Method for sensing levels of conductive liquids
First Claim
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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.
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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.
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Citations
7 Claims
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1. A method of sensing a liquid level of a conductive liquid, comprising:
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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. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method of estimating a liquid level of a conductive liquid, comprising:
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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. - View Dependent Claims (7)
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Specification