The technical field relates to a water quality monitoring device, in particular to a multi-function water quality monitoring device.
Factories in an industrial district would generate a large amount of waste water. However, some factories fail to properly treat waste water, but directly discharge waste water into rivers or other important water bodies, which may pollute domestic water. Thus, it is necessary to frequently monitor domestic water.
The operating principle of a currently available portable water quality monitor is to perform water quality measurement via the electrodes inside the probe thereof. However, the portable water quality monitor can provide only 1-2 water quality parameter measurement functions because being limited by the size thereof. Accordingly, the user cannot obtain more water quality parameters by one measurement operation, so the application of the portable water quality monitor is limited.
The user should frequently replace the probe of the portable water quality monitor in order to measure different water quality parameters, which would waste a lot of time. Therefore, the portable water quality monitor is not convenient in use.
An embodiment of the disclosure relates to a multi-function water quality monitoring device, which includes a multi-function water quality monitoring probe and a control module. The multi-function water quality monitoring probe includes a first signal electrode, a first sensing electrode, a second signal electrode and a second sensing electrode. The control module is connected to the multi-function water quality monitoring probe. When the control module outputs a first time-variant signal to drive the first signal electrode, the first sensing electrode outputs a first water quality signal. When the control module outputs a second time-variant signal to drive the second signal electrode, the first sensing electrode and the second sensing electrode output the first sensing signal and a second sensing signal respectively. When the control module outputs the first time-variant signal and the second time-variant signal to simultaneously drive the first signal electrode and the second signal electrode, the first sensing electrode outputs the first water quality signal.
Further scope of applicability of the present application will become more apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
The disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the disclosure and wherein:
In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawing.
The multi-function water quality monitoring probe 11 is connected to the control module 12, and includes a first signal electrode 111A, a first sensing electrode 112A, a second signal electrode 111B and a second sensing electrode 112B. When the control module 12 outputs a first time-variant signal VA to the first signal electrode 111A, such as a square wave signal, sinusoidal signal, periodic signal or other time-variant signals. When the control module 12 outputs a second time-variant signal VB to the second signal electrode 111B. For example, the control module 12 outputs a constant voltage to the second signal electrode 111B within a time period and outputs another constant voltage to the second signal electrode 111B within another time period. Besides, the second signal electrode 111B may be also grounded. Moreover, each of the first sensing electrode 112A and the second sensing electrode 112B can generate a voltage signal or a current signal when contacting a liquid sample. In the embodiment, the first signal electrode 111A may be a metal electrode, such as Pt, Au, etc. The signal electrode 111B may be a glass electrode containing electrolyte, such as Ag/AgCl reference electrode, a calomel electrode or an electrode containing conductive material (e.g. Pt, Au, etc.). The first sensing electrode 112A may be an inert metal electrode, such as Pt, Au, etc. The second sensing electrode 112B may be a metal electrode containing ion-selective thin film and electrolyte, such as Ag/AgCl measurement electrode, etc. The second sensing electrode 112B may be also an electrode containing material with high-sensitivity to pH value, such as ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) electrode, etc.
When the multi-function water quality monitoring probe 11 is immersed into the liquid sample L in the container C, the control module 12 outputs the first time-variant signal VA and the second time-variant signal VB to the first signal electrode 111A and the second signal electrode 111B one after another or simultaneously, and then receives the signals from the first sensing electrode 112A and the second sensing electrode 112B. Afterward, the control module 12 calculates several water quality parameters according to the potential difference or current between the first signal electrode 111A, the second signal electrode 111B, the first sensing electrode 112A and the second sensing electrode 112B.
When the control module 12 outputs the first time-variant signal VA to the first signal electrode 111A to drive the first signal electrode 111A, the first sensing electrode 112A outputs a first water quality signal V1 to the control module 12. Then, the control module 12 calculates a first water quality parameter according to the first time-variant signal VA and the first water quality signal V1. In the embodiment, the first water quality parameter may be the EC (electrical conductivity) value.
When the control module 12 outputs the first time-variant signal VA to the second signal electrode 111B to drive the second signal electrode 111B, the first sensing electrode 112A and the second sensing electrode 112B output the first water quality signal V1 and a second water quality signal V2 to the control module 12 respectively. Then, the control module 12 calculates a second water quality parameter and a third water quality parameter according to the first time-variant signal VA, the first water quality signal V1 and the second water quality signal V2. In the embodiment, the second water quality parameter may be the ORP (Oxidation-Reduction Potential) value and the third water quality parameter may be the pH value.
When the control module 12 simultaneously outputs the first time-variant signal VA and the second time-variant signal VB to the first signal electrode 111A and the second signal electrode 111B so as to drive the first signal electrode 111A and the second signal electrode 111B at the same time, the first sensing electrode 112A outputs the first water quality parameter V1 to the control module 12. However, the control module 12 calculates a fourth water quality parameter according to the first time-variant signal VA, the second time-variant signal VB and the first water quality signal V1. In the embodiment, the fourth water quality parameter may be the heavy metal concentration value (e.g. Hg-ion, Cd-ion, Cr-ion, Cu-ion, Pb-ion, Zn-ion, etc.).
The multi-function water quality monitoring device 1 may further include a display module; in one embodiment, the display module may be a liquid crystal display or other similar displays. The display module can display the EC value, the ORP value, the pH value and the heavy metal concentration value. In addition, the multi-function water quality monitoring device 1 may further include a wireless transmission module, which may be a Bluetooth module, a Wi-Fi module or other wireless communication modules. Therefore, the control module 12 may transmit the EC value, the ORP value, the pH value and the heavy metal concentration value to an electronic device via the wireless transmission module.
Via the above special switching mechanism and the electrode arrangement, the multi-function water quality monitoring device 1 can provide at least 4 water quality monitoring functions at a time without increasing the number of the electrodes. Besides, the size of the multi-function water quality monitoring device 1 will not increase and the performance thereof can be effectively enhanced.
The embodiment just exemplifies the disclosure and is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Any equivalent modification and variation according to the spirit of the disclosure is to be also included within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.
It is worthy to point out that the currently available portable water quality monitor can provide only 1-2 water quality parameter measurement functions because being limited by the size thereof. Accordingly, the user cannot obtain more water quality parameters by one measurement operation, so the application of the portable water quality monitor is limited. On the contrary, according to one embodiment of the disclosure, the multi-function water quality monitoring device includes a multi-function water quality monitoring probe, which can provide more than 3 water quality monitoring functions via a special switching mechanism. Accordingly, the performance of the multi-function water quality monitoring device can be significantly enhanced.
Besides, the user should frequently replace the probe of the currently available portable water quality monitor in order to measure different water quality parameters, which would waste a lot of time. Therefore, the portable water quality monitor is not convenient in use. On the contrary, according to one embodiment of the disclosure, the multi-function water quality monitoring device can provide more than 3 water quality monitoring functions, so the user can measure more water quality parameters without replacing the probe of the device, which is more efficient in use.
Moreover, according to one embodiment of the disclosure, the multi-function water quality monitoring device has a special switching mechanism and electrode arrangement, so can provide more than 3 water quality monitoring functions via the special switching mechanism without increasing the size thereof. Thus, the multi-function water quality monitoring device can be a portable device, which is more comprehensive in use.
Furthermore, according to one embodiment of the disclosure, the structure of the multi-function water quality monitoring device is simple, so can achieve the desired technical effects without greatly increasing the cost thereof. Therefore, the multi-function water quality monitoring device is of high commercial value. As described above, the multi-function water quality monitoring device according to the embodiments can actually achieve unpredictable technical effects.
The multi-function water quality monitoring probe 21 is connected to the control module 22, and includes a first signal electrode 211A, a first sensing electrode 212A, a second signal electrode 211B and a second sensing electrode 212B. The control module 22 outputs a first time-variant signal VA and a second time-variant signal VB to the first signal electrode 211A and the second signal electrode 211B one after another or simultaneously. Similarly, each of the first sensing electrode 212A and the second sensing electrode 212B can generate a voltage signal or a current signal when contacting a liquid sample. In the embodiment, the first signal electrode 211A may be a metal electrode. The signal electrode 211B may be a glass electrode containing electrolyte or an electrode containing conductive material. The first sensing electrode 212A may be an inert metal electrode. The second sensing electrode 212B may be a metal electrode containing ion-selective thin film and electrolyte.
The control module 22 includes a signal acquisition circuit 221 and a signal processing circuit 222. The signal acquisition circuit 221 is connected to the signal processing circuit 222.
When the multi-function water quality monitoring probe 21 is immersed into the liquid sample L in the container C, the signal acquisition circuit 221 outputs the first time-variant signal VA and the second time-variant signal VB to the first signal electrode 211A and the second signal electrode 211B one after another or simultaneously, and then receives the signals from the first sensing electrode 212A and the second sensing electrode 212B. Afterward, the signal processing circuit 222 calculates several water quality parameters according to the potential difference or current between the first signal electrode 211A, the second signal electrode 211B, the first sensing electrode 212A and the second sensing electrode 212B.
When the signal acquisition circuit 221 outputs the first time-variant signal VA to the first signal electrode 221A to drive the first signal electrode 221A, the first sensing electrode 212A outputs a first water quality signal V1 to the signal acquisition circuit 221. Then, the signal acquisition circuit 221 amplifies the potential difference between the first time-variant signal VA and the first water quality signal V1, and transmits the potential difference to the signal processing circuit 222. Then, the signal processing circuit 222 calculates the EC value Ca (the first water quality parameter) according to the potential difference between the first time-variant signal VA and the first water quality signal V1. However, if the liquid sample L is a highly concentrated solution, the signal processing circuit 222 calculates the EC value Cb according to the first time-variant signal VA and the second water quality signal V2.
When the signal acquisition circuit 221 outputs the second time-variant signal VB to the second signal electrode 211B to drive the second signal electrode 211B, the first sensing electrode 212A and the second sensing electrode 212B outputs the first water quality signal V1 and the second water quality signal V2 to the signal acquisition circuit 221 respectively. Then, the signal acquisition circuit 221 amplifies the potential difference between the second time-variant signal VB, the first water quality signal V1 and the second water quality signal V2, and transmits the potential difference to the signal processing circuit 222. After that, the signal processing circuit 222 calculates the ORP value Cc (the second water quality parameter) and the pH value Cd (the third water quality parameter) according to the potential difference between the second time-variant signal VB, the first water quality signal V1 and the second water quality signal V2.
When the signal acquisition circuit 221 outputs the first time-variant signal VA and the second time-variant signal VB to the first signal electrode 211A and the second signal electrode 211B in order to simultaneously drive the first signal electrode 211A and the second signal electrode 211B, the first sensing electrode 212A outputs the first water quality signal V1 to the signal acquisition circuit 221. Afterward, the signal acquisition circuit 221 amplifies the potential difference between the first time-variant signal VA, second time-variant signal VB and the first water quality signal V1, and transmits the potential difference to the signal processing circuit 222. After that, the signal processing circuit 222 calculates the Cu-ion concentration value (the fourth water quality parameter) according to the potential difference between the first time-variant signal VA, the second time-variant signal VB and the first water quality signal V1.
Similarly, the multi-function water quality monitoring device 2 may further include a display module and a wireless transmission module. The display module can display the EC value, the ORP value, the pH value and the heavy metal concentration value. The control module 22 can transmit the EC value, the ORP value, the pH value and the heavy metal concentration value to an electronic device via the wireless transmission module.
Via the above special switching mechanism and electrode arrangement, the multi-function water quality monitoring device 2 can provide 4 different measurement functions, including the EC value, the ORP value, the pH value and the heavy metal concentration value, at a time without increasing the number of the electrodes. The above design would not increase the size of the multi-function water quality monitoring device 2, but can remarkably improve the performance of the multi-function water quality monitoring device 2.
The embodiment just exemplifies the disclosure and is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Any equivalent modification and variation according to the spirit of the disclosure is to be also included within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.
Please refer to
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As shown in
Finally, the signal acquisition circuit 221 outputs first time-variant signal VA and the second time-variant signal VB to the first signal electrode 211A and the second signal electrode 211B between the third time point t3 and the fourth time point t4 (i.e. the third time period T3) so as to simultaneously drive the first signal electrode 211A and the second signal electrode 211B, and receive the first water quality signal V1 from the first sensing electrode 212A. In the meanwhile, the signal acquisition circuit 211 amplifies the potential difference between the first time-variant signal VA, the second time-variant signal VB and the first water quality signal V1, and transmits the potential difference to the signal processing circuit 222. Afterward, the signal processing circuit 222 calculates the Cu-ion concentration value Ce according to the potential difference between the first time-variant signal VA, the second time-variant signal VB and the first water quality signal V1, and displays the Cu-ion concentration value Ce within the third time period T3 via the display module.
As described above, the multi-function water quality monitoring device 2 can provide a special scheduling mechanism to automatically switch the electrodes of the multi-function water quality monitoring probe 21 and can orderly display several water quality parameters via the display module. Thus, the multi-function water quality monitoring device 2 can be more convenient in use.
The embodiment just exemplifies the disclosure and is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Any equivalent modification and variation according to the spirit of the disclosure is to be also included within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.
Please refer to
The housing 33 includes a sensing window 331. The sensing window 331 has an upper wall 331a, a left wall 331b, a right wall 331c and a lower wall 331d. The plate sensing element 34 is disposed at the bottom of the sensing window 331. In this way, the sensing window 331 and the plate sensing element 34 can form a storage space for containing a liquid sample. As shown in
As shown in
The rod-shaped sensing element 31 is disposed in the housing 33. The rod-shaped sensing element 31 extends from the top Ts of the housing 33 to the bottom Bs of the housing 33, and protrudes from the top Ts of the housing 33 to the bottom Bs of the housing 33 respectively. In this embodiment, the diameter Dm1 of the top Ts of the housing 33 is about 40 mm; the diameter of the bottom Bs of the housing 33 is about 20 mm; the height L of the housing 33 is about 50 mm. The length of the rod-shaped sensing element 31 is substantially equal to the height L of the housing 33. The above structure is just for illustration; the sizes of the above elements can be adjusted according to actual requirements.
Similarly, the rod-shaped sensing element 31 also include a second signal electrode and a second sensing electrode. The functions and operational process of the rod-shaped sensing element 31 are already described in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, so would not be described herein again.
As set forth above, the multi-function water quality monitoring device 3 can further integrate different signal electrodes and sensing electrodes with one another sensors via the plate sensing element 34 and the rod-shaped sensing element 31, so can detect different water quality parameters via the sensing window 331 and the bottom Bs, protruding from the housing 33, of the rod-shaped sensing element 31, which is more flexible in use.
As described above, the multi-function water quality monitoring device 3 has a sensing window 331 having a special structure design. Thus, when the multi-function water quality monitoring device 3 is placed to be parallel to the horizontal direction, the sensing window 331 can be filled with a liquid sample and can prevent the liquid sample from flowing out of the sensing window 331. When the multi-function water quality monitoring device 3 is placed to be parallel to the vertical direction, the liquid sample can completely flow out of the sensing window 331 in a short time. Accordingly, the multi-function water quality monitoring device 3 can achieve great practicality.
Moreover, the multi-function water quality monitoring device 3 may also have a control module having several buttons and a display screen with a view to serve as a portable device. In this way, the user can operate the multi-function water quality monitoring device 3 via the control module to monitor the water quality of a liquid sample and obtain the sensing results via the display screen of the control module, which is more convenient in use.
The embodiment just exemplifies the disclosure and is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Any equivalent modification and variation according to the spirit of the disclosure is to be also included within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.
Please refer to
To sum up, according to one embodiment of the disclosure, the multi-function water quality monitoring device includes a multi-function water quality monitoring probe, which can provide more than 3 water quality monitoring functions via a special switching mechanism. Accordingly, the performance of the multi-function water quality monitoring device can be significantly enhanced.
According to one embodiment of the disclosure, the multi-function water quality monitoring device can provide more than 3 water quality monitoring functions, so the user can measure more water quality parameters without replacing the probe of the device, which is more efficient in use.
According to one embodiment of the disclosure, the multi-function water quality monitoring device can provide a special scheduling mechanism to automatically switch the electrodes of the multi-function water quality monitoring probe and can orderly display several water quality parameters via the display module. Thus, the multi-function water quality monitoring device can be more convenient in use.
Besides, according to one embodiment of the disclosure, the multi-function water quality monitoring device has a special switching mechanism and electrode arrangement, so can provide more than 3 water quality monitoring functions via the special switching mechanism without increasing the size thereof. Thus, the multi-function water quality monitoring device can be a portable device, which is more comprehensive in use.
Further, according to one embodiment of the disclosure, the multi-function water quality monitoring device can integrate several sensors with different functions via a sensing window, so can detect several water quality parameters via the sensing window. Accordingly, the multi-function water quality monitoring device can be more flexible in use.
Moreover, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the multi-function water quality monitoring device has a sensing window having a special structure design. Thus, when the multi-function water quality monitoring device is placed to be parallel to the horizontal direction, the sensing window can be filled with a liquid sample and can prevent the liquid sample from flowing out of the sensing window. When the multi-function water quality monitoring device is placed to be parallel to the vertical direction, the liquid sample can completely flow out of the sensing window in a short time. Accordingly, the multi-function water quality monitoring device can achieve great practicality.
Furthermore, according to one embodiment of the disclosure, the structure of the multi-function water quality monitoring device is simple, so can achieve the desired technical effects without greatly increasing the cost thereof. Therefore, the multi-function water quality monitoring device is of high commercial value.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the disclosed embodiments. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope of the disclosure being indicated by the following claims and their equivalents.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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109206513 | May 2020 | TW | national |
109126368 | Aug 2020 | TW | national |
All related applications are incorporated by reference. The present application is based on, and claims priority from, U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/951,348, filed on Dec. 20, 2019, U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/951,008, filed on Dec. 20, 2019, Taiwan Application No. 109206513, filed on May 26, 2020, and Taiwan Application No. 109126368, filed on Aug. 4, 2020, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62951008 | Dec 2019 | US | |
62951348 | Dec 2019 | US |