Apparatus and method for monitoring the condition of septic tanks
First Claim
1. A method for monitoring the status of a septic system which includes a tank, having a bottom, an inlet, and an outlet, wherein the tank contains three levels of material, consisting of an essentially solid sediment level, a liquid level above the sediment level, and an essentially solid cake level above the liquid level, comprising:
- sensing the location of the bottom of the septic tank;
sensing the location of the boundary between the sediment level and the liquid level;
sensing the location of the boundary between the liquid level and the cake level;
calculating the status of the septic system as a function of said locations; and
outputting said status remotely from the tank.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electronic sensor for detecting when a septic tank reaches it'"'"'s design capacity. The sensor uses a sonar transponder to measure the thickness of the three layers of material present in a properly operating septic tank. The sonar transponder is encapsulated in a environmentally sealed sensor assembly that floats in a self-orienting fashion at the top of the material contained in the septic tank. The sensor relays signals through a cable harness to a signal interpretation module located in a convenient indoor location. The signal interpretation module contains a digital signal processing (DSP) sub-system and an alarm sub-system. The DSP sub-system interprets the electronic signals from the sonar sensor resulting in a measurement of the relative volume of the material in septic tank as well as measures of the elevation of the bottom of the top (scum) layer and the top of the bottom (sludge) layer. Any of these measures may indicate that the tank has reached it'"'"'s design capacity and should therefor be pumped. The alarm sub-system provides visual and audio alarms in a escalating fashion providing early warning of the impending need to service the tank.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method for monitoring the status of a septic system which includes a tank, having a bottom, an inlet, and an outlet, wherein the tank contains three levels of material, consisting of an essentially solid sediment level, a liquid level above the sediment level, and an essentially solid cake level above the liquid level, comprising:
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sensing the location of the bottom of the septic tank; sensing the location of the boundary between the sediment level and the liquid level; sensing the location of the boundary between the liquid level and the cake level; calculating the status of the septic system as a function of said locations; and outputting said status remotely from the tank. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An apparatus for monitoring the status of a septic system which includes a tank, having a bottom, an inlet, and an outlet, wherein the tank contains three levels of material, consisting of an essentially solid sediment level, a liquid level above the sediment level, and an essentially solid cake level above the liquid level, comprising:
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means to input and store the dimensions of the tank; means to input and store the locations of the inlet and outlet; means for sensing the location of the bottom of the septic tank; means for sensing the location of the boundary between the sediment level and the liquid level; means for sensing the location of the boundary between the liquid level and the cake level; means for calculating the status of the septic system as a function of said locations; and means for outputting said status remotely from the tank. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification