FILL LEVEL MEASUREMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING A FILL LEVEL
First Claim
1. A measurement system for determining a liquid fill level of a tank, comprising:
- a floating sensor configured to float on the surface of a liquid contained in the tank;
at least three reference sensors mounted at a hull of the tank in a spatially fixed arrangement; and
a control device configured to control the floating sensor and the reference sensors,wherein at least one of the floating sensor and the reference sensors is configured to emit an acoustic signal to the remaining sensors,wherein the remaining sensors are each configured to receive the emitted acoustic signal, andwherein the control device is configured to determine signal travelling times of the acoustic signal from the emitting sensor to the receiving sensor, to compute a spatial position of the floating sensor with reference to the reference sensors from the signal travelling times and to determine the liquid fill level on the basis of the computed spatial position of the floating sensor.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A measurement system for determining a liquid fill level of a tank, including a floating sensor configured to float on the surface of a liquid contained in the tank, at least three reference sensors mounted at a hull of the tank in a spatially fixed arrangement, and a control device to control the floating sensor and the reference sensors, wherein at least one of the floating sensor and the reference sensors can emit an acoustic signal to the remaining sensors, wherein the remaining sensors can receive the emitted acoustic signal, the control device configured to determine signal travelling times of the acoustic signal from the emitting sensor to the receiving sensor, to compute a spatial position of the floating sensor with reference to the reference sensors from the signal travelling times and to determine the liquid fill level on the basis of the computed spatial position of the floating sensor.
14 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A measurement system for determining a liquid fill level of a tank, comprising:
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a floating sensor configured to float on the surface of a liquid contained in the tank; at least three reference sensors mounted at a hull of the tank in a spatially fixed arrangement; and a control device configured to control the floating sensor and the reference sensors, wherein at least one of the floating sensor and the reference sensors is configured to emit an acoustic signal to the remaining sensors, wherein the remaining sensors are each configured to receive the emitted acoustic signal, and wherein the control device is configured to determine signal travelling times of the acoustic signal from the emitting sensor to the receiving sensor, to compute a spatial position of the floating sensor with reference to the reference sensors from the signal travelling times and to determine the liquid fill level on the basis of the computed spatial position of the floating sensor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for determining a liquid fill level of a tank, comprising:
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emitting a first acoustic signal by a floating sensor floating on the surface of a liquid contained in the tank; receiving the first acoustic signal by at least three reference sensors mounted at a hull of the tank in a spatially fixed arrangement; determining the signal travelling times of the first acoustic signal between the floating sensor and each of the reference sensors; computing the spatial position of the floating sensor with reference to the reference sensors from the determined signal travelling times; and determining the liquid fill level on the basis of the computed spatial position of the floating sensor. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification