Sensor arrangement for arrangement on a process installation, and method for operating the sensor arrangement and process installation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11543277-B2
Application number	US-201816768774-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 13, 2018
Priority date	Dec 1, 2017
Publication date	Jan 3, 2023
Grant date	Jan 3, 2023

Abstract

Disclosed is a sensor arrangement on a process installation comprising at least two sensor tiles, wherein each sensor tile comprises a support and a plurality of sensors arranged on the support for determining a physical or chemical variable of a measuring medium, a process characteristic of the measuring medium, and/or a state of the process installation. A first sensor tile comprises a control unit having a transmit and receive module for data exchange with a control unit of a second sensor tile. The first control unit of the first sensor tile and/or a second control unit allocated to the sensor arrangement is designed to weight the values determined by each sensor tile. Weighting may be a function of the measured value variations of the sensor tile, the position of the sensor tile in the process installation, and/or the function of the sensor tile.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A sensor arrangement for arrangement on a process installation having a plurality of measuring points, the sensor arrangement comprising:
a plurality of sensor tiles, each sensor tile including:
a support that can be arranged locally on the process installation;
a control and evaluation unit having a transmit and receive module for data exchange; and
a plurality of sensors arranged on the support and embodied for determining physical or chemical variables of a measuring medium and/or a process characteristic of the measuring medium and/or a state of the process installation; and

a control and evaluation unit,
wherein each of the plurality of sensor tiles is configured for data exchange with another sensor tile of the plurality of sensor tiles,
wherein data is exchanged between a first sensor tile and a second sensor tile of the plurality of sensor tiles,
wherein the control and evaluation unit of the first sensor tile and the control and evaluation unit of the sensor arrangement are each designed to determine the physical or chemical variable of the measuring medium and/or the process characteristic of the measuring medium and/or the state of the process installation by weighting values determined by each sensor tile of the plurality of sensor tiles, and
wherein the weighting is carried out as a function of measured value variations of at least one sensor of a sensor tile of the plurality of sensor tiles, a position of the respective sensor tile in the process installation, and/or a function of the respective sensor tile.

2. The sensor arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein a plurality of different sensors are provided on each sensor tile, wherein the plurality of different sensors are used to determine different physical or chemical variables of the measuring medium and/or different process characteristics of the measuring medium found in the process installation and/or different state variables of the process installation.

3. The sensor arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein a plurality of sensors of the same type are arranged one behind the other on a sensor tile in a sensor field in a flow direction or a filling direction of the measuring medium.

4. The sensor arrangement according to claim 1 ,
wherein the first sensor tile has at least two operating states, wherein a first operating state serves for monitoring with regard to the change in the physical or chemical variable of the measuring medium and/or the process characteristic of the measuring medium found in the process installation and/or the state of the process installation and wherein a second operating state serves to determine the physical or chemical variable of the measuring medium and/or the process characteristic of the measuring medium found in the process installation and/or the state of the process installation.

5. The sensor arrangement according to claim 1 ,
wherein the first sensor tile has at least two operating states, wherein a first operating state serves to determine the physical or chemical variable of the measuring medium and/or the process characteristic of the measuring medium found in the process installation and/or the state of the process installation and wherein a second operating state serves to regulate and/or control one or more actuating devices of the process installation, wherein the regulation and/or control is effected by the control and evaluation unit of the first sensor tile.

6. The sensor arrangement according to claim 4 , wherein a switching of the operating states is effected by assigning a function of a sensor tile within the sensor arrangement.

7. The sensor arrangement according to claim 6 , wherein the assignment of a function of a sensor tile can be changed by the sensor arrangement during the operation of the process installation.

8. The sensor arrangement according to claim 1 ,
wherein the control and evaluation unit of the first sensor tile is configured to calculate, on the basis of the measured values determined by its sensors, a predicted value for the physical or chemical variable of the measuring medium and/or the process characteristic of the measuring medium and/or the state of the process installation at a measuring point of the first sensor tile and, taking into account a geometry of the process installation, a predicted value for the physical or chemical variable of the measuring medium and/or the process characteristic of the measuring medium found in the process installation and/or the state of the process installation at a measuring point of the second sensor tile of the sensor arrangement.

9. The sensor arrangement according to claim 8 , wherein the control and evaluation unit of the first sensor tile is further configured to compare the predicted value with the value determined by the second sensor tile, to carry out a weighting on the basis of this comparison, and to output a result on the plausibility of the determined value.

10. The sensor arrangement according to claim 8 , wherein on the basis of the determined values of the physical or chemical variable of the measuring medium and/or the process characteristic of the measuring medium found in the process installation and/or the state of the process installation, the control and evaluation unit of the first sensor tile is further configured to output a total value of such variable and/or such process characteristic for the process installation, wherein the measured values of the sensor tiles are individually weighted and taken into account in the calculation.

11. The sensor arrangement according to claim 10 , wherein the control and evaluation unit of the first sensor tile is further configured to output an uncertainty specification which takes into account the state of the sensor arrangement.

12. The sensor arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the first sensor tile has a data memory on which data records for the current sensor settings of adjacent sensor tiles are stored.

13. The sensor arrangement according to claim 8 , wherein the position of the sensor tile in the process installation is weighted as a function of the frequency of the change of state of the process installation at the position when determining the filling level, the temperature of the measuring medium and/or the flow rate.

14. The sensor arrangement according to claim 8 , wherein the measured values of sensors for determining different measured variables on a sensor tile are weighted differently as a function of the position and the measured variable to be determined.

15. The sensor arrangement according to claim 8 , wherein the control and evaluation unit of the first sensor tile is further configured to trigger control events for actuating devices, including for controlling a pump of the process installation and/or a valve of the process installation, based on the weighted value of a sensor tile or the weighted values of the plurality of sensor tiles.

16. The sensor arrangement according to claim 15 , wherein control commands of the control and/or evaluation unit of the sensor arrangement are overridden on the basis of the weighted value of a sensor tile or the weighted values of the plurality of sensor tiles.

17. The sensor arrangement according to claim 8 , wherein the control and evaluation unit of the first sensor tile is further configured to determine a state value with regard to the operating state of a single or a subpopulation of the sensor arrangement comprising a plurality of sensor tiles, wherein the state value is specific for individual measured variables and is taken into

Assignees

• Flowtec Ag

Inventors

• Wilhelm Thomas
• Drahm Wolfgang
• Rieder Alfred
• Klöfer Peter
• Moore Thomas

Classifications

• G01F15/022

  using electrical means · CPC title

• G08C17/02

  using a radio link · CPC title

• G01F15/003 Primary

  using electromagnetic, electric or electronic means (G01F15/002, G01F15/02 take precedence) · CPC title

• G08C19/00

  Electric signal transmission systems (G08C17/00 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G01D21/00 Primary

  Measuring or testing not otherwise provided for · CPC title