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System, apparatus and method for automatic pipe type detection

  • US 9,851,230 B2
  • Filed: 05/31/2017
  • Issued: 12/26/2017
  • Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2014
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A fluid flow meter comprising:

  • an ultrasonic sensor including a first ultrasonic transducer capable of transmitting a transmit signal to propagate, at least partially, through a fluid in a pipe and a second ultrasonic transducer capable of receiving a respective receive signal;

    a memory storing computer code instructions and a plurality of pipe type signatures associated with a plurality of pipe types, each pipe type signature of a respective pipe type of the plurality of pipe types including one or more characteristics of receive signals associated with that pipe type; and

    a processor, communicatively coupled to the sensor and to the memory, configured to, when executing the computer code instructions;

    compute, using the receive signal, a relative energy parameter indicative of a relative pipe signal energy of a pipe signal compared to a total energy of the receive signal, the pipe signal representing a first portion of the receive signal corresponding to a respective first portion of the transmit signal propagating substantially on, or within, a wall of the pipe between the first ultrasonic transducer and the second ultrasonic transducer, and the fluid signal representing a second portion of the receive signal corresponding to a respective second portion of the transmit signal propagating substantially through the fluid in the pipe between the first ultrasonic transducer and the second ultrasonic transducer;

    determine a first time instance at which a first specific fraction of an energy of the pipe signal is received at the second ultrasonic transducer;

    determine a second time instance at which a second specific fraction of an energy of fluid signal is received at the second ultrasonic transducer; and

    identify, using the relative energy parameter, the first time instance, the second time instance, and a classifier defined based on the plurality of pipe type signatures, a pipe type of the pipe.

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