Patent ID: 8364427

Claim:
A flow sensor assembly comprising: a flow conduit configured to impart a disturbance to a flow; a plurality of sensors disposed at respective ones of a plurality of sensing locations along the flow conduit, wherein each of said sensors is responsive to the disturbance of the flow and generates a corresponding response signal, wherein said flow conduit and said sensors are arranged in a symmetric configuration, wherein said sensors are configured to generate response signals in response to the disturbance in the flow from a first side of said sensors, and wherein said sensors are further configured to generate response signals in response to the disturbance in the flow from a second side of said sensors to provide for bidirectional flow sensing; and a processor operably connected to each of said sensors, wherein said processor is configured to: compute a cross-correlation function between the response signals generated by said sensors, and determine a flow rate and a direction for the flow through said conduit based on the computed cross-correlation function.