IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
|
국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
|
출원번호 |
US-0953168
(2004-09-29)
|
발명자
/ 주소 |
- Payne,Edward A.
- Nanaji,Seifollah S.
- Price,Brent K.
|
출원인 / 주소 |
|
대리인 / 주소 |
|
인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
15 인용 특허 :
19 |
초록
▼
A lower cost meter comprised of an inner housing constructed out of a high permeable material surrounded by an outer housing constructed out of a lower cost, lower permeable material. A port is placed in the outer housing that runs down to the surface of the inner housing to detect the rotation of a
A lower cost meter comprised of an inner housing constructed out of a high permeable material surrounded by an outer housing constructed out of a lower cost, lower permeable material. A port is placed in the outer housing that runs down to the surface of the inner housing to detect the rotation of a rotational component that rotates inside the meter as fluid or gas flows through the meter. A sensor is placed in the port to detect rotation of the rotational component through the lower permeable material inner housing. The lower cost meter can be used for any application for measuring fluid or gas, and may be used in a service station environment for measuring fuel or vapor in vapor recovery applications.
대표청구항
▼
What is claimed is: 1. A meter that measures the flow of a liquid or vapor, comprising: an outer housing comprised of a low permeable material forming an inlet port on one end of said outer housing and an outlet port on the other end of said outer housing; a shaft supported inside said outer housin
What is claimed is: 1. A meter that measures the flow of a liquid or vapor, comprising: an outer housing comprised of a low permeable material forming an inlet port on one end of said outer housing and an outlet port on the other end of said outer housing; a shaft supported inside said outer housing along an axis parallel to said outer housing; a rotational component mounted on said shaft, wherein said rotational component rotates when the liquid or vapor flows through said inlet port; an orifice contained in said outer housing that forms a first port wherein a first end of said orifice extends outward to the outer surface of said outer housing, and said second end of said orifice extends down to a higher permeable inner housing proximate to said rotational component; and a first sensor that is mounted within said first port to detect the rotation of said rotational component through said inner housing as said rotational component rotates. 2. The meter of claim 1, further comprising a second rotational component mounted on said shaft that rotates oppositely from said rotational component. 3. The meter of claim 1, wherein said inner housing is made from a material comprised from the group consisting of monel, a nickel-copper alloy, steel, stainless steel, and 400-series non-magnetic stainless steel. 4. The meter of claim 1, wherein said outer housing is made from a material comprised from the group consisting of aluminum, plastic, ceramic, ferrous metal, and non-ferrous metal. 5. The meter of claim 1, wherein said rotational component is a turbine rotor that comprises a plurality of vanes that cause said turbine rotor to rotate when said liquid or vapor comes into contact with said plurality of vanes. 6. The meter of claim 1, wherein said rotational component is a spindle that comprises a plurality of threads that cause said spindle to rotate when said liquid or vapor comes into contact with said threads. 7. The meter of claim 1, further comprising: a second orifice contained in said outer housing that forms a second port wherein a first end of said second orifice extends outward to the outer surface of said outer housing, and said second end of said second orifice extends down to a higher permeable inner housing proximate to said rotational component; and a second sensor that is mounted within said second port to detect the rotation of said rotational component through said inner housing as said rotational component rotates. 8. The meter of claim 7, wherein said first sensor and said second sensor are Hall-effect sensors. 9. The meter of claim 1, wherein said inner housing is comprised of a plug that is substantially the same size in diameter as said orifice. 10. The meter of claim 1, wherein said inner housing is comprised of a cylindrical-shaped material that is placed in between said shaft and said outer housing. 11. The meter of claim 1, wherein said first sensor is a Hall-effect sensor. 12. A fuel dispenser for dispensing fuel to a vehicle, comprising: a nozzle; a hose connected to said nozzle; a control system; a fuel delivery line having an inlet port that receives fuel, and an outlet port that couples to said hose; a valve located inline said fuel delivery line and under control of said control system, wherein said control system opens said valve to allow fuel to flow through said fuel delivery line to be delivered through said hose and said nozzle to the vehicle; and a meter located inline said fuel delivery line, comprising: an outer housing comprised of a low permeable material forming an inlet port on one end of said outer housing and an outlet port on the other end of said outer housing; a shaft supported inside said outer housing along an axis parallel to said outer housing; a rotational component mounted on said shaft, wherein said rotational component rotates when the fuel flows trough said inlet port; an orifice contained in said outer housing that forms a first port wherein a first end of said orifice extends outward to the outer surface of said outer housing, and said second end of said orifice extends down to a higher permeable inner housing proximate to said rotational component; and a first sensor that is mounted within said first port to detect the rotation of said rotational component through said inner housing as said rotational component rotates; said meter measures the amount of fuel traveling through said fuel delivery line and sends a signal indicative of the amount of fuel to said control system. 13. The fuel dispenser of claim 12, wherein said meter further comprises a second rotational component mounted on said shaft that rotates oppositely from said rotational component. 14. The fuel dispenser of claim 12, wherein said rotational component is a turbine rotor comprising a plurality of vanes that cause said turbine rotor to rotate when said fuel comes into contact with said plurality of vanes. 15. The fuel dispenser of claim 12, wherein said rotational component is a spindle that comprises a plurality of threads that cause said spindle to rotate when said fuel comes into contact with said threads. 16. The fuel dispenser of claim 12, wherein said meter further comprises: a second orifice contained in said outer housing that forms a second port wherein a first end of said second orifice extends outward to the outer surface of said outer housing, and said second end of said second orifice extends down to a higher permeable inner housing proximate to said rotational component; and a second sensor that is mounted within said second port to detect the rotation of said rotational component through said inner housing as said rotational component rotates. 17. The fuel dispenser of claim 16, wherein said first sensor and said second sensor are Hall-effect sensors. 18. The fuel dispenser of claim 17, wherein said signal is communicated by electrical leads coupled to said Hall-effect sensors. 19. The fuel dispenser of claim 12, wherein said inner housing is comprised of a plug that is substantially the same size in diameter as said orifice. 20. The fuel dispenser of claim 12, wherein said inner housing is comprised of a cylindrical-shaped material that is placed in between said shaft and said outer housing. 21. The fuel dispenser of claim 12, further comprising a totals display that displays the total amount of fuel metered through said meter. 22. The fuel dispenser of claim 12, wherein said first sensor is a Hall-effect sensor. 23. The fuel dispenser of claim 22, wherein said signal is communicated by electrical leads coupled to said Hall-effect sensor. 24. A vapor recovery system, comprising: an underground storage tank that contains fuel and vapor; a vent coupled to said underground storage tank; a membrane coupled inline to said vent that receives said vapor from said underground storage tank and substantially separates said vapor into a hydrocarbon mixture and an air mixture; a pressure valve coupled inline to said vent downstream of said membrane wherein said pressure valve is opened to release said air mixture to atmosphere when said underground storage tank is under a threshold pressure and said hydrocarbon mixture is returned back to said underground storage tank; and a meter that measures the amount of air being released to atmosphere, comprising: an outer housing comprised of a low permeable material forming an inlet port on one end of said outer housing and an outlet port on the other end of said outer housing; a shaft supported inside said outer housing along an axis parallel to said outer housing; a rotational component mounted on said shaft, wherein said rotational component rotates when said fuel flows through said inlet port; an orifice contained in said outer housing that forms a first port wherein a first end of said orifice extends outward to the outer surface of said outer housing, and said second end of said orifice extends down to a higher permeable inner housing proximate to said rotational component; and a first sensor that is mounted within said first port to detect the rotation of said rotational component through said inner housing as said rotational component rotates; said meter generates a signal indicative of the amount of air mixture traveling through said vent. 25. The system of claim 24, wherein said meter further comprises a second rotational component mounted on said shaft that rotates oppositely from said rotational component. 26. The system of claim 24, wherein said rotational component is a turbine rotor that comprises a plurality of vanes that cause said turbine rotor to rotate when said air mixture comes into contact with said plurality of vanes. 27. The fuel dispenser of claim 24, wherein said rotational component is a spindle that comprises a plurality of threads that cause said spindle to rotate when said air mixture comes into contact with said threads. 28. The system of claim 24, wherein said meter further comprises: a second orifice contained in said outer housing that forms a second port wherein a first end of said second orifice extends outward to the outer surface of said outer housing, and said second end of said second orifice extends down to a higher permeable inner housing proximate to said rotational component; and a second sensor that is mounted within said second port to detect the rotation of said rotational component through said inner housing as said rotational component rotates. 29. The system of claim 28, wherein said first sensor and said second sensor are Hall-effect sensors. 30. The system of claim 29, wherein said signal is communicated to a control system by electrical leads coupled to said Hall-effect sensors. 31. The system of claim 24, wherein said inner housing is comprised of a plug that is substantially the same size in diameter as said orifice. 32. The system of claim 24, wherein said inner housing is comprised of a cylindrical-shaped material that is placed in between said shaft and said outer housing. 33. The system of claim 24, wherein said first sensor generates a signal indicative of the amount of air mixture and communicates said signal indicative of the amount of air mixture to a site controller. 34. The system of claim 24, wherein said signal is communicated to a control system. 35. The system of claim 24, wherein said first sensor is a Hall-effect sensor. 36. The system of claim 35, wherein said signal is communicated to a control system by electrical leads coupled to said Hall-effect sensor. 37. A system that captures vapors expelled from a vehicle during refueling and returns the vapors to an underground storage tank, comprising: a fuel dispenser comprising a control system and a vapor recovery system that captures vapors expelled from the vehicle during refueling and returns the vapors through a vapor return line to the underground storage tank; and a meter coupled inline to said vapor return line that measures the amount of vapors being returned to the underground storage tank wherein said control system adjusts said vapor recovery system to vary the rate of recovery of the vapors based on the measurement of the amount of vapors being returned to the underground storage tank, said meter comprising: an outer housing comprised of a low permeable material forming an inlet port on one end of said outer housing and an outlet port on the other end of said outer housing; a shaft supported inside said outer housing along an axis parallel to said outer housing; a rotational component mounted on said shaft, wherein said rotational component rotates when the vapors flows through said inlet port; an orifice contained in said outer housing that forms a first port wherein a first end of said orifice extends outward to the outer surface of said outer housing, and a second end of said orifice extends down to a higher permeable inner housing proximate to said rotational component; and a first sensor that is mounted within said first port to detect the rotation of said rotational component through said inner housing as said rotational component rotates; said first sensor generates a signal indicative of the amount of vapors passing through said meter. 38. The system of claim 37, wherein said meter further comprises a second rotational component mounted on said shaft that rotates oppositely from said rotational component. 39. The system of claim 37, wherein said rotational component comprises a turbine rotor contains a plurality of vanes that cause said turbine rotor to rotate when said vapors come into contact with said plurality of vanes. 40. The system of claim 37, wherein said rotational component is a spindle that comprises a plurality of threads that cause said spindle to rotate when said vapors come into contact with said threads. 41. The system of claim 37, wherein said meter further comprises: a second orifice contained in said outer housing that forms a second port wherein a first end of said second orifice extends outward to the outer surface of said outer housing, and said second end of said second orifice extends down to a higher permeable inner housing proximate to said rotational component; and a second sensor that is mounted within said second port to detect the rotation of said rotational component through said inner housing as said rotational component rotates. 42. The system of claim 41, wherein said first sensor and said second sensor are Hall-effect sensors. 43. The system of claim 42, wherein said signal is communicated to another control system by electrical leads coupled to said Hall-effect sensors. 44. The system of claim 37, wherein said inner housing is comprised of a plug that is substantially the same size in diameter as said orifice. 45. The system of claim 37, wherein said inner housing is comprised of a cylindrical-shaped material that is placed in between said shaft and said outer housing. 46. The system of claim 37, wherein said signal indicative of the amount of vapor passing through said meter is communicated to a site controller. 47. The system of claim 37, wherein said control system divides the amount of vapor by the amount of fuel dispensed by said fuel dispenser to determine a vapor-to-liquid (V/L) ratio. 48. The system of claim 47, wherein said control system adjusts said vapor recovery system in order to maintain a desired V/L ratio. 49. The system of claim 37, wherein said signal is communicated to another control system. 50. The system of claim 37, wherein said first sensor is a Hall-effect sensor. 51. The system of claim 50, wherein said signal is communicated to another control system by electrical leads coupled to said Hall-effect sensor. 52. A method of measuring the flow rate of a liquid or vapor, comprising the steps of: passing a material through an inlet port of an inner housing comprised of a high permeable material; rotating a rotational component mounted inside said inner housing as said materials passes through said inner housing; receiving a signal from a first sensor mounted on said inner housing proximate to said rotational component and within a first port in an outer housing of a low permeable material formed around said inner housing to detect rotation of said rotational component; and correlating the rotation of said rotational component into a flow rate or volume of said material. 53. The method of claim 52, further comprising the steps of: receiving a second signal from a second sensor offset from said first sensor and mounted on said inner housing proximate to said rotational component and within a second port in said outer housing to detect rotation of said rotational component; and determining the direction of rotation of said rotational component based on said signal and said second signal. 54. A method of manufacturing a turbine flow meter, comprising the steps of: forming an outer housing constructed of a low permeable material; placing an orifice in said outer housing that forms a first port wherein a first end of said orifice extends outward to the outer surface of said outer housing, and said second end of said orifice extends down to a higher permeable inner housing; placing a rotational component on a shaft; and placing said shaft inside said outer housing on an axis in parallel with said outer housing to locate said rotation component proximate said first port. 55. The method of claim 54, further comprising mounting a first sensor inside said first port to locate said first sensor proximate said rotational component. 56. The method of claim 54, further comprising placing a second port in said outer housing offset from said first port and located proximate to the location of said rotational component that extends down to the outer surface of said inner housing. 57. The method of claim 56, further comprising mounting a second sensor inside said second port to locate said first sensor proximate said rotational component.
※ AI-Helper는 부적절한 답변을 할 수 있습니다.