The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 29, 1981
Filed:
Mar. 04, 1980
Kenneth A James, Corona Del Mar, CA (US);
William H Quick, La Habra Heights, CA (US);
Virgil H Strahan, Orange, CA (US);
Rudolf R August, Laguna Beach, CA (US);
Rockwell International Corporation, El Segundo, CA (US);
Abstract
An inexpensive, non-obtrusive optical flowmeter is disclosed comprising at least one flexible, light transmitting optical fiber rod having an enlarged (e.g. spherical) terminus formed at a fluid responsive end thereof. The flexible optical fiber is inserted into a fluid channel in such a manner that the enlarged terminus oscillates at a frequency that is a function of the rate of fluid flow. The intensity and frequency of an optical signal being transmitted via the optical fiber to an optical detector are related to the rate at which fluid flows through the channel. By detecting the intensity and frequency of the optical signal at different times for corresponding rates of fluid flow, an accurate (digital) representation of a particular rate of fluid flow can be obtained.