Devices and systems for water flow monitoring
AssigneeDrizzlex Ltd.
InventorAriel Altura
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The invention provides a uniquely designed flowmeter device to be coupled to a plumbing fixture (i.e., a faucet, showerhead, toilet, etc.) and provide improved and automated monitoring of water flow characteristics through such plumbing fixture. The flowmeter device allows for monitoring of overall water usage, wherein such water usage information is useful in determining and associating appropriate billing of water usage to a corresponding user, as well as identifying abnormal water usage indicative of potential leaks or damage to the plumbing fixture or supply line(s).
Claims20
A flowmeter device configured to measure of rate of water flowing therethrough, the flowmeter being configured to be operably coupled to a plumbing fixture to thereby provide monitoring of water flow through said plumbing fixture, the flowmeter comprising:
- a main flow channel defining a fluid pathway and comprising an upstream inlet and a downstream outlet, the main flow channel configured to receive water flowing from a water supply line and provide said water to a plumbing fixture;
- a rotatable member positioned within the main flow channel between the inlet and outlet and configured to rotate in response to water flowing through the main flow channel, the rotatable member being mounted to an axle member;
- a multi-pole magnet mounted to an upper end of the axle member and isolated from the main flow channel via a bearing plate positioned about the axle member and enclosing the multi-pole magnet and upper end of the axle member within a chamber separated from the main flow channel, the multi-pole magnet configured to correspondingly rotate upon rotation of the rotatable member;
- a sensing module configured to sense an amount of water flow through the main flow channel based, at least in part, on rotation of the rotatable member and corresponding rotation of the multi-pole magnet;
- and
- a communication module configured to transmit, receive, and control data traffic to and from the flowmeter, said communication module being operably coupled to the sensing module and configured to transmit water flow data received from the sensing module, said water flow data being associated with the sensed amount of water flow through the main flow channel.
A system for providing automated water flow monitoring, the system comprising:
- a cloud-based, distributed computing architecture configured to communicate with one or more user-associated computing devices over a network, the cloud-based, distributed computing architecture comprising:
- a server comprising a hardware processor coupled to non-transitory, computer-readable memory containing instructions executable by the processor to cause the server to:
- receive, in real-time, or near real-time, water flow data from one or more of a plurality of flowmeter devices, wherein each of said flowmeter devices is operably coupled to a respective plumbing fixture of a property and said water flow data comprises a sensed amount of water flow through the each of said flowmeter devices and the respective plumbing fixture;
- analyze the water flow data to identify water usage information;
- and
- report water usage information to a user.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.