Fluidic flow meter with fiber optic sensor
AssigneeBowles Fluidics Corporation
InventorsRonald D. Stouffer, Robert Bower
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A fluidic flow meter comprising a fluidic oscillator having an oscillation chamber, a power nozzle for issuing a jet of fluid into the oscillation chamber, an outlet for issuing fluid from the oscillation chamber. A bendable fiber optic wave guide loop has a section adapted to lose light as a result of flexing or bending is mounted in a flow path in the oscillation chamber and subjected to oscillatory flow of the fluid. Light is injected into one end of the fiber optic wave guide and a detector senses the oscillatory loss of light in the fiber optic wave guide as a measure of fluid flow through the fluidic oscillator.
Claims8
A fluidic flow sensor comprising a fluidic oscillator having an oscillation chamber, a power nozzle for issuing a jet of fluid into said at least one oscillator chamber, an outlet for issuing fluid from said oscillation chamber, means in said oscillation chamber for causing said jet of fluid to sweep back and forth within said oscillation chamber, and a flexible fiber optic wave guide adapted to lose light as a result of bending, means for mounting said fiber optic wave guide in a flow path in said oscillation chamber subject to oscillatory flow of said fluid, means for injecting light into one end of said fiber optic wave guide and means for detecting the loss of light from said fiber optic wave guide as a measure of fluid flow through said oscillation chamber.
A fluidic flow sensor comprising a fluidic oscillator having an oscillation chamber, a power nozzle for issuing a jet of fluid into said oscillation chamber, an outlet for issuing fluid from said oscillation chamber, means in said oscillation chamber for causing said jet of fluid to sweep back and forth within said oscillation chamber, and a flexible fiber optic wave guide having a light input end and a light output end and a predetermined surface area which is adapted to lose light as a result of flexing, means for mounting said fiber optic wave guide in a flow path in said oscillation chamber subject to oscillatory flow of said fluid, means for injecting light into one end of said fiber optic wave guide and means for detecting loss of light from said surface area due to oscillatory flow of said fluid as a measure of fluid flow through said oscillation chamber.
A fluidic flow sensor comprising a fluidic oscillator having an oscillation chamber, a power nozzle for issuing a jet of fluid into said oscillation chamber, an outlet for issuing fluid from said oscillation chamber, means in said oscillation chamber for causing said jet of fluid to sweep back and forth within said oscillation chamber, and a pair of flexible fiber optic loops, each loop having a light input end and a light output end and a predetermined surface area which is adapted to lose light as a result of flexing, said predetermined surface area being at different angular orientations on each of said loops, respectively, means for mounting said fiber optic loops in a flow path in said oscillation chamber subject to oscillatory flow of said fluid, means for injecting light into one end of said fiber optic loop and means for detecting loss of light from said surface areas due to oscillatory flow of said fluid as a measure of fluid flow through said oscillation chamber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.