Flow meter monitoring and data logging system

• US 20060235629A1
• Filed: 05/21/2003
• Published: 10/19/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Micro Motion Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: Micro Motion Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Inventors: Adams, Robert E., Hays, Paul J., Gronlie, Neal B., Walker, Jeffrey S.
• Application Number:
  US10/536,099
• Publication Number:
  US 20060235629A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/45
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 1/74 Devices for measuring flow of a fluid or flow of a fluent solid material in suspension in another fluid
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 15/063 using electrical means
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 25/10 of flowmeters

Abstract

A flow meter monitoring system (400) is provided according to an embodiment of the invention. The flow meter monitoring system (400) includes a communication interface (401) configured to receive flow meter output, a pre-error memory (407), an error log (409), and a processing system (403) configured to communicate with the communication interface (401), the pre-error memory (407), and the error log (409). The processing system (403) is further configured to capture the flow meter output into the pre-error memory (407), with the flow meter output overwriting an oldest flow meter output stored in the pre-error memory (407), detect a predetermined start triggering condition in the flow meter output, transfer a pre-error memory data from the pre-error memory (407) into the error log (409) when the predetermined stat triggering condition is detected, and capture the flow meter output into the error log (409) after the predetermined start triggering condition is detected.

Claims

1. A method of monitoring a flow meter, the method comprising the steps of:

capturing a flow meter output into a pre-error memory, with the flow meter output overwriting an oldest flow meter output stored in the pre-error memory;

detecting a predetermined start triggering condition in the flow meter output;

transferring a pre-error memory data into an error log when the predetermined start triggering condition is detected; and

capturing the flow meter output in the error log after the predetermined start triggering condition is detected.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising a preliminary step of accepting a user input that configures the predetermined start triggering condition.

3. The method of claim 1, with the capturing comprising capturing the flow meter output in the error log for a predetermined time period after the predetermined start triggering condition is detected.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the subsequent steps of:

detecting a predetermined end triggering condition in the flow meter output; and

reverting to capturing the flow meter output into the pre-error memory after the predetermined end triggering condition is detected.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising a preliminary step of accepting a user input that configures the predetermined end triggering condition.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein hysteresis exists between the predetermined start triggering condition and the predetermined end triggering condition.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing a meter identifier in the error log, with the meter identifier corresponding to and identifying the flow meter generating the flow meter output.

8. The method of claim 1, with the flow meter comprising a Coriolis flow meter.

9. A flow meter monitoring system (400) comprising:

a communication interface (401) configured to receive flow meter output;

a pre-error memory (407);

an error log (409); and

a processing system (403) configured to communicate with the communication interface (401), the pre-error memory (407), and the error log (409), capture the flow meter output into the pre-error memory (407), with the flow meter output overwriting an oldest flow meter output stored in the pre-error memory (407), detect a predetermined start triggering condition in the flow meter output, transfer a pre-error memory data from the pre-error memory (407) into the error log (409) when the predetermined start triggering condition is detected, and capture the flow meter output into the error log (409) after the predetermined start triggering condition is detected.

10. The flow meter monitoring system (400) of claim 9, wherein the predetermined start triggering condition (406) is stored in a memory (404) of the flow meter monitoring system (400).

11. The flow meter monitoring system (400) of claim 9, wherein the pre-error memory (407) is stored in a memory (404) of the flow meter monitoring system (400).

12. The flow meter monitoring system (400) of claim 9, wherein the error log (409) is stored in a memory (404) of the flow meter monitoring system (400).

13. The flow meter monitoring system (400) of claim 9, wherein the error log (409) is stored external to the flow meter monitoring system (400).

14. The flow meter monitoring system (400) of claim 9, wherein the predetermined start triggering condition is user-settable.

15. The flow meter monitoring system (400) of claim 9, wherein the processing system (403) is further configured to capture the flow meter output in the error log (409) for a predetermined time period after the predetermined start triggering condition is detected

16. The flow meter monitoring system (400) of claim 9, wherein the processing system (403) is further configured to detect a predetermined end triggering condition in the meter output and revert to capturing the flow meter output into the pre-error memory (407) after the predetermined start triggering condition is detected.

17. The flow meter monitoring system (400) of claim 16, wherein the predetermined end triggering condition is user-settable.

18. The flow meter monitoring system (400) of claim 16, wherein hysteresis exists between the predetermined start triggering condition and the predetermined end triggering condition.

19. The flow meter monitoring system (400) of claim 9, with the flow meter monitoring system (400) being configured to monitor a Coriolis flow meter.

20. A flow meter monitoring software product for monitoring a flow meter, the software product comprising:

control software configured to direct a processing system to capture a flow meter output into a pre-error memory, with the flow meter output overwriting an oldest flow meter output stored in the pre-error memory, detect a predetermined start triggering condition in the flow meter output, transfer a pre-error memory data into an error log when the predetermined start triggering condition is detected, and capture the flow meter output in the error log after the predetermined start triggering condition is detected; and

a storage system that stores the control software.