Contactless waste tank level sensing systems and methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12018972-B2
Application number	US-202217846387-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 22, 2022
Priority date	Nov 24, 2021
Publication date	Jun 25, 2024
Grant date	Jun 25, 2024

Abstract

A system may comprise: a contactless sensor configured to couple to a waste tank; a controller electronically coupled to the contactless sensor, the controller configured to: receive, via the contactless sensor, a waste water level data from the contactless sensor, calculate a waste water level based on the waste water level data.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system, comprising:
a waste level detection system comprising a ball and socket joint and a contactless sensor, the contactless sensor configured to couple to a waste tank via the ball and socket joint;
a controller electronically coupled to the contactless sensor, the controller configured to:
receive, via the contactless sensor, a waste water level data from the contactless sensor,
rotate, via the ball and socket joint, the contactless sensor to allow the contactless sensor to obtain various data points within the waste tank, and
map a waste water profile based on the waste water level data.

2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a display device electronically coupled to the controller, the controller configured to send the waste water profile to the display device.

3. The system of claim 1 , further comprising the waste tank, wherein the waste tank is disposed on an aircraft.

4. The system of claim 1 , further comprising an actuator electronically coupled to the controller, the controller configured to actuate the actuator in response to the controller determining the waste water profile exceeded a level threshold.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the actuator is configured to lock a lavatory in an aircraft.

6. The system of claim 4 , wherein the actuator is configured to close a valve disposed between a toilet bowl and the waste tank.

7. The system of claim 1 , further comprising the waste tank and a transparent lens, the contactless sensor configured to transmit and receive a laser beam through the transparent lens, the transparent lens coupled to the waste tank.

8. A plumbing system for an aircraft, comprising:
a waste tank;
a toilet bowl;
a fluid conduit extending from the waste tank to the toilet bowl;
a valve at least partially disposed in the fluid conduit; and
a waste water level detection system comprising a contactless sensor and a ball and socket joint, the ball and socket joint coupled to the waste tank, the contactless sensor coupled to the ball and socket joint, the contactless sensor configured to emit a laser beam into the waste tank and receive a return signal of the laser beam to determine a waste water level in the waste tank, the waste water level detection system configured to facilitate rotatory motion, via the ball and socket joint, of the contactless sensor to allow the contactless sensor to obtain various data points within the waste tank and map a waste water profile within the waste tank.

9. The plumbing system of claim 8 , further comprising a transparent lens coupled to the waste tank, the laser beam configured to travel through the transparent lens.

10. The plumbing system of claim 8 , further comprising a controller in electronic communication with the contactless sensor, the controller configured to calculate the waste water level in the waste tank based on sensor data from the contactless sensor.

11. The plumbing system of claim 10 , further comprising a display device electronically coupled to the controller, the display device configured to display the waste water level in the waste tank.

12. The plumbing system of claim 11 , wherein the controller is configured to send the waste water level in the waste tank to the display device.

13. The plumbing system of claim 10 , further comprising an actuator electronically coupled to the controller, the controller configured to actuate the actuator in response to the controller determining a waste water level threshold has been exceeded.

14. The plumbing system of claim 13 , wherein the actuator is configured to at least one of lock a lavatory in the aircraft and close the valve.

15. An aircraft, comprising:
a waste tank;
a waste level detection system comprising a ball and socket joint and a contactless sensor, the ball and socket joint coupled to the waste tank, the contactless sensor coupled to the ball and socket joint, the contactless sensor configured to emit a laser beam into the waste tank and receive a return signal of the laser beam to determine a waste water level in the waste tank, the waste level detection system configured to facilitate rotatory motion, via the ball and socket joint, of the contactless sensor to allow the contactless sensor to obtain various data points within the waste tank and map a waste water profile within the waste tank; and
a controller configured to receive data from the contactless sensor, the controller configured to determine the waste water profile based on the data.

16. The aircraft of claim 15 , further comprising a transparent lens coupled to the waste tank, the contactless sensor configured to emit the laser beam through the transparent lens.

17. The aircraft of claim 15 , wherein the contactless sensor is disposed external to a cavity defined by the waste tank.

Assignees

• Be Aerospace Inc

Inventors

• Acharya Pradeep
• Rao Sreekanth Koti Ananda
• Dattatri Shyam Kumar

Classifications

• G01N33/4875

  Details of handling test elements, e.g. dispensing or storage, not specific to a particular test method (test-elements per se B01L, automatic analysers G01N35/00, in-vivo analysis on the human body for medical diagnosis A61B) · CPC title

• G01S17/88

  Lidar systems specially adapted for specific applications · CPC title

• B64D11/02 Primary

  Toilet fittings · CPC title

• G01F23/2928

  using light reflected on the material surface · CPC title

• G01S17/08

  for measuring distance only (indirect measurement G01S17/46; active triangulation systems G01S17/48) · CPC title