What is claimed is:
1. An apparatus for obtaining local fluid properties along a fluid piping system comprising:
a primary pipe comprising an inlet, an outlet, and at least one sidewall that defines a conduit for passing fluid from the inlet to the outlet;
a protective shield disposed with the conduit;
a scraper disposed about at least a portion of the protective shield for removing buildup on the protective shield, the scraper being longitudinally movable along the protective shield between a first position and a second position by an external force; and
a measurement device mounted within the protective shield between the first position and the second position.
2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the scraper comprises a magnetic material.
3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the apparatus further comprises at least one solenoid or permanent magnet installed outside the primary pipe, wherein the at least one solenoid or permanent magnet generates an external electromagnetic force for longitudinally moving the scraper.
4. An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the apparatus comprises two solenoids installed outside the primary pipe.
5. An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the primary pipe has a circumference and each solenoid is mounted around the entire circumference of the primary pipe.
6. An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the primary pipe has a circumference and each solenoid is mounted around a portion of the circumference of the primary pipe.
7. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the primary pipe is generally tubular and the apparatus further comprises:
a first solenoid mounted circumferentially around at least a portion of the primary pipe and polarized with an S-N polarity; and
a second solenoid mounted circumferentially around at least a portion of the primary pipe next to the first solenoid and polarized with an N-S polarity;
whereby the solenoids create an electromagnetic field that, when applied to the scraper, move the scraper longitudinally along the protective shield between the first position and the second position.
8. An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the scraper comprises:
a scraping element slidably disposed about at least a portion of the outer perimeter of the protective shield between the first and second positions; and
a magnetic core attached to the scraping element and positioned between the scraping element and the solenoids.
9. An apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the magnetic core is generally tubular.
10. An apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the scraping element is generally tubular and is disposed about the entire outer perimeter of the protective shield.
11. An apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the magnetic core is generally cylindrical and is concentrically disposed about the scraping element.
12. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the scraper comprises:
a scraping element slidably disposed about at least a portion of the outer perimeter of the protective shield between the first and second positions; and
a magnetic core attached to the scraping element and positioned between the scraping element and the sidewall of the primary pipe.
13. An apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the magnetic core is generally tubular.
14. An apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the scraping element is generally tubular and is disposed about the entire outer perimeter of the protective shield.
15. An apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the magnetic core is generally cylindrical and is concentrically disposed about the scraping element.
16. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the primary pipe is generally tubular and the protective shield is mounted coaxially within the primary pipe.
17. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the primary pipe is generally tubular and the protective shield is mounted parallel to the axis of the primary pipe.
18. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the measurement device comprises a temperature sensor.
19. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second pipe that is perpendicular to the primary pipe, the second pipe having a closed end, an open end in communication with the conduit of the primary pipe, and at least one sidewall defining a secondary conduit between the closed and open ends; wherein the protective shield is disposed parallel to the axis of the secondary conduit so that an end of the protective shield is positioned within the primary conduit.
20. An apparatus according to claim 19, wherein at least a portion of the scraper is disposed within the secondary conduit.
21. An apparatus according to claim 19, wherein at least a portion of the scraper comprises a magnetic material.
22. An apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the apparatus further comprises at least one solenoid or permanent magnet installed outside the primary pipe, wherein the at least one solenoid or permanent magnet generates an external electromagnetic force for longitudinally moving the scraper.
23. An apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the apparatus comprises two solenoids installed outside the primary and secondary pipes.
24. An apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the scraper comprises:
a scraping element slidably disposed about at least a portion of the outer perimeter of the protective shield between the first and second positions; and
a magnetic core attached to the scraping element and positioned between the scraping element and the solenoids.
25. An apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the scraping element is generally tubular and is disposed about the entire outer perimeter of the protective shield.
26. A method for cleaning a portion of a protective shield containing a measuring device, the method comprising:
providing a scraper disposed about at least a portion of the protective shield;
applying an external force to the scraper to move the scraper longitudinally along the protective shield between first and second positions to thereby clean the portion of the protective shield over which the scraper moves.
27. A method according to claim 26, wherein the measurement device comprises a temperature sensor.
28. A method according to claim 26, wherein at least a portion of the scraper comprises a magnetic material, whereby the external force comprises an electromagnetic force.
29. A method according to claim 26, wherein the protective shield is disposed within a pipe.
30. A method according to claim 29, wherein the external force is generated by at least one solenoid or permanent magnet installed outside the pipe.
31. A method according to claim 29, wherein the external force is generated by two solenoids installed outside the pipe.
32. A method according to claim 31, wherein the pipe has a circumference and each solenoid is mounted around the entire circumference of the pipe.
33. A method according to claim 29, wherein the pipe is generally tubular and the apparatus further comprises:
a first solenoid mounted circumferentially around at least a portion of the pipe and polarized with an S-N polarity; and
a second solenoid mounted circumferentially around at least a portion of the pipe next to the first solenoid and polarized with an N-S polarity;
whereby the solenoids create an electromagnetic field that move the scraper longitudinally along the protective shield between the first position and the second position.
34. A method according to claim 33, wherein the scraper comprises:
a scraping element slidably disposed about at least a portion of the outer perimeter of the protective shield between the first and second positions; and
a magnetic core attached to the scraping element and positioned between the scraping element and the solenoids.
35. A method according to claim 34, wherein the scraping element is generally tubular and is disposed about the entire outer perimeter of the protective shield.
36. A method according to claim 35, wherein the magnetic core is generally cylindrical and is concentrically disposed about the scraping element.
37. An apparatus for obtaining local fluid properties along a fluid piping system comprising:
a primary pipe comprising an inlet, an outlet, and at least one sidewall that defines a conduit for passing fluid from the inlet to the outlet;
a generally-tubular protective shield disposed with the conduit and having an end that is mounted in a hole in the sidewall of the primary pipe;
a measurement device mounted within the protective shield;
a wire extending through the protective shield and having a first end connected to the measurement device and a second end outside the primary pipe.
38. An apparatus according to claim 37, wherein the measurement device comprises a temperature sensor.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A vehicle body action information system for a vehicle, comprising:
a condition detecting part configured to sense vehicle condition information of the vehicle;
an estimating part configured to estimate a vehicle body action of the vehicle based on the vehicle condition information sensed by the condition detecting part, the estimating part includes capabilities of estimating roll, pitch, yaw and tire angle; and
an informing device configured to provide, within the vehicle, a picture display representing the vehicle body action estimated by the estimating part.
2. The vehicle body action information system according to claim 1, wherein the picture display representing is a simulation picture of the vehicle body action.
3. The vehicle body action information system according to claim 1, wherein the condition detecting part includes a plurality of sensors.
4. The vehicle body action information system according to claim 1, further comprising;
a voice informing device configured to audibly output information representing the vehicle body action estimated by the estimating part.
5. The vehicle body action information system according to claim 1, further comprising:
a transmitting device configured to transmit information representing the vehicle body action estimated by the estimating part to an outside of the vehicle.
6. The vehicle body action information system according to claim 5, further comprising:
a receiving device provided outside of the vehicle for receiving information transmitted by the transmitting device; and
an external informing device configured to inform an outside object of the information received by the receiving device.
7. The vehicle body action information system according to claim 1, further comprising:
a picture selection device configured to select at least one of (i)a number of vehicle views provided by the informing device, (ii) a picture display location, (iii) a 2-dimensional picture display form, and (iv) a 3-dimensional picture display form,
wherein the informing device is further configured to provide a picture display based on a selection result of the picture selection device.
8. The vehicle body action information system according to claim 1, further comprising:
an information switching device configured to change the picture display provided by the informing device,
wherein the informing device provides a picture display based on a change result of the information switching device.
9. The vehicle body action information system according to claim 1, further comprising:
an automatic operating device for aiding in automatically operating a vehicle by aiding steering of the vehicle to an area selected by a user,
wherein the informing device is further configured to provide, during operation of the automatic operating device, a picture display representing information on steering the vehicle necessary for the automatically operating the vehicle during operation of the automatic operating device.
10. The vehicle body action information system according to claim 1, further comprising:
an operation supporting device configured to support an operation for aiding steering to reach an area selected by a user,
wherein the informing device is further configured to provide, during operation of the operation supporting device, a picture display representing information on steering of the vehicle necessary for automatically operating the vehicle during operation of the automatic operation device.
11. A method, comprising:
sensing vehicle condition information of a vehicle;
estimating a vehicle body action of the vehicle based on the sensed vehicle condition information, the estimating step includes capabilities of estimating roll, pitch, yaw and tire angle; and
providing, within the vehicle, a picture display representing the estimated vehicle body action.
12. A method according to claim 11, wherein the picture display is a simulation picture of the vehicle body action.
13. A method according to claim 11, further comprising:
selecting at least one of (i) a number of vehicle views for display, (ii) a picture display location, (iii) a 2-dimensional picture display form, and (iii) a 3-dimensional picture display form, wherein the picture display is based on a result of the selecting step.
14. The vehicle body action information system according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle body action is an action of a whole vehicle body.
15. The method of claim 11, further comprising:
outputting audio information representing the estimated vehicle body action.
16. The method claim 11, further comprising:
transmitting information representing the estimated vehicle body action to an outside of the vehicle.
17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:
receiving the information outside the vehicle from the transmitting step; and
informing an outside object of the information received by the receiving step.
18. The method of claim 11, further comprising:
changing the picture display based on a change result.
19. The method of claim 11, further comprising:
automatically operating the vehicle by aiding steering of the vehicle to an area selected by a user; and
providing, during the automatically operating step, a picture display representing information on steering of the vehicle necessary for the automatically operating of the vehicle.
20. A vehicle body action information system for a vehicle, comprising:
a condition detecting part configured to sense vehicle condition information of a the vehicle;
an estimating part configured to estimate a vehicle body action of the vehicle based on the vehicle condition information sensed by the condition detecting part; and
an informing device configured to provide, within the vehicle, a picture display representing only the vehicle body action estimated by the estimating part.
21. The vehicle body action information system according to claim 20, wherein the picture display representing is a simulation picture of the vehicle body action.
22. The vehicle body action information system according to claim 20, wherein the condition detecting part includes a plurality of sensors.
23. The vehicle body action information system according to claim 20, further comprising;
a voice informing device configured to audibly output information representing the vehicle body action estimated by the estimating part.
24. The vehicle body action information system according to claim 20, further comprising:
a transmitting device configured to transmit information representing the vehicle body action estimated by the estimating part to an outside of the vehicle.
25. The vehicle body action information system according to claim 24, further comprising:
a receiving device provided outside of the vehicle for receiving information transmitted by the transmitting device; and
an external informing device configured to inform an outside object of the information received by the receiving device.
26. The vehicle body action information system according to claim 20, further comprising:
a picture selection device configured to select at least one of (i) a number of vehicle views provided by the informing device, (ii) a picture display location, (iii) a 2-dimensional picture display form, and (iv) a 3-dimensional picture display form,
wherein the informing device is further configured to provide a picture display based on a selection result of the picture selection device.
27. The vehicle body action information system according to claim 20, further comprising:
an information switching device configured to change the picture display provided by the informing device,
wherein the informing device provides a picture display based on a change result of the information switching device.
28. The vehicle body action information system according to claim 20, further comprising:
an automatic operating device for aiding in automatically operating a vehicle by aiding steering of the vehicle to an area selected by a user,
wherein the informing device is further configured to provide, during operation of the automatic operating device, a picture display representing information on steering the vehicle necessary for the automatically operating the vehicle during operation of the automatic operating device.
29. The vehicle body action information system according to claim 20, further comprising:
an operation supporting device configured to support an operation for aiding steering to reach an area selected by a user,
wherein the informing device is further configured to provide, during operation of the operation supporting device, a picture display representing information on steering of the vehicle necessary for automatically operating the vehicle during operation of the automatic operation device.
30. The vehicle body action information system according to claim 20, wherein the estimating part estimates at least one of roll, pitch, yaw, and tire angle as the vehicle body action.
31. The vehicle body action information system according to claim 20, wherein the vehicle body action is an action of a whole vehicle body.