SENSOR EQUILIBRATION AND CALIBRATION SYSTEM AND METHOD
First Claim
1. A system for calibrating and/or equilibrating a force or pressure sensor, comprising:
- a flexible bag, forming a chamber within, the flexible bag constructed and arranged to receive the sensor;
a vacuum source, connectable to the chamber, adapted to reduce the pressure in the chamber; and
a controller constructed and arranged to communicate with the sensor placed within the chamber, wherein the controller is adapted to receive at least one signal from the sensor, representative of a force or pressure applied to the sensor upon application of external pressure acting on the sensor when the pressure within the chamber is reduced by the vacuum source so as to calibrate and/or equilibrate the sensor.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for equilibrating and calibrating a pressure or force sensor is provided. The system includes a flexible bag arranged to receive the sensor, and a vacuum source, connectable with the flexible bag, adapted to reduce the pressure within the flexible bag. By reducing the pressure within the flexible bag, such that the pressure inside of the bag is less than the pressure outside of the bag, the resultant uniform pressure acting on the sensor is used to calibrate and equilibrate the sensor. The system may include a porous material in the flexible bag to facilitate the evacuation of air from within the flexible bag as the pressure is reduced. The system may also include an opening, such that when the sensor is placed in the bag, a portion of the sensor extends outside of the bag to communicate with a controller. The opening may be provided either on the flexible bag, or on a clamp attached to the flexible bag. The system and method for calibrating and equilibrating a sensor may be employed to correct for sensor variations and/or to correlate sensor output to force or pressure.
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Citations
50 Claims
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1. A system for calibrating and/or equilibrating a force or pressure sensor, comprising:
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a flexible bag, forming a chamber within, the flexible bag constructed and arranged to receive the sensor;
a vacuum source, connectable to the chamber, adapted to reduce the pressure in the chamber; and
a controller constructed and arranged to communicate with the sensor placed within the chamber, wherein the controller is adapted to receive at least one signal from the sensor, representative of a force or pressure applied to the sensor upon application of external pressure acting on the sensor when the pressure within the chamber is reduced by the vacuum source so as to calibrate and/or equilibrate the sensor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of calibrating and/or equilibrating a pressure or force sensor, comprising the steps of:
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providing a flexible bag;
placing the sensor within the flexible bag to calibrate and/or equilibrate the sensor;
applying a first pressure within the flexible bag, wherein the first pressure is less than the pressure outside of the flexible bag;
measuring a signal from the sensor, representative of a force applied to the sensor upon application of the pressure outside of the bag acting on the sensor when the pressure within the flexible bag is reduced by the application of the first pressure, so as to calibrate and/or equilibrate the sensor under the first pressure; and
removing the sensor from the flexible bag. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A system for calibrating and/or equilibrating a pressure or force sensor, comprising:
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a flexible bag, forming a chamber within, the flexible bag constructed and arranged to receive the sensor;
a clamp cooperating with the flexible bag, adapted to seal the chamber when the clamp is in a closed position;
a vacuum source, connectable to the chamber, adapted to reduce the pressure in the chamber; and
instructions for calibrating and/or equilibrating the sensor by placing at least a portion of the sensor into the flexible bag, and thereafter receiving at least one signal from the sensor, representative of a force or pressure applied to the sensor upon application of a pressure outside of the chamber acting on the sensor when the pressure within the chamber is reduced by the vacuum source. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A system for calibrating and/or equilibrating a pressure or force sensor, comprising:
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a flexible bag, forming a chamber within, the flexible bag constructed and arranged to receive the sensor; and
a porous foam material disposed within the chamber, the porous foam material constructed and arranged such that when the sensor is placed within the chamber and the pressure within the chamber is reduced to below atmospheric pressure, the porous foam material facilitates the evacuation of a gas within the chamber. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. A method of calibrating and/or equilibrating a pressure or force sensor, comprising the steps of:
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providing a flexible bag;
placing a porous material into the flexible bag;
placing the sensor into the flexible bag adjacent the porous material, to calibrate and/or equilibrate the sensor;
applying a first pressure within the flexible bag, wherein the first pressure is less than the pressure outside of the bag, and wherein the porous material facilitates the evacuation of a gas within the flexible bag; and
measuring the force or pressure applied to the sensor upon application of atmospheric pressure acting on the sensor when the pressure within the bag is reduced by the application of the first pressure, so as to calibrate and/or equilibrate the sensor under the first pressure. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
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Specification