Method for sensing levels of conductive liquids

• US 7,490,513 B2
• Filed: 05/10/2007
• Issued: 02/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2004
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated
• Inventors: Flores, Javier H., Salzmann, Philip E., Harootunian, Alec T., Bennett, Todd N., Emery, Michael P., Vuong, Minh
• Primary Examiner(s): Williams; Hezron
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shah; Samir M
• Application Number:
  US11/747,142
• Publication Number:
  US 20070204690A1
• Time in Patent Office: 649 Days
• Field of Search: 733/04.R, 732/90.R, 733/04.C
• US Class Current: 73/304.00R
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 23/242 Mounting arrangements for electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 23/243 Schematic arrangements of probes combined with measuring circuits

Abstract

A liquid level sensor comprises a plurality of electrodes arranged in a defined relationship with respect to a container filling trajectory, a signal generator coupled to one or more of the plurality of electrodes, a signal receiver coupled to one or more of the plurality of electrodes, and a sensing circuit coupled to at least one of the signal generator and signal receiver. The sensing circuit is configured to produce an output indicative of electrical resistance between at least one pair of the plurality of electrodes. The sensing circuit may be associated with the signal receiver and/or with the signal generator.

Claims

1. A method of sensing a liquid level of a conductive liquid, comprising:

energizing a first electrode of a plurality of electrodes with an applied electrical signal for a period of less than one second; and

sensing said applied electrical signal with a detection circuit, wherein the detection circuit comprises two comparator circuits with different reference inputs, and wherein the detection circuit is coupled to a second electrode and configured to discriminate between partial and total submergence of the first or the second electrode.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said first electrode is energized for less than one millisecond.

3. The method of claim 1, additionally comprising serially energizing the plurality of electrodes with an applied electrical signal.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said serially energizing comprises energizing the plurality of electrodes from an uppermost electrode proximate to a top of a container holding said conductive liquid to an electrode proximate to a bottom of said container.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein said serially energizing comprises energizing the plurality of electrodes from an electrode proximate to a bottom of said container holding said conductive liquid to an uppermost electrode proximate to a top of said container.

6. A method of estimating a liquid level of a conductive liquid, comprising:

passing a current between a first electrode of a plurality of electrodes, the first electrode in partial contact with the conductive liquid, and a second electrode of the plurality of electrodes, the second electrode fully submerged in said conductive liquid;

detecting an output signal dependent on an amount of resistance to said current between said first electrode and said second electrode;

routing said output signal to two comparators with different reference inputs; and

discriminating partial submergence from total submergence of said first electrode by monitoring outputs of said two comparators.

7. The method of claim 6, comprising passing said current through a resistor to a circuit common.