System and method of measuring fluid pressure force
OwnerMitchell A. Cotterinventor
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Abstract
A system and method is described for measuring fluid pressure force by immersing a solid mechanically resonant element into the pressure-bearing medium, exciting the solid mechanically resonant element to resonance, and observing changes in frequency with changes in fluid pressure. The advantage of the disclosed method lies in the high accuracy and resolution that the system permits when it employs for the solid mechanically resonant element a nearly perfect single crystal material since the method relies upon the bulk properties of the resonant material rather than upon other factors.
Claims20
A fluid pressure force measuring system comprising a solid mechanically resonant element immersed in a pressure bearing medium and whose frequency is affected by the value of the fluid pressure force to be measured and whose relative change in frequency with changes in fluid pressure force is primarily dependent on the bulk properties of said solid mechanically resonant element;
- exciting means for exciting said solid mechanically resonant element;
- and detecting means for determining, at a fluid pressure force to be mesured, the value of a measurable resonant frequency of said solid mechanically resonant element and forming a ratio between a signal corresponding to said measurable resonant frequency and a reference signal, for determining the value of the fluid pressure force therefrom.
A method of measuring fluid pressure force comprising the steps of immersing a solid mechanically resonant element into a fluid pressure bearing medium;
- exciting the solid mechanically resonant element to resonante at a measurable frequency, frequency changes with changes in fluid pressure force being primarily dependent upon the bulk properties of said solid mechanically resonant element;
- and detecting said measurable frequency, said detecting step including forming a ratio between a signal corresponding to said measurable frequency and a reference signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.