Airline coffee brewer
First Claim
1. An ultrasonic system for measuring the volume of a liquid in a container, comprising:
- a control board;
a lid for the container; and
an ultrasonic sensor subsystem that is electronically coupled to said control board and is located within and on the underside of said lid, said ultrasonic sensor subsystem being embedded within the underside of said lid, wherein said ultrasonic sensor subsystem is adapted to determine the level of liquid in the container, and said ultrasonic sensor subsystem comprises at least one ultrasonic pulse transducer for both transmitting and receiving ultrasonic signals while located within and on the underside of the lid of said system, said at least one transducer being embedded within and on the underside of said lid and emits ultrasonic pulses towards the liquid/air interface of an underlying liquid column housed in the container, and said ultrasonic pulse transducer located within and on the underside of the lid of said system receives said ultrasonic pulses reflected back to the lid to determine the level of liquid in the container.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An ultrasonic system for measuring the volume of liquid in a container having a lid in which an ultrasonic signal is emitted and received by a sensor subsystem located on the underside of the lid of the ultrasonic system. The ultrasonic system can measure the exact amount of liquid or the level of the liquid held in the container by processing the roundtrip time the ultrasonic signals took to travel from the sensor subsystem to the surface of the liquid where the ultrasonic signals are reflected back to the ultrasonic sensor subsystem. A solid state, three-phase SCR/diode bridge converts a three-phase alternating current (AC) to a direct current (DC) power source for heating the liquid in a boiler subsystem prior to its transport to the container. A second, triac controlled heater is powered by a single phase of the three phase power source, and is used to warm and maintain the liquid held within the container at a constant temperature.
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Citations
43 Claims
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1. An ultrasonic system for measuring the volume of a liquid in a container, comprising:
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a control board;
a lid for the container; and
an ultrasonic sensor subsystem that is electronically coupled to said control board and is located within and on the underside of said lid, said ultrasonic sensor subsystem being embedded within the underside of said lid, wherein said ultrasonic sensor subsystem is adapted to determine the level of liquid in the container, and said ultrasonic sensor subsystem comprises at least one ultrasonic pulse transducer for both transmitting and receiving ultrasonic signals while located within and on the underside of the lid of said system, said at least one transducer being embedded within and on the underside of said lid and emits ultrasonic pulses towards the liquid/air interface of an underlying liquid column housed in the container, and said ultrasonic pulse transducer located within and on the underside of the lid of said system receives said ultrasonic pulses reflected back to the lid to determine the level of liquid in the container. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. An ultrasonic system for measuring the volume of brewed coffee in an airline coffee brewer, comprising:
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a lid for the brewer;
if a control board;
an ultrasonic sensor subsystem electronically coupled to said control board and located on the underside of the lid of said system wherein said subsystem is adapted to emit and receive ultrasonic signals and is able to process said signals to determine the exact level of brewed coffee present in an underlying carafe; and
a single heating element for warming the water to be brewed into coffee and for maintaining the water to be brewed into coffee at a relatively constant temperature, said heating element controlled by a three phase SCR/diode bridge that converts the alternating current of an aircraft into direct current power.
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- 23. A three phase SCR/diode-bridge for converting an alternating current of an aircraft power system into a direct current power for powering a single heating element in a boiler of an aircraft brewing system.
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25. An ultrasonic system for measuring the volume of a liquid in a container, comprising:
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a control board;
a lid for the container;
an ultrasonic sensor subsystem that is electronically coupled to said control board and is located within and on the underside of said lid, wherein said ultrasonic sensor subsystem is adapted to determine the level of liquid in the container, and said ultrasonic sensor subsystem comprises at least one ultrasonic pulse transducer for both transmitting and receiving ultrasonic signals while located within and on the underside of the lid of said system, said at least one transducer emits ultrasonic pulses towards the liquid/air interface of an underlying liquid column housed in the container, and said ultrasonic pulse transducer located within and on the underside of the lid of said system receives said ultrasonic pulses reflected back to the lid to determine the level of liquid in the container; and
a boiler for heating the liquid. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. An ultrasonic system for measuring the volume of a liquid in a container, comprising:
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a control board;
a lid for the container;
an ultrasonic sensor subsystem that is electronically coupled to said control board and is located within and on the underside of said lid, wherein said ultrasonic sensor subsystem is adapted to determine the exact level of liquid in the container by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic pulses, processing the receiving of said ultrasonic pulses and calculating the roundtrip time traveled by said ultrasonic pulses, and wherein said ultrasonic sensor subsystem comprises at least one ultrasonic pulse transducer for both transmitting and receiving ultrasonic signals while located within and on the underside of the lid of said system, said at least one transducer emits ultrasonic pulses towards the liquid/air interface of an underlying liquid column housed in the container, and said ultrasonic pulse transducer located within and on the underside of the lid of said system receives said ultrasonic pulses reflected back to the lid to determine the level of liquid in the container; and
a boiler for heating the liquid. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40)
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41. An ultrasonic system for measuring the volume of a liquid in a container, comprising:
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a control board;
a lid for the container, said lid being removable coupled to said system;
an ultrasonic sensor subsystem that is electronically coupled to said control board and is located within and on the underside of said lid, wherein said ultrasonic sensor subsystem is adapted to determine the exact level of liquid in the container, and wherein said ultrasonic sensor subsystem comprises at least one ultrasonic pulse transducer for both transmitting and receiving ultrasonic signals while located within and on the underside of the lid of said system, said at least one transducer emits ultrasonic pulses towards the liquid/air interface of an underlying liquid column housed in the container, and said ultrasonic pulse transducer located within and on the underside of the lid of said system receives said ultrasonic pulses reflected back to the lid to determine the level of liquid in the container; and
a boiler for heating the liquid. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43)
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Specification