Metering Device with Thermal Flow Detection for Dosing Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dosing devices lack the capability to accurately verify the correct execution of dosing processes and provide detailed information about the medium being conveyed, leading to potential inaccuracies in medium type and flow rate determination.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a heating element and temperature sensors into the dosing device, which allows for the measurement of temperature changes as medium flows through the fluid line, enabling the control unit to determine the type and quantity of medium conveyed through differential temperature measurements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional dosing devices are used without temperature sensors and heating elements, then the device structure remains simple, but the capability to verify correct dosing execution and determine medium type and flow rate is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical flow measurement systems with a thermal measurement system. Temperature sensors and heating elements are used to detect medium flow by measuring temperature changes, substituting traditional mechanical flow meters or velocity-based measurement systems. This enables accurate dosing verification through thermal fields rather than mechanical means.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces temperature sensors and heating elements as intermediary components between the medium and the control unit. These intermediaries detect the presence and properties of the medium indirectly through temperature measurements, enabling the control unit to verify dosing execution without direct mechanical interaction with the flowing medium.
2Loss of information
If no temperature measurement system is implemented, then the device is maintenance-free with no moving parts, but the ability to provide detailed information about conveyed medium is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses thermal fields and temperature sensing to extract information about the conveyed medium, replacing mechanical measurement approaches. The temperature sensors detect medium properties such as flow rate, presence, and thermal characteristics without requiring mechanical contact or moving parts in the measurement path.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the measurement parameter from mechanical to thermal by using temperature sensors and heating elements. By measuring temperature changes in the medium or fluid line, the system obtains information about medium type and flow rate, utilizing thermal parameter changes rather than mechanical ones.
3Measurement precision
If heating elements and temperature sensors are added to the fluid line, then medium type and flow rate can be determined accurately, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial heating through the heating element rather than heating the entire medium volume. The heating element locally heats a specific section of the fluid line where temperature sensors are positioned, enabling flow detection with minimal energy input. This partial action approach reduces energy consumption compared to bulk heating.
Solution Approach 2:
The heating element can be activated periodically or in pulses rather than continuously, allowing temperature sensors to detect medium flow during active heating phases while reducing overall energy consumption. The system can alternate between heating and measurement phases, achieving accurate flow rate determination with intermittent energy input.
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
This solution provides precise and reliable determination of medium type and flow rates, reducing errors and ensuring accurate dosing processes, especially in applications with varying viscosities and temperatures, while maintaining a maintenance-free design with no moving parts.
Implementation Method 1
The heating element can apply thermal energy to the medium present in the fluid line
Implementation Method 2
When the pump is activated and medium is conveyed through the fluid line, the temperature present and measurable at the temperature sensor changes
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2a~2b
Figure 2c
AI summary
The invention relates, inter alia, to a metering device (10) for metering and supplying media (12, 12a, 12b, 12c) via a fluid line (13, 13a, 13b) to at least one target device (14, 14a, 14b, 14c), in particular to a commercial textile washing machine, wherein the metering device is connected to at least one container (11, 11a, 11b, 11c) which is filled with a medium (12, 12a, 12b, 12c), and wherein the metering device (10) has a control unit (15) which, for carrying out a metering process with the aid of at least one pump (16), extracts a specific volume of medium (12, 12a, 12b, 12c) from the container (11, 11a, 11b, 11c) and a conveyance of this volume towards the target device (14, 14a, 14b, 14c), wherein the fluid line (13, 13a, 13b) has at least one heating element (24) and at least one temperature sensor (25a, 25b) connected to a measuring device (26),wherein, by means of the measuring device (26) and with the aid of a measured value output by the temperature sensor (25a, 25b), information about the conveyance of the medium (12, 12a, 12b, 12c) through the fluid line (13, 13a, 13b) can be determined and transmitted to the control unit (15).