Abb Research Ltd.

Ems-patent Ag

Hydrometer Gmbh

Vetco Gray Scandinavia As

Carnelian Cordless LLC

Thomas Kleiner

Daniel A Matter

John Anthony Byatt

Beat Kramer

Thomas Christen

Walter Ruegg

Philippe Pr&ecirc;tre

Anthony Byatt

Ulrich Kogelschatz

Rolf Luchsinger

Bruno Sabbattini

Philippe Prétre

Walter R&uuml;egg

Anghony Byatt

Gunter Spanner

Elias J&uuml;lke

Elias Juelke

Alexander Wenk

Philippe Prêtre

Peder Hansson

Walter Rüegg

Elias Jülke

A differential pressure system and a gas meter arrangement for precisely measuring a gas consumption by a gas meter is provided. A previously known gas meter is disposed in a bypass comprising a differential pressure system in the gas pipe for measuring a volumetric flow rate inside the gas pipe. The differential pressure system includes flow ducts having decreasing diameters as the radial position increases starting from a central axis of the differential pressure system. Examples of execution include inlet ports and/or outlet ports of the flow ducts which are provided with a specific countersink angle (&#x3b1;), and an equidistant, concentric arrangement of flow ducts on the cross-sectional area of the differential pressure system. This has the advantage of increasing the differential pressure at a low volume flow rate, reducing the differential pressure at a high volume flow rate, and generally creating an improved linearity across the entire measurement range between the volume flow rate in the bypass and the volume flow rate in the gas pipe, among other advantages.

Differential pressure means for a gas meter arrangement, comprising an improved flow geometry

Described is a method and a device for more accurate measurement of a gas supply with a gas meter. A consumption-weighted correction factor is determined by weight averaging of a sensor error factor of the gas meter with a consumption profile characteristic of the gas supply location and the measuring signal is converted using the correction factor. Embodiments relate inter alia to: operation of the gas meter as volume, mass or energy meter; formulae for determining the correction factor with sensor error factors and consumption profiles relative to volume, mass or energy; and measuring signal correction in the case of a non-registering or registering gas meter. Advantages are inter alia: subsequent customer-specific measuring signal correction; no additional measuring complexity; and improved measuring accuracy, in particular improved energy measurement by means of compensation for inherent deviations of the energy signal in the vase of heat value variations.

Increased accuracy gas energy meter

The invention relates to a process and a device for thermal measuring the flow rate (v) of a fluid (). In conventional thermal sensors the heating power P is supplied in the form of rectangular pulses. According to the invention, the sensor means () are supplied by a heating control () with non-constant heating pulses having a sublinear build-up dynamics P(t). Thereby, a nonlinear behaviour of the threshold value time (t), until a threshold value temperature (T) is reached, as a function of the flow rate (v) can at least partially be compensated. Embodiments concern inter alia a build-up dynamics P(t) proportional to tand/or to a time-independent amplitude factor (1+R/R), wherein m is a Reynolds-number-dependent exponent and R, Rare thermal transfer resistances. The advantages are an improved precision, a shorter measuring time and an enlarged measuring range for the flow rate v.

Method for thermal flow measurement with non constant heating pulses

A gas meter for determining a gas mixture consumption is revealed which determines sensor signal values proportional to a flow rate, this gas meter being calibrated as an energy measuring unit. The calibration is based on a basic gas mixture. During the measurement of the gas consumption, a measured energy consumption value is multiplied by a correction factor which takes account, at least approximately, of the calorific value of a supplied gas mixture, this calorific value being determined by an external unit. By this means, it is possible, using a simple and cost-efficient gas meter, to determine the effective supplied energy and to bill costs according to the supply.

Gas meter

The subject matter of the present invention is a sampling method for flowmeters, in the case of which the sampling rate is reduced as a function of the remaining power source service life. The latter is extended thereby with loss of accuracy.

Sampling method for flowmeters

A photoacoustic effect is used in order to measure a flow rate of a flowing medium (M), in particular of natural gas. A light emitter ( ) is used to produce in the medium (M) a sound wave (S) which is transmitted by the medium (M) and detected by a sound detector ( ). The light emitter ( ) is less exposed to the medium (M) than a diaphragm such as used in the ultrasonic method.

Flow meter

A method and a sensor ( ) for oil-in-water measurement, in particular for the oil industry. In an electric measuring cell ( ) a capacitance is measured as a measure of an oil concentration in the water flowing through or in the accumulation filter ( ). In order to reduce the maintenance requirement, the measuring cell ( ) is automatically calibrated at recurring time intervals with clean water (FIG. ) and/or flushed with water, possibly oil-contaminated, in the back-flushing direction (FIG. ). Advantages of the invention are reduced signal drift, improved long-term reliability and a long service life without monitoring or filter exchange. Important exemplary embodiments relate to: a measuring cell ( ) with a long measuring and short flushing/calibration cycle, a measuring cell ( ) with a plurality of accumulation filters ( ) whose measuring cycles supplement one another in time, a cross-flow filter ( ) for oil enrichment upstream of the measuring cell ( ) and a compact, pressure-resistant cylindrical ring-type filter ( ) made from porous ceramic ( ) with measuring and flushing connections radially ( ) and axially ( ).

Method and device for oil-in-water measurement

A fire prevention safety device for a gas meter ( ) has closure means ( &prime;, V) that can be activated by heat to interrupt the gas supply into the gas meter ( ) in the event of a fire. The gas meter ( ) is arranged in a bypass ( ) of a gas pipe ( ). At least one of the aforementioned closure means ( &prime;, V) for interrupting the gas supply is in each case arranged in the bypass ( ) in the flow direction upstream and downstream of a sensor ( ) belonging to the gas meter ( ). The device permits a cost-efficient, simple and effective fire prevention safeguard, in particular for electronic gas meters.

Fire prevention safety device for gas meters

The present invention discloses a capacitive filling-level sensor, which is suitable in particular for filling-level determination in oil separator tanks. The capacitive sensor includes a measuring probe with at least one sensor electrode. According to the invention, the measuring probe is at least partially sheathed with at least one outer layer of a fluorinated plastic and at least one inner layer of a mica-filled plastic. Important exemplary embodiments concern an outer layer of perfluoroethylene-perfluoropropylene copolymer (FEP), an inner layer of mica-coated glass fiber tape impregnated with epoxy resin and possibly silanized and an incompressible, thermally adapted filling of the measuring-probe pipe with silicone oil and glass spheres or glass polyhedrons and/or an inner rod of AlMgSi-filled epoxy resin. The sheathing is electrically insulating, chemically inert, hydrophobic, oleophobic, waterproof, mechanically robust and easy to produce.

Capacitive filling-level sensor with dielectric coating

The present invention relates to a method and a device for fluorescence measurement of oil residues in water. The core of the invention is to use a powerful, narrow-band excimer lamp to excite intensive fluorescence radiation to detect the latter with a photodiode or the like, and to determine the oil concentration therefrom. The excimer lamp can be designed as a flat radiator a hollow cylindrical inner radiator or a tubular radiator, and can be combined with a through-flow or free fall measuring cell. The excimer lamp is advantageously operated in a pulsed or modulated fashion, the fluorescence radiation is measured at a right angle to the exciting radiation, the emitted and/or transmitted exciting light is monitored with the detectors, and a redundant measuring arrangement with a plurality of excimer lamps and fluorescence detectors is provided. The sensor is distinguished by reliability, freedom from maintenance and a long service life.

Method and device for determining the oil concentration in liquids by means of fluorescence excitation with an excimer lamp

The subject matter of the present invention is the optimization of a capacitive liquid level sensor which is suitable, in particular, for determining the location of a boundary layer,between water,and oil,in a separator tank. The known sensor principle is based on measuring the environmentally dependent capacitance between neighboring electrodes,of a rod-shaped probe,. According to the invention, the probe,is designed such that large ionic double-layer capacitors occur on the electrodes,in the more conductive medium,, and small capacitors occur between electrodes,in the insulating medium,. For this purpose, the electrode height h is selected to be large, the ratio of the electrode height h to the electrode spacing a is preferably selected to be in the range of 1<h/a<6 and, in particular, the measuring frequency f is selected to be in the dielectric cut-off frequencies of the media,. As a result, it is possible to achieve a large jump in capacitance for a digital liquid level display and/or a largely continuous increasing capacitance for an analog liquid level display. Furthermore, the influence of more conductive and/or insulating dirt films,on the capacitance signal is eliminated by suitable measuring frequencies and/or by radially offsetting the electrodes

Capacitive level detector with optimized electrode geometry

A photoacoustic flow measuring cell (1a, 1b) for measuring oil residues in water including a photoacoustic sensor principle based on converting optical energy into acoustic energy by absorption of light on oil molecules in water. A measuring cell (1a, 1b) having contamination-free infeed optics (9, 10, 11, 21) is produced by providing a free fall stage (3) for a contactless feed (12) of light into an analyte (4). A sound detector (16) is an externally mounted piezoelectric transducer (16) or an optical interferometer (23) which measures vibrations of a liquid surface (6) without contacting the same. The photoacoustic free fall measuring cell (1a, 1b) provides a high level of detection, well into the ppm concentration range, low susceptibility to faults and is suitable, in particular, for use in high pressure separating tanks (28) for conveyance of crude oil.

Photoacoustic free fall measuring cell

The subject matter of the present invention is a method and a device for capacitive liquid level measurement which are particularly suitable for determining liquid level between adhesive media 10, 11 of different conductivity. The known sensor principle is based on the fact that the environmentally dependent capacitance is measured between neighboring electrodes 13, 4; 4, 5; 5, 6 of a rod-shaped probe 1. According to the invention, the probe 1 has electrodes 4, 5, 6, 13 with covers 7 of different thicknesses d.sub.i. The effective thickness d.sub.s /.epsilon..sub.s of an insulating pollutant film 14 can then be determined by capacitance measurements between at least two pairs of electrodes 4, 5, 6, 13. The influence of a conductive pollutant film 14 on the capacitance signal can be eliminated by selection of at least one suitable measuring frequency. Furthermore, by optimizing the electrode height h, a large capacitance jump is achieved for a digital liquid level display, and/or a largely continuous increase in capacitance is achieved for an analog liquid level display. The sensor is preferably used to determine the location of an interface 12 between water 10 and oil 11 in a separator tank.

Capacitive liquid level sensor with integrated pollutant film detection

A moving body surface or paper web (1) to be investigated is irradiated at at least one irradiation site by 3 laser light sources of a surface structure measuring device (FOS1, FOS2). Reflected and scattered light is detected and evaluated in order to calculate ellipse points. An ellipse major axis ratio corresponding to a fiber orientation ratio, and a fiber orientation angle are calculated from the ellipse parameters thus obtained. Identical measurements and calculations are carried out periodically on an isotropic sample (NO) and a sample (Nx) having a fiber orientation similar to that of the body surface to be measured, in order to calibrate the measurements at the body surface (1).

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Fislisbach, Switzerland

Thomas Kleiner