Sensor foreign material exclusion devices and methods

• US 20110169630A1
• Filed: 01/11/2011
• Published: 07/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Advanced FME Products
• Original Assignee: Advanced FME Products
• Inventors: Nolfi, Thomas Joseph, Nolfi, Mario Michael
• Granted Patent: US 9,133,727 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/539.1
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 17/02 Arrangement of sensing elements
• CPC Class Codes: F05D 2260/607 Preventing clogging or obstruction of flow paths by dirt, dust, or foreign particles

Abstract

A foreign material exclusion device adapted for use in a cavity of a system or construction, for example a tube, pipe, or the like, the device having a body that is adapted to seal a first side of the cavity from a second side of the cavity and prevent passage of debris past the body, the device further including a sensor operatively connected to the body and adapted to measure a property of the environment adjacent at least one surface of the device. Methods for utilizing the device to seal a portion of the cavity and to record, and preferably distribute, the data are also described.

Claims

1. A sensor foreign material exclusion device, comprising:

a body adapted to seal a cavity of a construction, the body including one or more of a) a portion that is locatable in the cavity to seal a first side of the cavity from a second side of the cavity, and b) a portion that covers the cavity;

a sensor operatively connected to the body and having a portion adapted to be located in the cavity, the sensor capable of sensing a property of the cavity; and

a transmitter operatively connected to the sensor and operatively connected to the body, the transmitter operable to transmit the conditions sensed by the sensor to a display device.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the body is a cap, plug, or a resilient body.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein the body is said resilient body and has a portion that is compressible and adapted to be capable of fitting into the cavity and thereafter re-expandable to hold the device in place via a compression fit of the body in an internal location in the cavity thereby sealing a first side of the cavity from a second side of the cavity.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is one or more of a pressure sensor, a force sensor, a pressure differential sensor, an impact measurement sensor, a temperature sensor, a flow rate sensor, and an imaging sensor.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is located on a face of the body adapted to be situated on the first side of the cavity and located further away from the ambient atmosphere than a second face of the body.

6. The device according to claim 1, wherein the sensor has a sensing portion located on each face of the body and can measure properties adjacent both faces.

7. The device according to claim 6, wherein the sensor is a pressure differential sensor.

8. The device according to claim 1, wherein the body comprises a cap, and wherein the sensor is located on a face of the body on an inner surface of the cap and adapted to be exposed to the cavity.

9. The device according to claim 3, wherein the sensor is one or more of a pressure sensor, a force sensor, a pressure differential sensor, an impact measurement sensor, a temperature sensor, and an imaging sensor.

10. The device according to claim 1, wherein the transmitter comprises both power and data cables, wherein the power cable provides the power source for the sensor, and wherein the data cable transfers data regarding conditions sensed by the sensor to the display device.

11. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device further includes a reader separate from the transmitter and operable to wirelessly transmit to or receive, or both transmit to and receive, signals from the transmitter

19. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device further comprises a pressure relief valve that is adapted to allow venting of gasses from one side of the body to another side of the body.

12. A sensor foreign material exclusion device, comprising:

a body having a first face and a second face, with a side located between the first face and second face, the body having a portion that is compressible and adapted to be placed into a cavity and re-expanded thereby capable of holding the device in place via a compression fit in an internal location in the cavity and thereby sealing a first side of the cavity from a second side of the cavity;

a sensor operatively connected to the first face of the body and having a portion adapted to be located in the cavity, the sensor capable of measuring a property adjacent the first face of the body; and

a transmitter operatively connected to the sensor and operatively connected to the body, the transmitter able to transmit the property sensed by the sensor.

13. The device according to claim 12, wherein the sensor is one or more of a pressure sensor, a force sensor, a pressure differential sensor, impact measurement sensor, a temperature sensor, and an imaging sensor.

14. The device according to claim 13, wherein the device further includes a reader separate from the transmitter and operable to wirelessly transmit to or receive or both transmit to and receive signals from the transmitter, and wherein the transmitter is operable to transmit the property sensed by the sensor to the reader.

15. The device according to claim 12, wherein the transmitter comprises a power cable and data cable, wherein the power cable provides the power source for the sensor, wherein the data cable transfers data regarding conditions sensed by the sensor to the display device, and wherein the transmitter is operable to transmit the property sensed by the sensor to a display device.

16. A method for sealing a cavity and measuring a property of the cavity, comprising the steps of:

sealing a cavity of a construction with a foreign material exclusion device, the foreign material exclusion device comprising a body including a sensor operatively connected to the body, the sensor having a portion located in the cavity, the device having a transmitter connected to the sensor and operatively connected to the body;

measuring a property in the cavity with the sensor; and

transmitting the property sensed by the sensor to a display device.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein sealing the cavity comprises a) compressing a portion of the body and placing the body into the cavity and allowing the body to re-expand and seal a first side of the cavity from a second side of the cavity, b) capping the cavity with the body or c) plugging the cavity with the body.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein measuring the property in the cavity with the sensor comprises taking a pressure reading, measuring pressure differential between the first side of the cavity and the second side of the cavity, measuring impact, measuring temperature, or providing an image or a combination thereof.