FLOW-OPERATED MEASURING APPARATUS

Abstract: Measuring apparatus operated by the flowing of a medium substance. The apparatus comprises a rotor (2) fitted coaxially within the flow pipe (1), a revemeter of the rotor and a flow guide member consisting of a director (8) and a controller (9). By means of the said members the flow can be divided, according to the message received from a sensing element, into two components (A, B), of which at least one is screw-shaped or spiralling. By employing such a guide member the rotor (2) is easily started, and its rotating speed is directly comparable to the quantity to be measured, as well as to volume flow (Figure 4). The sensing element can be for example a spiral-shaped bimetallic member reacting to changes in the flow temperature, the said member being attached at its one end to the flow pipe and at its other end to the director (8). According to changes in the temperature the sensing element revolves around the director (8) with respect to the controller (9), and the mutual proportion of the flow components (A, B) is changed, as well as the rotating speed of the rotor (2).

Description: FLOW-OPERATED MEASURING APPARATUS The present invention relates to a measuring apparatus, the operation whereof is based on the flowing of fluid, gas or other such medium, the said apparatus comprising a flow pipe, a rotor placed coaxially therein, a rotor revmeter or equivalent member, and means for guiding the flow, the said means being located before the rotor in the principal flowing direction. The measuring apparatus of the invention is meant to be employed for measuring one or several quantities of the medium substance, such as volume flow, mass flow, con¬ tent, composition or other similar quantities. In the previous art are known meters for measuring vari¬ ous types of flow, the said meters comprising a rotor fitted coaxially within the flow pipe, and a control blade arrangement adjusted fixedly in front of the rotor, the said blade arrangement deviating the flow from the principal flowing direction. By means of the control blade arrangement, the directly proceeding flow receives a screw-shaped speed component which in its turn rota¬ tes the rotor. The rotating speed of the rotor is coun¬ ted by a revmeter, and from the reading of the revmeter the flowing speed and further the volume flow can be cal¬ culated or read directly by means of a suitable electro¬ nic calculator. .Other quantities depending from the characteristics of the flowing medium cannot be directly measured. In the German Patent Applications no. DE-OS 1 931 498 ' and DE-OS 2 010 390 are presented such heat amount me¬ ters where the liquid flows through a turbine adjusted within the flow pipe. The changes in the liquid tempe- rature suitably affect the turbine blades made of bi- metal by changing the angle of the said blades. Conse¬ quently the change in the temperature also causes a change in the geometry of the blades, and further in the rotating speed of the turbine. One of the drawbacks of the above described meters is the relatively heavy structure of the turbine. Moreover, it is in practice difficult to make react with desired accuracy to the changes in the temperature. The measu¬ ring apparatus of this tyμe cannot be employed for mea¬ suring quantities other than heat amount. Another drawback of the above described apparatus is the fact that the slanted position of the turbine bla¬ des directs to the turbine a remarkably great axial po¬ wer component resulting from the flow, and the said po¬ wer component has to be received by means of bearings. This reduces both the sensitivity and the lifetime of the apparatus. In the publicized Finnish Patent Application no. 793299 is presented a heat amount meter where the turbine or the rotor and the bimetallic guide member reacting to the changes in the temperature are constructed separa¬ tely, in which case some of the drawbacks of the above described German Patent Applications can be avoided. However, the manufacturing of the control blade arrange¬ ment of bimetal is arduous and its sensitivity leaves room for criticism. The purpose of the present invention is, among other things, to eliminate the above mentioned drawbacks and to realize a flow-operated measuring apparatus which is appropriate for measuring various liquid and gasiform medium substances. This is achieved by means of the characteristic features of the invention, presented mainly in the Patent Claim 1. OMPI Among the most important advantages of the present in¬ vention can be mentioned its simple and reliable opera¬ tional structure and low manufacturing costs. The divi¬ ding of the guide member to a director and a controller, particularly when combined to the design presented in the Patent Claim 4, ensures that the rotor is sensitive ' enough to start rotating and that its rotating speed is directly comparable to the quantity to be measured - such as temperature or volume flow. Depending on the sensing element used in the measuring apparatus, the measuring of the desired characteristic of the flowing fluid can be transformed into measuring the rotating speed of the rotor, and further suitably manipulated. By changing the sensing element, the mea¬ suring apparatus can be modified, while the basic struc¬ ture remains the same. In the following the invention is explained in detail with reference to . the appended drawings, mainly in rela¬ tion to a measuring apparatus for measuring heat amount. Figure 1 is a schematical illustration of one preferred embodiment of the invention in longitudinal cross- section view. Figure 2 is an illustration of the director and the controller of the apparatus of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a schematical illustration of the director and the controller and of their operation. Figure 4 is a schematical illustration of another embo¬ diment of the director and the controller and of their operation. Figure 5 is an illustration of an advantageous modifi¬ cation of the apparatus of Figure 4. Figure 6 is a schematical illustration of a third embo¬ diment of the director and the controller. In Figures 1 and 2 is presented a preferred embodiment ' of the invention in a heat amount modification. Accor- ding to Figure 1 the meter comprises the flow pipe 1 , wherein is placed the coaxially adjusted rotor 2 res-^ ting on the bearings 3. The blades 4 of the rotor 2 are parallel to the rotor axis and to the principal flowing direction C of the medium. Immediately in front of the rotor 2 in the flowing direction C is located the guide ' member 5, which is separately illustrated in Figure 2. The guide member 5 contains two interrevolving parts, the director 8 and the controller 9. The director 8 and the sensing element 7, which in this case is a spiralled member made of bimetal, are fixedly connected on the same axis 6, which axis is adjusted co¬ axially with bearings at its ends between the controller 9 and the auxiliary center 11. One end of the sensing element 7 is attached to the flow pipe 1 for example by riveting. When the temperature of the flowing medium conforms to the comparison level, the guide member 5 is in the po¬ sition shown in Figure 2 (or Figure 3 A) . Now the di¬ rector 8 and the controller 9 of the guide member 5 are attached to each other, and the flow proceeds directly in the principal flowing direction, symmetrically around the guide member 5. Hence the rotor 2 does not rotate. As the temperature of the medium substance increases, the bimetallic sensing element 7 registers the increase and starts to revolve around the director 8 by means of the axis 6. As a result from this, the slanted channels 16 (Figure 3 B) located between the director 8 and the controller 9 are opened and the medium substance recei¬ ves an inclined, in other words spiralling or screw- shaped motion component. This component starts rotating the rotor 2 . The amount of rotation cycles is counted for instance by means of the magnet 10 fitted in the blade 4 of the rotor, a reed-type relay and the electro- nic counter 11. The structure and operation of the guide member 5 are presented in more detail in Figure 3, where the said member is spread out in a plane in order to better il¬ lustrate its operation. As previously stated, the gui¬ de member 5 consists of two parts: the director 8 and the controller 9, which parts are coaxially installed within the flow pipe 1 and interrotatable according to the message received from the sensing element 7. In this particular embodiment the parts-8, 9 of the guide member 5 can- be wound 60° .-with respect to each other. The position of the director 8 and the controller 9 is defined through a suitable intermediate gear according to the message given by the sensing element 7. The controller 9 consists of two or more (in Figure 3 of three) members 13 connected to the center 12, the said members being preferably triangular in cross-sec¬ tion, the sharp angle or equivalent against the princi¬ pal flowing direction C. Respectively the director 8 is combined of two or more (in Figure 3 of three) mem¬ bers 15, alike the members 13 of the controller 9, con¬ nected to the center 14, the two sides 15a and 15b of the said members 15 being parallel to the sides 13a and 13b of the controller and matching to their shape. The centers 12 and 14 of the controller 9 and the director 8 are fitted successively and adjacently withing the flow pipe 1 so that the members 13 and 15 are arranged in an interlocking fashion, and between them are formed the flow channels 16 and 17. Figure 3 A illustrates a situation where the channels 17, parallel to the principal flowing direction C, are open, and therefore only the flowing component A is effective. In the situation of Figure 3 A the channel 16 has been opened, the flowing component B is effec¬ tive and the rotor rotates. The .magnitude of the flo¬ wing component B is comparable to the cross-section area of the opened channel. Consequently the rotating speed of the rotor 2 is comparable to the angle shift between the director 8 and the controller 9. In Figure 3 C the channel 17 of the flowing component is closed. The whole flow C is conducted through the channel 16 which rotates the rotor 2. It is pointed out that the combined cross-section area of the channels 16 and 17 remains constant irrespective of the angle change between the director 8 and the con¬ troller 9. Thus the total flow also remains constant. Hence the flow causes only the measuring device to ope¬ rate. The rotating spee ^ d of the rotor 2 is finally de¬ termined according to the message received from the sen¬ sing element 7. In the particular embodiment of the guide element 5 pre¬ sented in Figures 4 and 5, the members 19 connected to the center 18 of the controller 9 are in cross-section equilateral triangles, their sides 19a and 19b being preferably arched inwards (Figure 5) . Thus the flow can be guided efficiently and practically without tur¬ bulence. The members 21 connected to the center 20 of the director 8 are at their sides 21a and 21b matched to the sides 19a and 19b- of the controller 9.. Hence the sides 21a and 21b are preferably arched outwards (Figure 5) . The part of the member 21 which is located in the principal flowing direction has generally a . sharp- angled cross-section. In cross-section the said member 21 can, as illustrated in Figure 4 and 5, be a diamond or an equilateral parallelogram, the sharp angles where¬ of are located in the principal flowing direction. Figure 4 illustrates respective situations as in Figure 3. As the director 8 and the controller 9 in Figure 4 A are in their angle shift positiorus, in other words, in their normal positions in temperature T, towards the OMP " blades 4 of the rotor 2 are directed equivalent, contra- • rious flowing powers through the channels 22, 23 having equal cross-section areas, and thus the rotor does not rotate. In the temperature T (Figure 4 B) the tempera¬ ture sensing element has deviated the director 8, and consequently the members 21 , off their symmetrical cent¬ ral position, and the cross-section area of the channel 23 has increased while the cross-section area of the channel 22 has decreased. As in the case of Figure 3, the rotating speed of the rotor 3 is comparable to the angle shift between the director 8 and the controller 9. In the temperature T __. (Figure 4 C) , the director 8 is in its extreme position, wound to an angle of 60 , and the other flow channel 22 is closed. It is to be noted that in the embodiment of Figure 4 the rotating speed of the rotor 2 is directly comparable to the changes in volume flow and in the message given by the sensing element, in this case to the temperature of the flow registered by the temperature-sensing element. The controller 9 can also be constructed, as is shown in Figure 6, of two or more pairs of members 24 connec¬ ted to the center 25, the said members being preferably triangular in cross-section and arranged in such a fa¬ shion that the sharp edge of every second member is di¬ rected against the principal flowing direction C, and the edges of the rest are directed parallel to the prin¬ cipal flowing direction. The director 8 consists of two or more plane-shaped or similar members 26, con¬ nected to the center 27, by means of which members it is possible to regulate the proportion between the flows of the adjacent channels 28, 29, according to the mes¬ sage received from the sensing element. The member 26 of the director 8 can also be triangular in cross-sec¬ tion, with its peak against the principal flowing di¬ rection C. In the examples above the blades 4 of the rotor 2 are generally parallel to the rotor axis. By deviating the blades off this direction it is possible to regulate the direction and the magnitude of the axial friction of the rotor. The director or the controller of the measuring appara¬ tus can be fixedly installed within the flow pipe. On the other hand, it is possible to connect a sensing ele¬ ment to both and then arrange the two parts of the ' , gui¬ de member in an interrotating fashion. Thus it is pos¬ sible to measure for example heat consumption in a par¬ ticular location by measuring the temperature differen¬ ces between the input and the output flow. In the above the invention has been explained with refe¬ rence to a few preferred embodiments only. It is natu¬ rally clear that the scope of the invention is by no means limited to include only the examples mentioned above. Various modifications in the structure of the measuring apparatus according to the invention are pos¬ sible without deviating from the original inventional idea. For example, the cross-sections of the director and the controller of the guide member are determined mainly according to the laws of hydrodynamics, because in the case of the said members it is desirable to achie¬ ve a minimum flowing resistance. The sensing element can be chosen separately for each particular measuring occasion. Thus it can be for example a sensing element detecting content, composition or pressure. To the mea¬ suring apparatus of the invention are best ' suited such sensing elements as change their shape by effect of the quantity to be measured.

Claims: PATENT CLAIMS 1. A measuring apparatus based on the flowing of liquid, gas or other such medium, the said apparatus compri¬ sing a flow pipe (1), a rotor (2) fitted coaxially the¬ rein, a revmeter (10, 11) of the rotor and a flow guide member (5) located before the rotor in the principal flowing direction, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the guide member (5) consists of a director (8) and a controller (9) , by means of which the flow can be divi¬ ded, according to the message given by a sensing element (7) , to at least two components (A, B) , of which at least one is screw-shaped or spiralling. 2. The apparatus of Claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the director (8) and the controller (9) are co¬ axially installed within the flow pipe (1) and interro- tatable according to the message received from the sen¬ sing element (7) . 3. The apparatus of Claim 2, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that - the controller (9) comprises two or more members (13) connected to the center (12), the said members being preferably triangular in cross-section, the sharp angle or equivalent against the principal flowing direction (C) - the director (8) respectively comprises two or more members (15), alike the members (13) of the controller, connected to the center (14), the two sides (15a and 15b) of the said members being parallel to the sides (13a and 13b) of the controller and matched to their shape; and - the members (13 and 15) of the controller (9) and the director (8) are arranged in an interlocking fashiαn and form between them the flow channels (16 and 17). O PI # V# ' " WIPO 4 . The apparatus of Claim 3 , c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that - the members (19) .connected to the center (18) of the controller (9) have in cross-section the shape of equi¬ lateral triangles, the sides (19a, 19b) of the said triangles being preferably arched inwards (Figure 5) and - the members (21) connected to the center (20) of the director (8) have in cross-section the shape of diamonds or equivalent, the sides (21a, 21b) of the said diamonds being preferably arched outwards (Figure 5) and the sharp angles located in the flowing direction, and that - the members (19, 21) of the controller (9) and the di¬ rector (8) are equidistant in their normal position at the coaxial circle frame and form between them the chan¬ nels (22, 23) having equivalent cross-section areas. 5 . The apparatus of Claim 2 , c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that - the controller (9) comprises two or more pairs of mem¬ bers (24) connected to the center (25) , the said mem¬ bers being preferably triangular in cross-section and arranged in such a fashion that the sharp edge of every second member is directed against the principal flowing direction (C) , and the sharp edge of the rest is direc¬ ted in the principal flowing direction, and - the director (8) comprises two or more plate-like or equivalent members (26) connected to the center (27) , by means of which members the flow proportions of adja¬ cent channels (28, 29) can be adjusted according to the message received from the sensing element. 6. The apparatus of Claim 3, 4 or 5, c h a r a c t e - r i z e d in that the director (8) and the sensing element (7) are fixedly connected on the same axis (6) , which axis is arranged with bearings between the con¬ troller (9) and the auxiliary center (12). Ofr Λ .. VVi 7. The apparatus of Claim 6, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the sensing element (7) is a spiralling or simi¬ lar member made of bimetal and registers • the changes in the flowing temperature. OMPI ■ -

Inventors: SEPPAENEN S
Applicants: SEPPAENEN S
Application year: 1981
Main classification: G01F1
IPC codes: G01F1, G01K17