Ultrasonic volume-sensing transducer instrument with concave transceiver element
First Claim
1. In a system that determines the level of a liquid in a container having a top opening exposed to air, the container being adapted to hold a liquid with a liquid surface, a liquid-level sensing instrument comprising:
- a tubular casing with a sensor end having an opening and a terminal end,an ultrasonic sensor assembly having a single piezoelectric focusing sensor that is mounted at the sensor end of the casing, wherein the focusing sensor is a transceiver element that has a concave focusing surface located at the opening of the sensor end of the casing, and focused at the top opening of the container when located over the container, wherein the casing is an outer housing and the liquid-level sensing instrument has an inner housing displaced from the outer housing with an acoustic and vibration isolation material between the outer housing and inner housing that provides acoustic and vibration isolation to the ultrasonic sensor assembly, and wherein the focusing sensor has a back surface opposite the focusing surface and the ultrasonic sensor assembly has a mass backing against the back surface of the focusing sensor, the mass backing damping unwanted ultrasonic waves directed toward the terminal end of the casing,an electronic connector assembly mounted at the terminal end of the casing,an external signal processor that processes electrical signals to and from the piezoelectric focusing sensor, and,an electrical cable electronically connected to the piezoelectric focusing sensor, wherein the electrical cable passes through the electronic connector assembly and electronically connects the piezoelectric focusing sensor to the external signal processor.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A liquid-level sensing instrument for determining the level of a liquid in a container or vessel such as a laboratory tube in a rack or a well in a well plate with the container having an acoustically transparent top opening to direct ultrasonic signals to the liquid surface and receive reflected signals where the transceiver sensor instrument is constructed with a piezoelectric focusing sensor that has a concave focusing surface for focusing ultrasonic signals through the opening to the liquid surface in a selected container particularly a container in a group of containers and receiving reflected signals for processing.
70 Citations
16 Claims
-
1. In a system that determines the level of a liquid in a container having a top opening exposed to air, the container being adapted to hold a liquid with a liquid surface, a liquid-level sensing instrument comprising:
-
a tubular casing with a sensor end having an opening and a terminal end, an ultrasonic sensor assembly having a single piezoelectric focusing sensor that is mounted at the sensor end of the casing, wherein the focusing sensor is a transceiver element that has a concave focusing surface located at the opening of the sensor end of the casing, and focused at the top opening of the container when located over the container, wherein the casing is an outer housing and the liquid-level sensing instrument has an inner housing displaced from the outer housing with an acoustic and vibration isolation material between the outer housing and inner housing that provides acoustic and vibration isolation to the ultrasonic sensor assembly, and wherein the focusing sensor has a back surface opposite the focusing surface and the ultrasonic sensor assembly has a mass backing against the back surface of the focusing sensor, the mass backing damping unwanted ultrasonic waves directed toward the terminal end of the casing, an electronic connector assembly mounted at the terminal end of the casing, an external signal processor that processes electrical signals to and from the piezoelectric focusing sensor, and, an electrical cable electronically connected to the piezoelectric focusing sensor, wherein the electrical cable passes through the electronic connector assembly and electronically connects the piezoelectric focusing sensor to the external signal processor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
-
-
16. In a system that determines the level of a liquid in a container having a top opening exposed to air, the container being adapted to hold a liquid with a liquid surface, a robotic transport mechanism with a liquid-level sensing instrument that is locatable over the container comprising:
-
a tubular casing with a sensor end having an opening and a terminal end, an ultrasonic sensor assembly having a single piezoelectric focusing sensor that is mounted at the sensor end of the casing, wherein the focusing sensor is a transceiver element that has a concave focusing surface located at the opening of the sensor end of the casing and focused at the top opening of the container when located over the container, wherein the casing is an outer housing and the liquid-level sensing instrument has an inner housing displaced from the outer housing with an acoustic and vibration isolation material between the outer housing and inner housing that provides acoustic and vibration isolation to the ultrasonic sensor assembly, and wherein the focusing sensor has a back surface opposite the focusing surface and the ultrasonic sensor assembly has a mass backing against the back surface of the focusing sensor, the mass backing damping unwanted ultrasonic waves directed toward the terminal end of the casing, an electronic connector assembly mounted at the terminal end of the casing, an external signal processor that processes electrical signals to and from the piezoelectric focusing sensor, and, an electrical cable electronically connected to the piezoelectric focusing sensor, wherein the electrical cable passes through the electronic connector assembly and electronically connects the piezoelectric focusing sensor to the external signal processor.
-
Specification