Passive leak detection for building water supply
First Claim
1. A method for detecting small leaks of liquid in a plumbing system, the method comprising:
- measuring liquid flow within a pipe of the plumbing system with a flow sensor, wherein the flow sensor does not measure temperature;
determining algorithmically using the flow sensor that there is no intentional liquid egress from the plumbing system caused by an open water fixture;
measuring temperature of the liquid over time at a point in the plumbing system upstream from a leak while there is no intentional liquid egress and no measured liquid flow as measured by the flow sensor;
processing measured temperature over time to determine whether a decay of the measured temperature exceeds a threshold decay of liquid in the plumbing system; and
transmitting a leak detected signal when the decay exceeds the threshold decay.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for detecting small leaks in a plumbing system is disclosed. A temperature sensor coupled to the water in the plumbing system is used to determine if there is a leak. During times of inactivity for fixtures in the plumbing systems, a flow sensor might measure usage of water that would indicate a leak. For very small leaks, the flow is below a minimum measurable flow of the flow sensor. Embodiments of the invention measure temperature of water within a pipe coupled to the plumbing system. Temperature will generally decay in a particular predicable way when there is flow as the temperature of water upon entry to the building is lower than the air temperature within the building. Signal processing, machine learning and/or statistical approaches are used to analyze the temperature and optionally flow and/or pressure over time to determine when a leak is likely.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for detecting small leaks of liquid in a plumbing system, the method comprising:
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measuring liquid flow within a pipe of the plumbing system with a flow sensor, wherein the flow sensor does not measure temperature; determining algorithmically using the flow sensor that there is no intentional liquid egress from the plumbing system caused by an open water fixture; measuring temperature of the liquid over time at a point in the plumbing system upstream from a leak while there is no intentional liquid egress and no measured liquid flow as measured by the flow sensor; processing measured temperature over time to determine whether a decay of the measured temperature exceeds a threshold decay of liquid in the plumbing system; and transmitting a leak detected signal when the decay exceeds the threshold decay. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A water device for detecting small leaks of liquid in a plumbing system, the water device comprising:
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one or more processors; and one or more memories, wherein the one or more memories have machine readable instructions to; measure liquid flow within a pipe of the plumbing system with a flow sensor, wherein the flow sensor does not measure temperature; determine algorithmically using the flow sensor that there is no intentional liquid egress from the plumbing system caused by an open water fixture; measure temperature of the liquid over time at a point in the plumbing system upstream from a leak while there is no intentional liquid egress and no measured liquid flow as measured by the flow sensor; process measured temperature over time to determine whether a decay of the measured temperature exceeds a threshold decay of liquid in the plumbing system; and transmit a leak detected signal when the decay exceeds the threshold decay. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. One or more non-transitory machine-readable mediums for detecting small leaks in a plumbing system having machine-executable instructions configured to:
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measure liquid flow within a pipe of the plumbing system with a flow sensor, wherein the flow sensor does not measure temperature; determine algorithmically using the flow sensor that there is no intentional liquid egress from the plumbing system caused by an open water fixture; measure temperature of the liquid over time at a point in the plumbing system upstream from a leak while there is no intentional liquid egress and no measured liquid flow as measured by the flow sensor; process measured temperature over time to determine whether a decay of the measured temperature exceeds a threshold decay of liquid in the plumbing system; and transmit a leak detected signal when the decay exceeds the threshold decay. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification