Ams introduces complete single-chip hardware and software solutions for ultrasonic water flow measurement

     Ams Semiconductor, a leading global supplier of high-performance analog ics and sensors, announced the TDC-GP30-F01 to expand its portfolio of ultrasonic flowmeter integrated circuits. TDC-GP30-F01 is a complete hardware and firmware measurement solution specifically designed for cold water meters. Only 8.5 microamps of direct current are required when the flow is measured at a measurement frequency of 8Hz, and the power obtained from a single lithium battery can keep the chip running for up to 20 years.

     The TDC-GP30-F01 includes an ultrasonic flowmeter measurement front end, a low-power 32-bit processor, and firmware that converts the sensor's analog output to cold water flow, capacity, and temperature measurements. This means that water meter designers can use TDC-GP30-F01 to simply and quickly design complete new ultrasonic water meters without developing their own firmware.

     The flexible device can be used to complement a range of products with standard exhaust pipe designs. Users simply need to characterize the tube segment, and AMS offers a full range of hardware and software tools to evaluate, develop and characterize the design. At the same time, when the flow rate is 0, it can provide firmware features, such as: error handling and power saving mode.Users can also choose to add their own firmware code. For example, the firmware of TDC-GP30-F01 can be extended and easily implemented for calorimeter applications.

     The chip provides a direct connection to the ultrasonic transducer and requires only an additional simple microcontroller to perform peripheral functions of the water meter such as display and connection. Designs based on the TDC-GP30-F01 can be made more compact and require fewer components than competing approaches and other external components that require composite companion processors for fine computing.

     The TDC-GP30-F01 allows designers to build systems that provide accurate velocity measurement and flow measurement, making it more suitable for legally restricted water metering applications. The device measures the time difference between ultrasonic waves up and down, providing repeatable, temperature-stable and accurate time measurements. The high accuracy and stability of the DN20 water meter means that it can detect drips as low as 0.5 liters per hour, which is far lower than the minimum water flow detected by today's widely used mechanical water meters.

     The TDC-GP30-F01 provides an external microcontroller with SPI, UART, interface, or pulse interface to emulate a conventional mechanical water meter signal. Customers using AMS equipment can replace their previous mechanical flow measurement systems with modern, non-invasive flowmeters without the need to rewrite their application software.

     Georg Jedelhauser, Marketing Director at AMS, said: "When using other similar devices, the ultrasonic time difference measurement principle requires another processor to convert the time information into standardized flow and capacity measurements. At the same time, it requires the original equipment manufacturer to apply its own complex measurement application software. The TDC-GP30-F01 is the only ultrasonic flowmeter chip to handle internal calculations, providing designers with simpler execution and fewer components."