Power System Architecture for Fluid Flow Measurement Systems
First Claim
1. A fluid flow totalizer system comprising:
- a processor configured to generate a signal that represents a measure of a flow of a fluid in response to a signal received from a fluid flow sensor;
a receiver stage operable to receive radio frequency (RF) signals at an RF port, and tunable to any of a plurality of RF frequencies in response to a control signal; and
a power supply stage coupled to receive energy received by the receiver stage, and to supply operating power to operate the processor.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An architecture to supply electrical operating power in fluid flow measurement applications, apparatus and associated systems, computer program products, and methods include a receiver tunable to various radio frequencies to capture radio frequency (RF) energy that may be used to supply regulated voltage to electronic fluid flow measurement data processing circuitry. In an example implementation, the power module searches for at least one RF signal that contains substantial energy. The received energy may be converted to a rectified waveform. The converted energy may be, for example, used to supply operating power to circuits in the fluid flow measurement circuitry, and/or it may be stored, such as in a capacitor or in a battery. Preferred embodiments may store signal strength information for one or more frequencies in at least one range of frequencies, and may tune the receiver to a frequency selected from the stored frequency information.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A fluid flow totalizer system comprising:
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a processor configured to generate a signal that represents a measure of a flow of a fluid in response to a signal received from a fluid flow sensor; a receiver stage operable to receive radio frequency (RF) signals at an RF port, and tunable to any of a plurality of RF frequencies in response to a control signal; and a power supply stage coupled to receive energy received by the receiver stage, and to supply operating power to operate the processor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of measuring fluid flow, the method comprising:
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receiving fluid flow measurement data from a fluid flow meter; accumulating the fluid flow measurement data with a data processor; selecting a frequency to capture radio frequency (RF) energy; receiving RF signal energy at a receiver tuned to the selected frequency; converting the received RF signal energy to a supply of electrical energy; and using the supply of electrical energy to operate the data processor. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A fluid flow metering system, comprising:
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a fluid flow sensor; a processing system to perform fluid flow measurement operations that comprise accumulating fluid flow measurement data from the fluid flow sensor; and means for converting ambient radio frequency energy to a supply of electrical energy available to operate the processing system. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
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Specification