초록 ▼

A system and a method for periodically detecting the level of liquid propane in industrial, commercial and residential tanks; and transmitting this information from a remote location to a host system located at a host facility or at the site of the propane supplier in order to, among other purposes,

A system and a method for periodically detecting the level of liquid propane in industrial, commercial and residential tanks; and transmitting this information from a remote location to a host system located at a host facility or at the site of the propane supplier in order to, among other purposes, prevent out-of-gas situations to improve safety and minimize economic and civil liability; to optimize and schedule refill trips to the tank and increase customer service and satisfaction; to keep track of propane usage on a periodically or daily basis for billing purposes; to know when the tanks have been serviced or refilled for personnel control and anti-fraud purposes; to keep an inventory of available empty space in the tanks to optimize the purchasing and delivery of bulk propane through the future options market.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A system for monitoring the content level of a tank, said system comprising a host system and a remotely located system wherein:a) said host system and said remotely located system are capable of direct or indirect communication with each other; and b) a sensor unit associated with said remotely

1. A system for monitoring the content level of a tank, said system comprising a host system and a remotely located system wherein:a) said host system and said remotely located system are capable of direct or indirect communication with each other; and b) a sensor unit associated with said remotely located system comprising an encoded disc, wherein said encoded disc rotates as a function of the content level of said tank; at least one light source, wherein light is projected onto or passed through said encoded disc; and at least one optical sensor, wherein said optical sensor receives light reflected off of or passed through said encoded disc and converts the light into a signal representative of content level, wherein said encoded disc comprises at least one color-coded track radially distributed about said disc to be read by said optical sensor.