PUMPING STATION WITH INTEGRATED FLOW METER

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a pumping station comprising a pump pipe and a control unit for determining the flow, wherein at least one pressure sensor is assigned to the pumping station, which transmits sensor data to the control unit.

[0002] Such a pumping station is already known from CA 2 633 204 A1, which concerns an oil pump for crude oil production. Pressure measurement is implemented using a pressure sensor in the pump line. Further reference is made to DE 10 2017 121778 A1, EP 3 567 256 A1, and DE 10 2016 225408 A1. Also known in this context is DE 20 16 175 A. This pumping station uses an orifice plate, before and after which pressure measurements are taken. The flow rate can be determined from the pressure difference between the two measurements.

[0003] It is important to regularly maintain an overview of the quantities of a medium being pumped using a pump, especially a tank pump. For many applications, this is necessary for the purpose of appropriate dosing; for others, it is necessary for billing specific quantities of dispensed medium. Currently, the flow rate must be determined using a separate external flow meter, as integrated flow meters are not yet known.

[0004] The situation is different with positive displacement machines, where a quantity is displaced based solely on the motor speed, allowing the pumped medium to be determined. Therefore, even state-of-the-art positive displacement machines can easily operate without external measuring devices and still allow a relatively accurate estimation of the flow rate based on speed and time.

[0005] Against this background, the present invention is based on the object of creating a pumping unit for a container pump which enables the converted media flow to be recorded without external measuring devices and without the installation of a measuring orifice.

[0006] This object is achieved by a pumping unit for a container pump according to the features of independent claim 1. Useful embodiments of such container pumps can be found in the respective subsequent dependent claims.

[0007] According to the invention, a pumping station for a container pump comprises a pump tube through which a medium can be pumped from a container with the aid of a pump rotor actuated by a mounted pump drive. At the upper end of the pump tube there is an outlet nozzle through which the medium can be discharged, in particular via a connected delivery hose which can be terminated with a dispensing device if required. In order to be able to dispense an external measuring device for determining the flow rate, the pumping station has at least one pressure sensor with the aid of which the pressure conditions within the pumping station can be recorded. This can take place in the pump tube or in the outlet nozzle, or in the case of using multiple pressure sensors, at both locations.

[0008] In particular, if the motor parameters and parameters of the medium to be pumped are known, the flow rate can be determined using the formula V ˙ th = K 1 η ρ ⋅ p + c ⋅ K 2 η ρ take place, whereby K 1 ( h, r ) a correction factor depending on the viscosity and density, and K 2 ( the,r ) is a correction factor for the maximum volume flow, p is the measured pressure and c is the intercept of the maximum volume flow.

[0009] To obtain the required parameters, the pumping station's control unit has an interface to a motor controller, which controls a motor connected to the pumping station. In particular, this can provide information about the motor's operating speed, its power consumption, and other parameters, if required.

[0010] Furthermore, the system provides for the receipt of parameters of the medium to be conveyed, which, in a first variant, can be entered directly by the user via an input interface. However, it is also possible to load the data into the system via other means, such as a barcode located on a container of the medium. By calling up such a barcode, the control unit can retrieve the required data of the medium to be conveyed, if necessary by accessing a database or storage device in a local or global network.

[0011] The invention described above is explained in more detail below using an exemplary embodiment.

[0012] It shows Figure 1a pumping station with a pressure sensor in a lateral cross-sectional view.

[0013] Figure 1shows a pumping station 1, which is simplified and consists of a pump pipe 2 and an outlet nozzle 3. The outlet nozzle 3 is mounted laterally on the pump pipe 2 and directs the medium, which is pumped upwards by means of a conveying motor, laterally away from the pump pipe 2 into a hose line (not shown here).

[0014] In order to avoid the use of an external measuring device, according to the invention a flow measurement is to take place in the pumping station 1 itself, with which the quantity of medium to be pumped flowing through the pumping station can be determined and recorded. For this purpose, the pumping station 1 has a pressure sensor 4 which records the pressure in its area. In addition to the pressure sensor 4, another external input of parameters is required. This is done via an interface (not shown) to the connected motor, from which its speed curve and power consumption over time can be read out. Likewise, further parameters of the liquid to be pumped are queried via a further interface, which can be an input device or a barcode scanner for recording and evaluating a barcode from a product label.Using this additional information, the control unit can use a database to load the required parameters from a memory and use this data to calculate the flow rate.

[0015] The above description describes a pumping unit for a tank pump, which enables the converted media flow to be recorded without external measuring devices. LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0016] 1Pump station 2Pump pipe 3Outlet nozzle 4Pressure sensor

Claims

1. Pumping mechanism comprising a pump tube (2) and a control unit, the pumping mechanism (1) being assigned at least one pressure sensor (4) which transmits sensor data to the control unit, characterized in that it is a pumping mechanism (1) for a container pump and comprises an outlet nozzle (3) that branches off from the pump tube (2), and the at least one pressure sensor (4) is internally assigned to the pump tube (2) and / or the outlet nozzle (3), the control unit being suitable for determining the flow rate and the control unit being assigned means for recording motor parameters of a motor connected to the pumping mechanism (1) as well as means for recording media parameters of the medium conveyed by the pumping mechanism (1), the flow rate being determined using the sensor data from the pressure sensor, the motor parameters and the parameters of the medium to be conveyed.

2. Pumping mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the means for recording motor parameters is an interface for communicating with a motor controller.

3. Pumping mechanism according to either of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the means for recording media parameters are input means for the input or selection of parameters by a user.

4. Pumping mechanism according to either of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that the means for recording media parameters are optical recording means, in particular a barcode scanner.