Mass flow meter
First Claim
1. A mass flow meter comprising:
- a housing including a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, wherein the housing defines a chamber therein;
a rotatable member arranged in the chamber and rotatable about an axis;
a momentum device arranged in the chamber and connected to the rotatable member via a biasing element so as to be rotatable about the axis and rotatable relative to the rotatable member; and
a fluid path in fluid communication with the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet, wherein the fluid path passes through both the rotatable member and the momentum device, and wherein the fluid path enters the momentum device at a radial distance r1 from the axis and exits the momentum device at a radial distance r2 from the axis, and wherein r1 and r2 are different distances.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A mass flow meter comprising a housing including a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet. The housing defines a chamber and a rotatable member is arranged in the chamber so as to be rotatable about an axis. A momentum device is also arranged in the chamber and connected to the rotatable member via a biasing element so as to be rotatable about the axis and rotatable relative to the rotatable member. A fluid path in fluid communication with the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet is provided. The fluid path passes through both the rotatable member and the momentum device. The fluid path enters the momentum device at a radial distance r1 from the axis and exits the momentum device at a different radial distance r2 from the axis. A torque provider may be coupled to the rotatable member via a shaft or gear member.
23 Citations
34 Claims
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1. A mass flow meter comprising:
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a housing including a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, wherein the housing defines a chamber therein; a rotatable member arranged in the chamber and rotatable about an axis; a momentum device arranged in the chamber and connected to the rotatable member via a biasing element so as to be rotatable about the axis and rotatable relative to the rotatable member; and a fluid path in fluid communication with the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet, wherein the fluid path passes through both the rotatable member and the momentum device, and wherein the fluid path enters the momentum device at a radial distance r1 from the axis and exits the momentum device at a radial distance r2 from the axis, and wherein r1 and r2 are different distances. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A mass flow meter comprising:
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a housing defining a chamber therein, the housing having a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet; a rotatable member arranged in the chamber to be rotatable about an axis; a momentum device arranged in the chamber so as to be rotatable about the axis and rotatable relative to the rotatable member, wherein the momentum device is in interaction with the rotatable member via an element capable of transmitting a torque between the rotatable member and the momentum device; and a fluid path passing through the housing from the fluid inlet to the fluid outlet, wherein the fluid path includes a first portion defined within the momentum device and a second portion defined within the rotatable member, and wherein the first portion has a fluid entry at a radial distance r1 from the axis and a fluid exit at a radial distance r2 from the axis, and wherein r1 and r2 are different distances. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A mass flow meter comprising:
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a housing including a fluid inlet and fluid outlet, wherein the housing defines a chamber therein; a fluid path from the fluid inlet to the fluid outlet; a rotatable member arranged in the chamber and rotatable about an axis; a momentum device arranged in the chamber and connected to the rotatable member via a biasing element so as to be rotatable about the axis and rotatable relative to the rotatable member, wherein the fluid path traverses the momentum device from a fluid entry to a fluid exit; and wherein the mass flow meter is designed to remove a shear plane at the fluid entry and fluid exit when the momentum device and rotatable member are rotated about the axis; and wherein, during steady state operation of the mass flow meter, the angular velocity of at least a portion of the fluid path immediately upstream of the momentum device and at least a portion of fluid path immediately downstream of the momentum device is the same as the angular velocity of the portion of the fluid path that traverses the momentum device.
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31. A mass flow meter comprising:
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a housing including a fluid inlet and fluid outlet, wherein the housing defines a chamber therein; a fluid path from the fluid inlet to the fluid outlet; a rotatable member arranged in the chamber and rotatable about an axis; a momentum device arranged in the chamber and connected to the rotatable member via a biasing element so as to be rotatable about the axis and rotatable relative to the rotatable member, wherein the fluid path traverses the momentum device from a fluid entry to a fluid exit; and wherein the mass flow meter is designed to remove a shear plane at the fluid entry and fluid exit when the momentum device and rotatable member are rotated about the axis; and wherein the fluid entry is at a radial distance r1 from the axis and the fluid exit is at a radial distance r2 from the axis, and wherein r1 is substantially different from r2.
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32. A mass flow meter comprising:
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a housing including a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, wherein the housing defines a chamber therein; a rotatable member arranged in the chamber and rotatable about an axis; a momentum device arranged in the chamber and connected to the rotatable member via a biasing element so as to be rotatable about the axis and rotatable relative to the rotatable member; and a fluid path in fluid communication with the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet, wherein the fluid path enters the momentum device at a radial distance r1 from the axis and exits the momentum device at a radial distance r2 from the axis, and wherein r1 and r2 are different distances, and wherein the direction of the fluid path is substantially reversed within the momentum device.
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33. A mass flow meter comprising:
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a rotatable member arranged to be rotatable about an axis; a momentum device arranged to be rotatable about the axis and rotatable relative to the rotatable member and in interaction with the rotatable member via an element capable of transmitting a torque between the rotatable member and the momentum device; a fluid path passing through the momentum device wherein the fluid path enters the momentum device at a radial distance r1 from the axis on a first side and exits the momentum device at a radial distance r2 from the axis on the first side, and wherein r1 and r2 are different distances; and a means to determine the angular momentum which the fluid is exerting on the momentum device.
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34. A fuel management system including a flow meter comprising:
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a housing including a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet, wherein the housing defines a chamber therein; a rotatable member arranged in the chamber and rotatable about an axis; a momentum device arranged in the chamber and connected to the rotatable member via a biasing element so as to be rotatable about the axis and rotatable relative to the rotatable member; and a fluid path in fluid communication with the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet, wherein the fluid path passes through both the rotatable member and the momentum device, and wherein the fluid path enters the momentum device at a radial distance r1 from the axis and exits the momentum device at a radial distance r2 from the axis, and wherein r1 and r2 are different distances.
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Specification