초록 ▼

A radar level gauge (RLG) system and method for determining a filling level of a filling material in a tank is disclosed. The RLG system comprises a transmitter for generating and transmitting an electromagnetic transmitter pulse signal, a transmitter controller for controlling means for pulse width

A radar level gauge (RLG) system and method for determining a filling level of a filling material in a tank is disclosed. The RLG system comprises a transmitter for generating and transmitting an electromagnetic transmitter pulse signal, a transmitter controller for controlling means for pulse width adjustment for adjusting the pulse width of the transmitter pulse signal in dependence of at least one application specific condition. Further, the system comprises a signal medium interface connectable to means for directing said transmitter pulse signal towards said filling material and for receiving a reception pulse signal reflected back from said filling material; a receiver for receiving said reception pulse signal from the tank; and processing circuitry for determining the filling level of the tank based on said reflection pulse signal received by said receiver. The application specific condition(s) is e.g. one or several of tank height, level of the filling material, type of filling material, presence of other tank structure providing reflecting surfaces and required accuracy of measurement.

대표청구항 ▼

What is claimed is: 1. A method for determining filling levels of at least two filling materials in a tank, comprising the steps: providing a pulse generator for generation of electromagnetic pulses; controlling the pulse width of the generated pulses in dependence of at least one dynamic applicati

What is claimed is: 1. A method for determining filling levels of at least two filling materials in a tank, comprising the steps: providing a pulse generator for generation of electromagnetic pulses; controlling the pulse width of the generated pulses in dependence of at least one dynamic application specific condition; transmitting said pulses with adjusted pulse width from a position above the filling material towards said at least two filling materials; receiving reflected echo pulse signals from the tank; determining the filling levels of the tank based on said received echo pulse signals; wherein one of said at least one dynamic application specific condition(s) is the presence of at least two different interface levels, and wherein controlling of the pulse width of generated pulses in accordance with at least one application specific condition is performed automatically and includes: controlling the pulse width of generated pulses to be first pulse width in order to determine a presence of at least two filling levels of the tank; and controlling the pulse width of generated pulses to be a second pulse width, more narrow than said first pulse width, to distinguish between said different levels. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of controlling comprises adjusting the pulse width for optimizing operation in relation to at least one static application specific condition(s). 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the pulse width is adjusted for at least one application specific condition(s) selected from the group consisting of tank height, level of the filling material, type of filling material, presence of other tank structure providing reflecting surfaces and required accuracy of measurement. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the pulse width adjustment comprises the sub-steps of: controlling the pulse width to at least two different widths; determining the filling level of the tank based on said received echo pulse signals using each of said different pulse widths; and selecting, based on said determinations of the filling level, one of said pulse widths to be used for subsequent filling level determination. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of controlling the pulse width to different widths and determining the filling level for each of said different pulse widths are repeated to perform a scanning among a multitude of different pulse widths. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein said pulse is a modulated pulse. 7. A radar level gauge system for determining filling levels of at least two filling materials in a tank, comprising: a transmitter for generating and transmitting an electromagnetic transmitter pulse signal, wherein the transmitter comprises a pulse generator and means for pulse width adjustment; a transmitter controller for controlling the means for pulse width adjustment for adjusting the pulse width of the transmitter pulse signal in dependence of at least one application specific condition; a signal medium interface connectable to means for directing said transmitter pulse signal from a position above the filling material towards said at least two filling materials and for receiving a reception pulse signal reflected back from said filling material; a receiver for receiving said reception pulse signal from the tank; processing circuitry for determining the filling levels of the tank based on said reflection pulse signal received by said receiver; wherein the transmitter controller is arranged to automatically control the pulse width of generated pulses in accordance with the at least one dynamic application specific condition; wherein one of said at least one dynamic application specific condition(s) is the presence of at least two different interface levels, and wherein the transmitter controller is arranged to control the pulse width of generated pulses to be first pulse width in order to determining presence of at least two filling levels of the tank; and to control the pulse width of generated pulses to be a second pulse width, more narrow than said first pulse width, to distinguish between said different levels. 8. The radar level gauge system of claim 7, wherein the transmitter controller is arranged to control the pulse width to adjust the width of the transmitter pulse signal for optimizing operation in relation to at least one static application specific condition(s). 9. The radar level gauge system of claim 7, wherein the transmitter controller is arranged to adjust the pulse width in accordance with at least one application specific condition(s) selected from the group consisting of tank height, level of the filling material, type of filling material, presence of other tank structure providing reflecting surfaces and required accuracy of measurement. 10. The radar level gauge system of claim 7, wherein the transmitter controller is arranged to control the pulse width to at least two different widths, and selecting, based on determinations of the filling level of the tank based on received echo pulse signals using each of said different pulse widths, one of said pulse widths to be used for subsequent filling level determination. 11. The radar level gauge system of claim 10, wherein the transmitter controller is arranged to control the pulse width to vary over time so that a scanning is made among a multitude of different pulse widths. 12. The radar level gauge system of claim 7, wherein the means for directing the transmitter pulse signal towards the filling material comprises an antenna. 13. The radar level gauge system of claim 7, wherein the means for directing the transmitter pulse signal towards the filling material comprises a probe. 14. The method of claim 7, further comprising means for modulating the pulse.