Bi-directional differential pressure flow sensor

A bi-directional differential pressure flow sensor, comprising:

• a bi-directional flow restriction member adapted to produce a pressure drop when placed inline with a fluid flow;
• a differential pressure sensor embedded in the bi-directional flow restriction member and adapted to produce a differential pressure signal that is indicative of the pressure drop;
• embedded processing electronics embedded in the bi-directional flow restriction member and adapted to produce a flow rate signal that is indicative of a direction and a flow rate of the fluid flow as a function of the differential pressure signal, the embedded processing electronics including:
• an embedded analog to digital converter coupled to the differential pressure sensor and responsively providing a digital output related to the differential pressure signal;
• an embedded microprocessor coupled to the analog to digital converter and configured to calculate the flow rate as a function of the digital output;
• and
• an embedded I/O port coupled to the microprocessor and configured to couple to a two-wire process control loop, the I/O port further configured to transmit an output in the two-wire process control loop related to the calculated flow rate and to completely power the bi-directional differential flow sensor with power received from the two-wire process control loop.