Patent ID: 7710567

Claim:
A system, comprising: a first plurality of optical waveguides each having an end face capable of being immersed in one or more types of fluids in a container; a second plurality of optical waveguides each having an end face that opposes an associated end face of one of first plurality of optical waveguides and is spaced apart from the associated end face of the one of first plurality of optical waveguides by a gap; one or more sources of optical energy in optical communication with the first plurality of optical waveguides; one or more detectors of optical energy in optical communication with the second plurality of optical waveguides; and a computing device communicatively coupled to the one or more detectors of optical energy, wherein the computing device is capable of determining a level of the fluid in the container based on an intensity of the optical energy incident upon the one or more detectors of optical energy and relative locations of the end faces of the first and/or second plurality of optical waveguides, and wherein the system comprises only one of the sources of optical energy and only one of the detectors of optical energy and the system further comprises: (i) a first optical switch in optical communication with the source of optical energy and a first set of the optical waveguides, and communicatively coupled to the computing device: and (ii) a second optical switch in optical communication with the detector of optical energy and a second set of the optical waveguides, and communicatively coupled to the computing device, wherein the computing device coordinates the operation of the first and second optical switches so that the first optical switch places each of the optical waveguides in the first set of the optical waveguides in optical communication with the source of optical energy as the second optical switch places an associated one of the optical waveguides of the second set of the optical waveguides in optical communication with the detector of optical energy.