Self-powered water meter based on electromagnetic power generation

Abstract

The utility model provides a self-powered intelligent water meter based on electromagnetic power generation. The self-powered intelligent water meter comprises a first built-in cavity, a second built-in cavity, a water inlet and a water outlet, the first built-in cavity and the second built-in cavity are connected through a bolt, the water inlet is communicated with the first built-in cavity, and the water outlet is communicated with the second built-in cavity. According to the utility model, the electric signal generated by the coil is utilized, the self-power supply technology and the self-sensing technology are combined, and multiple functions are realized through the simple structure; a switch control mode is adopted in the power supply management system, so that voltage and current are only used when needed, and no electric energy is consumed in other time; the power management circuit realizes a fully-automatic switching function through battery voltage detection, so that the whole system comprises the wireless transmission module and can be called as a real self-powered system; the energy of the energy source is fully and efficiently utilized, so that no energy loss exists in the energy conversion and distribution process.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of smart water meters, specifically to a self-powered smart water meter based on electromagnetic power generation. Background Technology

[0002] Smart water meters are devices deployed in urban smart water systems to monitor water usage in various areas in real time. Through wireless transmission systems, both water authorities and users can view water usage data in real time. A large amount of accurate water usage data helps water authorities understand water usage patterns and trends, thereby optimizing water supply plans and resource allocation. Water supply and shutdowns can be adjusted in real time according to actual needs, improving water supply efficiency and flexibility. However, smart water meters consume energy during monitoring and data transmission. Most current smart water meters are battery-powered. The complex operating environment and large number of smart water meters make battery replacement difficult and labor-intensive, requiring significant manpower and resources. Furthermore, battery replacement can cause metering errors or even data loss, impacting the water authority's comprehensive management of water resources. There is an urgent need for a long-term, stable operating mode, leading to the development of self-powered technology. Self-powered technology collects clean energy from the surrounding environment and converts it into electrical energy to power the system circuitry. In recent years, with the rapid development of semiconductor technology and micro / nano processes, various electronic devices and smart equipment have become increasingly integrated and intelligent, while their power consumption has gradually decreased to the milliwatt (mW), microwatt (μW), and even nanowatt (nW) levels. This reduction in power consumption has led to entirely new solutions for the energy supply of electronic devices, and harvesting environmental energy to address the power supply problem of electronic products has broad research prospects and application value.

[0003] A smart water meter is a new type of water meter that uses modern microelectronics, sensor technology, and smart IC card technology to measure water consumption, transmit water data, and settle transactions. Currently, smart water meters primarily use pulse sensing, ultrasonic sensing, and electromagnetic sensing technologies. Pulse sensing technology attaches a Hall effect sensor to the original rotary vane water meter. When water flows through a unit, the magnetic sensing element emits a pulse signal to the main control circuit for counting. While pulse sensing technology has the advantage of low power consumption, it is easily affected by magnetic fields and mechanical vibrations, resulting in poor stability and relatively high cost. Ultrasonic sensing technology, while accurate, is also limited by environmental factors, installation requirements, and complex data processing, hindering its widespread adoption. Electromagnetic sensing technology uses the principle of electromagnetic induction for measurement, achieving high precision, but it is costly and requires a stable external power supply to generate a stable magnetic field for the excitation coil. A smart water meter mainly consists of four parts: a sensor module, a processor module, a wireless transmission module, and a power supply module. The processor module of a smart water meter is the core of the entire water meter system. It analyzes and processes signals from the flow sensor in real time, converting them into accurate water consumption data. Some smart water meters also carry other sensors, such as pressure sensors, pH sensors, and turbidity sensors; these sensor signals are also processed by the processor. Smart water meters can connect to a central system via wireless communication technologies such as LoRa, NB-IoT, or Wi-Fi, enabling remote meter reading and real-time monitoring. This eliminates the need for manual meter reading and improves data accuracy and efficiency. Wireless transmission systems allow both water utilities and users to view water consumption data in real time. Water consumption data reminds users and incentivizes water-saving behavior, helping to reduce waste and achieve rational water resource utilization. A large amount of accurate water consumption data helps water utilities understand water usage patterns and trends, thereby optimizing water supply plans and resource allocation. Smart water meters can also automatically detect leaks and abnormal water usage, providing timely warnings to reduce leakage and water waste. This helps reduce excessive water use, water pollution, and water waste, thus contributing to environmental protection and sustainable development.

[0004] Currently, most smart water meters are battery-powered, operating in complex environments and in large numbers. Replacing batteries is difficult and requires significant manpower and resources. Furthermore, battery replacement can cause metering errors or even data loss. Water flowing through pipelines possesses potential energy, including static pressure energy, potential energy, and kinetic energy. Converting a portion of this water flow energy into electricity to power smart water meters through micro-energy harvesting technology, without affecting the user experience, is an effective solution to overcome the limitations of current power supply methods. Integrating water flow power generation technology with water metering technology to create self-powered water meters can effectively solve the water meter power supply problem.

[0005] Despite significant progress in water flow energy harvesting, exploration of combining precise flow measurement technology with efficient energy capture remains limited. Pulse sensing technology suffers from poor stability and high cost; ultrasonic sensing technology has stringent installation requirements for smart water meters and complex data processing; traditional electromagnetic sensing technology requires an external power supply, resulting in high costs. Furthermore, existing technologies utilize numerous modules in their power management systems, leading to insufficient integration and hindering installation convenience. Additionally, the lack of self-energy-saving systems results in energy loss during power distribution. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The objective of this utility model is achieved through the following technical solution.

[0007] This invention proposes a highly integrated, self-powered smart water meter based on pipeline water flow energy generation, possessing four main features: First, it can adjust the water flow direction in the pipeline from multiple angles; second, the water meter includes a water flow energy conversion module, capable of capturing the water flow energy in the pipeline to power other functional modules within the water meter, achieving complete self-powering; third, this invention integrates a fully automatic and efficient power management system, self-sensing function, and wireless transmission function into one highly integrated and multifunctional smart water meter, suitable for a wide range of applications; fourth, this water meter generates electricity by collecting water flow energy and uses the generated electrical signals to achieve water flow sensing. By distributing these smart water meters on a large scale, the entire smart water system will benefit human life at a lower cost.

[0008] This utility model provides a self-powered smart water meter based on electromagnetic power generation, comprising:

[0009] First internal cavity, second internal cavity, water inlet, water outlet;

[0010] The first internal cavity and the second internal cavity are connected by bolts, the water inlet is connected to the first internal cavity, and the water outlet is connected to the second internal cavity.

[0011] Furthermore, the water meter further includes:

[0012] The device comprises a fixed shaft, a rotating impeller, a bearing, a power-generating magnet, a coil, a power management circuit, and a cover; wherein the fixed shaft, the rotating impeller, the bearing, and the power-generating magnet are installed in the first internal cavity, the coil and the power management circuit are installed in the second internal cavity, and the cover is installed at the bottom of the second internal cavity.

[0013] Furthermore, alternatingly arranged power-generating magnets are placed on the edge of the rotating impeller, and a circular column for fixing the coil is provided in the second built-in cavity. The induced electrical signal generated by the coil is connected to the power management circuit for processing.

[0014] Furthermore, the power management circuit includes a battery, a microcontroller, a battery charging chip, a rectifier, an input terminal, and a voltage detection chip; the rectifier, battery charging chip, battery, voltage detection chip, and microcontroller are connected in sequence.

[0015] Furthermore, the water meter further includes:

[0016] The data wireless transmission module is disposed in the second built-in cavity and connected to the wireless transmission pin of the microcontroller.

[0017] Furthermore, the voltage detection circuit uses a MIC841 chip, with external resistors connected to pins 1, 3, and 5 of the chip to form a voltage divider; a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor is connected to pin 4 of the chip as the output terminal of the chip.

[0018] Furthermore, the source of the metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor is connected to the positive terminal of the battery.

[0019] Furthermore, the coil is connected to the rectifier.

[0020] Furthermore, the microcontroller uses an ATmega328p chip.

[0021] Furthermore, the voltage regulator chip is an LTC3106.

[0022] The advantages of this utility model are:

[0023] (1) This utility model utilizes the electrical signal generated by the coil and combines self-powered technology and self-sensing technology. The simple structure realizes multiple functions.

[0024] (2) This utility model can be called a high-efficiency energy utilization system because its power management system adopts a switch control method, so that voltage and current are only used when needed, and no electrical energy is consumed at other times.

[0025] (3) The power management circuit in this utility model realizes a fully automated switching function through battery voltage detection. Therefore, the entire system, including the wireless transmission module, can be called a truly self-powered system.

[0026] (4) In this utility model, the energy of the energy source is fully and efficiently utilized, so there is no energy loss during the energy conversion and distribution process. Attached Figure Description

[0027] Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description of preferred embodiments. The accompanying drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Furthermore, the same reference numerals denote the same parts throughout the drawings. In the drawings:

[0028] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a self-powered smart water meter based on electromagnetic power generation according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0029] Figure 2 An exploded view of a self-powered smart water meter based on electromagnetic power generation, according to an embodiment of the present invention, is shown.

[0030] Figure 3 The layout diagram of the power management circuitry within the second cavity is shown.

[0031] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the energy generation and distribution mechanism of a hydroelectric power generation system is shown.

[0032] Figure 5 A schematic diagram illustrating the functional overview of the power management circuit is shown.

[0033] Figure 6 A schematic diagram illustrating the working principle of the voltage detector is shown.

[0034] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a voltage detection chip design is shown.

[0035] Figure 8 A complete circuit structure and connection diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0036] Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. While exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure may be implemented in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.

[0037] This utility model designs a highly integrated self-powered smart water meter based on electromagnetic power generation. The water meter adopts a robust and stable integrated design, integrating energy conversion, power management, self-sensing and wireless transmission into one water meter, with complete functions and high integration.

[0038] The power management system in this invention adopts a self-voltage detection mechanism and is combined with a high-efficiency control strategy to achieve automated management of the entire process from startup to shutdown without manual intervention.

[0039] In this invention, the power management, processor, and wireless transmission module of the smart water meter are integrated on a single circuit board and placed on the second layer. This provides excellent waterproofing, and the electrical energy stored in the power management section powers the processor and wireless transmission section in real time, forming a fully self-powered smart water meter.

[0040] This circuit design uses only two commercial chips, resulting in extremely low overall power consumption and thus high energy efficiency, making it a highly energy-saving design solution.

[0041] like Figure 1 The overall appearance of the self-powered smart water meter with adjustable water flow direction is... Figure 2 This is an exploded view of a self-powered smart water meter with adjustable water flow direction. As can be seen, the structure of a self-powered smart water meter mainly comprises seven components: a first internal cavity 1, a fixed shaft 2, a rotating impeller 3, a bearing 4, a generating magnet 5, a second internal cavity 6, a coil 7, a power management circuit 8, and a cover 9. The dimensions of the connecting housing are related to the external piping; all other structural components are housed inside the housing. The energy conversion structure is primarily located in the first internal cavity, while the power management circuit, which includes the wireless transmission process, is located in the second internal cavity. Figure 3 The power management circuit, including the battery, microcontroller, battery charging chip design, rectifier, input terminal, and voltage regulator chip, is responsible for converting the mechanical energy generated by the water flow into electrical energy through electromagnetic induction and storing it in the battery to provide power to the data processing unit. When water flows through the pipe, it generates an electrical signal. The data processing unit sends this signal to the terminal display via a wireless data transmission module, displaying information such as water flow rate and water pressure in real time. The two built-in structures are completely separated, providing excellent waterproofing. The outer shell structure connects the water meter to the pipeline. Hexagonal bolts connect the first and second built-in cavities. The inlet 11 is placed on the first built-in cavity, and the outlet 12 is placed on the second built-in cavity. The bolt connection position can be adjusted to change the direction of the inlet and outlet at multiple angles, adapting to various complex pipelines. Figure 3 This demonstrates how the power management circuitry adjusts to the second-layer cavity and shows the input port connected to the coil. Key components such as the rectifier, microcontroller, battery charging chip, and battery are labeled. The power management system relies heavily on the design of the battery charging chip, as its design determines the system's energy conversion efficiency. To better understand the entire process, Figure 4 It demonstrates the complete mechanism of energy harvesting, self-sensing, and transmission to a terminal display for measuring water flow rate, velocity, etc. Figure 4The software or signal control involved is conventional programming in the field and is not within the scope of protection of this utility model. Similarly, the software or signal control involved in the various chips and data processing units described below are conventional programming in the field and are not within the scope of protection of this utility model.

[0042] The energy conversion module, installed in the first-layer internal cavity, collects the energy of the water flow in the pipes and converts it into electrical energy to power other energy-consuming structures in the water meter, achieving complete self-powering. This structure includes a hollow impeller, bearings, and magnets. Alternating cylindrical magnets are arranged in an array along the edge of the hollow impeller. Driven by the impeller, the magnets rotate at high speed, generating an alternating magnetic field. A coil placed in the second-layer internal cavity induces an electrical signal under the influence of this alternating magnetic field. The induced electrical signal generated by the cylindrical coil with a fixed coil in the second-layer internal cavity is connected to the power management circuit and the microcontroller.

[0043] As the water flows, the electromagnetic generator produces an AC voltage signal. Part of this signal powers the battery through the charging circuit, while the other part, after being regulated to a safe voltage range, is sent to the microcontroller. The microcontroller reads the signal frequency to calculate the water flow velocity and displays the result on the screen via a wireless data transmission module (not shown in the diagram, such as WiFi), achieving self-sensing. The microcontroller has an analog-to-digital conversion pin that can read the signal waveform and count the number of voltage signal crossovers per unit time. Based on this, the microcontroller calculates the water flow velocity and displays it on the screen in real time, thus enabling the system to self-power. The detailed operating principle of the circuit is as follows... Figure 5 As shown, the power management system is primarily responsible for rectifying and storing the generated electrical energy, then supplying it to other energy-consuming components of the water meter, mainly the microcontroller and wireless transmission module. To further reduce unnecessary energy loss, a voltage detection circuit is also integrated into the power management circuit. The voltage detection unit helps maintain a stable and efficient power distribution between the power management circuit and the data processing unit. When the battery voltage drops below a set threshold, the voltage detector temporarily stops supplying power to the data processing unit, thereby directly protecting the battery from over-discharge. The main working principle of the voltage detection unit is as follows: Figure 6 As shown, its circuit design is presented in Figure 7 The MIC841 chip uses external resistors connected to pins 1, 3, and 5 to form a voltage divider. It compares the battery voltage with its internal reference voltage and determines whether the voltage is within the normal range based on the selected resistor values. The voltage detection chip uses the MIC841, with external resistors connected to pins 1, 3, and 5 forming a voltage divider circuit; pin 4 is connected to a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor as the battery voltage detection output.

[0044] A metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) is connected to pin 4 of the designed circuit, which serves as the chip's output. This transistor acts as an automatic switch, with its source connected to the positive terminal of the battery. This configuration allows the system to automatically shut off power when the battery voltage drops to a level that could damage the battery or when insufficient power leads to inaccurate water flow measurements. This combination of self-voltage sensing chip design and automatic switching mechanism helps prevent deep battery discharge, ensures stable operation, and thus extends battery life.

[0045] Next, the data processing module's function is divided into two parts. First, the data processing unit starts working when the battery is charged to the standard voltage level. Second, the data processing unit detects the electrical signal generated by electromagnetic induction and analyzes the voltage output using a program programmed into the computer that shows the functional relationship between the water flow rate and the voltage peak value. The wireless transmission module is responsible for maintaining communication between the data processing unit and the terminal display. The wireless transmission module is installed in the built-in cavity of the second layer, and its main function is to send the water flow sensing data to the terminal display.

[0046] Working principle:

[0047] This invention relates to a self-powered smart water meter based on electromagnetic power generation, which can be applied in various working environments, especially in dark, enclosed spaces and complex pipelines. It primarily utilizes an impeller in its energy conversion module to capture water flow energy, converting it into mechanical energy, and then using the law of electromagnetic induction to convert this rotational mechanical energy into electrical energy. The electrical signal generated by the law of electromagnetic induction serves two main purposes: first, the power management section stores the electrical energy, which then powers the processor and wireless transmission module to achieve self-powering; second, the processor module analyzes the signal to calculate the water flow velocity and flow rate, which is then transmitted wirelessly to the display terminal, achieving self-sensing.

[0048] Power generation principle: Power generation mainly relies on the impeller, electromagnet, and coil in the energy harvesting module. When water flows through the impeller in the pipe, the impeller rotates at high speed, and the wheel containing the magnet also rotates at high speed. The magnetic flux of the coil placed below changes continuously, generating an induced electromotive force.

[0049] Self-sensing principle: The flow velocity of water in the pipe and the speed of the impeller in the water meter have a certain linear relationship. The speed of the impeller and the AC signal generated in the coil also have a certain linear relationship. Therefore, the flow velocity is definitely related to the AC signal. The flow velocity and flow rate can be calculated by analyzing the voltage amplitude or frequency of the AC signal.

[0050] The coil of the energy conversion module is connected to the rectifier in the power management circuit, which is the basic conversion node for converting AC to DC. To charge the battery, which is the main power source for the power management circuit components, a stable and constant voltage is required. Therefore, a buck-boost converter chip, LTC3106, is used to stabilize and regulate the voltage. This chip features a highly integrated design and peak efficiency, and can regulate a stable 4.2V voltage output to reliably charge small lithium-ion batteries. According to the LTC3106 chip's reference datasheet, the chip supports constant voltage and constant current charging modes, ensuring safe charging of the battery.

[0051] The MIC841 connects directly to the power input of the data processing unit. When the battery voltage drops below a set 3V threshold, it completely shuts down the data processing unit, eliminating leakage current and preventing erroneous output due to insufficient power. This hardware-level disconnection mechanism ensures the system maintains a truly low-power state, significantly extending battery life and guaranteeing the functionality of the entire smart water meter under low-voltage conditions. The chip's quiescent current is extremely low, only approaching zero microamps, eliminating the need for high-power operation and providing optimal safety within the power management system.

[0052] The data processing unit uses an ATmega328p microcontroller chip. The main control chip reads electromagnetic analog signals through the analog port, programs the microcontroller to convert the analog signals into digital signals, and then transmits the digital signals to the wireless transmission module via the wireless transmission pin. Detailed design and connection of the power management circuit are shown in [details omitted]. Figure 7 .

[0053] Power management circuit design description:

[0054] In the circuit design, the VSTORE pin of the LTC3106 is used as the primary regulated output to directly charge the rechargeable lithium-ion battery. By properly configuring the pin, the VSTORE voltage is set to 4V, enabling safe and efficient battery charging without the need for an additional voltage regulator module. The ENVSTR pin is connected to VSTORE to enable backup functionality, and the PRI pin is grounded to allow charging operation while disabling maximum power point tracking.

[0055] The battery is then connected to the MIC841 voltage comparator chip, an ultra-low-power voltage monitoring IC. Voltage detection is achieved using a resistor divider (surface mount resistors) according to the formula provided in the datasheet.

[0056] Connect a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor to the output of the MIC841 and directly connect it to the input pin of the ATmega328P microcontroller to achieve automatic power-on and power-off control of the microcontroller.

[0057] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of this utility model, but the protection scope of this utility model is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this utility model should be included within the protection scope of this utility model. Therefore, the protection scope of this utility model should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A self-powered water meter based on electromagnetic power generation, characterized in that, include: First internal cavity, second internal cavity, water inlet, water outlet; The first internal cavity and the second internal cavity are connected by bolts, the water inlet is connected to the first internal cavity, and the water outlet is connected to the second internal cavity.

2. The self-powered water meter based on electromagnetic power generation according to claim 1, characterized in that, Further includes: The device comprises a fixed shaft, a rotating impeller, a bearing, a power-generating magnet, a coil, a power management circuit, and a cover; wherein the fixed shaft, the rotating impeller, the bearing, and the power-generating magnet are installed in the first internal cavity, the coil and the power management circuit are installed in the second internal cavity, and the cover is installed at the bottom of the second internal cavity.

3. A self-powered water meter based on electromagnetic power generation according to claim 2, characterized in that, The rotating impeller has alternatingly arranged power-generating magnets on its edge, and a circular column is provided inside the second built-in cavity to fix the coil. The induced electrical signal generated by the coil is connected to the power management circuit for processing.

4. A self-powered water meter based on electromagnetic power generation according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, The power management circuit includes a battery, a microcontroller, a battery charging chip, a rectifier, and a voltage detection chip; the rectifier, battery charging chip, battery, voltage detection chip, and microcontroller are connected in sequence.

5. A self-powered water meter based on electromagnetic power generation according to claim 4, characterized in that, Further includes: The data wireless transmission module is disposed in the second built-in cavity and connected to the wireless transmission pin of the microcontroller.

6. A self-powered water meter based on electromagnetic power generation according to claim 4, characterized in that, The voltage detection chip uses MIC841, with external resistors connected to its first, third, and fifth pins to form a voltage divider circuit; the fourth pin is connected to a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor as the voltage detection output terminal of the battery.

7. A self-powered water meter based on electromagnetic power generation according to claim 6, characterized in that, The source of the metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor is connected to the positive terminal of the battery.

8. A self-powered water meter based on electromagnetic power generation according to claim 4, characterized in that, The coil is connected to the rectifier.

9. A self-powered water meter based on electromagnetic power generation according to claim 4, characterized in that, The microcontroller uses an ATmega328p chip.

10. A self-powered water meter based on electromagnetic power generation according to claim 4, characterized in that, The battery charging and voltage regulation chip uses LTC3106.

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