# US 12,007,260 B2 · Device for measuring fluid flow > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,007,260 B2 - Document ID: US12007260B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/369,592 - Filed: 2021-07-07 - Published: 2022-01-20 - Granted: 2024-06-11 - Earliest claimed: 2020-07-07 - Assignees: Oil & Gas Measurement Limited - Applicants: Oil & Gas Measurement Limited - Inventors: Mikhail Gurevich; Terence Cousins; Julien Porre; Renaud Bourga - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12007260B2 ## CPC - G01F 1/667: Arrangements of transducers for ultrasonic flowmeters; Circuits for operating ultrasonic flowmeters - G01F 1/662: {Constructional details} - G01F: MEASURING VOLUME, VOLUME FLOW, MASS FLOW OR LIQUID LEVEL; METERING BY VOLUME ## Abstract An invention relates to a device for measuring fluid flow in a pipe, in particular a device using ultrasound transducers for measuring fluid flow in a pipe, and a method for measuring fluid flow in a pipe using said device. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A device for measuring fluid flow in a pipe, the device comprising: (a) a pipe section of polygonal cross section, the pipe section configured for fluid flow there through, the pipe section comprising an even number of walls in the range 4-16, a first and second end, and a longitudinal axis, and a ratio of the width to the height of the cross-section is in the range 0.3:1 to 1:0.3; (b) a plurality of ultrasound transducers, each ultrasound transducer comprising an emitter and receiver, each ultrasound transducer inserted into a wall of the pipe section and generating a signal when the transducers emit ultrasound through any fluid flowing in the pipe section and/or receive the ultrasound; and (c) a signals converter for processing the signals into a fluid flow rate value, wherein opposing walls of the pipe section are of identical length and width, the plurality of ultrasound transducers comprise pairs of ultrasound transducers arranged in opposing walls and/or the same wall of the pipe section, the device comprises at least two pairs of ultrasound transducers, each pair of ultrasound transducers comprises a first and second ultrasound transducer, the first ultrasound transducer arranged to emit ultrasound through any fluid flowing in the pipe section towards the second ultrasound transducer and to receive ultrasound emitted by the second ultrasound transducer, and the first and second ultrasound transducers are in spaced arrangement in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the pipe section. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The device for measuring fluid flow in a pipe according to claim 1, wherein the fluid is a liquid and/or a gas. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The device for measuring fluid flow in a pipe according to claim 1, wherein the pipe section comprises an even number of walls in the range 4-14 walls. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The device for measuring fluid flow in a pipe according to claim 1, wherein all the walls of the pipe section are of identical length and width. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The device for measuring fluid flow in a pipe according to claim 1, wherein the ratio of the width to the height of the pipe section is in the range 0.4:1 to 1:0.4. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The device for measuring fluid flow in a pipe according to claim 1 comprising 2 to 200 pairs of ultrasound transducers. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The device for measuring fluid flow in a pipe according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of ultrasound transducers may be in the form of an array of ultrasound transducers. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The device for measuring fluid flow in a pipe according to claim 1, wherein the first and second ultrasound transducers are arranged in the walls of the pipe section in respectively two parallel cross-sectional planes, or the first ultrasound transducers are arranged in the walls of the pipe section in a plurality of parallel cross-sectional planes and the second ultrasound transducers are arranged in the walls of the pipe section in a plurality of parallel cross-sectional planes. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The device for measuring fluid flow in a pipe according to claim 1, wherein all the first and second ultrasound transducers are arranged in opposing walls of the pipe section respectively. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The device for measuring fluid flow in a pipe according to claim 1, wherein all of the first and second ultrasound transducers are arranged in the same wall. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The device for measuring fluid flow in a pipe according to claim 1, wherein the first and second ultrasound transducers are arranged in the walls of the pipe section in respectively two parallel cross-sectional planes, all the first and second ultrasound transducers are arranged in opposing walls of the pipe section respectively, and the first transducers are arranged in opposing walls and the second transducers are arranged in opposing walls. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The device for measuring fluid flow in a pipe according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of ultrasound transducers are arranged in all the walls. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The device for measuring fluid flow in a pipe according to claim 1, wherein the greater of the width or height of the cross-section is less than 150 mm. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The device for measuring fluid flow in a pipe according to claim 1, wherein flared pipe sections are attached to each of the first and second ends of the pipe section thereby to permit attachment to upstream and a downstream pipe sections of circular cross-section. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) A method for measuring fluid flow in a pipe, the method comprising the steps of: (a) passing a fluid in a given direction through the pipe section of a device according to claim 1; (b) passing an ultrasonic beam between each pair of ultrasound transducers in an upstream and downstream direction with respect to the given direction of flow of the fluid; (c) measuring the time the ultrasonic beam takes to pass between each pair of ultrasound transducers in an upstream and downstream direction with respect to the given direction of flow of the fluid; and (d) calculating the flow rate of the fluid. ### Claim 16 (depends on 9) The device for measuring fluid flow in a pipe according to claim 9, wherein all the first ultrasound transducers are aligned such that all ultrasound beams, when the device is in use, are in parallel. ### Claim 17 (depends on 10) The device for measuring fluid flow in a pipe according to claim 10, wherein all the first ultrasound transducers are aligned such that all ultrasound beams, when the device is in use, project in parallel. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1) The device for measuring fluid flow in a pipe according to claim 1, wherein the ultrasound transducers are arranged within transducer ports.