×

Sewage flow monitoring system

  • US 4,386,409 A
  • Filed: 09/23/1980
  • Issued: 05/31/1983
  • Est. Priority Date: 09/23/1980
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
Patent Images

1. A flow monitoring system comprising:

  • ultrasonic transducer means positionable in the top region of a sewer pipe for transmitting and receiving acoustic energy along a generally vertical path;

    signal means coupled to said transducer means and responsive to an input control signal for energizing said transducer means in repetitive bursts of a selected duration of ultrasonic frequency signals to thereby produce bursts of ultrasonic acoustic energy which move downward in a said pipe;

    control means for providing system control signals including said control signal to said transducer means;

    receiver means comprising;

    filter means coupled to receive signals received by said transducer means and for passing signals corresponding to signal energy proximate to the frequency of the transmitted ultrasonic signals, andenvelope detection means responsive to the output of said filter means for providing a burst contour signal;

    signal timing means responsive to said envelope detection means and a signal from said signal means corresponding in time to a transmitted signal burst from said transducer means for providing an output signal varying as a function of the period between the transmission of a signal burst and the reception of a signal burst, and for providing an output representative of the distance between said transducer means and the surface of a fluid flowing through said pipe;

    comparator means for comparing a series of outputs from said timing means, each being a sample representative of a said distance, with the preselected values and for providing signal outputs in a form of discrete timing signal samples which are of a distance value no greater than a distance equal to the diameter of said pipe and do not represent a sample, representative of a said distance, which differs in value from another of the series of samples by more than selected differences;

    averaging means responsive to the output of said comparator means for averaging signal samples from said comparator means, and thereby providing the average distance as reflected by said series of samples; and

    computation means responsive to said averaging means for computing flow through said pipe.

View all claims
  • 1 Assignment
Timeline View
Assignment View
    ×
    ×