Meter for measuring the volume of a flowing fluid

Details Meter for measuring the volume of a flowing fluid Meter for measuring the volume of a flowing fluid

1999-11-30

2001-08-28

Patel, Harshad (Department: 2855)

Measuring and testing

Liquid analysis or analysis of the suspension of solids in a...

Viscosity

C073S861190

Reexamination Certificate

active

06279386

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention concerns a meter for measuring the volume of a flowing fluid.
The invention finds a particularly advantageous application in the field of accurately measuring the volume of fluid delivered by a dispenser, in particular a fuel dispenser.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Fuel dispensers are equipped with a unit for measuring the volume of fuel dispensed. This unit, also known as a measurer, is generally a mechanical positive displacement meter.
The function of a mechanical measurer is to convert the flow of the fuel into a rotary motion in which one complete revolution corresponds to a given volume of fuel passing through the measurer. In a known piston type measurer for example, the liquid from the pump of the dispenser is injected into two or four cylinders which are filled and emptied in succession by means of a dispensing slide valve device. The pistons drive a crankshaft whose angle of rotation is proportional to the volume of liquid that has passed through the cylinders. An optical or magnetic encoding system coupled to the rotary motion supplies an electrical signal made up of a series of pulses each of which corresponds to a volume measurement increment, for example 1 centiliter (cl).
Piston and cylinder volume meter technology is well established and proven but nevertheless has a number of drawbacks, namely:
many mechanical parts,
close machining tolerances,
large overall size,
moving parts subject to wear by friction that must be compensated by periodic calibration,
problems concerning the ability of the materials used to withstand the chemical constituents of fuels,
mechanical noise,
high internal volume so that it is not possible to meter a plurality of different products sequentially in the same meter.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a meter for measuring the volume of a flowing fluid that remedies the drawbacks of prior art mechanical meters, in particular by limiting the number of moving parts.
This and other objects are attained in accordance with one aspect of the present invention which is directed to a meter for measuring the volume of a flowing fluid. The meter includes a viscosensitive unit through which said fluid flows under laminar flow conditions, a first fluidic oscillator in series with the viscosensitive unit, and a second fluidic oscillator shunting at least the viscosensitive unit. The viscosensitive unit and the fluidic oscillators are adapted to determine the viscosity of the fluid so as to apply to the fluid volume measured by the fluidic oscillators a correction that depends on the Reynolds number.
Accordingly, the volume meter of the invention has no moving parts, which eliminates all wear and noise problems. It is also of simple mechanical design, compact, economical, and insensitive to pressure variations and to vibrations. Finally, its small internal volume allows sequential metering of more than one fuel.


REFERENCES:
patent: 2862387 (1958-12-01), Webster
patent: 3410138 (1968-11-01), Lynch
patent: 4050304 (1977-09-01), Thomas
patent: 4107990 (1978-08-01), Ringwall
patent: 4610162 (1986-09-01), Okabayashi et al.
patent: 5291780 (1994-03-01), Thomas et al.
patent: 26 44 302 (1977-04-01), None
patent: 0 393 938 (1990-10-01), None
patent: WO 93 18372 (1993-09-01), None
patent: WO 97 22854 (1997-06-01), None

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