Remote pressure indicator for sealed vessels including vehicle tires
AssigneeMLHO, Inc.
InventorAlan Alexander Burns
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A compact, robust, and inexpensive magnetically coupled pressure gauge includes a spiral-faced or helical bellows coupled for rotating a magnetic field source (permanent magnet) within a pressure vessel the orientation of which is externally sensed and correlated to pressure within the pressure vessel. Mechanisms of extraneous magnetic field compensation are discussed Applications contemplated include measuring pressure in pressure vessels and pressure of pneumatic vehicle tires without breaching the integrity of the particular pressurized vessels. Embodiments included a visual, manual tire pressure monitoring system.
Claims23
A magnetically coupled pressure gauge for indicating fluid pressure within a pressure vessel outside the pressure vessel, comprising in combination,
- (a) a rotatable sender means mounted inside of the pressure vessel for providing a rotatable magnetic field having a specific direction, the specific direction of the provided magnetic field rotating in a plane parallel to an axis of symmetry of the magnetic field;
- (b) a pressure actuated bellows mechanism also mounted inside of the pressure vessel coupled for rotating the sender means rotationally changing orientation of the specific direction of the magnetic field in the plane parallel to the axis of symmetry responsive to variations in fluid pressure within the vessel;
- and
- (c) sensor means mounted outside of the pressure vessel for sensing and indicating orientation of the specific direction of the magnetic field provided by the sender means in the plane parallel its axis of symmetry as rotated to a particular orientation by the pressure actuated bellows mechanism.
A method for externally sensing pressure of a fluid within a pressure vessel comprising the steps of:
- (a) locating and mounting for rotation, a magnetic field source inside of the pressure vessel containing the fluid for providing a magnetic field having an axis of symmetry rotating in a particular plane;
- (b) coupling the magnetic field source to a pressure actuated bellows also located inside of the pressure vessel expanding and contracting responsive to pressure differences Δp between fluid pressure inside the pressure vessel and a known fluid pressure, the expansion and contraction of the bellows rotationally orienting the axis of symmetry of the provided magnetic field in the particular plane inside the pressure vessel;
- (c) sensing orientation of the axis of symmetry of the provide magnetic field outside the pressure vessel;
- and
- (d) correlating the orientation of the axis of symmetry of the magnetic field sensed to pressure within the pressure vessel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.