Techniques useful in determining liquid levels
US4796471A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | May 2, 1988 |
| Grant date | Jan 10, 1989 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 2, 2008 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01F23/22
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Heat is used to determine liquid level in a storage tank. An elongated heater that produces heat uniformly along its length is mounted vertically on the outside surface of the tank to extend substantially the full height of the tank. An elongated thermopile having a multiplicity of hot and cold junction pairs uniformly spaced along its length covers the heater so that heat from the heater travels in two different opposite directions, namely a first portion of the heat travels from the heater through the tank wall and into the tank; the other portion of the heat travels in the opposite direction from the heater through the thermopile and then into the ambient atmosphere. A meter indicates the amount of heat flow through the thermopile and its indication changes with change in level of the liquid in the tank.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.