Liquid Level Transmitter Utilizing Low Cost, Capacitive, Absolute Encoders
A liquid level monitoring and transmission system includes a mechanical assembly in communication with the liquid in a container and a dual electronic encoder assembly in communication with the mechanical assembly for determining liquid level. The dual electronic encoder assembly includes a first encoder for encoding data indicative of fine level measurements and a second encoder for encoding data indicative of coarse level measurements. The system further includes at least one processor for controlling operation of the first and second encoders and for processing encoded data therefrom and a power control system.
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The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 13/483,528, filed May 30, 2012, titled “Liquid Level Transmitter Utilizing Low Cost, Capacitive, Absolute Encoders,” which claims the benefit of similarly titled U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/577,780 filed Dec. 20, 2011, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
FIELD OF THE EMBODIMENTSThe device described herein can determine the liquid level in a storage tank with high accuracy and reliability and transfer this level data electronically.
BACKGROUNDExisting liquid level transmitter encoders such as those using optical encoders suffer from various drawbacks such as susceptibility to dust and other contaminates, LED failure, and assembly time and cost. Magnetic encoders suffer from resolution degradation that can arise from misalignment between magnets and sensors. The present embodiments seek to provide for an improved liquid level transmission system that overcomes these drawbacks and provides for a reliable, real-time system and process.
SUMMARYIn a first exemplary embodiment described herein, a liquid level monitoring and transmission system includes: a mechanical assembly in communication with the liquid in a container; a dual electronic encoder assembly in communication with the mechanical assembly for determining liquid level including: a first encoder for encoding data indicative of fine level measurements, a second encoder for encoding data indicative of coarse level measurements, at least one processor for controlling operation of the first and second encoders and for processing encoded data therefrom; and a power control system.
In a second exemplary embodiment described herein, a process for acquiring and transmitting liquid level values includes: receiving a request for a liquid level value reading at a processor; requesting by the processor a liquid level value reading from a dual electronic encoder assembly which is in physical communication with a mechanical assembly which is in physical communication with the liquid; encoding by a first encoder data indicative of a fine level measurement of the liquid; encoding by a second encoder data indicative of a coarse level measurement of the liquid; and determining a composite liquid level by the processor using the first encoder data and the second encoder data.
In a third exemplary embodiment described herein, a liquid level monitoring and transmission system includes a host server for requesting and receiving liquid level readings from one or more storage containers. Each of the one or more storage containers has connected thereto: a mechanical assembly in communication with the liquid in the container; a dual electronic encoder assembly in communication with the mechanical assembly for determining liquid level, wherein the dual electronic encoders includes a first encoder for encoding data indicative of fine level measurements and a second encoder for encoding data indicative of coarse level measurements; at least one processor for controlling operation of the first and second encoders and for processing encoded data therefrom; and a power control system for supplying power on and power off commands to the dual encoder assembly.
The figures are intended to be read in conjunction with the description provided below.
The preferred embodiments are directed to a float and tape transmitter which may be mounted to mechanical float and tape tank gauges and is operable to display and/or transmit liquid level and other data to an inventory management system. A prior art system shown in
As shown in
Further to
In a particular implementation, the transmitter may include features shown in
The microcomputer 95 interfaces with both capacitive encoders. The microcomputer constructs a composite tank liquid level by obtaining position data from both encoders and combining this coarse and fine position data into a highly accurate liquid level (see
The microcomputer 95 acts as a master to the digital signal processors, i.e., slave processors, on the individual encoders. The microcomputer 95 coordinates the communication transactions between it and the encoders. The microcomputer 95 is programmed with a protocol whereby when it is either prompted by an outside source, e.g., an outside request is made, or the next pre-programmed time for taking level readings occurs, the microcomputer 95 instructs the first encoder to power on and polls the first encoder to determine if it is ready to provide data. If ready, data is read, encoded and filtered by the microcomputer 95 as described further below. The entire process of power up, polling and power down occurs on the order milliseconds; during which time several readings may be taken.
The microcomputer uses an encoding algorithm to combine the coarse and fine encoder positions into a composite level. The functional steps of the encoding algorithm are set forth in the flow chart of
The microcomputer calculates approximately two composite level values per second. If these values do not contain any acquisition or calculation errors, level updates are available at up to two per second. If composite level errors occur, the level update rate is reduced. The Host server (see
The microcomputer uses a filter algorithm to process successive composite level values. The functional steps of the filter algorithm are set forth in the flow chart of
More particularly, in a storage tank (even a small one) the liquid level does not change very quickly. As the tank is filled or emptied, the level is only changing by fractions of an inch per minute (maybe changing by inches per minute in a small tank). If the transmission gauge produces (measurement+calculation) a new level value which is significantly larger than previous levels, an error has probably occurred and the value should not be used as a level value. The sort filter described herein works well here because the level of the tank is changing slowly. The sort filter works as a list of recent level values are maintained and sorted from least to greatest. The first values in the list are most likely going to be low level errors (if any exist). The data at the end of the list will be the large level errors (if any exist). The current level is selected from the middle of the sorted list. When the next composite level value is available, the oldest composite level is discarded and the composite levels are sorted again. The process repeats. If there are no level errors, new level changes are delayed by the time required for all values to propagate through the list. By way of specific example, a sorted list is currently 5 samples (values) and new data is available at 2 Hz, so the delay from measured to transmitted level can be as high as 2.5 seconds (time lag). This is acceptable for storage tank level applications. Accordingly, the sorting process minimizes the chances of any ‘jumps” in level calculations.
The microcomputer next converts the liquid level into level units determined by the configuration of the device. In a preferred embodiment, the microcomputer communicates the level data over one or more communication interfaces using the communication protocol determined by the configuration of the device.
In verification testing, it has been determined that the float and tape transmitter with dual absolute electronic encoders as described herein exhibit improved measurement accuracy over existing transmitters with magnetic encoders. The periodic level error exhibited by magnetic encoders is directly related to misalignment between the rotational center of the magnet and the center on the Hall Effect sensor integrated circuit. Whereas the accuracy of the capacitive encoder is not dependent on alignment between the shaft and the sensor.
Various background concepts related to the systems and methods of the present embodiments are described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,992,757 entitled Method and System for Encoding Fluid Level and the Varec 2900 optical Float and Tape Transmitter Installations and Operations Manual (Document code IOM012GVAE1110; copyright 2006) both of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
One skilled in the art recognizes features of the embodiments herein that are inherent or depicted in the Figures, though not specifically described in text. Additionally, one skilled in the art recognizes that there are individual component arrangements and substitutions that may not be explicitly described herein, but are well within the scope of the invention.
Claims
1. A process for controlling a liquid level monitoring and transmission system to determine liquid levels in multiple storage containers, the process comprising:
- interrogating, by a host server, a transmission gauge of each of the multiple storage containers periodically to obtain a composite level reading;
- responsive to the interrogation by the host server, powering on a dual electronic absolute capacitive encoder assembly in communication with a mechanical assembly for determining a composite liquid level in each of the multiple storage containers;
- deriving a current liquid level for each of the multiple storage containers by the host server in accordance with a filter algorithm, wherein for each of the multiple storage containers, the filter algorithm inserts successive composite level readings into an array having a predetermined number of slots, sorts the composite level readings from least to greatest value and selects a middle value in the sorted array as the current liquid level.
2. The process of claim 1, wherein determining a composite liquid level in each of the multiple storage containers further comprises:
- powering up a first absolute capacitive encoder of the dual electronic absolute capacitive encoder assembly;
- obtaining at least one fine level measurement from the first absolute capacitive encoder;
- powering down the first absolute capacitive encoder;
- powering up a second absolute capacitive encoder responsive to instructions;
- obtaining at least one coarse level measurement from the second absolute capacitive encoder; and
- powering down the second absolute capacitive encoder.
3. The process of claim 2, wherein a time period for powering up the first absolute capacitive encoder and obtaining at least one fine level measurement is approximately 100ms.
4. The process of claim 1, wherein the host server interrogates the transmission gauge of each of the multiple storage containers two to three times a minute.
5. The process of claim 1, wherein the host server interrogates the transmission gauge of each of the multiple storage containers every three to five seconds.
6. The process of claim 1, wherein the predetermined number of slots in the array is 5.
7. A process for controlling a liquid level monitoring and transmission system to determine liquid levels in a storage container, the process comprising:
- powering on, by a processor associated with the storage container, a dual electronic absolute capacitive encoder assembly in communication with a mechanical assembly of the storage container for determining at least one composite liquid level reading for the liquid in the storage container;
- transmitting, by a transmission gauge associated with the processor to a host server, the at least one composite level reading;
- receiving the composite level reading by the host server,
- deriving a current liquid level for the storage container by the host server in accordance with a filter algorithm, wherein the filter algorithm inserts successive composite level readings into an array having a predetermined number of slots, sorts the composite level readings from least to greatest value and selects a middle value in the sorted array as the current liquid level.
8. The process of claim 7, wherein determining at least one composite liquid level reading in each of the storage containers further comprises:
- powering up a first absolute capacitive encoder of the dual electronic absolute capacitive encoder assembly;
- obtaining at least one fine level measurement from the first absolute capacitive encoder;
- powering down the first absolute capacitive encoder;
- powering up a second absolute capacitive encoder responsive to instructions;
- obtaining at least one coarse level measurement from the second absolute capacitive encoder; and
- powering down the second absolute capacitive encoder.
9. The process of claim 8, wherein a time period for powering up the first absolute capacitive encoder and obtaining at least one fine level measurement is approximately 100 ms.
10. The process of claim 7, wherein the transmission gauge transmits a new at least one composite level reading for the storage container two to three times a minute.
11. The process of claim 7, wherein the transmission gauge transmits a new at least one composite level reading for the storage container every three to five seconds.
12. The process of claim 7, wherein the predetermined number of slots in the array is 5.
13. A system for controlling a liquid level monitoring and transmission system to determine liquid levels in multiple storage containers, the system comprising:
- means for interrogating each of the multiple storage containers periodically to obtain a composite level reading;
- means for determining a composite liquid level in each of the multiple storage containers;
- means for deriving a current liquid level for each of the multiple storage containers including inserting successive composite level readings into an array having a predetermined number of slots, sorting the composite level readings from least to greatest value and selecting a middle value in the sorted array as the current liquid level.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 5, 2016
Publication Date: Mar 23, 2017
Applicant: Varec, Inc. (Norcross, GA)
Inventor: Samuel Dirk Holcomb (Flowery Branch, GA)
Application Number: 15/368,823