Mercury pump
US4566311A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 10, 1984 |
| Grant date | Jan 28, 1986 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 10, 2004 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N2015/0813
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A mercury pump for analyzing geological core samples has a vertically oriented cylindrical cavity in which a lower portion forms a mercury displacement chamber and an upper portion in axial alignment with it forms a sample chamber. A pressure transducer, e.g., a strain gauge or solid-state sensor, in communication with the sample chamber produces an electrical pressure signal. A screw ball jack urges a synthetic-resin piston upwards in the displacement section to push the mercury into the sample chamber. The displacement of the mercury is sensed by an electronic encoder coupled to the hand crank of the jack, and provides data regarding both the direction and the amount of piston displacement. A microprocessor-controlled volume-measuring device has inputs connected to the encoder, and automatically provides core sample data, in response to the signals from the encoder, at the end of a core test run.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.