US3869984A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Fluid film thickness sensor and control system for utilizing same
Assignee: AB Dick Co
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Filing: 1973-08-06
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Granted: 1975-03-11
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Expires: 1993-08-06
Abstract
Abstract The interrelationship between two readily measurable shear responsive forces provides a means for determining the thickness of fluid films. This determination can be used to control the rate of feed of fluid to surfaces upon which the fluid films are formed, for example, the rate at which ink is fed to a printing machine.
Inventors
- 👤 Thomas Daniel Toth
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-31 06:10
CPC Classifications
B; B41; B41F; B41F33/00; B41F33/0063; G; G01; G01B; G01B7/00; G01B7/02; G01B7/06; G01L; G01L1/00; G01L1/20; G01L1/22
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 26
Claim 1
Independent Claim
90 words
A process for determining the thickness of a fluid film which comprises generating signals representative of two shear responsive forces acting upon said fluid film, one of said shear responsive forces being directly proportional to the thickness of said fluid film and the other of said shear responsive forces being inversely proportional to the thickness of said fluid film, and combining said signals to obtain a resultant signal which is representative of the thickness of said fluid film and independenT of other variables which affect said two shear responsive forces.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
90 words
A process for determining the thickness of a fluid film which comprises generating signals representative of two shear responsive forces acting upon said fluid film, one of said shear responsive forces being directly proportional to the thickness of said fluid film and the other of said shear responsive forces being inversely proportional to the thickness of said fluid film, and combining said signals to obtain a resultant signal which is representative of the thickness of said fluid film and independenT of other variables which affect said two shear responsive forces.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
90 words
A process for determining the thickness of a fluid film which comprises generating signals representative of two shear responsive forces acting upon said fluid film, one of said shear responsive forces being directly proportional to the thickness of said fluid film and the other of said shear responsive forces being inversely proportional to the thickness of said fluid film, and combining said signals to obtain a resultant signal which is representative of the thickness of said fluid film and independenT of other variables which affect said two shear responsive forces.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
90 words
A process for determining the thickness of a fluid film which comprises generating signals representative of two shear responsive forces acting upon said fluid film, one of said shear responsive forces being directly proportional to the thickness of said fluid film and the other of said shear responsive forces being inversely proportional to the thickness of said fluid film, and combining said signals to obtain a resultant signal which is representative of the thickness of said fluid film and independenT of other variables which affect said two shear responsive forces.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
18 words
A process according to claim 1 wherein said two shear responsive forces act approximately perpendicularly to each other.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
44 words
A process according to claim 1 wherein one of said two shear responsive forces acts tangentially with respect to a surface upon which said fluid film is deposited and the other of said two shear responsive forces acts axially with respect to said surface.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
22 words
A process according to claim 1 wherein said two shear responsive forces are the splitting shear force and the sliding shear force.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
32 words
A process according to claim 1 wherein said resultant signal is obtained by dividing the signal representative of one shear responsive force by the signal representative of the other shear responsive force.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
23 words
A process according to claim 1 wherein said resultant signal is obtained by dividing the splitting shear force by the sliding shear force.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
23 words
A process according to claim 1 wherein said resultant signal is obtained by dividing the sliding shear force by the splitting shear force.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
31 words
A process according to claim 1 wherein said resultant signal is obtained by subtracting the signal representative of the splitting shear force from the signal representative of the sliding shear force.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
29 words
A process according to claim 1 wherein said two shear responsive forces are measured at the point of contact between two surfaces upon which said fluid film is deposited.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
31 words
A process according to claim 1 wherein one of said two shear responsive forces is measured by measuring the viscosity of the material which is used to form said fluid film.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
110 words
An apparatus for determining the thickness of a fluid film which comprises means for independently generating signals representative of two shear responsive forces acting upon said fluid film at the point of contact between two surfaces upon which said fluid film is deposited, one of said shear responsive forces being directly proportional to the thicknness of said fluid film and the other of said shear responsive forces being inversely proportional to the thickness of said fluid film, and means for combining said signals to obtain a resultant signal which is representative of the thickness of said fluid film and independent of other variables which affect said two shear responsive forces.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
110 words
An apparatus for determining the thickness of a fluid film which comprises means for independently generating signals representative of two shear responsive forces acting upon said fluid film at the point of contact between two surfaces upon which said fluid film is deposited, one of said shear responsive forces being directly proportional to the thicknness of said fluid film and the other of said shear responsive forces being inversely proportional to the thickness of said fluid film, and means for combining said signals to obtain a resultant signal which is representative of the thickness of said fluid film and independent of other variables which affect said two shear responsive forces.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
22 words
An apparatus according to claim 11 wherein said two shear responsive forces are the splitting shear force and the sliding shear force.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
44 words
An apparatus according to claim 11 wherein one of said two shear responsive forces acts tangentially with respect to a surface upon which said fluid film is deposited and the other of said two shear responsive forces acts axially with respect to said surface.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
36 words
An apparatus according to claim 11 wherein said means for combining said two signals includes means for dividing the signal representative of one shear responsive force by the signal representative of the other shear responsive force.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
35 words
An apparatus according to claim 11 wherein said means for combining said two signals includes means for dividing the signal representative of the splitting shear force by the signal representative of the sliding shear force.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
35 words
An apparatus according to claim 11 wherein said means for combining said two signals includes means for dividing the signal representative of the sliding shear force by the signal representative of the splitting shear force.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
35 words
An apparatus according to claim 11 wherein said means for combining said two signals includes means for subtracting the signal representative of the splitting shear force from the signal representative of the sliding shear force.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
57 words
An apparatus according to claim 11 wherein said means for generating said two signals comprise first resilient means disposed for deflection essentially only in a vertical plane upon movement of one of said two surfaces and second resilient means disposed for deflection essentially only in a horizontal plane upon moveMent of said one of said two surfaces.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
179 words
An apparatus for determining the thickness of a fluid film which comprises a sensing roll adapted to be revolved about its axis by frictional contact with a surface upon which said fluid film is deposited, means for producing relative axial motion between said sensing roll and said surface, first support means for said sensing roll permitting resiliently restrained motion of said snsing roll tangential to said surface and tending to prevent significant motion of said sensing roll axial to said surface, second support means for said sensing roll permitting resiliently restrained motion of said sensing roll axial to said surface and tending to prevent significant motion of said sensing roll tangential to said surface, first transducer means for converting said tangential motion of said sensing roll into a first signal representative of said tangential motion, second transducer means for converting said axial motion of said sensing roll into a second signal representative of said axial motion and means for combining said first and second signals to thereby derive a resultant signal representative of the thickness of said fluid film.
Claim 24
Independent Claim
179 words
An apparatus for determining the thickness of a fluid film which comprises a sensing roll adapted to be revolved about its axis by frictional contact with a surface upon which said fluid film is deposited, means for producing relative axial motion between said sensing roll and said surface, first support means for said sensing roll permitting resiliently restrained motion of said snsing roll tangential to said surface and tending to prevent significant motion of said sensing roll axial to said surface, second support means for said sensing roll permitting resiliently restrained motion of said sensing roll axial to said surface and tending to prevent significant motion of said sensing roll tangential to said surface, first transducer means for converting said tangential motion of said sensing roll into a first signal representative of said tangential motion, second transducer means for converting said axial motion of said sensing roll into a second signal representative of said axial motion and means for combining said first and second signals to thereby derive a resultant signal representative of the thickness of said fluid film.
Claim 25
Independent Claim
136 words
An apparatus for controlling the thickness of a fluid film which comprises means for independently generating signals representative of two shear responsive forces acting upon said fluid film at the point of contact between two surfaces upon which said fluid film is deposited, one of said shear responsive forces being directly proportional to the thickness of said fluid film and the other of said shear responsive forces being inversely proportional to the thickness of said fluid film, means for combining said signals to obtain a resultant signal which is representative of the thickness of said fluid film and independent of other variables which affect said two shear responsive forces and means responsive to said resultant signal for controlling the rate of feed to said surface of the material which is used to form said fluid film.
Claim 26
Independent Claim
136 words
An apparatus for controlling the thickness of a fluid film which comprises means for independently generating signals representative of two shear responsive forces acting upon said fluid film at the point of contact between two surfaces upon which said fluid film is deposited, one of said shear responsive forces being directly proportional to the thickness of said fluid film and the other of said shear responsive forces being inversely proportional to the thickness of said fluid film, means for combining said signals to obtain a resultant signal which is representative of the thickness of said fluid film and independent of other variables which affect said two shear responsive forces and means responsive to said resultant signal for controlling the rate of feed to said surface of the material which is used to form said fluid film.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US3191528A
Cited
US3442121A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-03-10 | 1978-09-09 | 1979-03-11 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-03-10 | 1982-09-09 | 1983-03-11 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-03-10 | 1986-09-09 | 1987-03-11 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |