lower connection flange. The upper and lower connection flanges are connected by bolts. The inlet connection end and the outlet connection end can adopt a threaded structure.
[0024] A sealing pressure plate 10 for blocking the inlet passage 6 is provided in the outlet passage 7. Specifically, the sealing pressure plate is used to block the raised ring 8 at the upper end of the inlet passage, and such a setting can better seal the inlet passage. An upper flow rectifying plate 11 is provided above the sealing pressure plate in the outlet passage, and a lower flow rectifying plate 17 is provided in the inlet passage. The lower flow rectifying plate is fixed by a lower snap spring 18, and the upper flow rectifying plate is fixed by an upper snap spring. A compression spring 13 capable of being compressed and deformed up and down is provided between the upper flow rectifying plate and the sealing pressure plate, and the sealing pressure plate blocks the inlet passage by relying on its own weight and the pre-tightening force of the compression spring. An opening-down spring sleeve 12 is provided on the upper flow rectifying plate for the upper end of the compression spring to be inserted and connected, and the other end of the compression spring presses against the sealing pressure plate. Here, the spring sleeve 12 forms a compression spring fixing structure for fixing the upper end of the compression spring to prevent its position from deviating. The spring sleeve is fixedly connected to the upper flow rectifying plate 11 by a connecting bolt 21 and a nut 22. In this embodiment, both the upper and lower flow rectifying plates are perforated plates for evenly and stably conveying the fluid. In this embodiment, the upper flow rectifying plate forms a mounting frame for fixing the installation of the spring sleeve and / or for the upper end of the compression spring to press against. In other embodiments, the upper flow rectifying plate may not be regarded as a mounting frame and may be set as a mounting frame of other structures, such as a cross or a cross-shaped frame, etc., as long as it can provide for the installation of the spring sleeve and / or for the upper end of the compression spring to press against, and at the same time can allow the fluid to pass through.
[0025] In this embodiment, a cylinder sleeve 14 communicating the inlet passage and the outlet passage is provided on the sealing pressure plate. A piston 15 capable of moving up and down is provided inside the cylinder sleeve. The lower end of the cylinder sleeve has an inlet 16. The piston can be close to or block the inlet of the cylinder sleeve under its own weight (here, being close means that the piston does not block the inlet of the cylinder sleeve), and there is a gap between the piston and the inner wall of the cylinder sleeve for the fluid to pass through. The gravity of the piston is less than the sum of the gravity of the sealing pressure plate and the pre-tightening force of the compression spring, ensuring that when the user starts to use and the consumption is small or the leakage amount at the user end is small, the fluid upstream can first lift the piston to open the inlet of the cylinder sleeve, as Figure 5 shown. At this time, the fluid can enter the outlet passage through the gap between the piston and the inner wall of the cylinder sleeve. As the consumption increases, the fluid can lift the entire sealing pressure plate, as Figure 6 shown, to meet the large-flow use at the user end. An anti-disengagement structure for preventing the piston from disengaging is provided inside the cylinder sleeve. Specifically, a lower constricted opening structure is provided at the lower end of the cylinder sleeve. The central hole of the lower constricted opening structure forms the inlet, and the lower constricted opening structure forms a lower anti-disengagement structure to prevent the piston from disengaging downward.
[0026] In this embodiment, the sealing pressing plate 10 includes a hollow screw rod 26. The hollow screw rod has an upper external thread section and a lower external thread section. A pressing plate body is sleeved on the hollow screw rod. A locking nut 27 is connected to the upper external thread section, and the above-mentioned cylinder liner 14 is connected to the lower external thread section. The locking nut 27 and the cylinder liner 14 fixedly lock the pressing plate body. The pressing plate body includes an upper pressing plate 23, a rubber pad 24, and a lower pressing plate 25 which are arranged in sequence from top to bottom. The size of the lower pressing plate 25 is smaller than the inner diameter of the raised ring of the inlet passage, so that the rubber pad can contact the raised ring of the inlet passage to achieve sealing. Since the rubber pad is soft, it can deform during the extrusion process to achieve a more reliable seal. In other embodiments, an upper anti-disengagement structure is formed at the lower end of the hollow screw rod to prevent the piston from disengaging upward, and the fluid can pass through the inner cavity of the hollow screw rod.
[0027] In this embodiment, a sensor 19 for detecting the position of the piston is provided on the housing. Specifically, the sensor adopts a proximity sensor, and it can be a magnetic sensor, a capacitive sensor, a Hall sensor, an optoelectronic sensor, etc., and specific selection is made according to needs. In this embodiment, a magnetic sensor is selected, and a permanent magnet is provided on the piston. The detection end of the sensor extends into the housing, and the cable 20 of the position sensor extends out of the housing for connection with a data acquisition and management system or a controller to upload, analyze, and manage data. The data acquisition and management system or the controller can analyze according to the abnormal signal of the monitored sensor and can timely remind relevant personnel to handle it to prevent leakage and dangerous events.
[0028] The above flow monitor has the following several states during use: When the user end is not in use or there is no leakage, the sealing pressing plate seals and plugs the inlet passage under the action of gravity and the compression spring, and the piston sinks under the action of gravity to be close to or plug the inlet of the cylinder liner, as Figure 4 shown. At this time, the sensor detects the position of the piston, and this is the stop-use state or the no-leakage state. When the user end starts to be used and the usage amount is small or there is a minor leakage, the fluid in the upstream of the pipeline will first push up the piston to open the inlet of the cylinder liner, and the fluid enters the outlet passage through the gap between the piston and the inner wall of the cylinder liner, as Figure 5 shown. After the piston is pushed up, the signal detected by the sensor changes. At this time, even if there is a very small usage amount, such as the minimum usage amount of the user's gas stove, or a minor leakage, as long as the piston can be pushed up to leave the detection area of the sensor, it can be immediately monitored, and small flow changes can be monitored. As the usage amount or the leakage amount increases, at this time the piston is still at the upper part of the cylinder liner, and the sealing pressing plate is pushed up to open the inlet passage, and at this time the maximum usage requirement of the downstream can be met, as Figure 6 shown. When the user end stops using or there is no leakage, the sealing pressing plate and the piston return to Figure 4In the state shown, the sensor redetects the piston position. The data collected by the sensor is transmitted to the data acquisition management system or the controller in real time, and uploaded to the management platform for display, recording, storage, and analysis, facilitating the safety operation manager to view, retrieve data, summarize the usage patterns during the valley value period, and further analyze whether the current pipeline is in a leakage state or in normal use.
[0029] In the above description of this specification, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, terms such as "fixed", "installed", "connected" or "coupled" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, regarding the term "connected", it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or integrated; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components or the interaction relationship between two components. Therefore, unless otherwise clearly limited in this specification, those skilled in the art can understand the specific meanings of the above terms in this utility model according to specific circumstances.
[0030] According to the above description of this specification, those skilled in the art can also understand the terms used as follows. For example, terms indicating orientation or position relationship such as "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "length", "width", "thickness", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "axial", "radial", "circumferential", "center", "longitudinal", "transverse", "clockwise" or "counterclockwise" are based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the drawings of this specification. It is only for the purpose of facilitating the description of the solution of this utility model and simplifying the description, rather than explicitly or implicitly indicating that the device or component involved must have the specific orientation, be constructed and operate in the specific orientation. Therefore, the above orientation or position relationship terms cannot be understood or interpreted as a limitation to the solution of this utility model.
[0031] In addition, the terms "first" or "second" etc. used in this specification to refer to numbers or ordinals are only for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as explicitly or implicitly indicating relative importance or implicitly specifying the quantity of the indicated technical features. Thus, the features defined with "first" or "second" can explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In the description of this specification, the meaning of "a plurality" is at least two, such as two, three or more, etc., unless otherwise clearly and specifically limited.
[0032] In other embodiments of the present utility model, the air inlet connection end and the air outlet connection end can also adopt internal / external thread connection, quick connector connection or flange connection; the air inlet and outlet modes can also be left-in right-out, right-in left-out, left-in up-out, right-in up-out. At this time, only the inlet and outlet directions of the housing can be changed according to actual needs; the upper anti-disengagement structure can also be a protrusion provided on the inner wall of the cylinder liner; the upper and lower rectifying plates can also be fixedly installed on the inner wall of the housing; the compression spring fixing structure does not adopt a spring sleeve, but uses a limiting column extending into the inner cavity of the upper end of the compression spring to limit and fix the upper end of the compression spring.
Claims
1. Flow monitor, characterized in that: It includes a housing which has an inlet connection end for connecting with a pipeline and an outlet connection end. The inner cavity of the housing includes an inlet channel and an outlet channel. In the outlet channel, there is a sealing pressing plate for blocking the inlet channel. Above the sealing pressing plate in the outlet channel, there is a mounting rack. Between the mounting rack and the sealing pressing plate, there is a compression spring that can be compressed and deformed up and down. The sealing pressing plate blocks the inlet channel by its own weight and the pre-tightening force of the compression spring. On the sealing pressing plate, there is a cylinder sleeve that communicates the inlet channel and the outlet channel. Inside the cylinder sleeve, there is a piston that can move up and down. The piston freely sinks under its own weight close to or blocks the inlet of the cylinder sleeve. There is a gap between the piston and the inner wall of the cylinder sleeve for the fluid to pass through. In the cylinder sleeve, there is an anti-disengagement structure to prevent the piston from disengaging. The gravity of the piston is less than the sum of the gravity of the sealing pressing plate and the pre-tightening force of the compression spring. On the housing, there is a sensor for detecting the piston.
2. The flow monitor according to claim 1, wherein: The lower end of the cylinder sleeve is provided with a lower constriction structure. The central hole of the lower constriction structure forms the inlet of the medium, and the lower constriction structure forms a lower anti-disengagement structure to prevent the piston from disengaging downward.
3. The flow monitor according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The sealing pressing plate includes a hollow screw rod which has an upper external thread section and a lower external thread section. A pressing plate body is sleeved on the hollow screw rod. The upper external thread section is connected with a locking nut, and the lower external thread section is connected with the above-mentioned cylinder sleeve. The locking nut and the cylinder sleeve fixedly lock the pressing plate body.
4. The flow monitor according to claim 3, wherein: The pressing plate body includes an upper pressing plate, a rubber pad and a lower pressing plate which are arranged in sequence from top to bottom, and the size of the lower pressing plate is smaller than the inner diameter size of the inlet channel so that the rubber pad can block the inlet channel.
5. The flow monitor according to claim 4, wherein: The upper end of the inlet channel has a raised ring extending into the outlet channel for the rubber pad to contact and block.
6. The flow monitor according to claim 5, characterized in that: The housing includes an upper housing and a lower housing. The lower end of the upper housing is provided with an upper connecting flange, and the upper end of the lower housing is provided with a lower connecting flange. The upper and lower connecting flanges are connected by bolts. The inlet channel is arranged on the lower housing. A ring groove is provided between the upper end of the lower housing and the outside of the inlet channel so that the upper end of the inlet channel forms the raised ring, and the ring groove and the inner cavity of the upper housing form the outlet channel.
7. The flow monitor according to claim 1, wherein: On the mounting rack, there is a compression spring fixing structure for fixing the upper end of the compression spring to prevent its position from deviating.
8. The flow monitor according to claim 7, wherein: The compression spring fixing structure includes a spring sleeve with an opening facing down for the upper end of the compression spring to be inserted; or the compression spring fixing structure includes a limiting post extending into the inner cavity of the upper end of the compression spring.
9. The flow monitor according to claim 1, wherein: In the outlet channel, there is an upper flow rectifying plate to form the mounting rack.
10. The flow monitor according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sensor adopts a proximity sensor.