Patent ID: 8096177

Claim:
An ultrasonic-based fuel inventory monitoring system, capable of measuring fuel levels and detecting and characterizing water and other contaminants in fuel storage tanks, comprising: a transmitting transducer for transmitting an electrical impulse into a tank, the transmitting transducer located on an outer face of a wall of the tank; a receiving transducer for converting the transmitting electrical impulse into a transmitting sound wave and for converting an echo of the transmitting sound wave into a received electrical signal; a receiver for amplifying and transmitting the received electrical signal; and a display console for receiving the received electrical signal, and displaying the received electrical signal as a visual depiction of the contents in the tank; wherein a vertical axis of the transmitting transducer is generally oriented to be perpendicular with the wall of the tank such that the transmitting electrical impulse travels through the wall of the tank; and wherein the receiving transducer comprises a buoyant float device in approximate alignment with the vertical axis of the transmitting transducer for positioning the receiving transducer at a fuel-air interface.