Flow meter remote reading systems
AssigneeMelexis NV
InventorRick Wolleswinkel
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems and methods for determining the positions of the discs of a mechanical display by using the shadow cast on an optical array by a profiled cam arrangement.
Claims27
A meter reading system for determining the rotational position of one or more rotating display discs, the system comprising:
- ca cam associated with each disc, wherein each cam rotates with the associated disc;
- a light source that illuminates each cam such as to project a profile shadow for each cam;
- a light detecting element that detects the shadow of each cam and provides a signal representing parameters of each shadow;
- and
- a processor that determines the rotational position of each disc based on the respective cam profile shadow parameters provided by the light detecting element.
A method of reading a meter having one or more rotating display discs, the method comprising:
- providing a cam associated with each disc, wherein each cam rotates with the associated disc;
- illuminating each cam so as to project a profile shadow on a light detecting element;
- and
- determining rotational position information for each disc based on the associated cam profile shadow detected by the light detecting element.
A system for remote reading of a display having one or more aligned discs that rotate around a common axis, the system including:
- a cam coupled to each of said discs substantially at right angles to the plane of rotation of the discs;
- a separate light emitting means and lens means associated with each said disc;
- a photo-detection means associated with each said disc;
- the profile of said cam being such that when illuminated by said light emitting means, the width and position of the shadow cast by said cam onto said photo-detection means allows for the determination of the rotational position of the disc;
- control means to control the light emitting means and read the photo-detection means such as to determine the rotational position of each disc;
- and
- communication means to transmit the determined rotational positions of the discs to a remote system.
A system for remote reading of a display having one or more aligned discs that rotate around a common axis, the system including:
- a cam coupled to each of said discs substantially at right angles to the plane of rotation of the discs;
- a separate light emitting means and optical arrangement associated with each said disc;
- a single photo-detection means for detecting light emitted by the light emitting means;
- the profile of said cam being such that when illuminated by said light emitting means the width and position of the shadow cast by said cam onto said photo-detection means allows for the determination of the rotational position of the disc;
- an optical arrangement arranged to reflect each of the shadows cast by the cams onto said single photo-detection means;
- control means for controlling the light emitting means and reading the photo-detection means such as to determine the rotational position of each disc;
- and
- communication means for transmitting the determined rotational positions of the discs to a remote system.
A system for determining the rotational position of one or more rotating display discs, the system comprising:
- a cam associated with each disc, wherein each cam rotates with the associated disc;
- a light source that illuminates each cam such as to project a profile shadow for each cam;
- a light detecting element that detects the shadow of each cam and provides a signal representing a parameter of each shadow;
- and
- a processor that determines the rotational position of each disc based on the respective cam profile shadow parameters provided by the light detecting element.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.