Apparatus and method for storage tank hatch monitoring in an inventory management system
US8159358B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 12, 2008 |
| Grant date | Apr 17, 2012 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 13, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB65D90/50
- WIPO fieldHandling
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A method includes receiving information associated with a level of material in a tank, where the tank has a hatch. The method also includes determining whether the level of material in the tank experiences a specified variation within a critical zone associated with the hatch. The specified variation is indicative of the hatch being open while the tank is being filled. In addition, the method includes generating an alarm when the level of material in the tank experiences the specified variation. Determining whether the level of material in the tank experiences the specified variation could be based on an entrance level speed of the material, which identifies a rate at which the level of material in the tank is increasing when the material level crosses a lower bound of the critical zone. Also, no alarms could be generated when the level of material in the tank is outside the critical zone.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.