System generating a pressure profile across a pressure sensitive membrane
First Claim
1. A sensor apparatus, to detect the pressure of a fluid, comprising:
- (a) a substantially incompressible mounting structure having a cavity formed therein;
(b) an elastic membrane, attached to said mounting structure and across said cavity, so as to separate said cavity from said fluid; and
(c) at least one transducer mounted in said cavity, detecting deflection of said membrane at a selected plurality of regions thereon, facilitating the generating of a pressure profile across the membrane.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An improved fluid pressure sensor/sensor array is shown to provide high resolution, sensitivity which can be easily controlled based on anticipated or detected pressure range, and reliable pressure measurements with easy installation and low fabrication cost. A fluid pressure sensor is provided having a substantially incompressible mounting structure with a cavity formed therein. An elastic membrane is attached to said mounting structure and across said cavity, separating the cavity from the fluid to be measured. At least one non-contact transducer is attached to the mounting structure in the cavity to detect deflection at a selected plurality of regions on the membrane. The sensitivity and pressure range of the sensor can be chosen by preselecting the elasticity of the membrane, stretching the membrane across the cavity under a preselected tension, maintaining a predetermined reference pressure in the cavity, and/or actively controlling the membrane tension. For a pressure sensor array, there are at least two fluid pressure sensors, where at least one sensor is of the type described herein. A sensor array can also be formed by multiple cavities within a single mounting structure.
80 Citations
54 Claims
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1. A sensor apparatus, to detect the pressure of a fluid, comprising:
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(a) a substantially incompressible mounting structure having a cavity formed therein; (b) an elastic membrane, attached to said mounting structure and across said cavity, so as to separate said cavity from said fluid; and (c) at least one transducer mounted in said cavity, detecting deflection of said membrane at a selected plurality of regions thereon, facilitating the generating of a pressure profile across the membrane. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A large area sensor system, to detect the pressure of a fluid, comprising at least two fluid pressure sensor apparatus, wherein at least one of the sensor apparatus is comprised of:
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(a) a substantially incompressible mounting structure having a cavity formed therein; (b) an elastic membrane, attached to said mounting structure and across said cavity, so as to separate said cavity from said fluid; and (c) at least one transducer mounted in said cavity, for detecting deflection of said membrane at a selected plurality of regions thereon, facilitating the generating of a pressure profile across the membrane.
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31. A large area sensor system, to detect the pressure of a fluid, comprised of:
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(a) a substantially incompressible mounting structure having a plurality of cavities formed therein; (b) an elastic membrane, attached to said mounting structure and across said cavities, so as to separate said cavities from said fluid; and (c) at least one transducer mounted in each cavity, for detecting deflection at a selected plurality of regions of the membrane for each cavity, facilitating the generating of a pressure profile across the membrane. - View Dependent Claims (32)
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33. A fluid pressure sensor apparatus comprising:
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at least one cavity; a component extending over said at least one cavity which undergoes local displacement in response to corresponding local pressure differentials; a plurality of displacement detectors in each said cavity, each of which converts a said local displacement to a signal; and a reference pressure applied on one side of said component;
fluid pressure to be sensed being applied to the opposite side of the component. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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42. A sensor apparatus, to detect the pressure of a fluid, comprising:
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(a) a substantially incompressible substrate; (b) a substantially incompressible spacer mounted on said substrate and having sides extending from said substrate which define a cavity; (c) an elastic, non-reactive membrane stretched across said cavity at a preselected tension, formed from a material of a preselected elasticity, attached to said spacer and arranged to separate said fluid from a predetermined reference pressure maintained in said cavity; and (d) a plurality of transducers mounted on said substrate in said cavity to measure displacement at selected regions of said membrane, each transducer providing a substantially independent pressure measurement.
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43. A method for detecting the pressure of a fluid comprising the steps of:
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(a) maintaining a reference pressure on one side of an elastic membrane extending over at least one cavity; (b) exposing another side of said membrane to a fluid pressure to be detected; and (c) utilizing at least one transducer for each said cavity to measure the local displacement of the membrane over said cavity resulting from the pressure differential thereacross at a selected plurality of membrane regions, facilitating the generating of a pressure profile across the membrane. - View Dependent Claims (44)
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45. A method for fabricating a pressure sensor comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a substantially incompressible mounting structure having a cavity formed therein; (b) mounting a plurality of displacement transducers in said cavity; and (c) attaching a membrane across said cavity;
said transducers being mounted to detect deflection at separate regions of said membrane, facilitating the generation of a pressure profile across the membrane. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54)
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Specification