Compensating for surface movement of liquid product within one or more liquid product tanks during capture of height and volume data

• US 7,197,409 B2
• Filed: 02/18/2005
• Issued: 03/27/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Pilot Travel Centers LLC (Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Flying J Inc.
• Inventors: Hillam, John D., Scoleri, Jon M., Shellabarger, Gary L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Barlow; John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Washburn; Douglas N
• Application Number:
  US11/061,865
• Publication Number:
  US 20060157144A1
• Time in Patent Office: 767 Days
• Field of Search: 702/55, 702/156, 702/199, 702/50, 703/9
• US Class Current: 702/55
• CPC Class Codes: B67D 7/3209 relating to spillage or leakage, e.g. spill containments, leak detection leak detectors for underground fuel dispensing systems G01M3/2892
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 15/06 with means for prepaying basic charges, e.g. rent for meters
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/026 for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty

Abstract

Disclosed are systems, methods, and computer program products to compensate for surface movement of liquid product within one or more tanks during a liquid product book to physical reconciliation process. A plurality of measurement data at a plurality of times can be received. Each measurement data represents a volume of liquid product within the tank. The volume of liquid product represented by the measurement data can be compared against at least one predetermined volume identified as being unreliable. Following eliminating the measurement data that is unreliable, a sample mean and a standard deviation for the remaining measurement data are calculated and then used to filter the remaining measurement data by eliminating any measurement data that has a value plus or minus a predetermined number of the standard deviations from the standard mean for the second set of measurement data.

Claims

1. In a dynamic liquid product book to physical reconciliation system, a method of filtering physical volume measurements within a tank at a point in time by adjusting the effects of ripple on the surface of the liquid product caused by delivery of liquid product to the tank, dispensing of liquid product from the tank, or other ripple causes, the method comprising:

receiving a plurality of measurement data at a plurality of times to create a first set of measurement data, each measurement data representing a height of liquid product within a tank for calculating a volume of liquid product therein;

comparing each of the plurality of measurement data in the first set of measurement data against at least one predetermined volume value identified as being unreliable;

based on the comparison with the at least one predetermined volume value, generating a second set of measurement data by eliminating from said first set of measurement data any measurement data that is identified as being unreliable;

determining a sample mean and a standard deviation for said second set of measurement data;

filtering said second set of measurement data to generate a third set of measurement data by eliminating any measurement data from said second set of measurement data that has a value plus or minus a predetermined number of said standard deviations from said sample mean; and

storing the third set of measurement data for analysis in determining an actual liquid product volume within the tank at a specific point in time, which is subsequently used for liquid product book to physical reconciliation at that specific point in time.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein any measurement data of said plurality of measurement data that is identified as being unreliable comprises data above or below one or more defined thresholds relative to any other measurement data within said plurality of measurement data.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein said one or more defined thresholds can be at least one of a maximum tank volume and a minimum tank volume, such that measurement data within the first set of measurement data that is greater than said maximum tank volume and/or measurement data that is lesser than said minimum tank volume is eliminated when said second set of measurement data is generated.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, farther comprising associating each said measurement data of said third set of measurement data with a common time.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, farther comprising averaging each said measurement data of said third set of measurement data at a common time.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the tank is one of a plurality of tanks that are connected together with a manifold.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, farther comprising generating one or more series of said third measurement data, each of said one or more series of said third measurement data comprising a plurality of measurement data representing volume of liquid product for each tank of the plurality of tanks connected to said manifold, wherein each of the one or more series of third measurement data was generated using the process described above.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, farther comprising:

averaging said volume of liquid from each tank of said plurality of tanks connected to said manifold to generate a cumulate volume for a first series of said one or more series of third measurement data; and

determining a time-stamp for each of said third measurement data of said first series, each said time-stamp representing a time of said plurality of times when said plurality measurement data was measured; and

following determining an average of differences between said time-stamps for said first series, generating a cumulative time-stamp for said first series.

9. The method as recited in claim 7, farther comprising aligning all of said one or more series to said cumulative time-stamp of said first series.

10. In a liquid measurement system, a method of filtering physical volume determinations within a tank at a point in time by adjusting the effects of ripple on the surface of the liquid product in the tank, the method comprising:

receiving two pieces of measurement data at a plurality of times to create a first set of measurement data, wherein said first set of measurement data includes data representative of a temperature of liquid product within a tank and a volume of the liquid product within said tank;

comparing each volume of liquid in the first set of measurement data against at least one predetermined volume identified as being unreliable;

based on the comparison with the at least one predetermined volume identified, generating a second set of measurement data by eliminating any measurement data from said first set of measurement data that is identified as being unreliable;

determining a sample mean and a standard deviation for said second set of measurement data;

filtering said second set of measurement data to generate a third set of measurement data by eliminating any measurement data from said second set of measurement data that has a value plus or minus a predetermined number of said standard deviations from said sample mean; and

storing the third set of measurement data for analysis in determining an actual liquid product volume within the tank at a specific point in time.

11. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein any measurement data of said first set of measurement data that is identified as being unreliable comprises data above or below defined one or more thresholds relative to any other measurement data within said measurement data.

12. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein said one or more defined thresholds can be at least one of a maximum tank volume and a minimum tank volume, such that measurement data that is greater than said maximum tank volume and/or measurement data that is lesser than said minimum tank volume is eliminated when said second set of measurement data is generated.

13. The method as recited in claim 10, further comprising associating each said measurement data of said third set of measurement data with a common time and averaging each said measurement data of said third set of measurement data at the common time.

14. In a dynamic liquid product book to physical reconciliation system, a method of filtering physical volume measurements of a liquid within a tank made at a plurality of times to compensate for waves motions within the tank caused by liquid product delivery to the tank, dispensing liquid product from the tank, or other wave causes, the method comprising:

receiving, at a centralized management system, a-measurement data for a plurality of times, each measurement data representing a volume of liquid product within the tank and used to create a first set of measurement data;

comparing each volume of liquid within the first set of measurement data against at least one predetermined volume;

based on the comparison with the at least one predetermined volume, generating a second set of measurement data by eliminating from said first set of measurement data any data corresponding to said at least one predetermined volume;

determining a sample mean and a standard deviation for said second set of measurement data;

filtering said second set of measurement data to generate a third set of measurement data by eliminating any measurement data from said second set of measurement data that has a value that is more or less than a predetermined number of said standard deviations from said sample mean; and

using the third set of measurement data for analysis in determining an actual liquid product volume within the tank at a specific point in time, which is subsequently used for liquid product book to physical reconciliation at the specific point in time.

15. A method as recited in claim 14, wherein said at least one predetermined volume comprises a volume that is identified as being unreliable.

16. A method as recited in claim 14, wherein data of said first set of measurement data that is identified as being unreliable comprises:

(A) a volume of liquid that is that is more than a maximum tank volume;

(B) a volume of liquid that is that is less than a minimum tank volume;

or (C) one or more other volumes of liquid that are identified as being unreliable.

17. The method as recited in claim 14, further comprising associating each measurement data of said third set of measurement data with a common time.

18. The method as recited in claim 14, further comprising averaging each measurement data of said third set of measurement data at the common time.