Patents
US 12055427 B1: Apparatus and method for determination of liquid mass
- Granted
- 2024-08-06
- Filed
- 2020-09-23 application 17029719
- Type
- Utility · 26 claims
- Elsewhere
- Google Patents ↗ · USPTO patent document ↗ · USPTO Patent Center record ↗
Abstract
The present disclosure generally pertains to devices and methods for determining propellant mass based on average measurements irrespective of the fluid orientation in a fuel tank. The device is useful in detecting fuel levels in tanks where the fuel is in motion, for instance in aircraft (i.e., undergoing varying acceleration maneuvers) or spacecraft (i.e., a microgravity environment). The devices and methods can also be used for determining the liquid in a surface tension screen liquid acquisition device (LAD), and particularly, the incipient breakdown as gas bubbles enter or are formed inside the LAD as the screen dries or heat transfer induces vaporization. The same basic electrode configuration can be used to stir the liquid to reduce thermal stratification and condense vapor bubbles.
Source: PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 (ipg240806.xml).
Assignees
| Assignee | Type | Place | Also on furp.org | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board of Trustees of the Univeristy of Alabama, for and on behalf of the University of Alabama in Huntsville 88 patents | US company or organization | Huntsville, AL | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Inventors
| Inventor | Place | Patents | Person page | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| James B. Blackmon | Brownsboro, AL | 7 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
CPC categories
| Subclass | Category | First group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| G01F | Measuring volume, volume flow, mass flow or liquid level; metering by volume | G01F23/263 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| G01N | Investigating or analysing materials by determining their chemical or physical properties | G01N27/228 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Cooperative Patent Classification, as currently assigned (one row per subclass).
Assignments and security interests
| Recorded | What | From | To | Reel/frame | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-02-28 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | BLACKMON, JAMES B. signed 2019-06-04 | BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA, FOR AND ON BEHALF OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA IN HUNTSVILLE HUNTSVILLE, AL | 66702/355 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
Documents recorded with the USPTO Assignment Recordation Branch that list this patent. A security interest is a lender’s claim on the patent as collateral; a release ends it.
USPTO bulk data: PatentsView granted patents, disambiguated (PVGPATDIS) for patents, assignees, inventors, places and CPC categories; the USPTO Patent Assignment Dataset (ECORSEXC) for assignments and security interests. Patents filed in the last 20 years. No claims or full text. Links to other records are by name (and state): EXACT means the identical full name and state; FUZZY means a looser name match, with the confidence shown.