Patent ID: 7177780

Claim:
In a liquid product facility that periodically monitors a measured height of liquid product within one or more tanks for storage thereof, as well as monitors a volume flow dispensed there from, a method of determining a relationship between volume and variance between expected volume and calibrated volume of liquid product within the one or more tanks in order to show volume to height and volume to variance relationships therein, the method comprising: determining an initial volume of liquid product within one or more tanks; monitoring flow of liquid product from the one or more tanks for determining a dispensed volume of liquid product over a period of time; comparing the initial volume of liquid product with the dispensed volume of liquid product for determining a calibrated volume of liquid product within the tank, which represents the actual amount of liquid product within the one or more tanks at a specific period in time; at the specific period in time, measuring the height of the liquid product within the tank for determining an expected volume of liquid product within the one or more tanks based on a previously designed tank chart of height to volume ratios; comparing the calibrated volume to the expected volume of liquid product for determining a variance; and storing the determined variance for subsequent use in one or more of: creating one or more variance to volume graphs for variance trend analysis; and creating a volume to height chart relative to the variance from the previously designed tank chart in order to compensate for tilt, deformation, and other inaccuracy in the tank when determining an appropriate volume of liquid product with relation to the height thereof.