SENSOR BOX, SYSTEM, AND METHOD

Abstract

The invention relates to a sensor box (10) for process-engineering and/or mechanical-engineering systems with a control unit and a plurality of interfaces (11) connected to the control unit, wherein the plurality of interfaces (11) can be connected or are connected to a corresponding number of cables or transmitting and receiving devices in order to establish a communicative connection to corresponding sensors (13) connected to different functional points of a process-engineering and/or mechanical-engineering system (12), and the control unit is configured to request corresponding measurements from the plurality of sensors (13) via the plurality of interfaces (11).

Claims

1. A sensor box (10) for process-engineering and/or mechanical-engineering systems, wherein the sensor box has at least one control unit, characterized in that the sensor box (10) has a plurality of interfaces (11) connected to the control unit, which interfaces can be connected or are connected to a corresponding number of cables or transmitting and receiving devices in order to establish a communicative connection to corresponding sensors (13) connected to different functional points of a process-engineering and/or mechanical-engineering system (12), and the control unit is configured to request corresponding measurements of the plurality of sensors (13) via the plurality of interfaces (11).

2. The sensor box (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the sensor box (10) forms an enclosure for the control unit and is portable, transportable, detachably fixed, or can be hung up in space.

3. The sensor box (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit is configured to request measurements from various sensors (13) of the plurality of sensors (13) according to predetermined different frequencies of measurements per time.

4. The sensor box (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit is configured to specify the different frequencies per time by input via a human-machine interface of the control unit externally on or in communication with the sensor box (10), wherein the frequencies per time of the measurements differ from sensor to sensor of the plurality of sensors (13).

5. The sensor box (10) according to claim 3, characterized in that the functional points are linked to one or more working areas (14, 15, 16) of the system (12), wherein each working area (14, 15, 16) has one or more of the functional points, and wherein the control unit is configured to specify the frequencies per time depending on the working area (14, 15, 16).

6. A system comprising a process-engineering and/or mechanical-engineering system (12) and a sensor box (10) assigned to the system (12) according to claim 1, characterized in that the system (12) is configured to perform one or more functions that are spatially separate and performed at least one of the different functional points or spatially adjacent to at least one working area (14, 15, 16) of the system (12), wherein the functional points are each equipped with or connected to at least one sensor (13) of the plurality of sensors, and wherein the at least one sensor (13) is configured to measure different physical parameters or variables assigned to a function of the corresponding functional point or the corresponding working area (14, 15, 16) upon request by the control unit.

7. The system according to claim 6, characterized in that the system contains or is in communication with an Internet of Things (IoT) platform in order to store and evaluate the measurements, and the control unit is configured, upon request, to transmit the measurements obtained from the at least one sensor (13) to the IoT platform, which is intended to provide a database in order to record the measurements transmitted by the control unit in the form of time series and, based on the time series, to submit an evaluation for the system (12) and the functional points or working areas thereof.

8. The system according to claim 7, characterized in that the system includes a display instrument/display which is provided to query the evaluation and/or the status associated therewith from the IoT platform and to display the evaluation and/or the status associated therewith to a user.

9. The system according to claim 7, characterized in that the system further contains, with other systems or technical systems or control units of same, one or more common gateways (17) via which the measurements are transmitted from the control unit of the sensor box (10) to the IoT platform.

10. A method for operating a process-engineering and/or mechanical-engineering system (12), characterized by the following steps: providing a sensor box (10) according to claim 1 in an operating space next to and/or in connection with a process-engineering, mechanical-engineering, and/or wastewater-engineering system (12); connecting at least one sensor (13) connected to the system (12) to interfaces (11) leading to a control unit of the sensor box (10); requesting, by the control unit via the interfaces (11) to the at least one sensor (13), measurements of the at least one sensor (13); obtaining the measurements based on the requesting; and transmitting the measurements to an external entity for evaluation and assessment of the measurements.

Description

[0029] In the figures:

[0030] FIG. 1 is a view of a system with sensors and a sensor box; and

[0031] FIG. 2 is a view of several systems with a respective sensor box in combination with a gateway.

[0032] FIG. 1 shows a sensor box 10 which has several interfaces 11. Furthermore, a system 12 is shown which has several sensors 13 at different functional points on and in the vicinity of the system. The sensor box 10 is communicatively connected to the sensors 13. The sensors 13 are attached to different points of a system 12 shown in FIG. 1. Only one odor sensor 13a of the sensors 13 is arranged in the vicinity of the system 12. The system 12 has several functional points in three different working areas, which are specified, for example, by the separator 14, the sampling pot 15, or the lifting system 16.

[0033] The sensor box 10 is in the form of a box. In particular, the sensor box 10 is a box having a housing and containing a control unit (not shown) protected within the housing. Cables (shown in dashed lines) connect the several interfaces 11 of the sensor box 10 to the corresponding sensors 13. For example, exactly one dedicated cable can be used per interface. An electrical/communicative connection to the control unit (not shown) contained in the sensor box 10 is provided via the cables.

[0034] The control unit is a central control unit, like a microcontroller. The control unit requests sensor measurements separately for each sensor 13 at different time intervals for the sensors 13, given a previous configuration. This can be done by the control unit transmitting a signal for a respective sensor 13, which signal corresponds to a command to the sensor 13 to carry out a measurement. Based on this request, the respective sensor 13 returns a corresponding measurement, also referred to as a measured value, to the control unit. This measurement or measured values are then transmitted from the control unit in the sensor box 10 to a higher-level entity in a specific format, for example JSON format. This higher-level entity, for example an IoT platform (IoT cloud), is physically at a distance from the sensor box and only has a communicative connection to the sensor box 10. The transmission can take place directly into the IoT cloud via Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) or Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP).

[0035] In particular, the sensors 13 mentioned below can be provided at different functional points of the system 12.

[0036] According to FIG. 1, the system 12 can be divided into three different working areas, each of which has the functional points. These three working areas can be divided into the area of the separator system 14, the sampling pot 15, and the lifting system 16. The following sensors 13 are arranged in the working area of the separator system 14: temperature sensor 13b of the inlet, level sensor 13c, pH sensor 13d, and grease layer thickness gauge 13e.

[0037] The temperature sensor 13b is provided to measure the temperature of the incoming water. The level sensor 13c is arranged in the tank of the separator system 14 in order to detect the level of grease in the container. The pH sensor 13d is also arranged in the tank of the separator system 14 in order to determine the pH value of the wastewater in the tank. The grease layer thickness gauge 13e is also arranged on the tank of the separator system 14 in order to transmit the grease layer thickness to the sensor box 10 or the control unit thereof.

[0038] In the present case, as shown in FIG. 1, the odor sensor 13a is arranged externally from the system 12 in order to detect unpleasant odors in the space in which the system 12 is located.

[0039] According to FIG. 1, no sensors are provided in the working area of the sampling pot 15.

[0040] In contrast to this, the working area of the lifting system 16 has several functional points which are provided with respective sensors 13f to 13k. The following sensors 13 are arranged in the working area of the lifting system 16: a temperature sensor 13f, an acceleration sensor 13g, a microphone 13h, a volume flow meter 13i, a pressure sensor 13j, and a current transformer 13k. The temperature sensor 13f is arranged in the water tank of the lifting system 16 in order to record the wastewater temperature. The acceleration sensor 13g is arranged on a pump of the lifting system 16 in order to record vibrations of the pump during operation. The microphone 13h is also arranged on the pump of the lifting system 16 in order to detect the volume and any deviations. The volumetric flow measuring device 13i is arranged in a pressure line of the lifting system 16 in order to record the volume delivered per unit of time. The pressure sensor 13j is arranged in a pressure line of the lifting system 16 in order to detect the outlet pressure of the pump. The current transformer 13k is arranged on the pump in order to non-invasively record the current consumption of a motor of the pump.

[0041] The control unit 10 transmits corresponding requests to the sensors 13 at predetermined times independently of the sensors 13 or the signaling thereof. Thus, all sensors 13 can be requested at the same time or at different times. The time intervals between requests can be variably adjusted. A needs-based request can be carried out in this case. In this way, different functional points can be occupied with different frequencies, and measurements can be requested as required. The measurements obtained from the sensors are transmitted to a cloud or IoT platform by means of data transmission. This transmission can take place via various data protocols or transmission schemes. For example, appropriate transmission means which can be used include Local Area Network (LAN), Wireless LAN (WLAN), Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN), Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT), Sigfox, or other transmission protocols.

[0042] In order to make the corresponding data related to the measurements usable, an instrument panel can be provided in the form of a dashboard. The data can be processed here and made available to the customer via web access or applications. Corresponding warnings, information, and statuses can also be transmitted (directly) by email, push message, or SMS. This can be done in the form of a warning system, for example the following outputs appear on the dashboard: overflow of the grease separator 14, excessive wastewater, excessive power consumption of the pumps of the lifting system 16, and/or insufficient pumping of wastewater.

[0043] Based on FIG. 2, which shows several systems 12, the boxes 10 provided for the various systems 12 or the control units (not shown) thereof can transmit the corresponding measurements of the sensors 13 from each system 12 to the higher-level IoT platform (not shown) via a gateway 17. It can be provided that the respective sensor box 10 transmits its data exclusively to the gateway 17, which forwards the data either individually, in parallel, or in series to the IoT platform or the cloud or transmits it collectively to the IoT platform or cloud. Fewer SIM cards are required in this case. The gateway 17 can be installed in a position that is convenient for all the boxes 10 of all the systems 12 in order to ensure optimum reception. Basically, one or more of the following transmission technologies can be used: NB-IoT, Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), and LoRa. In the case of transmission via the gateway 17, LoRa can be preferred. In particular, in the case of a single sensor box, but also in the case of several sensor boxes (i.e. in a network), the transmission can be encrypted during transmission via the gateway or without the gateway.

[0044] The IoT platform records the sensor data system-specifically in a time series database and evaluates it. The values can be assigned to individual systems and sensors assigned to the systems. Furthermore, the assignment can be tailored to and assigned to a specific customer.

[0045] In summary, the sensor box 10 from FIGS. 1 and 2 can provide a data acquisition unit which is connected to various sensors 13. The sensor box 10 can also be a retrofit kit for third-party systems in this case. In the case of grease separators 14 and lifting systems 16, data can be collected in real time and stored in an IoT platform. Data such as the temperature of liquids, pH value, filling level, etc. can be retrieved. The real-time collection of data is not limited to the system 12 of FIGS. 1 and 2, but can also be applied to other types of machinery. The data are also analyzed in order to derive services for customers, such as a warning system, condition monitoring, predictive maintenance, etc.

[0046] At this juncture, it should be noted that all the parts described above, viewed individually and in any combination, in particular the details shown in the drawings, are claimed to be essential to the invention. Modifications thereof are familiar to persons skilled in the art.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0047] 10 Sensor box [0048] 11 Interfaces [0049] 12 System [0050] 13 Plurality of sensors [0051] 13a Odor sensor [0052] 13b Temperature sensor (inlet) [0053] 13c Level sensor [0054] 13d pH-Sensor [0055] 13e Grease layer thickness gauge [0056] 13f Temperature sensor (outlet) [0057] 13g Acceleration sensor [0058] 13h Microphone [0059] 13i Volume flow meter [0060] 13j Pressure sensor [0061] 13k Current transformer [0062] 14 Separator system [0063] 15 Sampling pot [0064] 16 Lifting system [0065] 17 Gateway