Appeal No. 2001-1186
Application No. 08/819,609
measuring devices. In some cases, other sensors are also used
which measure the pitch or roll angle of the vehicle or the fuel
density. An approximate measure of the quantity of fuel in the
tank is developed and an algorithm is utilized to correct for
inaccuracies arising from the pitch and roll angles of the
vehicle, other external forces, or from variations in fuel
density.
Claim 1 is illustrative of the invention and reads as
follows:
1. A method for measuring the volume of a liquid in a
fuel tank in a vehicle that is subject to varying external
forces caused by movement or changes in the roll and pitch
angles of the vehicle, comprising the steps of:
conducting a plurality of measurements, each
measurement including the known volume of the tank and the
value of at least three parameters concerning the tank, said
parameters being selected from the group consisting of the
load of the tank on a load cell arranged at a first
location, the load of the tank on a load cell arranged at a
second location, the load of the tank at a load cell
arranged at a third location, the pitch angle of the
vehicle, the roll angle of the vehicle, the height of the
fuel at a first location in the tank, the height of the fuel
at a second location in the tank and the height of the fuel
at a third location in the tank,
generating an algorithm from said plurality of
measurements for determining the volume of fuel in the tank
upon the receipt of current values of said at least three
parameters,
inputting said algorithm into processor means arranged
in connection with the vehicle,
2
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