Optical fluid sensors for cross contamination control systems
First Claim
1. An optical fluid sensor comprising:
- a body defining a chamber and having one or more apertures to allow a fluid to enter the chamber;
a light source optically coupled to the chamber and configured to emit IR, UV, and visible light into the chamber;
a detector optically coupled to the chamber and configured to receive light from the chamber, wherein the detector measures an intensity of one or more wavelengths of light received by the detector, wherein the light source and the detector are positioned such that, when fluid is disposed within the chamber, emitted light from the light source passes into and through the fluid disposed in the chamber before being received by the detector;
a processor;
one or more memory modules communicatively coupled to the processor; and
machine readable instructions stored in the one or more memory modules that cause the optical fluid sensor to perform at least the following when executed by the processor;
transmit a control signal to the light source to cause the light source to emit IR light into the chamber;
receive IR light at the detector;
process the IR light received at the detector to determine an intensity of the received IR light;
compare the intensity of the received IR light to a threshold intensity;
determine that a fluid is present based on the comparison;
transmit another control signal to the light source to cause the light source to emit UV light into the chamber in order to cause the fluid to fluoresce visible light;
receive visible light at the detector;
process the received visible light to determine wavelength and intensity information for the received light;
compare the wavelength and intensity information for the received light to the one or more fluid profiles stored in the one or more memory modules, wherein each of the one or more fluid profiles comprises information on one or more fluorescent properties of the fluid; and
determine a fluid type of the fluid in the chamber based on the comparison.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An optical fluid sensor (OFS) is disclosed that includes a body defining a chamber and having one or more apertures to allow a fluid to enter the chamber, a light source optically coupled to the chamber and configured to emit light into the chamber, and a detector optically coupled to the chamber and configured to receive light from the chamber. The light source may emit IR, visible, and UV light into the chamber, and the detector may measure an intensity of one or more wavelengths of IR or visible light received by the detector. When fluid is disposed within the chamber, the light emitted by the light source may pass into and through the fluid disposed in the chamber before being received by the detector. A crossover protection system is also disclosed that includes an OFS for determining a transported liquid type.
46 Citations
26 Claims
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1. An optical fluid sensor comprising:
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a body defining a chamber and having one or more apertures to allow a fluid to enter the chamber; a light source optically coupled to the chamber and configured to emit IR, UV, and visible light into the chamber; a detector optically coupled to the chamber and configured to receive light from the chamber, wherein the detector measures an intensity of one or more wavelengths of light received by the detector, wherein the light source and the detector are positioned such that, when fluid is disposed within the chamber, emitted light from the light source passes into and through the fluid disposed in the chamber before being received by the detector; a processor; one or more memory modules communicatively coupled to the processor; and machine readable instructions stored in the one or more memory modules that cause the optical fluid sensor to perform at least the following when executed by the processor; transmit a control signal to the light source to cause the light source to emit IR light into the chamber; receive IR light at the detector; process the IR light received at the detector to determine an intensity of the received IR light; compare the intensity of the received IR light to a threshold intensity; determine that a fluid is present based on the comparison; transmit another control signal to the light source to cause the light source to emit UV light into the chamber in order to cause the fluid to fluoresce visible light; receive visible light at the detector; process the received visible light to determine wavelength and intensity information for the received light; compare the wavelength and intensity information for the received light to the one or more fluid profiles stored in the one or more memory modules, wherein each of the one or more fluid profiles comprises information on one or more fluorescent properties of the fluid; and determine a fluid type of the fluid in the chamber based on the comparison. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An optical sensor system comprising:
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a light source configured to emit IR, UV, and visible light into a fluid; a detector configured to measure intensities of one or more wavelengths of IR light and visible light received by the detector; a processor; one or more memory modules communicatively coupled to the processor; and machine readable instructions stored in the one or more memory modules that cause the optical sensor system to perform at least the following when executed by the processor; transmit a control signal to the light source to cause the light source to emit the IR light into the fluid; receive IR light at the detector in response to emitting the IR light into the fluid; process the received IR light to determine an intensity of the IR light; determine whether the fluid is present based on the intensity of the IR light received by the detector; after determining whether the fluid is present, transmit a control signal to the light source to cause the light source to emit visible light into the fluid; receive visible light at the detector in response to emitting the visible light into the fluid; process the visible light received at the detector to determine wavelength and intensity information for the visible light received, wherein the visible light received represents the light transmitted through the fluid; after processing the visible light received at the detector, transmit a control signal to the light source to cause the light source to emit UV light into the fluid to cause the fluid to fluoresce; receive the visible light fluoresced by the fluid at the detector in response to emitting the UV light into the fluid; process the visible light fluoresced by the fluid and received at the detector to determine wavelength and intensity information for the visible light fluoresced by the fluid; compare the wavelength and intensity information for the received light transmitted through the fluid and the visible light fluoresced by the fluid to one or more fluid profiles stored in the one or more memory modules, wherein each of the one or more fluid profiles comprises information on one or more fluorescent properties of the fluid and visible light transmittance of the fluid; and determine a fluid type of the fluid based on the comparison. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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15. A crossover protection system comprising:
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a product transport vehicle comprising a tank compartment for containing a liquid product; a valve coupled to the tank compartment, the valve regulating a flow of liquid product from the tank compartment and having a normally locked state; an optical fluid sensor positioned to contact the liquid product stored in the tank compartment, the optical fluid sensor comprising; a body defining a chamber and having one or more apertures to allow the liquid product to enter the chamber; a light source optically coupled to the chamber and configured to emit IR, UV, and visible light into the chamber; a detector optically coupled to the chamber and configured to receive light from the chamber; a processor; one or more memory modules communicatively coupled to the processor; and machine readable instructions stored in the one or more memory modules that cause the processor to perform at least the following when executed by the processor; transmit a control signal to the light source to cause the light source to emit IR light into the chamber; receive IR light at the detector; determine that a fluid is present based on the IR light received at the detector; transmit another control signal to the light source to cause the light source to emit UV light into the chamber to cause the fluid to fluoresce visible light; receive visible light at the detector; and determine a fluid type of the fluid in the chamber based on the received visible light; a tank delivery connector fluidly coupled to a distribution side of the valve, the tank delivery connector comprising a tank tag reader for interrogating a tank tag coupled to a distribution tank separate from the product transport vehicle to retrieve a stored liquid type encoded on the tank tag, wherein the stored liquid type is indicative of a type of the liquid product in the distribution tank; and a system controller communicatively coupled to the valve, the optical fluid sensor, and the tank delivery connector, the system controller comprising a processor and one or more memory modules. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. An optical fluid sensor comprising:
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a body defining a chamber and having one or more apertures to allow a fluid to enter the chamber; a light source optically coupled to the chamber and configured to emit IR, UV, and visible light into the chamber; a detector optically coupled to the chamber and configured to receive light from the chamber, wherein the detector measures an intensity of one or more wavelengths of light received by the detector, wherein the light source and the detector are positioned such that, when fluid is disposed within the chamber, emitted light from the light source passes into and through the fluid disposed in the chamber before being received by the detector; a first temperature sensor operatively arranged within the chamber to measure a temperature of the fluid disposed in the chamber; and a second temperature sensor operatively arranged in the body to measure a temperature of the light source and the detector. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification