System and method of automatic tank refill

A method for automatically refilling a water tank mounted on a fire truck, an engine of the fire truck driving a pump operable to automatically refill a water tank from a water source, comprising:

• a pump intake line coupled between the water source and an intake inlet of the pump;
• a first pressure transducer coupled to the intake inlet of the pump and operable to measure an intake pressure;
• a second pressure transducer coupled to a discharge outlet of the pump and operable to measure a discharge pressure;
• a level sensor coupled to the water tank operable to measure a water level;
• a first discharge pipe coupled between the discharge outlet of the pump and a fire hose;
• a second discharge pipe coupled between the discharge outlet of the pump and the water tank;
• a control valve disposed in the second discharge pipe;
• and
• a controller configured to perform the steps of:
• automatically determining that the water level in the tank is low;
• automatically determining that a sufficient volume of water is supplied to the pump;
• automatically determining that a speed of the engine of the fire truck is less than a predetermined maximum speed, where the engine drives the pump;
• automatically opening the control valve to permit water from the discharge outlet of the pump to flow to the water tank;
• automatically increasing the engine speed and a speed of the pump to increase a water volume from the pump discharge outlet so that adequate water volume is supplied to a fire hose while water is supplied to the water tank;
• automatically determining that the water level in the tank is high;
• automatically closing the control valve in response to determining the water level in the tank is high;
• and
• automatically decreasing the engine speed and the pump speed.

A system for automatically refilling a water tank mounted on a fire truck having an engine driving a pump coupled to a water source, comprising:

• a pump intake line coupled between the water source and an intake inlet of the pump;
• a first pressure sensor coupled to an intake inlet of the pump and operable to sense an intake pressure;
• a second pressure sensor coupled to a discharge outlet of the pump and operable to sense a discharge pressure;
• a level sensor coupled to the water tank operable to sense a water level;
• a first discharge pipe coupled between the discharge outlet of the pump and a fire hose;
• a second discharge pipe coupled between the discharge outlet of the pump and the water tank;
• a control valve disposed in the second discharge pipe;
• and
• a controller configured to automatically sense a low water level condition of the water tank, and automatically control and coordinate an engine speed, a pump speed, and the control valve so that adequate and steady water supply to the fire hose via the first discharge pipe is automatically maintained while automatically diverting water from the water source to fill the water tank via the pump intake line, the pump, and the second discharge pipe, wherein the controller is further configured to:
• automatically determine whether the water level in the water tank meets a predetermined high condition;
• in response to the water level meeting the predetermined high condition, automatically close the control valve and automatically communicate a decrease engine speed command to the controller.

A control system on a fire truck having a pump operable to automatically refill a water tank onboard the fire truck, comprising:

• a first sensor coupled to an intake inlet of the pump coupled to a water source and operable to measure an intake pressure;
• a second sensor coupled to a discharge outlet of the pump and operable to measure a discharge pressure;
• a level sensor coupled to the water tank operable to measure a water level of the water tank;
• a control valve disposed between the discharge outlet of the pump and the water tank;
• and
• a controller configured to automatically and gradually open the control valve and coordinatingly increase an engine speed and a pump speed in response to sensing the intake pressure of the pump meeting a predetermined intake threshold, sensing the discharge pressure of the pump meeting a predetermined discharge threshold, and the water level of the water tank meeting a low threshold, so that adequate and steady water supply to a fire hose coupled to the discharge outlet of the pump is automatically maintained while automatically simultaneously refilling the water tank, wherein the controller is further configured to:
• automatically determine whether the water level in the water tank meets a predetermined high threshold;
• and
• in response to the water level meeting the predetermine high threshold, automatically close the control valve and automatically decreasing the engine and pump speeds while maintaining adequate and steady water supply to the fire hose.