Modular Liquid Gas Level Sensor with Wireless Data Transmission
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing liquid gas level measuring systems for tanks require direct visual inspection and are prone to damage during user-installed replacements, posing safety risks and increasing costs due to the need for manual handling and potential misinstallation.
Innovation Solution
A modular system comprising a dial module and a replaceable sensor module with a click-in connection, eliminating the need for tools and cables, allowing safe and easy sensor module exchange without detaching the dial module from the tank, and utilizing a combination of magnets for improved sensitivity and measurement range.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a mechanical float level gauge with direct visual inspection is used, then the system is reliable and simple, but it requires manual handling and direct visual inspection which increases operational complexity and safety risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical direct-visual inspection system with an electronic sensor module that uses magnetic field detection and wireless communication. The Hall effect sensor detects the position of the float mechanism magnetically without mechanical contact, and the radio module transmits data wirelessly, eliminating the need for manual visual inspection while maintaining the reliability of the mechanical float mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a magnetic field as an intermediary between the mechanical float mechanism and the electronic sensor. The float mechanism's position is transmitted magnetically to the Hall effect sensor, allowing non-contact measurement and enabling the transition from mechanical to electronic monitoring without direct mechanical coupling.
2Device complexity
If the entire level gauge is made as a single integrated unit, then the system is simpler in structure, but it increases the risk of damage during replacement and increases installation costs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the level gauge into two independent modules: a mechanical float level gauge head and a separate electronic sensor module. The sensor module can be independently replaced without affecting the mechanical gauge head, reducing installation complexity and cost while maintaining overall system functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the electronic sensing and communication functions from the mechanical gauge head, placing them in a separate sensor module. This allows the electronic components to be independently manufactured, tested, and replaced, reducing the complexity of the mechanical gauge head and lowering overall installation and maintenance costs.
3Device complexity
If a single magnet is used in the float mechanism, then the system is simpler, but it provides insufficient measurement range and sensitivity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple magnets within the float mechanism to create a composite magnetic field that provides both the required sensitivity and extended measurement range. The magnets are arranged to work together, with some providing strong local fields for sensitivity and others extending the detection range, achieving enhanced performance without significantly increasing mechanical complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances user safety, reduces the risk of damage, and lowers manufacturing and installation costs by enabling easy sensor module replacement and wireless data transmission, while maintaining visual inspection capabilities and balancing sensitivity and measurement range.
Implementation Method 1
electrical system for measuring liquid gas amount in a tank, the system comprising a set of magnetic sensors... utilizing a Hall effect sensor
Implementation Method 2
magneto-resistive transducers of magnetic field are used, having sensitivity higher than Hall effect sensors
Implementation Method 3
a magnet is arranged, so that magnetic field changes direction corresponding to rotation of the vertical element
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to a liquid gas level measuring system for use in a liquid gas tank and designed to cooperate with a float level gauge head mounted on the gas tank and made of magnetically inert material. The system comprises a dial module (1) attachable to the float level gauge head and a sensor module (2) releasably connected to the dial module (1). The dial module is provided with at least one directing dial magnet (103) magnetically coupled with a drive magnet of the float level gauge. The sensor module includes a Hall effect sensor, a battery (204) and a radio module with an antenna (205), allowing wireless measurement data transmission to a remote location.