Patent ID: 6490965
Filing Date: 2002-12-10
Classification: C12C,C12G

Abstract:
An airlock which generates electrical signals that indicate gasses have flowed from an intake manifold to the ambient atmosphere, the airlock comprising:(a) a reservoir container containing a fluid; (b) an intake manifold into which gasses enter the airlock; (c) an exit manifold from which gasses can escape to the ambient atmosphere; (d) a partition separating the intake manifold from the exit manifold and extending into the fluid contained within the reservoir container such that gasses cannot freely pass between the intake manifold and the exit manifold (e) an inductor assembly comprised of an inductive coil, a ferrite core, and a ferrite core support that attaches the ferrite core to the partition such that motion of the partition causes motion of the ferrite core within the inductive coil, causing a change in the inductance of the coil; (f) a means of an electrical signal by generating a voltage that varies in frequency with the value of said inductive coil by using the coil as the inductive element in an oscillator.