DEVICE AND METHOD FOR AIR QUANTITY RECORDING

Abstract

An apparatus and a method for ascertaining and billing for a volume of air generated by an air-conveying device. The air quantity ascertaining and billing apparatus has an air-conveying device generating an air volume flow through an air passage. A measuring device measures air-related parameters of the particular air volume flow. An analysis unit analyzes the measured parameters, in order to determine the total air volume that was conveyed by the air conveying device through the air passage over a period. A transfer device transfers the value determined for the air volume by the analysis unit to a validation device. The validation device links the air volume flow or the determined air volume to an economic value, in order to obtain a billing value for the generated air volume.

Claims

1.-12. (canceled)

13. An air quantity recording and invoicing device comprising: an air conveyor unit for generating an air volume flow through an air passage; a measuring unit to measure ventilation parameters of the respective air volume flow; an evaluation unit analyzing the measured parameters to ascertain the total air volume that was conveyed over a period of time through the air passage by the air conveyor unit; a transmission unit for transmitting the value for the air volume ascertained by the evaluation unit to a validation unit; and a validation unit links the air volume flow or the ascertained air volume to an economic value (W) to obtain an invoicing value for the generated air volume.

14. The air quantity recording and invoicing device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the validation unit calculates a remaining service life from the total ascertained air volume and the corresponding measurement period of the air conveyor unit.

15. The air quantity recording and invoicing device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the validation unit can access customer data in a database of a computer center in order to assign an invoicing amount to the recorded air volume flow in accordance with a customer-specific value stored in the database and to create an analog or digital invoice.

16. The air quantity recording and invoicing device as claimed in claim 15 further comprising a transmission unit to transmit the ascertained invoicing value or an invoice to an external interface.

17. The air quantity recording and invoicing device as claimed in claim 16 wherein the transmission unit transmits an ascertained remaining service life to an external interface.

18. The air quantity recording and invoicing device as claimed in claim 13 wherein the measuring unit records a pressure drop or the differential pressure as ventilation parameters at a measurement position at the air passage to determine the volume.

19. The air quantity recording and invoicing device as claimed in claim 13 wherein the measuring unit records the ventilation parameter or parameters over a desired period of time continuously or in discrete successive time intervals.

20. The air quantity recording and invoicing device as claimed in claim 19, wherein the evaluation unit has an arithmetic operator, preferably a digital integrator that calculates a total air volume by integration over the period of time, from the measured chronologically successive ventilation parameters.

21. The air quantity recording and invoicing device as claimed in claim 13, wherein the evaluation unit has a microcontroller.

22. The air quantity recording and invoicing device as claimed in claim 16, wherein the transmission unit transmits the data wirelessly or by wire via a network topology.

23. A method for recording and invoicing an air volume generated by an air conveyor unit using an air quantity recording and invoicing device as claimed in claim 13, comprising the following steps of: generating an air volume flow through an air passage by means of an air conveyor unit; recording ventilation parameters of the air volume flow over a period of time at the air passage by the measuring unit; evaluating the measured parameters in order to determine the total air volume that was conveyed by the air conveyor unit through the air passage over the period of time t; transmitting the value for the air volume ascertained by the evaluation unit to a validation unit; and validating an economic value by means of the validation unit corresponding to the recorded air volume to calculate an invoicing value for the generated air volume.

24. The method as claimed in claim 23, wherein in addition to the recording and invoicing of an air volume, a remaining service life of the air conveyor unit is also ascertained by the evaluation unit from the air volume ascertained in steps b) and c) in claim 23 and it is transmitted via an external interface to a receiver unit.

Description

DRAWINGS

[0026] The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0027] Other advantageous refinements of the invention are characterized in the dependent claims and will be described in greater detail in the following, in conjunction with the description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, with reference to the figures. In the figures:

[0028] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an exemplary embodiment; and

[0029] FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an alternative design of the exemplary embodiment from FIG. 1.

[0030] The figures are solely schematic examples. The same reference signs in the figures denote the same functional and/or structural features. The disclosure is explained in greater detail below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 on the basis of exemplary embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0032] An air quantity recording and invoicing device 1, respectively, includes an air conveyor unit 10, a measuring unit 20, an evaluation unit 30, a transmission unit 40, and a validation unit 50.

[0033] The air conveyor unit 10 is, for example, a fan. It is used to generate a certain volume flow through the air passage 11, which is also shown. For simplification, this is to represent an application-related installation situation, where a certain air volume is provided to a user via a defined volume flow through the air passage 11.

[0034] The measuring device 20, which is only shown by way of example, measures at least one ventilation parameter P of the respective air volume flow Q, that passes through the air passage 11. The ventilation parameter P, selected for this purpose, in conjunction with the air volume flow Q, enables a direct calculation option of the air volume passing through the air passage 11 over a period of time T.

[0035] The evaluation unit 30 evaluates the measured parameters P in order to determine the total air volume that was conveyed by the air conveyor unit 10 through the air passage 11 over the period of time T.

[0036] The measurement of the pressure drop at an annular nozzle at the air passage 11 can be used to measure a ventilation parameter, for example. The pressure drop measured in this way can be converted into a volume flow using a correction factor.

[0037] The relationship between the static pressure and the differential pressure behavior can be used to ascertain the volume flow. The volume flow may be calculated from the differential pressure (differential pressure of the static pressures) according to the following equation:

Q=K*{square root over (PW)}

[0038] Here K represents a factor that takes into consideration the specific nozzle properties of the annular nozzle. Pw represents the differential pressure of the static pressures. Q determines the volume flow.

[0039] It is advantageous if the pressure decrease takes place, for example, at four points on the circumference of the inflow nozzle E. A customer connection can be produced via an installed T-hose connection 14. Such a hose connection 14 is, for example, suitable for the connection of pneumatic hoses to carry out the measurement using standardized technical equipment.

[0040] If, for example, the measured values of the volume flow Q are recorded and stored sufficiently frequently in a certain measuring cycle (for example, once per minute) and integrated via an integrator, the air quantity moved in a certain unit of time is obtained, for example, in cubic meters per hour. The air quantity moved in a month, for example, may thus be specifically determined. Then it may be invoiced to the user or buyer. To enable invoicing, the device according to the disclosure has a unit that enables the data to be sent to a computer center. Such a transmission unit 40 is shown by way of example in FIGS. 1 and 2. This transmission unit 40 is used to transmit the value ascertained by the evaluation unit 30, for the air volume, to a separate validation unit 50. The validation unit 50 links the ascertained air volume to an economic value W stored for the user or buyer. This enables it to obtain a specific invoicing value for the generated air volume.

[0041] As is apparent in the embodiment of FIG. 2, the air quantity recording and invoicing device 1 is further designed such that the validation unit 50 can calculate a remaining service life T.sub.rest. This is obtained rom the total ascertained air volume V and the corresponding measurement period of the air conveyor unit 10. The determination of a remaining selected service life can preferably be performed by a microcontroller.

[0042] The evaluation unit 30 can be designed such that a digitization with analog measured value and conversion of the volume flow (cubic meters per hour) into the moved air volume (cubic meters) is performed in the measuring unit by integration over a measurement period of time of the volume flow.

[0043] As is also apparent in FIGS. 1 and 2, the validation unit 50 is connected to a database 52 of a computer center 51. The validation unit 50 can access this data to assign an invoicing amount to the recorded air volume flow in accordance with a customer-specific value W stored in this database. Thus, an analog or digital invoice may be created without requiring further manual processing.

[0044] In other words, the creation of an invoice can be carried out per unit of time, for example, per month. An automatic transmission of the invoice, via the interface 70, 71 into a central management system or to a terminal can be carried out.

[0045] In the embodiment according to FIG. 2, information can be provided on an item of replacement or repair is also conducted to the interface 70, 71 to display that the fan will soon reach its remaining service life. Depending on procurement periods, suitable measures can be taken in a timely manner before reaching the predicted service life of the air conveyor unit. This prevents, or at least minimizes, an operational interruption of the facility.

[0046] As can be seen from the two embodiments according to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the evaluation unit 30 has a special arithmetic operator 31. Preferably, a digital integrator, designed to calculate a total air volume V by integration over the period of time T, from the measured chronologically successive ventilation parameters P. The evaluation unit 30 includes a microcontroller. However, the evaluation unit 30, the transmission unit 40, and the validation unit 50 can also be implemented using other technical means (not described in greater detail here).

[0047] The disclosure is thus not limited in its embodiment to the two above-described preferred exemplary embodiments. Rather, a number of variants are conceivable that make use of the described approach even with fundamentally different embodiments, for example, the integration of the function of a computer center into a processing unit of the air quantity recording and invoicing device. It can also be provided that the transmission unit 40 and the validation unit 50 are provided by a single combined unit having the corresponding technical functions.

[0048] The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.