Automated smart water quality monitor and analyzer and associated methods
First Claim
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1. A fluid testing system that performs a plurality of test cycles on fluid comprising:
- a housing having inlet that attaches to a fluid line and an outlet that attaches to the fluid line;
at least one testing chamber in the housing that receive fluid from the inlet of the housing;
a fluid movement assembly that selectively directs fluid from the inlet into the at least one testing chamber;
a wire feed system that provides first and second electrodes to the at least one testing chamber, wherein the wire feed system includes a length of first and second electrodes wires and wherein the wire feed system provides a new portion of the length of the first and second electrodes for each test cycle;
a reference sample supply system that supplies reference samples to the at least one testing chamber;
a control system that controls the fluid movement assembly, the wire feed assembly and the reference sample supply system such that for each test cycle, the at least one testing chamber is filled with fluid and a new portion of the first and second electrodes are positioned into the at least one testing chamber, and wherein the control system applies an electric signal the electrodes and samples the results so as to determine the presence of selected contaminants in the fluid in the at least one testing chamber; and
a third electrode, wherein the first electrode is a working electrode, the second electrode is a counter electrode, and the third electrode is a reference electrode;
wherein the control system is configured to apply a positive voltage from the counter electrode to the working electrode, then to apply a negative voltage from the counter electrode to the working electrode, then to transition from the negative voltage back to the positive voltage, wherein the control system measures current and voltage relative to the reference electrode to determine an amount of at least one selected contaminant in the fluid in the testing chamber.
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Abstract
A fluid testing system can be used to measure the levels of contaminants in a fluid system. The system can utilize anodic stripping voltammetry or some other chemical, electrical, or electrochemical process to measure the contaminant levels. Wire electrodes may be used to facilitate the tests. Unused portions of the electrode wires can be fed into the test chambers between tests to ensure clean and reliable electrodes for subsequent testing.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A fluid testing system that performs a plurality of test cycles on fluid comprising:
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a housing having inlet that attaches to a fluid line and an outlet that attaches to the fluid line; at least one testing chamber in the housing that receive fluid from the inlet of the housing; a fluid movement assembly that selectively directs fluid from the inlet into the at least one testing chamber; a wire feed system that provides first and second electrodes to the at least one testing chamber, wherein the wire feed system includes a length of first and second electrodes wires and wherein the wire feed system provides a new portion of the length of the first and second electrodes for each test cycle; a reference sample supply system that supplies reference samples to the at least one testing chamber; a control system that controls the fluid movement assembly, the wire feed assembly and the reference sample supply system such that for each test cycle, the at least one testing chamber is filled with fluid and a new portion of the first and second electrodes are positioned into the at least one testing chamber, and wherein the control system applies an electric signal the electrodes and samples the results so as to determine the presence of selected contaminants in the fluid in the at least one testing chamber; and a third electrode, wherein the first electrode is a working electrode, the second electrode is a counter electrode, and the third electrode is a reference electrode; wherein the control system is configured to apply a positive voltage from the counter electrode to the working electrode, then to apply a negative voltage from the counter electrode to the working electrode, then to transition from the negative voltage back to the positive voltage, wherein the control system measures current and voltage relative to the reference electrode to determine an amount of at least one selected contaminant in the fluid in the testing chamber. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A fluid testing system that performs a plurality of test cycles on a fluid comprising:
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a housing having an inlet that attaches to a fluid line and an outlet that attaches to the fluid line; at least one testing chamber in the housing that receives fluid from the inlet of the housing; a first electrode; a second electrode; a fluid supply system that supplies fluid samples to the at least one testing chamber, each fluid sample including a known concentration of at least one contaminant; a control system that is configured to control the fluid sample supply system such that for each test cycle, the at least one testing chamber is filled with fluid, wherein the control system is configured to apply an electric signal to the first electrode and samples the results so as to determine the presence of selected contaminants in the fluid in the at least one testing chamber, wherein the control system is configured to induce the addition of a known amount of a selected contaminant to the fluid received from the inlet of the housing in the at least one testing chamber and reapplies the electric signal and re-samples the results, and wherein the results of the re-sampling are compared to the results of the sampling to determine the amount of the selected contaminant in the fluid; and a wire feed system that provides the first and second electrodes to the at least one testing chamber, wherein the wire feed system includes a length of first and second electrodes wires and wherein the wire feed system provides a new portion of the length of the first and second electrodes for each test cycle, and wherein the control system is configured to control operation of the wire feed system. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of measuring levels of one or more contaminants in a fluid, the method comprising:
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passing a test volume of fluid through an inlet of a housing into a test chamber within the housing; adding a predetermined volume of acid to the test chamber; introducing a first test length of a first electrode wire into the test volume; introducing a first test length of a second electrode wire into the test volume; introducing a first test length of third electrode wire into the test volume; applying a positive voltage from the third electrode to the first electrode for a first period of time; applying a negative voltage from the third electrode to the first electrode for a second period of time; transitioning from the negative voltage back to the positive voltage over a third period of time; measuring current and voltage in the fluid in the test chamber relative to the second electrode; after the measuring step, adding a known quantity of fluid having a known concentration of a selected contaminant to the test chamber and then repeating the applying, transitioning, and measuring steps; determining an amount of the selected contaminant in the test volume of fluid by comparing the measured currents and voltages from before and after the adding of the known quantity of fluid having a known concentration of the selected contaminant. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification