The technical field of invention relates to the field of measurement devices and systems. Still particularly this invention relates to that of automated meter to measure the flow of water used in considerable depths under the ground level and hence periodic replacement of batteries etc, is not possible. Further particularly this invention relates to a water meter which operates by means of energy that can extracted from its surroundings instead of a peripheral power source like battery etc. Furthermore the invention talks about a water meter which works by means of a super capacitor and micro generator as energy giving sources replacing that of a battery.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION: -

It is quite evident that in today’s world where almost all the everyday process involves the role of electronic components, it is vital to fulfill the power demand for these microelectronic components. It must be also understood that future depends on wireless communication, it is important to supply sufficient electric power to the miniaturized devices. A continuous source of energy supply instead of the existing powering methods which employs batteries would be highly desirable. One method of supplying the required power for small electronic devices is by using the energy available in its operational environment.

The use of efficient energy harvesting techniques is essential. Energy harvesting is the process of capturing the residual energy from a natural phenomenon or an industrial process. Hence the energy harvested here is free-energy or the surplus energy of the process. The process of harvesting energy from the process itself is a practical and intelligent approach for the small scale electronic components as microcontrollers and microprocessors. This energy harvesting will also be useful in areas where there is need for the device to operate autonomously for a long time without the need to replace the batteries.

One of the key area, where this concept can be used is the metering systems. The metering systems these days have been made smart and are employing micro electronic devices. This is because they deal with real time data and process instantaneous values. This is a real challenge as usually the pipelines where these meters are fixed is usually underground and cannot be accessed easily. The flow meters, sensors, transceivers and other electronic components used require an external power supply compulsorily as they are not autonomous. Hence, building a system where the energy is extracted from the operational surroundings would be useful. For instance, a super capacitor and a micro generator can be used instead of a battery.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide, a battery less water meter capable of working in underneath the ground levels.

It is a further an object of the invention to provide a battery less water meter, which uses, a super capacitor and a micro generator for its power requirements replacing the requirement of a battery for power source.

Still further, its an object of the invention to provide a battery less water meter which is capable of generating its energy from its operational surroundings and environment instead of relying upon external power sources like battery which needs periodic replacement.

Further more, it is an object of the invention to provide a battery less water meter, for which energy harvesting is achieved by the process of capturing the residual energy from a natural phenomenon. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The main components of a smart flow meter are a microcontroller, a metering system, a communication protocol and a power source. Usually batteries are used as the source of energy in most cases. However, these batteries run out of charge and require periodic replacement which is very difficult when the meters are buried underground. A generator can be installed to provide required power to the system. The mechanical energy required for the power generation can be extracted from the flow using an impeller-generator setup. This energy extracted from the flow can be stored in a super capacitor of sufficient capacity.

TURBINE-GENERATOR SET

The turbine and generator set ( Fig 2) is the vital part of the system. The system consists of a turbine (5) that is immersed in the flow of water. The water flowing makes the turbine to rotate. The turbine is couples with the shaft of a generator. The turbine wanes made with PEEK engineering plastic is preferred as it is less in weight and eliminates the iron losses. Micro generators are the next big thing in electronics as it can be used to supply devices with low rating such a micro controller.

AXIAL-FLUX-PERMANENT-MAGNET GENERATOR

An Axial-Flux-Permanent-Magnet Generator (AFPM) (Fig 1) has high induced power due to its short axial length and high number of poles. The stator is light and weightless as its made of PEEK engineering plastic. Another advantage of this material is that it eliminates the cogging torque and reduce the iron loss thus making it cogging-resistance free. This type of generator is used in distributed power systems as it has high-efficiency. Generators, of these type, wherein the field windings are replaced by a permanent magnet and they have an added advantage as the copper losses are eliminated. Also, the stator (2) is made of Polyether Ether Ketone (PEEK) engineering plastic. This material is non-magnetic and non conducting and it is also light in weight. Adding to these feature, the AFPM generator also has many advantages such as simpler construction, lower weight and size for the same performance, reduced losses, and higher efficiency.

DC MICRO HYDRO GENERATOR

A micro hydro generator ( fig 2) is one that contains a miniaturized turbine that rotates when water flows through it. The two ends of the generator are connected in the path of the water flow ensuring the continuous supply of flow through the turbine.

SUPER CAPACITOR

A super capacitor is on which has a high value of capacitance and lower voltage limits. They store more energy compared to electrolytic capacitors as they store energy in electrolyte- electrolyte interface. They consist of two metal plates that are coated with a porous material called activated carbon or graphene. Hence, they have bigger area for storing much more charge throughout their lifetime of 10 to 20 years. The other advantages of super capacitors are they provide high power density, high load currents and have low equivalent series resistance. Another important characteristic of the super capacitor is that they can charge in seconds and can also deliver energy at low temperatures (as much as -40 ).

As the voltage is applied the positive and negative ions diffuse to the negative and positive electrodes respectively. A double layer is formed as electric charge accumulates on at the surface of electrodes making each of the layer work as a normal capacitor. Hence as a whole it looks like two capacitors are in series As the capacitance of a material is directly proportional to the area of the plate and inversely proportional to the distance between the plates, here the distance between the plates is very small as in nanometers. Hence the value of the capacitance is large. Since graphene is used the surface area is very large. Hence as a whole the value of capacitance is very large.

BLOCK DIAGRAM

The block diagram of the system is shown in fig 4. It consists of an impeller immersed in the pipe in the direction of the flow. The impeller rotates as the fluid or gas flows through it. The impeller is coupled to the shaft of a generator (G). Using the generator, the mechanical energy of rotation of the impeller is converted to electrical energy. The generator employed here is usually a micro generator as the power requirement is low. A converter is used to convert the energy generated by the generator to the desirable form so it can be stored in the super capacitor. The converter can be any power electronic device depending on the requirement. The super capacitor is chosen depending on the power requirement of the metering system.