MASS LOADING MONITOR
First Claim
1. An apparatus for measuring particulate concentration in air comprising, in combination,an elongate cylinder having a piston disposed therein,means for supplying particulate laden air to said cylinder,means for translating said piston in said cylinder, andmeans for sensing pressure in said cylinder proximate said piston during translation.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a mass loading monitor for measuring in real time the particulate, i.e., powder, dust and the like, content of air inside an industrial or commercial processing facility and providing a warning signal indicating the existence of a potentially explosive atmosphere in the facility. In a first embodiment, the mass loading monitor comprises two parallel cylinders, one of which is charged with clean, ambient air and the other of which is charged with air from within the facility containing dust, powder or other particulate matter. A piston resides within each cylinder and the pistons are commonly accelerated for a short distance during which time the pressure at each piston face is measured. The time integrals of the pressures from each of the piston faces are evaluated over the period: from rest to the time of discharge from the open end of the cylinders. The ratio of these integrals defines the difference in the densities within the cylinders. In a second embodiment, a single piston and cylinder assembly is first calibrated with clean air and subsequently filled with particulate laden air and the time integrals of the pressures on the piston face are similarly evaluated.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus for measuring particulate concentration in air comprising, in combination,
an elongate cylinder having a piston disposed therein, means for supplying particulate laden air to said cylinder, means for translating said piston in said cylinder, and means for sensing pressure in said cylinder proximate said piston during translation.
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10. An apparatus for measuring particulate concentration in air comprising, in combination,
a first control assembly having a first cylinder and a first piston defining a face disposed therein, a first air supply for providing reference air to said first cylinder, a second measurement assembly having a second cylinder and a second piston defining a face disposed therein. a second air supply for providing particulate laden air to said second cylinder, drive means for translating said pistons in said cylinders, pressure sensing means associated with each of said pistons for sensing pressures at said faces of said pistons during translation.
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16. An apparatus for measuring particulate concentration in air comprising, in combination,
an elongate cylinder defining a plurality of ports and having a piston disposed therein, a first drive assembly for translating said piston across said ports to allow particulate laden air to enter said cylinder, a second drive assembly for rapidly translating said piston in said cylinder, and means for sensing pressure in said cylinder proximate said piston during rapid translation.
Specification