Closed Tank Fill Level Sensor
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A tank fill level sensor comprising:
- a pressure sensor located near the bottom of a tank and comprising a first connection to the outside atmosphere;
a calibration sensor located near the top of the tank and comprising a second connection to the outside atmosphere; and
a processor connected to the pressure sensor and the calibration sensor and operable to obtain a pressure level from each sensor and thereby calculate a fill level within the tank.
10 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A fill level sensor and method are disclosed. The fill level sensor can take a pressure reading beneath a fluid level inside a closed tank. The sensor can also take a pressure reading above the fluid level or otherwise take the vapor pressure above the fluid into account. The measurements can be used to calculate the fluid level inside the tank. Also disclosed is a system for users to track a plurality of tanks and maintain records of fluid level or pressure within the tanks.
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A tank fill level sensor comprising:
-
a pressure sensor located near the bottom of a tank and comprising a first connection to the outside atmosphere; a calibration sensor located near the top of the tank and comprising a second connection to the outside atmosphere; and a processor connected to the pressure sensor and the calibration sensor and operable to obtain a pressure level from each sensor and thereby calculate a fill level within the tank. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
-
-
7. A tank fill level sensor comprising:
a housing, the housing comprising a pressure sensor located near the bottom of a tank, the housing further comprising an inlet near the top of the tank, the housing further comprising an output, the output extending outside of the tank and operable to provide pressure measurements to a processor. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11)
-
12. A system for monitoring containers comprising:
-
a plurality of containers, each of the plurality of containers comprising a fill level sensor in its interior, the fill level sensors comprising a pressure sensor located near the bottom of the container and an inlet near the top of the container, an output of the fill level sensor in communication with a radio interface operable to communicate measurements from the fill level sensors; and a plurality of servers operable to receive communications from the plurality of fill level sensors and store the status of each of the plurality of fill level sensors. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
-
-
17. A method for measuring the fill level in a closed container comprising:
-
receiving a first pressure reading from the top half of the closed container; receiving a second pressure reading from the bottom half of the closed container; and using the first and second pressure readings to determine a fill level of liquid within the closed container. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
-
Specification