Patent ID: 6798215
Filing Date: 2004-09-28
Classification: G01N,G01R

Abstract:
A system for monitoring material having an associated dielectric constant in an environment wherein the material exhibits conductivity comprising:an electrical signal, a transmitted waveform wherein the transmitted wave is derived from the electrical signal, a transmission line wherein the transmission line is surrounded by the material and the electrical signal is propagated through the transmission line, a received waveform wherein the received waveform is derived from the electrical signal after the electrical signal has propagated through the transmission line, the received waveform further includes a propagation delay component and a pulse rise-time component, the propagation delay component reflects the propagation time between the transmitted waveform and the received waveform, a decoder for decoding the received waveform into a first component and a second component wherein the first component approximates the propagation delay component and the second component approximates the pulse rise-time component, a hysteresis adjustment wherein the second component is determined by taking a plurality of readings with varying hysteresis settings and interpolating the readings to derive the second component, wherein the first component is interpreted as an approximation of the dielectric constant of the material and is monitored.