DROP AND DRIP MEASUREMENT

• US 20160146654A1
• Filed: 11/24/2015
• Published: 05/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Art Healthcare Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Art Healthcare Ltd.
• Inventors: ELIA, Liron, IDDAN, Gavriel J.
• Granted Patent: US 10,094,694 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/046 for measuring width
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 13/006 measuring volume in function of time
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 13/008 taps comprising counting- and recording means counting devices, counting of objects in general G06M
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 22/00 Methods or apparatus for measuring volume of fluids or fluent solid material, not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 3/64 Devices characterised by the determination of the time taken to traverse a fixed distance

Abstract

According to some embodiments of the present invention there are provided a method for calculating a volume of an individual falling drop of liquid by analyzing electromagnetic radiation (EMR) reception, the method comprising projecting electromagnetic radiation (EMR) from an EMR source, measuring the EMR using at least one EMR sensor when the EMR is partially interfered with by a drop falling between the EMR source and the EMR sensor, calculating a plurality of widths parallel to a vertical axis of the drop, each one of the plurality of widths is calculated according to a reception of a time correlated measured portion of the EMR, and calculating a volume of the drop by combining the plurality of widths and a velocity of the drop when the drop is falling between the EMR source and the EMR sensor.

Claims

1. A method for calculating a volume of an individual falling drop of liquid by analyzing electromagnetic radiation (EMR) reception, said method comprising:

projecting electromagnetic radiation (EMR) from an EMR source;

measuring said EMR using at least one EMR sensor when said EMR is partially interfered with by a drop falling between said EMR source and said EMR sensor;

calculating a plurality of widths parallel to a vertical axis of said drop, each one of said plurality of widths is calculated according to a reception of a time correlated measured portion of said EMR; and

calculating a volume of said drop by combining said plurality of widths and a velocity of said drop when said drop is falling between said EMR source and said EMR sensor.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising measuring said velocity by detecting said drop at an upper location along a falling drop path at an initial time and at a lower location along said falling drop path at a later time, wherein said velocity is calculated according to a distance between said upper location and said lower location and a difference between said initial time and said later time.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said velocity is calculated by a falling body equation.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said volume is calculated by a curve fitting function combines volumetric data and respective velocity data of each of a plurality of exemplary drops.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said EMR transmitted in one or more collimated beams wherein an area of said collimated beams exceeds an area of a vertical cross section of a center axis of said drop when said drop interferes with said EMR.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said EMR is transmitted as one or more collimated beams to a restricted horizontal planar area.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising calculating instructions to control a feeding rate of a feeding device according to said volume.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said drop is one of a plurality of drops analyzed using said method;

further comprising updating a count of said plurality of drops after said drop is detected.

9. A system for calculating a volume of an individual falling drop by analyzing electromagnetic radiation (EMR) reception, said system comprising:

an electromagnetic radiation (EMR) source adapted to transmit an EMR;

an EMR sensor positioned to capture said EMR when said EMR is interfered by a drop falling along a falling drop path;

a program store storing code;

a processor coupled to the program store and said EMR sensor for executing said stored code, said code comprising;

code instructions for acquiring a plurality of outputs of said EMR sensor;

code instructions for calculating a plurality of widths along a vertical axis of said drop, each one of said plurality of widths is calculated according to one of said plurality of outputs; and

code instructions for calculating a volume of said drop by combining said plurality of widths and a velocity of said drop when said drop is falling between said EMR source and said EMR sensor.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein said EMR source is a light emitting device (LED).

11. The system of claim 9, wherein said EMR source is positioned in parallel to said EMR sensor such that said EMR is reflected by said drop towards said EMR sensor.

12. The system of claim 9, further comprising an optical arrangement configured to focus said EMR along an axis perpendicular to said EMR sensor reception plane.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein said drop interfere with said EMR by at least partly blocking an amount of said EMR.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein said code instructions for calculating said plurality of widths additionally comprising instructions for identifying a tail drop falling after said drop by an analysis of said plurality of outputs;

further comprising adapting said volume according to a volume estimation of said tail drop.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein said EMR sensor is a high resolution image sensor which captures a plurality of time referenced images of said falling drop, wherein said velocity is calculated according to a location of said drop in two or more said time referenced images.

16. The system of claim 9, wherein said high resolution image sensor is selected from a group consisting of a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) module, a charge couple device (CCD) module.

17. The system of claim 9, wherein said code comprising code instructions to calculate a type of content of said drop by combining a plurality of time sequentially ordered calculated values of widths of said drop and a plurality of time sequentially ordered values of widths of a plurality of exemplary drops, said plurality of exemplary drops comprising of different content types of liquid, wherein a said drop is calculated to be of a one of a plurality of said types of liquid.

18. The system of claim 9, wherein said EMR sensor is a member of a group consisting of an electro optical sensor, a photovoltaic sensor, a photodiode, a photo resister, a photo detector, a photoconductive device, a photo transistor, an optical sensor, a photon sensor, and an infrared radiation sensor.

19. The system of claim 9, wherein an additional EMR sensor is positioned above or below said EMR sensor;

wherein said velocity is calculated by combining outputs of said EMR sensor and said additional EMR sensor.

20. A system for calculating a volume of an individual falling drop by analyzing electromagnetic radiation (EMR) reception, said system comprising:

an electromagnetic radiation (EMR) source adapted to transmit an EMR;

a protrusion, referred to herein as a plank, fixedly located in the path of said drop, wherein said plank is deflected when said drop strikes said plank;

an EMR sensor, said sensor positioned such that said deflected plank interferes with a portion of said transmitted EMR;

a computing device comprising;

an interface for receiving an output of said EMR sensor;

a program store storing code;

a processor coupled to the program store for executing said stored code, said code comprising;

code instructions for digital sampling said output of said EMR sensor;

code instructions for calculating a volume of said drop according to said digital data sample and a velocity of said drop.