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US 12,066,313 B1Granted
Non-invasive well level monitoring and maintenance
OwnerAlexander Robert Griesselinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present method and apparatus use information on the voltage V and the current I drawn by a pump motor to determine the water or liquid level height H in a well in which the pump is employed. In typical examples, the power of the motor can be related to the pressure and the fluid flow, and equations can then be used to relate fluid flow Q1 to fluid height H in the well. Glossary for FIG Calc.=Calculation Meas.=Measurement Detr.=Determines Avg.=Average Param.=Parameter Calib.=Calibration =command CD=Control device (example smart phone).
Claims20
An apparatus for monitoring the fluid level in a well provided with a pump and associated motor, the apparatus comprising:
- an electrical current sensor positioned outside of the well and connected to a phase wire of the pump, the current sensor operable to measure a current drawn by the associated motor and the current sensor providing a current signal responsive to the current drawn by the motor;
- a voltage sensor positioned outside of the well and connected to a phase wire of the pump and to a ground wire of the pump, the voltage sensor operable to measure a voltage across the associated motor and the voltage sensor providing a voltage signal responsive to the voltage across the motor;
- wherein the voltage sensor is connected between the phase wire and the ground wire;
- and
- a processor for processing the current signal and the voltage signal from the operation of the pump motor to obtain an adjusted current signal that is indicative of the motor operating condition, being based on the current signal normalized at each measurement interval by the simultaneous voltage signal in relation to a nominal pump motor voltage to eliminate the influence of fluctuating voltage on the measured current value,
- for using the adjusted current signal to obtain a value for the fluid height in the well using relationships of the current drawn under particular motor operating conditions and a known pump and motor specification data from a library to calculate the value for the fluid height;
- and for taking at least one action based on the obtained fluid height, said at least one action including an action selected from the group of:
- sending instructions to turn-off and turn-on the pump motor,
- providing the obtained fluid height information to a monitor that stores a record of the liquid height over several monitoring intervals, and
- providing the obtained fluid height information to a remote control interface that displays information to an operator.
7 more elements
A method for monitoring the liquid level in a well serviced by an electrically-motorized pump, the method comprising the steps of:
- obtaining a current signal indicative of a current drawn by a motor of the electrically-motorized pump using a current sensor which is positioned outside of the well, the current sensor connected to a phase wire of the electrically-motorized pump;
- obtaining a voltage signal indicative of the voltage across the electrically-motorized pump using a voltage sensor which is positioned outside of the well, the voltage sensor connected to a phase wire and a ground wire of the electrically motorized pump;
- wherein the voltage sensor is connected between the phase wire and the ground wire;
- filtering the instantaneous current and voltage signals to remove transient fluctuations to obtain filtered signals processing the current signal and the voltage signal from the operation of the pump motor to obtain an adjusted current signal that is indicative of the motor operating condition, being based on the current signal normalized at each measurement interval by the simultaneous voltage signal in relation to a nominal pump motor voltage to eliminate the influence of fluctuating voltage on the measured current value,
- for using the adjusted current signal to obtain a value for the fluid height in the well using an analysis algorithm to calculate the fluid height from the current drawn under particular motor operating conditions and a known pump and motor specification data from a library;
- using the indicated fluid level to perform at least one of:
- controlling the power to the motor to turn it on and off responsive to the indicated fluid height,
- recording the indicated fluid level over a number of intervals, and
- presenting the indicated fluid level to an operator.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.