Liquid level gage system
First Claim
1. A liquid level gage system comprising:
- a cable;
a rotatable drum;
a displacer secured to said cable and moveable in response to winding or unwinding said cable around or from around said rotatable drum;
a driven shaft coupled to said rotatable drum;
a drive assembly operatively coupled to said driven shaft to drive said driven shaft;
an indicator assembly operatively coupled to said driven shaft to provide an indication of a change in the apparent weight of said displacer as said displacer is moved across a liquid level, said indicator assembly including an elongated member secured to said driven shaft and a strain gage secured to said elongated member away from said driven shaft; and
a movement restrictor component located to contact said elongated member to provide the operative coupling between said drive assembly and said driven shaft, and together with said driven shaft acting to place a strain on said elongated member, said strain being sensed by said strain gage and being variable in response to variations in the apparent weight of said displacer, said strain gage providing a signal which is indicative of the amount of strain on said elongated member.
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Abstract
A liquid level gage system is disclosed. This system includes a displacer secured to a cable and movable in response to winding or unwinding said cable around or from around a rotatable drum. The rotatable drum is coupled to a driven shaft, and a drive assembly is provided to drive the driven shaft. An indicator subsystem is included which provides an indication of a change in the apparent weight of the displacer as the displacer is moved across a liquid level. A strain gage is a key component of the indicator subsystem. In one embodiment, an assembly is provided for powering the indicator subsystem and transferring data from the indicator subsystem which involves two pair of coils. In another embodiment, the gage system can be effectively remotely programmed using light signals.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A liquid level gage system comprising:
- a cable;
a rotatable drum;
a displacer secured to said cable and moveable in response to winding or unwinding said cable around or from around said rotatable drum;
a driven shaft coupled to said rotatable drum;
a drive assembly operatively coupled to said driven shaft to drive said driven shaft;
an indicator assembly operatively coupled to said driven shaft to provide an indication of a change in the apparent weight of said displacer as said displacer is moved across a liquid level, said indicator assembly including an elongated member secured to said driven shaft and a strain gage secured to said elongated member away from said driven shaft; and
a movement restrictor component located to contact said elongated member to provide the operative coupling between said drive assembly and said driven shaft, and together with said driven shaft acting to place a strain on said elongated member, said strain being sensed by said strain gage and being variable in response to variations in the apparent weight of said displacer, said strain gage providing a signal which is indicative of the amount of strain on said elongated member. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
- a cable;
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13. In a liquid level gage system for determining at least one liquid level in a vessel and including a processor board to receive input information, process data and communicate information, the improvement comprising a light signal detector operatively coupled to said processor board to receive light signals indicative of input information to be received by said processor board and to facilitate receipt of said input information by said processor board;
- and a remote, manually operable light signal transmitter to transmit said light signals to said light signal detector.
- View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. In a liquid level gage system including a displacer secured to a cable and moveable in response to winding or unwinding said cable around or from around a rotatable drum, said rotatable drum being coupled to a driven shaft, a drive assembly operatively coupled to said driven shaft to drive said driven shaft, and an indicator assembly operatively coupled to said driven shaft to provide a signal which varies in response to changes in the apparent weight of said displacer as said displacer is moved across a liquid level, the improvement which comprises:
- a first power coil and a second power coil which is rotatable relative to said first power coil and is in electrical communication with said indicator assembly, said first power coil being in electrical communication with a source of electrical power and being located in a transformer-like relationship with said second power coil so as to provide electrical power from said source of electrical power to said second power coil for operation of said indicator assembly; and
a first data coil and a second data coil which is rotatable relative to said first data coil, said second data coil being in electrical communication with said indicator assembly and receiving said signal from said indicator assembly which varies in response to changes in the apparent weight of said displacer, said first data coil being located in a transformer-like relationship with said second data coil so as to receive a signal from said second data coil which varies in response to changes in the apparent weight of said displacer. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
- a first power coil and a second power coil which is rotatable relative to said first power coil and is in electrical communication with said indicator assembly, said first power coil being in electrical communication with a source of electrical power and being located in a transformer-like relationship with said second power coil so as to provide electrical power from said source of electrical power to said second power coil for operation of said indicator assembly; and
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26. A liquid level gage system comprising:
- a cable;
a rotatable drum;
a displacer secured to said cable and moveable in response to winding or unwinding said cable around or from around said rotatable drum;
a driven shaft coupled to said rotatable drum;
a drive assembly operatively coupled to said driven shaft to drive said driven shaft;
an indicator assembly operatively coupled to said driven shaft to provide an indication of a change in the apparent weight of said displacer as said displacer is moved across a liquid level, said indicator assembly including an elongated member secured to said driven shaft, a strain gage secured to said elongated member away from said driven shaft, and a substantially opposing strain gage secured to said elongated member away from said driven shaft, said strain gage being under tension, and said substantially opposing strain gage being under compression, said elongated member having a strain thereon, said strain being sensed by both said strain gage and said substantially opposing strain gage and being variable in response to variations in the apparent weight of said displacer, each of said strain gage and said substantially opposing strain gage providing a signal which is indicative of the amount of strain on said elongated member.
- a cable;
Specification