Devices, Systems and Methods for Measuring Flow

Abstract

The disclosed apparatus, systems and methods relate to a flow meter for flowable material configured to be used in non-vertical orientations.

Claims

1-20. (canceled)

21. A flow meter comprising: (a) a chamber; (b) at least one pivoting sensing surface disposed on an interior surface of the chamber; and (c) the load cell in operational communication with the at least one pivoting sensing surface, wherein the load cell constructed and arranged to sense pressure applied to the at least one pivoting sensing surface and output a signal proportional to a mass flow rate of a material flowing within the chamber.

22. The flow meter of claim 21, further comprising a guide disposed within the chamber.

23. The flow meter of claim 21, further comprising a linkage assembly operatively engaged with the at least one pivoting sensing surface and the load cell.

24. The flow meter of claim 21, wherein the mass flow rate is determined by an aggregate force applied to each of the at least one pivoting sensing surfaces by the material flowing within the chamber.

25. The flow meter of claim 21, further comprising a measurement device constructed and arranged to process and analyze mass flow rate data.

26. The flow meter of claim 25, wherein the measurement device is further constructed and arranged to convert the mass flow rate data to weight measurements.

27. The flow meter of claim 26, further comprising a storage medium in operational communication with the load cell.

28. A flow meter comprising: (a) chamber comprising: (i) an inlet; and (ii) an outlet, wherein the chamber defines a lumen; (b) a guide disposed within the lumen; and (c) at least one sensing surface pivotally engaged with an interior surface of the chamber; and (d) a load cell operatively engaged with the at least one sensing surface, wherein the load cell is constructed and arranged to sense pressure applied to the at least one sensing surface.

29. The flow meter of claim 28, wherein the at least one sensing surface is pivotally engaged with the interior surface of the chamber via at least one pivot.

30. The flow meter of claim 29, wherein the at least one pivot further comprises a spring.

31. The flow meter of claim 29, wherein the load cell is operatively engaged with the at least one pivot.

32. The flow meter of claim 31, wherein the load cell is operatively engaged with the at least one pivot via a linkage assembly.

33. The flow meter of claim 31, wherein the load cell is constructed and arranged to output an electrical signal proportional to a flow rate of a material flowing through the chamber.

34. The flow meter of claim 28, wherein the inlet and the outlet define a non-vertical axis for material flow.

35. A flow meter comprising: (a) a sensing surface; and (b) a load cell in operational communication with the at least one sensing surface, wherein the sensing surface is constructed and arranged to be moveable in response to pressure from a material flow, and wherein the load cell is constructed and arranged to output a signal proportional to the pressure from the material flow.

36. The flow meter of claim 35, further comprising a guide disposed upstream of the sensing surface, wherein the guide is configured to separate a flow of material into one or more streams.

37. The flow meter of claim 35, wherein the sensing surface is a pivoting sensing surface and is in operational communication with the load cell via a pivot.

38. The flow meter of claim 37, wherein the pivot further comprises a spring.

39. The flow meter of claim 37, wherein the load cell is mechanically coupled to the pivot.

40. The flow meter of claim 35, wherein the flow meter is constructed an arranged to measure the material flow at a non-vertical angle.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional front view of one implementation of the flow meter.

[0018] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional front view of another implementation of the flow meter.

[0019] FIG. 3 is a side view of another implementation of the flow meter at a non-vertical angle.

[0020] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional perspective view of another implementations of the flow meter at a non-vertical angle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The various embodiments disclosed or contemplated herein relate to a flow meter 10, namely a flow meter 10 that is configured to function in a variety of non-vertical orientations as well as traditional vertical implementations, like those described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,354,092, patented May 31, 2016 and entitled In-Line Pressure-Based Flow Meter and U.S. application Ser. No. 14/577,224, filed Dec. 19, 2014 and entitled Flow Monitor and Regulator, both of which are incorporated herein in their entirety for all purposes.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 1, the various implementations of the flow meter 10 determine the real-time flowrate of a stream 12 of particulate materials moving in an pipe 14, such as a pipe 14 on an incline or other conduit without interrupting the flow or changing the existing configuration. As described herein, these implementations can be used in vertical, non-vertical or horizontal applications. In various implementations, such as horizontal or inclined implementations, a combination of gravity and/or other motive forces, such as pneumatic forces, the application of vacuums, or conveyor belts can be used to move particulate matter through the flow meter 10, as would be appreciated by one of skill in the art. It will be appreciated that in certain implementations, the material may also be flowing in a direction opposite of the force of gravity, so as to flow upwards.

[0023] In these implementations, the flow meter 10 comprises a flow measurement chamber 20 having inlet 22 and outlet 24 ends configured or otherwise constructed and arranged to allow a material stream 12 to pass through the chamber 20. In various implementations, the material stream is particulate, such as a crop, seed or powders such as pharmaceuticals, as would be understood.

[0024] In the implementation of FIG. 1, the chamber 20 is generally rectangularly cylindrical with a lumen 20A within, but in alternate embodiments can be otherwise shaped, with the inlet end 22 configured to couple to an existing pipe to bring the stream 12 to the chamber 20 and an outlet end 24 matching to the existing exit configuration for the materials to flow out of the chamber 20.

[0025] As shown in FIGS. 1-4, in the lumen 20A, according to these implementations, a guide 30 is disposed upstream within the lumen 20A and configured to divide and move the material stream 12 around the sides 30A, 30B of the guide 30. In certain implementations, and as shown in FIG. 1, the guide 30 is shaped like a half-cylinder, but alternate shapes such as a wedge or other known configuration can also be used.

[0026] In use, the material 12A, 12B flows into at least one downstream sensing surface 40, 42 which attached the chamber 20 via at least one pivot 44, 46. In various implementations, the one or more sensing surfaces 40, 42 can be curved, hemispheric, substantially planar or any of many other forms capable of being urged downstream in response to the pressure applied by the flowing material 12. In various implementations, the pivot or pivots 44, 46 can be operationally integrated with springs (not shown) or other devices configured to urge the sensing surfaces 40, 46 into a defined position in the absence of any flowable material 12.

[0027] As described herein, the measurement of the various streams of material 12A, 12B pressure flowing over the guide 30 is made via the downstream mounted sensing surfaces 40, 42 via the pressure applied to those surfaces 40, 42. In these implementations, the materials 12A, 12B flowing over the sensing surfaces 40, 42 are subsequently combined 12C to exit the flow measurement chamber 20 through the outlet 24 without interrupting the flow of the material 12. It is understood that in certain implementations, the shapesuch as curvatureof the sensing surfaces can facilitate the movement of the material 12 in the direction of the outlet 24. It is understood that in various implementations, the flow of material 12 through the chamber 20 in these implementations, the sensing surface or surfaces 40, 42 are urged downstream in response to the pressure applied by the streams 12A, 12B of flowable material 12.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 2, in these implementations, the pivots 44, 46 are operationally connected to a load cell 50such as an S-Bean load cell 50via a linkage assembly 52A, 52B with a damper to reduce any vibrations and/or shocks. In these implementations, the load cell 50 is therefore mechanically coupled with the pivoting sensing surfaces 40, 42 so as to be able to measure movement of the sensing surfaces 40, 42 and generate an electrical output signal proportional to the force and/or pressure applied (designated by reference arrows P) to the sensing surfaces 40, 42 by the flowing material 12A, 12B.

[0029] It is therefore understood that this output signal is proportional to the mass flow rate of the materials 12A, 12B, regardless of the orientation of the chamber 20, as is shown in FIG. 3. In various implementations the force and/or pressure applied by the flowing streams 12A, 12B on curved sensing surfaces 40, 42 can be amplified by controlling the cantilever leveraging action of the curved sensing surfaces 40, 42, as would be understood by one of skill in the art. Because there are a plurality of sensing surfaces, and the flow rate is determined by the aggregate force on the plurality of sensing surfaces 40, 42, the portion of material 12 encountering each individual sensing surface 40, 42 is generally irrelevant.

[0030] In various implementations, a measurement device 60 is also provided, such as a computer having an operations system, processor and memory or a PLC/HMI or other similar device known in the art and capable of processing and analyzing data. In various implementations, software can be provided and used on the measurement device to process and convert the signals from each of the sensing surfaces 40, 42 to weight measurements, which can be combined to give a total flow rate. In certain implementations, the measurement device can be connected to the internet, such as via an ethernet connection, and can also be in electronic communication with any number of known components, such as a display, a database, controls and the like.

[0031] It is understood that the combination of these measurements therefore allows the meter 10 to operate and various non-vertical angles, as the rate of flow over each of the sensing surfaces 40, 42 need not be equal to calculate an accurate, real-time flow rate. The total weight of materials for any given period can be calculated by summing the pressure applied to the sensing surfaces 40, 42 in the real time. It is understood that various corrections or other calculations can be used to establish the correlation between the pressure applied to each of the sensing surfaces 40, 42 and the actual flow rate of the material.

[0032] Although the disclosure has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, persons skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosed apparatus, systems and methods.