SENSORS AND METHODS AND APPARATUS RELATING TO SAME
First Claim
1. A capacitive sensor comprising:
- a sensor housing defining a first cavity and a second cavity connected to the first cavity by a bridging member;
a capacitor having a first electrode disposed within the first cavity of the sensor housing and a second electrode disposed within the second cavity of the sensor housing thereby creating a gap between the first and second housing cavities and second electrodes to reduce the risk of mineral buildup between the first and second electrodes; and
a dielectric connecting the first and second electrodes to form a capacitor having a detectable capacitance, the dielectric having a first part made of an insulative material and a second part made of a liquid having a level that changes with respect to the insulative material which causes a change in the capacitance of the capacitor.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In one form a capacitive sensor is disclosed for immersion into a fluid, the capacitive sensor having a housing and first and second electrodes with the first electrode being disposed at least partially within the housing and electrically connected to a circuit, the second electrode being electrically connected to the circuit via an electrical connection and physically separated from the housing containing at least a portion of the first electrode so that at least a portion of the electrical connection or second electrode is located above or outside of the fluid to reduce the risk that minerals will form between the electrodes. In another form the electrodes are separated into their own cavities of the sensor housing via a bridging member which separates the electrodes to help reduce the risk of mineral buildup occurring between the electrodes. In other forms, capacitors, capacitive sensors, pump controls and systems utilizing these features are disclosed along with methods and apparatus relating to same. In yet other forms additional sensors such as current sensors, thermal sensors, speed sensors, torque sensors and Hall Effect sensors are disclosed for use alone or in combination with said capacitive sensor for detecting fluid level and/or controlling pumps. In still other forms, apparatus and methods relating to self cleaning pumps are disclosed.
170 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A capacitive sensor comprising:
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a sensor housing defining a first cavity and a second cavity connected to the first cavity by a bridging member; a capacitor having a first electrode disposed within the first cavity of the sensor housing and a second electrode disposed within the second cavity of the sensor housing thereby creating a gap between the first and second housing cavities and second electrodes to reduce the risk of mineral buildup between the first and second electrodes; and a dielectric connecting the first and second electrodes to form a capacitor having a detectable capacitance, the dielectric having a first part made of an insulative material and a second part made of a liquid having a level that changes with respect to the insulative material which causes a change in the capacitance of the capacitor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A pump control with internal probes comprising:
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a housing defining a first cavity and a second cavity connected via a bridging member; a controller for actuating a pump connected to a circuit disposed in the housing; a capacitive sensor connected to the controller via the circuit and having a first electrode probe disposed within the first cavity of the housing and a second electrode probe disposed within the second cavity of the housing thereby creating a gap between the first and second housing cavities and electrodes to reduce the risk of mineral buildup between the first and second electrodes; and a switch connecting the controller to the pump and operated by the controller for actuating the pump. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A pump system comprising:
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a pump having a housing defining an opening within which a motor and impeller are disposed; a pump control connected to the pump and having; a pump control housing defining a first cavity and a second cavity connected via a bridging member, the bridging member creating a gap between the first and second housing cavities; a controller connected to a circuit disposed in the housing for operating the pump; a capacitive sensor connected to the controller via the circuit and having a first electrode disposed within the first cavity of the pump control housing and a second electrode disposed within the second cavity of the pump control housing so that the electrodes are separated by the gap created by the bridging member to reduce the risk of a mineral buildup occurring between the electrodes; a current sensor connected to the controller via the circuit; and a switch connecting the controller to the pump and operated by the controller for operating the pump, the controller activating the pump when the capacitive sensor indicates that a predetermine capacitance has been reached and deactivating the pump when the current sensor indicates that a predetermined current has been reached - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of controlling a pump comprising:
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providing a pump control having a housing defining a first cavity and a second cavity connected by a bridging member; providing a capacitive sensor for detecting capacitance, the capacitive sensor having a first electrode disposed in the first cavity of the pump control housing and a second electrode disposed in the second cavity of the pump housing, the pump control housing being at least partially disposed in a fluid and the fluid having a level that changes with respect to the pump control housing, the fluid together with at least a portion of the pump control housing forming a dielectric between the first and second electrodes of the capacitive sensor such that the capacitance detected by the capacitive sensor changes with respect to the fluid level and the bridging member being generally located above the fluid to space the first electrode apart from the second electrode and reduce the risk of minerals depositing between the electrodes; providing a current sensor connected to the pump control for detecting current; activating the pump via the pump controller when the capacitive sensor detects a high fluid level; deactivating the pump via the pump controller when the current sensor detects a low fluid level. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method of controlling a pump comprising:
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providing a pump, a pump control connected to the pump and a first sensor coupled to the pump control to detect high and/or low fluid conditions requiring activation or de-activation of the pump, respectively; providing a current sensor coupled to the pump control for detecting a real time current at which the pump is operating; and cycling the pump on and off via the pump control when the real time current at which the pump is operating is higher than a predetermined current in an effort to dislodge any particles that may be clogging the pump and causing the real time current to rise due to a frozen motor condition such as a jammed rotor or an obstructed impeller.
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23. A self cleaning pump and pump control system comprising:
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a pump housing having a motor and impeller disposed therein, the housing defining an opening through which a fluid may be ejected from the pump housing in a stream; a pump control connected to the housing and having a sensor positioned in alignment with the fluid stream so that the fluid stream may clean the sensor to assist in keeping the sensor operating properly. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26)
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27. A method of cleaning a pump sensor comprising:
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providing a pump housing having a motor and impeller disposed therein, the housing defining an opening through which a fluid may be ejected from the pump housing in a stream; providing a pump control connected to the housing and having a sensor positioned in alignment with the fluid stream so that the fluid stream may clean the sensor to assist in keeping the sensor operating properly; and ejecting the fluid stream from the pump housing and onto the sensor to clean the sensor and assist in keeping the sensor operating properly. - View Dependent Claims (28)
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Specification