Hey guys, I have a flow meter that outputs pulses based on the flow. 1 pulse per gallon of liquid.
There is a rotating mechanism inside the flow meter. The faster it rotates, the more pulses it generates:
1 pulse per minute, up to 40 pulses per minute. (same as 1 gallon per minute up to 40 gallons per minute).
Also, the faster the flow, the more narrow the pulse width is because the mechanism is spinning faster.
A typical application would be to count the number of pulses per minute and correlate that to flow.
Another option would be to count the time between pulses and correlate that to flow.
What I am wanting to do is to create a circuit that takes these pulses, and converts it to an analog signal (0vdc to 3.3vdc). I will then read this analog voltage and correlate that to a flow.
If the pulse widths were set to be the same, regardless of flow rate, then I could use a low-pass filter to convert this to analog.
But since the pulse widths decrease as flow rate increases, a low-pass filter will not work because the duty cycle isn't changing.
Is there another method for accomplishing this? I feel like if there is a way I could somehow normalize the pulse width of these pulses, then I could then use a LP filter, but I am not sure how to do that?
Thanks and any help is greatly appreciated!
There is a rotating mechanism inside the flow meter. The faster it rotates, the more pulses it generates:
1 pulse per minute, up to 40 pulses per minute. (same as 1 gallon per minute up to 40 gallons per minute).
Also, the faster the flow, the more narrow the pulse width is because the mechanism is spinning faster.
A typical application would be to count the number of pulses per minute and correlate that to flow.
Another option would be to count the time between pulses and correlate that to flow.
What I am wanting to do is to create a circuit that takes these pulses, and converts it to an analog signal (0vdc to 3.3vdc). I will then read this analog voltage and correlate that to a flow.
If the pulse widths were set to be the same, regardless of flow rate, then I could use a low-pass filter to convert this to analog.
But since the pulse widths decrease as flow rate increases, a low-pass filter will not work because the duty cycle isn't changing.
Is there another method for accomplishing this? I feel like if there is a way I could somehow normalize the pulse width of these pulses, then I could then use a LP filter, but I am not sure how to do that?
Thanks and any help is greatly appreciated!