Flowmeter

Claim 2

A FLOW-SENSITIVE DEVICE COMPRISING A HOUSING HAVING WALL PORTIONS PROVIDING, A FLUID INLET NOZZLE HAVING A CONNECTION TO A SOURCE OF FLUID FOR PROVIDING A FLUID JET, SAID NOZZLE PASSING ALL OF THE FLOW TO BE MEASURED, AN INTERACTION CHAMBER WITH WHICH SAID NOZZLE IS IN COMMUNICATION, SAID INTERACTION CHAMBER HAVING OPPOSITE DIVERGING SIDEWALLS FOR FLUID JET ATTACHMENT AND A DISCHARGE PASSAGEWAY, CONTROL PORTS COMMUNICATING WITH SAID CHAMBER CONTIGUOUS TO SAID NOZZLE, FEEDBACK MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID INTERACTION CHAMBER UPSTREAM OF SAID DISCHARGE PASSAGEWAY AND ALIGNED WITH THE JET ATTACHED TO SAID SIDEWALLS TO RECEIVE A PORTION OF FLUID COMING FROM SAID FLUID INLET NOZZLE AND EXTENDING TO SAID CONTROL PORTS FOR SWITCHING THE FLUID FROM SAID NOZZLE SUCCESSIVELY WITH RESPECT TO SAID SIDEWALLS FOR ESTABLISHING A FLUID OSCILLATION, AND A MEMBER RESPONSIVE TO SAID FLUID OSCILLATION FOR TRANSMITTING A SIGNAL RELATED THERETO, SAID DEVICE INCORPORATING MEANS FOR PRODUCING A PRIME TIME DELAY FOR DETERMINING THE PERIOD OF OSCILLATION, SAID TIME DELAY OCCURRING BETWEEN THE TIME OF FIRST SWITCHING OF THE JET FROM THE NOZZLE AND THE TIME AT WHICH A PORTION OF THE JET IS RECEIVED BY SAID FEEDBACK MEANS.

Claim 3

A flow-sensitive device as defined in claim 1 in which said fluid oscillations have a frequency proportional to volume flow rate through said nozzle.

Claim 4

A flow-sensitive device as defined in claim 1 in which said interval provides a proportional relationship in the turbulent range between volume flow rate and frequency independent of the type of fluid employed.

Claim 5

A flow-sensitive device as defined in claim 1 in which said member is situated in one of said feedback means.

Claim 6

A flow-sensitive device as defined in claim 1 in which said member is situated in said interaction chamber.

Claim 7

A flowmeter as defined in claim 1 in which said discharge passageway comprises a single discharge passageway communicating with said interaction chamber for delivering all the fluid flow from said inlet nozzle.

Claim 8

A flow-sensitive device as defined in claim 6 in which a recovery passageway is provided beyond said discharge passageway.

Claim 9

A flow-sensitive device as defined in claim 1 in which said device is a flowmeter and said member has a portion disposed within said housing, and said member is responsive to changes in the heat transfer rates from it to the surrounding fluid medium.

Claim 10

A flow-sensitive device comprising a housing having wall portions providing a fluid inlet nozzle having a connection to a source of fluid providing a fluid jet, an interaction chamber with which said nozzle is in communication, control ports communicating with said chamber contiguous to said nozzle, said interaction chamber having opposite diverging sidewalls for fluid jet attachment, and feedback connections beginning at receiving openings within said interaction chamber aligned with the jet attached to said sidewalls and extending to said control ports for switching the fluid from said nozzle successively with respect to said sidewalls for establishing a fluid oscillation, said interaction chamber incorporating means for providing a prime time delay for determining the period of oscillation between the time of first switching of the jet from the nozzle and the time at which a portion of the jet is received by said feedback means, and a member responsive to said fluid oscillation for transmitting a signal related thereto.

Claim 11

A flow-sensitive device comprising a housing having wall portions providing a fluid inlet nozzle having a connection to a source of fluid providing a fluid jet, an interaction chamber with which said nozzle is in communication, control ports communicating with said chamber contiguous to said nozzle, said interaction chamber having opposite diverging sidewalls for fluid jet attachment, and feedback connections beginning at receiving openings within said interaction chamber aligned with the jet attached to said sidewalls and extending to said control ports for switching the fluid from said nozzle successively with respect to said sidewalls for establishing a fluid oscillation, said interaction chamber incorporating means for providing a prime time delay for determining the period of oscillation between the time of first switching of the jet from the nozzle and the time at which a portion of the jet is received by said feedback means, and a member responsive to said fluid oscillation for transmitting a signal related thereto.

Claim 12

A fluid oscillator comprising means directing a fluid stream therethrough and imparting to the fluid of said stream an oscillation whose frequency is directly proportional to the velocity of the fluid strEam, said means including an elongated interaction chamber bounded by a pair of spaced walls and substantially normal thereto a pair of diverging sidewalls for fluid jet attachment, a nozzle at one end of said chamber for directing a fluid jet into said chamber, a discharge passageway at the other end of said chamber through which all the fluid from said nozzle is discharged, control ports communicating with said chamber contiguous to said nozzle, and feedback passageways connected to said control ports from locations in said chamber upstream of said discharge passageway and downstream of said sidewalls, said locations being aligned with the fluid jet attached to said sidewalls, the space between said sidewalls being unobstructed between said nozzle and said locations.

Claim 13

A fluid oscillator comprising means directing a fluid stream therethrough and imparting to the fluid of said stream an oscillation whose frequency is directly proportional to the velocity of the fluid strEam, said means including an elongated interaction chamber bounded by a pair of spaced walls and substantially normal thereto a pair of diverging sidewalls for fluid jet attachment, a nozzle at one end of said chamber for directing a fluid jet into said chamber, a discharge passageway at the other end of said chamber through which all the fluid from said nozzle is discharged, control ports communicating with said chamber contiguous to said nozzle, and feedback passageways connected to said control ports from locations in said chamber upstream of said discharge passageway and downstream of said sidewalls, said locations being aligned with the fluid jet attached to said sidewalls, the space between said sidewalls being unobstructed between said nozzle and said locations.

Claim 14

A fluid oscillator as defined in claim 10 in which the feedback connections are of such length that the prime time delay is determined by the dimensions of the interaction chamber.

Claim 15

A flow-sensitive device comprising a housing having wall portions providing, a fluid inlet nozzle connected to a source of fluid for providing a fluid jet, an interaction chamber with which said nozzle is in communication, control ports communicating with said chamber contiguous to said nozzle, said interaction chamber having opposite diverging sidewalls for fluid jet attachment and a discharge passageway, feedback means connected to said interaction chamber upstream of said discharge passageway and aligned with the jet attached to said sidewalls to receive a portion of fluid coming from said fluid inlet nozzle and extending to said ports for switching the fluid from said nozzle successively with respect to said sidewalls for establishing a fluid oscillation, and a condition-responsive member responsive to such fluid oscillation and situated in one of said feed means and having means for reducing the turbulence contiguous thereto, the period of oscillation of said device being principally proportional to the interval from the time the jet is first deflected toward one of said opposite sidewalls until the first time thereafter that a portion of the jet is received by the feedback means for returning it from the last said opposite sidewall.

Claim 16

A flow-sensitive device comprising a housing having wall portions providing, a fluid inlet nozzle connected to a source of fluid for providing a fluid jet, an interaction chamber with which said nozzle is in communication, control ports communicating with said chamber contiguous to said nozzle, said interaction chamber having opposite diverging sidewalls for fluid jet attachment and a discharge passageway, feedback means connected to said interaction chamber upstream of said discharge passageway and aligned with the jet attached to said sidewalls to receive a portion of fluid coming from said fluid inlet nozzle and extending to said ports for switching the fluid from said nozzle successively with respect to said sidewalls for establishing a fluid oscillation, and a condition-responsive member responsive to such fluid oscillation and situated in one of said feed means and having means for reducing the turbulence contiguous thereto, the period of oscillation of said device being principally proportional to the interval from the time the jet is first deflected toward one of said opposite sidewalls until the first time thereafter that a portion of the jet is received by the feedback means for returning it from the last said opposite sidewall.

Claim 17

A flow-sensitive device as defined in claim 12 in which said means comprises a passageway of reduced cross section.

Claim 18

A flow-sensitive device as defined in claim 12 in which said means comprises a channel along said feedback connection.

Claim 19

A flow-sensitive device comprising a housing providing a fluid inlet nozzle having a connection to a source of fluid for producing a fluid jet, an interaction chamber for receiving said jet, a control port communicating with said chamber contiguous to said nozzle, means for cyclically varying the location of the path of said jet through said interaction chamber, said means including a fluid passageway having an inlet opening within said interaction chamber for receiving a portion of said jet and extending to said control port for urging the jet away from said receiving means, and other means for deflecting the jet toward said receiving means, said fluid-receiving means being in an unobstructed straight fluid jet flow path from said nozzle, the period of said cyclic variation being principally proportional to the interval in each cycle from the time the jet is first deflected toward said receiving means until the time a portion of the jet reaches said receiving means, and a member responsive to said cyclic variation for transmitting a signal related thereto.

Claim 20

A flow-sensitive device comprising a housing providing a fluid inlet nozzle having a connection to a source of fluid for producing a fluid jet, an interaction chamber for receiving said jet, a control port communicating with said chamber contiguous to said nozzle, means for cyclically varying the location of the path of said jet through said interaction chamber, said means including a fluid passageway having an inlet opening within said interaction chamber for receiving a portion of said jet and extending to said control port for urging the jet away from said receiving means, and other means for deflecting the jet toward said receiving means, said fluid-receiving means being in an unobstructed straight fluid jet flow path from said nozzle, the period of said cyclic variation being principally proportional to the interval in each cycle from the time the jet is first deflected toward said receiving means until the time a portion of the jet reaches said receiving means, and a member responsive to said cyclic variation for transmitting a signal related thereto.