Patent ID: 7392710

Claim:
A flow meter probe with force sensors, comprising: a probe body shaped as a frustum of a regular pyramid, the probe body having a plurality of faces having a bore defined therein; and a plurality of force sensors, each of the bores having one of the force sensors mounted therein, each of the force sensors having: a pin axially slidable in the corresponding bore in which the force sensor is mounted, each of the pins having a head at the corresponding face of the probe body adapted for exposure to a fluid field; and a transducer seated in the corresponding bore below the pin, each of the transducers producing an independent electrical signal proportional to axial displacement of the pin in the corresponding bore; wherein the faces having the force sensors mounted therein are oriented in at least three mutually orthogonal directions so that the electrical signals generated by the transducers correspond to vector components of a fluid dynamic force and velocity exerted against the heads of the pins by the fluid field.