Patent Application
20220136881
This invention generally relates to fluid flow measurement, and it particularly relates to a flow measurement apparatus that utilizes micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) mass flow sensing technology to measure the gas dispensing and consumption for fuel tanks or cylinders. This invention is further related to the internet of things (IOT) that connect multiple devices and relay such information to cloud computing in the eases of data management and cost reduction.
While the promotion of city energy by clean fuels via the pipeline has been a task committed by many governments in the world, there are still many places that the energy supply is realized by the fuel gas cylinders. On the one hand, clean energy such as natural gas may not be readily available everywhere, on the other, pipeline construction is very costly particularly in some remote areas where there is only a limited population. Consequently, there are millions of fuel cylinders being delivered daily worldwide. Up to date, each of those fuel cylinders only has a mechanical pressure regulator to ensure the safety of the fuel gas consumption. There are no available devices for metering the actual gas consumption, monitoring the gas leakage safety, not to mention any logistical management at the fuel cylinder level. The refilling of the cylinder will be often the responsibility of the customer with the only option for the judgments of consumption by speculation. Customers may have the chance to be cut off from the supply due to the underestimate of the usage. Today, some companies have taught their customer to estimate the cylinder gas volumes by applying hot water on the surface of the cylinder and subsequently touch the surface as the level of the gas would lead to a different cylinder surface temperature. Sometimes the customer may shake the cylinder and hear the sound to judge the level of the gas remaining in the cylinder. Either of the above approaches is not only impractical but also will have safety issues. Bouvier (D. Bouvier, gas bottle with an alarm device, EP1843078A1, Oct. 10, 2007) discloses a float that is coupled to a valve and can be placed inside the gas cylinder such that the float can level the usage of the liquid petroleum gas. Such a device is a purely mechanical one and had usually a larger error towards a lower level of usage. It is not convenient as the user will need frequent attention to the indicator, and the low accuracy will also cost the tariff imbalance. Besides, it will not be able to detect any gaseous phase that will become more and more important after the cylinder is half-empty. Alternatively, Humphery (R. L. Humphery, Apparatus for monitoring fluid levels in a remotely located storage tanks, U.S. Pat. No. 7,937,215, May 3, 2011) discloses a mechanical shaft with a dialing gauge coupled with a magnet to sending the signal of a float level inside the liquid gas cylinder. Although this disclosure solved the issue of signal transmission but again had the same issue of a mechanical float which further requires that the cylinder must be perfectly leveled otherwise depending on the level and the float position, the actual gas consumption can be seriously misled. Both of the two disclosures will also require a special cylinder that shall include a float inside which is not only costly but the glass tube level indicators would also be prone to get damaged for a high volume application. Another alternative approach with a specially made cylinder that has an acoustic level sensor inside (Olah, L., Acoustic liquid level detection, US Patent Applications, 2012/0031182, Feb. 9, 2012) would have similar issues for the accuracy, cost, and external devices. Suman (S. Suman, Propane tank continuous monitoring system, U.S. Pat. No. 9,851,053, Dec. 26, 2017) teaches a system using a load sensor to be used to monitor the consumption of propane gas from a cylinder. While the load sensor is serving as the scale and requires close contact between the cylinder and the sensor enclosure, the actual consumption of the gas will only be calculated based on the weight loss of the cylinder. However, this will not only require a clear knowledge of the empty cylinder weight as well as that of a full tank. As a vast member of cylinders with different manufacturers, this knowledge would not be readily available and accurate. Also, any deviations of the gas density and improper engagement of the cylinder with the load sensor would introduce unspecified errors. In addition, the load sensor is often having a small dynamic range without being able to gauge the liquid-gas phase inside a cylinder.
In a most recent disclosure (Wise, E. C., Method and apparatus for monitoring, communicating and analyzing the amount of fluid in a tank, U.S. Pat. No. 9,435,675, Sep. 6, 2016), a special device is proposed to monitor the remaining mass of a gas container. Inside the special device, a flow meter is used to measure a plurality of flow rates that vary when being dispensed, and the embedded processor shall be used to determine the remaining mass and an indication shall then be generated by the device. However, the disclosed device for the gas consumption is based on the rolling mean or average of a plurality of non-continuous measured flow rate that may be quite deviated from the actual mass as it also requires the knowledge of the gas density, pressure, and temperature. The disclosed device can be remotely connected to a system comprised of a robot and a software application for remote gas data management. While this does provide values to the management of the logistics of the gas bottles or cylinders, the actual user(s) of the gas containers are left out of the cycle as the user(s) must only be at the promise close to the gas containers to know the status of the gas bottles or cylinders which does not provide sufficient benefits for the actual user(s). Besides, this device is an additional unit, if directly attached to the high pressurized gas container, may have some safety risks and each pressurized gas container shall be equipped with a dual durable mechanical pressure gauge together with a pressure regulation mechanical valve that ensures the gas released from the pressurized container would not risk the applications. Attachment of the gas regulation valve before or after the disclosed device shall add an excessive part which makes the operational inconvenient while the disclosed device shall also require an external power source which adds other operational difficulties. This is in particular undesired for the vast number of residential applications.
It is, therefore, the objective of the present disclosure to provide the design of an apparatus and the corresponding system that will allow both the end-users and consumer as well as the suppliers of the fuel gas cylinders to be instantly informed of the fuel consumption and cylinder status from such a device and system. Additionally, any potential leakage or safety status will also be registered and alarmed to the user as well as the supplier. Consequently, the management of the usage of fuel gas cylinders can be both safe and efficient. It will then be critical that the fuel consumption data can be measured directly and accurately without additional information or excessive calculation required, and further, the cost of the current management scheme will be reasonable and marketable for the significantly gained benefits. In the case of applications for residential fuel cylinders, the device and the system will also not require any additional parts to the end-users but a direct replacement of the current pure mechanical apparatus without losing but enhancing any advantageous features of the system, in particular of the safety features. The device will be stand-alone with the ability to be wirelessly interacting with the smart devices such as smart phones that are at reach by the users at any time that the smart devices can be further communicating with the destined cloud data that can be relayed to the fuel gas cylinder suppliers for inventory and manufacture management.
In one preferred embodiment, the disclosed apparatus will be integrated into the existing LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) fuel cylinder regulator into a single standalone unit. The primary usage is preferably to be for the fuel cylinders as fuel gas is one of the most used fuels in cylinder format. A simple mechanical device that is used to reduce the pressure from the cylinder to a couple of kilopascal above ambient is a mandatory apparatus for the usage of fuel gas in cylinders to power any appliances. This mechanical device is the only plug-in apparatus for use of fuel gas cylinders as the energy resources for appliances such as cooking wares for many of the residential households in the developing countries. Considering the actual application environments, it is not desirable to have the device as an additional or standalone apparatus even for the performance and safety enhancement as the vast number of users may not have the necessary knowledge for any additional connection and maintenance. This apparatus will then be desired to have the identical mechanical connections as those for the existing fuel gas cylinder pressure regulator. The addition to the existing pressure regulator will then be preferably placed at the gas outlet between the regulator body and the mechanical connector.
In one preferred embodiment, the smart addition that is integrated to the existing pressure regulator will have a MEMS mass flow sensing unit for metering the fuel gas consumption and a communication module to relay the information to the user as well as the supplier via the cloud data process.
The MEMS mass flow sensor chip in the MEMS mass flow sensing unit is fabricated by a micromachining technology similar to silicon CMOS technology. The micromachining technology is combining the technologies of thin film deposition, photolithography, and etching process to fabricate micro-devices in a micron or sub-micron scale. The MEMS mass flow sensor chip in the current invention is operated under calorimetric thermal mass flow sensing principle.
The MEMS mass flow sensing unit will be powered by a battery as a stand-alone unit and therefore it will be the same for the end-users in their use case. The MEMS mass flow sensing unit will directly and continuously measure the totalized fuel gas mass-consumed without the necessity for additional temperature and pressure measurement and averaging the plurality of the flow rates being registered once the end appliances are in use. The MEMS mass flow sensing unit will further have the memory in the form of an electronic flash that shall register the total consumed mass of the fuel gas in usage that can be pre-set by the supplier or the end-user. An alert will be sent to the user if the pre-set values were reached. The total fuel gas mass-consumed will be further added up by the values at each session and such information can be timely relayed to the user or the supplier. When the fuel gas is not in use, the MEMS mass flow sensing unit will go into a sleep mode to conserve the battery power.
In another preferred embodiment, the smart addition that is integrated to the existing pressure regulator will have a MEMS mass flow sensing unit for metering the fuel gas consumption and a communication module to relay the information to the user as well as the supplier via the cloud data process. The MEMS mass flow sensing unit as the added fuel gas consumption metering device will be placed at the exit of the pressure regulator. The exit will be made with a house of the MEMS mass flow sensing unit before the final connector to the external appliances. In such an arrangement, the device and the pressure regulator will be a single unit and there will be no changes in the actual usage by the end-user as for its operation and connection to the current fuel cylinders. The entire flow channel and the corresponding sensing electronics will be embedded inside the additional mechanical house to the pressure regulator that will be compatible and be in compliance with safety requirements for the existing fuel gas cylinders. The enclosure for the integrated MEMS mass flow sensing unit is preferred to be made completely with metals having the desired inlet and outlet identical to the existing pressure regulators. The metal base of the mass flow meter can also be made alternatively in a variety of formalities as long as the inlet/outlet gas consumption ports will be compatible with the current mechanical gas regulator models.
In another preferred embodiment, the smart addition that is integrated to the existing pressure regulator will have a MEMS mass flow sensing unit for metering the fuel gas consumption and a communication module to relay the information to the user as well as the supplier via the cloud data process. The MEMS mass flow sensing unit will have its flow channels for measurement of the fuel gas consumption in an assembly that will be composed of a plurality number of concentric cylinders that are evenly distributed in a cylinder formality serving as the metrology unit. As such the MEMS flow sensor chip will be placed at the center of the inner cylinder that will have the highest sensitivity. The number of the concentric cylinders can be scaled with the required flow channel size to host the maximal of the flowrate. This configuration will allow the flexibility of the MEMS mass flow sensing unit configuration that will be matched to the variety of the gas regulator and corresponding gas bottles or cylinders for the different applications or purposes. Thereafter, the full scale of the MEMS mass flow sensing unit can be adjusted via the changes of the sensor assembly that will be very cost-effective and easy for inventory management per the vast varieties of the fuel gas cylinder sizes.
In another preferred embodiment, the disclosed apparatus will have the MEMS mass flow sensing unit for metrology of the fuel gas consumption and relay the information to the user as well as the supplier via the cloud data process. The assembled and integrated fuel cylinder MEMS mass flow sensing unit and the pressure regulator apparatus will have the functionality of continuously metering the consumed fuel gas and relaying such information to the user via the connectivity to a smart device and further to the cloud for the assistance of the management to the fuel cylinder manufacturer. The new fuel cylinder apparatus will be readily connected to any fuel gas cylinders or containers by matching the integrated regulator with the desired fuel gas cylinders. In a preferred circumstance, the new fuel gas apparatus will also be utilized in other applications where fuel gas cylinders/containers are replaced by a fixed gas source or gas generator whilst the gas consumption information is also crucial to the users or the applications. In such a case, the MEMS mass flow sensing unit may be decoupled with the pressure regulator and directly connected to the supply flow channel or gas pipeline.
In yet another preferred embodiment, the disclosed apparatus will have the MEMS mass flow meter for metrology of the fuel gas consumption and relay the information to the user as well as the supplier via the cloud data process. The MEMS mass flow sensing unit shall further have the low energy version of Bluetooth or NB-IoT (narrowband Internet of Things) or other wireless communication components embedded inside the MEMS mass flow sensing unit. With this preferred configuration, the gas consumption data acquired by the MEMS mass flow sensing unit can be readily transmitted to smart devices such as a smart phone or a tablet that is widely available or accessible for the users. The software designated to be run on smart devices or the APP shall be used for further data logger and/or analysis for the interactive information of the fuel gas consumption status inside the fuel gas cylinder. The APP on a smart device will also be able to send the cylinder location to the cloud. In case that the smart device is not in proximity, a GPS module can be combined with the NB-IoT module to directly deliver the cylinder location to the designated data center or cloud. Meanwhile, the data registered in the MEMS mass flow sensing unit can also be downloaded to the smart devices via a wired data port such as USB data ports in case the wireless communication fails. Either the APP or the data connection via the wired data port will allow the user to program the MEMS mass flow sensing unit such that additional functions (e.g. fuel gas consumption low limit) can be customized. In an additional preferred embodiment, the measured data can be directly transmitted to a designated Cloud that hosts the database for desired fuel gas cylinders. The Cloud can also download the instructions to the designated MEMS mass flow sensing unit. The fuel gas cylinder manufacturer will then be able to manage the fuel cylinder schedule and inventory via the data from the Cloud. This will significantly help cylinder suppliers for service enhancement and efficiency.
The present disclosure provides a new design of an apparatus with an integrated flow meter and pressure regulator for fuel gas cylinders. This apparatus will be capable of continuously and precisely metering the fuel gas consumption while relaying such data to the user and further to the other interest parties such as fuel gas cylinder suppliers via a Cloud data infrastructure. These and other objectives of the present disclosure will become readily apparent upon further review of the following drawings and specifications. And additionally, for those with the knowledge of the art, the apparatus could be further utilized for gas delivery metering or dispensing via fixed gas sources or a gas generator.
In the current energy delivery via fuel gas cylinders, a pressure regulator is a mandatory apparatus to reduce the highly pressurized fuel gas inside the cylinder such that the home appliances can be supplied. However, as of today, several options for gas consumption metering available on market are a standalone unit without the metrology precise. It is troublesome for the users for the requirements of installation as well as the imprecision of the acquired data. The deployment of these types of apparatus is therefore not feasible. In particular, for the applications in residential energy supply, the users have an extremely wide spectrum of the capability of handling the devices. The desired device needs to be as simple as possible and it is desired to be compatible with the existing pressure regulators. Also, it will be desired to add additional safety features for the benefits of the applications. It will be further beneficiary to have the gas consumption information made available to both the user and the supplier for the improvement of inventory, storage, delivery logistics as well as fuel gas cylinder manufacturer. Therefore, the disclosure will address these and all the related demands for the fuel gas cylinders.
For the preferred embodiment, the present disclosure of an integrated mass flow meter with a pressure regulator for the fuel gas cylinders having the capability of remote data will have a MEMS mass flow sensing unit to measure the instant fuel gas consumption such that the fuel gas cylinder status can be continuously and precisely metered and the data will be relayed to both users via smart devices and fuel cylinder suppliers via remote data process (Cloud data). The explosive view of the integrated apparatus is shown in
For the preferred embodiments, the flow measurement module will have a molded and scalable flow channel where the MEMS mass flow sensor chip will be inserted inside the center of the flow channel. This module can then be installed directly to the molded metal compartment without additional process or machining.
This additional monitoring of the pressure data combined with the flow rate monitor could also be used for the detection of any possible existence of fuel leakage that will not only a waste of the fuel but it will likely lead to a severe safety issue.
The advantages of the preferred embodiment are exhibited in
For the preferred embodiment, the interactions among the apparatus installed onto a fuel gas cylinder, the user with the smart devices, the Cloud with data process, and the third party such as fuel gas cylinder suppliers or service providers are exhibited in
For the additional preferred embodiments, the apparatus for those in the art shall become readily and apparently could be further incorporated with additional features such as an electrical driving valve for remote operation, and apply the disclosures to similar applications such as industrial gas cylinder usage. It shall also be readily and apparently that the apparatus shall also be equipped with other wireless communication tools such as a Sigfox or any data communications to interact with a local router or station for a large scale of clusters of the fuel gas cylinder management.
