System for monitoring propane or other consumable liquid in remotely located storage tanks

Abstract

An improved apparatus and method for monitoring the levels of propane or other consumable liquid in remotely located storage tanks and coordinating delivery of liquid to those tanks, including an improved method of using the remote monitoring data to identify out-of-ordinary conditions at remote tanks, optimally schedule purchases or deliveries, improve safety, and more efficiently operate a propane dealership. More accurate and timely information concerning the status of customer tanks serves to improve operational efficiencies and increase safety. Data received from remote sensors can be collected and organized so that it is easily understood and utilized through the implementation of a user interface accessible via the Internet that allows the information to be presented in an efficient graphical and contextual fashion. Operational efficiencies can also be improved by calculating site-specific Degree-days and K-factors for each tank and by taking historical propane usage for each tank, weather conditions, and projected fuel usage into account.

1 . An apparatus for monitoring fluid levels in a fuel storage tank comprising:
 at least one tank sensor providing information indicative of the amount of fluid in the storage tank;   at least one monitoring unit associated with each storage tank, said monitoring unit communicatively linked with at least one tank sensor so that information measured by the tank sensor is communicated to the monitoring unit and said monitoring unit including a processor to receive and process the communicated tank sensor information and a memory to store processed tank sensor information; and   wherein at least one monitoring unit is capable of calculating predicted fluid levels based upon communicated tank sensor information and comparing actual fluid levels to predicted fluid levels to determine whether a predefined out-of-ordinary event has occurred.   
     
     
         2 - 30 . (canceled)