Compact ultrasonic flowmeter

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11118951-B2
Application number	US-201916376620-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 5, 2019
Priority date	Apr 5, 2018
Publication date	Sep 14, 2021
Grant date	Sep 14, 2021

Abstract

Compact ultrasonic flowmeter for measuring flowrate and other fluid related data, comprising: a flow tube with a flow bore for passage of the fluid between an inlet and an outlet; a flowmeter housing associated with the flow tube; a printed circuit board arranged in the flowmeter housing and including a processor for controlling operations of the flowmeter; a meter circuit including two or more ultrasonic transducers provided on the printed circuit board and configured for operating the ultrasonic transducers to transmit and receive ultrasonic wave packets through the fluid; a display mounted on the printed circuit board and configured for displaying a measured flowrate and other fluid related data; and one or more battery packs for powering flowmeter operations including at least the processor and the meter circuit and the display; wherein the processor and the ultrasonic transducers are surface mounted on a lower side of the printed circuit board and the display is mounted on an upper side of the printed circuit board.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A compact ultrasonic flowmeter for measuring flowrate and other fluid related data, comprising:
a flow tube with a flow bore for passage of the fluid between an inlet and an outlet;
a flowmeter housing associated with the flow tube;
a single printed circuit board arranged in the flowmeter housing and including a processor for controlling operations of the flowmeter;
a meter circuit including two or more ultrasonic transducers provided on the printed circuit board and configured for operating the ultrasonic transducers to transmit and receive ultrasonic wave packets through the fluid;
a display mounted on the printed circuit board and configured for displaying a measured flowrate and other fluid related data;
one or more battery packs for powering flowmeter operations including at least the processor and the meter circuit and the display; and
a container arranged on top of the printed circuit board and having a compartment containing a desiccant, the container having a through-going opening for receiving the display, wherein the through-going opening extends through an entire axial length of the container, wherein the container is configured to protect the printed circuit board and other components arranged in the flowmeter housing,
wherein the processor and the ultrasonic transducers are surface mounted on a lower side of the printed circuit board and the display is mounted on an upper side of the printed circuit board.

2. The compact ultrasonic flowmeter according to claim 1 , wherein the flowmeter housing is integrated with the flow tube.

3. The compact ultrasonic flowmeter according to claim 1 , further comprising a front plate providing a lid for the container, wherein the front plate includes an opening for receiving the display and wherein the front plate is arranged flush with the display.

4. The compact ultrasonic flowmeter according to claim 1 , further comprising a radio communication device mounted on the printed circuit board, the radio communication device being electrically coupled to an antenna element via a radio circuit, wherein the antenna element is mounted on the container and releasably coupled to the radio circuit.

5. The compact ultrasonic flowmeter according to claim 4 , wherein the radio communication device is configured to detect whether it is electrically connected to the antenna element and wherein the processor is configured to determine that the container has been lifted above the printed circuit board based on input from the radio communication device that the electrical connection to the antenna element has been disconnected.

6. The compact ultrasonic flowmeter according to claim 4 , wherein the antenna element is connected to the radio circuit via connectors provided on at least one of the printed circuit board or the antenna element.

7. The compact ultrasonic flowmeter according to claim 6 , wherein at least one of the connectors or mating connector surfaces are arranged on the printed circuit board along its periphery corresponding to a position of the antenna element on the container.

8. The compact ultrasonic flowmeter according to claim 4 , wherein the antenna element is mounted on a side face of the container.

9. The compact ultrasonic flowmeter according to claim 1 , further comprising backing devices arranged to provide a holding force to each of the transducers, forcing a lower side of the transducers against transducer areas.

10. The compact ultrasonic flowmeter according to claim 9 , wherein the backing devices are mounted on top of the printed circuit board to apply the holding force to an area of the printed circuit board containing the ultrasonic transducers.

11. The compact ultrasonic flowmeter according to claim 9 , wherein each of the backing devices comprise a backing element abutting at least one of the transducer or the printed circuit board and a restrained resilient member configured to provide the holding force.

12. The compact ultrasonic flowmeter according to claim 11 , wherein each of the backing devices includes a bracket element arranged to displaceably receive the backing element, and wherein the resilient member is a helical spring retained between the bracket element and the backing element.

13. A compact ultrasonic flowmeter for measuring flowrate and other fluid related data, comprising:
a flow tube with a flow bore for passage of the fluid between an inlet and an outlet;
a flowmeter housing associated with the flow tube;
a single printed circuit board arranged in the flowmeter housing and including a processor for controlling operations of the flowmeter;
a meter circuit including two or more ultrasonic transducers provided on the printed circuit board and configured for operating the ultrasonic transducers to transmit and receive ultrasonic wave packets through the fluid;
a display mounted on the printed circuit board and configured for displaying a measured flowrate and other fluid related data;
one or more battery packs for powering flowmeter operations including at least the processor and the meter circuit and the display, wherein the processor and the ultrasonic transducers are surface mounted on a lower side of the printed circuit board and the display is mounted on an upper side of the printed circuit board;
a container arranged on top of the printed circuit board and having a through-going opening for receiving the display, wherein the container is configured to protect the printed circuit board and other components arranged in the flowmeter housing; and
a radio communication device mounted on the printed circuit board, the radio communication device being electrically coupled to an antenna element via a radio circuit, wherein the antenna element is mounted on the container and releasably coupled to the radio circuit,
wherein the radio communication device is configured to detect whether it is electrically connected to the antenna element and wherein the processor is configured to determine that the container has been lifted above the printed circuit board based on input from the radio communication device that the electrical connection to the antenna element has been disconnected.

Assignees

• Kamstrup As

Inventors

• Pilegaard Lasse
• Hedegaard Anders
• Aarøe Kaspar Raahede

Classifications

• Y04S20/30

  Smart metering, e.g. specially adapted for remote reading · CPC title

• G01F1/662 Primary

  Constructional details · CPC title

• G01F1/667 Primary

  Arrangements of transducers for ultrasonic flowmeters; Circuits for operating ultrasonic flowmeters · CPC title