Prognostic health monitoring of fluidic systems using MEMS technology
AssigneePTI Technologies, Inc.
InventorDaniel Moscaritolo
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Abstract
The present invention is directed to a filter module that may incorporate sensors to measure various characteristics of fluid flow and filtration. The sensors may be MEMS and may measure the temperature, flow rate, pressure, etc. of the fluid. One or more MEMS sensors may be included in a sensor package which, in turn, may be included in a sensor component. The latter, which may also include a processor, conductor pins, etc. for data communication, may be coupled to a sensor port in such a way as to allow contact between the sensor(s) and the fluid. Sensor measurements may be used to determine the occurrence of harmful events, such as cavitation or particle breakthrough, or to predict the remaining service life of a filter element.
Claims41
A filter module for filtering a fluid, said filter module comprising:
- a filter element receiving said fluid in an unfiltered state at an inlet side and producing said fluid in a filtered state at an outlet side;
- a filter manifold having an inlet fluid flow cavity and an outlet fluid flow cavity, said inlet fluid flow cavity configured to transmit said fluid to said inlet side and said outlet fluid flow cavity configured to transmit said fluid from said outlet side;
- a sensor port having a first end exposed to at least one of said inlet fluid flow cavity and said outlet fluid flow cavity;
- and
- a sensor component coupled to said sensor port, said sensor component having a micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) sensor package disposed proximate said first end such that said MEMS sensor package is in contact with said fluid,
- wherein said MEMS sensor package includes a MEMS sensor and is configured to measure at least one of a fluid flow characteristic and a filtration characteristic and to communicate said measurement to at least one of a processor and a data processing device.
A filter module for filtering a fluid, said filter module comprising:
- a filter element receiving said fluid in an unfiltered state at an inlet side and producing said fluid in a filtered state at an outlet side, said filter element having a first end, an interior containing said fluid in a filtered state, an exterior containing fluid in an unfiltered state and a membrane separating said interior from said exterior;
- a filter body bounding said exterior of said filter element;
- an end cap coupled to said first end of said filter element;
- a sensor port having a first end exposed to said interior of said filter element and a second end exposed to said exterior of said filter element;
- and
- a sensor component coupled to said sensor port, said sensor component having a micro-electro-mechanical systems MEMS sensor package,
- wherein said MEMS sensor package includes a MEMS sensor and is configured to measure at least one of a fluid flow characteristic and a filtration characteristic and to communicate said measurement to at least one of a processor and a data processing device.
A filter module for filtering a fluid, said filter module comprising:
- a filter element receiving said fluid in an unfiltered state at an inlet side and producing said fluid in a filtered state at an outlet side;
- a first sensor component having a first micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) sensor disposed proximate said inlet side of said filter element such that said first MEMS sensor is in contact with said fluid;
- and
- a second sensor component having a second MEMS sensor disposed proximate said outlet side of said filter element such that said second MEMS sensor is in contact with said fluid,
- wherein each of said first and second MEMS sensors is configured to measure at least one of a fluid flow characteristic and a filtration characteristic and to communicate said measurement to at least one of a processor and a data processing device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.