# US 12,761,019 B2 · Method for determining the cross-sectional area of a tank of a pump station

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- Number: US 12,761,019 B2
- Document ID: US12761019B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 18/721,340
- Filed: 2022-12-19
- Published: 2025-02-13
- Granted: 2026-10-13
- Earliest claimed: 2021-12-20
- Assignees: Xylem Europe GmbH
- Applicants: Xylem Europe GmbH
- Inventors: Mikael Nilsson
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12761019B2

## CPC

- G01B 13/20: for measuring areas, e.g. pneumatic planimeters
- G01B: MEASURING LENGTH, THICKNESS OR SIMILAR LINEAR DIMENSIONS; MEASURING ANGLES; MEASURING AREAS; MEASURING IRREGULARITIES OF SURFACES OR CONTOURS

## Abstract

The invention relates to a method for determining the cross-sectional area [A(H)] of a tank of a pump station within an interspace (Y). The method includes the steps of establishing the cross sectional area [A(H-seg)] of the tank in a sub-segment of the interspace (Y), operating the pump to transport liquid away from the tank and determining the pumped flow [Q(H-seg)] in the sub-segment, determining the pumped flow [Q(H)] in the interspace (Y) based on the determined sub-segment pumped flow [Q(H-seg)], operating the pump to transfer liquid away from the tank and by means of the liquid level sensor determining a liquid level change [ΔH(H)] in the interspace (Y), and determining the cross-sectional area [A(H)] of the tank within the interspace (Y), by dividing the interspace pumped flow [Q(H)] by the liquid level change [ΔH(H)], [Q(H)/ΔH(H)=A(H)].

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for determining the cross-sectional area [A(H)] of a tank of a pump station within an interspace (Y) of the tank delimited by a pump start liquid level [START] and a pump stop liquid level [STOP], as a function of the height [H] taken from the bottom of the tank, the tank of the pump station being configured for temporary storage of a liquid, wherein the pump station comprises an inlet for influent liquid, an outlet, at least one pump configured for transporting the liquid away from the tank via said outlet, and a liquid level sensor,
the method comprising the steps of:
establishing the cross sectional area [A(H-seg)] of the tank in a sub-segment of the interspace (Y) of the tank, as a function of the height [H] taken from the bottom of the tank,
operating the pump to transport liquid away from the tank and determining the pumped flow [Q(H-seg)] in the sub-segment of the interspace (Y) of the tank, as a function of the height [H] taken from the bottom of the tank,
determining the pumped flow [Q(H)] in the interspace (Y) of the tank, as a function of the height [H] taken from the bottom of the tank, based on the determined sub-segment pumped flow [Q(H-seg)],
operating the pump to transfer liquid away from the tank and by means of the liquid level sensor determining a liquid level change [ΔH(H)] in the interspace (Y) of the tank, as a function of the height [H] taken from the bottom of the tank,
determining the cross-sectional area [A(H)] of the tank within the interspace (Y) of the tank, as a function of the height [H] taken from the bottom of the tank, by dividing the interspace pumped flow [Q(H)] by the liquid level change [ΔH(H)], [Q(H)/ΔH(H)=A(H)].

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein the sub-segment pumped flow [Q(H-seg)] is considered to be constant in the sub-segment, and the interspace pumped flow [Q(H)] is equal to the sub-segment pumped flow [Q(H-seg)].

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of determining the sub-segment pumped flow [Q(H-seg)] as a function of the height [H] taken from the bottom of the tank, comprises the steps of:
operating the pump to transfer liquid away from the tank and by means of the liquid level sensor determining a liquid level change [ΔH(H)] in the sub-segment of the interspace (Y) of the tank, as a function of the height [H] taken from the bottom of the tank, and
multiplying the sub-segment cross sectional area [A(H-seg)] and the liquid level change [ΔH(H)], [A(H-seg)*ΔH(H)=Q(H-seg)].

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein the sub-segment pumped flow [Q(H-seg)] comprises addition of inflow data [IN(t)] that is representative for the inflow of liquid to the tank-during the operation of the pump.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The method according to claim 4, wherein the inflow data [IN(t)] is determined based on measured inflow of liquid to the tank before and/or after the operation of the pump.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein the height of the sub-segment is equal to or less than 25% of the interspace (Y), preferably equal to or less than 20%.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein the height of the sub-segment is equal to or more than 5% of the interspace (Y), preferably equal to or more than 10%.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein the axial distance between the pump start liquid level [START] and the upper limit of the sub-segment is equal to or more than 5% of the height of the interspace (Y) of the tank, preferably equal to or more than 10%.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein the axial distance between the pump stop liquid level [STOP] and the lower limit of the sub-segment is equal to or more than 5% of the height of the interspace (Y) of the tank, preferably equal to or more than 10%.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein the cross-sectional area [A(H)] of the pump station is used for determining the volume of the tank between the pump start liquid level [START] and the pump stop liquid level [STOP].

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code portions embedded therein, wherein the computer-readable program code portions when executed by a computer cause the computer to carry out the steps of the method according to claim 1 in order to determine the cross-sectional area [A(H)] of a tank of a pump station within an interspace (Y) of the tank delimited by a pump start liquid level [START] and a pump stop liquid level [STOP], as a function of the height [H] taken from the bottom of the tank.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

A pump station, wherein the pump station comprises a tank for temporary storage of a liquid, an inlet for influent liquid, an outlet, at least one pump configured for transporting the liquid away from the tank via said outlet, and a liquid level sensor, wherein the pump station further comprises a control unit configured for executing the steps of the method according to claim 1 in order to determine the cross-sectional area [A(H)] of the tank of the pump station within an interspace (Y) of the tank delimited by a pump start liquid level [START] and a pump stop liquid level [STOP], as a function of the height [H] taken from the bottom of the tank.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The pump station according to claim 12, wherein said at least one pump is arranged in the tank.