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:
Jan. 05, 2016
Filed:
Mar. 19, 2012
Applicants:
Thomas Haw, Portland, OR (US);
Gary Kercheck, Portland, OR (US);
Inventors:
Thomas Haw, Portland, OR (US);
Gary Kercheck, Portland, OR (US);
Assignee:
Advanced Energy Industries, Inc., Fort Collins, CO (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G01F 23/292 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
G01F 23/292 (2013.01);
Abstract
This disclosure describes systems, methods, and apparatus for remotely monitoring an elevation, or change in elevation, of a fluid surface, such as that of molten sapphire. The remote monitoring can be performed by measuring positions of a pair of reflected laser beams off the fluid surface as detected on an imaging sensor. As the surface elevation falls, the positions of the pair of reflected laser beams move relative to each other, and this positional change can be converted into a change in the fluid surface elevation.