Granted Patent B1

US 8,079,245 · App. 12/038,895 · Granted Dec 20, 2011

Assignee: EnerTrac, Inc.

Abstract

Claims (47)

1. A method for calibrating a tank sensor having an existing fuel level indicator, the method comprising the steps of:

optically sensing the position of the existing fuel level indicator before a delivery of fuel;

measuring the position of the existing fuel level indicator after the delivery of fuel; and

performing a calibration at least partially based on the measurements and an amount of fuel delivered.

2. The method of claim 1 , further including determining a fuel level of the tank, before the delivery of fuel, based on the amount of fuel delivered.

3. The method of claim 1 , further including determining a fuel level of the tank after performing the calibration.

4. The method of claim 1 , further including transmitting calibration data after performing the calibration.

5. The method of claim 1 , further including;

measuring the position of the existing fuel level indicator after removing a portion of fuel from the tank, after the delivery of fuel; and

determining the fuel level of the tank.

6. A method, comprising:

receiving a first indication of a position of a fuel level indicator of a tank at a first time, the first indication being a frequency of a timer;

adding an amount of fuel to the tank;

receiving a second indication of the position of the fuel level indicator at a second time, after the amount of fuel is added to the tank;

calibrating the fuel level indicator based on the first indication, the second indication, and the amount;

receiving a third indication of the position of the fuel level indicator at a third time, after a portion of the fuel is removed from the tank; and

determining a fuel level of the tank based on the third indication.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein receiving the first indication includes optically sensing the position of the fuel level indicator at the first time.

8. The method of claim 6 , wherein a relationship between the first indication and the second indication is linear.

9. The method of claim 6 , further including calibrating the fuel level indicator based on an ambient temperature.

10. The method of claim 6 , further including transmitting the fuel level of the tank based on the third indication.

11. The method of claim 6 , further including installing an optical sensor on the fuel level indicator prior to receiving the first indication.

12. A method, comprising:

sensing a first position of a fuel level indicator of a tank at a first time;

producing a first frequency based on the first position;

adding an amount of fuel to the tank;

sensing a second position of the fuel level indicator at a second time, after the amount of fuel is added to the tank; and

calibrating the fuel level indicator based on the first position, the second position, and the amount.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising producing a second frequency, different from the first frequency, based on the second position.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein calibrating the fuel level indicator includes determining the slope between a first point, based on the first position and a fuel level of the tank at the first time, and a second point, based on the second position and a fuel level of the tank at the second time.

15. The method of claim 12 , further including:

sensing a third position of the fuel level indicator at a third time, after a portion of the fuel is removed from the tank; and

determining a fuel level of the tank based on the third position.

16. The method of claim 15 , further including transmitting the fuel level of the tank based on the third indication.

17. The method of claim 12 , further including installing an optical sensor on the fuel level indicator prior to sensing the first position.

18. A method for calibrating a fuel oil monitoring system, including:

sensing a first frequency indicative of a first data representative of a volume of fuel in a fuel tank, and transmitting the first data to a database;

adding an amount of fuel to the fuel tank, and transmitting second data representative of the amount of fuel to the database;

sensing third data representative of the volume of fuel in the fuel tank after adding the amount, and transmitting the third data to a database;

calculating a relationship based on the first data, the second data, and the third data;

sensing fourth data representative of a volume of fuel in the fuel tank after calculating the relationship, and transmitting the fourth data to the database; and

determining the volume of fuel in the fuel tank after calculating based on the relationship and the fourth data.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the system includes a degree day calculator, the degree day calculator configured to calculate a predicted volume of fuel in the fuel tank.

20. The method of claim 18 , further including:

calculating a predicted volume of fuel in the fuel tank;

comparing the predicted volume with the determined volume; and

producing an alarm when the difference between the predicted volume and the determined volume is greater than a predetermined amount.

Assignments (8)

Continuity (1)