FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a flowmeter, and relates particularly to a flowmeter with inlet or outlet coupling means.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Water is a scarce resource. While there have been attempts to raise the public's awareness about minimising domestic water usage, it may be difficult for one to ascertain whether too much water has been flowing out of a water tap without quantifying or monitoring water usage. A monthly or quarterly water bill may provide an indication of water usage during the past month or past quarter, but it does not provide an instant indication of water usage or the usage at a particular garden hose, kitchen tap or bathtub tap.

There are known fluid flowmeters that are large scale, industrial meters and measure flow quantity by measuring the flow of specific impurities in the fluid. These industrial flowmeters are however unlikely to be suitable for domestic use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, there is provided a flowmeter comprising: a body having an inlet for fluid inflow and an outlet for fluid outflow, the inlet including inlet coupling means for removably coupling the inlet to a first fluid carrying member; a movable member being housed inside the body and designed to move in response to flow of the fluid from the inlet to the outlet; sensing means for sensing movement of the movable member, the movement being indicative of flow rate or flow quantity of the fluid; an indicator, operatively coupled to the sensing means, for indicating the flow rate or the flow quantity; and energy conversion means for converting light energy to electrical energy provided to the flowmeter.

Preferably the inlet coupling means includes a first connector for forcibly lockable and unlockable engagement with the first fluid carrying member. More preferably the first connector includes a first retaining part for engaging a first retractable part of the first fluid carrying member. Alternatively the first connector includes a first retractable part for engaging a first retaining part of the first fluid carrying member. Even more preferably the first connector includes a clip-on or snap-on mechanism. Preferably the outlet includes outlet coupling means for removably coupling the outlet to a second fluid carrying member. More preferably the outlet coupling means includes a second connector for forcibly lockable and unlockable engagement with the second fluid carrying member. Even more preferably the second connector includes a second retaining part for engaging a second retractable part of the second fluid carrying member. Alternatively the second connector includes a second retractable part for engaging a second retaining part of the second fluid carrying member. Still more preferably the second connector includes a clip-on or snap-on mechanism.

Preferably the first fluid carrying member includes a water hose, a garden hose, a water tap, a shower head, a water tank, a sprinkler or a fluid reticulation system for gardening or other purposes.

Preferably the second fluid carrying member includes a water hose, a garden hose, a water tap, a shower head, a water tank, a sprinkler or a fluid reticulation system for gardening or other purposes.

Preferably the sensing means includes electromagnetic sensing means. More preferably the electromagnetic sensing means includes a detector for detecting changes in magnetic flux. Even more preferably the electromagnetic sensing means includes a magnetic element for inducing an electric current or voltage in the detector in response to the movement of the movable member. Still more preferably the magnetic element includes one or more magnets adapted to be carried on the movable member.

Preferably the flowmeter further comprises determining means, operatively coupled to the sensing means, for determining the flow rate or the flow quantity. More preferably the determining means includes a microcontroller for computing the flow rate or the flow quantity based on the induced electric current or voltage. Even more preferably the microcontroller is adapted to compute the flow rate or the flow quantity based on the periodicity of the induced electric current or voltage.

Preferably the determining means includes a memory for storing the flow rate or flow quantity.

Preferably the energy conversion means includes photovoltaic means. More preferably the photovoltaic means is adapted to provide the electrical energy to any one or more of the indicator, the sensing means and the determining means.

Preferably the energy conversion means includes an electrical energy storage element for storing the converted electrical energy. More preferably the electrical energy storage element includes a rechargeable battery. Alternatively the electrical energy storage element includes a capacitor.

Preferably the photovoltaic means includes one or more photovoltaic cells.

Preferably the flowmeter further comprises a flow control member for controlling the flow rate of the fluid. More preferably the flow control member includes fluid releasing means for, in an unbiased position, blocking the flow of the fluid and for, in a biased position, allowing the flow of the fluid.

Preferably the releasing means includes adjusting means for adjusting the flow rate of the fluid. Preferably the movable member includes a rotatably movable member. More preferably the rotatably movable member includes an impeller. Even more preferably the impeller is adapted to rotate about an axis substantially parallel to the flow of the fluid. Alternatively the impeller is adapted to rotate about an axis substantially perpendicular to the flow of the fluid.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING FIGURES

Fig. 1 A perspective view of an embodiment of the flowmeter according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 A side view of the embodiment of the flowmeter as shown in Fig. 1 , shown together with a connectorised hose.

Fig. 3 A side view of the embodiment of the flowmeter as shown in Fig. 1 connected to the connectorised hose.

Fig. 4 A cut-away view of the embodiment of the flowmeter shown in Fig. 1 with parts of the body removed for illustration purposes.

Fig. 5a A front perspective view of another embodiment of the flowmeter.

Fig. 5b Another front perspective view of the embodiment of the flowmeter shown in Fig. 5a.

Fig. 5c A rear perspective view of the embodiment of the flowmeter shown in Fig. 5a.

Fig. 5d A top plan view of the embodiment of the flowmeter shown in Fig. 5a.

Fig. 5e An end view of the embodiment of the flowmeter shown in Fig. 5a.

Fig. 5f A front plan view of the embodiment of the flowmeter shown in Fig. 5a.

Fig. 5g Another end view of the embodiment of the flowmeter shown in Fig. 5a.

Fig. 5h A bottom plan view of the embodiment of the flowmeter shown in Fig. 5a.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The flowmeter according to the present invention generally comprises a body having an inlet for fluid inflow and an outlet for fluid outflow, a movable member being housed inside the body and designed to move in response to flow of the fluid from the inlet to the outlet, sensing means for sensing movement (indicative of flow rate or flow quantity of the fluid) of the movable member, and an indicator for indicating flow rate or flow quantity of fluid. The inlet includes inlet coupling means for removably coupling the inlet to, for example, a garden hose or other fluid carrying members. The inclusion of the inlet coupling means improves the portability of the flowmeter so that it can be used to indicate the flow rate or flow quantity in, for example, any selected one of a plurality of garden hoses in a residential premise. In a preferred embodiment as shown in Figs. 1 , 2 and 3, the body 2 is of a generally tubular shape. The inlet 4 and the outlet 6 are at the opposed ends of the tubular body 2. The inlet 4 includes coupling means, which in this embodiment is in the form of a male connector 5, for removably coupling to a corresponding female connector 9 of a connectorised water hose 7. In other embodiments, the coupling means may be adapted to removably couple to other water carrying media such as a water tap, shower head, garden hose, water tank, a sprinkler or a fluid reticulation system for gardening or other purposes. Such water carrying media may be connectorised with standard connectors and the coupling means may be connectable to these standard connectors.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, the female connector 9 of the connectorised hose 7 is removably coupled to the corresponding male connector 5 of the inlet 4 with a clip-on or snap-on mechanism. In this preferred embodiment the male connector 5 and the female connector 9 of the hose 7 are adapted to be engaged in a forcibly lockable and unlockable manner. Specifically, the outer surface of the male connector 5 includes a retaining part (such as an annular ring 8) for engaging a retractable part (such as a bendable or resilient finger (not shown)) protruding out from the inner surface of the female connector 9. By inserting the male connector 5 into the female connector 9 and pushing the connectors towards each other, the retractable part of the female connector 9 may be displaced or bent so as to pass over the male connector to engage and become locked to the retaining part of the male connector 5. Similarly, by pulling the male and female connectors apart, the retractable part of the male connector 5 may be displaced or bent so as to pass over the male connector 5 to disengage and become unlocked from the retaining part of the female connector 9.

Alternatively the inlet coupling means may be in the form of a female connector with a retractable part (instead of a male connector with a retaining part) for engaging the connecterised water hose 7 via a male connector with a retaining part (instead of a female connector with a retractable part). Although not shown in the figure, the outlet 6 may also include outlet coupling means in the form of a connector for removably coupling to, for example, another water hose or other fluid carrying media. Similar to the inlet coupling means, the outlet coupling means may be in the form of a male connector with a retaining part for engaging a water carrying medium via a female connector with a retractable part. Alternatively the outlet coupling means may be in the form of a female connector with a retractable part for engaging a water carrying medium via a male connector with a retaining part.

Referring back to Fig. 1 , housed within the body 2 is a rotatably movable element in the form of an impeller 1 1 which has a magnet 10 near the blade region and away from the axis of rotation. When the fluid flows, the impeller 1 1 rotates and the magnet 10 revolves around the axis of rotation of the impeller. Referring to Fig. 4, which shows the inner parts of the flowmeter where a substantial part of the body 2 (including the inlet and the outlet) and indicator 16 (discussed more below) have been removed for illustration purposes, a metal coil 12 is in the vicinity of the impeller 1 1 . The combination of the metal coil 12 and the magnet 10 forms the electromagnetic sensing means for sensing rotation of the impeller 1 1 . When revolving, the magnet 10 may induce a periodic voltage across the metal coil 12 via electromagnetic induction, thereby inducing a periodic electrical current to flow in the metal coil 12. For illustration purposes, the leads terminating at the two ends of the coil 12 are shown in Fig. 4 as hanging about freely and not connected to other components. In practice, the metal coil 12 is part of a Hall Effect switch which electromagnetically detects the induced current or voltage in the metal coil 12 in response to the rotation of the impeller 1 1 .

The flowmeter may further comprise determining means, such as a microcontroller, operatively coupled to the electromagnetic sensing means, for determining or computing the flow rate or flow quantity. For example, the microcontroller may receive from the Hall Effect switch a periodic electrical signal, which corresponds to the periodic induced current or voltage due to the rotation of the impeller. The microcontroller may be programmed to determine the frequency or count the number of cycles in the periodic electrical signal within any given time slot (eg. 100 milliseconds) to compute the flow rate. The microcontroller may also be programmed to determine the flow quantity (with that time slot) by multiplying the flow rate by the duration of the time slot. Furthermore, the controller may be programmed to accumulate the flow quantity within consecutive time slots to compute the accumulated flow quantity over a period of time. The accumulated flow quantity may be reset by a reset button on the flowmeter to zero. The microcontroller may have a memory to store the accumulated flow quantity.

The flowmeter may further comprise energy conversion means, such as a solar panel with one or more photovoltaic cells or photovoltaic means, for converting light energy to electrical energy provided to the indicator, the Hall effect switch, the controller, or other parts of the flowmeter as required. The energy conversion means may include an electrical energy storage element, such as a nickel metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable battery or a capacitor, for storing the converted electrical energy.

In one embodiment, the flowmeter may be formed integrally with a trigger gun. For example, the flowmeter may further comprise a flow control member for controlling the flow rate of the fluid. For example, the flow control member may include a fluid releasing means, in the form of a trigger, which blocks the flow of the fluid when not biased or triggered. In a biased or triggered position, the trigger allows the flow of the fluid. The trigger may be continuously or discretely adjustable such that the flow rate of the fluid may be adjusted accordingly by a user, for example, in response to the flow rate or flow quantity indicated on the indicator 16.

The impeller 1 1 may be adapted to rotate about an axis substantially parallel to the flow of the fluid. The axle (not shown) of the impeller 1 1 may be securely affixed to the body 2. Generally a voltage is induced across the coil 12 if there is a changing magnetic flux through the surface bound by the coil 12. The metal coil 12 may be disposed depending on the axis of rotation to maximise the magnetic flux through the surface bound by the coil 12.

Alternatively the impeller 1 1 may be adapted to rotate about an axis substantially perpendicular to the flow of the fluid, as in the embodiment shown in Figs. 5a-5h. Components in Figs. 5a-5h that have a corresponding component in Figs. 1 -4 are labelled with the same numeral references but suffixed with a prime (').The impeller (not shown) in this embodiment is partly housed inside a semi-circular section 18 of the body 2'. When water or fluid flows from the inlet 4' to outlet 6', the impeller (not shown) may rotate about an axis perpendicular to a straight line drawn between the inlet 4' and outlet 6', the tip of the impeller may follow a path near the curved portion of the semicircular section 18.

The metal coil 12 or the Hall Effect switch may be inside or outside the tubular body 2 for the electromagnetic induction to occur. Generally the induced voltage and electrical current have larger peak values if the magnet 10 is placed closer to the metal coil 12.

Alternatively, the locations of the metal coil 12 (or the Hall Effect switch) and the magnet 10 may be switched. That is, the metal coil may be installed on the rotatable member and therefore rotates with the rotatable member, whereas the magnet 10 may be inside or outside the tubular body 2. In this case, the electromagnetic means is coupled to the rotatable member via the coil instead of the magnet. Again, a voltage is induced across the coil if there is a changing magnetic flux through the surface bound by the coil.

In other embodiments, the movable member may be a revolving magnet, rather than an impeller, that revolves along the circumference of the tubular body in response to the flow of the fluid. Alternatively the movable member may move randomly in response to the flow of the fluid.

Referring back again to the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 1 , the flowmeter may include a source of illumination 14 such as a set of light emitting diodes (LEDs) being disposed along the circumference of the body 2. The source of illumination 14 may illuminate substantially towards the direction of the fluid outflow. The source of illumination may include light bulbs. This illumination may be useful, for example, for watering the garden at night time or for washing hands without turning on the bathroom lights. The source of illumination may be operatively coupled to the microcontroller, which activates the illumination upon receipt of a periodic electrical signal, an indication that fluid is flowing in the flowmeter. Alternatively or additionally, the source of illumination 14 may be operatively coupled to the flow control member or the trigger (not shown) which, when biased or actuated, activates the illumination. The induced voltage or current may be in the form of AC (alternating current) power. A rectifier circuit, such as a capacitor, may be used to smooth the electrical current supplied to the source of illumination 14 for producing illumination with relatively constant brightness. The induced voltage or current may also be used to recharge the rechargeable battery.

In this embodiment the indicator 16 is a liquid crystal display backlit by a backlight. The indicator 16 is designed to indicate the flow quantity of the fluid, such as domestic water usage. The indicator 16 may be adapted to refresh its display, for example, every half a second to indicate both the flow rate and (accumulated) flow quantity. Now that a preferred embodiment of the flowmeter has been described it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention has the following advantages:

• The flowmeter may be installed and removed repeatedly at different water carrying media.

• The flow rate or flow quantity through individual components, such as a garden hose, kitchen tap, bathtub tap can be separately monitored.

• The flow quantity can be instantly indicated.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention described herein is susceptible to variations and modifications other than those specifically described. For example, the metal coil may include a single turn or multiple turns. The electronic display may comprise LED indicators or a LED matrix.

All variations and modifications are to be considered within the ambit of the present invention the nature of which is to be determined from the foregoing description.