Wireless control valve

Abstract

The utility model relates to a water meter control device, in particular to a wireless control valve. The wireless control valve has the advantages of being convenient to use and low in cost. According to the technical scheme, the wireless control valve comprises a ball valve. The device is characterized in that the ball valve is provided with a control device; the control device comprises an outer shell composed of an upper shell and a lower shell, and a circuit board, an actuator and a battery assembly which are arranged in the outer shell. The actuator is connected with a valve rod of the valve body; the circuit board is provided with a communication module, and the circuit board is electrically connected with the battery assembly and the actuator; the circuit board is packaged in the upper shell through an upper sealing structure; the actuator is packaged in the lower shell through a lower sealing structure.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to a water meter control device, specifically a wireless control valve. Background Technology

[0002] Traditional smart water meters only have basic water metering functions and require manual on-site operation, resulting in low efficiency, poor real-time performance, and inability to be remotely managed. However, with the maturity of IoT technology, low-power communication technology, and automated control technology, valve-controlled water meters, due to their remote control capability, can greatly improve management efficiency and are gradually becoming the core terminal equipment of smart water systems.

[0003] Current valve-controlled water meters have the following defects:

[0004] Traditional smart water meters can be made of various materials (such as engineering plastics) for their base meter casing, while valve-controlled water meters use a combined meter and valve structure, and their base meter casing (including the upper and lower casings) must be made of copper. If the existing pipe network is to be upgraded and the existing traditional smart water meters in the pipe network are replaced with valve-controlled water meters, the transformation cost will be greatly increased. Utility Model Content

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to overcome the shortcomings in the above-mentioned background technology and provide a wireless control valve, which should be easy to use and low in cost.

[0006] The technical solution of this utility model is:

[0007] A wireless control valve includes a ball valve; characterized in that: the ball valve is equipped with a control device; the control device includes an outer shell composed of an upper shell and a lower shell, and a circuit board, an actuator, and a battery assembly disposed within the outer shell; the actuator is connected to the valve stem of the valve body; the circuit board is provided with a communication module, and the circuit board is electrically connected to the battery assembly and the actuator; the circuit board is encapsulated in the upper shell through an upper sealing structure; the actuator is encapsulated in the lower shell through a lower sealing structure.

[0008] In the upper sealing structure, the inner cavity of the upper shell is divided into a first inner cavity and a second inner cavity by a partition. The circuit board is encapsulated in the first inner cavity by potting compound, and the battery assembly is placed in the second inner cavity.

[0009] The battery assembly includes batteries encapsulated in a battery container using potting compound.

[0010] In the lower sealing structure, the inner cover seals the actuator in the lower shell, and the inner cover and the lower shell are sealed with potting compound.

[0011] The top surface of the inner cover is provided with a first boss and a second boss that protrude upwards in stages; a gap is formed between the first boss and the lower shell, and the gap is filled with potting compound; the second boss is provided with a wire hole, and the circuit board is electrically connected to the actuator through a wire passing through the wire hole, and the wire hole is filled with potting compound.

[0012] The upper shell is provided with a transparent window that mates with the circuit board.

[0013] The ball valve includes a valve body with a support, a nut connected to the end of the valve body via a connector, a valve ball disposed in the valve cavity of the valve body, and a valve stem passing through the support and connected to the valve ball.

[0014] The support platform is provided with cantilever arms extending to both sides; the bottom of the lower shell is provided with a base that can be adapted to the shape of the support platform, and the support platform and the base are connected by fasteners.

[0015] The circuit board is equipped with a communication module.

[0016] The beneficial effects of this utility model are:

[0017] This utility model can be used alone or in conjunction with a smart water meter to achieve the shut-off control of the pipeline network. It is very convenient to use, effectively reduces costs, and improves the efficiency of water management. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the right-side structure of this utility model.

[0020] Figure 3 This is a top view of the structure of this utility model.

[0021] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the main structure of this utility model.

[0022] Figure 5 yes Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure along the AA direction.

[0023] Figure 6 yes Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure along the BB direction.

[0024] Figure 7 This is an exploded view of this utility model.

[0025] Figure 8 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the upper shell, circuit board, and battery assembly of this utility model.

[0026] Figure 9 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the lower shell and inner cover of this utility model.

[0027] Figure 10 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the lower shell of this utility model.

[0028] Figure 11 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the inner cover of this utility model.

[0029] Figure 12 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the ball valve of this utility model.

[0030] Figure 13 Exploded view of the ball valve of this utility model.

[0031] Figure label:

[0032] 1. Ball valve, 1.1 Valve body, 1.2 Connector, 1.3 Nut, 1.4 Valve ball, 1.5 Support, 1.6 Valve stem, 1.7 Cantilever, 2. Control device, 3. Upper shell, 3.1 First inner cavity, 3.2 Second inner cavity, 3.3 Partition, 3.4 Transparent window, 4. Lower shell, 4.1 Base, 4.2 Bottom hole, 5. Circuit board, 6. Actuator, 7. Battery assembly, 8. Inner cover, 8.1 First boss, 8.2 Second boss, 8.3 Gap, 8.4 Wire hole. Detailed Implementation

[0033] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this utility model clearer, the present utility model will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely for explaining the present utility model and are not intended to limit the present utility model.

[0034] like Figure 1 As shown, a wireless control valve includes a ball valve 1 and a control device 2.

[0035] The ball valve includes a valve body 1.1, with an inlet and an outlet at both ends that connect to the internal valve cavity. A support 1.5 is located on the top of the valve body, with a valve stem hole extending vertically downwards through the center of the support and connecting to the valve cavity. The sides of the support ( Figure 6 The valve body has horizontally extending cantilever arms 1.7 on both sides, the valve ball 1.4 is rotatably positioned in the valve cavity, and the valve stem 1.6 extends vertically into the valve stem hole and is inserted into the valve ball.

[0036] like Figure 5 As shown, the left end of the valve body has an external thread, and the right end of the valve body has an internal thread. The connector 1.2 passes through the nut 1.3 and is then connected to the right end of the valve body via a thread.

[0037] The valve body, valve stem, connector, and nut are made of copper. The ball valve is made of stainless steel.

[0038] The control device is mounted on top of the ball valve. The control device includes a housing, a circuit board 5, an actuator 6, and a battery assembly 7. The housing consists of an upper shell 3 and a lower shell 4 and is fixed to a support. The circuit board is encapsulated in the upper shell via an upper sealing structure, and the actuator is encapsulated in the lower shell via a lower sealing structure. The circuit board is electrically connected to the battery assembly and the actuator. The actuator is connected to the valve stem of the valve body.

[0039] like Figure 8 As shown, in the upper sealing structure, the partition 3.3 divides the inner cavity of the upper shell into a first inner cavity 3.1 and a second inner cavity 3.2. The circuit board is encapsulated in the first inner cavity with potting compound, and the battery assembly is placed in the second inner cavity.

[0040] The circuit board is equipped with a communication module, which includes a Bluetooth module, an infrared module, and an NB-IoT module. The upper casing has a transparent window 3.4 corresponding to the location of the infrared module. The circuit board is completely submerged in potting compound, and the circuit board is electrically connected to the battery assembly and the actuator via wires passing through the potting compound.

[0041] The battery assembly is also encapsulated with potting compound. In the battery assembly, the battery is placed in a battery compartment, and the space between the battery and the inner wall of the battery compartment is filled with potting compound.

[0042] In the lower sealing structure, the actuator is fixed to the lower housing, and an inner cover 8 is provided above the actuator, which seals the actuator inside the lower housing. The figure only shows the actuator's actuating rod and part of the gears.

[0043] The top surface of the inner cover is provided with two layers of progressively upward protruding bosses, including a first boss 8.1 located on the top surface of the inner cover and a second boss 8.2 located on the top surface of the first boss.

[0044] The first boss maintains a certain distance from the side of the first boss to the inner wall of the lower housing, thus forming an annular gap 8.3 around the first boss, which is filled with potting compound. The second boss has a wire hole 8.4 that extends through the thickness direction of the inner cover. The circuit board is electrically connected to the actuator through a wire passing through the wire hole, which is also filled with potting compound. By encapsulating the gap and wire hole with potting compound, sealing performance is ensured while reducing the amount of potting compound used, thus lowering costs.

[0045] The lower housing has a base 4.1 at its bottom, the shape of which matches the shape of the support platform. The support platform and the base are connected by fasteners. The lower housing also has a bottom hole 4.2, which passes through the bottom surface of the lower housing and the bottom surface of the base. The actuator's actuating rod extends into the bottom hole and is inserted vertically into the valve stem of the ball valve.

[0046] Because the control device contains actuators, circuit boards, battery packs, and other components, the lateral width of the casing ( Figure 3The horizontal width of the valve body is greater than the width of the valve body, and the cantilever arms on both sides of the support can provide sufficiently stable support to ensure that the control device is firmly installed on the ball valve.

[0047] The ball valve and control device of this utility model also include sealing components. The sealing components are respectively disposed between the valve stem and the valve stem hole, between the ball valve and the valve cavity hole, and between the actuating rod and the bottom hole.

[0048] All components of this utility model are existing technologies and can be purchased externally.

[0049] The working principle of this utility model is as follows:

[0050] 1. This utility model is installed separately on the pipeline network. This utility model communicates with the remote monitoring system through the NB-IoT module to control the pipeline network to shut down.

[0051] 2. This utility model is used in conjunction with a smart water meter. It communicates with the smart water meter via a Bluetooth module and controls the connection and disconnection of the pipeline. When upgrading the existing pipeline, only this utility model needs to be installed, without having to replace it with a more expensive valve-controlled water meter, which greatly reduces the upgrading cost.

[0052] 3. When the staff points the meter reader at the transparent window, it exchanges data with the infrared module to realize meter reading, parameter setting and equipment maintenance.

[0053] The accompanying drawings illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention. However, the present invention can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided to provide a thorough and complete understanding of the disclosure of the present invention.

Claims

1. A wireless control valve, comprising a ball valve (1); characterized in that: The ball valve is equipped with a control device (2); the control device includes an outer shell consisting of an upper shell (3) and a lower shell (4) and a circuit board (5), an actuator (6), and a battery assembly (7) disposed within the outer shell; the actuator is connected to the valve stem of the valve body; the circuit board is provided with a communication module, and the circuit board is electrically connected to the battery assembly and the actuator; the circuit board is encapsulated in the upper shell through an upper sealing structure; the actuator is encapsulated in the lower shell through a lower sealing structure.

2. The wireless control valve according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the upper sealing structure, the inner cavity of the upper shell is divided into a first inner cavity (3.1) and a second inner cavity (3.2) by a partition (3.3). The circuit board is encapsulated in the first inner cavity by potting compound, and the battery assembly is placed in the second inner cavity.

3. A wireless control valve according to claim 2, characterized in that: The battery assembly includes batteries encapsulated in a battery container using potting compound.

4. A wireless control valve according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that: In the lower sealing structure, the inner cover (8) seals the actuator in the lower shell, and the inner cover and the lower shell are sealed with potting compound.

5. A wireless control valve according to claim 4, characterized in that: The top surface of the inner cover is provided with a first boss (8.1) and a second boss (8.2) that protrude upwards in stages; a gap (8.3) is formed between the first boss and the lower shell, and the gap is filled with potting compound; the second boss is provided with a wire hole (8.4), and the circuit board is electrically connected to the actuator through a wire passing through the wire hole, and the wire hole is filled with potting compound.

6. A wireless control valve according to claim 5, characterized in that: The upper shell is provided with a transparent window (3.4) that mates with the circuit board.

7. A wireless control valve according to claim 6, characterized in that: The ball valve includes a valve body (1.1) with a support (1.5), a nut (1.3) connected to the end of the valve body via a connector (1.2), a valve ball (1.4) disposed in the valve cavity of the valve body, and a valve stem (1.6) passing through the support and connected to the valve ball.

8. A wireless control valve according to claim 7, characterized in that: The support platform is provided with cantilever arms (1.7) extending to both sides; the bottom of the lower shell is provided with a base (4.1) that can be adapted to the shape of the support platform, and the support platform and the base are connected by fasteners.

9. A wireless control valve according to claim 8, characterized in that: The circuit board is equipped with a communication module.

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