阅读说明：本技术 多传感器磁致伸缩液位计以及液位检测方法 (Multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level meter and liquid level detection method ) 是由 呼秀山 李圆圆 于 2021-07-20 设计创作，主要内容包括：本公开提供一种多传感器磁致伸缩液位计,其包括：浮子,所述浮子包括磁性部；波导丝,所述波导丝被施加脉冲电流以使得所述波导丝在所述浮子位置产生扭转波脉冲；以及振动传感器,所述振动传感器用于检测所述波导丝所产生的扭转波脉冲；其中,所述振动传感器设置为至少两个,所述至少两个振动传感器沿所述波导丝的长度方向设置；以便根据至少两个振动传感器中的至少一个振动传感器所检测的同一个波导丝产生的扭转波脉冲,获得浮子的当前位置。本公开还提供一种液位检测方法。(The present disclosure provides a multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge, comprising: a float comprising a magnetic portion; a wave guide wire to which a pulse current is applied to cause the wave guide wire to generate a torsional wave pulse at the float position; and a vibration sensor for detecting torsional wave pulses generated by the wave guide wire; wherein the number of the vibration sensors is at least two, and the at least two vibration sensors are arranged along the length direction of the waveguide wire; so as to obtain the current position of the float based on the torsional wave pulse generated by the same wave guide wire and detected by at least one of the at least two vibration sensors. The disclosure also provides a liquid level detection method.)

1. A multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge, comprising:

a float comprising a magnetic portion;

the outer sleeve of the magnetostrictive liquid level meter is provided with the floater, and the floater slides along the outer sleeve along with the change of the liquid level;

a wave guide wire to which a pulse current is applied to cause the wave guide wire to generate a torsional wave pulse at the float position; and

a vibration sensor for detecting torsional wave pulses generated by the wave guide wire;

wherein the number of the vibration sensors is at least two, and the at least two vibration sensors are arranged along the length direction of the waveguide wire; so as to obtain the current position of the float according to the torsional wave pulse generated by the same wave guide wire and detected by at least one of the at least two vibration sensors.

2. The multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge according to claim 1, characterized in that the number of floats is at least one, and the position of at least one liquid level is obtained from the current position of said at least one float.

3. A multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the vibration sensor is fixed in position relative to the wave guide wire and each vibration sensor has an initial value of position.

4. The multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge according to claim 1, wherein the vibration sensor is fixed to a holder, wherein the holder is fixed to an inner wall of the outer sleeve;

and/or the vibration sensor is fixed on a fixing rod, wherein the fixing rod is fixed on the inner wall of the outer sleeve;

and/or the vibration sensor is fixed on a plastic pipe or a metal pipe for guiding the waveguide wire; and is fixed to the plastic or metal tube by means of a thread or screw lock;

and/or the vibration sensor is fixed on a fixed wire, and a tensioner is arranged at the bottom of the fixed wire.

5. The multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge according to claim 1, wherein the vibration sensor comprises a coil through which the wave guide wire passes;

and/or, the vibration sensor comprises a piezoelectric ceramic;

and/or the vibration sensor comprises a coil which is not wound on the waveguide wire, and then a small magnet is fixed on the waveguide wire and is arranged in the coil which is not wound on the waveguide wire.

6. A multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the vibration sensors share a protective sleeve.

7. The multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge according to claim 1, characterized in that the vibration sensor has a signal amplification function.

8. The multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge according to claim 7, wherein the vibration sensor has a circuit board with a power supply circuit and a signal amplification circuit, and the vibration sensor amplifies the torsional wave pulses through the signal amplification circuit to detect weak torsional wave pulses.

9. The multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge according to claim 1, characterized in that the magnetostrictive liquid level gauge has a loop current generator for applying a current to the waveguide wire.

10. The multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge according to claim 1, characterized in that the magnetostrictive liquid level gauge has a power supply module for supplying power to the vibration sensor and the calculation control module.

11. The multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge according to claim 1, characterized in that the magnetostrictive liquid level gauge has a display for displaying the obtained waveform information, the waveform curve, of the at least two vibration sensors.

12. The multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge according to claim 1, characterized in that the magnetostrictive liquid level gauge has an arithmetic control module for recording the initial value of the position of the vibration sensor, processing the signals received during the analysis detection, controlling the current generator of the loop, controlling the display and/or other modules, and thereby calculating the current position of the float.

13. A liquid level detection method implemented with the multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge according to any one of claims 1-12, the liquid level detection method comprising:

a loop current generator applies a pulsed current to the wave guide wire to cause the wave guide wire to generate a torsional wave pulse at the float position; and

and detecting the torsional wave pulse generated by the wave guide wire through at least one of the vibration sensors to obtain the current position of the floater, so as to detect the liquid level of the floater.

14. A liquid level detection method as claimed in claim 13, comprising: and obtaining the time of the torsional wave pulse generated by the wave guide wire reaching the vibration sensor.

15. The liquid level detecting method according to claim 14,

the multi-channel signal comparators are connected with the signal amplifying circuits, and when the peak value of the signal output by the signal amplifying circuit is larger than a preset threshold value, the corresponding signal comparators output signals for stopping timing outwards; and

and the multi-path timer is connected with the multi-path signal comparator, starts the multi-path timer when the loop current generator applies current to the waveguide wire, and stops timing corresponding to the timer when the multi-path timer receives a signal which is sent by the signal comparator and stops timing, so that the time of the torsional wave pulse generated by the waveguide wire reaching the vibration sensor is obtained.

16. The liquid level detecting method according to claim 14,

the multi-path data acquisition module is connected with a signal amplification circuit of the vibration sensor, the loop current generator applies pulse current to the waveguide wire and simultaneously starts the multi-path data sampling module, the vibration sensor receives torsional wave pulses generated by the waveguide wire, amplifies the signals through the signal amplification circuit and transmits the amplified signals to the multi-path data sampling module, and therefore the time of the torsional wave pulses generated by the waveguide wire reaching the vibration sensor is obtained.

17. The liquid level detecting method according to claim 14,

the multi-way selector switch is connected with the signal amplification circuit of the vibration sensor and used for selecting one signal of the vibration sensor from the vibration sensors and outputting the selected signal to the outside;

the single-path data acquisition module is connected with the multi-path selector switch, the loop current generator applies pulse current to the waveguide wire and simultaneously starts the single-path data acquisition module to acquire the vibration sensor signal selected by the multi-path selector switch, so that the time of the torsional wave pulse generated by the waveguide wire reaching the vibration sensor is obtained.

18. The liquid level detecting method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the switching time interval of the multi-way switch is fixed and controlled by the operation control module, and the acquisition of all signals is completed by applying pulse current to the waveguide wire for a plurality of times.

19. A liquid level detection method as claimed in claim 13, comprising: and obtaining the actual transmission speed of the torsional wave pulse generated by the waveguide wire on the waveguide wire.

20. The liquid level detecting method as claimed in claim 19, wherein when the torsional wave pulse is detected by the ith vibration sensor and the jth vibration sensor, the velocity V of the torsional wave pulse is obtained based on initial values of positions of the ith vibration sensor and the jth vibration sensor and a time difference between the detection of the torsional wave pulse by the ith vibration sensor and the jth vibration sensor; the ith vibration sensor and the jth vibration sensor may be both located on the same side of the float, or may be located on both sides of the float.

21. A liquid level detection method as claimed in claim 13, comprising: the current position of the float is obtained, and the liquid level at which the float is located is detected.

22. The liquid level detecting method as claimed in claim 21, wherein the vibration sensor detects a torsional wave pulse generated by the wave guide wire, obtains a distance between the float and the vibration sensor, and obtains the current position of the float based on an initial value of the position of the vibration sensor and the distance between the float and the vibration sensor.

23. The liquid level detecting method according to claim 22, wherein the distance Li between the float and the vibration sensor is obtained based on a time value of a pulse current applied to the waveguide wire by the loop current generator, a time value of the torsional wave pulse detected by an ith vibration sensor, and a speed V of the torsional wave pulse; the initial value of the position of the vibration sensor is Di:

when the ith vibration sensor is positioned above the liquid level, the position Pi of the floater is Di-Li;

when the i-th vibration sensor is located below the liquid level, the position Pi of the float is Di + Li.

24. The liquid level detecting method according to claim 23,

the distance Li of the float with respect to the vibration sensor is equal to 0 when the position of the float and the vibration sensor are the same.

25. The liquid level detecting method as claimed in claim 21, wherein at least some of the vibration sensors detect the torsional wave pulse generated by the wave guide wire to obtain a relative distance between the float and the vibration sensor; and obtaining the position of the floater according to the initial value of the position of the vibration sensor and the relative distance between the floater and the vibration sensor.

26. The liquid level detecting method according to claim 25, wherein a distance Li of the float from each vibration sensor is calculated by measuring a time when the torsional wave pulse reaches each vibration sensor, where i is 1 to n, and n is the number of vibration sensors; obtaining the positions Pi of the floats detected by the vibration sensors according to the initial position values Di of the vibration sensors; and when the absolute value of the difference value between the position Pj of the floater detected by the jth vibration sensor and the positions of the floaters detected by other vibration sensors is larger than a preset threshold value, removing the position Pj of the floater detected by the jth vibration sensor, and obtaining the current position of the floater according to the positions of the floaters detected by other vibration sensors after the jth vibration sensor is removed.

27. The liquid level detecting method as claimed in claim 25, wherein the current position of the float is obtained from a weighted average of the positions Pi of the floats detected by the vibration sensors, thereby detecting the liquid level at which the float is located.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein a vibration sensor proximate to the float has a greater weight than a vibration sensor distal from the float.

29. The liquid level detecting method as claimed in claim 21, wherein when the torsional wave pulse generated by the waveguide wire is detected by the ith vibration sensor and the jth vibration sensor, the difference between the time when the pulse current is applied to the waveguide wire and the time when the torsional wave pulse is detected by the ith vibration sensor is Ti, the difference between the time when the pulse current is applied to the waveguide wire and the time when the torsional wave pulse is detected by the jth vibration sensor is Tj, and the present position of the float is obtained according to the time difference Ti and the time difference Tj, so as to detect the liquid level of the float, wherein the ith vibration sensor and the jth vibration sensor may be located on both sides of the float or on the same side of the float.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level meter and a liquid level detection method.

Background

When the magnetostrictive liquid level meter works, pulse current is excited on the waveguide wire, and when the pulse current propagates along the waveguide wire, a pulse current magnetic field is generated around the waveguide wire. A magnetic float is arranged on the external sleeve of the magnetostrictive liquid level meter and slides along the external sleeve along with the change of the liquid level. When the pulse current magnetic field meets the magnetic field generated by the magnetic floater, the magnetic field around the magnetic floater changes so that the waveguide wire made of magnetostrictive materials generates a torsional wave pulse at the position of the magnetic floater, the torsional wave pulse is a mechanical vibration wave, the torsional wave pulse propagates to the two ends of the waveguide wire at a fixed speed, and after the torsional wave pulse is detected by the sensing unit of the magnetostrictive liquid level meter, the position of the magnetic floater, namely the position of the liquid level, can be accurately determined by calculating the time difference between the excitation pulse current and the torsional wave pulse.

In practical applications, when the measuring range is increased, the torsional wave pulse on the waveguide wire is a mechanical vibration wave and can be attenuated along with the increase of the transmission distance. For large-scale measurement, for example, in a range of more than 30 meters, the torsional wave pulse attenuates with the increase of the transmission distance, so that the finally detected signal is weak, and even if the signal is amplified by the amplifying circuit, the signal is submerged by noise, so that the result of unreliable measurement cannot be obtained. Meanwhile, the propagation speed of the torsional wave pulse of the magnetostrictive liquid level meter on the waveguide wire has errors (for example, the torsional wave pulse is influenced by temperature), so that the measurement errors are accumulated continuously along with the increase of the measuring range.

Chinese patent publication CN109540266A discloses a magnetostrictive liquid level meter and a liquid level measuring method, which increase the measuring range by using multiple measuring units and multiple waveguide wires, but this structure needs to provide electric energy to multiple waveguide wires, and also needs multiple processing circuits to process the torsional wave, which is inconvenient to use.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve one of the above technical problems, the present disclosure provides a multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level meter and a liquid level detection method.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge comprising:

a float comprising a magnetic portion;

the outer sleeve of the magnetostrictive liquid level meter is provided with the floater, and the floater slides along the outer sleeve along with the change of the liquid level;

a wave guide wire to which a pulse current is applied to cause the wave guide wire to generate a torsional wave pulse at the float position; and

a vibration sensor for detecting torsional wave pulses generated by the wave guide wire;

wherein the number of the vibration sensors is at least two, and the at least two vibration sensors are arranged along the length direction of the waveguide wire; so as to obtain the current position of the float according to the torsional wave pulse generated by the same wave guide wire and detected by at least one of the at least two vibration sensors.

According to the multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level meter of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the number of the floats is at least one, and the position of at least one liquid level can be obtained through the current position of the at least one float.

According to the multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level meter of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the relative position of the vibration sensor and the waveguide wire is fixed, and each vibration sensor has an initial value of position.

According to the multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level meter of at least one embodiment of the disclosure, the vibration sensor is fixed on a holder, wherein the holder is fixed on the inner wall of the outer sleeve;

and/or the vibration sensor is fixed on a fixing rod, wherein the fixing rod is fixed on the inner wall of the outer sleeve;

and/or the vibration sensor is fixed on a plastic pipe or a metal pipe for guiding the waveguide wire; and is fixed to the plastic or metal tube by means of a thread or screw lock;

and/or the vibration sensor is fixed on a fixed wire, and a tensioner is arranged at the bottom of the fixed wire.

A multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the vibration sensor comprising a coil through which the wave guide wire passes;

and/or, the vibration sensor comprises a piezoelectric ceramic;

and/or the vibration sensor comprises a coil which is not wound on the waveguide wire, and then a small magnet is fixed on the waveguide wire and is arranged in the coil which is not wound on the waveguide wire.

In accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the vibration sensors share a protective sleeve.

According to the multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level meter of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the vibration sensor has a signal amplification function.

According to the multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level meter of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the vibration sensor has a circuit board, and the circuit board has a power supply circuit and a signal amplification circuit thereon, and the vibration sensor amplifies the torsional wave pulse through the signal amplification circuit so as to detect a weak torsional wave pulse.

A multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level meter according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure has a loop current generator for applying a current to the waveguide wire.

According to the multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level meter of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the magnetostrictive liquid level meter has a power supply module for supplying power to the vibration sensor and the operational control module.

A multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level meter according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure has a display for displaying the obtained waveform information, waveform profile, of the at least two vibration sensors.

According to the multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level meter of at least one embodiment of the disclosure, the magnetostrictive liquid level meter is provided with an operation control module, and the operation control module is used for recording the position initial value of the vibration sensor, processing and analyzing signals received in the detection process, controlling a loop current generator, controlling a display and/or other modules, and calculating to obtain the current position of the floater.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a liquid level detection method implemented by the above-mentioned multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level meter, the liquid level detection method comprising:

a loop current generator applies a pulsed current to the wave guide wire to cause the wave guide wire to generate a torsional wave pulse at the float position; and

and detecting the torsional wave pulse generated by the wave guide wire through at least one of the vibration sensors to obtain the current position of the floater, so as to detect the liquid level of the floater.

A liquid level detection method according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure includes: and obtaining the time of the torsional wave pulse generated by the wave guide wire reaching the vibration sensor.

According to the liquid level detection method of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, a plurality of signal comparators are connected to each signal amplification circuit, and when a peak value of a signal output by the signal amplification circuit is greater than a preset threshold value, the corresponding signal comparator outputs a signal for stopping timing; and

and the multi-path timer is connected with the multi-path signal comparator, starts the multi-path timer when the loop current generator applies current to the waveguide wire, and stops timing corresponding to the timer when the multi-path timer receives a signal which is sent by the signal comparator and stops timing, so that the time of the torsional wave pulse generated by the waveguide wire reaching the vibration sensor is obtained.

According to the liquid level detection method of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, a plurality of data acquisition modules are connected to a signal amplification circuit of the vibration sensor, the loop current generator applies a pulse current to the waveguide wire and simultaneously starts the plurality of data sampling modules, the vibration sensor receives a torsional wave pulse generated by the waveguide wire, amplifies the signal by the signal amplification circuit, and transmits the amplified signal to the plurality of data sampling modules, so as to obtain the time of the torsional wave pulse generated by the waveguide wire reaching the vibration sensor.

According to the liquid level detection method of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, a multi-way selector switch is connected to a signal amplification circuit of the vibration sensors, and is used for selecting a signal of one of the vibration sensors to be output outwards;

the single-path data acquisition module is connected with the multi-path selector switch, the loop current generator applies pulse current to the waveguide wire and simultaneously starts the single-path data acquisition module to acquire the vibration sensor signal selected by the multi-path selector switch, so that the time of the torsional wave pulse generated by the waveguide wire reaching the vibration sensor is obtained.

According to the liquid level detection method of at least one embodiment of the disclosure, the switching time interval of the multi-way selector switch is fixed and is controlled by the operation control module, and all signals are acquired by applying pulse current to the waveguide wire for multiple times.

A liquid level detection method according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure includes: and obtaining the actual transmission speed of the torsional wave pulse generated by the waveguide wire on the waveguide wire.

According to the liquid level detection method of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the torsional wave pulse is detected by the ith vibration sensor and the jth vibration sensor, the speed V of the torsional wave pulse is obtained according to initial values of positions of the ith vibration sensor and the jth vibration sensor and a time difference between the detection of the torsional wave pulse by the ith vibration sensor and the jth vibration sensor; the ith vibration sensor and the jth vibration sensor may be both located on the same side of the float, or may be located on both sides of the float.

A liquid level detection method according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure includes: the current position of the float is obtained, and the liquid level at which the float is located is detected.

According to the liquid level detection method of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the vibration sensor detects a torsional wave pulse generated by the waveguide wire, obtains a distance between the float and the vibration sensor, and obtains a current position of the float according to an initial value of a position of the vibration sensor and the distance between the float and the vibration sensor.

According to the liquid level detection method of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the distance Li between the float and the vibration sensor is obtained according to the time value of the pulse current applied to the waveguide wire by the loop current generator, the time value of the torsional wave pulse detected by the ith vibration sensor, and the speed V of the torsional wave pulse; the initial value of the position of the vibration sensor is Di:

when the ith vibration sensor is positioned above the liquid level, the position Pi of the floater is Di-Li;

when the i-th vibration sensor is located below the liquid level, the position Pi of the float is Di + Li.

According to the liquid level detection method of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the position of the float and the vibration sensor is the same, the distance Li of the float with respect to the vibration sensor is equal to 0.

According to the liquid level detection method of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, at least part of the vibration sensors detect the torsional wave pulse generated by the waveguide wire, and the relative distance between the floater and the vibration sensors is obtained; and obtaining the position of the floater according to the initial value of the position of the vibration sensor and the relative distance between the floater and the vibration sensor.

According to the liquid level detection method of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, a distance Li of the float from each vibration sensor is calculated by measuring a time when a torsional wave pulse reaches each vibration sensor, where i is 1 to n, and n is the number of vibration sensors; obtaining the positions Pi of the floats detected by the vibration sensors according to the initial position values Di of the vibration sensors; and when the absolute value of the difference value between the position Pj of the floater detected by the jth vibration sensor and the positions of the floaters detected by other vibration sensors is larger than a preset threshold value, removing the position Pj of the floater detected by the jth vibration sensor, and obtaining the current position of the floater according to the positions of the floaters detected by other vibration sensors after the jth vibration sensor is removed.

According to the liquid level detection method of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the current position of the float is obtained from the weighted average of the positions Pi of the floats detected by the vibration sensors, thereby detecting the liquid level at which the float is located.

According to the liquid level detection method of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, a weight value of a vibration sensor close to the float is larger than a weight value of a vibration sensor far from the float.

According to the liquid level detection method of at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, when the torsional wave pulse generated by the waveguide wire is detected by the ith vibration sensor and the jth vibration sensor, a difference between a time when the loop current generator applies the pulse current to the waveguide wire and a time when the ith vibration sensor detects the torsional wave pulse is Ti, a difference between a time when the loop current generator applies the pulse current to the waveguide wire and a time when the jth vibration sensor detects the torsional wave pulse is Tj, and a current position of the float is obtained according to the difference between the time Ti and the difference between the time Tj, so as to detect the liquid level where the float is located, wherein the ith vibration sensor and the jth vibration sensor may be located on two sides of the float or on the same side of the float.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the disclosure and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view of a multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the detection principle of a multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of another detection principle of a multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a circuit configuration of a multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of another circuit configuration of a multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a circuit configuration of a multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a method of liquid level detection according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

The reference numbers in the figures are in particular:

100 multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level meter

110 float

120 wave guide wire

130 vibration sensor

140 outer sleeve

160 multipath data sampling module

170 operation control module

180 multipath signal comparator

190 multi-way timer

200 fixing the rod.

Detailed Description

The present disclosure will be described in further detail with reference to the drawings and embodiments. It is to be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are for purposes of illustration only and are not to be construed as limitations of the present disclosure. It should be further noted that, for the convenience of description, only the portions relevant to the present disclosure are shown in the drawings.

It should be noted that the embodiments and features of the embodiments in the present disclosure may be combined with each other without conflict. Technical solutions of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings in conjunction with embodiments.

Unless otherwise indicated, the illustrated exemplary embodiments/examples are to be understood as providing exemplary features of various details of some ways in which the technical concepts of the present disclosure may be practiced. Accordingly, unless otherwise indicated, features of the various embodiments may be additionally combined, separated, interchanged, and/or rearranged without departing from the technical concept of the present disclosure.

The use of cross-hatching and/or shading in the drawings is generally used to clarify the boundaries between adjacent components. As such, unless otherwise noted, the presence or absence of cross-hatching or shading does not convey or indicate any preference or requirement for a particular material, material property, size, proportion, commonality between the illustrated components and/or any other characteristic, attribute, property, etc., of a component. Further, in the drawings, the size and relative sizes of components may be exaggerated for clarity and/or descriptive purposes. While example embodiments may be practiced differently, the specific process sequence may be performed in a different order than that described. For example, two processes described consecutively may be performed substantially simultaneously or in reverse order to that described. In addition, like reference numerals denote like parts.

When an element is referred to as being "on" or "on," "connected to" or "coupled to" another element, it can be directly on, connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. However, when an element is referred to as being "directly on," "directly connected to" or "directly coupled to" another element, there are no intervening elements present. For purposes of this disclosure, the term "connected" may refer to physically, electrically, etc., and may or may not have intermediate components.

For descriptive purposes, the present disclosure may use spatially relative terms such as "below … …," below … …, "" below … …, "" below, "" above … …, "" above, "" … …, "" higher, "and" side (e.g., as in "side wall") to describe one component's relationship to another (other) component as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use, operation, and/or manufacture in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as "below" or "beneath" other elements or features would then be oriented "above" the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary term "below … …" can encompass both an orientation of "above" and "below". Further, the devices may be otherwise positioned (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Furthermore, when the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising" and variations thereof are used in this specification, the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groups thereof are stated but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groups thereof. It is also noted that, as used herein, the terms "substantially," "about," and other similar terms are used as approximate terms and not as degree terms, and as such, are used to interpret inherent deviations in measured values, calculated values, and/or provided values that would be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the art.

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view of a multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge 100 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 1, the present disclosure provides a multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge 100 comprising:

a float 110, the float 110 including a magnetic portion;

a wave guide wire 120, the wave guide wire 120 being applied with a pulsed current such that the wave guide wire 120 generates a torsional wave pulse at the location of the float 110; and

a vibration sensor 130, the vibration sensor 130 being configured to detect torsional wave pulses generated by the waveguide wire 120;

wherein, the vibration sensors 130 are arranged in at least two, and the at least two vibration sensors 130 are arranged along the length direction of the waveguide wire 120; so as to obtain the position of the float 110 relative to the wave guide wire 120, i.e. the current position of the float, from the torsional wave pulses generated by the same wave guide wire 120 as detected by at least one vibration sensor 130 of the at least two vibration sensors 130.

Thus, considering that the float floats on the surface of the liquid to be measured, when the current position of the float is obtained, the surface position of the liquid, that is, the liquid level of the liquid, can be obtained.

In the prior art, as the torsional wave pulse signal has larger attenuation along with the increase of the distance, when the torsional wave pulse signal is attenuated to the extent that a subsequent circuit cannot process the torsional wave pulse signal, the torsional wave pulse signal is the limit of the measuring range of the magnetostrictive liquid level meter; however, in the present disclosure, by arranging at least two vibration sensors 130, the at least two vibration sensors 130 are used for detecting the torsional wave pulse generated on the same waveguide wire 120, so that on one hand, the measuring range of the multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level meter is improved, and on the other hand, the measuring accuracy of the multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level meter is improved.

In the present disclosure, a current is applied to the waveguide wire 120 through a loop current generator, wherein the loop current generator may be controlled by an arithmetic control module, so that when a current is applied to the waveguide wire 120, the arithmetic control module records a time value of the current applied to the waveguide wire 120.

In the present disclosure, the multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge 100 further comprises:

an outer sleeve 140, the inner portion of the outer sleeve 140 having a central hole formed along the axial direction thereof, the waveguide wire 120 being disposed in the central hole such that the waveguide wire 120 is disposed along the length direction of the outer sleeve 140.

At this time, the float 110 is slidably disposed on the outer sleeve 140 and is located outside the outer sleeve 140; the vibration sensors 130 are located inside the outer sleeve 140, and at this time, one end of the outer sleeve 140 inserted into the liquid to be measured is closed, so that the liquid to be measured cannot enter the inside of the outer sleeve 140.

In other words, the float 110 is provided on the outer sleeve 140 of the magnetostrictive liquid level gauge, and the float 110 slides along the outer sleeve 140 according to the change of the liquid level.

In the present disclosure, the number of the floats 110 is at least one; the position of at least one liquid level can be obtained from the current position of the at least one float 110. For example, when the number of the floats 110 is two, the water interface position and the oil interface position of the oil-water mixture can be detected.

In one implementation, the vibration sensor 130 is fixed to a holder, wherein the holder is fixed to an inner wall of the outer sleeve;

and/or, the vibration sensor 130 is fixed on the fixing rod 200, wherein the fixing rod 200 is fixed on the inner wall of the outer sleeve 140;

and/or the vibration sensor 130 is fixed on a plastic pipe or a metal pipe for guiding the waveguide wire; and is fixed to the plastic or metal tube by means of a thread or screw lock;

and/or, the vibration sensor 130 is fixed on a fixing wire, and a tensioner is arranged at the bottom of the fixing wire, so that the fixing wire is kept in a tensioned state through the tensioner.

In the present disclosure, both ends of the fixing wire are respectively fixed to both ends of the outer sleeve 140.

In the present disclosure, the vibration sensor 130 includes a coil through which the waveguide wire passes;

and/or, the vibration sensor 130 comprises a piezoelectric ceramic;

and/or the vibration sensor 130 comprises a coil that is not wound around the waveguide wire, and then a small magnet is fixed to the waveguide wire, the small magnet being in the coil that is not wound around the waveguide wire.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the detection principle of a multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

In the present disclosure, the number of the vibration sensor 130 is gradually increased along the end far away from the end inserted into the measured liquid; that is, as shown in fig. 2, the liquid level meter includes 5 vibration sensors 130, which are the 1 st vibration sensor 130 to the 5 th vibration sensor 130 from bottom to top in sequence, at this time, the upper end of the multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level meter 100 is connected to the gauge outfit, and the lower end of the multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level meter 100 is inserted into the container to be measured.

In the present disclosure, as shown in fig. 2, when the torsional wave pulse is detected by the ith vibration sensor 130 and the jth vibration sensor 130, the propagation velocity of the torsional wave pulse is obtained based on the initial values of the positions of the ith vibration sensor 130 and the jth vibration sensor 130 and the time difference between the detection of the torsional wave pulse by the ith vibration sensor 130 and the jth vibration sensor 130; the ith vibration sensor 130 and the jth vibration sensor 130 may be located on the same side of the float 110, or may be located on both sides of the float.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the relative positions of the vibration sensors 130 and the waveguide wire 120 are fixed, and each vibration sensor 130 has an initial value of position. The vibration sensor 130 detects the torsional wave pulse generated by the wave guide wire 120, obtains the distance between the float 110 and the vibration sensor 130, and obtains the current position of the float 110 according to the initial value of the position of the vibration sensor 130 and the distance between the float 110 and the vibration sensor 130.

That is, when the vibration sensor 130 is mounted on the outer sleeve 140, and the multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level meter, the initial position value of the vibration sensor 130 is obtained through calibration.

For example, the distance Li between the float 110 and the vibration sensor 130 is obtained from the time value of the pulse current applied to the wave guide wire 120 and the time value of the torsional wave pulse detected by the i-th vibration sensor 130 and the speed V of the torsional wave pulse; the initial value of the position of the vibration sensor 130 is Di:

when the i-th vibration sensor 130 is located above the liquid level, the position Pi of the float 110 is Di-Li;

when the i-th vibration sensor 130 is located below the liquid level, the position Pi of the float 110 is Di + Li.

In an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, the distance Li of the float 110 from the vibration sensor 130 is equal to 0 when the position of the float 110 is the same as the position of the vibration sensor 130.

That is, when the position of the float 110 is the same as the position of the vibration sensor 130, the initial value of the position of the vibration sensor 130 may be directly used as the current position of the float 110.

As another implementation form, the relative positions of the vibration sensors 130 and the waveguide wire 120 are fixed, and each vibration sensor 130 has a position initial value Di; at least some of the vibration sensors 130 detect the torsional wave pulse generated by the wave guide wire 120, and obtain the relative distance between the float 110 and the vibration sensors 130; the position of the float 110 is obtained from the initial value Di of the position of the vibration sensor 130 and the relative distance of the float 110 from the vibration sensor 130.

In an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, the distance Li of the float 110 from each vibration sensor 130 is calculated by measuring the time at which the torsional wave pulse reaches each vibration sensor 130, where i is 1 to n, and n is the number of vibration sensors 130; and obtains the position Pi of the float 110 detected by each vibration sensor 130 from the initial value Di of the position of the vibration sensor 130; when the absolute value of the difference between the position Pj of the float 110 detected by the jth vibration sensor 130 and the positions of the floats 110 detected by the other vibration sensors 130 is greater than the preset threshold, the position Pj of the float 110 detected by the jth vibration sensor 130 is removed, and the current position of the float 110 is obtained from the positions of the floats 110 detected by the other vibration sensors 130 from which the jth vibration sensor 130 is removed.

In this way, the multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level meter 100 of the present disclosure can calculate the distance Li between the float and the i-th vibration sensor 130 by using the time when the torsional wave pulse reaches each vibration sensor 130; then, from the initial value Di of the position of the i-th vibration sensor 130, the current position of the float is obtained.

When one of the vibration sensors 130 is damaged and a reasonable distance value is not measured, the current position of the floater detected by the damaged vibration sensor 130 can be discarded, and a more reliable current position of the floater can be calculated according to the current positions of the floaters detected by the other vibration sensors 130, so that the reliability of the multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level meter is improved.

More preferably, the current position of the float 110 is obtained from a weighted average of the positions Pi of the float 110 detected by the vibration sensor 130.

For example, the weight of the vibration sensor 130 proximate to the float 110 may be greater than the weight of the vibration sensor 130 distal from the float 110.

That is, in the present disclosure, it is considered that when the distance between the vibration sensor 130 and the float is large, an accumulated error is easily generated; in view of this, in the present disclosure, the weight value of the vibration sensor 130 close to the float 110 may be set to be relatively large, and the weight value of the vibration sensor 130 far from the float 110 may be set to be relatively small, whereby the measurement accuracy of the multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level meter may be improved.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of another detection principle of a multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

On the other hand, as shown in fig. 3, when the torsional wave pulse is detected by the i-th vibration sensor 130 and the j-th vibration sensor 130, the difference between the time when the pulse current is applied to the wave guide wire 120 and the time when the torsional wave pulse is detected by the i-th vibration sensor 130 is Ti, the difference between the time when the pulse current is applied to the wave guide wire 120 and the time when the torsional wave pulse is detected by the j-th vibration sensor 130 is Tj, and the current position of the float 110 is obtained according to the time difference Ti and the time difference Tj, so that the liquid level where the float is located is detected. The ith vibration sensor 130 and the jth vibration sensor 130 may be located on both sides of the float 110, or may be located on the same side of the float 110.

When the ith vibration sensor 130 and the jth vibration sensor 130 are located on both sides of the float 110, the value of Li and Lj can be obtained by solving a linear equation of two-dimentional system, where Ti/Tj is Li/Lj and Li + Lj is | Di-Dj | is also a constant k.

When the ith vibration sensor 130 and the jth vibration sensor 130 are located on the same side of the float 110, the value of Li and Lj can be obtained by solving a linear equation of two-dimentional system, where Ti/Tj equals Li/Lj and Li-Lj equals Di-Dj, and is also a constant k.

Therefore, when the multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level meter detects the position of the floater, the propagation speed of the torsional wave pulse is irrelevant, and the forward and/or backward propagating torsional wave pulse can obtain the temperature compensation effect, so that the distance measurement error caused by the change of the propagation speed of the torsional wave pulse along with the temperature can be avoided, the measurement stability is improved, the measurement range is improved, and the measurement precision is increased.

In the present disclosure, the vibration sensors 130 share a single protective sleeve; more preferably, the vibration sensor 130 has a signal amplification function.

For example, the vibration sensor 130 has a circuit board with a power supply circuit and a signal amplification circuit, and the vibration sensor 130 amplifies the torsional wave pulse through the signal amplification circuit so as to detect a weak torsional wave pulse.

In an optional embodiment of the present disclosure, the magnetostrictive liquid level gauge has a loop current generator for applying a current to the waveguide wire.

More preferably, the magnetostrictive liquid level meter has a power supply module, and the power supply module is used for supplying power to the vibration sensor 130 and the operation control module.

According to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure, the magnetostrictive liquid level meter has a display that can display the obtained waveform information, the waveform curve, of the at least two vibration sensors 130.

In this disclosure, it is preferable that the magnetostrictive liquid level meter has an operation control module, and the operation control module is configured to record an initial value of the position of the vibration sensor 130, process a signal received during the analysis and detection process, control a loop current generator, control a display, and/or other modules, so as to calculate and obtain the current position of the float.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a circuit configuration of a multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of another circuit configuration of a multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a circuit configuration of a multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level gauge according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a method of liquid level detection according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, as shown in fig. 7, the present disclosure provides a liquid level detection method implemented by the above-mentioned multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level meter 100, the liquid level detection method comprising:

the loop current generator applies a pulsed current to the wave guide wire 120 to cause the wave guide wire 120 to generate a torsional wave pulse at the location of the float 110; and

the vibration sensor 130 detects the torsional wave pulse generated by the waveguide wire 120, and obtains the current position of the float 110, so as to detect the liquid level of the float 110.

In an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, the time for the torsional wave pulse generated by the waveguide wire 120 to reach the vibration sensor 130 is obtained to obtain the distance between the waveguide wire 120 and the vibration sensor 130.

More preferably, as shown in fig. 6, in the above liquid level detection method:

the multi-path signal comparator 180 is connected with each signal amplification circuit, and when the peak value of the signal output by the signal amplification circuit is greater than a preset threshold value, the corresponding signal comparator outputs a signal for stopping timing outwards; and

the multi-way timer 190 is connected to the multi-way signal comparator 180, when the loop current generator applies a current to the waveguide wire 120, the multi-way timer 190 is started, and when the multi-way timer 190 receives a signal corresponding to the signal comparator, which is sent to stop timing, the timing is stopped corresponding to the timer, so as to obtain the time when the torsional wave pulse generated by the waveguide wire 120 reaches the vibration sensor 130.

As another implementation form, as shown in fig. 4, the multi-channel data sampling module 160 is connected to a signal amplifying circuit of the vibration sensor 130, the loop current generator applies a pulse current to the waveguide wire 120 and simultaneously starts the multi-channel data sampling module 160, and after receiving the torsional wave pulse generated by the waveguide wire 120, the vibration sensor 130 amplifies the signal by the signal amplifying circuit and transmits the amplified signal to the multi-channel data sampling module 160, so as to obtain the time when the torsional wave pulse generated by the waveguide wire 120 reaches the vibration sensor 130.

In the present disclosure, preferably, as shown in fig. 5, the multiway switch is connected to the signal amplifying circuit of the vibration sensor 130, and is configured to select a signal of one of the vibration sensors 130 to be output outwards from the vibration sensor 130;

the single-path data acquisition module is connected with the multi-path selector switch, and the loop current generator applies pulse current to the waveguide wire 120 and simultaneously starts the single-path data acquisition module to acquire the signal of the vibration sensor 130 selected by the multi-path selector switch, so as to obtain the time of the torsional wave pulse generated by the waveguide wire 120 reaching the vibration sensor 130.

In the present disclosure, the switching time interval of the multi-way switch is fixed, and the multi-way switch is controlled by the operation control module, and the collection of all signals is completed by applying pulse current to the waveguide wire 120 for multiple times.

In the liquid level detection method described in this embodiment, the actual transmission speed of the torsional wave pulse generated by the waveguide wire 120 on the waveguide wire 120 is obtained.

As an implementation form, when the torsional wave pulse is detected by the ith vibration sensor 130 and the jth vibration sensor 130, the speed V of the torsional wave pulse is obtained according to the initial values of the positions of the ith vibration sensor 130 and the jth vibration sensor 130 and the time difference between the detection of the torsional wave pulse by the ith vibration sensor 130 and the jth vibration sensor 130; the ith vibration sensor 130 and the jth vibration sensor 130 may be both located on the same side of the float 110, or may be located on both sides of the float 110.

In an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, the current position of the float 110 is obtained, such that the level of the liquid in which the float 110 is located is detected.

As one implementation form, the vibration sensor 130 detects the torsional wave pulse generated by the waveguide wire 120, obtains the distance between the float 110 and the vibration sensor 130, and obtains the current position of the float 110 according to the initial value of the position of the vibration sensor 130 and the distance between the float 110 and the vibration sensor 130.

For example, the distance Li between the float 110 and the vibration sensor 130 is obtained from the time value of the pulse current applied to the waveguide wire 120 by the loop current generator, the time value of the torsional wave pulse detected by the i-th vibration sensor 130, and the velocity V of the torsional wave pulse; the initial value of the position of the vibration sensor 130 is Di:

when the i-th vibration sensor 130 is located above the liquid level, the position Pi of the float 110 is Di-Li; and

when the i-th vibration sensor 130 is located below the liquid level, the position Pi of the float 110 is Di + Li.

Accordingly, when the position of the float 110 is the same as that of the vibration sensor 130, the distance Li of the float 110 with respect to the vibration sensor 130 is equal to 0.

As another implementation form, at least some of the vibration sensors 130 detect the torsional wave pulse generated by the waveguide wire 120, and obtain the relative distance between the float 110 and the vibration sensor 130; the position of the float 110 is obtained from the initial value of the position of the vibration sensor 130 and the relative distance of the float 110 from the vibration sensor 130.

For example, by measuring the time at which the torsional wave pulse reaches each vibration sensor 130, the distance Li of the float 110 from each vibration sensor 130 is calculated, where i is 1 to n, and n is the number of vibration sensors 130; and obtains the position Pi of the float 110 detected by each vibration sensor 130 from the initial value Di of the position of each vibration sensor 130; when the absolute value of the difference between the position Pj of the float 110 detected by the jth vibration sensor 130 and the positions of the floats 110 detected by the other vibration sensors 130 is greater than a preset threshold, the position Pj of the float 110 detected by the jth vibration sensor 130 is removed, and the current position of the float 110 is obtained according to the positions of the floats 110 detected by the other vibration sensors 130 from which the jth vibration sensor 130 is removed.

In the liquid level detection method of the present disclosure, the current position of the float 110 is obtained from the weighted average of the positions Pi of the float 110 detected by the vibration sensor 130, thereby detecting the liquid level at which the float 110 is present.

For example, the weight of the vibration sensor 130 proximate to the float 110 may be greater than the weight of the vibration sensor 130 distal from the float 110.

That is, in the present disclosure, it is considered that when the distance between the vibration sensor 130 and the float is large, an accumulated error is easily generated; in view of this, in the present disclosure, the weight value of the vibration sensor 130 close to the float 110 may be set to be relatively large, and the weight value of the vibration sensor 130 far from the float 110 may be set to be relatively small, whereby the measurement accuracy of the multi-sensor magnetostrictive liquid level meter may be improved.

As a third implementation form, when the torsional wave pulse generated by the waveguide wire 120 is detected by the ith vibration sensor 130 and the jth vibration sensor 130, the difference between the time when the loop current generator applies the pulse current to the waveguide wire 120 and the time when the ith vibration sensor 130 detects the torsional wave pulse is Ti, the difference between the time when the loop current generator applies the pulse current to the waveguide wire 120 and the time when the jth vibration sensor 130 detects the torsional wave pulse is Tj, and the current position of the float 110 is obtained according to the time difference Ti and the time difference Tj, so as to detect the liquid level of the float 110, wherein the ith vibration sensor 130 and the jth vibration sensor 130 may be located on both sides of the float 110, or may be located on the same side of the float 110.

In the description herein, reference to the description of the terms "one embodiment/mode," "some embodiments/modes," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment/mode or example is included in at least one embodiment/mode or example of the application. In this specification, the schematic representations of the terms used above are not necessarily intended to be the same embodiment/mode or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments/modes or examples. Furthermore, the various embodiments/aspects or examples and features of the various embodiments/aspects or examples described in this specification can be combined and combined by one skilled in the art without conflicting therewith.

Furthermore, the terms "first", "second" and "first" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In the description of the present application, "plurality" means at least two, e.g., two, three, etc., unless specifically limited otherwise.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing embodiments are merely for clarity of illustration of the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Other variations or modifications may occur to those skilled in the art, based on the foregoing disclosure, and are still within the scope of the present disclosure.