Patent ID: 11959791
Assignee: B/E AEROSPACE, INC.
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 12:
13. An aircraft, comprising:
a toilet disposed in a lavatory;
a waste tank;
a fluid conduit extending from the toilet to the waste tank;
a point level sensor disposed in the waste tank, the point level sensor configured to measure a wastewater level within the waste tank;
a load cell coupled to the aircraft waste tank;
a flush counter configured to count a number of toilet flushes since a previous service to the waste tank; and
a controller electronically coupled to the point level sensor, the load cell, and the flush counter, the controller configured to:
receive, via the point level sensor, a first signal indicating a level of waste within the waste tank;
receive, via the load cell, a second signal indicating a weight of the aircraft waste tank;
receive, via the flush counter, a third signal indicating the number of toilet flushes since the previous service to the aircraft waste tank;
determine whether the point level sensor is faulted;
in response to the point level sensor being faulted, determine whether:
(a) the weight of the aircraft waste tank is between a minimum weight threshold and a maximum weight threshold; and
(b) the number of toilet flushes is greater than a minimum flush threshold; and

in response to both (a) and (b) being true, send a waste system status signal to a display device onboard an aircraft indicating that the aircraft waste tank is full; and
in response to the point level sensor not being faulted, the controller is configured to determine whether:
(a) the weight of the aircraft waste tank is between the minimum weight threshold and the maximum weight threshold;
(b) the number of toilet flushes is greater than the minimum flush threshold; and
(c) the first signal indicates that the aircraft waste tank is full; and
in response to (a), (b), and (c) being true, send the waste system status signal to the display device onboard the aircraft indicating that the aircraft waste tank is full.