Ultrasonic flow sensor and method of attaching the same
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An ultrasonic flow sensor comprising:
- a first sensor unit including a first ultrasonic device which performs at least one of transmission of ultrasonic waves to a fluid flowing in piping or reception of ultrasonic waves from the fluid flowing in the piping;
a second sensor unit including a second ultrasonic device which performs at least the other one of transmission of ultrasonic waves to a fluid flowing in the piping or reception of ultrasonic waves from the fluid flowing in the piping;
a calculation part configured to calculate a flow rate of the fluid in the piping by obtaining a time difference between times required for ultrasonic waves to propagate from an upstream side to a downstream side and from the downstream side to the upstream side of the fluid flowing in the piping based on output signals from the first ultrasonic device and the second ultrasonic device;
a first fitting configured to accommodate the first sensor unit and fix the first sensor unit to the piping, the first fitting including a first position regulating portion configured to come into contact with an outer peripheral surface of the piping so as to align orientation of the first ultrasonic device with respect to the second ultrasonic device in an axial direction of the piping when viewing in a radial direction of the piping and a first housing portion configured to accommodate the first sensor unit from the opposite side of the piping with respect to the first position regulating portion; and
a second fitting configured to accommodate the second sensor unit and fix the second sensor unit to the piping, the second fitting including a second position regulating portion configured to come into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the piping so as to align orientation of the second ultrasonic device with respect to the first ultrasonic device in the axial direction of the piping when viewing in the radial direction of the piping, and a second housing portion configured to accommodate the second sensor unit from the opposite side of the piping with respect to the second position regulating portion,wherein the first and second fittings further include;
a pair of first and second arm portions extending from one of the first housing portion and the second housing portion to the other to regulate the relative position between the first housing portion and the second housing portion in a circumferential direction of the piping on both sides of a plane including the axial line of the piping, the first ultrasonic device, and the second ultrasonic device; and
a guide portion formed at least on the arm portions and configured to guide relative positioning between the first fitting and the second fitting in the axial direction of the piping according to a diameter of the piping.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
To position first and second sensor units easily at adequate positions simply by an operation for fixing a fitting to given piping. A first fitting for a first sensor unit and a second fitting for a second sensor unit are provided. The first and second fittings include a pair of arm portions configured to regulate relative position between the first sensor unit and the second sensor unit in a circumferential direction of the piping, and a guide portion formed at least on the arm portions, and configured to guide relative positioning between the first fitting and the second fitting in an axial direction of the piping according to a diameter of the piping.
-
Citations
15 Claims
-
1. An ultrasonic flow sensor comprising:
-
a first sensor unit including a first ultrasonic device which performs at least one of transmission of ultrasonic waves to a fluid flowing in piping or reception of ultrasonic waves from the fluid flowing in the piping; a second sensor unit including a second ultrasonic device which performs at least the other one of transmission of ultrasonic waves to a fluid flowing in the piping or reception of ultrasonic waves from the fluid flowing in the piping; a calculation part configured to calculate a flow rate of the fluid in the piping by obtaining a time difference between times required for ultrasonic waves to propagate from an upstream side to a downstream side and from the downstream side to the upstream side of the fluid flowing in the piping based on output signals from the first ultrasonic device and the second ultrasonic device; a first fitting configured to accommodate the first sensor unit and fix the first sensor unit to the piping, the first fitting including a first position regulating portion configured to come into contact with an outer peripheral surface of the piping so as to align orientation of the first ultrasonic device with respect to the second ultrasonic device in an axial direction of the piping when viewing in a radial direction of the piping and a first housing portion configured to accommodate the first sensor unit from the opposite side of the piping with respect to the first position regulating portion; and a second fitting configured to accommodate the second sensor unit and fix the second sensor unit to the piping, the second fitting including a second position regulating portion configured to come into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the piping so as to align orientation of the second ultrasonic device with respect to the first ultrasonic device in the axial direction of the piping when viewing in the radial direction of the piping, and a second housing portion configured to accommodate the second sensor unit from the opposite side of the piping with respect to the second position regulating portion, wherein the first and second fittings further include;
a pair of first and second arm portions extending from one of the first housing portion and the second housing portion to the other to regulate the relative position between the first housing portion and the second housing portion in a circumferential direction of the piping on both sides of a plane including the axial line of the piping, the first ultrasonic device, and the second ultrasonic device; and
a guide portion formed at least on the arm portions and configured to guide relative positioning between the first fitting and the second fitting in the axial direction of the piping according to a diameter of the piping. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. A method of attaching an ultrasonic flow sensor comprising:
-
preparing the ultrasonic flow sensor including a first sensor unit including a first ultrasonic device which performs at least one of transmission of ultrasonic waves to a fluid flowing in piping and reception of ultrasonic waves from the fluid flowing in the piping; a second sensor unit including a second ultrasonic device which performs at least the other one of transmission of ultrasonic waves to a fluid flowing in the piping and reception of ultrasonic waves from the fluid flowing in the piping; a calculation part configured to calculate a flow rate of the fluid in the piping by obtaining a time difference between times required for ultrasonic waves to propagate from an upstream side to a downstream side and from the downstream side to the upstream side of the fluid flowing in the piping; a first fitting configured to accommodate the first sensor unit and fix the first sensor unit to the piping, the first fitting including a first position regulating portion configured to come into contact with an outer peripheral surface of the piping so as to align orientation of the first ultrasonic device with respect to the second ultrasonic device in an axial direction of the piping when viewing in a radial direction of the piping and a first housing portion configured to accommodate the first sensor unit from an opposite side of the piping with respect to the first position regulating portion; a second fitting configured to accommodate the second sensor unit and fix the second sensor unit to the piping, the second fitting including a second position regulating portion configured to come into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the piping so as to align orientation of the second ultrasonic device with respect to the first ultrasonic device in the axial direction of the piping when viewing in the radial direction of the piping, and a second housing portion configured to accommodate the second sensor unit from the opposite side of the piping with respect to the second position regulating portion; and a fixing member configured to press and fix the first fitting and the second fitting with respect to the piping, wherein the first and second fittings further include;
a pair of arm portions extending from one of the first housing portion and the second housing portion to the other to regulate the relative position between the first housing portion and the second housing portion in a circumferential direction of the piping on both sides of a plane including the axial line of the piping, the first ultrasonic device, and the second ultrasonic device; and
a guide portion formed at least on the arm portions and configured to guide relative positioning between the first fitting and the second fitting in the axial direction of the piping according to a diameter of the piping;a first step of provisionally fixing the second sensor unit to the piping by using the second fitting; a second step of rotating the second fitting in the circumferential direction of the piping after the first step; a third step of provisionally fixing the first sensor unit to the piping by using the first fitting and adjusting relative position between the first fitting and the second fitting based on an action of information conversion mechanism before the provisional fixation after the second step; and fixing the first fitting and the second fitting to the piping after the third step. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
-
Specification