RADAR FILL LEVEL MEASURING DEVICE

• US 20200132533A1
• Filed: 10/24/2019
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: VEGA Grieshaber KG (Grieshaber Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH)
• Original Assignee: VEGA Grieshaber KG (Grieshaber Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH)
• Inventors: Welle, Roland, Fischer, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 11,499,860 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 23/282 for discrete levels G01F23/284, G01F23/296 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 23/284 Electromagnetic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 25/20 of apparatus for measuring liquid level
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/88 Radar or analogous systems specially adapted for specific applications electromagnetic prospecting or detecting of objects, e.g. near-field detection, G01V3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/027 Constructional details of housings, e.g. form, type, material or ruggedness
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/292 Extracting wanted echo-signals

Abstract

A fill level measuring device for determining a fill level of a medium is provided, including a radar module configured to emit a transmission signal and to receive a received signal reflected on the medium, a controller configured to detect, based on the received signal, a measurement signal correlating with the fill level, and including a detector configured to detect a movement signal indicating a movement of the fill level measuring device and/or a position signal indicating a geographic position of the fill level measuring device. The controller includes activation circuitry configured to at least partially activate and/or deactivate the radar module depending on the movement signal and/or on the position signal detected by the detector.

Claims

1. A fill level measuring device for detecting a fill level of a medium, the fill level measuring device comprising:

a radar module configured to emit a transmission signal and to receive a received signal reflected by the medium;

a controller configured to detect, based on the received signal, a measurement signal correlating with the fill level; and

a detector configured to detect a movement signal indicative of a movement of the fill level measuring device and/or a position signal indicative of a geographic position of the fill level measuring device,

wherein the controller comprises an activation circuitry configured to at least partially activate and/or deactivate the radar module depending on the movement signal and/or on the position signal detected by the detector.

2. The fill level measuring device of claim 1, wherein the activation circuitry of the controller is further configured to actuate the radar module on the basis of the movement signal and/or of the position signal, such that the radar module only transmits the transmission signal while the fill level measuring device does not move or is static.

3. The fill level measuring device of claim 1,

wherein the activation circuitry is further configured to detect, based on the movement signal and/or on the position signal, whether the fill level measuring device is located in a perimeter of a protected facility, and

wherein the activation circuitry is further configured to at least partially deactivate the radar module if the fill level measuring device is located in the perimeter of the protected facility.

4. The fill level measuring device of claim 3,

wherein the position signal is representative of a current geographic position of the fill level measuring device and/or correlates with a current position of the fill level measuring device, and

wherein the activation circuitry is further configured to detect, based on a comparison of the current position of the fill level measuring device with position data defining the perimeter of the protected facility, whether the fill level measuring device is located in the perimeter of the protected facility.

5. The fill level measuring device of claim 4,

wherein the position data defining the perimeter of the protected facility is stored in a memory of the fill level measuring device, and/or

wherein the fill level measuring device is configured to retrieve the position data defining the perimeter of the protected facility via remote querying.

6. The fill level measuring device of claim 1,

wherein the detector comprises at least one sensor configured to detect the movement signal and/or the position signal, and

wherein the at least one sensor is selected from the group consisting of Doppler sensor, acceleration sensor, gyro sensor, vibration sensor, geomagnetic field sensor, and position sensor.

7. The fill level measuring device of claim 1,

wherein the detector is configured to detect a first position signal at a first time instant and a second position signal at a second time instant, which differs from the first time instant, and

wherein the detector is further configured to detect the movement signal based on a comparison of the first position signal and the second position signal.

8. The fill level measuring device of claim 1, further comprising:

a communication circuitry configured to transmit wireless and/or via a wireless network the measurement signal and/or a measurement value correlating with the measurement signal to a receiver.

9. The fill level measuring device of claim 8,

wherein the detector is coupled with the communication circuitry, and

wherein the detector is configured to detect the movement signal and/or the position signal based on the position data received via the communication circuitry.

10. The fill level measuring device of claim 1, wherein the detector is at least partially integrated in the controller.

11. The fill level measuring device of claim 1,

wherein the radar module comprises a high frequency circuitry configured to generate the transmission signal and an antenna configured to transmit the transmission signal and to receive the received signal, and

wherein the activation circuitry is further configured to activate and/or deactivate the high frequency circuitry and/or the antenna depending on the movement signal and/or on the position signal detected by the detector.

12. The fill level measuring device of claim 1,

wherein the fill level measuring device further comprises a housing, which completely and/or permanently encloses the radar module, the controller, and the detector, and/or

wherein the fill level measuring device is configured to be completely cable-free to an exterior of the fill level measuring device.

13. The fill level measuring device of claim 1, further comprising:

an energy supply, which is arranged in a housing of the fill level measuring device and which is configured to supply the radar module, the controller, and the detector with electrical energy.

14. The fill level measuring device of claim 1, wherein the fill level measuring device is a limit level switch configured to detect a limit level of the medium.

15. A method for operating a fill level measuring device according to claim 1, the method comprising the steps of:

detecting, by means of a detector of the fill level measuring device, a movement signal indicative of a movement of the fill level measuring device and/or a position signal indicative of a geographic position of the fill level measuring device; and

activating and/or deactivating, by a controller of the fill level measuring device, at least a part of a radar module of the fill level measuring device depending on the detected movement signal and/or on the detected position signal.