METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR IDENTIFYING LEAKS IN LIQUID PIPE CONSTRUCTION

• US 20120296580A1
• Filed: 05/16/2011
• Published: 11/22/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Enleak Technologies Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Enleak Technologies Ltd.
• Inventors: BARKAY, Dov
• Application Number:
  US13/108,288
• Publication Number:
  US 20120296580A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/51
• CPC Class Codes: F17D 3/18 for measuring the quantity of conveyed product measuring volume or volume flow, in general G01F
• CPC Class Codes: F17D 5/005 of gas pipelines, e.g. alarm
• CPC Class Codes: F17D 5/02 Preventing, monitoring, or locating loss
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 3/243 for pipes
• CPC Class Codes: G16Z 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other main groups of this subclass

Abstract

The present invention provides a system for identifying leaks in liquids pipe construction. The system is comprised of: At least one detection unit is positioned in proximity of at least one exit point of said pipe construction comprising an acoustic sensor and a wireless communication unit, an electronically controlled shutoff unit installed on an entrance point of the pipe construction, the unit comprising a valve, an acoustic sensor and wireless communication unit arranged for transmitting data of water flow and receiving control signals, a controller network device for receiving the measurement data from all sensors. The controller is programmed to detect leaks when identifying differences between the measured liquid flow at the entrance point and measured flow at the exit points.

Claims

1. An system for identifying leaks in liquids pipe construction, said system comprised of:

at least one detection unit comprising an acoustic sensor for measuring liquid flow and a wireless communication unit, said detection unit is positioned in proximity of at least one exit point of said pipe construction;

at least one electronically controlled shutoff unit comprising a valve, an acoustic sensor and wireless communication unit, said shutoff unit installed on an entrance point of the pipe construction, said communication unit arranged for transmitting data of water flow and receiving control signals;

at least one controller network device, for receiving the measurement data from all sensors, wherein said controller is programmed to detect leaks when identifying differences between the measured liquid flow at the entrance point and measured flow at the exit points.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the controller is programmed to block said entrance point upon identifying leaks.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the controller device further include cellular network module and SIM card for transmitting the leak alerts to predefined phone numbers.

4. The system of claims 1 wherein the controller is programmed to detect leaks when identifying measured liquid flow at the entrance point and non measured flow at all the exit points.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the pipe construction includes more than one entrance points and the controller is programmed to detect leaks when identifying differences between sum of the measured liquid flow at the entrance points and measured flow at the exit points.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the detection unit has a unique identifier code enabling the control unit to identify irregular flow at specific controlled exit point enabling quantitative data analysis of liquid flow in the pipe construction.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the shutoff valve unit is comprised of at least:

acoustic sensor, wireless communication unit, a processor and an electronic controlled valve.

6. The system of claim one wherein the detection unit further comprises a processing unit, a filtering unit, amplifier unit, timer unit and comparator unit which are arranged to analyze sounds signals near by an exit point based on designated sound recognition algorithm.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the sound recognition algorithm is programmed to identify sounds signals related to water flow including “

dripping”

sounds at predefined distance and filtering out background noise.

10. A method for identifying leaks in liquids pipe construction, said method comprise the steps of:

Identifying sounds signals in proximity of at least one exit point of said pipe construction;

Identifying sounds signals in proximity of at least one entrance point of said pipe construction;

Analyzing said sound signals to identify liquid flow at the exit points or the entrance point;

Transmitting the measured sound which indicate of liquid flow to a control unit;

detect leaks when identifying differences between the measured liquid flow at the entrance point and measured flow at the exit points.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of blocking said entrance point upon identifying leaks.

12. The method of claim 10 further comprising the step of transmitting the leak alerts to predefined phone numbers.

13. The method of claims 10 wherein leaks are identified when a liquid flow is detected at the entrance point and non measured flow is measured at all the exit points.

14. The method of claim 10 wherein the pipe construction includes more than one entrance points and a leaks is detected when identifying differences between sum of the measured liquid flow at the entrance points and measured flow at the exit points.

15. The method of claim 10 wherein the analysis of sounds signals for identifying water flow from an exit point is based on designated sound recognition algorithm arranged to identify sounds signals related to water flow.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein sound recognition algorithm includes identifying dripping sounds at predefined distance and filtering out background noise.