Nuclear gauges and related methods of assembly
First Claim
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1. A nuclear gauge suitable for measuring the density and/or moisture of material, comprising:
- a gauge housing having a vertical cavity therethrough;
at least one radiation detector located within the housing;
a tower defining a vertical channel therein, the tower disposed on the gauge housing with the channel aligned with the cavity to form a vertical conduit;
a vertically moveable source rod extending within the conduit;
a radiation source operatively positioned within a distal end of the source rod;
a handle secured to the source rod for vertically extending and retracting the source rod to a plurality of predetermined source rod locations so as to change the spatial relationship between the radiation source and the at least one radiation detector, the handle providing a fine adjustment element for adjusting the height of the source rod for positioning the radiation source relative to the at least one radiation detector to provide proper measurements at the different predetermined source rod locations; and
wherein the handle further comprises a coarse adjustment mechanism that works in conjunction with the fine adjustment element for adjusting the height of the source rod for positioning the radiation source relative to the at least one radiation detector to provide proper measurements at the different predetermined source rod locations.
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Abstract
Nuclear gauges, their components and method for assembly and adjustment of the same are provided. The nuclear gauges are used in measuring the density and/or moisture of construction-related materials. The nuclear gauge can include a gauge housing having a vertical cavity therethrough and at least one radiation detector located within the housing. The nuclear gauge can include a vertically moveable source rod and a radiation source operatively positioned within a distal end of the source rod.
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Citations
48 Claims
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1. A nuclear gauge suitable for measuring the density and/or moisture of material, comprising:
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a gauge housing having a vertical cavity therethrough; at least one radiation detector located within the housing; a tower defining a vertical channel therein, the tower disposed on the gauge housing with the channel aligned with the cavity to form a vertical conduit; a vertically moveable source rod extending within the conduit; a radiation source operatively positioned within a distal end of the source rod; a handle secured to the source rod for vertically extending and retracting the source rod to a plurality of predetermined source rod locations so as to change the spatial relationship between the radiation source and the at least one radiation detector, the handle providing a fine adjustment element for adjusting the height of the source rod for positioning the radiation source relative to the at least one radiation detector to provide proper measurements at the different predetermined source rod locations; and wherein the handle further comprises a coarse adjustment mechanism that works in conjunction with the fine adjustment element for adjusting the height of the source rod for positioning the radiation source relative to the at least one radiation detector to provide proper measurements at the different predetermined source rod locations. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A nuclear gauge suitable for measuring the density and/or moisture of material, comprising:
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a gauge housing having a vertical cavity therethrough; at least one radiation detector located within the housing; a tower defining a vertical channel therein, the tower disposed on the gauge housing with the channel aligned with the cavity to form a vertical conduit; a vertically moveable source rod extending within the conduit; a radiation source operatively positioned within a distal end of the source rod; a handle secured to the source rod for vertically extending and retracting the source rod to a plurality of predetermined source rod locations so as to change the spatial relationship between the radiation source and the at least one radiation detector, the handle providing a fine adjustment element for adjusting the height of the source rod for positioning the radiation source relative to the at least one radiation detector to provide proper measurements at the different predetermined source rod locations; wherein the gauge housing comprises a top cover and a base with the base having the vertical cavity therethrough; further comprising an O-ring positionable in a groove within the base of the gauge housing between the base and the cover; and wherein the tower has a triangular cross-section. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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25. A nuclear gauge suitable for measuring the density and/or moisture of material, comprising:
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a gauge housing having a vertical cavity therethrough; at least one radiation detector located within the housing; a tower defining a vertical channel therein, the tower disposed on the gauge housing with the channel aligned with the cavity to form a vertical conduit; a vertically moveable source rod extending within the conduit; a radiation source operatively positioned within a distal end of the source rod; a handle secured to the source rod for vertically extending and retracting the source rod to a plurality of predetermined source rod locations so as to change the spatial relationship between the radiation source and the at least one radiation detector, the handle providing a fine adjustment element for adjusting the height of the source rod for positioning the radiation source relative to the at least one radiation detector to provide proper measurements at the different predetermined source rod locations; wherein the handle further comprises a plunger and a trigger, the plunger extendable to engage notches disposed within the tower and retractable to disengage the notches by actuation of the trigger; further comprising an index positioning strip having index holes therein, the index positioning strip securable at a designated location within the vertical channel of the tower; and further comprising a depth strip positionable in the tower, the depth strip having Hall Effect sensors therein that are alignable with the index holes of the index positioning strip, wherein the handle having a magnet thereon that is detectable by the hall effect sensors to provide non-contact measuring of the positioning of the source rod. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A source rod assembly for use in a nuclear gauge, the source rod assembly comprising:
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a vertically moveable source rod; a radiation source operatively positioned within a distal end of the source rod; and a handle secured to the source rod for vertically extending and retracting the source rod to a plurality of predetermined source rod locations so as to change the spatial relationship between the radiation source and the at least one radiation detector, the handle providing a fine adjustment element for adjusting the height of the source rod for positioning the radiation source relative to the at least one radiation detector to provide proper measurements at the different predetermined source rod locations; and wherein the handle further comprises a coarse adjustment mechanism that works in conjunction with the fine adjustment element for adjusting the height of the source rod for positioning the radiation source relative to the at least one radiation detector to provide proper measurements at the different predetermined source rod locations. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A nuclear gauge comprising:
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a gauge housing including a vertical cavity therethrough and a base; a radiation detector located within the gauge housing and adjacent to the base of the gauge housing; a source rod housing including an interior and first and second ends, the first end being attached to the base of the gauge housing, the second end being distal from the first end and the base; a vertically movable source rod being positioned in the interior of the source rod housing and extending into the cavity of the gauge housing; a radiation source operatively positioned within a distal end of the source rod; a computing system located within the gauge housing; a user interface in communication with the computing system and attached to the second end of the source rod housing, wherein the user interface comprises a keypad having a start switch for initiating a gauge count and an escape switch for aborting a gauge count; a handle coupled to the source rod; wherein the handle further comprises a plunger and a trigger, the plunger extendable to engage notches disposed within the source rod housing and retractable to disengage the notches by actuation of the trigger, and wherein the handle further comprises an adjustment element separate from the notches and the plunger for calibrating the height of the source rod when the plunger engages one of the notches. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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48. A nuclear gauge comprising:
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a gauge housing including a vertical cavity therethrough and a base; a radiation detector located within the gauge housing and adjacent to the base of the gauge housing; a source rod housing including an interior and first and second ends, the first end being attached to the base of the gauge housing, the second end being distal from the first end and the base; a vertically movable source rod being positioned in the interior of the source rod housing and extending into the cavity of the gauge housing; a radiation source operatively positioned within a distal end of the source rod; a computing system located within the gauge housing; a user interface in communication with the computing system and attached to the second end of the source rod housing, wherein the user interface comprises a keypad having a start switch for initiating a gauge count and an escape switch for aborting a gauge count; and a handle coupled to the source rod wherein the handle comprises a fine adjustment element and a coarse adjustment mechanism that works in conjunction with the fine adjustment element for adjusting the height of the source rod for positioning the radiation source relative to the radiation detector to provide proper measurements at different predetermined source rod locations.
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Specification