Electronic counter for fluid flow tools

A counter for a fluid-powered tool that includes fluid that moves along a fluid line when the tool is in operation, the counter comprising:

• a body with a fluid passage comprising an inlet and an outlet that is configured for the fluid to move through the passage from the inlet to the outlet when the tool is in operation;
• a piston with a first end and a second end, the piston positioned within the passage between the inlet and the outlet, the piston comprising a smaller cross-sectional size than the passage to be movable along the passage;
• a sensor target attached to the piston and positioned within the passage, the sensor target sized to be movable along the passage with the piston;
• a non-contact proximity sensor configured to detect when the sensor target is in a predetermined range of the sensor along the passage;
• a processing circuit configured to monitor when the sensor detects the sensor target within the predetermined range of the sensor;
• the processing circuit configured to at least one of:
• determine an amount of usage of the fluid-powered tool based on a count of a number of times that the sensor detects that the sensor target is with the predetermined range of the sensor, wherein the count is greater than one;
• and
• determine the amount of usage of the fluid-powered tool based on an amount of time that the sensor detects the sensor target is with the predetermined range of the sensor, wherein the amount of time is from each of at least two distinct time intervals that are non-contiguous in time;
• and
• a biasing member that applies a first force to the piston to bias the sensor target away from the predetermined range,
• the first force of the biasing member positioning the sensor target away from the predetermined range when the tool is not in operation;
• the first force being less than a force applied by the fluid moving, along the fluid line when the fluid-powered tool is in operation with the sensor target being positioned in the predetermined range.