Patents by Inventor Miklos LENNER

Miklos LENNER 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).

  • Patent number: 12203797
    Abstract: A transducer for non-invasive measurement includes: a piezoelectric element; a base plate; and driver electronics. The piezoelectric element is mounted to a first face of the base plate. A second face of the base plate is mountable to a wall of a vessel that holds a liquid. The driver electronics drive the piezoelectric element at a plurality of activation frequencies. When the second face of the base plate is mounted to the wall of the vessel, the transducer when activated excites acoustic waves in the base plate and to launch an acoustic wave into the liquid. The transducer is designed such that an angular divergence of the acoustic wave launched into the liquid varies as a function of at least the activation frequency and a dimension of an emitter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2025
    Assignee: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventors: Miklos Lenner, Frank Kassubek, Christof Bernhard, Detlef Pape
  • Patent number: 12115509
    Abstract: A method of determining a mixing state of a medium in a container includes: transmitting a plurality of acoustic signals at least partly through the medium and receiving the plurality of acoustic signals after at least partly traversing the medium; determining at least one propagation value of at least one propagation quantity for each of the plurality of received acoustic signals to provide determined propagation values, each at least one propagation quantity being indicative of an interaction of the acoustic signals with the medium; determining at least one fluctuation value of at least one fluctuation quantity based on the determined propagation values to provide a determined at least one fluctuation value, each at least one fluctuation quantity being indicative of and/or correlating with a variance of the determined propagation values and/or with a state of a mixture; and determining the mixing state of the medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2024
    Assignee: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventors: Christof Bernhard, Frank Kassubek, Miklos Lenner, Detlef Pape
  • Patent number: 12044695
    Abstract: A measurement system for determining a density ? or a compressibility ? of a liquid medium in a vessel includes: at least one pressure sensor for measuring a hydrostatic pressure ?p of the liquid medium as a measured hydrostatic pressure ?p; at least one ultrasound sensor for measuring a first time of flight t1 along a first propagation path comprising a point at a level surface of the liquid medium, and for measuring a second time of flight t2 along a second propagation path, which is different from the first propagation path; and a control unit for determining the density ? or the compressibility ? of the liquid medium based on the measured hydrostatic pressure ?p, the first time of flight t1, and the second time of flight t2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 23, 2024
    Assignee: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventors: Gerrit Held, Stefano Marano, Miklos Lenner, Frank Kassubek
  • Patent number: 11898893
    Abstract: A transducer for non-invasive measurement includes: at least one first piezoelectric element; a second piezoelectric element; and a base material mountable to a wall of a vessel that contains a liquid. The base material has a planar portion and an angular shaped portion. The angular shaped portion has a plurality of outer faces, a first face of the plurality of outer faces of the angular shaped portion being connected to (or part of) a first face of the planar portion, a second face of the planar portion opposite to the first face of the planar portion being mountable to the wall of the vessel, at least one second face of the plurality of outer faces of the angular shaped portion being angled to the first face of the angular shaped portion at an angle less than an angle of 90 degrees internal to the base material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventors: Miklos Lenner, Frank Kassubek, Christof Bernhard, Detlef Pape
  • Patent number: 11874254
    Abstract: A signal processing unit configured to: cause a first ultrasound emitter, when attached to a wall of a vessel, to emit a first ultrasound test signal; receive, from at least one ultrasound receiver, when attached to the wall of the vessel, the first ultrasound test signal; detect a time of flight of the received first ultrasound test signal; and determine that an acoustic coupling of the first ultrasound emitter and a first ultrasound receiver of the at least one ultrasound receiver to the wall of the vessel is intact if the detected time of flight corresponds to a length of a path in the wall of the vessel from the first ultrasound emitter to the at least one ultrasound receiver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2024
    Assignee: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventors: Miklos Lenner, Frank Kassubek, Stefano Marano, Gerrit Held
  • Patent number: 11860128
    Abstract: A measurement system for measuring an inhomogeneity of a medium in a vessel includes: a first ultrasound emitter for sending a first ultrasound signal along a first path; a second ultrasound emitter for sending a second ultrasound signal along a second path different from the first path; a first ultrasound receiver for receiving the first ultrasound signal and measuring a first measurement parameter p1 of the received first ultrasound signal; a second ultrasound receiver for receiving the second ultrasound signal and measuring a second measurement parameter p2 of the received second ultrasound signal; and a control unit: receives the first measurement parameter p1 from the first ultrasound receiver, receives the second measurement parameter p2 from the second ultrasound receiver, and determines a ratio p1/p2 of the first measurement parameter p1 to the second measurement parameter p2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2024
    Assignee: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventors: Frank Kassubek, Miklos Lenner, Stefano Marano, Gerrit Held
  • Patent number: 11826781
    Abstract: An ultrasonic Lamb wave transducer for non-invasive measurement and for emitting and/or receiving an ultrasonic Lamb wave pulse, an emission and a reception of the ultrasonic Lamb wave having an emission direction and a reception direction, respectively, the ultrasonic Lamb wave pulse being defined by at least one parameter, includes: at least one piezocomposite actuator for controlling the emission direction of the ultrasonic Lamb wave by emitting acoustic radiation at frequencies that are appropriate for generating ultrasonic Lamb waves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2023
    Assignee: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventors: Frank Kassubek, Miklos Lenner, Stefano Marano, Gerrit Held
  • Patent number: 11598663
    Abstract: A transducer for non-invasive measurement includes: a shear-type piezoelectric element; and a host material. The shear-type piezoelectric element is mounted to a first face of the host material. A second face of the host material is mountable to a wall of a vessel that holds a liquid. When the second face of the host material is mounted to the wall of the vessel, the transducer when activated at an activation frequency launches a Lamb wave into the wall of the vessel. The transducer is designed such that a phase velocity of the Lamb wave in the wall of the vessel is greater than a speed of sound in the liquid held by the vessel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2023
    Assignee: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventors: Christof Bernhard, Frank Kassubek, Miklos Lenner, Detlef Pape
  • Patent number: 11215489
    Abstract: An apparatus for measuring a flow velocity of a fluid in a pipe includes: a housing in which a first ultrasonic transducer and a second ultrasonic transducer are arranged at a predefined distance to each other, the first ultrasonic transducer including a first sound transmitting element and a transmitter/receiver unit mounted thereto which emit first ultrasonic pulses at different angles, the second ultrasonic transducer receiving the first ultrasonic pulses and generating a first electronic output signal, the second ultrasonic transducer including a second sound transmitting element and a transmitter/receiver unit mounted thereto which emit second ultrasonic pulses at different angles, the first ultrasonic transducer receiving the second ultrasonic pulses and generating a second electronic output signal; and a control and evaluation unit electrically coupled to the first and second transducers, the control and evaluation unit tuning the first transducer to generate a first electronic output signal of a maxim
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignee: ABB SCHWEIZ AG
    Inventors: Detlef Pape, Philipp Nenninger, Miklos Lenner
  • Publication number: 20210205772
    Abstract: A method of determining a mixing state of a medium in a container includes: transmitting a plurality of acoustic signals at least partly through the medium and receiving the plurality of acoustic signals after at least partly traversing the medium; determining at least one propagation value of at least one propagation quantity for each of the plurality of received acoustic signals to provide determined propagation values, each at least one propagation quantity being indicative of an interaction of the acoustic signals with the medium; determining at least one fluctuation value of at least one fluctuation quantity based on the determined propagation values to provide a determined at least one fluctuation value, each at least one fluctuation quantity being indicative of and/or correlating with a variance of the determined propagation values and/or with a state of a mixture; and determining the mixing state of the medium.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 23, 2021
    Publication date: July 8, 2021
    Inventors: Christof Bernhard, Frank Kassubek, Miklos Lenner, Detlef Pape
  • Publication number: 20210190572
    Abstract: A transducer for non-invasive measurement includes: at least one first piezoelectric element; a second piezoelectric element; and a base material mountable to a wall of a vessel that contains a liquid. The base material has a planar portion and an angular shaped portion. The angular shaped portion has a plurality of outer faces, a first face of the plurality of outer faces of the angular shaped portion being connected to (or part of) a first face of the planar portion, a second face of the planar portion opposite to the first face of the planar portion being mountable to the wall of the vessel, at least one second face of the plurality of outer faces of the angular shaped portion being angled to the first face of the angular shaped portion at an angle less than an angle of 90 degrees internal to the base material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 5, 2021
    Publication date: June 24, 2021
    Inventors: Miklos LENNER, Frank Kassubek, Christof Bernhard, Detlef Pape
  • Publication number: 20210190571
    Abstract: A transducer for non-invasive measurement includes: a piezoelectric element; a base plate; and driver electronics. The piezoelectric element is mounted to a first face of the base plate. A second face of the base plate is mountable to a wall of a vessel that holds a liquid. The driver electronics drive the piezoelectric element at a plurality of activation frequencies. When the second face of the base plate is mounted to the wall of the vessel, the transducer when activated excites acoustic waves in the base plate and to launch an acoustic wave into the liquid. The transducer is designed such that an angular divergence of the acoustic wave launched into the liquid varies as a function of at least the activation frequency and a dimension of an emitter.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 5, 2021
    Publication date: June 24, 2021
    Inventors: Miklos LENNER, Frank Kassubek, Christof Bernhard, Detlef Pape
  • Publication number: 20210181008
    Abstract: A transducer for non-invasive measurement includes: a shear-type piezoelectric element; and a host material. The shear-type piezoelectric element is mounted to a first face of the host material. A second face of the host material is mountable to a wall of a vessel that holds a liquid. When the second face of the host material is mounted to the wall of the vessel, the transducer when activated at an activation frequency launches a Lamb wave into the wall of the vessel. The transducer is designed such that a phase velocity of the Lamb wave in the wall of the vessel is greater than a speed of sound in the liquid held by the vessel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 2, 2021
    Publication date: June 17, 2021
    Inventors: Christof Bernhard, Frank Kassubek, Miklos Lenner, Detlef Pape
  • Publication number: 20210140923
    Abstract: A signal processing unit configured to: cause a first ultrasound emitter, when attached to a wall of a vessel, to emit a first ultrasound test signal; receive, from at least one ultrasound receiver, when attached to the wall of the vessel, the first ultrasound test signal; detect a time of flight of the received first ultrasound test signal; and determine that an acoustic coupling of the first ultrasound emitter and a first ultrasound receiver of the at least one ultrasound receiver to the wall of the vessel is intact if the detected time of flight corresponds to a length of a path in the wall of the vessel from the first ultrasound emitter to the at least one ultrasound receiver.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 9, 2020
    Publication date: May 13, 2021
    Inventors: Miklos LENNER, Frank KASSUBEK, Stefano MARANO, Gerrit HELD
  • Publication number: 20210140927
    Abstract: A measurement system for measuring an inhomogeneity of a medium in a vessel includes: a first ultrasound emitter for sending a first ultrasound signal along a first path; a second ultrasound emitter for sending a second ultrasound signal along a second path different from the first path; a first ultrasound receiver for receiving the first ultrasound signal and measuring a first measurement parameter p1 of the received first ultrasound signal; a second ultrasound receiver for receiving the second ultrasound signal and measuring a second measurement parameter p2 of the received second ultrasound signal; and a control unit: receives the first measurement parameter p1 from the first ultrasound receiver, receives the second measurement parameter p2 from the second ultrasound receiver, and determines a ratio p1/p2 of the first measurement parameter p1 to the second measurement parameter p2.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 10, 2020
    Publication date: May 13, 2021
    Inventors: Frank KASSUBEK, Miklos LENNER, Stefano MARANO, Gerrit HELD
  • Publication number: 20210140864
    Abstract: A measurement system for determining a density ? or a compressibility ? of a liquid medium in a vessel includes: at least one pressure sensor for measuring a hydrostatic pressure ?p of the liquid medium as a measured hydrostatic pressure ?p; at least one ultrasound sensor for measuring a first time of flight t1 along a first propagation path comprising a point at a level surface of the liquid medium, and for measuring a second time of flight t2 along a second propagation path, which is different from the first propagation path; and a control unit for determining the density ? or the compressibility ? of the liquid medium based on the measured hydrostatic pressure ?p, the first time of flight t1, and the second time of flight t2.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 9, 2020
    Publication date: May 13, 2021
    Inventors: Gerrit HELD, Stefano MARANO, Miklos LENNER, Frank KASSUBEK
  • Publication number: 20210078040
    Abstract: An ultrasonic Lamb wave transducer for non-invasive measurement and for emitting and/or receiving an ultrasonic Lamb wave pulse, an emission and a reception of the ultrasonic Lamb wave having an emission direction and a reception direction, respectively, the ultrasonic Lamb wave pulse being defined by at least one parameter, includes: at least one piezocomposite actuator for controlling the emission direction of the ultrasonic Lamb wave by emitting acoustic radiation at frequencies that are appropriate for generating ultrasonic Lamb waves.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 10, 2020
    Publication date: March 18, 2021
    Inventors: Frank KASSUBEK, Miklos LENNER, Stefano MARANO, Gerrit HELD
  • Publication number: 20190390991
    Abstract: An apparatus for measuring a flow velocity of a fluid in a pipe includes: a housing in which a first ultrasonic transducer and a second ultrasonic transducer are arranged at a predefined distance to each other, the first ultrasonic transducer including a first sound transmitting element and a transmitter/receiver unit mounted thereto which emit first ultrasonic pulses at different angles, the second ultrasonic transducer receiving the first ultrasonic pulses and generating a first electronic output signal, the second ultrasonic transducer including a second sound transmitting element and a transmitter/receiver unit mounted thereto which emit second ultrasonic pulses at different angles, the first ultrasonic transducer receiving the second ultrasonic pulses and generating a second electronic output signal; and a control and evaluation unit electrically coupled to the first and second transducers, the control and evaluation unit tuning the first transducer to generate a first electronic output signal of a maxim
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 5, 2019
    Publication date: December 26, 2019
    Inventors: Detlef Pape, Philipp Nenninger, Miklos Lenner
  • Patent number: 10281315
    Abstract: A system and a method for measuring a speed of sound in a liquid contained in a vessel or in a gaseous medium contained in the same vessel above the surface of the liquid. The method comprises: transmitting a first acoustic signal into the vessel to travel inside a first travelling plane. Emitting a second acoustic signal into the wall of the vessel to travel inside the wall of the vessel along a perimeter of the first travelling plane until it is received and obtaining a first time of flight of the first acoustic signal and a second time of flight of the second acoustic signal and obtaining a speed of sound in the vessel wall from a data memory. Determining the speed of sound in the liquid or in the gaseous medium from the length of the travelling path of the first acoustic signal and from the first time of flight.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2019
    Assignee: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventors: Miklos Lenner, Tobias Kaufmann, Detlef Pape
  • Patent number: 10260929
    Abstract: A system and a method for measuring a signal propagation speed in a liquid contained in a vessel or in a gaseous medium contained in the same vessel above the surface of the liquid are proposed. A transmitter transmits a first signal in a first direction which is at an acute or right angle to a first reflective surface, wherein the first reflective surface reflects the first signal so that it travels in a second direction is received by a first acoustic or electromagnetic receiver. The transmitter transmits a second signal in a predetermined third direction which is at an acute angle to the first direction, where the first or a second reflective surface reflects the second signal so that it travels in a predetermined and angular fourth direction with respect to the first or second reflective surface and is received by the first or a second acoustic or electromagnetic receiver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2019
    Assignee: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventors: Frank Kassubek, Miklos Lenner, Tobias Kaufmann, Detlef Pape