Patents Examined by Carey D. Mack
  • Ultrasonic flow meter having a tubular elastic transducer holding unit
    Patent number: 6644130
    Abstract: The ultrasonic flow meter of the present invention comprising a measuring pipe through which liquid flows, and two measuring units provided at an interval in the lengthwise direction on measuring pipe. A tightly adhered tube having elasticity is attached to an attaching indentation formed in the measuring pipe over the peripheral direction, and its inner peripheral surface is tightly adhered to the outer peripheral surface of measuring pipe. A transducer is arranged on the outer peripheral surface of tightly adhered tube in the state in which it is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the tightly adhered tube. In this ultrasonic flow meter, the transmission of vibrations between the transducer and fluid inside the measuring pipe can be carried out uniformly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 11, 2003
    Assignee: Surpass Industry Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Imai, Akira Takada
  • Low thermal stress balance bar for a coriolis flowmeter
    Patent number: 6487917
    Abstract: A Coriolis flowmeter that uses a balance bar to allow stress in the active and inactive portions of the flow tube to be as low as possible for any thermal condition. The balance bar has a middle segment that is compliant in the axial direction so that changes in length of the balance bar ends do not impose a significant axial force on the flow lube. This ensures that the thermal stresses on the active and inactive portions of the flow tube are always equal. This state of stress equality is the lowest possible stress state for the flow lube. As a result of the axially compliant balance bar, the remaining stress in the flow tube is only a function of the differential expansion between the flow tube and the case. Balance bar expansion and contraction is eliminated and has no impact on the flow tube stress.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2000
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2002
    Assignee: Micro Motion, Inc.
    Inventors: Craig Brainerd Van Cleve, Gregory Treat Lanham
  • Ultrasonic transit time flow sensor and method
    Patent number: 6370963
    Abstract: A transit time ultrasonic fluid flow sensor is configured to compensate for circuit related drifts in the flow rate output signal. During acoustic transmission some of the transmitting signal is also routed through the receiving circuits from which a reference signal is derived to provide the compensating signal. In an alternate configuration, compensation or flow sensor drift is derived from reception of the round-trip signals between a pair of transducers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2000
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2002
    Inventor: Murray F. Feller