Wind speed and direction sensor
By introducing a metal heat-conducting ring, a conductive slip ring, and a graded heating circuit into the wind speed and direction sensor, the problems of uneven heat conduction and unstable power supply of the sensor in extreme rain and snow environments are solved, achieving precise heating control and improving measurement accuracy and reliability.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- QINGDAO MARITEC TECH CO LTD
- Filing Date
- 2025-04-30
- Publication Date
- 2026-05-15
AI Technical Summary
Mechanical wind speed and direction sensors suffer from uneven heat conduction, unstable power supply, and coarse environmental perception in extreme rain and snow environments, resulting in large measurement errors and energy waste.
It employs a metal heat-conducting ring, a conductive slip ring, and a graded heating circuit to form a directional heat conduction path and a stable power supply, and combines a rain and snow detection circuit to achieve precise heating control.
It improves the measurement accuracy and reliability of the sensor in extreme rain and snow environments, reduces energy consumption, and achieves efficient antifreeze protection in low-temperature environments.
Smart Images
Figure CN224247743U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] In the field of meteorological detection equipment technology, this utility model relates to a wind speed and direction sensor. Background Technology
[0002] A wind speed and direction sensor is a device used to measure wind speed, wind direction and other related parameters. It includes mechanical wind speed and direction sensors, ultrasonic wind speed and direction sensors, thermal wind speed and direction sensors and other types.
[0003] Wind speed and direction sensors are widely used in meteorology, aerospace, industry, and agriculture. Their measurement accuracy is affected by the environment, especially in extreme rain and snow conditions, where the measurement error can be too large due to low ambient temperature or even freezing rain.
[0004] Traditional mechanical wind speed and direction sensors typically use a heating film or resistance wire to cover the body to ensure operating temperature in extreme rain and snow environments, but the following problems still exist:
[0005] 1. Uneven heat conduction: The heat transfer inside the sensor head relies on the plastic shell, which has low heat conduction efficiency and is prone to local icing or overheating.
[0006] 2. Power supply limitation: Direct connection of wires to rotating parts is prone to breakage or signal interference due to long-term torsion, which may cause the heating film or heating wire to fail.
[0007] 3. Inefficient control: Rain and snow detection relies on a single contact point or temperature control threshold, which can easily lead to misjudgment of environmental conditions, resulting in energy waste or protection failure. Summary of the Invention
[0008] This invention addresses the need for mechanical wind speed and direction sensors to withstand snow accumulation, ice buildup, and freezing rain in extreme rain and snow environments. It proposes a wind speed and direction sensor with a zoned heating system consisting of a metal heat-conducting component, a conductive slip ring power supply, and a graded heating circuit. By optimizing the heat conduction path, stabilizing the rotating power supply, and sensing the reference environment, the antifreeze capability and long-term reliability of the mechanical wind speed and direction sensor are significantly improved.
[0009] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, this application adopts the following technical solution:
[0010] A wind speed and direction sensor is proposed, comprising a housing with an internal three-way cavity: a head cavity, a vertical cavity, and a tail cavity; a propeller is disposed outside the head cavity, and a tail fin is disposed outside the tail cavity; further comprising:
[0011] A metal heat-conducting ring is installed inside the head cavity and sleeved around the propeller shaft;
[0012] Heating film one is attached to the metal heat-conducting ring;
[0013] Heating film two is attached to the inside of the tail cavity;
[0014] Among them, the heating film, the metal heat-conducting ring, the propeller shaft, and the propeller form a directional heat-conducting path for heating the propeller blades.
[0015] In some embodiments of this application, the propeller is filled with a thermally conductive material.
[0016] In some embodiments of this application, the sensor consists of a fixed part at the bottom and a main body rotatable relative to the fixed part; the sensor also includes a slip ring base installed in the fixed part, the slip ring base extending into the main body;
[0017] Install a conductive slip ring on the slip ring base that extends into the main body; the conductive slip ring is electrically connected to the power cord.
[0018] The power supply connection lines of heating film one and heating film two extend from the head cavity and tail cavity to the vertical cavity, respectively. The end of the power supply connection line is connected to the brush. The brush is fixed inside the main body connected to the fixing part and connected to the conductive slip ring.
[0019] In some embodiments of this application, the sensor further includes a graded heating circuit consisting of electrode contacts, a rain and snow detection circuit, a heating film one, a heating film two, a temperature switch S1, a temperature switch S2, a temperature switch S3, and a thyristor D.
[0020] The electrode contacts are arranged on the surface of the head cavity and electrically connected to the rain and snow detection circuit; the output of the rain and snow detection circuit is connected to the control terminal of the thyristor D; the temperature switch S1 is connected between the power supply V and the input terminal of the thyristor D, and the temperature switch S2 is connected between the input terminal of the thyristor D and the first heating film; the second heating film is connected in parallel with the first heating film and is controlled by the temperature switch S3.
[0021] In some embodiments of this application, the rain and snow detection circuit is a capacitive humidity sensor.
[0022] In some embodiments of this application, at least two heating films are attached to the metal heat-conducting ring; the at least two heating films are connected in parallel in the heating circuit.
[0023] In some embodiments of this application, temperature switch S1 is a first temperature switch; temperature switches S2 and S3 are second temperature switches; and the first temperature is lower than the second temperature.
[0024] In some embodiments of this application, electrode contacts are disposed on the outer surface of the head cavity.
[0025] Compared with the prior art, the advantages and positive effects of this application are:
[0026] (1) The sensor head body is formed by heating film one, metal heat conduction ring and propeller shaft to conduct heat to propeller blades in a directional heat conduction path. The main body of the sensor except the head body conducts heat to the shell through heating film two. The zoned heating method ensures stable measurement of the sensor in rainy and snowy weather.
[0027] (2) The conductive slip ring and brush structure ensures a stable power supply to heating film one and heating film two.
[0028] (3) A graded heating circuit for heating film one and heating film two is composed of electrode contacts, rain and snow detection circuit, temperature switch and thyristor; wherein, the electrode contacts and rain and snow detection circuit dynamically identify the state of rain, snow and frost. In low temperature non-rain and snow environment, only heating film two is activated to heat the shell. In low temperature rain and snow weather, heating film one and heating film two are activated at the same time to heat the propeller blade and shell. When the electrode contacts and rain and snow detection circuit are shielded, heating film one and heating film two are activated at the same time to conduct heat to the propeller blade and shell in low temperature environment. The problem of the sensor's rough environmental perception is solved by the precise triggering of heating. The sensor is protected against high temperature, de-icing and low energy consumption in low temperature environment.
[0029] Other features and advantages of this application will become clearer after reading the detailed description of the embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description
[0030] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the external structure of an existing mechanical wind speed and direction sensor;
[0031] Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional view of the wind speed and direction sensor proposed in this application;
[0032] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional view of the head cavity of the wind speed and direction sensor proposed in this application;
[0033] Figure 4 This is a cross-sectional view of the housing of the wind speed and direction sensor proposed in this application;
[0034] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the conductive slip ring mounting structure in the wind speed and direction sensor proposed in this application;
[0035] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the electrode contact layout structure in the wind speed and direction sensor proposed in this application.
[0036] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the heating control circuit in the wind speed and direction sensor proposed in this application.
[0037] Reference numerals: 1. Propeller; 21. Head chamber; 22. Vertical chamber; 23. Tail chamber; 3. Shell; 4. Metal heat-conducting ring; 5. Conductive slip ring; 51. Slip ring base; 61. Rotor; 62. Brush; 7. Heating film one; 8. Electrode contact; 9. Propeller shaft; 10. Heating film two; 13. Power line; 14. Tail fin. Detailed Implementation
[0038] The specific embodiments of this application will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0039] The wind speed and direction sensor proposed in this application is as follows: Figures 2 to 6 As shown, the device includes a housing 3, which internally forms a three-way cavity, comprising a head cavity 21, a vertical cavity 22, and a tail cavity 23. A propeller 1 is mounted externally in the head cavity 21. Inside, from the end of the propeller 1 towards the tail cavity 23, a propeller shaft 9, a magnet, and a speed measuring coil are arranged sequentially. One end of the propeller shaft 9 is fixedly connected to the propeller 1 via a bearing, and the other end is connected to the magnet. The vertical cavity 22 contains, from top to bottom, a wind direction actuator, a speed measuring coil, a coupling, an angle encoder, and a control circuit board. A tail fin 14 is mounted externally in the tail cavity 23. The speed measuring coil is installed in conjunction with the magnet in the head cavity 21 to generate a magnetoelectric effect. The wind direction actuator is rotatably connected to the tail fin 14. The wind direction actuator has a wind direction shaft, and the angle encoder has an angle shaft; the wind direction shaft and the angle shaft are connected via a coupling.
[0040] The principle of this wind speed and direction sensor for measuring wind speed is as follows: the wind drives the propeller 1 to rotate, and the rotation of the propeller 1 drives the magnet to rotate through the propeller shaft 9. According to the magnetoelectric effect, after the magnet rotates, a sinusoidal AC voltage is generated in the speed measuring coil. The frequency of this voltage generation is proportional to the wind speed. The voltage acquisition circuit in the control circuit board collects the frequency of this voltage generation to determine the wind speed value.
[0041] The principle of this wind speed and direction sensor for measuring wind direction is as follows: the wind drives the tail fin 14 to rotate, which in turn drives the wind direction driver to rotate. Through the transmission of the wind direction shaft and the angle shaft, the angle encoder is driven to generate an angle voltage that is related to the wind direction. The response circuit in the control circuit board collects the angle voltage signal and determines the wind direction value based on the angle voltage signal.
[0042] To improve the sensor's measurement capabilities under extreme weather conditions such as rain and snow, this application employs three methods to ensure its performance: uniform heat conduction, stable power supply, and hardware-based detection-based heating control.
[0043] 1. Thermal design.
[0044] On one hand, a metal heat-conducting ring 4 is embedded inside the head cavity 21. This metal heat-conducting ring 4 is fitted around the propeller shaft 9 and is tightly attached to the 12W heating film 7, forming a directional heat conduction path composed of the heating film 7, the metal heat-conducting ring 4, the propeller shaft 9, and the propeller 1. The heat generated by the heating film 7 is conducted to the propeller shaft 9 and the blades of the propeller 1 through the directional heat conduction path, ensuring the sensor's measurement performance under extreme rain and snow weather.
[0045] In this embodiment, three heating films (7) are tightly wrapped around the metal heat-conducting ring 4.
[0046] Secondly, a 36W heating film 210 is attached to the inner side of the housing 3 corresponding to the tail cavity 23. The heating film 210 radiates heat evenly to the outer surface of the housing 3 through the body, which can melt the ice layer on the surface of the housing in extreme rain and snow weather.
[0047] 2. Power supply design.
[0048] The vertical body part (corresponding to the vertical cavity 23) of the wind speed and direction sensor proposed in this application consists of a fixed part at the bottom and a rotatable main body at the top. The main control circuit board and power line 13 are arranged in the fixed part. The connection lines of each sensor component to the control circuit board and power supply are arranged in the vertical cavity 22. In the conventional structure without heating film 7 and heating film 10, since each sensor element is arranged in the vertical cavity 22, the connection lines can remain relatively stationary in the vertical cavity 22 when the main body rotates relative to the fixed part.
[0049] In this embodiment, heating film 7 and heating film 10 are arranged in the head cavity 21 and tail cavity 23, respectively. The connection lines between them and the control circuit board and / or power supply extend from the head cavity 21 and tail cavity 23 to the vertical cavity 22. When the main body rotates with the wind direction, the connection lines in the head cavity 21 and tail cavity 23 also rotate with the main body, leading to a risk of entanglement of the connection lines in the vertical cavity 23. To avoid entanglement and ensure stable power supply and control for heating film 7 and heating film 10, such as... Figure 5 As shown, this application has a slip ring base 51 installed in the fixed part, which extends into the main body. A conductive slip ring 5 is installed on the slip ring base 51 extending into the main body. The power cord 13 is connected to the slip ring base 51 to supply power to the conductive slip ring 5. The power supply connection lines of the heating film 1 7 and the heating film 2 10 are connected to the conductive rotor 61. The rotor 61 is fixed on the inner wall of the vertical cavity 22. The brush 62 is electrically connected to the rotor and slidably connected to the conductive slip ring 5. When the main body rotates, the connection line rotates with the main body. During the rotation, the brush slides relative to the conductive slip ring 5 to provide power in a 360° rotation to avoid the connection line from getting tangled.
[0050] 3. Heating control design.
[0051] like Figure 7 As shown, this application designs a graded heating circuit to achieve precise control of the heating of the wind speed and direction sensor: in the first-level heating mode, heating film 2 10 is activated, while heating film 1 7 is not activated; in the second-level heating mode, both heating film 2 10 and heating film 1 7 are activated.
[0052] Specifically, the graded heating circuit consists of electrode contacts 8, a rain and snow detection circuit U, a 12W heating film 7, a 36W heating film 10, temperature switches S1, S2, and S3, and a thyristor D. Electrode contacts 8 are located on the surface of the head cavity 21 and electrically connected to the rain and snow detection circuit; the output of the rain and snow detection circuit is connected to the control terminal of the thyristor D; temperature switch S1 is connected between the power supply V and the input terminal of the thyristor D, and temperature switch S2 is connected between the input terminal of the thyristor D and the heating film 7; the heating film 10 is connected in parallel with the heating film 7 and is controlled by temperature switch S3.
[0053] The rain and snow detection circuit U is a capacitive humidity sensor; the temperature switch S1 is set to 0. The switch, installed on the bottom outer side of the sensor housing 3, is used to sense the ambient temperature. When the ambient temperature is below 0°C...
[0054] When S1 closes, heating control is triggered; temperature switches S2 and S3 are at 50°C. Switch, ambient temperature below 50°C It is normally closed under certain conditions.
[0055] In low-temperature, non-rainy / snowy weather, temperature switch S1 closes to activate heating control, the capacitive humidity sensor outputs a low-level signal, thyristor D is cut off, and only the first-level heating mode is activated. In low-temperature, rainy / snowy weather, electrode contact 8 is short-circuited due to rain and snow, the capacitive humidity sensor outputs a high-level signal to conduct thyristor D, thereby activating the second-level power supply mode. In the first-level heating mode, heating film 10 activates to heat the housing 3; in the second-level heating mode (when covered by rain, snow, ice, etc.), both heating film 7 and heating film 10 are activated, operating at full power to melt the ice.
[0056] In this embodiment of the application, according to actual needs, the heating film 7 and the heating film 10 can be activated simultaneously in low-temperature environments (including non-rainy and snowy weather and rainy and snowy weather) by short-circuiting the electrode contact 8 to conduct heat to the propeller blades and the housing. That is, heating of the propeller blades and the housing is achieved in low-temperature environments when the shielding electrode contact 8 and the rain and snow detection circuit U are used, thereby achieving heating protection of the sensor in low-temperature environments.
[0057] The wind speed and direction sensor proposed in this application is manufactured according to the following steps:
[0058] 1. The metal heat-conducting ring 4, three parallel 12W heating films 7, temperature switches S2 and S3, and rain and snow detection circuit are pre-installed into the sensor head cavity mold. The sensor head body is formed by injection molding, and the electrode contacts 8 are arranged on the top of the head body.
[0059] 2. After welding the 36W heating film 10 to the temperature switch S3, attach it to the inside of the housing 3.
[0060] 3. Install the temperature switch S1 on the bottom outside of the sensor housing to sense the ambient temperature.
[0061] 4. Fix the conductive slip ring 5 to the fixed part of the vertical cavity 23 of the sensor.
[0062] 5. The power supply connection wires of heating film 7 and heating film 10 are welded to the brush, and the brush is fixed at the position where the main body and the fixing part meet.
[0063] 6. Assemble the main body and the fixing part so that the brush is connected to the conductive slip ring 5.
[0064] The mechanical wind speed and direction sensor with heating function proposed in this application deeply couples the mechanical structure with electronic control through three means: a metal heat-conducting ring, a conductive slip ring, and rain and snow detection. This achieves accurate, stable, and low-energy-consumption anti-freezing and rain-proof functions, solving the problems of low thermal conductivity, low power supply reliability, and coarse environmental perception of traditional mechanical wind speed and direction sensors. It is particularly suitable for long-term meteorological monitoring scenarios in high-altitude, cold, rainy, and snowy regions.
[0065] It should be noted that the above description is not intended to limit the present utility model, and the present utility model is not limited to the examples given above. Any changes, modifications, additions or substitutions made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the present utility model should also fall within the protection scope of the present utility model.
Claims
1. A wind speed and direction sensor, comprising a housing (3) having an internally formed three-way cavity: a transverse head cavity (21) and a tail cavity (23), and a longitudinal vertical cavity (22); a propeller (1) is disposed outside the head cavity (21), and a tail fin (14) is disposed outside the tail cavity (23); characterized in that, Also includes: A metal heat-conducting ring (4) is installed inside the head cavity (21) and sleeved around the propeller shaft (9); Heating film 1 (7) is attached to the metal heat-conducting ring (4); Heating film 2 (10) is attached to the inside of the tail cavity (23); Among them, the heating film (7), the metal heat-conducting ring (4), the propeller shaft (9) and the propeller (1) form a directional heat-conducting path for heating the blades of the propeller (1).
2. The wind speed and direction sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that, The propeller (1) is filled with thermally conductive material.
3. The wind speed and direction sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sensor consists of a fixed part at the bottom and a main body that is rotatable relative to the fixed part; the sensor also includes a slip ring base installed in the fixed part, the slip ring base extending into the main body; Install a conductive slip ring (5) on the slip ring base that extends into the main body; the conductive slip ring (5) is electrically connected to the power cord (13); The power supply connection lines of heating film one (7) and heating film two (10) extend from the head cavity (21) and tail cavity (23) to the vertical cavity (22), respectively. The end of the power supply connection line is connected to the brush. The brush is fixed inside the main body connected to the fixing part and connected to the conductive slip ring (5).
4. The wind speed and direction sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sensor also includes a graded heating circuit consisting of electrode contacts (8), a rain and snow detection circuit, a heating film one (7), a heating film two (10), a temperature switch S1, a temperature switch S2, a temperature switch S3 and a thyristor D; Among them, the electrode contacts (8) are arranged on the surface of the head cavity (21) and electrically connected to the rain and snow detection circuit; the output of the rain and snow detection circuit is connected to the control terminal of the thyristor D; the temperature switch S1 is connected between the power supply V and the input terminal of the thyristor D, and the temperature switch S2 is connected between the input terminal of the thyristor D and the heating film one (7); the heating film two (10) is connected in parallel with the heating film one (7) and is controlled by the temperature switch S3.
5. The wind speed and direction sensor according to claim 4, characterized in that, The rain and snow detection circuit is a capacitive humidity sensor.
6. The wind speed and direction sensor according to claim 4, characterized in that, At least two heating films (7) are attached to the metal heat-conducting ring (4); at least two heating films (7) are connected in parallel in the heating circuit.
7. The wind speed and direction sensor according to claim 4, characterized in that, Temperature switch S1 is the first temperature switch; temperature switches S2 and S3 are the second temperature switches; the first temperature is lower than the second temperature.
8. The wind speed and direction sensor according to claim 4, characterized in that, Electrode contacts (8) are arranged on the outer surface of the head cavity (21).