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:
Aug. 01, 2006
Filed:
Feb. 26, 2004
Joseph R. Griffin, Fenton, MI (US);
Chris Ganseman, Zwevegem, BE;
Patrick Van DE Voorde, Loppem, BE;
Nelson R. Burkholder, St. Thomas, PA (US);
Stephen M. Geyer, State Line, PA (US);
Joseph R. Griffin, Fenton, MI (US);
Chris Ganseman, Zwevegem, BE;
Patrick Van De Voorde, Loppem, BE;
Nelson R. Burkholder, St. Thomas, PA (US);
Stephen M. Geyer, State Line, PA (US);
Mack Trucks, Inc., Allentown, PA (US);
Epiq, Sensor-Nite USA, Inc., Fenton, MI (US);
Abstract
A heating element protection apparatus for a mass-flow sensor may include a heating element disposed in a gas, a gas temperature sensor disposed in the gas to sense a temperature of the gas, a slope detector to measure a slope of the temperature as power is supplied to the heating element, and a heating element controller to supply power to the heating element to replace heat dissipated by the gas. The heating element controller may detect a temperature of the heating element and may supply power to the heating element based on the heating element temperature and the gas temperature, and the power may be switched off for a predetermined period of time if a magnitude of the slope is greater than a reference magnitude.