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Fluid flow monitoring system

  • US 10,444,048 B2
  • Filed: 10/30/2015
  • Issued: 10/15/2019
  • Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2014
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A system to monitor fluids in nozzles, the system comprising:

  • a spray nozzle configured to release a fluid according to a desired flow rate;

    a thermal material positioned in a flow path of the fluid inside the spray nozzle in fluid communication with an inlet integrally formed as part of a circular mount of the spray nozzle, wherein the thermal material is entirely enclosed within a body of the spray nozzle, and is sized and dimensioned to conform to an interior surface of an orifice coaxially aligned with the inlet;

    an electronic feedback circuit designed to attempt to maintain at least one of a current through the thermal material and a voltage across the thermal material;

    wherein a measured value of at least one of the current and the voltage different from a target value indicates a change in resistance of the thermal material, and wherein a degree of a plugged condition or a type of fluid flow restriction is determined based on the measured change in resistance;

    wherein a range of the measured value is correlated with an actual flow rate of the fluid, and wherein the range of the measured value is dynamically adjusted as the flow rate increases or decreases to maintain at least one of the current through the thermal material or the voltage across the thermal material by adjusting a baseline signal based on a computed average of the current; and

    a digital processor circuit designed to generate an output signal to initiate a corrective action to disable current flow through the thermal material if the actual flow rate falls below a predetermined threshold to allow for a temperature of the thermal material to decrease, andwherein a reset command is generated by the digital processor circuit to reenable current flow through the thermal material when the temperature reaches a lower temperature threshold.

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