Patent ID: 8448510

Claim:
A device for use in monitoring a level of condensate collected in a measuring cylinder of a distillation device for distilling liquid samples, comprising: an optical system, comprising: a first, dual optical barrier including first and second transmitter/receiver pairs each capable of transmitting a light beam, the light beams respectively directed horizontally through the measuring cylinder with the first and second transmitter/receiver pairs movable via a step motor to align the light beams with a meniscus of the condensate collected in the cylinder, the first transmitter/receiver pair transmitting a first, center light beam which is centered on the measuring cylinder and alignable with a lower portion of the meniscus and the second transmitter/receiver pair transmitting a second, eccentric light beam which is offset relative to the first, center light beam and which passes between the center and the wall of the measuring cylinder and is alignable with an upper portion of the meniscus; and a second optical barrier including a third transmitter/receiver pair operable to detect and count drops of condensate which fall into the measuring cylinder.