Dry flow sensor with a linear force transducer
AssigneeBeta II, Incorporated
InventorsJoseph A. Volk, Jr., Joseph A. Volk
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A linear force transducer includes an inclined plate mounted in a chute to be impacted by a flow of granular material, the plate being supported by one or more leaf springs from the chute. An actuator rod is mounted to the plate and extends to a servo mechanism which generates a force to resist deflection of the plate, the actuator rod being supported by a pair of spaced leaf springs. The servo mechanism includes an electromagnetic force generator to apply a force to the actuator rod, with an electronic circuit to produce an electrical current in response to a force applied to the inclined plate to energize the electromagnetic force generator.
Claims58
A force transducer for measuring an applied force comprising:
- a surface against which the force to be measured is applied, means to drop a flow of granular material on said surface from a pre-determined height and thereby apply the force to the surface,
- means to support said surface and limit its movement to a substantially linear motion,
- means to generate a restoring force and apply it to the surface in opposition to said force applied thereto, means to measure the velocity of said falling granular material before it leaves the surface and produce a first signal,
- means to measure said restoring force and produce a second signal, and means to combine said first and second signals, said combined signals being thereby an indication of the flow rate of the granular material.
A force transducer for measuring an applied force comprising a surface against which the force to be measured is applied, means to drop a flow of granular material on said surface from a pre-determined height and thereby apply the force to the surface, means to support said surface and limit its movement to a substantially linear motion, means associated with the surface to measure the force applied to the surface by the falling granular material and produce a first signal, means to measure the velocity of said falling granular material prior to its impacting the surface and produce a second signal, and means to combine said first and second signals, said combined signals being thereby an indication of the flow rate of the granular material.
A linear force transducer for measuring an applied force comprising:
- a surface against which the force to be measured is applied, means to drop a flow of granular material on said surface from a pre-determined height and thereby apply the force to the surface, means to support said surface,
- servo means connected to the surface to detect a deflection thereof and generate a restorative force in opposition to the applied force to substantially limit its deflection, means to measure the velocity of said granular material before it leaves the surface and produce a first signal,
- means to measure the restorative force and produce a second signal, and means to combine said first and second signals, said combined signals being thereby an indication of the flow rate of the granular material.
A transducer for measuring the flow rate of a material comprising a surface, a support, means to mount the surface from the support and in the path of the flowing material, said surface mounting means having means permitting deflection thereof in a substantially linear direction in response to the material flowing against said surface, means to generate a variable electromagnetic force resisting said linear deflection, said generated force being variable with respect to the force applied to the surface by the material, means to measure said generated force and produce a first signal indicative thereof, means to measure the speed of the material before it impacts the surface and produce a second signal indicative thereof, and means to combine said first and second signals, the flow rate of the material being determinable therefrom.
In a dry flow sensor having means to measure the flow of falling granular material through a chute, the dry flow sensor having a plate against which the material impacts, the improvement comprising means to automatically compensate the measured flow rate for the speed of the falling material prior to its impacting the plate.
In a dry flow sensor having means to measure the flow of falling granular material through a chute, the dry flow sensor having a plate against which the material imparts a force the improvement comprising means to automatically compensate the measured flow rate for the speed of the falling material prior to its leaving the plate.
A device for measuring the flow rate of falling granular material comprising:
- a surface,
- means to support said surface in the path of the falling granular material,
- means associated with the surface to measure the deflection of the surface from an initial position by the falling granular material, the magnitude of the deflection being directly related to the force exerted against the surface by the falling granular material,
- means to sense the speed of the falling granular material prior to its leaving the surface, and
- means responsive to the deflection measuring means and the speed sensing means to indicate the flow rate of the granular material.
A device for measuring the flow rate of granular material through a chute comprising:
- a generally flat plate,
- means mounting said plate at an angle with respect to both horizontal and vertical within the chute and in the path of the granular material, the mounting means having means to support the plate for substantially frictionless motion is a substantially horizontal plane,
- means to drop the grain onto the plate from a pre-determined height,
- a transducer associated with the plate to produce a first signal in response to the force applied to the plate by the granular material,
- means to sense the speed of the granular material before it contacts the plate and produce a second signal in response thereto, and
- means to combine said first and second signals and produce a third signal therefrom, said third signal being an indication of the flow rate of the granular material through the chute.
A force transducer for measuring an applied force comprising:
- a surface against which the force to be measured is applied,
- means to drop a flow of granular material on said surface from a pre-determined height and thereby apply the force to the surface,
- means to support said surface and limit its movement to a substantially linear motion,
- means associated with the surface to measure the force applied to the surface by the falling granular material and produce a first signal,
- means to measure the velocity of said falling granular material before it leaves the surface and produce a second signal, and
- means to combine said first and second signals, said combined signals being thereby an indication of the flow rate of the granular material.
A device for measuring the flow rate of falling granular material comprising:
- a surface,
- means to support said surface in the path of the falling granular material,
- means associated with the surface to measure the force applied to the surface by the falling granular material,
- means to sense the speed of the falling granular material before it impacts the surface, and
- means responsive to said force measuring means and said speed measuring means to indicate the flow rate of the granular material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.