Patents by Inventor Bernhard Funck
Bernhard Funck has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Publication number: 20240057482Abstract: A joining method is for producing a sound transducer system. The method includes: providing a piezoelectric material and a plurality of components, each of the components being characterized by a solidus temperature; arranging the piezoelectric material and the plurality of components in the form of a stack, so that adjacent to a front face of the piezoelectric material there is a front stack part and adjacent to a rear face of the piezoelectric material there is a rear stack part; and consolidating the stack by the introduction of heat and pressure for a predetermined period of time, none of the solidus temperatures of the plurality of components being exceeded during the consolidation; and, during the consolidation, the piezoelectric material being directly acoustically coupled to an immediately adjacent component of the front and/or rear stack part.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 18, 2023Publication date: February 15, 2024Inventors: Oleg Shapovalov, Thomas Heckel, Rainer Boehm, Stefan Göbbels, Bernhard Funck
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Patent number: 11237034Abstract: A method and an arrangement for ultrasonic flow measurement according to the transit-time method is provided for accurate and non-invasive flow measurement independent of the viscosity. At least one sound transducer pair is provided that has a clamp-on ultrasonic transducer operating in transmitting operation and a clamp-on ultrasonic transducer operating in receiving operation. The cross-section of a measurement tube through which a gaseous or liquid medium flows is substantially a pentagon having a base side and having sides adjacent at right angles and having sides adjacent thereto and lying opposite the base side, which include an angle of less than 180°. The sound transducer pair is arranged on the base side in order produce first sound paths. Because of flattening of the vertex lying opposite the base side, the same sound transducer pair additionally produces a second sound path.Type: GrantFiled: December 23, 2019Date of Patent: February 1, 2022Assignee: FLEXIM FLEXIBLE INDUSTRIEMESSTECHNIK GMBHInventor: Bernhard Funck
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Publication number: 20200173824Abstract: A method and to an arrangement for ultrasonic flow measurement according to the transit-time method is provided for accurate and non-invasive flow measurement independent of the viscosity. At least one sound transducer pair is provided that has a clamp-on ultrasonic transducer operating in transmitting operation and a clamp-on ultrasonic transducer operating in receiving operation. The cross-section of a measurement tube through which a gaseous or liquid medium flows is substantially a pentagon having a base side and having sides adjacent at right angles and having sides adjacent thereto and lying opposite the base side, which include an angle of less than 180°. The sound transducer pair is arranged on the base side in order produce first sound paths. Because of flattening of the vertex lying opposite the base side, the same sound transducer pair additionally produces a second sound path.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 23, 2019Publication date: June 4, 2020Applicant: FLEXIM FLEXIBLE INDUSTRIEMESSTECHNIK GMBHInventor: Bernhard FUNCK
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Patent number: 10330509Abstract: The invention relates to a method and an arrangement for an ultrasound clamp-on flow measurement according to the transit-time method. The problem addressed by the invention is to provide a measurement arrangement for clamp-on flow measurement, which enables measurement using only two pairs of acoustic transducers in both reflection configuration and in X configuration, without requiring the acoustic transducer position to be changed when switching between configurations. For the method according to the invention, at least four acoustic transducers are arranged on a measurement pipe, which are controlled in such a way that the flow measurement is performed consecutively in an alternating manner in the X configuration and in the reflection configuration. For this purpose, two acoustic transducers are connected for each transmission-receiving pair for a flow measurement in X configuration, and/or two acoustic transducers are connected for each transmission-receiving pair for two reflection configurations.Type: GrantFiled: October 19, 2015Date of Patent: June 25, 2019Assignee: Flexim Flexible Industriemesstechnik GmbHInventor: Bernhard Funck
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Publication number: 20170307427Abstract: The invention relates to a method and an arrangement for an ultrasound clamp-on flow measurement according to the transit-time method. The problem addressed by the invention is to provide a measurement arrangement for clamp-on flow measurement, which enables measurement using only two pairs of acoustic transducers in both reflection configuration and in X configuration, without requiring the acoustic transducer position to be changed when switching between configurations. For the method according to the invention, at least four acoustic transducers are arranged on a measurement pipe, which are controlled in such a way that the flow measurement is performed consecutively in an alternating manner in the X configuration and in the reflection configuration. For this purpose, two acoustic transducers are connected for each transmission-receiving pair for a flow measurement in X configuration, and/or two acoustic transducers are connected for each transmission-receiving pair for two reflection configurations.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 19, 2015Publication date: October 26, 2017Applicant: FLEXIM FLEXIBLE INDUSTRIEMESSTECHNIK GMBHInventor: Bernhard FUNCK
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Patent number: 9719822Abstract: A method of ultrasonic clamp-on flow measurement according to the transit time difference method and apparatus for the implementation of the method, wherein the electromechanical transducer element of at least one of the two acoustic transducers is comprised of at least two array elements and a correction factor is determined by comparing the transit times between the acoustic transducers while using different array elements.Type: GrantFiled: March 7, 2012Date of Patent: August 1, 2017Assignee: FLEXIM Flexible Industriemesstechnik GmbHInventor: Bernhard Funck
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Patent number: 9086309Abstract: The invention relates to a method for calibrating the transmitters of ultrasonic flow meters according to the transit time difference method. The object of the invention is to provide a method for calibrating the transmitters of ultrasonic flow meters, said calibration being able to be carried out independently of the other components of the meter, such as the acoustic transducers and the pipe in which the fluid flow being measured occurs. According to the invention, the measurement signals are generated by means of an artificial simulation of the measurement path. This allows the transmitter to be calibrated independently of the remaining components of the measuring apparatus, such as the measuring tube and the acoustic transducers.Type: GrantFiled: November 19, 2009Date of Patent: July 21, 2015Assignee: FLEXIM Flexible Industriemesstechnik GmbHInventors: Bernhard Funck, Andreas Mitzkus
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Publication number: 20140000339Abstract: A method of ultrasonic clamp-on flow measurement according to the transit time difference method and apparatus for the implementation of the method, wherein the electromechanical transducer element of at least one of the two acoustic transducers is comprised of at least two array elements and a correction factor is determined by comparing the transit times between the acoustic transducers while using different array elements.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 7, 2012Publication date: January 2, 2014Applicant: FLEXIM FLEXIBLE INDUSTRIEMESSTECHNIK GMBHInventor: Bernhard Funck
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Publication number: 20110231137Abstract: The invention relates to a method for calibrating the transmitters of ultrasonic flow meters according to the transit time difference method. The object of the invention is to provide a method for calibrating the transmitters of ultrasonic flow meters, said calibration being able to be carried out independently of the other components of the meter, such as the acoustic transducers and the pipe in which the fluid flow being measured occurs. According to the invention, the measurement signals are generated by means of an artificial simulation of the measurement path. This allows the transmitter to be calibrated independently of the remaining components of the measuring apparatus, such as the measuring tube and the acoustic transducers.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 19, 2009Publication date: September 22, 2011Inventors: Bernhard Funck, Andreas Mitzkus
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Patent number: 7506532Abstract: A position difference is created by mutual translation of sound transducers and the associated time difference is measured. Radiating surfaces of both sound transducers are arranged acoustically opposing one another in planes that are parallel to one another. The sound transducers are positioned at a mutual distance x0+xd, and sound transit time t1 between the sound transducers is measured, wherein position x0 is the distance for optimum acoustic coupling of the two sound transducers and xd is the deviation from this position that is designated as the deviation. The sound transducers are repositioned at another mutual distance x0+xd+?x, and the sound transit time t2 between the sound transducers is measured. An acoustic calibration factor Ka is calculated from the distance difference ?x and the time difference ?t=t2?t1 using the formula Ka=?x/?t.Type: GrantFiled: June 20, 2005Date of Patent: March 24, 2009Assignee: Flexim Flexible Industriemesstechnik GmbHInventors: Bernhard Funck, Andreas Mitzkus
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Publication number: 20080216555Abstract: A position difference is created by mutual translation of sound transducers and the associated time difference is measured. Radiating surfaces of both sound transducers are arranged acoustically opposing one another in planes that are parllel to one another. The sound transducers are positioned at a mutual distance x0+xd, and sound transit time t1 between the sound transducers is measured, wherein position x0 is the distance for optimum acoustic coupling of the two sound transducers and xd is the deviation from this position that is designated as the deviation. The sound transducers are repositioned at another mutual distance x0+xd+?x, and the sound transit time t2 between the sound transducers is measured. An acoustic calibration factor Ka is calculated from the distance difference ?x and the time difference ?t=t2?t1 using the formula Ka=?x/?t.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 20, 2005Publication date: September 11, 2008Inventors: Bernhard Funck, Andreas Mitzkus
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Patent number: 7343821Abstract: The invention relates to a device for coupling ultrasound clamp-on throughflow measuring heads to a high-temperature measuring tube. The invention is characterized in that a thin coupling plate is arranged between the tube wall and the measuring head. As a result, the temperature of the measuring head can be reduced to a maximum acceptable value. The shape of the coupling plate affects the adjustable temperature profile in such a way that the isotherms extend in the tube wall area in a parallel manner in relation to the path length of the sound waves in the measuring head area, thereby minimizing resulting errors in throughflow measurement.Type: GrantFiled: October 8, 2004Date of Patent: March 18, 2008Assignee: Flexim Flexible Industriemesstechnik GmbHInventors: Mathias Panicke, Bernhard Funck
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Publication number: 20070137312Abstract: The invention relates to a device for coupling ultrasound clamp-on throughflow measuring heads to a high-temperature measuring tube. The invention is characterized in that a thin coupling plate is arranged between the tube wall and the measuring head. As a result, the temperature of the measuring head can be reduced to a maximum acceptable balue. The shape of the coupling plate affects the adjustable temperature profile in such a way that the isotherms extend in the tube wall area in a parallel manner in relation to the path length of the sound waves in the measuring head area, thereby minimizing resulting errors in throughflow measurement.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 8, 2004Publication date: June 21, 2007Applicant: Flexim Flexible Industriemesstechnik GMBHInventors: Mathias Panicke, Bernhard Funck