WO2000022386A1

WO2000022386A1 - Flow meter

Info

Publication number: WO2000022386A1
Application number: PCT/KR1999/000614
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kyu-Heung Lee
Original assignee: Lee Kyu Heung
Priority date: 1998-10-12
Filing date: 1999-10-12
Publication date: 2000-04-20
Also published as: AU6125899A

Abstract

A flow meter includes a rotor housing (20) with a fluid inlet hole (14), a fluid outlet hole (15) and an inner groove formed between the fluid inlet and outlet holes. A separation plate (26) is partially inserted into the inner groove of the cylindrical body to prevent a fluid introduced into the rotor housing (20) through the fluid inlet hole (14) from directly discharging from the fluid outlet hole (15) and circulate the fluid along an inner wall of the rotor housing (20) before the discharging. A flying saucer-shaped rotor (70) is disposed within the rotor housing (20) at an inclined state by a predetermined angle. The rotor has an airtight inner space. A rotor shaft (72) is partially inserted into the rotor. A lever shaft (45) is connected to the rotor shaft (72) to transmit the rotation signal of the rotor to the outside. A rotor supporting shaft (61) is connected to the rotor shaft opposite to the lever shaft (45) to support the rotor. The airtight inner space of the rotor gives the rotor a buoyancy to compensate for a weight of the rotor shaft connected to the rotor.

Description

FLOW METER

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(a) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a flow meter for measuring the quantity

of a fluid such as a liquid or a gas and, more particularly, to a flow meter which

can correctly measure the quantity of a fluid with a flying saucer-shaped rotor

having an airtight inner space while minimizing frictional resistance of the contact

area of the rotor and other components.

(b) Description of the Related Art

Generally, flow meters are employed in the petrochemical industry or in

the natural gas industry for the use in measuring the quantity of a fluid such as a

liquid or a gas. Positive displacement flow meters are frequently used for such

purpose.

The positive displacement flow meter has a rotor, a rotor housing for

accommodating the rotor, and a mechanical or electrical counter connected to

the rotor. The quantity measurement of the fluid is made from multiplying the

volume between the rotor and the rotor housing and the rotating number of the

rotor. In operation, the rotor rotates under the flowing pressure of the fluid

introduced in the rotor housing to thereby drive the counter. The counter

counts the rotating number of the rotor and issues the results by using an

appropriate display means.

Such a positive displacement flow meter may be conventionally classified into a piston type, a rotary type and a gear type in accordance with the

shape of the rotor. In these typed flow meters, the contact area between the

rotor and the rotor housing is relatively wide so that the frictional resistance

occurring in the wide contact area impedes rotation of the rotor and results in

incorrect measurement.

U. S. Patent No. 5,824,896 discloses a flow meter that improves the

measurement characteristic by minimizing the contact area between the rotor

and the rotor housing. The rotor is flying saucer-shaped with a spherical body

and a wing. In operation, the spherical body of the rotor rotates to form a

conical outline, whereas the wing of the rotor vibrates to make a wave form.

The contact between the rotor and the rotor housing is linearly made so that

frictional resistance at the contact area is minimized and the measurement

precision is enhanced.

However, in the above-identified flow meters, the frictional resistance at

the contact area between the rotor and the rotor housing is not so satisfactorily

minimized as to achieve stable measurement precision at various flow rates and

fluid pressure.

Particularly, considering that the rotor is driven under the pressure of the

fluid introduced into the rotor housing, the quantity measurement of the fluid is

impossible or incorrect when the external fluid reservoir for feeding the fluid into

the flow meter contains a small quantity of oil or gas that does not exert sufficient

fluid pressure for driving the flow meter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a flow meter which can

correctly measure the quantity of a fluid at various flow rates and fluid pressure

while minimizing frictional resistance at the contact area between a rotor and a

rotor housing.

These and other objects may be achieved by a flow meter including a

rotor housing with a fluid inlet hole, a fluid outlet hole and an inner groove

formed between the fluid inlet and outlet holes. A separation plate is partially

inserted into the inner groove of the cylindrical body to prevent a fluid introduced

into the rotor housing through the fluid inlet hole from directly discharging from

the fluid outlet hole and circulate the fluid along an inner wall of the rotor housing

before the discharging. A flying saucer-shaped rotor is disposed within the

rotor housing at an inclined state by a predetermined angle while forming an

airtight inner space. A rotor shaft is partially inserted into the rotor, and a lever

shaft is connected to the rotor shaft to transmit the rotation signal of the rotor to

the outside. A rotor supporting shaft is connected to the rotor shaft opposite to

the lever shaft to support the rotor.

The airtight inner space of the rotor gives the rotor a buoyancy to

compensate for a weight of the rotor shaft connected to the rotor. The airtight

inner space of the rotor has a varying or constant shape. The contact areas

between the rotor and the rotor housing are present only between the rotor shaft

and the lever shaft, between the rotor shaft and the rotor supporting shaft, and

between the rotor and the rotor supporting shaft all with a bearing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A more complete appreciation of the invention, and many of the

attendant advantages thereof, will be readily apparent as the same becomes

better understood by reference to the following detailed description when

considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like

reference symbols indicate the same or the similar components, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a flow meter with a rotor and a rotor housing

according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a front view of the rotor housing shown in Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 3 is a front view of a separation plate combined with the rotor

housing shown in Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 4A is a front view of the rotor shown in Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 4B is a sectional view of the rotor shown in Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 5 is a view illustrating movement patterns of the rotor shown in Fig.

1 ; Fig. 6A is a front elevation view of first and second rotor supporting

shafts combined with the rotor shown in Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 6B is a side elevation view of the first and second rotor supporting

shafts with the rotor shown in Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 6C is a view illustrating the movement relation of the first rotor

supporting shaft to a bell of the rotor shown in Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 7 is a schematic view of a rotation signal transmission member for

the flow meter shown in Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 8 is a schematic view illustrating a pipe line arrangement for the flow meter shown in Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view of a rotor and a rotor housing for a flow meter

according to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 10A is a front view of the rotor shown in Fig. 9;

Fig. 10B is a sectional view of an upper half portion of the rotor shown in

Fig. 9;

Fig. 10C is a sectional view of a cylindrical body of the rotor shown in Fig.

9; and

Fig. 10D is a plan view of a separation plate receiving member for the

rotor shown in Fig. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of this invention will be explained with reference

to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a flow meter according to a first preferred

embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1 , the flow meter

includes a flying saucer-shaped rotor 70 disposed within a rotor housing 20 at an

inclined state by a predetermined angle. The rotor housing 20 is encased with

upper and lower frames 11 and 12. The upper frame 11 has a top opening

portion, and a cover 93 is mounted over the top opening portion of the upper

frame 11.

As shown in Fig. 2, the rotor housing 20 has a cylindrical body 21

covered with top and bottom plates 22 and 23. The inner wall of the cylindrical

body 21 is curved to form a circular arc the center of which is placed at the central axis of the cylindrical body 21. The cylindrical body 21 is provided with

an inlet hole 24 fluid-communicating with an external inlet pipe 14 shown in Fig.

8, an outlet hole 25 fluid-communicating with an outlet pipe 15 shown in Fig. 8,

and an inner groove (not shown) formed between the inlet hole 24 and the outlet

hole 25. A separation plate 26 is partially inserted into the inner groove of the

cylindrical body 21 , and fixed there by way of screws 28 from the outside. The

separation plate 26 is to prevent the fluid introduced into the rotor housing 20

from directly discharging through the outlet hole 25, and to circulate it along the

inner wall of the rotor housing 20 before the discharging.

As shown in Fig. 3, the separation plate 26 has rounded lateral sides 29

and a rounded free end 27.

As shown in Figs. 4A to 4C, the rotor 70 has a spherical body 71 with

upper and lower opening portions placed at a common axis and an inner empty

space 79, and a wing extended from the outer periphery of the spherical body 71

in a body while forming a groove 74. The separation plate 26 is inserted into

the groove 74 such that the rounded free end 27 contacts the outer periphery of

the spherical body 71. The rounded free end 27 of the separation plate 26 has

a curvature adapted to the outer periphery of the spherical body 71. The

groove 74 for receiving the separation plate 26 is defined by a short side and

two longitudinal sides. The two longitudinal sides has upper and lower surfaces

inclined from a middle portion to the outside while gradually widening toward the

inner short side.

In operation, as shown in Fig. 5, the spherical body 71 of the rotor 70 rotates to form a conical outline, whereas the wing of the rotor 70 vibrates to

make a wave form.

The rounded lateral sides 29 of the separation plate 26 are formed with

a curvature adapted to the wave vibration of the wing of the rotor 70. Further,

the curved inner wall of the cylindrical body 21 makes it possible for the wing of

the rotor 70 to wave-vibrate in a predetermined clearance thereto.

A rotor shaft 72 is held at the upper opening portion of the spherical

body 71 by way of screw-coupling with a holder 73. The rotor shaft 72 has a

protruded top portion, a stepped middle portion and a branched bottom portion.

In the combination of the spherical body 71 , the stepped middle portion of the

rotor shaft 72 is roughly placed at the upper opening portion of the spherical

body 71 , the protruded top portion of the rotor shaft 72 at the outside of the

spherical body 71 , and the branched bottom portion of the rotor shaft 72 at the

inner space 79 of the spherical body 71. The stepped middle portion of the

rotor shaft 72 is hanging on a protruding portion of the spherical body 71 and

fixed there by way of screw-coupling with a holder 73.

A sealing ring 78 is interposed between the rotor shaft 72 and the

spherical body 71 in an airtight manner. In this structure, the fluid introduced

into the rotor housing 20 is naturally flowed into the inner empty space 79 of the

spherical body 71 through the lower opening portion, and occupies some of the

space 79 while making the remaining inner space 79 to be in an airtight state.

The airtight inner space 79 varies in shape in accordance with the movements of

the rotor 70 such that the upper surface of the fluid defining the airtight inner space 79 is positioned to be normal to the central axis of the rotor housing 20.

The above-structured airtight inner space 79 gives buoyancy to the rotor 70 in a

direction opposite to the working direction of the weight of the rotor shaft 72 so

that the possible displacement effect of the rotor 70 due to the weight of the rotor

shaft 72 can be compensated.

A first bush 75 and a tapering upper bearing 76 are sequentially inserted

onto the protruded top portion of the rotor shaft 72. A second bush 77 is

mounted onto the tapering upper bearing 76 and fixed to the top end of the rotor

shaft 72 by using a screw to hold the first bush 75 and the tapering upper

bearing 76 at proper positions.

The branched bottom portion of the rotor shaft 72 has two parts

branched from the stepped middle portion that are bent toward each other at

their middle each with a free end. A bell 52 for a bearing is held in-between the

free ends of the two branched parts.

The combination relation of the rotor 70 with other components of the

flow meter will be now described again with reference to Fig. 1.

As shown in Fig. 1 , the bottom plate 23 of the rotor housing 20 is

provided with an opening portion through which first and second rotor supporting

shaft 51 and 61 are sequentially connected to the rotor 70. A lower minute-

control unit 60 is mounted around the second rotor supporting shaft 61.

The top end of the first rotor supporting shaft 51 is inserted into the

aforementioned bell 52 held in-between the free ends of the two branched parts

of the rotor shaft 72 through the lower opening portion of the cylindrical body 71 of the rotor 70.

As shown in Figs. 6A and 6B, the first rotor supporting shaft 51 is screw-

fixed to the second rotor supporting shaft 61 via a fixation plate 67. As shown

in Fig. 6B, bell holder supporting members are protruded from the second rotor

supporting shaft 61 while positioning at both sides of the first rotor supporting

shaft 51. A rectangular-shaped bell holder 53 is screw-fixed to the bell holder

supporting members. In this structure, the free ends of the branched bottom

parts of the rotor shaft 72 and the rectangular shaped bell holder 53 are crossed

over each other. The bottom portion of the bell holder 53 contacting the outer

top portion of the bell 52 has a curvature adapted to the outer periphery of the

bell 52. The top end of the first rotor supporting shaft 51 contacting the inner

top portion of the bell 52 is ball-shaped with a curvature adapted to the inner

periphery of the bell 52. In this structure, the rotor shaft 72 can smoothly

rotates about the first rotor supporting shaft 51 via the bell 52 having a smoothly

curved inner periphery. The side portions of the bell 52 are structured to be

tapering such that they does not contact the first rotor supporting shaft 51 during

the rotation of the rotor shaft 72.

The lower minute-control unit 60 includes a holder 68 for holding the

second rotor supporting shaft 61 , a fixation bolt 66 for coupling the second rotor

supporting shaft 61 with the holder 68, a control nut 62 for controlling the height

of the holder 68 to be placed at a predetermined position, a bolt 64 for coupling

the control nut 62 with the bottom plate 23 of the rotor housing 20, and a fixation

nut 63 for fixing the holder 68 at the predetermined position. The above-structured lower minute-control unit 60 determines the height

of the rotor 70 by minutely controlling the holder 68 with the control nut 62.

A lower bearing 65 is provided at the middle portion of the second rotor

supporting shaft 61 , and contacts the gist of the the lower opening portion of the

cylindrical body 71 of the rotor 70. The lower bearing 65 is to prevent the

serious inclining of the rotor shaft 72, and to make it possible for the rotor 72 to

smoothly rotate about the second rotor supporting shaft 72 without any frictional

resistance.

On the other hand, the top plate 22 of the rotor housing 20 is also

provided with an opening portion through which a lever shaft 45 is connected to

the rotor 70 via a lever 46 to rotate upon receipt of the rotational power of the

rotor 70. An upper minute-control unit 40 is mounted around the lever shaft 45

to control the inclination of the rotor 70.

The lever 46 is mounted around the bottom end portion of the lever shaft

45, and fixed there. The lever 46 has a groove into which the aforementioned

first bush 75 is inserted.

The upper minute-control unit 40 includes a support 41 mounted onto

the lever 46 to support the lever shaft 45, a control nut 42 for controlling the

height of the support 41 to be placed at a predetermined position, a bolt 44 for

coupling the control nut 42 with the top plate 22 of the rotor housing 20, and a

fixation nut 43 for fixing the support 41 at the predetermined position.

The support 41 has a tapering bottom portion which is protruded into the

rotor housing 20 through the opening portion of the top plate 22 and immersed in the fluid introduced into the rotor housing 20. The tapering bottom portion of

the support 41 contacts the aforementioned tapering upper bearing 76. In case

the inclination of the rotor 70 should be controlled, the height of the support 41 is

changed by controlling the control nut 42 and the rotor shaft 72 moves along the

tapering bottom portion of the support 41. In this way, the minute-control of the

inclination of the rotor 72 can be accomplished with the upper minute-control unit

40. Furthermore, in connection with the lower minute-control unit 60, the upper

minute-control unit 40 is operated such that the spherical body 71 and the wing

of the rotor 70 constantly have a clearance with respect to the internal surface of

the rotor housing 70.

A plurality of gears 30, 31 and 32 is connected to the lever shaft 45

above the upper minute-control unit 40 while positioning within the upper frame

11. The rotational power of the lever shaft 45 is transmitted to a rotation signal

transmission member 80 that is connected to the gears 30, 31 and 32 with a

gear shaft 45a co-axial with the lever shaft 45. The rotation signal transmission

member 80 is positioned within the cover 93 covering the top opening portion of

the upper frame 11.

As shown in Fig. 7, the rotation signal transmission member 80 has

lower and upper magnetic discs 82 and 85 spaced apart from each other with a

predetermined distance. The lower and upper magnetic discs 82 and 85 are

formed each with two or more magnetic pieces. The magnetic pieces of the

lower and upper magnetic discs 82 and 85 are arranged to be alternately varied

in magnetic poles, respectively. An isolation plate 84 is interposed between the lower and upper magnetic discs 82 and 85 to completely isolate the top opening

portion of the upper frame 11 from the outside. The isolation plate 84 is formed

with non-magnetic austenite stainless. In this structure, the rotation signal is

transmitted in a non-contact manner.

The upper magnetic disc 85 is provided with a disc shaft 45b, and an

encoder gear 92 is connected to the disc shaft 45b. When the lower magnetic

disc 82 is rotated upon receipt of the rotational power from the lever shaft 45, the

upper magnetic disc 85 is rotated in the same direction as that of the lower

magnetic disc 82 due to the magnetic forces. At this time, the rotation signal of

the upper magnetic disc 85 is transmitted to an encoder 91 for a counter via the

disc shaft 45b and the encoder gear 92.

The encoder 91 is mounted within the cover 93 with other encoder

driving components, and a plurality of sealing members 89, 94 and 95 are

provided between the cover 93 and other components.

The non-described reference numerals 83, 87, 88, 112 and 113 indicate

a fixation member for fixing the rotation signal transmission member 80, a

bearing, a gear, a display device for displaying the quantity of the fluid, and an

encoder control lever, respectively.

External pipeline components for the flow meter including the

aforementioned inlet and outlet pipes 14 and 15 will be now specifically

described with reference to Fig. 8.

As shown in Fig. 8, a pipe flange 13 is attached onto an external front

surface of the lower frame 12 with inlet and outlet ports (not shown). The pipe flange 13 is installed with the inlet pipe 14 for introducing a fluid into the rotor

housing 20 via the inlet port of the lower frame 12 and the inlet hole 24 of the

rotor housing 20, the outlet pipe 15 for discharging the fluid from the rotor

housing 20 via the outlet port of the lower frame 12 and the outlet hole 25 of the

rotor housing 20. The inlet pipe 14 fixed to the lower frame 12 by interposing

the pipe flange 13 is positioned to be higher than the inlet hole 24 of the rotor

housing 20. The inlet pipe 14 has a control valve 102 for controlling quantity of

the fluid to be introduced into the rotor housing 20. A connection member 103

is provided between the inlet pipe 14 and a fluid tank (not shown) to interconnect

them.

The outlet pipe 15 fixed to the lower frame 12 by interposing the pipe

flange 13 is also positioned to be higher than the outlet hole 25 of the rotor

housing 20. A bypass 105 is additionally extended from the outlet port of the

lower frame 12 while positioning below than the bottom surface of the rotor

housing 20. The outlet pipe 15 and the bypass 105 fluid-communicate with

each other via an interconnection pipe 104. The outlet pipe 15, the bypass 105

and the interconnection pipe 104 are provided with control valves 106, 107 and

108, respectively. A fluid discharge member 109 is connected to the free end

of the outlet pipe 15.

The bypass 105 is to completely discharge the remaining fluid from the

rotor housing 20 by using potential energy of the fluid. The control valve 108 of

the interconnection pipe 104 can be previously in a opening state before the

opening of the control valve 106 of the outlet pipe 15 to circulate external air therein. In this pipeline structure, the possible phenomena of pulsation or

siphon occurring at the discharge of the fluid may be prevented.

As described above, the flow meter according to the first preferred

embodiment of the present invention can minimize frictional resistance at the

contact area between a rotor and a rotor housing, and correctly measure the

quantity of a fluid in a stable manner.

A second preferred embodiment of the present invention will be now

described with reference to Figs. 9 and 10.

In this preferred embodiment, other components of the flow meter are

the same as those related to the first preferred embodiment except that the rotor

70 has a different structure together with relevant components.

As shown in Figs. 10A to 10D, the rotor 70 includes a half an flying

saucer-shaped upper case 71a with a top small opening portion, a bottom large

opening portion and a side groove, a half an flying saucer-shaped lower case

71b with a top wide opening portion, a bottom small opening portion and a side

groove, a cylindrical body 71 with a stepped portion, and a separation plate

receiving member 74 for partially receiving the separation plate 26. The side

grooves of the upper and lower cases are to receive the separation plate

receiving member 74. The aforementioned components of the rotor 70 are

welded to each other such that the combined rotor 70 has an external shape like

a flying saucer. The rotor 70 has an airtight inner space surrounding the

cylindrical body 71 , and the airtight inner space of the rotor 70 is roughly shaped

with a hoop. As shown in Fig. 10D, the separation plate receiving member 74 has a

groove into which the separation plate 26 is partially inserted, and an inner short

side and two inner longitudinal sides 74a defining the groove. The two inner

longitudinal sides 74a of the separation plate receiving member 74 in turn has

upper and lower surfaces inclined from a middle portion to the outside while

gradually widening toward the inner short side.

The combinatorial structure of the rotor 70 with other components of the

flow meter will be now described with reference to Fig. 9.

As shown in Fig. 9, a rotor shaft 72 is partially mounted within the

cylindrical body 71 , and a sealing member 78 is provided between the rotor shaft

72 and the cylindrical body 71. The rotor shaft 72 has a toy top-shaped bottom

portion, a cylindrical middle portion having a diameter smaller than the upper

surface of the toy top-shaped bottom portion, and a cylindrical top portion having

a diameter smaller than that of the middle portion. The bottom portion of the

rotor shaft 72 is hanging on the stepped portion of the cylindrical body 71. A

control nut 42 and a fixation nut 43 are sequentially mounted around the middle

portion of the rotor shaft 72, and fixed onto the cylindrical body 71 by using

control bolts 44. The control nut 42, the fixation nut 43 and the control bolts 44

have a role of the upper minute-control unit 40 as in the first preferred

embodiment.

The top portion of the rotor shaft 72 is connected to a first lever shaft 45.

A housing cover 22a with a central hole is fixed onto the top plate 22 of the rotor

housing 20 by using a fixation bolt 22b, and the first lever shaft 45 is inserted into the central hole of the housing cover 22a. A plurality of peripheral holes

are formed around the housing cover 22a between the central hole and the

fixation bolt 22b. A blocking bolt 22c is inserted into each of the peripheral

holes, and fixed there. The first lever shaft 45 has a bottom flange that is

formed to be eccentric to the central axis of the first lever shaft 45. A flange

hole 46a is formed at the bottom flange of the first lever shaft 45 such that it is

inclined from the central axis of the first lever shaft 45 by a predetermined angle.

The top portion of the rotor shaft 72 is inserted into the flange hole 46a

of the first lever shaft 45. In this structure, when the rotor 70 is rotated, the

rotor shaft 72 and the bottom flange of the first lever shaft 45 rotate together.

The top end of the first lever shaft 45 is connected to a second lever shaft 45a

by using a coupling member 30, and the rotational power of the first lever shaft

45 is transmitted to the second lever shaft 45a via the coupling member 30.

In case the inclination of the rotor 70 should be controlled, the blocking

bolt 22c is removed from the peripheral hole of the housing cover 22a, and the

control bolt 44 is controlled through the peripheral hole of the housing cover 22a

so that the rotor shaft 72 moves along the inclined flange hole 46a of the first

lever shaft 45, thereby controlling the inclination of the rotor 70.

On the other hand, as a ball is usually fixed on the bottom end of the toy

top to give it smooth rotation potential, a ball 52a is welded to the bottom portion

of the rotor shaft 72. A rotor supporting shaft 61 is connected to the rotor via

the ball 52a. The top end of the rotor supporting shaft 61 has a groove for

receiving the ball 52a the shape of which is adapted to the outer periphery of the ball 52a. A ball supporting plate 67 is fixed to the top end of the rotor

supporting shaft 61 while surrounding the ball receiving groove.

A control nut 62 is mounted around the rotor supporting shaft 61 , and

fixed onto the bottom plate of the rotor housing 20 by using a control bolt (not

shown). The control nut 62 and the control bolt have a role of the lower minute-

control unit 60 as in the first preferred embodiment, and the height of the rotor

70 can be determined by controlling the control nut 62 with the control bolt.

The non-described reference numerals 65 and 76 indicate a lower

bearing and an upper bearing, respectively.

The flow meter according to the second preferred embodiment of the

present invention can also minimize frictional resistance at the contact area

between the rotor and the rotor housing, and correctly measure the quantity of a

fluid in a stable manner.

While the present invention has been described in detail with reference

to the preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various

modifications and substitutions can be made thereto without departing from the

spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A flow meter comprising:

a rotor housing having a cylindrical body covered with top and bottom

plates, the cylindrical body having a fluid inlet hole, a fluid outlet hole and an

inner groove formed between the fluid inlet and outlet holes, the top and bottom

plates of the rotor housing each having an opening portion;

a separation plate partially inserted into the inner groove of the

cylindrical body to prevent a fluid introduced into the rotor housing through the

fluid inlet hole from directly discharging from the fluid outlet hole and circulate

the fluid along an inner wall of the rotor housing before the discharging;

a flying saucer-shaped rotor disposed within the rotor housing at an

inclined state by a predetermined angle, the flying saucer-shaped rotor having a

spherical body with upper and lower opening portions placed at a common axis

and an inner empty space, and a wing extended from an outer periphery of the

spherical body in a body while forming a groove for receiving the separation

plate, the spherical body being rotated in a conical shape and the wing being

vibrated in a wave form, the spherical body having an airtight inner space ;

a rotor shaft held at the upper opening portion of the spherical body, the

rotor shaft having a protruded top portion, a stepped middle portion and a

branched bottom portion;

first and second rotor supporting shaft sequentially connected to the

rotor through the opening portion of the bottom plate of the rotor housing to

support the rotor; and a lever shaft connected to the rotor through the opening portion of the

top plate of the rotor housing to transmit the rotation signal of the rotor to the

outside.

2. The flow meter of claim 1 wherein the upper opening portion of

the spherical body of the rotor is sealed to the stepped middle portion of the

rotor shaft with a sealing member, the inner empty space of the spherical body

being partially filled with a fluid flowed through the lower opening portion to

thereby form the airtight inner space.

3. The flow meter of claim 2 wherein the airtight inner space of the

rotor varies in shape in accordance with the rotation of the rotor such that an

upper surface of the fluid defining the airtight inner space is positioned to be

normal to a central axis of the rotor housing.

4. The flow meter of claim 3 wherein the airtight inner space of the

rotor gives the rotor a buoyancy to compensate for a weight of the rotor shaft

connected to the rotor.

5. The flow meter of claim 1 wherein contact areas between the

rotor and the rotor housing are present only between the rotor shaft and the

lever shaft, between the rotor shaft and the first rotor supporting shaft, and

between the rotor and the second rotor supporting shaft.

6. The flow meter of claim 5 wherein the contact areas between the

rotor and the rotor housing are all provided with a bearing.

7. The flow meter of claim 6 wherein the bearing provided at the

contact area between the rotor shaft and the lever shaft is a tapering bearing.

8. The flow meter of claim 6 wherein the bearing provided at the

contact area between the rotor shaft and the first rotor supporting shaft is a bell.

9. The flow meter of claim 8 wherein the branched bottom portion

of the rotor shaft has two branched parts bent toward each other each with a

free end, the bell being held between the free ends of the branched parts, the

first rotor supporting shaft contacting the bell with a rectangular bell holder.

10. The flow meter of claim 9 wherein the free ends of the branched

parts of the rotor shaft and the rectangular bell holder are crossed over each

other.

11. The flow meter of claim 10 wherein the bell holder has a bottom

portion contacting an outer top portion of the bell with a curvature adapted to the

outer top portion of the bell, and the first rotor supporting shaft has a top end

contacting an inner top portion of the bell with a curvature adapted to the inner

top portion of the bell.

12. The flow meter of claim 9 wherein the bell has a side tapering

portion such that the side tapering portion is constantly distant from the rotor

shaft.

13. The flow meter of claim 1 further comprising a first minute-

control unit for controlling an inclination of the rotor, and a second minute-control

unit for controlling a height of the rotor.

14. The flow meter of claim 13 wherein the first minute control unit

comprises a support mounted around the lever shaft, the support having a

tapering bottom portion protruded into the rotor housing through the opening portion of the top plate, a control nut for controlling the height of the support to

be placed at a predetermined position, a bolt for coupling the control nut with the

top plate of the rotor housing, and a fixation nut for fixing the support at the

predetermined position, the rotor shaft moving along the tapering bottom portion

of the support to thereby control the inclination of the rotor.

15. The flow meter of claim 13 wherein the second minute control

unit comprises a holder for holding the second rotor supporting shaft, a fixation

bolt for coupling the second rotor supporting shaft with the holder, a control nut

for controlling the height of the holder to be placed at a predetermined position,

a bolt for coupling the control nut with the bottom plate of the rotor housing, and

a fixation nut for fixing the holder at the predetermined position.

16. The flow meter of claim 1 wherein the separation plate has

rounded lateral sides and a rounded free end, the rounded free end of the

separation plate contacting the outer periphery of the spherical body with a

curvature adapted to the outer periphery, the rounded lateral sides of the flow

meter adapted to the wave vibration of the wing of the rotor.

17. The flow meter of claim 1 further comprising a non-contact

rotation signal transmission member for receiving the rotation signal from the

lever shaft and transmitting the rotation signal to a counter.

18. The flow meter of claim 17 wherein the non-contact rotation

signal transmission member comprises first and second magnetic discs spaced

apart from each other with a predetermined distance, and an isolation plate

interposed between the lower and upper magnetic discs to completely isolate the top opening portion of the upper frame.

19. The flow meter of claim 18 wherein the first and second

magnetic discs each have two or more magnetic pieces, the magnetic pieces of

each magnetic disc being arranged to be alternately varied in magnetic poles.

20. The flow meter of claim 18 wherein the isolation plate is formed

with non-magnetic austenite stainless.

21. The flow meter of claim 1 further comprising a fluid inlet pipe

externally fixed to the lower frame and positioned to be higher than the inlet hole

of the rotor housing, a fluid outlet pipe externally fixed to the lower frame and

positioned to be higher than the outlet hole of the rotor housing, and a bypass

fixed to the lower frame together with the fluid outlet pipe and positioned to be

below than a bottom surface of the rotor housing.

22. A flow meter comprising:

a rotor housing having a fluid inlet hole, a fluid outlet hole and an inner

groove formed between the fluid inlet and outlet holes;

a separation plate partially inserted into the inner groove of the

the fluid along an inner wall of the rotor housing before the discharging;

a flying saucer-shaped rotor disposed within the rotor housing at an

inclined state by a predetermined angle, the flying saucer-shaped rotor having

an upper and lower cases each with a central opening portion and a side groove,

the upper and lower cases being welded to each other while forming an inner empty space, a cylindrical body inserted into the upper and lower cases through

one of the opening portions and welded thereto, and a separation plate receiving

member inserted into the side grooves of the upper and lower cases and welded

thereto, the rotor having an airtight inner space surrounding the cylindrical body;

a rotor shaft partially inserted into the cylindrical body; and

a lever shaft connected to the rotor shaft to transmit the rotation signal of

the rotor to the outside; and

a rotor supporting shaft connected to the rotor shaft opposite to the lever

shaft to support the rotor.

23. The flow meter of claim 22 wherein the airtight inner space of the

rotor has a constant shape.

24. The flow meter of claim 23 wherein contact areas between the

rotor and the rotor housing are present only between the rotor shaft and the

lever shaft, between a bottom end of the rotor shaft and a top end of the rotor

supporting shaft, and between a gist of the rotor and a side wall of the rotor

supporting shaft.

25. The flow meter of claim 24 wherein the contact areas between

the rotor and the rotor housing are all provided with a bearing.

26. The flow meter of claim 22 further comprising a first minute-

unit for controlling a height of the rotor.

27. A flow meter comprising:

a rotor housing having a fluid inlet hole, a fluid outlet hole and an inner groove formed between the fluid inlet and outlet holes;

a separation plate partially inserted into the inner groove of the

the fluid along an inner wall of the rotor housing before the discharging;

a flying saucer-shaped rotor disposed within the rotor housing at an

inclined state by a predetermined angle, the rotor having an airtight inner space;

a rotor shaft partially inserted into the rotor; and

a lever shaft connected to the rotor shaft to transmit the rotation signal of

the rotor to the outside; and

a rotor supporting shaft connected to the rotor shaft opposite to the lever

shaft to support the rotor.

28. The flow meter of claim 27 wherein the airtight inner space of the

rotor has a varying or constant shape.

29. The flow meter of claim 27 wherein contact areas between the

rotor and the rotor housing are present only between the rotor shaft and the

lever shaft, between the rotor shaft and the rotor supporting shaft, and between

the rotor and the rotor supporting shaft.

30. The flow meter of claim 29 wherein the contact areas between

the rotor and the rotor housing are all provided with a bearing.