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US 12,596,027 B2Granted
Device, system, and method for fluid mass determination
AssigneeTendo Technologies Inc.
InventorsMarcus Hultmark, Yuyang Fan, Clay Byers, Bayard G. Gardineer
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Abstract
A system and method are disclosed, that allow for the determination of a mass of a fluid within a container by first vibrating an external surface of a container, where the container contains a fluid (such as a compressed fluid, a gas, a liquid, a mixture of a gas and liquid, or a supercritical fluid). Then, vibration data is received at the external surface of the container, and the vibration data is then converted into one or more frequencies. The mass of the fluid in the container is then estimated based on the one or more frequencies.
Claims27
A sensor system, comprising:
- an activation and detection subsystem configured to be positioned on an external surface of a container containing a fluid, the activation and detection subsystem configured to not move relative to the container, and the activation and detection subsystem further configured to:
- cause a vibration at a range of predetermined frequencies at the external surface of the container;
- and
- receive vibration data—at or near the external surface of the container;
- and
- one or more processors operably communicating with the activation and detection subsystem, the one or more processors configured to, collectively:
- receive the vibration data from the activation and detection subsystem;
- convert the vibration data into one or more resonance frequencies related to the range of predetermined frequencies;
- and
- determine an estimated mass or fill level of the fluid based on the one or more resonance frequencies by applying a calibration curve;
- wherein the activation and detection subsystem is removably couplable to the container and includes:
- a means for causing a vibration and a means for receiving vibration data, the means for causing vibration consisting of a voice coil actuator or a piezoelectric or piezoresistive transducer, the means for receiving vibration data consisting of a vibration sensor, an accelerometer, a microphone, the piezoelectric or piezoresistive transducer, or an additional piezoelectric or piezoresistive transducer;
- and
- an elastic material configured to be operably coupled to the means for causing a vibration and/or the means for receiving vibration data, and to mechanically isolate the means for causing a vibration from the means for receiving vibration data, where the elastic material is not disposed between at least a portion of the means for receiving vibration data and the container.
11 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.