INTEGRATED SENSOR UNIT FOR FUEL GAUGING

• US 20180299314A1
• Filed: 04/17/2017
• Published: 10/18/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Simmonds Precision Products, Inc. (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Original Assignee: Simmonds Precision Products, Inc. (Raytheon Technologies Corporation d/b/a RTX)
• Inventors: Zakrzewski, Radoslaw, Lynch, Michael A., Dinh, Nghia T.
• Granted Patent: US 10,627,280 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 37/005 Accessories not provided for in the groups B64D37/02 - B64D37/28
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 37/04 Arrangement thereof in or on aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 23/14 by measurement of pressure
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 23/18 Indicating, recording or alarm devices actuated electrically
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 23/22 by measuring physical variables, other than linear dimensions, pressure or weight, dependent on the level to be measured, e.g. by difference of heat transfer of steam or water involving the use of floats G01F23/30
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 23/804 containing circuits handling parameters other than liquid level

Abstract

An integrated sensor unit for estimating a quantity of fluid in a container includes a pressure sensor configured to measure a pressure at a physical location of the sensor unit, an acceleration sensor configured to measure at least three components of an acceleration vector at the physical location of the sensor unit, and a temperature sensor configured to measure a temperature at the physical location of the sensor unit. The sensor unit is configured to produce an output signal comprising the pressure, acceleration, and temperature measurements.

Claims

1. An integrated sensor unit for estimating a quantity of fluid in a container, the sensor unit comprising:

a pressure sensor configured to measure a pressure at a physical location of the sensor unit;

an acceleration sensor configured to measure at least three components of an acceleration vector at the physical location of the sensor unit; and

a temperature sensor configured to measure a temperature at the physical location of the sensor unit;

wherein the sensor unit is configured to produce an output signal comprising the pressure, acceleration, and temperature measurements.

2. The unit of claim 1, wherein the fluid is an aviation fuel, and wherein the container is an aircraft fuel tank.

3. The unit of claim 1, wherein the pressure sensor is configured to sense an absolute pressure.

4. The unit of claim 3, wherein the pressure sensor is one of:

a piezo-resistive pressure sensor;

a capacitive pressure sensor; and

an optical pressure sensor.

5. The unit of claim 1, wherein the acceleration sensor is a three-axis acceleration sensor.

6. The unit of claim 5, wherein the three-axis acceleration sensor is a differential capacitive sensor.

7. A system for estimating a quantity of fluid in a container, the system comprising:

a plurality of integrated sensor units, each of the sensor units comprising;

a pressure sensor configured to measure a pressure a physical location of the sensor unit;

an acceleration sensor configured to measure at least three components of an acceleration vector at the physical location of the sensor unit; and

a temperature sensor configured to measure a temperature at the physical location of the sensor unit; and

a remote data concentrator;

wherein each of the sensor units is configured to provide an output signal comprising the pressure, acceleration, and temperature measurements to the remote data concentrator via a communication pathway.

8. The system of claim 7 further comprising:

a processor configured to perform computations on the pressure, acceleration, and temperature measurements.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the fluid is an aviation fuel, and wherein the container is an aircraft fuel tank.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein at least one of the sensor units is disposed within a first wing tank.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein at least one of the sensor units is disposed within a second wing tank.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein at least one of the sensor units is disposed within a fuselage tank.

13. The system of claim 7, wherein the communication pathway is a fiber optic cable.

14. The system of claim 7, wherein the remote data concentrator is configured to power each sensor unit.

15. A method of estimating a quantity of fluid in a container, the method comprising:

disposing a plurality of first integrated sensor units throughout the container;

measuring a pressure at a physical location of each of the first integrated sensor units;

measuring at least three components of an acceleration vector at the physical location of each of the first integrated sensor units;

measuring a temperature at the physical location of each of the first integrated sensor units;

providing the pressure, acceleration, and temperature measurements from each of the first integrated sensor units to a remote data concentrator; and

calculating the quantity of the fluid within the first fluid container based on the pressure, acceleration, and temperature measurements.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

disposing a plurality of second integrated sensor units throughout a second container and calculating the fluid quantity within the second container.

17. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

determining a bending of the container at the physical location of each of the first sensor units.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein measuring the pressure at the physical location of each of the first integrated sensor units comprises one of:

measuring a pressure of the fluid; and

measuring a pressure of a vapor within the container.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein calculating the quantity of the fluid further comprises operation of a processor configured to execute at least one algorithm based on a relationship between the pressure, acceleration, and temperature measurements.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein calculating a quantity of the fluid comprises calculating a mass of the fluid.