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:
Apr. 15, 2003
Filed:
May. 31, 2002
Gregory S. Duckett, Raleigh, NC (US);
C. J. Anthony Fernando, Durham, NC (US);
Michael R. Haw, Raleigh, NC (US);
Varian, Inc., Palo Alto, CA (US);
Abstract
An apparatus and method are provided for determining the position of an elongate member such as a shaft in relation to a vessel in which the elongate member operates. The apparatus includes a mounting component adapted for placement over the open end of the vessel, one or more movable plungers, and one or more transducers that interact with the respective plungers. The plungers and transducers are supported by the mounting component and disposed below the mounting component. Thus, upon placement of the mounting component over the vessel, the plungers and transducers reside within the vessel while permitting the elongate member to be disposed at its normal operating position within the vessel. If the position of the elongate member is offset from a predetermined desired position within the vessel, the plunger is displaced by a certain magnitude that is detected by the transducer. In this manner, the apparatus can be used to measure the centerline offset and/or the height of the elongate member in relation to the vessel.