Flow meter system with remote displays for each discharge

• US 6,085,586 A
• Filed: 09/24/1998
• Issued: 07/11/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fire Research Corp. (Safe Fleet Holdings LLC)
• Original Assignee: HY-PRO Corporation (Donaldson Company Incorporated)
• Inventors: Arvidson, Lawrence C., Brown, Duane A., Horeck, Robert S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Noori, Max
• Assistant Examiner(s): PATEL, JAGDISH C
• Application Number:
  US09/159,946
• Time in Patent Office: 656 Days
• Field of Search: 73/198, 73/201, 73/195, 73/196, 73/197, 73/861, 73/861.8, 222/25, 222/28, 222/36, 222/40, 222/71, 222/74, 222/75, 169/5, 169/14, 169/16, 239/74
• US Class Current: 73/201
• CPC Class Codes: A62C 5/02 of foam
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 1/053 using rotating vanes with tangential and axial admission
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 15/0755 involving digital counting

Abstract

A system for monitoring the volume rate of flow and total volume of liquid being drawn from a supply by way of a plurality of discharge conduits includes a flow meter transducer for associated individually with each of the discharge conduits with the transducers providing pulse information to associated flow meter circuits that are connected in series relationship with one another and to a master control module. Each of the individual flow meter circuits includes a pair of microprocessors, one for determining from the pulse information of its associated transducer the volume rate of flow of liquid out its associated discharge conduit. The second microprocessor is programmed to combine the flow information from its own transducer with combined flow information from an adjacent upstream flow meter circuit in the series string and produces a combined flow output signal for delivery to an adjacent downstream flow meter circuit. In this fashion, flow information associated with each of the discharge conduits can be individually displayed with the total volume rate of flow information being presented on a visual display associated with the master controller.

Claims

1. Apparatus for measuring and displaying volume rate of flow data and total flow data of fluid being drawn from a plurality of discharge conduits comprising:

(a) a plurality of flow meter circuits individually associated with said plurality of discharge conduits, said plurality of flow meter circuits being connected in series relation with each other;

(b) each flow meter circuit including;

(i) a flow transducer producing pulses at a frequency proportional to a rate of flow of the fluid passing through an associated discharge conduit,

(ii) a first microprocessor coupled to the flow transducer to receive the pulses, said first microprocessor counting said pulses and converting said pulses count into the volume rate of flow data and total flow data,

(iii) a second microprocessor including a first input coupled to a first output of the first microprocessor for receiving the volume rate of flow data from an associated flow meter circuit, a second input for receiving volume rate of flow data from an adjacent upstream flow meter circuit in the series relation, said second microprocessor programmed to compute a combined volume rate of flow value from the adjacent upstream flow meter circuit and the associated flow meter circuit, and an output coupled to an adjacent downstream flow meter circuit in the series relation for delivering the combined volume rate of flow value; and

(c) a visual display device coupled to a second output of the first microprocessor for selectively providing a visual manifestation of said volume rate of flow data and total flow data from the associated discharge conduit.

2. A fluid handling system including at least one fluid supply reservoir connected to a manifold, a plurality of fluid discharge outlets in fluid communication with said manifold, a flow meter system for measuring and displaying a volume rate of flow data and total flow data of said fluid from each of said plurality of fluid discharge outlets and for displaying a total flow and individual flow of said fluid from said plurality of fluid discharge outlets, said flow meter system comprising in combination:

(a) a plurality of flow meter circuits, each of said plurality of flow meter circuits including.

(i) a flow responsive transducer producing output pulses at a rate proportional to the volume rate of flow of said fluid across said flow responsive transducer,

(ii) a first microprocessor coupled to said flow responsive transducer to receive the output pulses, said first microprocessor programmed for counting the output pulses and converting the output pulses count into the volume rate of flow data and total flow data of said fluid,

(iii) alpha/numeric display means coupled to the first microprocessor for selectively displaying the volume rate of flow data and total flow data of said fluid,

(iv) a second microprocessor coupled to the first microprocessor for receiving the volume rate of flow data;

(b) said plurality of flow meter circuits being connected in a serial string with a controller for selectively displaying the total flow and individual flow of said fluid from said plurality of discharge outlets;

(c) the second microprocessor in one of the flow meter circuits receiving the volume rate of flow data from the first microprocessor of same said one of the flow meter circuits and a volume rate of flow data from a second microprocessor of an adjacent upstream one of the flow meter circuits and programmed to compute a combined volume rate of flow value from said adjacent upstream one of the flow meter circuits and the same said one of the flow meter circuits; and

(d) means for applying the combined volume rate of flow value from said one of the flow meter circuits to a second microprocessor of a downstream one of the flow meter circuits.