HOSE SYSTEM HAVING MEANS FOR DETECTING THE TEMPERATURE INSIDE THE HOSE

Abstract

Presented and described is a hose system, having a hose (1) that extends between a first and a second end (3, 7), wherein the hose (1) has a wall (9), wherein a conductor element (11) is recessed in the wall (9) and extends between the first and the second end (3, 7), wherein the conductor element (11) is formed from an electrically conductive material having a temperature-dependent specific resistance, and wherein the conductor element (11) has a first electrical connection (19) and a second electrical connection (21) that are spaced apart along the conductor element (11), and having a measuring device (23) that is connected to the first and to the second electrical connection (19, 21) and is designed to generate an output signal from an electrical signal that is detected between the first and the second electrical connection (19, 21), which output signal is a measure of the electrical resistance of the conductor element (11) between the first electrical connection (19) and the second electrical connection (21).

Claims

1.-12. (canceled)

13. A hose system comprising: a hose that extends between a first and a second end; the hose has a wall; a conductor element recessed in the wall and extends between the first and the second end; the conductor element formed from an electrically conductive material having a temperature-dependent specific resistance; the conductor element has a first portion and a second portion that parallel to each other in a helical manner; the conductor element has a first electrical connection to the first portion and a second electrical connection to the second portion that are spaced apart along the conductor element; the conductor element is formed as a reinforcement element; a measuring device connected to the first and to the second electrical connection and designed to generate an output signal from an electrical signal that is detected between the first and the second electrical connection, the output signal is a measure of the electrical resistance of the conductor element between the first electrical connection and the second electrical connection; the measuring device configured to generate a temperature signal from the output signal.

14. The hose system of claim 13, the wall of the hose is stiffened and the hose retains its cross-sectional shape in the event of a pressure difference between an environment of the hose and the hose interior and has a stability under negative pressure, relative to room temperature, of more than −0.5 bar (rel.) and further preferably of up to −0.95 bar (rel.).

15. The hose system of claim 13, the first portion and the second portion are electrically connected to one another in the region of the first end, and the first electrical connection is formed at the end of the first portion that is located at the second end of the hose and the second electrical connection is formed at the end of the second portion that is formed at the second end of the hose.

16. The hose system of claim 13, the wall has an inner layer and an outer layer, the inner layer delimits the hose interior, the outer layer bears against the side of the inner layer facing away from the hose interior, and the conductor element is arranged between the inner layer and the outer layer.

17. The hose system of claim 13, the measuring device having a temperature sensor for detecting an environment temperature of the hose.

18. The hose system of claim 17, the measuring device having a transmission device configured to wirelessly transmit to a receiving device a signal containing information indicating the resistance between the first electrical connection and the second electrical connection.

Description

[0026] In the following, the present invention is explained with reference to a drawing showing only preferred exemplary embodiments of the present invention, wherein

[0027] FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a preferred exemplary embodiment of a hose system according to the invention,

[0028] FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a preferred exemplary embodiment of a hose that is part of a hose system according to the invention, and

[0029] FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the preferred exemplary embodiment of a hose from FIG. 2.

[0030] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a hose system according to the invention, wherein this has a hose 1 which, in the exemplary embodiment described here, is provided with a connection element 5 at a first end 3. The second end 7 of the hose 1, on the other hand, is designed here as an open end, but can likewise be provided with a connection element. The hose 1 thus extends between the first end 3 and the second end 7. As further shown schematically, the hose 1 has a wall 9 which delimits a hose interior.

[0031] As can further be seen from the schematic illustration in FIG. 1, the wall 9 has a conductor element 11 which is recessed in the wall 9 and, in the exemplary embodiment shown here, comprises a first portion 13 and a second portion 15, both of which run helically along the wall 9. While in the preferred exemplary embodiment described here, the conductor element 11 or the portions 13, 15 forming it run helically, other courses can also be selected. For example, it is also conceivable that the conductor element runs in a straight line along the direction in which the hose extends.

[0032] The conductor element 11 is formed of an electrically conductive material, such as metal or steel, wherein the material of the conductor element 11 has a temperature-dependent specific resistance such that the resistance of the conductor element 11 changes as the temperature of a medium flowing through the interior of the hose 1 changes.

[0033] If the conductor element 11 is designed as a steel coil running helically along the wall 9 of the hose 1, the conductor element 11 can also form a reinforcement element so that the wall 9 is stiffened and the hose 1 retains its cross-sectional shape in the event of a pressure difference between the environment of the hose and the hose interior. Preferably, the hose 1 has a stability under negative pressure, relative to room temperature, of more than −0.5 bar (rel.) and further preferably of up to −0.95 bar (rel.). Then, the conductor element 11, which is designed as a reinforcement element, prevents the hose from collapsing in the event of negative pressure in the interior.

[0034] As can be further seen in FIG. 1, the portions 13, 15 of the conductor element 11 run substantially parallel to each other in a helical manner between the first end 3 and the second end 7 of the hose 1. Here, it can be seen that the first portion 13 and the second portion 15 are electrically connected to each other in the region of the first end 3 at a contact point 17 shown schematically, while a first electrical connection 19 and a second electrical connection 21 are provided at the ends of the first portion 13 and the second portion 15 which are arranged adjacently to the second end 7 of the hose 1.

[0035] As can be further seen in FIG. 1, the exemplary embodiment of a hose system according to the invention has a measuring device 23 that is connected to the first electrical connection 19 and the second electrical connection 21 of the conductor element 11. The measuring device 23 is designed to generate an output signal from an electrical signal that is detected between the first and the second electrical connection 19, 21, which output signal is a measure of the electrical resistance of the conductor element 11 between the first electrical connection 19 and the second electrical connection 21.

[0036] In the preferred exemplary embodiment shown here, the conductor element 11 has the first portion 13 and the second portion 15 connected to each other adjacently to the first end of the hose 1, so that between the first electrical connection 19 and the second electrical connection 21 the total resistance of the conductor element 11 consisting of the first portion 13 and the second portion 15 can be determined. Due to the fact that the resistance of the entire conductor element 11 is detected here, even small temperature-related changes in the specific resistance caused by only a small temperature change of the fluid in the interior of the hose 1 can be reliably detected, since the absolute resistance changes to the greatest possible extent due to the large length of the conductor element 11.

[0037] In a preferred exemplary embodiment, the signal that is a measure of the electrical resistance of the conductor element 11 between the electrical connections 19, 21 can be a voltage signal that is obtained by means of a measuring bridge in which the resistance of the conductor element 11 between the connections 19, 21 is a partial resistance in the measuring bridge. However, other possibilities are also conceivable for generating the output signal which forms a measure of the electrical resistance.

[0038] The measuring device 23 is additionally connected to a voltage supply 25, for example to supply voltage to the electronics for the measuring bridge. It is additionally preferred if the measuring device 23 is configured to generate a temperature signal which is output at an interface 27 and which is a measure of the temperature of the conductor element 11. This can be either an analog voltage signal or a digital signal. Other possibilities are likewise conceivable. It is also conceivable that a display (not shown) is provided on the measuring device 23, on which display the temperature of the conductor element 11 is indicated.

[0039] Furthermore, the preferred exemplary embodiment of a hose system 1 shown here has a temperature sensor 29 on the measuring device 23, by means of which sensor the temperature in the environment of the hose system can be detected. This temperature sensor 29 is used to calibrate the system, wherein this can be done in such a way that when the hose interior and the environment have the same temperature, the signal of the temperature sensor 29 is detected by the measuring device 23 and is compared with the signal detected at the connections 19, 21 in such a way that this signal corresponds to the detected ambient temperature.

[0040] Lastly, the measuring device 23 of the preferred exemplary embodiment of a hose system shown here can be provided with a transmission device 31 configured to wirelessly transmit a signal to a receiving device located remotely from the hose system, wherein this signal contains information indicating the resistance between the first electrical connection and the second electrical connection, or the temperature of the conductor element 11 determined therefrom.

[0041] With the hose system 1 according to the invention, it is possible in a simple manner to determine the temperature in the hose interior without having to install sensor devices inside the wall 9 in a complicated manner. Rather, it is perfectly sufficient to insert the electrical conductor in the wall during the production process, wherein, if the connections are provided at the end, a simple connection to the measuring device 23 is made possible.

[0042] In the present exemplary embodiment, the conductor element 11 has been described as being wire-shaped. However, it is also conceivable that the conductor element 11 is formed as a braid.

[0043] FIGS. 2 and 3 show a preferred exemplary embodiment of a hose 1 of a hose system according to the invention, wherein in the exemplary embodiment shown here the wall 9 of the hose 1 has an inner layer 33 and an outer layer 35, wherein the inner layer 33 delimits the hose interior 37, while the outer layer 35 surrounds the inner layer 33 and also bears against the inner layer 33.

[0044] In the exemplary embodiment described here, the inner layer 33 and the outer layer 35 are formed as homogeneous single layer. However, it is also conceivable that the inner layer and/or the outer layer are multi-layered.

[0045] Furthermore, between the outer layer 35 and the inner layer 33, the conductor element 11 is arranged, which, as can be seen in FIG. 2, is again formed from a first and a second portion 13, 15, which run helically and parallel to each other in the wall 9. As already described in conjunction with FIG. 1, the first portion 13 and the second portion 15 of the conductor element 11 are short-circuited to each other adjacently to the first end of the hose 1 at a contact point 17, while adjacently to the second end 7 of the hose 1 the first electrical connection 19 and the second electrical connection 21 are provided, via which the hose 1 can be connected to the measuring device 23.

[0046] As can be further seen in FIG. 2, this preferred exemplary embodiment of a hose 1 again has a connection element 5 at the first end 3. In addition, the wall 9 of the hose 1 is constructed in such a way that both the inner layer 33 and the outer layer 35 are formed of helically extending strips, wherein the edges 39 of the strips forming the inner layer 33 are arranged offset from the edges 41 present on the strips forming the outer layer 35.

[0047] In addition, also in the exemplary embodiment of a hose 1 for a hose system according to the invention shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the conductor element 11 or the portions 13, 15 forming the same can be formed as a steel coil, so that the conductor element 11 serves as a reinforcement element which provides the hose 1 with stability against collapse when a negative pressure prevails in the hose interior 37 compared to the environment.

[0048] In particular, if the inner layer 33 and the outer layer 35 are formed from helically arranged strips, the conductor element 11 in the form of the steel coil can be additionally inserted easily between the inner layer 33 and the outer layer 35 during production, so that no additional production steps are necessary compared to a conventional hose with a reinforcement element in order to allow temperature measurement. It is then only necessary, after the actual production of the hose 1, to short-circuit the two portions 11, 15 to one another at one end and to provide the first electrical connection 19 and the second electrical connection 21 at the other end 7. The invention thus makes it possible to provide a temperature measurement in a hose in a simple manner.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0049] 1 hose [0050] 3 first end [0051] 5 connection element [0052] 7 second end [0053] 9 wall [0054] 11 conductor element [0055] 13 first portion [0056] 15 second portion [0057] 17 contact point [0058] 19 first electrical connection [0059] 21 second electrical connection [0060] 23 measuring device [0061] 25 voltage supply [0062] 27 interface [0063] 29 temperature sensor [0064] 31 transmission device [0065] 33 inner layer [0066] 35 outer layer [0067] 37 hose interior