Patent ID: 8107319
Filing Date: 2012-01-31
Classification: G01F,G01S,Y10S

Abstract:
1. A method of determining the volume or height of fluid in a reservoir comprising the steps of: (a) using first burst of focused acoustic energy to raise temporarily a protuberance on a free surface of the fluid, (b) directing a second burst of acoustic energy to the free surface of the fluid at a point in time where the second burst of energy will reflect from the protuberance, (c) detecting echoes from the second burst of acoustic energy, and (d) using the detected echoes to determine the height of the fluid, wherein as a result of step (a), the ratio of the energy in the echoes detected in step (c) to the energy directed in step (b) is at least 1.5 times as high as it would be if step (a) had not been performed.