Water meter system
First Claim
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1. A water meter comprising in combination:
- a housing formed from an upper portion and a lower portion having a divider plate integrally disposed therein,said divider plate extending between said upper portion and said lower portion oriented adjacent walls of a water inlet and a water outlet such that water from said water inlet is diverted into said housing, and prevented from passing directly from said inlet to said outlet,a nutating disk supported in said housing, said disk having a spherical core and elongate slot radially extending outwardly from said spherical core and straddling said divider plate,whereby water contacts said disk causing nutation,said spherical core supports a spindle extending perpendicularly from both said core and said disk, said spindle precessing in response to water flow,sensing means coupled to said spindle to monitor precession of said spindle, said sensing means including said spindle formed from a non-light transmitting substance, said sensing means also including a light source and a light sensor oriented such that light from said light source is detected by said light sensor except when said spindle passes between said light source and said light sensor.and display means coupled to said sensing means for providing an output correlative of water flow through said housing.
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Abstract
A device which monitors the through passage of incompressible fluids such as water that relies upon a nutating disk-type transducer associated with a spherical hollow core. The disk includes a spindle which precesses in the presence of a sensor. A display panel is driven by a microcontroller which converts the precession of the spindle to useful output as a function of time whereby the precession correlates with volume flow through the nutating disk transducer.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A water meter comprising in combination:
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a housing formed from an upper portion and a lower portion having a divider plate integrally disposed therein, said divider plate extending between said upper portion and said lower portion oriented adjacent walls of a water inlet and a water outlet such that water from said water inlet is diverted into said housing, and prevented from passing directly from said inlet to said outlet, a nutating disk supported in said housing, said disk having a spherical core and elongate slot radially extending outwardly from said spherical core and straddling said divider plate, whereby water contacts said disk causing nutation, said spherical core supports a spindle extending perpendicularly from both said core and said disk, said spindle precessing in response to water flow, sensing means coupled to said spindle to monitor precession of said spindle, said sensing means including said spindle formed from a non-light transmitting substance, said sensing means also including a light source and a light sensor oriented such that light from said light source is detected by said light sensor except when said spindle passes between said light source and said light sensor. and display means coupled to said sensing means for providing an output correlative of water flow through said housing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for surveying the throughput of an incompressible fluid which includes routing the incompressible fluid through a meter which includes a nutating disk having a spherical central core with a hollow central portion and a slot extending radially from the spherical core on the disk and outwardly, orienting the disk within a housing so as to straddle a divider plate strategically placed within the housing in order to segment incompressible fluid flow to both an inlet branch and an outlet branch, and having a spindle which extends upwardly from the spherical core to a tower within which is supported a sensor which monitors precession of the spindle as a function of disk nutation and therefore precession of a central axis of the spherical core, providing a bearing surface on the spindle to support the spindle during its precession and a corresponding concave recess for supporting the spherical core within the housing, and connecting the sensing instrumentality to a display, and preventing passage of fluid between an outer edge of the disk and the housing by equipping the disk with a flexible beveled edge, the beveled edge being constructed to sweep against the housing without allowing fluid to pass therebetween.
Specification