ELECTRONIC FLOW CHARACTERISTIC INDICATING FLOW METER
First Claim
1. An electronic flow meter connectible in-line with a piping system for indicating flow characteristics of a known fluid flowing through the piping system of known internal diameter comprising:
- a) a flow meter body having a flow passageway extending therethrough;
b) an electronics assembly mounted to said flow meter body and including a processor, a power supply, a display, a temperature sensor and a flow rate sensor;
said temperature sensor communicating a measured temperature indicative of the temperature of the known fluid flowing through said flow passageway to said processor and said flow rate sensor communicating a measured value indicative of the flow rate of the known fluid flowing through said flow meter to said processor;
said processor programmed to calculate a calculated flow rate using the measured value; and
said processor programmed to calculate a calculated Reynolds number associated with the known fluid flowing through pipe of the known internal diameter at the measured temperature and the calculated flow rate;
said processor programmed to compare the calculated Reynolds number versus an established Reynolds number indicative of whether a known flow characteristic exists and to display a flow characteristic indicating icon on the display if the comparison determines that the known flow characteristic exists.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electronic flow meter having sensors to determine the temperature and flow rate of a fluid flowing through the flow meter and into a downstream circuit, such as a cooling water circuit, of known diameter is flowing under turbulent or laminar conditions based upon a calculation of a corresponding Reynolds number and comparison of the calculated Reynolds number to Reynolds numbers indicative of the desired flow characteristic. A display is provided to indicate the flow characteristic of the fluid flowing through the flow meter as determined by the processor.
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Citations
6 Claims
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1. An electronic flow meter connectible in-line with a piping system for indicating flow characteristics of a known fluid flowing through the piping system of known internal diameter comprising:
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a) a flow meter body having a flow passageway extending therethrough; b) an electronics assembly mounted to said flow meter body and including a processor, a power supply, a display, a temperature sensor and a flow rate sensor;
said temperature sensor communicating a measured temperature indicative of the temperature of the known fluid flowing through said flow passageway to said processor and said flow rate sensor communicating a measured value indicative of the flow rate of the known fluid flowing through said flow meter to said processor;
said processor programmed to calculate a calculated flow rate using the measured value; and
said processor programmed to calculate a calculated Reynolds number associated with the known fluid flowing through pipe of the known internal diameter at the measured temperature and the calculated flow rate;
said processor programmed to compare the calculated Reynolds number versus an established Reynolds number indicative of whether a known flow characteristic exists and to display a flow characteristic indicating icon on the display if the comparison determines that the known flow characteristic exists. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. An electronic flow meter connectible in-line with a piping system for indicating flow characteristics of a known fluid flowing through the piping system of known internal diameter comprising:
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a) a flow meter body having a flow passageway extending therethrough; b) an electronics assembly mounted to said flow meter body and including a processor, a power supply, a display, a temperature sensor and a flow rate sensor;
said temperature sensor communicating a measured temperature indicative of the temperature of the known fluid flowing through said flow passageway to said processor and said flow rate sensor communicating a measured value indicative of the flow rate of the known fluid flowing through said flow meter to said processor;
said processor programmed to calculate a calculated flow rate using the measured value; and
said processor programmed to calculate a calculated Reynolds number associated with the known fluid flowing through pipe of the known internal diameter at the measured temperature and the calculated flow rate;
said processor programmed to compare the calculated Reynolds number versus an established Reynolds number indicative of whether fluid flow is turbulent and to display a turbulent flow indicating icon on the display if the calculated Reynolds number equals or exceeds the established Reynolds number.
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5. A process for determining the flow characteristic of a fluid flowing through a piping system of known internal diameter using a flow meter connected in-line with the piping system wherein the flow meter includes a flow meter body having a flow passageway extending therethrough and an electronics assembly mounted to the flow meter body and including a processor, a power supply, a display, a temperature sensor and a flow rate sensor;
- the process comprising the steps of selecting the known pipe diameter in the processor, communicating a measured temperature indicative of the temperature of the known fluid flowing through the flow passageway of the flow meter body from the temperature sensor to the processor and communicating a measured value indicative of the flow rate of the known fluid flowing through the flow meter from the flow rate sensor to the processor and programming the processor to calculate a calculated flow rate using the measured value; and
programming the processor to calculate a calculated Reynolds number associated with the known fluid flowing through pipe of the known pipe diameter at the measured temperature and the calculated flow rate;
comparing the calculated Reynolds number to an established Reynolds number indicative of whether a known flow characteristic exists and causing the display to display a flow characteristic indicating icon if the comparison determines that the known flow characteristic exists. - View Dependent Claims (6)
- the process comprising the steps of selecting the known pipe diameter in the processor, communicating a measured temperature indicative of the temperature of the known fluid flowing through the flow passageway of the flow meter body from the temperature sensor to the processor and communicating a measured value indicative of the flow rate of the known fluid flowing through the flow meter from the flow rate sensor to the processor and programming the processor to calculate a calculated flow rate using the measured value; and
Specification