Apparatus, system and method for providing fluid temperature values and vehicle equipped with the system
The system addresses the challenge of inaccurate fluid temperature measurements by using a thermally conductive member and ambient air sensors to estimate fluid temperature, achieving enhanced accuracy and response time.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2025530408
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2022-11-30
- Filing Date
- 2023-11-24
- Publication Date
- 2025-11-14
AI Technical Summary
Existing temperature sensors in pipes face challenges in achieving high accuracy and fast measurement response while minimizing pressure losses and thermal lag, as they often measure temperature data from the pipe wall rather than directly from the fluid, leading to deviations and lag in fluid temperature readings.
A system that uses a first sensor attached to a thermally conductive member of the pipe, combined with a second sensor or ambient air temperature measurement, to estimate fluid temperature by accounting for heat accumulation and ambient air influence, using equations or an artificial neural network for precise calculations.
The system provides more accurate fluid temperature estimates by minimizing thermal isolation effects, reducing deviations, and improving response time, thus enhancing measurement precision.
Smart Images
Figure 2025537373000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
[Technical Field]
[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus, system and method for providing at least one temperature value of a fluid flowing through a pipe, and to a vehicle equipped with such a system. [Background technology]
[0002] Measuring the temperature of a fluid in a pipe or quick connector presents several challenges, as many boundary conditions must be met simultaneously. To achieve high accuracy and fast measurement response, the sensor must be placed as close as possible to the fluid. Immersing the sensor in the liquid flow provides the best results. However, this can lead to undesirable pressure losses.
[0003] It is known to use insulated temperature sensors placed in the wall of a pipe to measure the temperature of the fluid in the pipe. The insulated temperature sensors acquire temperature data from the wall, which is in thermal contact with the fluid. However, there is a large deviation between these temperature data and the actual fluid temperature. Furthermore, as the fluid temperature changes, the temperature data lags behind the actual fluid temperature. Summary of the Invention
[0004] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method that provides more accurate fluid temperature values.
[0005] In one aspect of the invention, there is provided an apparatus for providing at least one fluid temperature value of a fluid flowing in a pipe, the apparatus comprising an input, a processing unit, and an output, the input configured to receive a first temperature signal providing the at least one first temperature value from a first sensor in the pipe in contact with a first thermally conductive member extending to the fluid in the pipe, the first temperature signal being configured to provide the at least one fluid temperature value, the processing unit being configured to perform at least the following steps: receiving the first temperature signal from the input; determining the at least one fluid temperature value from the first temperature value using a second temperature value representative of the temperature of the air surrounding the pipe; and providing the output signal including the at least one fluid temperature value. These statements are main features of the present invention.
[0006] According to the present invention, a device provides an estimate of a fluid temperature value based on a temperature measured at a first thermally conductive member of a pipe and the temperature of the ambient air. The first thermally conductive member may be, for example, a wall or member of the pipe, such as a metal sleeve inserted into the pipe extending from a first temperature sensor to the fluid in the pipe so that the first thermally conductive member is in direct contact with the fluid. In either case, the first sensor does not directly contact the fluid. The input of the device may be, for example, electrically connected to the first sensor in contact with the first thermally conductive member of the pipe. Furthermore, the first sensor may be, for example, thermally insulated from the ambient air, thereby providing temperature data measured at the first thermally conductive member with minimal heat exchange with the ambient air. A first temperature signal includes these temperature data. A second temperature value represents the temperature of the ambient air around the pipe. The second temperature value does not necessarily represent the temperature of the ambient air; it may be a temperature value closer to the temperature of the ambient air than the measurement of the first sensor, or the second temperature value may be an estimated temperature value. The representation of the ambient air temperature may mean, for example, that the second temperature value is stored in the processor's memory as an estimated temperature value, determined from a second temperature signal received at the input, or provided by the second temperature signal. In the latter case, the second temperature value representing the ambient air temperature may be derived, for example, from a second sensor providing a second temperature signal that is more influenced by the ambient air temperature than the first sensor. Thus, the second sensor may measure the ambient air temperature directly or may be in contact with the ambient air, for example, while being influenced by the temperature of the piping and / or fluid. The processor may then determine a fluid temperature value using the temperature data from the first temperature signal and the second temperature value. The processor may then provide the fluid temperature value at its output. This determination is an estimate of the actual fluid temperature in the piping. Furthermore, by taking the second temperature value into account, the estimated fluid temperature value is closer to the actual fluid temperature and more accurate than the value of the first temperature signal alone.
[0007] According to one example, the second temperature value may be determined by directly measuring the temperature of the ambient air around the piping or from at least one second temperature signal from a second sensor, preferably in contact with the piping or the first or second thermally conductive member of the piping and in thermal contact with the ambient air around the piping.
[0008] The input may then be configured to receive a second temperature signal and provide the second temperature signal to the processing device. If the at least one second sensor directly measures the temperature of the ambient air, the second sensor may be, for example, a temperature sensor of another device. The second sensor only needs to be in thermal contact with air having the same temperature as the ambient air of the piping. If the second sensor is attached to or in contact with a second thermally conductive member of the piping, the second sensor is not thermally isolated from the ambient air of the piping. The second thermally conductive member may be integral with the first thermally conductive member. Thus, in either case, the temperature of the ambient air will have a greater effect on the temperature measurement of the second sensor than on the temperature measurement of the thermally isolated first sensor. Furthermore, in either case, the second temperature value may represent the temperature of the ambient air, but need not necessarily represent the temperature of the ambient air.
[0009] According to another embodiment, the processing unit may be further configured to determine at least one fluid temperature value based on the second temperature value and based at least on the rate of heat accumulation at the first sensor.
[0010] For example, if the second temperature value is determined from a second temperature signal of a second sensor that directly measures the air temperature, or if the second temperature value is an estimate, for example stored in the memory of the processing unit, heat accumulation may be taken into account. This may be done with a conventional heat transfer model using the following equation:
[0011]
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[0012] where T f is the fluid temperature value, T s1is the first temperature value, R1 is the thermal resistance of the first heat conduction material of the piping, T e is the temperature of the air around the pipe, R i is the thermal resistance of the insulating material of the first sensor, R c1 is the thermal resistance of the air convection in the surrounding air,
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[0013] If the second temperature value is due to a second temperature signal from a second sensor that is in contact with a second heat transfer member of the piping and is not thermally isolated, then the ambient air temperature can be determined using a conventional heat transfer model prior to determining the fluid temperature value using the following equation, or by including the following equation in equation (1) without explicitly determining the ambient air temperature:
[0014]
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[0015] where T f is the fluid temperature value, T s2is the second temperature value, R2 is the thermal resistance of the second heat conduction material of the piping, T e is the temperature of the air around the pipe, R c is the thermal resistance of the air convection in the surrounding air,
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[0016] According to another embodiment, the second temperature value may be an estimate.
[0017] In that case, the second temperature value may be estimated to be constant, for example. Therefore, the second temperature value may be stored, for example, in a memory of the processing device or in a memory external to the processing device. The estimated temperature value may be provided as the second temperature signal to the input. Alternatively, the second temperature value may be estimated based on the geographic location of the device and the actual date and time.
[0018] For example, the processing unit may be further configured to provide the first and second temperature values to an artificial neural network, an output layer of which provides at least one fluid temperature value. The first and second temperature signals may be provided directly or indirectly to the artificial neural network to provide the first and second temperature values, for example, through processing such as normalization and differentiation.
[0019] The first and second temperature values may be provided to an input layer of a suitably trained artificial neural network. The artificial neural network may, for example, have at least one hidden layer with preferably 2 to 10, more preferably 3 to 8, even more preferably 4 to 6, and most preferably 5 sigmoid nodes. However, a different number of nodes, different types of nodes, or modified structures may be used to obtain better results. Training of the artificial neural network may be performed using a suitable data set.
[0020] According to a second aspect, there is provided a system for providing at least one fluid temperature value of a fluid flowing through a pipe, the system comprising at least one pipe for transporting the fluid, at least one device as described above, and at least one first sensor attached to a first thermally conductive member of the pipe and positioned between the first thermally conductive member and at least one insulating member that shields the at least one first sensor from ambient air, the first sensor being electrically connected to an input of the device. These descriptions are main features of the present invention.
[0021] The effects and other embodiments of the system according to the present invention are similar to the effects and embodiments of the device according to the above description, and therefore reference is made to the above description of the device.
[0022] In one embodiment, the device may be integrated into a pipe, for example into the wall of the pipe close to the first sensor.
[0023] According to one embodiment, the system further comprises a second sensor, preferably attached to a second thermally conductive member of the piping, the second sensor being in contact with the ambient air of the piping. These statements are main features of the present invention.
[0024] According to a third aspect, there is provided a vehicle comprising at least one fluid line and at least one system as described above, the line being connected to the fluid line.
[0025] The operation and further embodiments of the vehicle according to the invention are similar to the operation and embodiments of the device and system according to the above description, and therefore reference is made to the above description of the device and system.
[0026] In one embodiment, the output may be connected to a coolant circulation control of an electric vehicle, in particular an electric car. Alternatively, the processing device may be a control device of the vehicle.
[0027] According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a computer-implemented method for providing at least one fluid temperature value of a fluid flowing through a pipe, the method comprising at least the following steps: receiving a first temperature signal providing the at least one first temperature value from a first sensor in contact with a first thermally conductive member in the pipe, the first thermally conductive member extending to the fluid in the pipe; determining the at least one fluid temperature value from the first temperature value using a second temperature value representative of the temperature of the air surrounding the pipe; and providing an output signal comprising the at least one fluid temperature value. These statements are main features of the present invention.
[0028] According to the present invention, the method provides an estimate of a fluid temperature value based on the temperature measured at a first heat transfer element of the piping and the ambient air temperature. Thus, the first sensor provides temperature data measured at the first heat transfer element, where heat exchange with the ambient air is minimal. The first temperature signal includes these temperature data. The second temperature value represents the temperature of the ambient air around the piping. The second temperature value does not necessarily represent the temperature of the ambient air; it may be a temperature value closer to the temperature of the ambient air than the measurement of the first sensor, or the second temperature value may be an estimated temperature value. The representation of the ambient air temperature means, for example, that the second temperature value may be an estimated temperature value, or may be determined from or provided by the second temperature signal. In the latter case, the second temperature value representing the temperature of the ambient air may be derived, for example, from a second sensor providing a second temperature signal that is more influenced by the temperature of the ambient air than the first sensor. Thus, the second sensor may directly measure the temperature of the ambient air or may be in contact with at least the ambient air, for example, while being influenced by the temperature of the piping and / or the fluid. The method uses temperature data from the first temperature signal and the second temperature value to determine a fluid temperature value. The method may then provide those fluid temperature values. This determination is an estimate of the actual fluid temperature in the pipe. Furthermore, this estimate of the fluid temperature value is closer to the actual fluid temperature and more accurate than the value of the first temperature signal alone because it takes into account the second temperature value.
[0029] Furthermore, other effects and other embodiments of the method according to the present invention are similar to the effects and embodiments of the device according to the above description, so reference is made to the above description of the device.
[0030] According to one embodiment, the second temperature value is determined from at least one second temperature signal from a second sensor that directly measures the temperature of the ambient air around the piping, preferably in contact with the piping or the first or second thermally conductive member of the piping and in thermal contact with the ambient air around the piping.
[0031] If at least one second sensor directly measures the temperature of the ambient air, the second sensor may be, for example, a temperature sensor of another device. The second sensor only needs to be in thermal contact with air having the same temperature as the ambient air of the piping. If the second sensor is attached to or in contact with a second thermally conductive member of the piping, the second sensor is not thermally isolated from the ambient air of the piping. The second thermally conductive member may be integral with the first thermally conductive member. Therefore, in either case, the temperature of the ambient air will have a greater effect on the temperature measurement of the second sensor than on the temperature measurement of the thermally isolated first sensor. Furthermore, in either case, the second temperature value represents the temperature of the ambient air, but need not necessarily represent the temperature of the ambient air.
[0032] According to one embodiment, at least one fluid temperature value is determined based on the second temperature value and based at least on the rate of heat accumulation at the first sensor.
[0033] Heat accumulation may be taken into account if the second temperature value is determined, for example, from a second temperature signal of a second sensor that directly measures the air temperature, or if the second temperature value is an estimate, for example, stored in the memory of a processing device. This can be done using a conventional heat transfer model using the following equation:
[0034]
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[0035] where T f is the fluid temperature value, T s1 is the first temperature value, R1 is the thermal resistance of the first heat conduction material of the piping, T e is the temperature of the air around the pipe, R i is the thermal resistance of the insulating material of the first sensor, R c1 is the thermal resistance of the air convection in the surrounding air,
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[0036] If the second temperature value is due to a second temperature signal from a second sensor that is in contact with a second heat transfer member of the piping and is not thermally isolated, then the ambient air temperature can be determined using a conventional heat transfer model prior to determining the fluid temperature value using the following equation, or by including the following equation in equation (1) without explicitly determining the ambient air temperature:
[0037]
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[0038] where T f is the fluid temperature value, and T s2 is the second temperature value, R2 is the thermal resistance of the second heat transfer element of the pipe, and T e is the temperature of the air around the pipe, and R c2 is the thermal resistance of the air convection of the surrounding air,
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[0039] According to one embodiment, the second temperature value is an estimate.
[0040] In that case, the second temperature value may be estimated to be constant, for example. The second temperature value may then be stored, for example, in a memory of the processing device or in a memory external to the processing device. The estimated temperature value may be provided to the input as a second temperature signal. Alternatively, the second temperature value may be estimated based on the geographic location of the device and the actual date.
[0041] According to one embodiment, in the step of determining at least one fluid temperature value, the first temperature value and the second temperature value are provided to an artificial neural network, and an output layer of the artificial neural network provides the at least one fluid temperature value. The first and second temperature signals may be provided to the artificial neural network directly or indirectly, for example, through processing such as normalization and differentiation, to provide the first and second temperature values.
[0042] The first and second temperature values may be provided to an input layer of a suitably trained artificial neural network. The artificial neural network may include at least one hidden layer, preferably having 2 to 10, more preferably 3 to 8, even more preferably 4 to 6, and most preferably 5 sigmoid nodes. However, a different number of nodes, different types of nodes, or an improved structure may be used to achieve better results. Training of the artificial neural network may be performed using a suitable data set. [Brief explanation of the drawings]
[0043] Further features, details and advantages of the invention emerge from the language of the claims and from the following description of exemplary embodiments based on the drawings, in which: [Figure 1a] 1 is a schematic diagram of a system including an apparatus. [Figure 1b] 1 is a schematic diagram of a system including an apparatus. [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of a system with an apparatus. [Figure 3] 1 is a flowchart of a method. [Figure 4] A vehicle equipped with the system. [Figure 5a] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a first example of input and output data of the device. [Figure 5b] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a first example of input and output data of the device. [Figure 6a] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a second example of input and output data of the device. [Figure 6b] FIG. 2 shows a second example of input and output data of the device; [Figure 7a] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a third example of input and output data of the device. [Figure 7b] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a third example of input and output data of the device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0044] 1a shows an embodiment of a system 20 for providing at least one fluid temperature value of a fluid flowing through a pipe. The system 20 includes a pipe 22, an insulating member 24, and an apparatus 10 for providing at least one fluid temperature value of a fluid flowing through the pipe. The apparatus 10 includes an input 12, a processing unit 14, and an output 16.
[0045] As shown in Figure 1b, which shows a longitudinal cross-section of Figure 1a, the insulating member 24 covers the first sensor 26, which is attached to the first thermally conductive member 30 of the pipe 22. In this embodiment, the first thermally conductive member 30 is the wall of the pipe 22. Therefore, the first sensor 26 is sandwiched between the insulating member 24 and the first thermally conductive member 30. Furthermore, the first sensor 26 is not in direct contact with the air surrounding the pipe 22. The insulating member 24 insulates the first sensor 26 from the ambient air.
[0046] The first heat transfer member 30 may be, for example, a metal sleeve that extends from the first sensor 26 to the fluid in the tubing 22 .
[0047] First sensor 26 is configured to obtain a first temperature value and provide that value in a first temperature signal, which may include multiple first temperature values obtained at different times.
[0048] Additionally, first sensor 26 may provide first temperature values continuously, providing those values continuously in a continuous first temperature signal, or first sensor 26 may provide a single first temperature value or a set of first temperature values only at predetermined times.
[0049] Input 12 of device 10 is configured to receive a first temperature signal. Input 12 may be electrically connected to first sensor 26 via first signal line 18. Alternatively, input 12 may receive the first temperature signal via a wireless connection.
[0050] The processing unit 14 is configured to receive the first temperature signal from the input 12. The processing unit 14 is further configured to extract a first temperature value from the first temperature signal.
[0051] The processing device 14 is further configured to determine at least one fluid temperature value. For that determination, the processing device 14 uses a second temperature value representative of the temperature of the ambient air in the pipe 22. The second temperature value does not necessarily have to be the temperature of the ambient air, but may be a temperature value closer to the temperature of the ambient air than the measurement of the first sensor, or the second temperature value may be an estimated temperature value.
[0052] In the first embodiment, the second temperature value may be provided via a second temperature signal, which the input 12 may be configured to receive via a second signal line 18' or via a wireless connection.
[0053] In this embodiment, an external sensor 34 may directly measure the temperature of the air surrounding the pipe 22. The external sensor 34 may be, for example, a sensor on the vehicle. The input 12 may be configured to receive a second temperature signal from the external sensor 34. In this first embodiment, the second temperature signal includes a second temperature value.
[0054] In a second embodiment, the second temperature value may be an estimated temperature of the ambient air. In that embodiment, the second temperature value may be stored in a memory, for example an internal memory of the processing unit 14, or an external memory, for example a memory of the vehicle. If the second temperature value is stored in an external memory, the input 12 may be configured to receive the second temperature signal from an output of the external memory.
[0055] In a third embodiment, the system 20 may include a second sensor 28 attached to a second heat transfer member 30' of the piping 22, as shown in FIG. 2. The second heat transfer member 30' may also be a wall of the piping 22. Furthermore, the second heat transfer member 30' may be integral with the first heat transfer member 30. The second sensor 28 is in direct contact with the ambient air of the piping 22. Therefore, the second sensor 28 is not thermally insulated from the ambient air. If the temperature of the ambient air is different from the temperature of the second sensor 28, a heat flow occurs between the second sensor 28 and the ambient air.
[0056] In that embodiment, the second sensor 28 may provide a second temperature value to the input 12 .
[0057] Additionally, the processing unit 14 may use a model algorithm to determine the temperature of the ambient air from the second temperature value of the second temperature signal. The processing unit 14 may determine the temperature value of the ambient air using the second temperature value of the second temperature signal in equation (2), where R, R c1 and
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[0058] For determining the fluid temperature value, the processing unit 14 may use the ambient air temperature value in equation (1) in the three embodiments above. i , Rc1 and
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[0059] Alternatively, the processing unit 14 may directly determine the fluid temperature value using equation (2) in equation (1).
[0060] Alternatively, the processing unit 14 may comprise an artificial neural network, the input layer of which may be electrically connected to the input 12. The output layer of the artificial neural network may be electrically connected to the output 16.
[0061] When used with the first and second system embodiments, the artificial neural network may be trained to output a fluid temperature when a first temperature value and a second temperature value are provided directly or indirectly to the input layer. The artificial neural network may be trained using training data including a set of first temperature values, second temperature values, and corresponding fluid temperature values. However, different numbers of nodes and / or layers, different types of nodes, or modified structures may be used.
[0062] An artificial neural network may have a single hidden layer with, for example, five nodes containing a sigmoid function, but different numbers of nodes and / or layers, different types of nodes, or improved structures may be used.
[0063] In operation, the first temperature value and the second temperature value may be provided to an input layer of an artificial neural network, which then provides the fluid temperature at an output layer.
[0064] When an artificial neural network is used with the third embodiment of the system, the artificial neural network may be trained to provide the fluid temperature when the first temperature value and the temperature value of the second sensor 28 are provided to the input layer.
[0065] In all embodiments, the determined fluid temperature value is provided as an output signal. Output 16 may provide the output signal to, for example, a vehicle controller.
[0066] In another embodiment, the processing unit 14 may be configured to execute a computer-implemented method 100 for providing at least one fluid temperature value for a fluid flowing through a pipe. Figure 3 shows a flowchart of the method 100.
[0067] In a first step 102, a first temperature signal may be received. The first temperature signal may include at least one first temperature value from the first sensor 26 described above.
[0068] In a further optional step 108, a second temperature signal may be received from the second sensor 28 described above or an external sensor. A second temperature value may then be determined from the second temperature signal.
[0069] If an external sensor provides a second temperature signal, the temperature of the ambient air may be extracted from the second temperature signal.
[0070] If the second sensor 28 provides a second temperature signal, then in optional substep 110 the temperature of the ambient air may be determined.
[0071] Step 102 and optional step 108 may be performed in any order or simultaneously.
[0072] Alternatively, the second temperature value may be an estimated temperature of the air surrounding the piping. Additionally, the second temperature value may be constant.
[0073] The estimated temperature value of the ambient air of the piping may be provided from a memory, which may provide the estimated temperature value, for example, as a second temperature signal, or the memory may provide the second temperature value directly.
[0074] In a further step 104, at least one fluid temperature value may be determined from the first temperature value and the second temperature value.
[0075] In optional step 112, a fluid temperature value may be determined using the determined second temperature value by back-calculation using at least equation (1), where R, R i , R c , and
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[0076] Optional steps 108 and 104 may be performed in any order or simultaneously, for example, using equations (1) and (2).
[0077] Alternatively, if optional sub-steps 110 and 112 are omitted, the first temperature value and the second temperature value may be provided to an input layer of an artificial neural network to receive the fluid temperature value.
[0078] In step 106, the determined fluid temperature value is provided as an output signal, which may be received by a controller, for example, from the vehicle.
[0079] 4 shows an embodiment of a vehicle 60. The vehicle 60 includes a fluid line 22 and a system 20 connected to the fluid line 22. The processing unit 14 of the device 10 of the system 20 is electrically connected to a control unit 62 of the vehicle 60 via a signal line 66, or may be integrated into the control unit 62.
[0080] The vehicle 60 may include an air temperature sensor 34 configured to provide an ambient air temperature value from the ambient air in the duct 22. The air temperature sensor 34 may be an external sensor as described above. Additionally, the air temperature sensor 34 may be configured to provide the ambient air temperature value via a second temperature signal.
[0081] In one embodiment, the controller 62 may also receive an ambient air temperature value from the air temperature sensor 34 via another signal line 64 .
[0082] 5a-7b are graphs 40 illustrating the time evolution of determined fluid temperature values for different embodiments of the apparatus 10 and / or method 100, respectively.
[0083] 5a and 5b, a second sensor attached to a second heat-conducting member of the piping in direct contact with the ambient air provides a second time-resolved temperature signal shown as dash-dot line 46. A series of first temperature values is shown as solid line 44. The resulting fluid temperature values are shown as dashed line 48. The actual ambient air temperature is shown as dash-dot line 50 for reference. Additionally, the actual fluid temperature is shown as dashed line 42.
[0084] In FIG. 5a, both equations (1) and (2) are used to determine a fluid temperature value from a first temperature value and a second temperature signal from a second sensor.
[0085] In FIG. 5b, the first temperature value and the temperature value from the second temperature signal are provided to an artificial neural network to determine a fluid temperature value.
[0086] 6a and 6b, the second temperature signal may be obtained from an external sensor, in this embodiment the second temperature signal comprises an ambient air temperature value as a second temperature value (not shown).
[0087] In FIG. 6a, only equation (1) is used to determine the fluid temperature value from the first temperature value and the second temperature signal from the external sensor.
[0088] In FIG. 6b, the first temperature value and the second temperature value from the second temperature signal are provided to an artificial neural network to determine a fluid temperature value.
[0089] According to Figures 7a and 7b, the second temperature signal is assumed to be constant at 22°C. The actual ambient air temperature is shown by the dash-dotted line 50 for reference.
[0090] In FIG. 7a, only equation (1) is used to determine the fluid temperature value from the first temperature value and the second temperature signal from the external sensor.
[0091] In FIG. 7b, the first temperature value and the second temperature value from the second temperature signal are provided to an artificial neural network to determine a fluid temperature value.
[0092] In all of Figures 5a to 7b, the determined fluid temperature values are closer to the actual fluid temperature compared to the first temperature value that the prior art assumes as the fluid temperature.
[0093] The present invention is not limited to any of the above-described embodiments, as it can be modified in many ways.
[0094] All features and advantages (including structural details, spatial arrangements, procedural steps) that emerge from the claims, the description, and the drawings may be essential to the present invention, both by themselves and in various combinations. [Explanation of symbols]
[0095] 10 equipment 12 Input section (input) 14 Processing equipment 16 Output section (output) 18 Signal Line 18' signal line 20 Systems 22 Piping 24 Heat insulating materials 26 First Sensor 28 Second Sensor 30 First heat conductive member 34 External Sensor 40 graphs 42 Actual fluid temperature value 44 First temperature value 46 Second temperature value 48 Determined fluid temperature value 50 Ambient air temperature value 60 vehicles 62 Control device 64 signal line 66 Signal line
Claims
1. 1. An apparatus (10) for providing at least one fluid temperature value of a fluid flowing in a pipe (22), comprising: An input (12), a processing unit (14), and an output (16), the input (12) is configured to receive a first temperature signal providing at least one first temperature value from a first sensor (26) in contact with a first thermally conductive member (30) in the piping (22) that extends to a fluid in the piping (22); the output (16) is configured to provide an output (16) signal including at least one fluid temperature value; The processing device (14) comprises at least the following steps: That is, receiving said first temperature signal from said input (12); - determining at least one fluid temperature value from said first temperature value using a second temperature value representative of the temperature of the ambient air of said pipe (22); and - providing an output signal comprising at least one fluid temperature value; An apparatus (10) configured to perform the steps of:
2. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second temperature value is determined from at least one second temperature signal from a second sensor (28) that directly measures the temperature of the ambient air around the piping (22) and is in thermal contact with the ambient air around the piping (22).
3. 3. The apparatus of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the processing unit (14) is further configured to determine the at least one fluid temperature value based on the second temperature value and based at least on a rate of heat accumulation at the first sensor (26).
4. 3. The apparatus of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the second temperature value is an estimated value.
5. 3. The apparatus of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the processing unit (14) is further configured to provide the first temperature value and the second temperature value to an artificial neural network, an output layer of the artificial neural network providing the at least one fluid temperature value.
6. 1. A system (20) for providing at least one fluid temperature value of a fluid flowing in a pipe (22), the system comprising: at least one pipe (22) for transporting a fluid; at least one device (10) according to claim 1; and at least one first sensor (26) attached to a first heat transfer member (30) of the pipe (22) and positioned between the first heat transfer member (30) and at least one insulating member (24) that shields the at least one first sensor (26) from ambient air, the at least one first sensor (26) being electrically connected to the input (12) of the device (10).
7. 7. The system of claim 6, further comprising a second sensor (28) preferably attached to the first heat transfer member (30) of the piping (22), the second sensor (28) being in contact with the ambient air of the piping (22).
8. A vehicle comprising at least one fluid line (22) and at least one system according to claim 6 or claim 7, said line (22) being connected to said fluid line (22).
9. 1. A computer-implemented method for providing at least one fluid temperature value for a fluid flowing through a pipe (22), comprising: At least the following steps: receiving (102) a first temperature signal providing at least one first temperature value from a first sensor (26) in contact with a first thermally conductive member (30) in the pipe (22) that extends to the fluid in the pipe (22); - determining (104) at least one fluid temperature value from said first temperature values using a second temperature value representative of the temperature of the ambient air of said pipe (22); - providing (106) an output signal comprising said at least one fluid temperature value.
10. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the second temperature value is determined (108) from at least one second temperature signal from a second sensor (28) that directly measures the temperature of the ambient air around the piping (22) and is in thermal contact with the ambient air around the piping (22).
11. 11. The method of claim 9 or claim 10, wherein the at least one fluid temperature value is determined (104) based on the second temperature value and at least based on a rate of heat accumulation at the first sensor.
12. 11. The method of claim 9 or claim 10, wherein the second temperature value is an estimate.
13. 11. The method of claim 9 or claim 10, wherein in the step of determining (104) the first temperature value and the second temperature value are provided to an artificial neural network, an output layer of which provides the at least one fluid temperature value.