IP Library Granted Patent US 9,195,876
Granted Patent B2
US 9,195,876 · App. 14/095,608 · Granted Nov 24, 2015

Oil tank farm storage monitoring

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,195,876
App. No.
14/095,608
Filed
Dec 3, 2013
Granted
Nov 24, 2015
Kind
B2
Art Unit
2667
USPC
382/190
Abstract

A system for oil storage tank monitoring, comprising an extraction module and an analysis module, wherein an extraction module is utilized to determine information from an oil storage tank image and an analysis module is utilized to perform operations on extracted information, such as for determining measurements or values of oil storage tanks.

Claims (13)

1. A computerized system for determining volume of oil in oil storage tank using satellite image data, comprising:

a computing device comprising at least a processor and a memory and further comprising an extraction software module comprising programmable code stored in the memory and operating in the processor and an analysis software module comprising programmable code stored in the memory and operating in the processor;

wherein the extraction software module extracts information from satellite image data comprising a plurality of images of an oil storage tank viewed from orbit and received from a server via a network, wherein the extracted information comprises at least information pertaining to image acquisition parameters and a sun angle dependent on the image acquisition parameters;

wherein the extracted information further comprises at least measurement information pertaining to a plurality of parameters pertaining to the oil storage tank, including at least a radius, height, and geolocation of the oil storage tank; and

further wherein the analysis software module uses the extracted information to determine a volume of oil stored in the oil storage tank by measuring a shape of a sun shadow projected onto a lid of the oil storage tank and determining a height of the tank lid based on the sun shadow and the extracted information.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the image data is stored in a database.

3. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a video display device and a pointer device.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the pointer device is used to position a cursor displayed on the video display device to designate a specific element of an image as the oil storage tank.

5. A method for determination of volume of oil in oil storage tank using satellite imagery, comprising the steps of:

loading, at a computing device comprising at least a processor, a memory, an extraction software module comprising programmable code stored in the memory and operating in the processor, and an analysis software module comprising programmable code stored in the memory and operating in the processor, a satellite image comprising at least an image of an oil storage tank viewed from orbit;

extracting information, using the extraction software module, from the satellite image, the extracted information comprising at least measurement information pertaining to a plurality of parameters pertaining to the oil storage tank including at least a radius, height, and geolocation of the oil storage tank, wherein the extracted information further comprises at least information pertaining to image acquisition parameters and a sun angle dependent on the image acquisition parameters;

determining, using the analysis software module, a volume of oil stored in the oil storage tank using the extracted information by measuring a shape of a sun shadow projected onto a lid of the oil storage tank and determining a height of the tank lid based on the sun shadow and the extracted information.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the steps are performed iteratively over a plurality of oil storage tanks.

Assignments (12)
CERTIFICATE OF AMENDMENT Recorded Jan 7, 2026
From: MAXAR INTELLIGENCE INC.
To: VANTOR INC.
Reel/Frame 074270/0330 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Nov 4, 2025
From: MAXAR INTELLIGENCE INC.
To: VANTOR INC.
Reel/Frame 073461/0724 →
RELEASE (REEL 060389/FRAME 0720) Recorded May 12, 2023
From: ROYAL BANK OF CANADA
To: MAXAR INTELLIGENCE INC.; MAXAR SPACE LLC
Reel/Frame 063633/0431 →
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded May 5, 2023
From: MAXAR INTELLIGENCE INC. (F/K/A DIGITALGLOBE, INC.); AURORA INSIGHT INC.; MAXAR MISSION SOLUTIONS INC. ((F/K/A RADIANT MISSION SOLUTIONS INC. (F/K/A THE RADIANT GROUP, INC.)); MAXAR SPACE LLC (F/K/A SPACE SYSTEMS/LORAL, LLC); SPATIAL ENERGY, LLC; MAXAR SPACE ROBOTICS LLC ((F/K/A SSL ROBOTICS LLC) (F/K/A MDA US SYSTEMS LLC)); MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES HOLDINGS INC.
To: SIXTH STREET LENDING PARTNERS, AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 063660/0138 →
TERMINATION AND RELEASE OF PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT - RELEASE OF REEL/FRAME 060389/0782 Recorded May 4, 2023
From: WILMINGTON TRUST, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: MAXAR INTELLIGENCE INC.; MAXAR SPACE LLC
Reel/Frame 063544/0074 →
TERMINATION AND RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS AND TRADEMARKS - RELEASE OF REEL/FRAME 051258/0465 Recorded May 4, 2023
From: ROYAL BANK OF CANADA, AS AGENT
To: MAXAR INTELLIGENCE INC.; MAXAR SPACE LLC
Reel/Frame 063542/0300 →
TERMINATION AND RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS AND TRADEMARKS - RELEASE OF REEL/FRAME 044167/0396 Recorded May 4, 2023
From: ROYAL BANK OF CANADA, AS AGENT
To: MAXAR INTELLIGENCE INC.; MAXAR SPACE LLC
Reel/Frame 063543/0001 →
TERMINATION AND RELEASE OF PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT - RELEASE OF REEL/FRAME 053866/0412 Recorded May 4, 2023
From: WILMINGTON TRUST, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: MAXAR INTELLIGENCE INC.; MAXAR SPACE LLC
Reel/Frame 063544/0011 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Feb 15, 2023
From: DIGITALGLOBE, INC.
To: MAXAR INTELLIGENCE INC.
Reel/Frame 062760/0832 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jun 21, 2022
From: WILMINGTON TRUST, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
To: DIGITALGLOBE, INC.; SPACE SYSTEMS/LORAL, LLC; RADIANT GEOSPATIAL SOLUTIONS LLC
Reel/Frame 060390/0282 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Jun 17, 2022
From: MAXAR INTELLIGENCE INC.; MAXAR SPACE LLC
To: WILMINGTON TRUST, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
Reel/Frame 060389/0782 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Jun 16, 2022
From: MAXAR INTELLIGENCE INC.; MAXAR SPACE LLC
To: ROYAL BANK OF CANADA
Reel/Frame 060389/0720 →