Ultrasonic Flow Meter Mount Bracket with Cable Shroud
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ultrasonic flow meters face challenges in protecting transducers and cables from damage due to exposure to debris, livestock, vandalism, weather, and sunlight, leading to inaccurate fluid flow measurements and increased costs from using robust cables and complex, cumbersome protective covers.
Innovation Solution
An ultrasonic flow meter design featuring a meter body with a longitudinal axis and outer surface, supported by a mounting member with a base, tubular member, and bracket member, incorporating a pair of elongate slots for cable passage, and a removable cover with sliding rails and grooves for easy installation and protection, along with a shroud that covers the transducer cables, providing a secure and accessible protective chamber.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If robust cables are used to protect transducers and cables from damage, then reliability is improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a protective cover as an intermediary component between the environment and the transducer cables. This cover provides mechanical protection and environmental shielding without requiring the use of overly robust and expensive cables, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective system is segmented into separate components: a protective cover, mounting brackets, and standard cables. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently, using standard-cost cables combined with a protective cover rather than requiring expensive robust cables throughout.
2Reliability
If complex protective covers are used to completely enclose transducers and cables, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The protective system is divided into modular components including a protective cover, mounting brackets with slots, and cable routing paths. This segmentation simplifies manufacturing and installation by allowing each component to be produced and assembled independently, reducing overall device complexity while maintaining protection.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of creating a complex enclosed structure to protect the cables, the patent inverts the approach by providing a simpler protective cover that shields the cables from external threats while maintaining accessibility for installation and maintenance operations.
3Reliability
If transducer assemblies are mounted in deep pockets to limit extension height, then reliability is improved, but weight and cost increase due to larger meter bodies
Solution Approach 1:
The patent moves the protection mechanism from the internal dimension (deep pockets within the meter body) to an external dimension (protective cover mounted on the exterior). This allows transducer assemblies to be mounted with minimal extension height while still receiving adequate protection, avoiding the need for thicker walls and larger diameters that would increase weight.
4Reliability
If flexible protective covers are used to protect transducers and cables, then reliability is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to difficulty in removing and reinstalling
Solution Approach 1:
The protective cover is designed with dynamic mounting characteristics, incorporating removable mounting brackets with slots that allow for easy attachment and detachment. This dynamic design enables the cover to be securely installed during operation but easily removed and reinstalled when maintenance or reconfiguration is needed, balancing protection with operational flexibility.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively protects transducer cables and assemblies from environmental damage while maintaining accurate fluid flow measurement, reducing manufacturing and installation complexities, and minimizing weight and cost by using a modular, easy-to-install protective shroud system.
Implementation Method 1
the piezoelectric elements of the transducers are adjacent to the inner surface of the spool piece, and such that each transducer faces the other of the pair
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 4~5
AI summary
A flow meter includes a meter body having a longitudinal axis and including a fluid passageway and an outer surface, and a plurality of electronics housings supported on the meter body by a mounting member, wherein the mounting member includes a base, a tubular member having a passage extending therethrough for the passing of a transducer cable, and a bracket member coupled to the tubular member distal the base, the bracket member having a pair of elongate slots, each configured to allow for the passage of a transducer cable to one of the electronics housings.