Measuring contamination to determine leak location
AssigneeItron, Inc.
InventorPremananda Sahoo
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Techniques for determining a location of a leak in a water distribution system are described herein. In some examples, a remote leak detection service and/or a leak detection device may receive measurements from a pressure sensor, a contamination sensor, and a flow rate sensor positioned along the water distribution system. Based on a difference in time between a change in pressure detected by the pressure sensor and a subsequent change in contamination detected by the contamination sensor, the flow rate measured by the flow rate sensor, and dimensions of the water distribution system, the remote leak detection system may determine the location of the leak.
Claims20
A leak detection device comprising:
- one or more processors;
- one or more computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed on the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising:
- receiving, from a pressure sensor on a water distribution system, an indication of a change in pressure in the water distribution system, wherein the change in the pressure is associated with a first time;
- based at least in part on receiving the indication of the change in the pressure in the water distribution system, causing a contamination sensor associated with the leak detection device to take one or more contamination measurements in the water distribution system;
- receiving, from a flow measurement sensor on the water distribution system, one or more flow measurements in the water distribution system;
- and
- at least one of
- detecting a location of a leak in the water distribution system based on the change in pressure, the one or more contamination measurements, and the one or more flow measurements;
- or
- transmitting data associated with the change in pressure, the one or more contamination measurements, and the one or more flow measurements, associated with a location of a leak, to a remote leak detection service.
A system comprising:
- one or more processors;
- one or more computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed on the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising:
- receiving, over one or more networks, pressure data indicating a change in pressure at a pressure sensor in a water distribution system, the change in pressure associated with a first time;
- receiving, over the one or more networks, contamination data indicating a change in contamination at a contamination sensor in the water distribution system, the change in contamination being associated with a second time subsequent the first time;
- receiving, over the one or more networks, flow measurement data indicating a flow rate measured by a flow rate sensor at a location in the water distribution system;
- and
- determining, based at least in part on the pressure data, the contamination data, and the flow measurement data, a location of a leak in the water distribution system.
A method comprising:
- receiving, from a pressure sensor on a water distribution system, pressure data indicating a change in pressure in the water distribution system, wherein the change in pressure is associated with a first time;
- receiving, from a contamination sensor on the water distribution system, contamination data indicating a detected change in contamination in the water distribution system, wherein the change in contamination is associated with a second time;
- receiving, from a flow rate sensor on the water distribution system, flow rate data indicating a flow rate for the water distribution system;
- determining a time difference between the first time and the second time;
- and
- determining, based at least in part on the time difference and the flow rate data, a location of a leak in the water distribution system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.