Patent attributes
The invention provides an optical liquid level sensor used to determine the level of a liquid within a vessel. The sensor includes two adjacent elongated optical elements, such as optical fibers, which connect a first end, or “sensing end”, to a second end, or “non-sensing end”. The sensing end includes an optical lens for sensing the level of a high temperature liquid, while the non-sensing end includes electronic components for processing optical signal data relating to the sensed liquid level. The ends are sufficiently separated by the elongated optical elements, such that high temperatures exerted on the sensing end when it is immersed in high-temperature liquid are not exerted on the non-sensing end. This configuration avoids the temperature degradation of the electronic components, thus extending the lifetime of the sensor.
