Patent · US Expired

Digital eddy current apparatus for generating metallurgical signatures and monitoring metallurgical contents of an electrically conductive material

US4230987A · kind A · utility

55Cited by
4References
9Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateFeb 26, 1979
Grant dateOct 28, 1980
Priority date
Expiry dateFeb 26, 1999

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01N27/72
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

The apparatus comprises a parallel coil and a capacitance, the coil having an air gap in which an unknown specimen is inserted, a source of alternating voltage applied to the coil-capacitance combination, scanning means for automatically varying the value of the capacitance in steps, thus varying the phase of the voltage across the coil, means for digitizing the phase of the voltage corresponding to each capacitance value, a memory in which those digitized phase values are stored, a reference memory containing digitized phase values for known specimens, and means for comparing the digitized phase values of the unknown specimen with those of known specimens. A digital tolerance control circuit is also provided which accommodates deviations between the reference and the known phase values, up to predetermined amounts, and means are provided for displaying the generic name or grade of the stored phase values which match the phase values of the unknown specimen.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.