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:
Nov. 02, 2010
Filed:
Sep. 26, 2008
Applicant:
R. Mike Mcdonald, Fort Collins, CO (US);
Inventor:
R. Mike McDonald, Fort Collins, CO (US);
Assignee:
Advanced Energy Industries, Inc., Fort Collins, CO (US);
Attorneys:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G01F 1/00 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
Abstract
A system and method for operating a mass flow controller is described. One embodiment validates the operation of a mass flow controller thermal sensor, including detecting zero drift and span drift in the sensor by comparing the thermal sensor output to a pressure sensor output. In one embodiment, each sensor provides a signal to a digital controller or other processing unit and the controller calculates the mass flow rates of a gas flowing through the unit as measured by the sensors. The mass flow rates may then be compared to determine if one of the thermal sensor is operating properly.