Apparatus for detecting discontinuities in a fluid stream
First Claim
1. Apparatus for detecting a discontinuity in a stream of fluid flowing in a tube,a transmitting transducer and a receiving transducer between which said tube is located,means for supplying successive pulses of electrical energy to said tranmitting transducer to cause it to vibrate to produce corresponding pulses of sonic energy signals which are transmitted through said tube to said receiving transducer, said receiving transducer converting the pulses of received sonic signals into corresponding electrical signals,means responsive to a plurality of said successive received sonic signals for establishing a signal reference over a relatively long period of time corresponding to the characteristics of fluid flowing in the tube and the characteristics of the tube, andmeans for detecting when a said received sonic energy signal on a substantially instantaneous basis is of a different value than said signal reference level indicating the presence of a discontinuity in the fluid stream.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus for detecting discontinuities, such as bubbles, in a fluid stream in a tube in which successive bursts of ultrasonic energy are transmitted through the tube and received. Discontinuities are detected by comparing each received signal against a reference level which is set over a longer term by the received signals, the presence of a discontinuity is detected by a reduced amplitude signal which causes an indication to be produced.
52 Citations
16 Claims
-
1. Apparatus for detecting a discontinuity in a stream of fluid flowing in a tube,
a transmitting transducer and a receiving transducer between which said tube is located, means for supplying successive pulses of electrical energy to said tranmitting transducer to cause it to vibrate to produce corresponding pulses of sonic energy signals which are transmitted through said tube to said receiving transducer, said receiving transducer converting the pulses of received sonic signals into corresponding electrical signals, means responsive to a plurality of said successive received sonic signals for establishing a signal reference over a relatively long period of time corresponding to the characteristics of fluid flowing in the tube and the characteristics of the tube, and means for detecting when a said received sonic energy signal on a substantially instantaneous basis is of a different value than said signal reference level indicating the presence of a discontinuity in the fluid stream.
Specification