Apparatus to accurately and continuously measure changes occurring in the specific gravity and composition of a fluid

Claim 1

AN IMPROVEMENT IN SPECIFIC GRAVITY MEASURING APPARATUS BY TAKING A CONTINUOUS MEASUREMENT OF THE INTEGRATED INDEX OF REFRACTION OF A SAMPLE PORTION OF A CONTINUOUSLY FLOWING STREAM OF FLUID PASSING THROUGH A FIRST CHAMBER WHICH FLUID CONTAINS STRONG ABSORPITON BANDS IN EITHER THE ULTRAVIOLET, VISIBLE OR SUBSTANTIAL PORTIONS OF THE INFRA-RED REGIONS WHEN SAID FLUID IS UNDER THE CONDITION IN WHICH LIGHT FROM A CONSTANT LIGHT SOURCE IS BEING INTRODUCED INTO ONE END OF A SOLID TRANSPARENT MEDIUM AND THEN PARTIALLY REFRACTED FROM ANOTHER SURFACE OF SAID TRANSPARENT MEDIUM INTO A PORTION OF THE CONTINUOUSLY FLOWING FLUID THAT IS FLOWING THROUGH SAID FIRST CHAMBER, SAID IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING A FILTER POSITIONED BETWEEN SAID LIGHT SOURCE AND SAID ONE END OF THE TRANSPARENT MEDIUM, SAID FILTER HAVING AN OPEN ENDED SECOND CHAMBER PROVIDED WITH A THIN TRANSPARENT WALL WHOSE INSIDE SURFACE FORMS A FLUID PASSAGEWAY WHICH IS OF A PRESELECTED THICKNESS, SAID FILTER FURTHER COMPRISING A FLUID TRANSMITTING CONDUIT OPERABLY CONNECTED AT ONE OF ITS ENDS TO ONE END OF SAID SECOND CHAMBER AND HAVING A REMAINING PORTION CONNECTED TO SAID SAMPLE PORTION OF SAID CONTINUOUSLY FLOWING STREAM OF FLUID THEREBY TO PROVIDE FOR THE SAME CONTINUOUS FLOW OF SAID FLUID WHICH IS THE SAME QUALITY THROUGH SAID SECOND CHAMBER AS THAT FLOWING THROUGH SAID FIRST CHAMBER, SAID FLUID FILTER PROVIDING A MEANS, WHEN SAID LIGHT FROM SAID LIGHT SOURCE IS PASSED THERETHROUGH, TO SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCE ONLY THE STRENGTH OF THE BANDS OF LIGHT EMITTED FROM SAID SOURCE TO A VERY SMALL INTENSITY LEVEL THAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE STRONGLY ABSORBED BY SAID FLUID BEFORE THE LIGHT IS INTRODUCED INTO THE ONE END OF SAID TRANSPARENT MEDIUM, AND A THERMOPILE POSITIONED IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT THE OPPOSITE END OF SAID TRANSPARENT MEDIUM TO ACCURATELY MEASURE THE AMOUNT OF LIGHT PASSING OUT OF THE LAST-MENTIONED END OF SAID TRANSPARENT MEDIUM SOLELY IN TERMS OF SAID INTEGRATED INDEX OF REFRACTION OF SAID FLUID.