Patent ID: 7070324

Claim:
In combination, a flow measurement apparatus and a thermal load monitoring device, the combination comprising: a measurement tube defining a longitudinal axis, a flowing medium flowing through said measurement tube in the direction of said longitudinal axis; a magnet component containing two electromagnets and at least one measurement electrode, wherein said electromagnets are arranged in relation to said measurement tube to produce a magnetic field passing through said measurement tube, said magnetic field oriented essentially crosswise to said longitudinal axis and wherein said at least one measurement electrode is arranged in a lateral region of said measurement tube and is galvanically or capacitively coupled with the flowing medium so that a measurement voltage is induced in said at least one measurement electrode in response to said flow of the flowing medium through the measurement tube a temperature sensor for sensing a temperature of said flowing medium and configured to provide a temperature value indicative of said temperature of said flowing medium; an evaluation/control unit; said evaluation/control unit configured to receive said induced measurement voltage from said at least one measurement electrode and to determine information about the flow of the flowing medium in said measurement tube from said induced measurement voltage and said evaluation/control unit configured to receive said temperature value from said temperature sensor and to perform a trend analysis of received temperature values to provide information about a thermal loading of said flow measurement apparatus based on said temperature values received over an extended time.