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US 4,786,846 AGranted
Level guage apparatus
AssigneeSakura Instrument Co. Ltd.
InventorMitsuru Uchida
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A self-balancing type level gauge apparatus is disclosed, in which the change of a magnetic flux generated between coupling outer and inner magnet rings on the basis of a displacement between the coupling outer and inner magnet rings due to the displacement of a liquid level to be gauged is converted to an electrical signal which is used to gauge the liquid level to thereby reduce the mechanical portion which causes a mechanical friction so that the level gauge apparatus can be improved considerably in level gauging detection sensitivity.
Claims11
A liquid level gauge apparatus comprising:
- (a) a detection shaft;
- (b) a drum rotatably journalled about said shaft having a wire wound about its outer surface;
- (c) a displacer suspended at the end of said wire to float on the liquid surface to be sensed and to cause rotation of said drum relative to said shaft in response to the displacement of said displacer;
- (d) a magnetic coupling between said shaft and drum comprising an outer magnet ring fixed to said drum and an inner magnet ring fixed to said shaft, said inner and outer magnet rings being aligned to generate a magnetic flux field therebetween;
- (e) an electromagnetic transducer fixed to said inner magnet ring for sensing the change in the magnetic flux field generated between said outer and inner magnetic rings as a result of the rotation from alignment of said drum in response to said displacer and converting said change into an electrical signal;
- and
- (f) means for rotating said shaft in response to said electrical signal so as to move said shaft in the direction of movement of said drum to realign the outer and inner magnet rings to obtain an indication of the value of level of the liquid sensed.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.