KR102765733B1 - Flow detection sensor module for water meter - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a flow detection sensor module for a water meter, and more particularly, to a flow detection sensor module for a water meter which converts the meter reading of a mechanical water meter into digital data using radio waves without using a magnet, an inductor, etc., and can accurately detect the direction of water flow and the amount of water used.
The flow rate detection sensor module for a water meter of the present invention is a sensor module mounted on the upper part of a water meter to detect the flow rate of the water meter, wherein a rotating body that rotates according to the movement of water is mounted on the instrument panel of the water meter, and the sensor module comprises: a substrate disposed on the upper part of the instrument panel; an antenna formed on the substrate, which transmits radio waves to the rotating body and receives radio waves reflected from the rotating body; and a control unit which calculates the direction of movement or the amount of water used by using the radio waves reflected from the rotating body and received by the antenna.

Description

{ Flow detection sensor module for water meter }

The present invention relates to a flow detection sensor module for a water meter, and more particularly, to a flow detection sensor module for a water meter which converts the meter reading of a mechanical water meter into digital data using radio waves without using a magnet, an inductor, etc., and can accurately detect the direction of water flow and the amount of water used.

In general, conventional water meters use a method of mechanically measuring the flow of water and converting it into a scale on the display section of the meter.

These mechanical meters require individual meter readings by meter readers, but to supplement this, electronic water meters and remote meter reading terminals equipped with a means to transmit meter reading details to managers have been developed.

There have been various limitations to the spread of electronic water meters, such as defects in remote metering terminals and excessive initial investment costs. However, with the rapid development of information technology and the integration of household water meters using it, there has been a continued demand for electronic (digital) water meters.

These electronic water meters had the problem that if they broke down, the usage records would disappear and it would be impossible to know how much water was being used during the malfunction.

Therefore, in recent years, instead of using electronic water meters, mechanical meters are being used again, and the data of the non-digitalized mechanical meters is converted into digital data using magnets or inductors, and the metering data is transmitted to the server via wireless communication.

As shown in Fig. 1, a mechanical meter (1) is generally equipped with a rotating body (2) to measure the flow direction and amount of water used.

The above-mentioned rotating body (2) is composed of an impeller placed inside the meter (1).

At this time, in order to convert data from a mechanical meter into digital, a magnet, inductor, etc. are generally placed on a rotating body (2) or its upper part and used.

However, when using magnets, inductors, etc. for measuring flow rate in a mechanical meter, there is a problem in that when an object with a large magnetic field, such as a permanent magnet, is brought close to the meter from the outside, the magnets, inductors, etc. that detect the movement of the rotating body (2) mounted on the mechanical meter malfunction, and this makes it impossible to measure the flow rate accurately.

Publication patent number 10-2012-0122668 Registered patent 10-1489921

The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the purpose of the present invention is to provide a flow detection sensor module for a water meter that converts the metering value of a water meter into digital data in a non-contact manner using radio waves instead of using a magnet, inductor, etc. to detect the movement of a rotating body in a mechanical water meter, so that no problem occurs in measuring the flow rate even when a large magnetic field is generated externally.

In order to achieve the above object, the water meter flow detection sensor module of the present invention is characterized by comprising: a sensor module mounted on the upper part of a water meter body to detect the flow rate of the water meter, wherein a rotating body that rotates according to the movement of water is mounted on the instrument panel of the water meter body, and the sensor module comprises: a substrate disposed on the upper part of the instrument panel; an antenna formed on the substrate, which transmits radio waves to the rotating body and receives radio waves reflected from the rotating body; and a control unit which calculates the direction of movement or the amount of water used by using the radio waves reflected from the rotating body and received by the antenna.

The above control unit detects the rotational direction of the rotating body through the radio waves received by the antenna, calculates the direction of movement of water based on the rotational direction of the rotating body, detects the rotational speed of the rotating body through the radio waves received by the antenna, and calculates the amount of water used based on the rotational speed of the rotating body.

The above-mentioned rotating body is equipped with a reflector that reflects radio waves transmitted from the antenna, and the antenna comprises a transmitting unit that transmits radio waves; and a receiving unit that receives radio waves reflected from the above-mentioned rotating body; wherein the receiving units are comprised of three or more and receive radio waves at different locations, and the control unit calculates the direction of movement and amount of water used by using radio waves received by the three or more receiving units.

The above reflector is formed to have an angle greater than a semicircle with respect to the circular plate.

The above sensor module further includes a communication module mounted on the substrate that transmits the direction of movement or amount of water used calculated by the control unit to the outside.

The above sensor module further includes a water leak detection sensor that detects vibration transmitted through the pipe and the water meter body when a water leak occurs in the pipe connected to the water meter body.

According to the flow rate detection sensor module for a water meter of the present invention as described above, the following effects are provided.

The present invention converts the readings of a water meter into digital data in a non-contact manner by using radio waves without using magnets, inductors, etc. in the method of converting the flow rate into digital data, so that it is possible to prevent in advance the manipulation of the water meter flow rate, etc. or the occurrence of problems in the flow rate measurement by using an external magnetic field in a conventional mechanical water meter.

Figure 1 is a photo of a conventional water meter.
Figure 2 is a photograph of a water meter body according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 3 is a configuration diagram of a flow rate detection sensor module for a water meter according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 4 is a configuration diagram of a substrate and antenna of a flow detection sensor module for a water meter according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 5 is a perspective view of a rotating body mounted on a water meter instrument panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a drawing showing the relationship between the reflector and the antenna of the flow detection sensor module for a water meter according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a diagram of a process for receiving radio waves in a flow detection sensor module for a water meter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The water flow detection sensor module for a water meter of the present invention is mounted on the upper part of a water meter to detect the flow of the water meter, and comprises a substrate (10), an antenna (20), a control unit (30), etc., as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The water meter body is equipped with a meter panel (50) that can be viewed by managers and others, as shown in Fig. 2, and the meter panel (50) of the water meter body is equipped with a rotating body (51) that rotates according to the movement of water.

The above-mentioned rotating body (51) may be in the shape of a disk or may have another shape.

The water meter of the present invention refers to a mechanical water meter (water meter).

Since the instrument panel (50) and the rotating body (51) of the above water meter body are the same as those of the conventional technology, a detailed description thereof is omitted.

The above substrate (10) is placed on the upper part of the instrument panel (50).

To this end, a separate bracket or the like is attached to the upper portion of the instrument panel (50) so that the substrate (10) is placed on the upper portion of the instrument panel (50).

The above antenna (20) is formed on the substrate (10) as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and serves to transmit and receive radio waves.

The above antenna (20) is placed on the upper part of the rotating body (51), transmits radio waves to the rotating body (51), and receives radio waves reflected from the rotating body (51).

To this end, it is preferable that a reflector (52) capable of reflecting radio waves transmitted from the antenna (20) be mounted on the upper surface of the rotating body (51), as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5.

The above antenna (20) is configured as a pattern-shaped antenna (20).

And, the reflector (52) may be formed in various shapes, but it is preferable to form it so as to have an angle greater than a semicircle with respect to the circular plate.

That is, the reflector (52) is formed at an angle greater than 180 degrees and less than 360 degrees, and preferably greater than 180 degrees and less than 200 degrees.

As shown in Fig. 6, the control unit (30) calculates the direction of movement and/or amount of water used by using radio waves reflected from a reflector (52) mounted on the rotating body (51) and received by the antenna (20).

That is, the control unit (30) converts the water meter readings into digital data in a non-contact manner using radio waves.

The above control unit (30) detects the direction of rotation of the rotating body (51) through radio waves reflected from the reflector (52) and received by the antenna (20), and calculates the direction of movement of the water based on the direction of rotation of the rotating body (51).

In addition, the control unit (30) detects the speed at which the rotating body (51) rotates through the radio waves reflected from the reflector (52) and received by the antenna (20), and calculates the amount of water used based on the rotation speed of the rotating body (51).

The above antenna (20) is composed of a transmitter (21) that transmits radio waves and a receiver (22) that receives radio waves reflected from the rotating body (51).

The above transmitter (21) is composed of one unit.

The above-mentioned receiving unit (22) is composed of three or more units and receives radio waves transmitted from the above-mentioned transmitting unit (21) at different locations.

In the drawing of this embodiment, the transmitter (21) is formed in the shape of a large hollow circle, and a total of four receivers (22) are arranged inside the transmitter (21).

The above-mentioned receiver (22) may be composed of three units instead of four units as shown in the drawing.

The above control unit (30) calculates the direction of movement and amount of water used by using radio waves received by three or more receiving units (22).

Since the above-mentioned receiving unit (22) is composed of three or more, the rotational direction of the rotating body (51) equipped with the reflector (52) can be accurately detected.

When a radio wave is generated from the above transmitter (21), the radio wave is received by the receiver located on the upper part of the rotating reflector (52) among the plurality of receivers (22).

In particular, since the reflector (52) is formed in a shape larger than a semicircle and the receiving section (22) is composed of three or more, the rotational direction and rotational speed of the rotating body (51) equipped with the reflector (52) can be detected more effectively, and the direction of movement and amount of water used can be calculated more accurately.

As shown in Fig. 7(a), when the reflector (52) is positioned above the fourth receiver (22d) and the first receiver (22a) to receive radio waves, as shown in Fig. 7(b), when the reflector (52) rotates counterclockwise, the fourth receiver (22d), the first receiver (22a), and the second receiver (22b) receive radio waves, and as shown in Fig. 7(c), when the reflector (52) rotates further counterclockwise, the first receiver (22a), the second receiver (22b), and the third receiver (22c) receive radio waves, and as shown in Fig. 7(d), when the reflector (52) rotates further counterclockwise, the second receiver (22b), the third receiver (22c), and the fourth receiver (22d) receive radio waves. You will receive radio waves.

According to the radio wave reception order of these multiple receivers (22), it can be seen that the radio waves are received in the order of the fourth receiver (22d) -> first receiver (22a) -> second receiver (22b) -> third receiver (22c) -> fourth receiver (22d).

According to the order of radio wave reception of the receiver (22), it can be seen that the rotating body (51) equipped with the reflector (52) rotates counterclockwise.

In addition, the rotation speed of the rotating body (51) equipped with the reflector (52) can be detected through the reception time of radio waves received from multiple receivers (22).

This allows for more accurate calculation of the direction of water movement and amount of water used, as described above.

The present invention may further include a communication module (40) mounted on the substrate (10) to transmit the direction of movement and/or amount of water used calculated by the control unit (30) to the outside.

By transmitting the direction of water movement and/or amount of water used to the outside from the above communication module (40), the flow rate of the water meter can be checked remotely.

As described above, the present invention converts the meter readings of a water meter into digital data in a non-contact manner by using radio waves without using magnets, inductors, etc. in the method of converting the flow rate into digital data, so that it is possible to prevent manipulation of the water meter flow rate, etc. by using an external magnetic field in a conventional mechanical water meter.

And, the water flow detection method of the water meter of the present invention is comprised of a transmission step, a reception step, an analysis step, and a communication step.

As described above, the instrument panel (50) of the water meter body is equipped with a rotating body (51) that rotates according to the movement of water.

Additionally, the rotating body (51) is equipped with a reflector (52) that reflects radio waves transmitted from the antenna (20).

The above-mentioned transmitting step is a step of transmitting radio waves to the rotating body (51) using an antenna (20) placed on the upper part of the rotating body (51).

The above receiving step is a step in which the antenna (20) receives radio waves reflected from the rotating body (51).

The above analysis step is a step of analyzing the radio waves received by the antenna (20) to analyze and calculate the direction of movement and/or amount of water used.

In the above analysis step, the rotational direction of the rotating body (51) is detected through the radio waves received by the antenna (20), and the direction of movement of the water is calculated based on the rotational direction of the rotating body (51).

In addition, in the above analysis step, the rotation speed of the rotating body (51) is detected through the radio waves received by the antenna (20), and the amount of water used is calculated based on the rotation speed of the rotating body (51).

The above communication step is a step for transmitting the direction of movement and/or amount of water used calculated in the above analysis step to the outside.

As described above, the present invention uses a radio wave method that is not affected by external magnetic fields and does not use magnets, inductors, etc. as a method for digitally detecting the water usage of a mechanical water meter, so it can prevent illegal water meter manipulation using external magnetic fields in advance.

This allows for more accurate calculation of water flow direction and water usage through mechanical water metering devices.

Meanwhile, the sensor module of the present invention may further include a water leak detection sensor (not shown) that detects vibration transmitted through the pipe and the water meter body when a water leak occurs in the pipe connected to the water meter body.

The above water leak detection sensor is composed of a piezoelectric sensor, etc.

When a leak occurs in a pipe, the leak detection sensor transmits the detected vibration to a manager or the like through the communication module, and the manager can compare the transmitted vibration values of the leak detection sensor to determine whether there is a leak in the pipe.

The water flow detection sensor module for a water meter according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented by making various modifications within the scope permitted by the technical concept of the present invention.

1: Mechanical weighing machine, 2: Rotating body,
10: substrate, 20: antenna, 21: transmitter, 22: receiver,
30: control unit, 40: communication module,
50: instrument panel, 51: rotating body, 52: reflector.

Claims (6)

In a sensor module that is mounted on the upper part of the water meter body and detects the flow rate of the water meter,
The instrument panel of the above water meter body is equipped with a rotating body that rotates according to the movement of water.
The above sensor module,
It comprises a substrate arranged on the upper part of the above instrument panel; an antenna formed on the substrate, transmitting radio waves to the rotating body and receiving radio waves reflected from the rotating body; and a control unit that calculates the direction of movement or amount of water used by using radio waves reflected from the rotating body and received by the antenna;
The above control unit,
The rotation direction of the rotating body is detected through the radio waves received by the antenna, and the direction of movement of the water is calculated based on the rotation direction of the rotating body.
The speed at which the rotor rotates is detected through the radio waves received by the antenna, and the amount of water used is calculated based on the rotation speed of the rotor.
The above-mentioned rotating body is equipped with a reflector that reflects radio waves transmitted from the above-mentioned antenna.
The above antenna,
It is composed of a transmitter that transmits radio waves and a receiver that receives radio waves reflected from the rotating body;
The above-mentioned receiving section is composed of three or more and receives radio waves from different locations,
A water flow detection sensor module for a water meter, characterized in that the control unit calculates the direction of movement and amount of water used by using radio waves received by three or more receiving units. delete delete In claim 1,
A water flow detection sensor module for a water meter, characterized in that the above reflector is formed to have an angle greater than a semicircle with respect to the circular plate. In claim 1,
The above sensor module,
A water flow detection sensor module for a water meter, characterized in that it further comprises a communication module mounted on the substrate and transmitting the direction of water movement or amount of water used calculated by the control unit to the outside. In claim 1,
The above sensor module,
A water meter flow detection sensor module characterized by further comprising a water leak detection sensor that detects vibration transmitted through the pipe and the water meter body when a water leak occurs in the pipe connected to the water meter body.