Thermal Flowmeter
AssigneeEndress + Hauser Flowtec AG
InventorsHarald Muller, Axel Pfau, Florian Krogmann, Thomas Schonstein
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A thin-film sensor for a thermal flowmeter with at least a first substrate layer made of electrically non-conductive material, a second layer made of electrically conductive material and a cover layer to protect the resistance layer against abrasion, wherein the second layer is designed as two sensor elements, wherein at least a first of the two sensor elements is designed to introduce a heat quantity into a medium, and at least a second of the two sensor elements is designed to determine the ambient temperature, and the thin-film sensor has a gap that isolates the two sensor elements from one another.
Claims16
1-15. (canceled)
A thin-film sensor for a thermal flowmeter, comprising:
- a resistance layer;
- at least a first substrate layer made of electrically non-conductive material:
- a second layer made of electrically conductive material;
- and
- a cover layer to protect said resistance layer against abrasion, wherein:
- said second layer comprises two sensor elements, wherein at least a first of the two sensor elements is designed to introduce a heat quantity into a medium, and at least a second of the two sensor elements is designed to determine the temperature of the medium;
- and
- a gap that isolates the two sensor elements from one another.
A thermal flowmeter for determining and/or monitoring a thermal mass flow of a medium through a measuring tube comprising a thin-film sensor, comprising:
- a thin-film sensor for a thermal flowmeter, comprising:
- a resistance layer;
- at least a first substrate layer made of electrically non-conductive material:
- a second layer made of electrically conductive material;
- and a cover layer to protect said resistance layer against abrasion, wherein:
- said second layer comprises two sensor elements, wherein at least a first of the two sensor elements is designed to introduce a heat quantity into a medium, and at least a second of the two sensor elements is designed to determine the temperature of the medium;
- and a gap that isolates the two sensor elements from one another.
A procedure for determining and/or monitoring a thermal mass flow of a medium through a measuring tube with a thermal flowmeter, comprising an energy storage element;
- a control and/or regulation unit for the clocked supply of power to the heatable sensor element in such a way that through the sensor:
- i) a heat quantity is introduced into the medium at intervals, with interval pauses in which no heat quantity is introduced into the medium and heating intervals in which quantities of heat are introduced into the medium, and wherein ii) said interval pauses last longer than said heating intervals:
- and
- a thin-film sensor with at least a first heatable sensor element and an energy storage element for the provision of power to said sensor element, wherein:
- said energy storage element saves power fed in and releases an energy amount to the sensor element over a time frame;
- and
- the energy amount released is larger than the amount of energy fed in during this time frame.
The use of a thermal flowmeter comprising:
- the thermal flowmeter has an energy storage element and a control and/or regulation unit for the clocked supply of power to the heatable sensor element in such a way that through the sensor:
- i) a heat quantity is introduced into the medium at intervals, with interval pauses in which no heat quantity is introduced into the medium and heating intervals in which quantities of heat are introduced into the medium, and wherein ii) said interval pauses last longer than said heating intervals as a two-wire measuring device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.