US 12,000,798 B2
Detection of structural variations in articles using acoustic resonance spectroscopy
Dipen N. Sinha, Bay Shore, NY (US)
Assigned to AWE Technologies, LLC, Bay Shore, NY (US)
Filed by AWE Technologies, LLC, Bay Shore, NY (US)
Filed on Apr. 23, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/238,512.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/015,283, filed on Apr. 24, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2021/0333239 A1, Oct. 28, 2021
Int. Cl. G01N 29/12 (2006.01); G01N 29/46 (2006.01)
CPC G01N 29/12 (2013.01) [G01N 29/46 (2013.01); G01N 2291/014 (2013.01); G01N 2291/044 (2013.01); G01N 2291/045 (2013.01)] 31 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An apparatus for determining whether fluid is leaking through a valve seat when said valve is in a closed condition, comprising:
a valve comprising a valve seat, a disk or plug for forming a fluid seal with said seat, a stem for driving said disk or plug against said seat, and a valve body having an outside surface;
an acoustic transmitting transducer disposed in vibrational contact with the outside surface of said valve for generating vibrations in the valve body when excited by a chosen voltage signal;
an acoustic receiver disposed in vibrational contact with the outside surface of said valve for receiving vibrations induced in said valve body, and converting the received vibrations into electrical voltages;
a frequency sweep generator in electrical communication with said acoustic transmitting transducer, for generating chosen excitation voltage signals having frequencies within a selected frequency range thereon;
a narrow-band, band-pass tracking filter having a center frequency which tracks the frequencies within the selected frequency range generated by said frequency sweep generator, and having a chosen frequency bandwidth, for receiving electrical voltages from said acoustic receiver and filtering the electrical voltages; and
a microcontroller for controlling said frequency sweep generator and said band-pass tracking filter, for storing the filtered electrical voltages from said band-pass tracking filter, for generating at least two acoustic resonance spectra of said valve in its closed condition, and for comparing the at least two generated acoustic resonance spectra to determine whether there is a difference therebetween.