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:
May. 02, 2000
Filed:
Aug. 27, 1996
J Brian Murphy, Culver City, CA (US);
John M Brauninger, Los Angeles, CA (US);
John McHardy, Westlake Village, CA (US);
Clifford A Megerle, Thousand Oaks, CA (US);
Carl W Townsend, Los Angeles, CA (US);
Raytheon Company, Lexington, MA (US);
Abstract
The composition of an electrically conductive mixture, such as a mixture of gasoline and alcohol, is measured using a single measurement cell having a first electrode and a second electrode with a measurement space therebetween for receiving a specimen of the mixture. With a specimen of the mixture in the measurement space, the first electrode is alternatively connected to a reference discharge voltage, preferably ground, and to an applied voltage through a resistor. A first operational state encompasses the period when the first electrode is connected to the reference discharge voltage and a second operational state encompasses the period when the first electrode is connected to the applied voltage through the resistor. A first operational state peak voltage is measured during the first operational state, and a second operational state peak voltage is measured during the second operational state. The first operational state peak voltage and a preselected constant proper fraction of the second operational state peak voltage are summed to obtain a summed voltage output, which may be correlated to the composition of the mixture.