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US 11,162,823 B2Granted
Self-supported portable sensor for liquids
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsPatrick Ruch, Aaron Cox, Yuksel Temiz
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A portable sensor includes a probe and a housing. The probe comprises a sensing part with one or more sensing elements, while the housing is designed to secure the probe such that the sensing part extends outside the housing. The portable sensor defines a gap between the probe and a surface of the housing that is configured to receive a rim of a liquid container such that the portable sensor can slot onto a rim of a liquid container, so as to allow hand-free measurements.
Claims19
A portable sensor comprising:
- a probe comprising a sensing part with one or more sensing elements configured to sense properties of a liquid, wherein the probe is an essentially planar substrate and the sensing elements include one or more electrodes on a major surface of the sensing part of the probe;
- and
- a housing defining both a first surface portion and a second surface portion, wherein:
- the housing is configured to secure the probe relative to the housing such that the sensing part protrudes from the second surface portion and thereby extends outside the housing in a direction substantially parallel to the to the first surface portion, thereby defining a gap between the first surface portion of the housing and a portion of a side surface of the sensing part of the probe, and
- the gap has an open end and a closed end, the closed end defined by the second surface portion of the housing, the open end as defined by the portable sensor configured to receive a rim of a liquid container.
2 more elements
A method comprising:
- receiving a rim of a liquid container via a gap defined by a portable sensor that includes:
- a probe comprising a sensing part with one or more sensing elements configured to sense one or more properties of a liquid of the liquid container;
- and
- a housing defining both a first surface portion and a second surface portion, wherein the housing is configured to secure the probe relative to the housing such that the sensing part protrudes from the second surface portion in a direction substantially parallel to the to the first surface portion to define the gap between the first surface portion of the housing and a portion of a side surface of the sensing part of the probe,
- the gap has an open end and a closed end, the closed end defined by the second surface portion of the housing, the open end defined by the portable sensor configured to receive a rim of a liquid container;
- sensing, via the one or more sensing elements, the one or more properties of the liquid.
3 more elements
A portable sensor comprising:
- a probe comprising a sensing part with one or more sensing elements configured to sense properties of a liquid, the sensing elements including one or more electrodes;
- a printed circuit board having electronic components and a universal serial bus (USB) thereon;
- an elastically deformable clamp;
- a housing comprising two components that together define a partial cylinder with a cutout that is defined by a first surface portion and a second surface portion of the housing, and a cap that is shaped complementarily to the cutout such that the cap is configured to receive and cover the probe, wherein:
- the housing is configured to secure the probe relative to the housing such that the sensing part protrudes from the second surface portion and thereby extends outside the housing in a direction substantially parallel to the to the first surface portion, thereby defining a gap between the first surface portion of the housing and a portion of a side surface of the sensing part of the probe,
- the gap has an open end and a closed end, the closed end defined by the second surface portion of the housing, the open end as defined by the portable sensor configured to receive a rim of a liquid container, and
- the elastically deformable clamp is configured to secure the two components of the housing.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.