Electronic nutating disc flow meter
First Claim
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1. An electronic nutating disc flow meter for measuring volumetric fluid flow comprising:
- a. a housing defining a central chamber, said housing having an axially aligned inlet and outlet to permit fluid communication with said central chamber, said housing formed from a composite material;
b. a metering assembly including a wobble disc positioned in said central chamber, said metering assembly defining an internal circular passageway having an inlet and an outlet, said inlet of said metering assembly in fluid communication with said inlet of said housing and said outlet of said metering assembly in fluid communication with said central chamber of said housing, said wobble disc having a protruding drive pin extending through an aperture in said metering assembly;
c. a free floating signal generator disc positioned in said central chamber between said metering assembly and said housing, said signal generator disc formed from a composite material having a friction reducing component and including a plurality of ferrous, non-magnetized slugs positioned about the circumference, said signal generator disc engaging and being rotated by said drive pin as the fluid passes through the electronic nutating disc flow meter along the following flow path;
fluid enters through said inlet of said flow meter and passes into said inlet of said metering assembly through said internal passageway causing said wobble disc to nutate and exiting through said outlet of said metering assembly, passing through said central chamber and exiting through said outlet of the flow meter;
d. sensor means located outside of said central chamber and isolated from the fluid for detecting movement of said slugs as said signal generator disc rotates in said central chamber, said sensor means sending a pulsed signal each time a slug passes by said sensor means;
e. computer means including means for storing data defining a calibrated nonlinear relationship between a K-factor of the meter and a corresponding volumetric flow rate of the meter, said computer means, response to the sensor signal and the relationship data in the storing means, for determining volumetric fluid flow through the electronic nutating disc flow meter and for generating a volumetric signal representative of the determined volumetric fluid flow; and
f. means, responsive to the volumetric signal, for displaying a fluid volume corresponding to the determined volumetric fluid flow
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Abstract
The electronic nutating disc flow meter is suitable for measuring different liquids with varying viscosities. This meter is best suited for measuring medium viscosity fluids of 10 to 450 centipoise. This flow meter includes a microprocessor to correct for the nonlinearity of fluid flow. The memory in the microprocessor contains three calibration curves with accompanying lookup table information. CAL A is preset at the factory for thin viscosity fluids. CAL B is preset at the factory for medium viscosity fluids and CAL C can be field calibrated. The calibration curves can be plotted with up to five points per curve.
69 Citations
31 Claims
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1. An electronic nutating disc flow meter for measuring volumetric fluid flow comprising:
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a. a housing defining a central chamber, said housing having an axially aligned inlet and outlet to permit fluid communication with said central chamber, said housing formed from a composite material; b. a metering assembly including a wobble disc positioned in said central chamber, said metering assembly defining an internal circular passageway having an inlet and an outlet, said inlet of said metering assembly in fluid communication with said inlet of said housing and said outlet of said metering assembly in fluid communication with said central chamber of said housing, said wobble disc having a protruding drive pin extending through an aperture in said metering assembly; c. a free floating signal generator disc positioned in said central chamber between said metering assembly and said housing, said signal generator disc formed from a composite material having a friction reducing component and including a plurality of ferrous, non-magnetized slugs positioned about the circumference, said signal generator disc engaging and being rotated by said drive pin as the fluid passes through the electronic nutating disc flow meter along the following flow path;
fluid enters through said inlet of said flow meter and passes into said inlet of said metering assembly through said internal passageway causing said wobble disc to nutate and exiting through said outlet of said metering assembly, passing through said central chamber and exiting through said outlet of the flow meter;d. sensor means located outside of said central chamber and isolated from the fluid for detecting movement of said slugs as said signal generator disc rotates in said central chamber, said sensor means sending a pulsed signal each time a slug passes by said sensor means; e. computer means including means for storing data defining a calibrated nonlinear relationship between a K-factor of the meter and a corresponding volumetric flow rate of the meter, said computer means, response to the sensor signal and the relationship data in the storing means, for determining volumetric fluid flow through the electronic nutating disc flow meter and for generating a volumetric signal representative of the determined volumetric fluid flow; and f. means, responsive to the volumetric signal, for displaying a fluid volume corresponding to the determined volumetric fluid flow - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An electronic flow meter for measuring volumetric fluid flow comprising:
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a. a housing defining a central chamber, said housing having an inlet and an outlet permitting fluid communication with said central chamber; b. a metering assembly positioned in said central chamber, said metering assembly defining an internal circular passageway having an inlet and an outlet, said inlet of said metering assembly in fluid communication with said inlet of said housing and said outlet of said metering assembly in communication with said central chamber of said housing, said metering assembly driving a device in response to fluid flow through said metering assembly; c. means for sensing movement of said device and generating a sensing signal in response to said movement; d. computer means including means for storing information defining a calibrated nonlinear relationship between the sensing signal of the meter and its corresponding volumetric flow rate of the meter, computer means, responsive to the sensing signal and the relationship in the storing means, for determining a volumetric fluid flow through the flow meter and for generating a volumetric signal representative of the determined volumetric fluid flow; and e. means, responsive to the volumetric signal, for displaying a fluid volume corresponding the determined volumetric fluid flow. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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Specification