Abstract: A redundant level measuring system comprises a chamber for fluidic coupling to a process vessel whereby material level in the vessel equalizes with material level in the chamber. A float including a magnet in the chamber rises and falls with material level in the chamber. A magnet actuated visual indicator is mounted to the chamber for indicating level of the magnet in the chamber. A measurement instrument includes an antenna and a measurement circuit. The instrument is mounted atop the chamber with the antenna extending downwardly into the chamber. The measurement circuit measures time of flight of a through air signal representing level of the material in the chamber. A shield in the chamber isolates the float from the antenna.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
August 10, 2011
Date of Patent:
January 31, 2017
Assignee:
Magnetrol International, Incorporated
Inventors:
Don Patrick Sanders, Michael J. Mulrooney, Boyce Carsella
Abstract: A vibrating member (500) for a vibrating densitometer (800) is provided. The vibrating member (500) includes an inner surface (531) with one or more arcuate portions (730). The inner surface (531) of the vibrating member (500) also includes one or more raised portions (530) sized and located to increase a frequency separation between a resonant frequency of a desired vibrational drive mode and a resonant frequency of one or more undesired vibrational modes.
Abstract: Systems and methods for determining whether mechanical fatigue exists in a downhole cable using thermally-induced acoustic waves are disclosed herein. A cable fatigue monitoring system includes a thermal source, one or more light sources, one or more photodetector arrays, and a computing system comprising a processor, a memory, and a cable distortion module. The cable distortion module is operable to generate acoustic waves in a cable using the thermal source, direct light from the one or more light sources toward the cable, detect light from the one or more light sources transmitted past the cable at the one or more photodetector arrays, and determine, based on the detected light transmitted past the cable, whether a change in velocity of the acoustic waves has occurred in the cable.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
November 12, 2014
Date of Patent:
January 31, 2017
Assignee:
Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.
Inventors:
Hua Xia, Yinghui Lu, Lizheng Zhang, John L. Maida
Abstract: A distributed acoustic wave detection system and method is provided. The system may include a fiber optic cable deployed in a well and configured to react to pressure changes resulting from a propagating acoustic wave and an optical source configured to launch interrogating pulses into the fiber optic cable. In addition, the system may include a receiver configured to detect coherent Rayleigh noise produced in response to the interrogating pulses. The CRN signal may be used to track the propagation of the acoustic waves in the well. Such capability allows the location of the cement sheath, as well as measuring the bonding of cement to at least a casing string at least partially surrounded by a cement sheath.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
September 19, 2012
Date of Patent:
January 17, 2017
Assignee:
SCHLUMBERGER TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
Inventors:
Arthur H. Hartog, William B. Underhill, Simon Severance, Samantha Rist
Abstract: The disclosure relates to an embodiment of a valve position indicator having an indicator cover having at least one window and a rotor configured to be at least partially within the indicator cover. The rotor has an indicator surface with one or more position indicators wherein at least one of the position indicators is configured to align with the window on the indicator cover, thus indicating the position of a valve. A light may be positioned proximate the rotor and configured to illuminate the position indicator. The valve position indicator may also include an array of LED lights bordering the rim of the indicator cover. The valve position indicator may alternatively include the array of LED lights without the indicator cover.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
November 1, 2013
Date of Patent:
January 17, 2017
Assignee:
Bray International, Inc.
Inventors:
Craig Brown, Dan Walker, James F. Schmidt, Jr.
Abstract: A liquid chromatograph control system for controlling an operation of a liquid chromatograph which uses a mobile phase composed of a mixture of solvents and which has the function of performing a gradient analysis while temporally changing the mixture ratio of the solvents. The system initially requests a user to set a basic gradient profile (Step S12), and subsequently, to set the number of steps to change the mixture ratio of the mobile phase at the beginning and/or at the end of the gradient process as well as the amount of change in the mixture ratio per step (Step S13). After that, based on the possible combinations of the mixture ratios of the mobile phase at the beginning and at the end of the gradient process computed from the contents of information entered in the previous steps, a plurality of gradient profiles corresponding to those combinations are created (Step S14).
Abstract: A pulsed ion multifunctional detector used for both high performance liquid chromatograph and ion chromatograph, and experiment chromatograms attached also show that the detector has excellent multipurpose function in liquid chromatograph. The casing of the instrument is provided with a sample solution inlet, a sample solution outlet, a power supply socket, a liquid crystal display, an operation keyboard and a detection signal output interface. In the casing is provided a detection electromechanical member, which includes a central controller, a detection cell, a preposed subtracting module, a polarity transformation module, a noise processing module and an output amplifier module. The pulsed ion multifunctional detector can sensitively and accurately measure ion current of sample ionized directly in the detection cell, and subtract baseline background generated by various mobile phases and automatically eliminate dynamic noise and drift of the instrument.
Abstract: Apparatus and methods for size-specific detection of particles entrained in fluids are provided. A particle size selector separates particles entrained in a sample fluid stream using a curved channel. Shroud fluid streams are interposed between the sample fluid stream and walls of the channel. Centrifugal forces arising from fluid flow through the curved channel separate differently-sized particles into different transverse sections of the channel. A detector downstream from the particle size selector specifically detects particles in one or more transverse sections of the channel.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
October 28, 2011
Date of Patent:
January 10, 2017
Assignee:
The University of British Columbia
Inventors:
Winnie Chu-Hui Chu, Allison Schaap, Boris Stoeber
Abstract: A bead design allows the bead to be removably attached to a rail, allowing the bead to slide along the rail without coming off. The rail can be part of a bracket system to hang the rail in various desired locations. The beads can be made in various shapes and sizes, or with various textual indicators, to provide a user with a memory aid. A user can, for example, have a bead for each medicine dose they are required to take. A user can slide the bead to one side when the medicine is taken. Each bead can include an indicator, for example, 6 am, 2 pm, 10 pm that indicates a medicine to be taken 3 times a day. The beads can be used for other reminders and can be designed accordingly. A software application can be designed to mimic the bead and rail system.
Abstract: An optical microresonator based RF oscillator sensor for measuring mass, temperature, and particle/molecule concentration. An optical energy source is coupled to the optical microresonator to generate optical power oscillations at Rf frequencies. A stable or reference RF oscillation frequency is established which allows for measuring oscillation frequency variations induced by the interaction of the substance with the optical microresonator.
Abstract: A photo acoustic non-destructive measurement apparatus and method for quantitatively measuring texture of a food snack is disclosed. The apparatus includes a laser generating tool, an acoustic capturing device, and a data processing unit. The laser generating tool directs a laser towards a food snack placed on a surface and creates pressure waves that propagate through the air and produce an acoustic signal. The acoustic capturing device records and forwards the signal to a data processing unit. The data processing unit further comprises a digital signal processing module that processes the received acoustic signal. A statistical processing module further filters the acoustic signal from the data processing unit and generates a quantitative acoustic model for texture attributes such as hardness and fracturability. The quantitative model is correlated with a qualitative texture measurement from a descriptive expert panel. Texture of food snacks are quantitatively measured with the quantitative acoustic model.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
September 24, 2015
Date of Patent:
January 10, 2017
Assignee:
Frito-Lay North America, Inc.
Inventors:
Ou Bai, Wilfred Marcellien Bourg, Jr., Scott Fagan, Enrique Michel-Sanchez, Shahmeer Ali Mirza, Scott G. Richardson, Chen C. Shao
Abstract: If a sheet is jammed while conveyed, whether the jammed sheet and a sheet preceding the jammed sheet have been generated by cutting an uncut sheet from which the jammed sheet is derived is determined. If generated, a printing apparatus re-prints a plurality of images including an image of the jammed sheet on a sheet, and the cutting apparatus cuts the re-printed sheet. If the jammed sheet and the preceding sheet have been generated, the printing apparatus re-prints a plurality of images including an image of the jammed sheet on a sheet, the cutting apparatus cuts the re-printed sheet, and a sheet that includes the same image as the preceding sheet is discharged to a different discharge destination from that of the preceding sheet.
Abstract: Provided are integrated analysis devices having features of macroscale and nanoscale dimensions, and devices that have reduced background signals and that reduce quenching of fluorophores disposed within the devices. Related methods of manufacturing these devices and of using these devices are also provided.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
June 5, 2009
Date of Patent:
January 3, 2017
Assignee:
BioNano Genomics, Inc.
Inventors:
Han Cao, Michael D. Austin, Parikshit A. Deshpande, Mark Kunkel, Alexey Y. Sharonov, Michael Kochersperger
Abstract: An electrostatic capacitance fluid level sensor includes a hermetic terminal having two terminal pins inserted through a metal base, a detection device including two electrodes for fluid level detection by electrostatic capacitance and two connecting terminals configured to fix the pins to the electrodes respectively. The connecting terminals are formed into such a shape as to include parts parallel to the electrodes and parts orthogonal to the electrodes by bending the terminals at bends, respectively. The parallel parts are fixed to sides of the electrodes opposed to sides of the electrodes facing each other, respectively. The orthogonal parts are fixed to the pins respectively. One of the terminals has a larger thickness than the other thereby to have a sufficient stiffness to hold the detection device. At least one of the terminals is deformable by a weaker force than a force causing the electrodes to deform.
Abstract: A submersible pump test bench capable of testing multiple lengths of submersible pumps. The test bench includes a series of trolleys that may be moved along, added to, or removed from a rail depending on the length of submersible pump to be tested. The test bench further includes a hose handler for redirecting a length of hose connecting the submersible pump to a broader hydraulic circuit. In certain embodiments, the hose handler includes a rotating sheave or similar structure that redirects the hose back on itself, providing a length-multiplying effect.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
August 12, 2014
Date of Patent:
December 27, 2016
Assignee:
Halliburton Energy Services, Inc.
Inventors:
Hitendra Prakash Chaudhari, Stewart Darold Reed, Franklin Dale Henson, Ariful Islam Bhuiyan
Abstract: Disclosed herein is a liquid reduction timing device useful for cooking. More specifically, the disclosed liquid reduction timing device indicates to a user that a liquid has been reduced to a predetermined level when the level of the liquid is equal to the station of a movable indicator.
Abstract: A pressure indicator: a body having a pressure chamber which has an inlet for communication with a fluid; a resilient diaphragm having a periphery sealed against the body and having one side thereof exposed to the fluid within the chamber; an indicating arm having an inner end which is integrally formed with the other side of the diaphragm and an outer end arm which is adjacent to a scale, the arrangement being such that pressure of the fluid within the chamber causes resilient deformation of the diaphragm which in turn causes the outer end of the arm to move relative to the scale thereby indicating the pressure of the fluid in the chamber.
Abstract: An apparatus adapted for presenting a sheet of media to an image transfer structure. The apparatus includes a registration baffle positioned in an offset relationship relative to the image transfer structure and a pre-transfer baffle assembly including a first baffle oppositely disposed to a second baffle, the pre-transfer assembly generally forms an āSā shape and is adapted for guiding the sheet of media from the registration baffle to the image transfer structure. The pre-transfer baffle assembly is arranged in a first position adapted for guiding the sheet of media toward the image transfer structure at an angle of less than ninety degrees, and the pre-transfer baffle automatically begins rotation to a second position as the sheet of media reaches a pre-determined position within a paper path.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
August 14, 2013
Date of Patent:
December 20, 2016
Assignee:
Xerox Corporation
Inventors:
Jonathan B. Hunter, David Mark Kerxhalli, David R. Kretschmann, Ronald W. Bogert
Abstract: Methods and apparatuses are provided wherein a sensor which comprises at least two electrodes and a movable part is alternately biased with at least two different voltages.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
February 25, 2011
Date of Patent:
December 20, 2016
Assignee:
Infineon Technologies AG
Inventors:
Christoph Bernhard Wurzinger, Jose Luis Ceballos
Abstract: Certain examples provide a transparent ultrasonic transducer including a transparent substrate and a transparent optical resonator positioned on the transparent substrate. The transparent optical resonator is to facilitate excitation of a biological sample and to receive acoustic emission from the biological sample triggered by the excitation, for example. Certain examples provide a ring resonator ultrasonic detector including a microscope cover slide. The microscope cover sheet includes a substrate and a ring optical resonator positioned on the substrate. The example ring optical resonator is to facilitate illumination of a biological sample and to receive acoustic emission from the biological sample in response to the illumination.