Sensor

• US 5,526,692 A
• Filed: 12/29/1993
• Issued: 06/18/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Keiser Corp.
• Original Assignee: Keiser Corp.
• Inventors: Keiser, Dennis L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chilcot, Richard
• Assistant Examiner(s): BIEGEL, RONALD L
• Application Number:
  US08/175,146
• Time in Patent Office: 902 Days
• Field of Search: 73/719, 73/717, 73/861.47, 73/861.61, 73/279, 73/262, 73/720, 73/721, 73/726, 73/727, 73/275, 73/276, 73/861.58, 73/715
• US Class Current: 73/715
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 13/025 using diaphragms
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 9/0051 using variations in ohmic resistance
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 9/006 of metallic strain gauges fixed to an element other than the pressure transmitting diaphragm

Abstract

A sensor having a housing enclosing a passage adapted to be connected to a source of fluid in fluid receiving relation; a member mounted in the housing communicating with the passage in position to be moved upon the application of a fluid pressure differential thereacross; and a system for registering the movement of the member to detect the fluid pressure differential.

Claims

1. A sensor comprising a housing enclosing a passage;

a diaphragm mounted on the housing within said passage for movement upon the application of a pressure differential thereacross within said passage; and

means operably connected to the housing for registering said movement of the diaphragm to detect said pressure differential and wherein said pressure differential is caused by fluid within said passage and in which an opening extends through the diaphragm operable to permit movement of the fluid along said passage through the opening whereby said movement of the diaphragm, as registered by the registering means, serves to detect the flow of said fluid along the passage.

2. The sensor of claim 1 wherein said opening is formed by an incision in the diaphragm which expands in response to an increase in the pressure differential across said diaphragm.

3. The sensor of claim 2 wherein said incision is formed by a pair of intersecting incisions in the diaphragm forming said opening bounded by a plurality of flap portions in said diaphragm movable from each other upon said increase in the pressure differential so as to increase the area of said opening for movement of the fluid through the opening.

4. A sensor comprising a housing enclosing a passage;

a diaphragm mounted on the housing within said passage for movement upon the application of a pressure differential thereacross within said passage; and

means operably connected to the housing for registering said movement of the diaphragm to detect said pressure differential and wherein said registering means includes a pressure sensitive switch operable to produce a variation in electrical resistance in response to the pressure applied to the pressure sensitive switch and said diaphragm has a portion engageable with said pressure sensitive switch for the transmission of pressure from the diaphragm to the pressure sensitive switch.

5. The sensor of claim 4 wherein said registering means includes an electrical system operably connected to said pressure sensitive switch operable to register said electrical resistance to detect movement of the fluid along said passage.

6. The sensor of claim 5 wherein said registering means includes means for measuring said electrical resistance as an index of movement of the fluid along said passage.

7. The sensor of claim 6 including means for recording said electrical resistance measured by the registering means.

8. The sensor of claim 6 including an opening in said diaphragm operable to permit movement of the fluid along said fluid passage through the diaphragm.

9. The sensor of claim 8 wherein said opening is formed by an incision in the diaphragm operable to open in response to the pressure differential across the diaphragm.

10. The sensor of claim 9 in which the diaphragm is resilient and wherein said incision is formed by intersecting incisions so as to form flap portions of the diaphragm disposed substantially in a common plane closing said opening when there is substantially no pressure differential across said diaphragm and resiliently deformable to open in response to and in correlation with the magnitude of a pressure differential applied across the diaphragm.

11. A sensor comprising:

A. a housing enclosing a chamber for fluid;

B. a diaphragm, deformable under pressure, mounted on the housing extending through said chamber to divide the chamber into two substantially discrete subchambers;

C. two couplings mounted on the housing in individual fluid communication with said subchambers and adapted individually to be connected in fluid communication with at least one fluid system housing fluid under pressure;

D. at least one detector mounted on the housing in at least one of said subchambers in a predetermined position to detect deformation of said diaphragm in response to fluid pressure; and

E. means operably connected to the detector for registering said deformation of the diaphragm to indicate a differential in fluid pressure within said subchambers.

12. The sensor of claim 11 wherein said detector is electrical and operable upon contact with said detector to create a variation in electrical resistance registrable by said registering means to indicate said differential in fluid pressure.

13. The sensor of claim 12 wherein said detector creates said variation in electrical resistance in a magnitude substantially related to the amount of pressure applied to the detector by said contact with the diaphragm registrable by said registering means substantially to indicate the magnitude of said differential in fluid pressure.

14. The sensor of claim 13 wherein a detector is mounted on the housing in each of said subchambers individually in a predetermined position individually to detect deformation of said diaphragm within its respective subchamber upon deformation of said diaphragm within its respective subchamber in response to fluid pressure.

15. The sensor of claim 13 wherein said detector is a force sensing resistor mounted on the housing in the subchamber in said predetermined position and said diaphragm mounts a surface in substantial alignment with said force sensing resistor for engagement with the force sensing resistor to apply said contact upon said deformation of the diaphragm.

16. The sensor of claim 12 wherein a passage extends through the diaphragm establishing fluid communication between said subchambers whereby a pressure differential between the fluids in the respective subchambers causes said deformation in the diaphragm while fluid passes through said passage from the subchamber of comparatively higher pressure into the subchamber of comparatively lower pressure to create said variation in electrical resistance registrable by said registering means to indicate said differential in fluid pressure and, as a consequence, the direction of fluid flow.

17. The sensor of claim 16 wherein said registering means registers the magnitude of the variation in electrical resistance created by said detector and, as a consequence, substantially the magnitude of fluid flow in said direction.

18. The sensor of claim 17 wherein said passage in the diaphragm is formed by intersecting slits in said diaphragm and the diaphragm is resilient so that, when the diaphragm is under said deformation, the passage formed by said intersecting slits expands to define a passage of increasing area in correlation with increasing deformation of the diaphragm as a result of increasing pressure differential between said subchambers.

19. The sensor of claim 18 wherein said intersecting slits are formed substantially without removal of material from the diaphragm so that said diaphragm, when not deformed, substantially seals said subchambers from each other by closing said passage.

20. The sensor of claim 18 wherein said intersecting slits define flaps in the diaphragm bounding said passage which, upon the application of said pressure differential across the diaphragm causing said deformation of the diaphragm, are moved from each other to expand the area of the diaphragm defined by the flaps in substantial correlation with the increase in said pressure differential.

21. The sensor of claim 16 wherein said housing has a pair of said substantially fluid tight chambers;

a diaphragm, deformable under pressure, mounted on the housing extending through each of said fluid chambers to divide each fluid chamber into two substantially discrete subchambers;

two couplings mounted on the housing in individual fluid communication with the subchambers of the fluid tight chamber of said pair of said substantially fluid tight chambers and adapted individually to be connected in fluid communication with at least one fluid system having internal fluid under pressure;

at least one detector mounted in at least one of said subchambers of each fluid tight chamber in a predetermined position individually to detect deformation of said diaphragm in response to fluid pressure and said registering means is operably connected to both detectors for individually registering the deformation of said diaphragms individual to said fluid tight chambers individually to indicate differentials in fluid pressure within the subchambers of each fluid tight chamber.

22. The sensor of claim 16 wherein said detector includes a force sensing resistor operable to vary the electrical resistance produced by the force sensing resistor substantially in correlation with an increase in the physical pressure applied to the force sensing resistor and to vary the electrical resistance produced by the force sensing resistor substantially in correlation with a reduction in the physical pressure applied to the force sensing resistor and said registering means registers said variation in electrical resistance and indicates by indicia the direction and substantially the rate of said fluid flow in said direction.

23. The sensor of claim 16 wherein said fluid system is a pneumatic system, having a pressurized gas within the pneumatic system, of a pneumatic exercising apparatus having an exercising member engageable by an operator for movement along a path of travel, a pneumatic cylinder operably connected to said exercising member and having an internal gas chamber operably connected to said pneumatic system in fluid communication with said pressurized gas of the pneumatic system whereby movement of said exercising member in a predetermined direction causes an increase in the pressure of the pressurized gas in said pneumatic cylinder to resist said movement of the exercising member.

24. The sensor of claim 23 including a source of pressurized gas, means operably interconnecting the pneumatic system and said couplings of the housing for admitting pressurized gas to and alternatively releasing pressurized gas from said gas chamber of the pneumatic cylinder to increase, or alternatively decrease, the resistance to exercising and said source of pressurized gas, housing, means for admitting, and alternatively releasing, pressurized gas and the gas chamber of the pneumatic cylinder are interconnected in said pneumatic system in series relation whereby operation of said means for admitting, or alternatively releasing, pressurized gas causes said pressure differential within subchambers of the housing.

25. The sensor of claim 24 wherein said pneumatic exercising apparatus has an electrical pneumatic resistance display system, operable to register the pneumatic resistance provided to movement of said exercising member, powered by electrical energy and programmed to operate in a low electrical energy mode and a normal electrical energy mode, and said registering system is operably connected to the pneumatic resistance display system to switch said pneumatic resistance display system to said normal energy mode upon registering said pressure differential.

26. The sensor of claim 25 wherein said means for admitting and alternatively releasing includes a normally closed valve operable to be opened by an operator of the pneumatic exercising apparatus to change the pressure of said gas in the pneumatic system and said pneumatic system interconnects in series relation said gas chamber of the pneumatic cylinder, the normally closed valve and one of said two couplings of the housing and the other one of said two couplings of the housing is connected to a source of a gas under pressure whereby, when said normally closed valve is opened, gas is caused to flow from the source of gas under pressure through the sensor, the normally closed valve and into said gas chamber of the pneumatic cylinder and said registering means switches the pneumatic resistance display system to said normal energy mode.