Importance

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Abstract

A method and apparatus for determining mass flow of fluid flowing within a conduit. The conduit is oscillated periodically transverse to the flow therein, and sensors sense the movement of the conduit at discrete, spaced locations on the conduit. The sensors generate periodic signals representative of the movement of the conduit at said locations. The method of the present invention comprises the steps of determining the instantaneous amplitude difference between the signals at a plurality of discrete adjacent intervals (which may or may not be of equal width), determining the product of the absolute value of the instantaneous amplitude difference and the amplitude of the interval for each said interval, determining the sum of said products for each interval over a cycle of oscillation, and generating from the sum a signal representative of mass flow. An apparatus according to the invention comprises circuitry for determining the instantaneous amplitude difference between the signals from the sensors of the flow meter at a plurality of discrete, adjacent intervals, circuitry for determining the product of the absolute value of the instantaneous amplitude difference and the width of the interval for each said interval, circuitry for determining the sum of the products for each interval over a cycle of oscillation, and circuitry for generating from the sum a signal representative of the mass flow. The circuitry may comprise discrete circuitry or may be subsumed within a microprocessor.

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First Claim