Methods and apparatuses for determining the volume of a substance in a flexible tank
First Claim
1. A load sensing apparatus for determining a volume of a substance in a flexible storage container, the load sensing apparatus comprising:
- a first plurality of load-sensitive sensors arranged in at least a region of a first footprint of the flexible storage container,wherein the region is external to a second footprint of the flexible storage container, the first footprint corresponds to an empty state of the flexible storage container, the second footprint corresponds to a full state of the flexible storage container, and the flexible storage container retracts from the first footprint to the second footprint that is smaller than the first footprint when the flexible storage container is filled; and
a second plurality of load-sensitive sensors arranged within the second footprint,wherein a first spacing between an adjacent pair of load-sensitive sensors in the first plurality of load-sensitive sensors is less than a second spacing between an adjacent pair of load-sensitive sensors in the second plurality of load-sensitive sensors, andwherein sensor data from the first plurality of load-sensitive sensors and the second plurality of load-sensitive sensors are used to determine a volume of a substance in the flexible storage container.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A flexible storage container may have a first footprint when empty, and retracts to a second footprint when filled with a substance. A load sensing apparatus used for determining the volume of the substance in the flexible storage container can include a first set of load-sensitive sensors arranged in at least a region of the first footprint external to the second footprint, and a second set of load-sensitive sensors arranged within the second footprint. The sensor data from the load-sensitive sensors can be used to create a pressure level profile, and the volume of the substance contained in the flexible storage container can be calculated from the pressure level profile.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A load sensing apparatus for determining a volume of a substance in a flexible storage container, the load sensing apparatus comprising:
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a first plurality of load-sensitive sensors arranged in at least a region of a first footprint of the flexible storage container, wherein the region is external to a second footprint of the flexible storage container, the first footprint corresponds to an empty state of the flexible storage container, the second footprint corresponds to a full state of the flexible storage container, and the flexible storage container retracts from the first footprint to the second footprint that is smaller than the first footprint when the flexible storage container is filled; and a second plurality of load-sensitive sensors arranged within the second footprint, wherein a first spacing between an adjacent pair of load-sensitive sensors in the first plurality of load-sensitive sensors is less than a second spacing between an adjacent pair of load-sensitive sensors in the second plurality of load-sensitive sensors, and wherein sensor data from the first plurality of load-sensitive sensors and the second plurality of load-sensitive sensors are used to determine a volume of a substance in the flexible storage container. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification