Measuring and testing – Fluid pressure gauge – With protective separator
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-13
2001-10-30
Oen, William (Department: 2855)
Measuring and testing
Fluid pressure gauge
With protective separator
C073S031040
Reexamination Certificate
active
06308574
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a measuring device to measure the gas pressure of an atmosphere according to the introductory clause of claim
1
. For the monitoring of processes, e.g. of the pressure ratios of autoclaves, it is a known method to introduce a sensor into same which is connected via a connecting circuit to a display device. The process taking place can be monitored on the display device, whereby the pressure is recorded by reading and writing it down. This process is very expensive, but no other solution is possible with the known measuring devices.
It is the object of the present invention to propose a measuring device which considerably facilitates the measuring and recording of the process. This object is attained according to the invention by the measuring device with the characteristics of claim
1
.
With the measuring device according to the invention it is advantageously possible to render the measuring deice autonomous, i.e. it has its own energy supply and also operates autonomously. This makes it possible for the measuring device to be brought directly into the atmosphere to be measured and to measure and record the pressure of the atmosphere at that location. For this no cables or measuring circuits need to be transferred, since the measuring and storing of the measured values need not take place outside the atmosphere to be measured.
After a selected time period the measuring device can be taken out of the atmosphere to be monitors and the evolution of pressure of the atmosphere can be read out from the measuring device's memories of measured values. For this purpose the contacts are connected advantageously to the unit for the evaluation of the measured values, so that the data can be read from the memory. In addition the measuring device is connected via the contacts to a reading device and the measured values are read and evaluated or also documented with the help of the reading device, e.g. a computer. Contacts which are connected to the unit for control of the measuring device are especially advantageous. Thereby data can be transmitted advantageously to the measuring device and the measuring device can be controlled by means of these data. Thus points or spans of time can be determined at which the measuring device is to operate. The design of the measuring device in which the contacts are connected to the control unit as well as to the unit for the evaluation of signals produced by the sensor is especially advantageous. In that case only two contacts need to be provided on the measuring device.
The measuring device is advantageously provided with an opening in its housing through which the sensor is connected to the atmosphere. It is especially advantageous if this opening is closed off by the sensor itself from the interior space, so that the interior space of the measuring device does not come into contact with the atmosphere to be monitored. The pressure sensor is equipped to special advantage with a membrane made of a ceramic material. This membrane is suited for many media to be monitored because the ceramic material is chemically neutral and resistant, e.g. against acids and alkaline solutions or their vapors.
In another advantageous embodiment of the invention the measuring device is provided with a housing which is made at least in part of special steel. Thereby it is possible to use the measuring device also in applications where perfect hygienic conditions must be ensured, because it comes into contact with food. In addition, special steel is especially insensitive to corrosive media. The housing is advantageously made in several parts, so that the housing surface itself can provide at least two contacts. For this the elements of the housing are advantageously insulated electrically from each other. The connection between the different housing elements via a seal ensures that the media or atmosphere to be measured does not reach the interior of the housing and at the same time this can make it possible that the latter can be opened and closed again. This especially facilitates the maintenance of the measuring device. It is especially advantageous for the seal to be made of a material compatible with foodstuff so that the measuring device can also be used in areas where foodstuff is stored or processed. “Material compatible with foodstuff” is understood to mean a material which is suitable, and also authorized by the authorities, for use with foodstuff, e.g. the synthetic material “Peek”.
In an especially advantageous embodiment of the measuring device the latter is provided in addition to the pressure sensor with one or several additional sensors which measure the other status parameters of the atmosphere. These may be e.g. temperature, air moisture, pH values or other status parameters. In addition the measuring device may be advantageously equipped with device for the evaluation of the signal of the pressure sensor which is able to process at the same time also the signals of other sensors. If the measuring device is furthermore equipped with a temperature sensor, this is especially advantageous because the evolution of temperature can then also be determined at the same time. This is especially useful when monitoring processes in autoclaves. In this way a sterilization process can for example be documented accurately by means of the device according to the invention. The temperature sensor is advantageously designed so that it can be uses with temperatures of 200° C. The utilization of a temperature sensor designed to be used for a temperature range from −30° C. to 140° C. is especially advantageous.
In an especially advantageous further development of the invention the evaluation unit for the evaluation of the signal is furthermore provided with a memory to store the measured values of the additional sensors. In another advantageous embodiment of the invention the measuring device is provided with a memory for the characteristic data of the pressure sensor which are assigned advantageously to the evaluation unit. This makes it possible to adjust the evaluation unit exactly to the sensor, so that precise measured values are produced and measuring errors can be kept to a minimum. An appropriate memory can also be used advantageously for additional sensors.
In an especially advantageous further development of the invention the pressure sensor is designed so that it can be used with pressures from 0 bar to 400 bar. This open a wide area of applications to the measuring device. In another especially advantageous embodiment of the measuring device it is equipped with a memory to store 100,000 and more measure values. The memory capacity is advantageously between 8,000 and 80,000 measured values. This applies to the number of measured values of the pressure sensor as well as to those of the additional sensors of the measuring device.
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Klün Wolfgang
Knopf Franz
Aw-Musse Abdullahi
Dority & Manning PA
Ebro Electronic GmbH & Co. KG
Oen William
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