System and method for fluid level sensing and control
OwnerCharles Wayne Zimmermaninventor
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Abstract
A system and method for sensing level of a fluid associated with a submersible pump having an impeller driven by an associated motor include a fluid level sensor having a probe with a plurality of discrete resistive elements each having an associated contact pair substantially evenly spaced along a length of the probe and an associated switch powered by an induced voltage or current generated by power provided to the submersible pump motor and activated by the fluid conducting across the contact pair to shunt the associated discrete resistive element.
Claims22
A system for sensing level of a fluid, comprising:
- a submersible pump having an impeller driven by an associated motor;
- a fluid level sensor having a probe with a plurality of discrete resistive elements each having an associated contact pair substantially evenly spaced along a length of the probe and an associated switch powered by an induced voltage or current generated by power provided to the submersible pump motor and activated by the fluid conducting across the contact pair to shunt the associated discrete resistive element.
A method for sensing level of a fluid, comprising:
- actuating switches powered by induced voltage from at least one proximate current carrying conductor in response to the level of the fluid to selectively shunt current around resistive elements positioned substantially evenly spaced along a sensing region of a fluid level probe;
- and
- measuring an electrical property of the fluid level probe to determine the level of the fluid.
A system for sensing fluid level associated with a submersible pump driven by an associated motor, comprising:
- a fluid level sensor having a probe with a plurality of contact pairs spaced along a length of the probe each having an associated switch powered by an induced voltage generated by at least one electrically isolated proximate current carrying conductor, each switch actuated when the fluid conducts across the associated contact pair to shunt an associated resistance of the probe.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.