Fluid flowmeter
AssigneeFlowdata, Inc.
InventorsCharles D. Foran, Jr., William J. LoPresti
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fluid volumetric flowmeter has a wall plate forming a chamber and a fluid inlet, and a fluid outlet. Two rotors positioned within the chamber have intermeshing lobes and valleys for turning in the chamber as fluid flows from the inlet through the chamber to the outlet. An indicator housing is connected to the chamber. A response shaft is rotationally mounted in the housing, and an encoder disk rotates with the shaft. A first coupling is mounted on the rotor. A second coupling is mounted on the shaft for rotating the second coupling, the shaft, and the encoder disk in response to rotation of the rotors.
Claims10
A fluid meter comprises a casing having a chamber and a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet communicating with the chamber;
- first and second rotors are positioned within the chamber and have intermeshing lobes and valleys for turning in the chamber as fluid flows from the inlet through the chamber, around the rotors and out through the outlet;
- a response shaft is rotationally coupled with at least one rotor;
- an indicator connected to a distal end of the shaft for rotating with the shaft;
- an indicator housing mounted on a wall of the casing, the indicator housing having a bearing for medially supporting the response shaft and having an encoded disk mounted on a second end of the response shaft opposite the rotational coupling with at least one rotor, and an indicator cable mounting positioned adjacent the encoder disk, for mounting an indicator cable for picking up variations on a periphery of the encoder disk for indicating rotational movement of the encoder disk and rotational movement of rotors within the fluid meter casing chamber, wherein an optical reader mount surrounds the bearing and the shaft and is threadably mounted on the wall of the casing at one end, the optical reader mount threadably receiving a bearing mount for tightly securing the optical reader mount against the wall and the bearing mount within the wall and the optical reader mount.
The fluid flow measuring method comprising mounting first magnets in radial recesses in a rotor, flowing fluid into a chamber through the chamber and out of the chamber, and rotating rotors within the chamber with the fluid flow and intermeshing lobes and valleys on the rotors as they rotate, rotating a first coupling with at least one of the rotors, mounting an indicator housing on an external wall of the chamber and mounting an indicator shaft within the housing, threadably mounting an optical reader mount surrounding a bearing for medially supporting the indicator shaft on a wall of the casing, threadably mounting a bearing mount in the optical reader mount for tightly securing the optical reader mount against the wall and the bearing mount within the wall and the optical reader mount, mounting a second coupling on a proximal end of the indicator shaft, rotating the indicator shaft with the second coupling as the rotor and first coupling rotate, and rotating an encoder disk connected to a distal end of the shaft and sensing differences in peripheral areas on the encoder disk.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.