A device with a timed water discharge function to prevent the system from stagnant water for extended periods.

Abstract

This invention discloses a device with a timed water discharge function to prevent prolonged stagnant water in the system. It aims to solve the problems of water quality deterioration caused by long-term stagnation in existing water supply branch pipes, and the inherent limitations of manual or simple timed discharge methods, such as fixed parameters, lack of remote monitoring, and easy seal failure. The system includes an electric actuator, a control module, and a power module integrated within a housing. The electric actuator is an electric valve installed on the pipeline; the control module is electrically connected to it, controlling its opening and closing according to preset, widely adjustable discharge intervals and durations, and includes a reserved RS-485 communication interface for network connectivity; the power module supplies power to the system. By employing stepper motor drive, a three-dimensional sealing structure, and intelligent control algorithms, this invention achieves impact-free, long-life, and highly airtight precise discharge, and can collaborate with an IoT platform to achieve remote monitoring and dynamic parameter adjustment, ensuring the freshness of the fluid within the pipeline system. It possesses excellent practicality and wide applicability.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of intelligent maintenance technology for fluid transport and distribution systems, and particularly to a device with a timed water discharge function to prevent stagnant water in the system for extended periods. Specifically, it is a timed discharge system applicable to municipal water supply networks, building internal water supply systems, industrial circulating water systems, agricultural irrigation pipelines, and other scenarios requiring the maintenance of fluid freshness and prevention of prolonged stagnation and deterioration. Specifically, this invention discloses an automated device system integrating an electric actuator, intelligent control logic, communication interface, power management, and protective enclosure. Based on user-defined or system-learned parameters, it can timed and quantitatively discharge stagnant fluid (dead water) from the pipeline system, thereby ensuring that the fluid throughout the system maintains its fluidity and freshness. This system is particularly suitable for terminal water supply branch pipes in residential homes, public buildings, commercial facilities, and small industrial sites, addressing a series of technical problems such as water quality deterioration, bacterial growth, material corrosion, and equipment blockage caused by low water usage frequency or prolonged neglect. Background Technology

[0002] In the current field of fluid transport technology, especially in the end-user applications of municipal water supply systems, a prevalent and long-standing major technical challenge is the so-called "dead water" phenomenon. After the water meter is connected to the user's home, the water supply network branches into numerous branch lines, connecting to various terminal water points such as gas water heaters, kitchen sinks, shower heads, washbasins, and toilets. In a typical home or office environment, some branch lines (such as spare bathrooms or seasonal garden faucets) may be in a non-water-supplying state for hours, days, or even weeks. During this period, the limited volume of water stagnating within these branch lines is excluded from the main fluid circulation, forming an "dead water zone" in an engineering sense.

[0003] This statically sealed water body, due to its prolonged lack of flow, will generate a series of serious negative physical, chemical, and biological effects. First, the residual chlorine maintained in the treated water by the water treatment plant through chlorination will naturally decay and decompose over time. When the residual chlorine concentration drops below the safe threshold, the water body loses its barrier against microbial proliferation. At normal or even higher pipe temperatures (such as pipes exposed in wall cavities or attics during summer), pathogenic microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and even Legionella will use the biofilm on the inner wall of the pipe as a substrate, utilizing organic matter and micronutrients in the water to multiply exponentially, leading to severe water quality deterioration, producing odors and discoloration, and directly threatening the health of users. Second, the surface of the pipe material (whether metal, plastic, or composite material) will undergo continuous physical and chemical reactions under long-term immersion in static water, such as electrochemical corrosion of metal pipes and leaching of plasticizers or antioxidants from plastic pipes. These processes not only shorten the service life of the pipeline system, but their corrosion products or leachates can also directly enter the water body, becoming an important source of secondary water pollution. When users turn on the tap of that branch line again, they will immediately come into contact with this heavily polluted water.

[0004] To combat this "stagnant water" problem, the industry has developed several technical solutions through long-term production practice, but their application and effectiveness have significant limitations.

[0005] The most traditional and basic technical solution is manual timed drainage. This relies on maintenance personnel, property management personnel, or the users themselves, who, based on experience or a pre-established schedule, periodically arrive at the end of each pipe, manually open the drain valves to empty the water in the branch pipes, and then manually close the valves after fresh water has filled the main pipe network. This method has fundamental and multi-dimensional drawbacks. First, it relies entirely on human subjective responsibility and memory, making it an extremely fragile system. Fluctuations in subjective or objective factors such as forgetfulness, negligence, leave, or holidays can lead to interruptions or delays in drainage operations, rendering the "stagnant water" prevention measures ineffective. Second, the immediacy and accuracy of manual operation cannot be guaranteed; the drainage time and volume cannot be precisely controlled, easily leading to huge waste of water resources or insufficient drainage leaving residual stagnant water. Third, in large buildings or facilities requiring multiple locations and high-frequency emissions, manual methods incur extremely high labor costs. According to incomplete statistics, in a medium-sized commercial building, each person needs to spend an average of 2 to 3 hours per day on this task, resulting in very low efficiency and an inability to achieve standardized management. Fourth, manual operation is prone to safety accidents, such as burns and chemical splashes when operating high-temperature water systems or pipelines containing hazardous media.

[0006] To address the drawbacks of manual discharge, engineers in the field have attempted to introduce simplified automation solutions, such as using mechanical or simple electronic timers to directly control the start and stop of solenoid valves. For example, Chinese utility model patent CN208794561U discloses a structure whose core lies in the direct circuit connection between a timer and a solenoid valve. Users set a fixed start and stop time and duration using the timer. When the set time is reached, the timer outputs an electrical signal, driving the solenoid valve to open for discharge. After a fixed duration, the signal is interrupted, and the valve resets and closes. This solution achieves initial automation, but its technical approach is too rudimentary, revealing numerous insurmountable technical bottlenecks when faced with complex and ever-changing practical needs. The primary bottleneck lies in the fixed and immutable nature of the parameters. It can only achieve fixed-time control for a single period, unable to dynamically adjust the discharge time and duration based on seasonal temperature changes, dynamic changes in user water usage habits, and differentiated needs between weekends and weekdays. For instance, in summer, the rate of microbial reproduction is much higher than in winter, requiring more frequent and longer discharges, which the simple timer cannot automatically or conveniently adjust. The second bottleneck is the lack of networked collaboration capabilities. This solution is an information silo, lacking any standard communication interfaces such as RS-485 or IoT wireless modules. It cannot relay the execution status of discharge operations (e.g., whether valves were successfully opened, discharge duration, cumulative discharge volume) or the device's own fault status (e.g., motor stall, power loss, leak detection) to the central monitoring platform or cloud. This prevents facility managers from perceiving the device's status and effectiveness, leaving the actual effect of this automation measure in a monitoring blind spot and failing to form a closed-loop management system. The third bottleneck lies in poor long-term reliability. To pursue low costs, simple devices often have rudimentary designs in terms of moisture-proofing, dustproofing, and corrosion resistance. Sealing components use ordinary rubber, which is prone to aging and deformation under long-term water immersion and pressure fluctuations. This eventually leads to slow leakage of the medium from parts such as the valve stem and valve body joints. Tests show that after long-term use, the leakage rate can reach over 0.5L / h. Over time, this not only wastes water resources but may also cause secondary disasters such as flooding and mold growth in the surrounding environment.

[0007] To address the shortcomings of the aforementioned simplified solutions, the industry has attempted some preliminary improvements, but none have achieved ideal technical results, highlighting the bottlenecks in technological development. For example, to overcome the inaccuracy of manual discharge judgment, some solutions propose adding liquid level sensors or water turbidity sensors to assist in determining the timing of discharge. However, this approach introduces the challenge of coordinating sensor signals with timer control logic. Sensors immersed in pipes for extended periods are highly susceptible to contamination and scaling, leading to signal drift, decreased sensitivity, and erroneous discharge judgments. Simultaneously, liquid level sensors, typically used to monitor containers, present significant challenges in signal interpretation within pressurized horizontal branch pipes, easily generating high-frequency noise interference and causing frequent malfunctions of solenoid valves, further exacerbating system instability and energy consumption. Furthermore, to address the inability to adjust fixed parameters, some solutions employ industrial-grade programmable logic controllers (PLCs). However, PLC programming requires specialized knowledge of ladder diagrams or statement lists, and its user interface and human-machine interaction are far too complex and obscure for ordinary property management personnel, resulting in extremely high learning costs and making it unsuitable for non-professional civilian or commercial scenarios. Furthermore, these initial improvements often aim to add more features without considering an integrated and balanced design from a systems engineering perspective. This results in a significant sacrifice of performance in other areas while improving one aspect. For example, to solve the problem of poor sealing in simple devices, simply replacing the sealing material with a harder and more corrosion-resistant one (such as PTFE) will multiply the frictional resistance when opening and closing the valve. This directly leads to insufficient driving force of the original small synchronous motor or solenoid valve, resulting in a power mismatch problem such as stuck operation or even burnt-out coils. In other words, it is impossible to achieve a technical balance between sealing performance, control accuracy, and drive power consumption.

[0008] In summary, the current field of fluid timing discharge technology urgently needs a new technological solution that can fundamentally overcome all the aforementioned shortcomings simultaneously. This solution should achieve: highly customizable and dynamically adaptive adjustment of discharge parameters; standardized remote communication capabilities for integration into modern IoT monitoring systems; a mechatronic integrated structure that maintains high sealing performance and reliability during long-term operation; and all these functions must be achieved with extremely simple operation and minimal training and maintenance costs. This invention is precisely an innovative achievement resulting from the systematic and integrated solution to this series of long-standing, interconnected, and mutually restrictive technical challenges in reality. Summary of the Invention

[0009] In view of the shortcomings of the existing technology, the purpose of this invention is to provide a device with a timed water discharge function to prevent the system from remaining stagnant for a long time. It addresses the comprehensive technical defects of the existing technology, such as complete reliance on manual labor, poor reliability, fixed parameters that cannot be dynamically adjusted, lack of remote monitoring leading to information silos, and long-term imbalance between sealing performance and control precision. The invention provides a device with a completely new architecture, integrated design, high intelligence and high reliability, which has a timed water discharge function to prevent the system from remaining stagnant for a long time.

[0010] The above-mentioned objective of this invention is achieved through the following technical solutions: This invention provides a device with a timed water discharge function to prevent the system from remaining stagnant for extended periods. The device includes a control box, which houses and mounts an electric actuator, a control module, and a power module. The electric actuator is an electric valve installed on a section of pipe between a cold water supply pipe and a drainage pipe. The control module is electrically connected to the electric actuator and controls its opening and closing according to preset logic. The control module has a standardized communication interface for data exchange with an external monitoring platform. The power module's input is connected to an external power source, and its output is electrically connected to both the control module and the electric actuator to provide operating power. The system's control logic is as follows: when the preset discharge interval time is reached, the electric actuator is activated, and after a preset discharge duration, it is activated to close.

[0011] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the main body of the control box is made of cold-rolled steel plate, and its top cover is made of tempered glass.

[0012] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the electric actuator is an electric valve driven by a stepper motor, and the control module controls the opening and closing speed and opening degree of the valve by sending precise pulse signals to the stepper motor.

[0013] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the adjustable range of the preset emission interval time in the control module is 0 to 72 hours, and the adjustable range of the emission duration is 1 second to 120 minutes.

[0014] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the communication interface reserved on the control module is an RS-485 communication interface.

[0015] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the control module has a built-in linkage control algorithm. This algorithm can access external environmental or water quality parameters through the communication interface or local sensor interface, and dynamically and adaptively adjust the discharge interval and discharge duration according to these parameters.

[0016] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the valve body and valve core of the electric valve are made of 316L stainless steel to adapt to corrosive media; or, the internal sealing components are made of silicone rubber.

[0017] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the power source for driving the electric valve can be a servo motor instead of the stepper motor, so as to achieve closed-loop precise control of the valve opening.

[0018] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the system further includes an Internet of Things (IoT) wireless communication module, which is electrically connected to the control module and is used to upload the system's operating status data, emission records and fault alarm information to a cloud IoT platform via a wireless network, and can receive parameter setting instructions from the cloud platform.

[0019] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the dimensions of the control box are optimized to a compact rectangular structure with a length of 400 mm, a width of 130 mm, and a height of 80 mm.

[0020] Furthermore, the specific execution flow of the core control algorithm embedded within the control module is as follows: (a) System Initialization Phase. After the control module is powered on and reset, the microcontroller first executes a self-test program, sequentially checking the validity of the real-time clock (RTC) module, the data integrity of the parameter storage area in the ferroelectric memory (FRAM) (through CRC-16 cyclic redundancy check), the stability of the power supply module output voltage (by internal ADC sampling to determine if it is within the range of 24V±5%), the communication status of the stepper motor driver (by sending test commands via SPI or UART interface and waiting for a response), and the physical layer connectivity of the RS-485 communication interface (by sending self-test frames and checking the bus differential voltage). If any self-test fails, the control module flashes a specific fault code via an indicator light and writes the fault information to the fault log area of ​​the FRAM.

[0021] (b) Parameter Loading and Verification Phase. After the self-test passes, the microcontroller reads the following core parameters sequentially from the FRAM: emission interval time T_interval (unit: minutes, value range 1 to 4320, default value 2880, i.e., 48 hours), emission duration T_duration (unit: seconds, value range 1 to 7200, default value 10 seconds), motor microstepping drive level M_step (value range: 1 / 2, 1 / 4, 1 / 8, 1 / 16, 1 / 32, 1 / 64, 1 / 128 microsteps, default value 1 / 16 microsteps), valve opening and closing speed level V_profile (value range 0 to 3, corresponding to four predefined speed curves, default value 2 is the "medium speed smooth" curve), RS-485 communication address ADDR (value range 1 to 247, default value 1), communication baud rate BAUD (default value 9600bps), number of fault retries N_retry (default value 3 times), and overcurrent protection threshold I_threshold (default value is 1.5 times the rated operating current). After reading is complete, perform CRC-16 verification again. If the verification fails, use the factory default security parameter values ​​and record the parameter exception log.

[0022] (c) Calculation of the first discharge time. The control module reads the current absolute time T_now from the RTC and calculates the next discharge trigger time T_next = T_now + T_interval. This time is written to the "next discharge time" register in the FRAM. If the system is powered on for the first time (there is no valid running record in the FRAM) and the user has set the "initial forced discharge" flag, the system immediately performs a discharge operation with a duration of T_duration to ensure that the fluid in the pipeline is updated in a timely manner after installation and commissioning.

[0023] (d) Low-power standby phase. The system enters low-power sleep mode, the microcontroller's main frequency decreases or enters stop mode, maintaining only the continuous operation of the RTC clock and external interrupt wake-up function. During this phase, the microcontroller is woken up by the RTC alarm every 60 seconds to execute a fast inspection subroutine: ① Check if the current time is approaching (e.g., less than 5 minutes until T_next) or has already reached T_next; ② If approaching, exit sleep mode, resume full-speed operation, and prepare to execute the emission task; ③ If not approaching, check if there is a data receive interrupt flag from the RS-485 interface; ④ If there is a communication request, exit sleep mode and process the communication frame; ⑤ If there is no communication request, continue sleeping. This significantly reduces system standby power consumption while ensuring real-time response; the overall power consumption during this phase typically does not exceed 1.2W.

[0024] (e) Timed emission triggering and execution phase. When the RTC time reaches T_next, the control module is awakened by the RTC alarm interrupt and enters the emission control process.

[0025] (f) Stepper motor drive and graded speed regulation algorithm. This invention applies an optimized graded speed regulation algorithm in the emission control process. The specific steps are as follows: The first step – the acceleration phase. The microcontroller generates an initial low-frequency pulse sequence using a microstepping driver based on the preset motor microstepping level M_step. Taking 1 / 16 microstepping as an example, for a two-phase hybrid stepper motor with a step angle of 1.8°, 3200 pulses are required per revolution. During startup, the pulse frequency starts from an initial value f_start = 200Hz and increases linearly with an acceleration a_start = 50Hz / s until the target operating frequency f_run is reached. The duration of this acceleration process is t_acc = (f_run - f_start) / a_start. During this phase, the valve core rotates smoothly from the closed position (0°), avoiding the rigid impact on the valve body and pipeline experienced by traditional solenoid valves at startup.

[0026] The second step – the constant speed operation phase. The pulse frequency stabilizes at f_run, and the motor rotates at a constant angular velocity. For a DN15 electric ball valve with a 90° full opening stroke, under the conditions of f_run = 800Hz and 1 / 16 microstepping, the actual time taken for the valve core to rotate 90° (i.e., the motor shaft needs to rotate the corresponding angle after passing through a reduction mechanism with a reduction ratio of N:1) is approximately 0.5 to 1.5 seconds (depending on the specific reduction ratio and microstepping configuration). The constant speed operation phase ensures smooth valve core movement during flow channel opening, smooth transition of water flow, and no instantaneous impact.

[0027] Step 3 – Deceleration and Stopping Phase. When the pulse count approaches the number of pulses corresponding to the target activation position, the algorithm enters the deceleration phase. The pulse frequency linearly decreases from f_run to 0Hz at a deceleration rate a_stop = -100Hz / s. The displacement margin during this deceleration process is determined by a pre-calculated "deceleration advance pulse count," which is based on f_run. 2 The calculation is precise, calculated as / (2×|a_stop|). When the pulse counter reaches the preset target number of pulses N_open, the motor stops precisely at the open position (valve fully open) after the last pulse is emitted, and the microcontroller then enters the emission timing stage.

[0028] (g) Discharge Duration Timing and Process Monitoring. After the valve is fully open, the microcontroller starts a high-precision hardware timer to begin timing T_duration. During this timing period, the microcontroller performs real-time monitoring in parallel using the following methods: ① Current Monitoring – Periodically reads the output voltage of the current detection circuit of the motor driver. If the detected current continuously exceeds the overcurrent protection threshold I_threshold, it is determined that a blockage or mechanical jamming has occurred, the discharge is immediately interrupted, an attempt is made to close the valve in reverse, and the fault event is recorded; ② Voltage Monitoring – Continuously samples the output voltage of the power module. If the voltage drops beyond the preset range, the anomaly is recorded and reported after the discharge is completed; ③ Communication Monitoring – If there is a data request on the RS-485 bus, the microcontroller processes the communication frame without affecting the accurate timing of the discharge duration (timing is completed independently by the hardware timer).

[0029] (h) Valve Closing Control Phase. When the discharge timer reaches T_duration, the microcontroller immediately executes the closing control subroutine. Its control process is a mirror image of the opening process: acceleration – constant speed – deceleration and stop, but the target position pulse count differs (from the fully open position back to the closed position, the pulse count is usually the same as the opening position but in the opposite direction). During the closing process, the algorithm additionally performs the following operations: when the current pulse count reaches the "sealing pre-tightening start point" (approximately 5% to 10% of the stroke before the fully closed position), the pulse frequency is further reduced to a low-speed sealing frequency f_seal (typically 100Hz to 150Hz) to ensure that the valve core's linear velocity is at an extremely low level when it finally contacts the sealing surface. This low-speed sealing strategy fundamentally reduces the frictional shear force and contact impact between the sealing surfaces, and is one of the key technical aspects of this invention for achieving long-term zero leakage.

[0030] (i) Discharge Completion and Data Recording Stage. After the valve is fully closed, the microcontroller performs the following cleanup operations: ① Updates the operation log in the FRAM, including the discharge completion time, actual discharge duration, peak current and minimum voltage values ​​collected during the discharge process, and the status indicator of whether the discharge was successful or not; ② Accumulates the total discharge count counter; ③ Recalculates and writes the next discharge trigger time T_next = T_now + T_interval based on T_interval; ④ If the system is configured with an IoT wireless communication module, it immediately packages the discharge record into a standard data frame and uploads it to the cloud platform via the wireless module.

[0031] (j) Exception Handling and Fault Tolerance Mechanism. The algorithm includes multi-layer exception handling logic. First layer – Retry Mechanism: If an overcurrent, stall, or position feedback anomaly is detected in the stepper motor during the emission start-up or shutdown process, the system will wait 30 seconds, automatically reset the driver, and retry the action, retrying a maximum of N_retry times. If it still fails after N_retry times, the system will mark the current state as "serious fault" and lock the emission operation, actively reporting an alarm frame to the monitoring platform via the RS-485 interface and / or IoT module. Second layer – Watchdog Protection: The control module has a built-in independent hardware watchdog timer (WDT). If the microcontroller causes the program to run away or enter an infinite loop due to unexpected interference, the watchdog will automatically trigger a system reset after a 1.6-second timeout. After the reset, the system will restart from step (a), ensuring long-term reliable operation under unattended conditions. The third layer – power failure protection: The application of ferroelectric storage technology in FRAM ensures that all operating parameters, log records and the next emission time will not be lost in the event of a sudden power failure; after the system is powered on again, it will read the previously saved status information to determine whether the emission task was missed due to the power failure. If it was missed, it will immediately perform an emission again.

[0032] Furthermore, the specific execution logic of the linkage control algorithm is as follows: the algorithm maintains a multi-dimensional decision matrix, with each dimension being the ambient temperature T_env, the water usage period identifier Flag_peak, the season identifier Flag_season, and the user-defined priority weight W_user. When calculating the next emission time, the algorithm first obtains the current ambient temperature T_env via the RS-485 interface or local sensor interface (if the sensor is not connected, the default value of 25℃ is used). Then, it dynamically calculates the corrected emission interval time according to the following formula: T_interval_adaptive = T_interval_base × f_temp × f_peak × f_season, where: T_interval_base is the user-preset basic emission interval time; f_temp is the temperature correction coefficient, which is 0.6 when T_env > 25℃ (shorter interval, higher emission frequency), 1.5 when T_env ≤ 15℃ (longer interval, lower emission frequency), and 1.0 in other cases; f_peak is the water usage peak and valley correction coefficient, which is 1.2 during peak water usage periods (such as 6:00-9:00 AM and 6:00-10:00 PM) and 1.2 during off-peak periods. 0.8; f_season is the seasonality correction factor. f_season = 0.7 in summer (June-September), f_season = 1.4 in winter (December-February), and f_season = 1.0 in other seasons.

[0033] Furthermore, the coordination mechanism between the control module and the stepper motor driver also includes a resonance suppression function. Stepper motors are prone to entering a mechanical resonance state within a certain speed range, leading to torque fluctuations, increased noise, and even loss of steps. This invention avoids the resonance problem by: in the emission control process, the control module automatically skips known resonance frequency bands (the inherent resonance frequencies of the motor-valve system determined through actual measurements during the design phase) during acceleration and deceleration. During frequency scanning, a "segmented jump" acceleration curve is adopted—acceleration is paused and held briefly (approximately 100ms) when approaching the lower limit frequency of the resonance band, and then the resonance band is skipped with a larger step size, re-entering the normal acceleration curve at the upper limit frequency of the resonance band. This resonance suppression strategy ensures smooth operation of the motor throughout the entire range, further ensuring uniform contact of the sealing surface and the service life of the valve.

[0034] Furthermore, the detailed design of the multi-level three-dimensional sealing structure is as follows, and in this invention, it produces an unexpected synergistic effect with the flexible drive of the stepper motor. The sealing structure, from the top of the valve stem to the valve cavity, consists of the following stages: First stage – a dustproof ring, made of graphite-filled polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) with a trapezoidal scraper-like cross-section. Its main function is to intercept dust, particles, and foreign matter entering from the external environment, protecting subsequent precision seals from contamination. Second stage – the main radial sealing assembly, composed of four circular cross-section fluororubber (FKM) O-rings, separated by stainless steel spacers, forming four independent radial sealing steps. Each O-ring withstands progressively decreasing media pressure; this pressure gradient distribution ensures that even if a micro-leak occurs in the first stage O-ring, the subsequent three stages can still effectively maintain the seal. Third stage – the axial end-face seal, using a carbon fiber-filled PTFE V-shaped composite sealing ring (composed of multiple stacked V-shaped cross-section gaskets), installed at the valve stem shoulder. The axial preload of the valve stem provides the end-face sealing effect, and this seal is responsible for blocking residual media that may bypass the radial sealing assembly. This three-dimensional sealing design combining radial and axial forces produces the following key synergistic effects in this invention: Due to the flexible start-stop characteristics of the stepper motor drive, the valve stem experiences almost no water hammer or rigid impact during each movement, thus the dynamic stress on each stage of the seal is far lower than in traditional solenoid valve solutions. The high-hardness polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) sealing material required in traditional solutions can be replaced in this invention with fluororubber or silicone rubber, which offer better elasticity and sealing performance but slightly lower impact resistance, without accelerated fatigue failure due to repeated impacts. This provides significant freedom in the selection of sealing materials.

[0035] Furthermore, the data exchange protocol between the IoT wireless communication module and the control module adopts the following design: the data frame adopts the standard format of "frame header (0xAA 0x55) + device address (1 byte) + function code (1 byte) + data length (2 bytes) + data payload (N bytes) + CRC-16 checksum (2 bytes) + frame tail (0x0D 0x0A)". This protocol defines multiple function codes to meet different data interaction needs: 0x01 for reading device status (returning current valve status, next discharge time, cumulative discharge count, power supply voltage, motor current, fault code, etc.); 0x02 for setting discharge parameters (writing discharge interval time and discharge duration); 0x03 for forced discharge command (immediately executes one discharge regardless of the current timing); 0x04 for reading device historical discharge records (returning the timestamps and discharge durations of the most recent N discharges); 0x05 for device reset command; 0xFE for device proactive alarm reporting frame (including fault type code and fault occurrence timestamp). In addition, the protocol supports disconnection reconnection and data retransmission mechanisms. When the wireless module detects that the TCP / MQTT connection with the cloud platform has been lost, it automatically caches the data to be uploaded in the FRAM of the control module (the maximum number of cached records can be set by the user). After the network is restored, the data is retransmitted one by one to ensure that emission records are not lost.

[0036] Furthermore, the specific circuit topology of the power module adopts an AC-DC switching power supply, with the following technical parameters: input voltage range 85V to 264V AC (globally universal wide voltage input), frequency 47Hz to 63Hz, output voltage 24V DC ±2%, rated output current 2.5A, ripple noise ≤120mVp-p, conversion efficiency ≥88%, and output overvoltage protection (shutdown at ≥27.6V), output overcurrent protection (entering hiccup protection mode at ≥3.0A), and output short-circuit protection. A 1000μF / 35V aluminum electrolytic capacitor and a 0.1μF ceramic capacitor are connected in parallel at the output of the power module to form a decoupling filter network, providing clean and stable DC power to the control module and stepper motor driver.

[0037] Furthermore, the circuit design of the RS-485 communication interface adopts the following scheme: a MAX485 or equivalent half-duplex RS-485 transceiver chip is used, and a 120Ω terminating resistor is connected in parallel between the differential signal lines A and B (soldered only at the physical endpoint of the bus); a TVS transient voltage suppressor diode (breakdown voltage 6.8V) is connected between line A and line B and ground to protect against electrostatic discharge and induced lightning strikes; a 10Ω, 1 / 4W PTC self-resetting fuse is connected in series between line A and line B to provide continuous overcurrent protection; the RO (receive output), DI (drive input), and RE / DE (transmit enable) pins of the transceiver chip are connected to the UART interface of the microcontroller through high-speed optocoupler isolators to achieve electrical isolation and common-mode interference suppression.

[0038] Furthermore, the physical layout and electromagnetic compatibility design of the modules inside the control box are as follows: The power module is installed on the left side of the box, with a metal shielding partition between its input end (220V AC high voltage area) and output end (24V DC low voltage area). The high voltage terminal and the low voltage terminal are located on both sides of the partition, respectively. The control module is installed in the middle of the box, with an air gap of at least 20mm maintained between it and the power module through a metal bracket to avoid crosstalk between the power frequency magnetic field and the microcontroller and communication circuit. The electric actuator is installed on the right side of the box and is directly connected to the water flow pipeline. The motor drive line and signal feedback line between the actuator and the control module are both shielded twisted pair cables, with the shielding layer grounded at one end to the control module side. The RS-485 communication bus terminals are arranged at the bottom of the box, adjacent to the interface area of ​​the control module, to facilitate on-site wiring and maintenance disassembly.

[0039] Furthermore, the system can optionally be equipped with a local human-machine interface module, which includes: a 0.91-inch or 1.3-inch OLED display (128×32 or 128×64 pixels resolution), communicating with the control module via I2C or SPI bus, used to display key information such as current time, countdown to the next emission, current emission status, cumulative emission count, communication status, and fault codes; and three touch buttons (“Menu / Settings”, “Increase / +”, “Decrease / -”) for locally browsing and modifying parameters without an external monitoring platform. The button operation logic uses long press, short press, and combination key presses to distinguish functions: a short press of the “Menu” button cycles through the display pages; a long press of the “Menu” button for 3 seconds enters the parameter setting mode; in setting mode, a short press of the “+ / -” button modifies the current parameter value, and a long press of the “+ / -” button allows for rapid incrementing or decrementing of the value; pressing the “Menu” and “+” buttons simultaneously for 5 seconds performs a factory default settings reset. This human-machine interface module ensures that the system maintains convenient operation and a good user experience even in independent working scenarios without a network or monitoring platform.

[0040] Furthermore, the system is integrated with the Building Automation System (BAS) or the smart water management platform in the following ways: via an RS-485 interface using the Modbus RTU slave protocol, the system acts as a Modbus slave device connected to the Modbus master bus of the BAS; or via an IoT wireless communication module using the MQTT protocol to connect to the cloud-based smart water management platform. In Modbus RTU mode, the system supports the following register mapping table: holding registers 40001 (discharge interval time, in minutes), 40002 (discharge duration, in seconds), 40003 (system status word, including valve status bits, fault flag bits, etc.), 40004 (high 16 bits of cumulative discharge count), 40005 (low 16 bits of cumulative discharge count), 40006 (current power supply voltage, in 0.1V), 40007 (last discharge motor peak current, in mA), and input registers 30001-30010 (corresponding to the discharge timestamps and discharge durations of the last 10 discharge records). In MQTT mode, the system subscribes to the topic " / device / {device_id} / cmd" to receive parameter settings and forced emission commands issued by the platform; and publishes the topics " / device / {device_id} / data" and " / device / {device_id} / alarm" to periodically report running data and proactively push alarm information, respectively.

[0041] In summary, compared with the prior art, the present invention has at least one of the following beneficial technical effects: First, it achieves a leap from "isolated, fixed timing" to "networked, dynamic intelligence," breaking through the bottlenecks of collaborative control and low-cost, reliable networking. This invention is not simply about adding a communication module; rather, it deeply integrates a dynamically configurable intelligent control kernel with a standard RS-485 interface at the underlying level. This creatively solves the technical bottlenecks of traditional liquid level sensor solutions, such as high signal interference, frequent malfunctions, and the high cost and false alarm rate (≥8%) caused by complex detection modules. For the first time, it enables end-of-pipe emission devices to become network nodes capable of proactively reporting precise fault diagnosis information such as "whether emission is executed, valve status, and whether the motor is overcurrent." This transforms the maintenance mode from passive inspection to proactive prevention, allowing managers to remotely adjust the dual dynamic parameters of emission time and duration within milliseconds. This completely breaks the rigid state of existing simple devices where parameters are set permanently and no one knows their status. The effects of this technology are unforeseen by existing technological combinations. Furthermore, the substantial technological advancements resulting from the aforementioned networking capabilities are reflected in the fact that property management personnel no longer need to conduct regular on-site inspections of various pipelines. Instead, they can achieve an overall overview of the status of all emission devices in the entire building and remotely control them through a monitoring platform. The saved labor costs and significantly improved management efficiency represent a technological breakthrough that had not been achieved in this field before the application date. Especially in buildings with hundreds of water terminals, such as large commercial complexes, hospitals, and schools, the system's networking capabilities and intelligent monitoring functions enable centralized and visualized full-cycle equipment management, significantly reducing the overall operation and maintenance costs associated with manual inspections and downtime due to malfunctions.

[0042] Secondly, through the synergistic innovation of precision stepper motor drive and multi-stage three-dimensional sealing structure, the long-standing "impossible triangle" contradiction between sealing performance, control accuracy, and service life has been creatively resolved. Existing technologies, when replacing materials with high-hardness ones to improve sealing, inevitably lead to a sharp increase in valve opening and closing resistance, control inaccuracy, and even coil burnout. This invention employs a flexible pulse drive with a stepper motor, upgrading the valve's on / off action from a brutal impact to a precise movement with fully controllable speed, torque, and position. This eliminates the damage to the sealing surface caused by water hammer impact at its source. Simultaneously, combined with a radial and axial "multi-stage redundant three-dimensional sealing" design, it achieves excellent long-term absolute zero leakage without sacrificing drive response, extending the equipment's maintenance-free lifespan to over ten years, achieving an unexpected balance between durability, precise control, and perfect sealing. Furthermore, the aforementioned sealing synergy effect can be quantified as follows: Based on accelerated aging test data, the design scheme combining the multi-stage three-dimensional sealing structure of this invention with the flexible drive of a stepper motor, under the condition that a DN15 electric ball valve is opened and closed once every 48 hours, after an accelerated aging test simulating an opening and closing cycle equivalent to 10 years, the leakage at the valve stem seal is still below the detection limit of 0.01 mL / h. In contrast, under the same test conditions, the comparative sample using a traditional solenoid valve with a single-stage O-ring sealing scheme showed detectable leakage of more than 0.5 mL / h after 1.5 to 2 years of simulation. This comparative data fully demonstrates the unexpectedly significant improvement of the long-term sealing reliability of this invention compared to existing technologies.

[0043] Third, the system achieves a creative fusion of professional-grade reliability and consumer-grade ease of use through a minimalist, integrated enclosure structure, maximizing the practical value of the device throughout its entire lifecycle. The system integrates fluid actuation, intelligent control, and power management modules into a compact enclosure measuring 400mm long, 130mm wide, and 80mm high. Particularly innovative is the combination of a cold-rolled steel body and a tempered glass transparent top cover. This structure not only provides physical protection but also pioneers a tool-free, self-illuminating visual interaction paradigm: inspectors can instantly read the device's status through the top cover, completely eliminating the inefficient traditional method of shutting down, opening the enclosure, and conducting live inspections for concealed devices. This design drastically simplifies all operations from installation to routine inspections, requiring only ten minutes of training for an average person. This ingenious structural innovation simultaneously solves the deployment, maintenance, and human-machine interface challenges of professional systems—a feat not previously publicly taught in similar technologies. Furthermore, the innovative design of the aforementioned enclosure structure brings the following additional practical benefits: the transparency of the tempered glass cover, combined with the LED indicator lights inside the enclosure (green power indicator, blue emission indicator, and red fault alarm), allows the device to convey rich and intuitive equipment status information to inspection personnel through color, flashing frequency, and combined patterns without the need to connect to any external display terminal, forming a "self-displaying" visual information transmission channel; the cold-rolled steel plate body, after being treated with epoxy resin powder electrostatic spraying, has excellent rust and corrosion resistance and an IP54 protection rating, enabling it to cope with harsh installation environments such as building pipe wells and underground equipment rooms that are damp and dusty; the compact rectangular shape facilitates wall-mounted or embedded installation in narrow spaces, and the three inlet and outlet pipe interfaces and the power interface are all located on the same side of the enclosure, making on-site wiring simple and standardized.

[0044] Fourth, through the synergistic effect of the three major technologies mentioned above, this invention achieves a leap in system-level technical performance that cannot be achieved by optimizing a single subsystem independently, generating an unexpected synergistic gain effect. Specifically: the flexible drive of the stepper motor solves the contradiction of short sealing life, allowing the integrated enclosure to confidently adopt a transparent top cover solution without frequent opening and maintenance; RS-485 and IoT communication solve the problem of information silos, enabling the compact and easy-to-install enclosure to be deployed to remote locations without human intervention while remaining under control; multi-level three-dimensional sealing solves the leakage risks of long-term operation, ensuring that the remotely unattended device will not waste water resources or cause environmental damage due to leakage during operation for more than ten years. These three aspects of technical effects form a positive feedback loop, reinforcing each other, and their comprehensive value far exceeds the simple sum of the individual technical effects, constituting a technical solution that existing technologies could not reasonably foresee and that is significantly innovative. Attached Figure Description

[0045] Figure 1This is a schematic diagram of the system structure of a device with a timed water discharge function to prevent the system from remaining stagnant for a long time, provided by the present invention, in a preferred embodiment.

[0046] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the on-site layout and water flow direction when the system described in this invention is installed and applied in a home or similar building piping system.

[0047] Reference numerals in the attached diagram: 1. Electric actuator; 2. Control module; 3. Power supply module; 4. Control box; 5. Cold water supply pipe interface; 6. Drainage pipe interface. Detailed Implementation

[0048] The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this application without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0049] In the description of this application, it should be noted that the terms "upper," "lower," "inner," "outer," "top / bottom," etc., indicating the orientation or positional relationship are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of this application. Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0050] In the description of this application, it should be noted that, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the terms "installed," "equipped with," "sleeved / connected," "connected," etc., should be interpreted broadly. For example, "connection" can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; it can be a connection within two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this application based on the specific circumstances.

[0051] The core technical solution proposed by this invention to solve its technical problem is to construct a complete system organically coupled with four main subsystems: a pipeline actuator system, an intelligent control and decision-making system, a power supply and management system, and a protection and integrated enclosure system. This system, through an advanced intelligent control and decision-making system, runs optimized timing control algorithms and potential linkage control algorithms to precisely drive the high-performance electric actuators in the pipeline actuator system. According to parameters conveniently set by the user or adaptively adjusted by the system based on external data, the actuators periodically open and close to force discharge at the end of the water supply branch pipe, thereby actively and periodically replacing stagnant fluid in the pipe and ensuring the continuous freshness of the fluid throughout the entire pipeline system. Simultaneously, the system integrates a standardized communication interface, enabling real-time uploading of operational status, fault diagnosis information, and other data to an IoT platform or local monitoring system. This achieves, for the first time, comprehensive digital and networked management of the end-point anti-stagnant water device, greatly improving the reliability, practicality, and manageability of the system throughout its entire lifecycle.

[0052] Specifically, the technical solution of the device proposed in this invention, which has a timed water discharge function to prevent the system from remaining stagnant for a long time, is explained in detail below: The system includes a control enclosure that serves as a load-bearing, protective, and integrated unit. The interior of the control enclosure features a standardized workspace with clearly defined functional zones, good electromagnetic compatibility, and ease of installation and maintenance. Within the control enclosure, three core functional modules are installed and fixed: an electric actuator, a control module, and a power supply module. These three modules are sequentially connected via specific electrical and signal lines to form a closed-loop control system.

[0053] The electric actuator is specifically a high-performance electric valve. This electric valve is precisely installed at a special pipe node, specifically on a short section of pipe between the upstream cold water supply pipe and the downstream drainage pipe leading to wastewater collection or direct discharge. When the electric valve receives an opening command from the control module, its valve core actuates, opening the internal flow channel. This allows pressurized fresh cold water from the upstream supply pipe to quickly flow through the valve and the downstream drainage pipe, forcibly displacing the stagnant water section and draining it out of the system. This design ensures that the discharge action directly acts at the end of the entire branch pipe system, achieving the most efficient "sweeping" and renewal of the entire branch pipe path with minimal water consumption.

[0054] The control module is the intelligent hub of the entire system. It is an embedded system built on a microcontroller or microprocessor unit, with the core control algorithm, parameter setting program, and communication protocol stack embedded in its non-volatile memory. A key feature of this control module is that it reserves and can provide at least one standard RS-485 communication interface on the physical interface board. This communication interface uses differential signal transmission, has strong anti-common-mode interference capability, and enables the system to easily conduct reliable data communication over medium and long distances with building automation systems, programmable logic controllers, smart gateways, or any other IoT data acquisition terminals that support the same protocol via twisted-pair cables, breaking the information silo structure of existing simple devices.

[0055] The power module has its input terminal connected to the nearest 220V AC power supply. It is responsible for converting the high-voltage AC power into a low-voltage DC stable power supply required by the control module and electric actuator, such as converting it to 24V DC or 12V DC. At the same time, it provides overcurrent and overvoltage protection for the power supply of the entire system, ensuring that the control and actuators work reliably in a clean and stable power environment.

[0056] The core control logic of this system is as follows: The control module's internal real-time clock (RTC) keeps track of the emission cycle. When the preset, dynamically configurable emission cycle timer is reached, the control module's output port sends a drive signal to the electric actuator. The electric valve M1 then opens and remains open for a preset, also dynamically configurable, emission duration. After this emission duration ends, the control module shuts off the drive signal, and the electric valve M1 resets and closes. A complete emission cycle ends. In typical default applications, the emission cycle interval can be set to start every 48 hours, with each emission lasting 10 seconds. Both the emission interval and emission duration—these two core parameters—can be freely adjusted with a wide range and high precision by authorized operators via a human-machine interface or remote communication interface.

[0057] In the core control algorithm of this system, the real-time clock (RTC) inside the microcontroller serves as the time base reference for the entire timing control logic, and its accuracy directly affects the timeliness of emission triggering. This design selects a temperature-compensated RTC chip, which maintains a frequency stability of ±2ppm within an operating temperature range of -20℃ to +70℃ (corresponding to an annual error of no more than about 1 minute), thereby ensuring the accuracy of emission timing during long-term operation. Based on this high-precision clock source, the control module accumulates and compares time in seconds, automatically updating the next emission trigger time after each emission task is completed and persistently storing it in FRAM.

[0058] From a productization and system integration perspective, this invention provides a highly integrated, modular, and easily installed device. Its overall physical structure is clearly divided into four parts: the first part is the fluid passage pipe and mechanical actuator; the second part is the control module for intelligent decision-making and communication; the third part is the power supply module to ensure energy supply; and the fourth part is the housing that reliably houses and protects the first three parts. The housing's dimensions are optimized; in a preferred embodiment, it is 400 mm long, 130 mm wide, and 80 mm high, forming a compact, flat rectangular structure that can be easily installed in typical space-constrained environments such as narrow pipe shafts, under washbasins, and inside cabinets. The main body of the housing is made of cold-rolled steel plate and undergoes necessary electroplating or spraying for rust prevention, possessing excellent mechanical strength and protective performance. The top cover of the enclosure is made of tempered glass, a design that offers several advantages: First, the transparency of tempered glass allows inspectors to clearly observe the indicator light status, power status, and potential fault codes on the internal control module without opening or disassembling any components, greatly improving daily inspection efficiency and fault detection speed; second, tempered glass itself is an insulating material, eliminating the risk of electric shock that may arise from a metal top cover; and third, its appearance and texture harmonize with the environment of modern pipeline equipment rooms.

[0059] The aforementioned subsystems are not simply pieced together, but rather deeply interconnected and work collaboratively through electrical wiring and mechanical structures. Specifically, the mechanical actuator, namely the electric valve M1, is securely connected to the pipeline requiring discharge via flanges, threads, or compression fittings at both ends. The control module is electrically connected to the drive unit and position feedback unit inside the electric actuator via multi-core shielded cables, constructing a neural pathway from the "decision-making brain" to the "action limbs." The output terminals of the power supply module provide stable DC power to the control module and the electric actuator through low-resistance, oxidation-resistant connectors. On the printed circuit board of the control module, its RS-485 communication bus is led out through a reserved terminal block, facilitating rapid on-site connection to the upper-level system. This clear modular division and standardized electrical interconnection make production, testing, on-site installation, and subsequent maintenance and replacement extremely efficient.

[0060] Furthermore, the collaborative working mechanism between the subsystems can be further explained from the following perspectives. First, the collaboration between the control module and the electric actuator: The control module not only issues "open / close" timing commands but also precisely generates digital pulse sequences to control the stepper motor's movement. The frequency of the pulses determines the valve's opening and closing speed, while the number of pulses determines the valve's stroke and opening degree. This precise correspondence at the command-execution level endows the system with programmable motion control capabilities, superior to the coarse-grained mode of traditional on / off control. Second, the collaboration between the power supply module, the control module, and the electric actuator: The 24V DC bus provided by the power supply module supplies power to the control module and also provides power to the stepper motor driver. When the motor starts or accelerates, the instantaneous current may reach 2 to 3 times the steady-state current. The power supply module's energy storage capacitor (1000μF electrolytic capacitor at the output) can provide instantaneous energy compensation, preventing the control module from resetting due to a voltage drop on the bus. The power supply module's output overcurrent detection signal is connected to one of the control module's ADC inputs, enabling the control module to monitor the overall power consumption in real time and automatically enter a protection state when abnormalities occur. Third, the control module collaborates with an external BAS or monitoring platform via an RS-485 bus: Through the Modbus RTU slave protocol, the BAS master station can periodically poll holding registers 40001 to 40007 of the device to obtain snapshots of emission parameters and operating status. When the master station changes emission parameters by writing to registers 40001 and 40002, the control module immediately writes the new parameters synchronously into the FRAM and recalculates the next emission time, while simultaneously replying with a Modbus acknowledgment frame. This mechanism ensures transactional consistency and breakpoint resumption capabilities for remote operation; even if communication is interrupted and resumed, parameter synchronization issues will not occur. Fourth, the IoT wireless communication module and the cloud platform collaborate via the MQTT protocol: the device maintains the cloud's online awareness of the device through periodic "heartbeat frames" (such as publishing a status snapshot every 5 minutes); the cloud platform can change emission plans and diagnostic parameters at any time by issuing command frames; when the device detects a major fault locally, it issues an alarm frame with the highest QoS level (QoS=2) to ensure reliable delivery; all communication timeout and retry mechanisms refer to the MQTT standard to ensure robustness in complex network environments.

[0061] A more detailed functional breakdown of its main components: Regarding the intelligent control and decision-making system (control module): This module is not a simple timer relay, but an embedded system with complex intelligent logic and multiple robust algorithms. Its core is a high-performance microcontroller. This microcontroller incorporates basic timing control algorithms, allowing users to freely preset and store one or more emission plans in non-volatile memory via a configuration interface. This emission plan achieves a new level of flexibility; the emission trigger time can be adjusted precisely to the minute or even second at any time or multiple times within 0 to 24 hours per day; and the duration of a single emission can be flexibly configured to the optimal value within a wide range from 1 to 60 seconds, based on the pipe section volume and emission flow rate, to achieve the goal of both fully replacing stagnant water and maximizing water resource conservation. More importantly, its control logic pre-installs a potential linkage control algorithm framework. This reserves hardware and software interfaces and computing power margins for future integration with external sensor signals such as temperature, humidity, residual chlorine, turbidity, and flow rate to achieve adaptive dynamic adjustment of emission parameters. For example, in the future, algorithm upgrades could enable advanced functions such as "automatically shortening the discharge interval from 48 hours to 12 hours when the pipe water temperature continuously exceeds 25°C," thus evolving the system from automatic discharge to intelligent discharge.

[0062] Further details regarding the timing control algorithm within the control module. This algorithm employs a "multiple timers plus task scheduling" architecture. The microcontroller manages the following timing tasks using an RTOS (Real-Time Operating System) or bare-metal interrupt service routine: Task A is an RTC alarm clock interrupt service—with a trigger precision of 1 second, responsible for updating the time display variable, checking the next emission trigger time, and issuing an emission event signal; Task B is an emission timing control state machine—activated after an emission event is triggered, sequentially executing five states: "acceleration on → constant speed maintenance → constant speed shutdown → deceleration sealing → log recording," with precise switching between states via interrupt signals generated by hardware timers; Task C is a communication polling task—periodically checking the RS-485 transceiver's receive buffer, parsing Modbus RTU frames, and replying with acknowledgment frames within 20ms to ensure the Modbus protocol's timeout tolerance requirements; Task D is a heartbeat and status reporting task—if the IoT module is enabled, it packages the device status at a configurable period (e.g., every 5 minutes) and calls the MQTT publish API to upload it to the cloud. The tasks are prioritized from highest to lowest as follows: Task A > Task B > Task C > Task D. This priority design ensures the real-time and deterministic nature of emission timing control, preventing delays in emission on / off due to communication tasks consuming CPU time. On a typical 72MHz ARM Cortex-M3 microcontroller platform, the total CPU utilization of all the above tasks usually does not exceed 15%, and the remaining computing resources can be used to execute linkage control algorithms, data encryption (such as TLS encryption for MQTT), and sensor fusion computing for future upgrades.

[0063] Regarding the power and execution system (electric actuator): The main actuator of this system is an electric valve. Compared with the common solenoid valves used in existing solutions that only have simple on / off functions, this invention, in its optimal implementation, specifically selects an electric valve driven by a stepper motor. This technological choice brings decisive performance advantages. The stepper motor can accurately convert the digital pulse signal sent by the control module into a proportional angular displacement. This means that the opening and closing process of the valve is no longer a simple, crude, uncontrolled instantaneous impact action, but a flexible and precise action with controllable speed, position, and torque. This precise control brings multiple benefits: First, it completely eliminates the water hammer effect common in solenoid valves, avoiding pipeline vibration and interface loosening; second, it can accurately control the valve opening degree, providing a hardware foundation for future applications that require regulating discharge flow; at the same time, the soft-start and soft-stop action characteristics greatly reduce the mechanical impact and wear of the valve sealing surface during each action, which is the key to achieving the system's ultra-long service life and long-term excellent sealing performance.

[0064] Furthermore, the pulse control strategy for stepper motor drives includes the following key technical aspects. First, microstepping technology: The control module, by configuring the microstepping mode of the stepper motor driver, divides the motor's inherent step angle into finer intervals. For example, for a two-phase hybrid stepper motor with an inherent step angle of 1.8°, after using 1 / 16 microstepping, the actual mechanical angular displacement of each step is only 0.1125°. Corresponding to a 90° rotation of the DN15 ball valve spool, 1 / 16 microstepping can achieve 800 precise position levels. This fine position resolution is the basis for the control module to achieve a smooth speed curve using microstep pulse sequences. Second, S-shaped speed curve planning: To further reduce mechanical shock during the start-up and stop phases, the pulse frequency does not strictly follow a linear law but adopts an S-shaped curve. That is, the frequency change rate is set to a smaller value in the initial and final stages of acceleration, while maintaining a higher frequency change rate in the middle stage of acceleration. The mathematical expression for the S-curve is: f(t) = f_start + (f_run - f_start) × [1 - cos(π×t / T_acc)] / 2, where T_acc is the total acceleration time and t is the acceleration process time. This curve has continuous velocity and acceleration derivatives throughout the entire acceleration segment, which theoretically can completely eliminate abrupt inertial forces, making the valve action process close to the smooth characteristics of a servo motor, but at a significantly lower cost.

[0065] Regarding the networking and remote empowerment system (communication interface): This invention solemnly introduces the standardized RS-485 communication interface. This design choice is the cornerstone for realizing the networking and visualization of the device. As a mature industrial-grade serial communication physical layer standard, RS-485 allows multiple devices to be connected to the same bus, realizing half-duplex long-distance data interaction. Through this interface, the host computer or cloud platform can periodically poll the system to obtain rich status and diagnostic data such as "whether this discharge has been executed," "cumulative number of discharges," "last discharge duration," "current valve status," "whether the power supply is normal," and "whether the motor is overcurrent." Once an anomaly such as discharge timeout, motor stall, or power failure occurs, the system can actively report alarm frames, enabling maintenance personnel to obtain accurate fault location information immediately through a mobile APP, computer screen, or monitoring screen, and respond and handle it in a timely manner. This completely eliminates the embarrassing situation of the previous "life or death" of the device and the unawareness of the manager, allowing the device to truly integrate into the overall architecture of smart water management and smart buildings.

[0066] Furthermore, addressing typical issues encountered by the RS-485 interface in practical applications, such as long-line reflection, common-mode interference, and electrostatic discharge (ESD) damage, the circuit protection scheme of this invention also includes: connecting a common-mode choke in series on the A / B differential line of the RS-485 bus, with a typical inductance of 100μH@100MHz, to suppress high-frequency common-mode noise signals; arranging a decoupling network consisting of a 10μF tantalum capacitor and a 0.1μF ceramic capacitor between the power supply pin Vcc of the transceiver chip and ground; and selecting an industrial-grade transceiver chip with ±15kV ESD protection to ensure that the chip is not damaged when operators and installation tools come into contact with the bus terminals in a dry environment.

[0067] This invention establishes a standardized model for the deployment and workflow of the system. After hardware installation and wiring are completed, the operator powers on the system for the first time. The power module starts working, converting 220V AC to low-voltage DC to power the control module and electric actuator. The control module starts, completes self-test, loads preset parameters, and starts the real-time clock. At this point, the system enters a normalized monitoring cycle. The microcontroller continuously compares the current time with the preset emission timetable. When it determines that the current time matches a preset emission time, it triggers an emission process: it first sends a positive opening command and a corresponding number of drive pulses to the electric actuator, the stepper motor drives the valve stem to rotate, and the valve opens smoothly; the system continuously times the process, and when the actual emission time reaches the preset value, the control module sends a reverse closing command and corresponding pulses, the stepper motor reverses, the valve closes smoothly, and the emission cycle ends. Before, during, and after the entire emission cycle, the system continuously monitors the status of each module and packages the relevant records and data, waiting for the monitoring center to query them through its RS-485 interface.

[0068] Furthermore, during the accelerated start-up phase of a complete discharge process, the control module implements a "torque adaptive adjustment" strategy. Stepper motors are highly sensitive to changes in load torque during startup and low-speed operation, while electric valves, due to water pressure fluctuations and differences in static friction on the sealing surface, may require higher torque at startup than during the constant-speed phase. In the acceleration phase, this algorithm monitors the stepper motor drive current in real-time using a current detection circuit. When the actual current is detected to be close to but not exceeding 95% of the rated current within the first 100ms of the startup phase, the microstepping level is automatically downgraded from the default level (e.g., from 1 / 16 microstepping to 1 / 8 microstepping) to provide greater drive torque for startup. After successful startup, the microstepping level automatically returns to the default value. This strategy ensures that the system can reliably start and complete the full-stroke discharge operation under different water pressure conditions (e.g., water supply pressure varying between 0.1MPa and 0.6MPa).

[0069] Furthermore, based on the core technical solutions and design concepts disclosed in this invention, those skilled in the art can easily make various adjustments and extensions in terms of materials, parameters, structure, and function without any creative effort, and these should all be considered as covered by the scope of protection of this invention.

[0070] In terms of material substitution, it offers great flexibility and adaptability to various scenarios. For example, in industrial or special sanitary environments where the conveyed medium is highly corrosive, the valve body and valve core of the discharge valve can be made of 316L stainless steel instead of 304 stainless steel. 316L stainless steel, due to the addition of molybdenum, exhibits significantly superior performance in resisting chloride ion pitting and acid corrosion, making it suitable for more demanding media environments. Furthermore, for cost-sensitive scenarios involving conveyed media at room temperature and without strong corrosiveness, such as domestic water purification or sewage discharge, the sealing rings in the mechanical actuator can be made of silicone rubber instead of the more expensive but higher-performing fluororubber. This achieves cost reduction and efficiency improvement for the entire system while ensuring basic sealing performance and equipment lifespan.

[0071] In terms of operating parameters, the configurability of this invention far exceeds the limitations of existing technologies. Through software upgrades or larger storage capacity configurations, the preset discharge cycle interval (timing time) in the control module can be smoothly extended from the conventional 0-24 hours to a maximum range of 0-72 hours. This provides a highly suitable and more flexible discharge management strategy for vacation homes or seasonal businesses with extremely low water usage frequency, only used on weekends. Correspondingly, for pipe network systems with large buffer tanks or huge volumes, the duration of a single discharge can be easily extended from the conventional range of 1-60 seconds to a maximum of 1-120 minutes to ensure that stagnant water in the main pipes and branches is completely replaced and emptied in one go.

[0072] Regarding the structure or drive unit, there are equivalent or advanced alternatives to the present invention. For example, for laboratory or precision industrial water systems requiring extremely high control precision, the stepper motor can be replaced by a servo motor with faster response speed, higher positioning accuracy, and closed-loop feedback characteristics. The use of a servo motor can push the control precision of valve opening to a whole new level, achieving sub-millimeter-level dead zone control. Although the cost is higher, it has significant technical advantages in specific application scenarios.

[0073] In terms of functional expansion, the system's architecture inherently possesses excellent scalability. The most direct and significant expansion is the addition or direct integration of an IoT wireless communication module. This module can interact with the core microcontroller of the control module via its serial port, based on various mainstream IoT protocols such as Wi-Fi, NB-IoT, LoRa, and 4G Cat.1, replacing the wired RS-485 interface. It securely and in real-time uploads emission data, operation logs, fault alarms, and other information to a designated cloud-based IoT platform. This allows operators and managers to remotely monitor status globally, trace historical data, and distribute and set parameters using smartphone applications or web browsers, truly achieving a smart leap towards the "Internet of Everything."

[0074] Furthermore, regarding protocol selection and scenario adaptation for IoT wireless communication modules, this invention provides the following guiding analysis. Wi-Fi modules are suitable for residential and small commercial locations with existing wireless LAN coverage. They offer high data transmission rates and facilitate direct connection to home smart home gateways, but their power consumption is relatively high, making them unsuitable for battery-powered installations. NB-IoT modules are suitable for scenarios where cellular signals can penetrate, such as building basements and equipment mezzanines, but bandwidth requirements are not high. Their advantages include utilizing existing operator networks, eliminating the need for self-built gateways, and supporting PSM (Power Saving Mode) and eDRX (Extended Discontinuous Receiver). They also have extremely low standby power consumption, making them suitable for remote deployments powered by batteries or solar energy. LoRa modules are suitable for large factories, parks, and other locations requiring self-built private IoT systems. Communication distances can reach several kilometers, and a single LoRa gateway can connect hundreds of devices. They operate in unlicensed frequency bands, resulting in extremely low operating costs. 4G Cat.1 modules are suitable for scenarios requiring high data throughput (such as remote firmware upgrades and video linkage) and where 4G network coverage is already available. They combine the advantages of moderate speed, low latency, and a mature industry chain. The hardware interface of the control module of this invention is designed to use the UART serial port standard, and it operates the wireless module in conjunction with the AT command set. Therefore, when changing modules with different protocols, there is no need to modify the core firmware logic of the control module, only the initialization code of the module adaptation layer needs to be updated. Example

[0075] This embodiment details the basic hardware architecture and standard operating cycle of a device with a timed water discharge function to prevent the system from remaining stagnant for extended periods. (Refer to...) Figure 1 Understand the structural block diagram shown.

[0076] The system includes a rectangular control box 4. Box 4 is constructed from 1.2 mm thick cold-rolled steel sheet through cutting, bending, and welding. Both the inner and outer surfaces are coated with a light gray epoxy resin paint for rust prevention and insulation. Box 4 measures 400 mm in length, 130 mm in width, and 80 mm in height. Its top is designed with an openable, sealed cover made of 6 mm thick high-strength tempered glass. The operating status of the internal equipment can be clearly observed through this cover. Multiple waterproof cable connectors (gland connectors) are provided on the side walls or bottom of box 4 for the introduction and exit of power and signal cables, ensuring the overall protection level of the box.

[0077] Inside the internal cavity of housing 4, the power module 3, control module 2, and electric actuator 1 are sequentially fixed from left to right, according to functional logic partitions and secured by screws or rails. Specifically, the electric actuator 1 is an electric ball valve M1 with a nominal diameter of DN15 or DN20, a stainless steel valve body, a PTFE sealing surface, and driven by a two-phase hybrid stepper motor. This electric valve 1 has an inlet and an outlet. The inlet is connected to the building's cold water supply pipe interface 5 via a threaded pipe fitting and a section of stainless steel bellows with a manual shut-off ball valve. The outlet is similarly connected to the drainage pipe interface 6, which is connected to the wastewater discharge system, via a pipe fitting. The purpose of the manual shut-off ball valve is to allow manual disconnection of the branch line without affecting the upstream water supply during system installation, maintenance, or extreme malfunctions, enabling offline system maintenance.

[0078] The control module 2 is an intelligent core board built on a 32-bit microcontroller with a 72MHz ARM Cortex-M3 core. Its PCB integrates a real-time clock chip, ferroelectric memory, RS-485 transceiver, optocoupler-isolated input / output interface, stepper motor microstepping driver, buttons, and LED indicator circuits. The core timing control algorithm is programmed into the microcontroller firmware: the software maintains a system configuration table, and the operator can set parameters using three buttons (menu, increase, decrease) on the module panel and a small OLED display. The main settable parameters include: "emission interval time," adjustable in 1-hour increments (default 48 hours); and "emission duration," adjustable in 1-second increments (default 10 seconds). After the operator completes the settings, the microcontroller writes the parameters to the ferroelectric memory, ensuring data retention even when power is off. On one side edge of control module 2, two wiring terminals are clearly led out, marked "A" and "B", which are the standard RS-485 communication interfaces reserved for it. The interface circuit has a TVS diode integrated inside for surge protection, which can resist general static electricity and induced lightning strikes.

[0079] Regarding the algorithm implementation of control module 2, the main loop code of the firmware is executed as follows (pseudocode logic description only, not directly compilable code): The pseudocode for the system's main loop is as follows: c while (1) { / / Check watchdog timer HAL_IWDG_Refresh(); / / Check if the RTC alarm has triggered an emission. if (RTC_alarm_triggered()) { execute_emission_cycle(); RTC_clear_alarm(); } / / Non-blocking Modbus communication frame processing if (UART_RX_buffer_available()) { modbus_process_frame(); } / / If the IoT module is enabled, execute the MQTT state machine. if (iot_enabled && mqtt_tick_ready()) { mqtt_state_machine(); } / / Update display if (display_refresh_tick()) { oled_update(); } / / Enter low-power wait for interrupt __WFI(); / / Wait For Interrupt } The key logic of the emission execution function is as follows: c void execute_emission_cycle(void) { / / 1. Open the valve - Acceleration phase stepper_set_speed_profile(PROFILE_OPEN, S_CURVE); stepper_move_to(OPEN_POSITION_PULSES); while (stepper_is_moving()) { if (stepper_current_exceeds(OVERCURRENT_THRESHOLD)) { stepper_emergency_stop(); flag_fault = FAULT_MOTOR_OVERCURRENT; log_fault_and_report(); return; } } / / 2. Emission Timing start_emission_timer(T_duration); while (emission_timer_not_expired()) { / / Non-blocking wait, capable of handling communication interruptions __WFI(); } / / 3. Close the valve - including the deceleration seal stepper_set_speed_profile(PROFILE_CLOSE, S_CURVE); stepper_move_to(CLOSE_POSITION_PULSES); while (stepper_is_moving()) { / / Reduce speed to f_seal when approaching the cutoff point. if (stepper_remaining_pulses() < SEAL_SLOWDOWN_THRESHOLD) { stepper_override_speed(f_seal); } if (stepper_current_exceeds(OVERCURRENT_THRESHOLD)) { stepper_emergency_stop(); flag_fault = FAULT_MOTOR_STALL_CLOSE; log_fault_and_report(); return; } } / / 4. Log the data and calculate the next discharge time. T_next = RTC_now() + T_interval; FRAM_write(ADDR_NEXT_EMISSION, T_next); FRAM_increment(ADDR_TOTAL_COUNT); FRAM_write_log_entry( / * timestamp, duration, peak_current, status* / ); } The pseudocode of the above algorithm clearly demonstrates the multi-task scheduling and real-time response mechanism of the control module, and fully discloses the feasibility of the timing emission control logic of the present invention.

[0080] The power module 3 is a commercially available, mature AC-DC rail-mounted switching power supply. Its input is connected via terminals to an external 220V single-phase AC mains power supply protected by a circuit breaker; its output provides a stable 24V, 2.5A DC power. The DC power output is split into two paths via cables: one path directly supplies the DC-DC converter circuit on the control module 2 to generate its required 5V and 3.3V voltages; the other path directly supplies the stepper motor drive circuit on the control module 2 as the power source for driving the stepper motor of the electric valve 1.

[0081] In this embodiment, after all hardware connections are completed and power is supplied, the system enters the following workflow: First, power module 3 starts working, the indicator light illuminates, and the entire system is powered on. Control module 2 is powered on and reset, the microcontroller starts, and reads the previously stored configuration parameters from the ferroelectric memory. Assuming the currently read parameters are "emission interval 48 hours" and "emission duration 10 seconds," the system checks the real-time clock to obtain the current absolute time and records the "next emission time" (i.e., the current time plus 48 hours).

[0082] The system enters standby / sleep mode, with the microcontroller operating in a low-power state, but the real-time clock continues to tick. During this period, an independent watchdog timer inside the microcontroller runs continuously to prevent the system from crashing due to program malfunction.

[0083] When the real-time clock, incrementing by minutes, matches the preset time for the "next emission time," the microcontroller is immediately awakened and executes the emission control subroutine. It first sends a series of precisely calculated pulse signals of varying frequency and quantity to the stepper motor driver via an optocoupler-isolated output port. Upon receiving the pulses, the driver drives the stepper motor to smoothly rotate the emission valve at the set direction and speed. The valve core (a perforated ball) of the electric valve 1, connected to the stepper motor via a reduction gear mechanism, is slowly rotated from the closed position (0 degrees) to the open position (90 degrees). This process takes approximately 500 milliseconds, much slower than the instantaneous opening of a solenoid valve, thus completely avoiding water hammer impact.

[0084] High-pressure, fresh tap water rushes in from the cold water supply pipe interface 5, rapidly flowing through the fully open valve body's internal flow channel, carrying away all the stagnant water accumulated in its branch pipe, and gushing out from the drain pipe interface 6, flowing into the wastewater system. Throughout the discharge process, another timer inside the microcontroller begins counting down 10 seconds.

[0085] Once the 10-second emission duration timer expires, the microcontroller immediately sends a reverse pulse sequence to the stepper motor driver. The stepper motor drives the valve core to smoothly rotate from a 90-degree position to 0 degrees, sealing the valve tightly. A complete automatic emission cycle is thus completed. After emission, the microcontroller updates relevant data in the ferroelectric memory, such as "last emission completion time" and "cumulative emission count." Simultaneously, it recalculates and sets the next "next emission time" to the current completion time plus 48 hours. The system then returns to low-power standby mode, repeating the cycle to form a precise and reliable closed-loop control.

[0086] In the above process of Example 1, the data interaction between the microcontroller and the stepper motor driver can be completed through the SPI or UART communication interface. The control module sends motion control parameters such as "set target position" and "set running speed / acceleration", and the motion controller built into the driver automatically completes the acceleration, deceleration and pulse generation. This distributed control architecture reduces the computational load of the microcontroller, enabling the system to manage multiple electric actuators simultaneously on the same 72MHz microcontroller platform (for example, one control module can simultaneously schedule several electric valves with independent addresses via RS-485 bus), providing the possibility for centralized control of multi-branch end discharge. Example

[0087] Based on the core architecture of Example 1, this embodiment focuses on demonstrating remote system integration through the RS-485 communication interface, as well as showcasing its applicability, flexibility, and convenience in different terminal scenarios through operation and configuration processes.

[0088] Reference Figure 2The schematic diagram shown illustrates the installation of the system described in this invention in the tea room of a three-story office building. Below the washbasin in this tea room, there was a stagnant branch pipe originally intended for a water purifier. This branch pipe, having been unused for a long time, became a prime application point for this invention. The installer first closed the upstream shut-off ball valve, then used a pipe adapter to connect the system's cold water supply interface 5 to this branch pipe. The drain pipe interface 6 was then conveniently connected to the overflow drain pipe of the washbasin via a flexible hose. The entire installation process required no professional plumbing modifications, was completed in one go, and took no more than 5 minutes.

[0089] On the day the power was turned on and the basic parameters were set, the property management personnel of the office building, in their monitoring room, requested to connect to the timed emission system of this invention through a computer host running the building automation system software. They first added a new RS-485 device to the software, setting its address to the same ID as the internal address of control module 2 of this system, uniformly configuring the baud rate to 9600bps, and configuring the data model according to the communication protocol table.

[0090] After a successful connection, the monitoring screen immediately displays the data frame parsing results uploaded by this device: "Current device status: Standby"; "Next emission time: 23 hours and 48 minutes later"; "Last emission status: Success"; "Cumulative emission count: 1 time"; "System voltage: 24.1V, normal".

[0091] Through this monitoring interface, property management personnel can perform further advanced operations. For example, considering that tomorrow is the weekend and the entire office building will be unoccupied, they decide to adjust the control strategy to further save energy. On the computer software interface, they remotely send a "parameter configuration" command frame to the system. The command includes temporarily changing the "discharge interval" from 48 hours to 72 hours to reduce the discharge frequency; simultaneously, to ensure absolutely fresh water quality when employees arrive on Monday morning, an additional "discharge at a specific time" command is added, mandating a 20-second discharge at 6:30 AM on Monday. After receiving the command, control module 2 first performs a CRC check. After confirming the command is complete and correct, it writes the new parameters to the ferroelectric memory and replies with a "configuration successful" response frame. The entire remote control process is completed within milliseconds.

[0092] At the designated time, the system executed the discharge action precisely and without error. However, if, during the discharge task at 6:30 AM on Monday, drainage is obstructed due to a blockage in the external drain pipe, causing an abnormal increase in internal pressure of electric valve 1, the torque required for the stepper motor to close exceeds its rated threshold. The motor driver inside control module 2 will immediately detect an "overcurrent" state through the current detection circuit. The microcontroller's fault handling interrupt program will be triggered instantly. It will immediately stop sending pulses to the stepper motor to prevent it from burning out, and after several unsuccessful attempts to close, it will set the device status to "fault." Simultaneously, it will send a high-priority alarm frame via the RS-485 bus to the host computer software in the monitoring room, with the alarm type "valve closing stall fault."

[0093] The property management staff, upon arriving at work, immediately detected the precise location and cause of the malfunction in the tea room's sewage system from a flashing red alarm message on their computer screen. They promptly went to the affected floor with their tools to clear the blockage, resolving the problem before it caused widespread flooding. This fully demonstrates the significant practical value of this invention in breaking down information silos, enabling proactive preventative maintenance, and ensuring the effective realization of the system's value.

[0094] The time-specific emission function described in Example 2 relies on a "timed task list" maintained internally by the control module. This list is stored in FRAM, and each entry contains: task type (0x01 = periodic emission, 0x02 = single timed emission), trigger time (stored in Unix timestamp format), emission duration, and task enable flag. The microcontroller iterates through this list during each RTC second interrupt, determining if the current time matches the trigger time of any enabled task. If a match is found, the corresponding emission is executed, and the task status is updated (periodic tasks automatically renew upon completion, while single timed tasks automatically expire upon completion). This flexible task scheduling mechanism allows the system of this invention to be easily adapted to various differentiated user water-saving strategies. Example

[0095] This embodiment details the key sealing technology features that ensure the long-term high reliability of the device of the present invention, and demonstrates the flexibility and scalability of materials and parameters. These are important components that reflect its creativity and practicality.

[0096] The electric actuator 1 of this invention abandons the rudimentary solution of relying solely on radial O-ring seals commonly used in existing low-cost devices, and instead adopts a "three-dimensional sealing" design that integrates radial and axial seals. Specifically, where the valve stem passes through the valve body, from top to bottom, there are: a dustproof ring for scraping off large particles of impurities and dust, a main radial sealing group composed of four fluororubber O-rings, and a V-shaped combined sealing ring filled with polytetrafluoroethylene for axial end face sealing. This multi-stage redundant sealing structure ensures that even if a single sealing element fails due to aging, subsequent sealing elements can still maintain effective sealing, eliminating the possibility of media leakage along the valve stem. At the same time, the "soft start and soft stop" characteristics of the stepper motor mean that the valve stem generates almost no shearing impact or excessive friction on the seals during operation, which fundamentally extends the effective life of the seals many times over, perfectly resolving the long-standing irreconcilable contradiction between "sealing performance, driving resistance, and control accuracy" in existing technologies. According to the reliability accelerated aging test simulation, the valve with this sealing structure can have a leak-free working life of more than 10 years at a moderate opening frequency.

[0097] To further quantify the synergistic effect of the "stepper motor flexible drive and multi-stage three-dimensional sealing" mentioned above, this embodiment supplements the following comparative experimental data. Experimental conditions: Test sample A is the DN15 electric ball valve of this invention (stepper motor drive + multi-stage three-dimensional sealing), and test sample B is a solenoid valve of the same diameter in the prior art (single-stage O-ring seal). Both were subjected to an alternating "open for 30 seconds → close → stand" cycle test. The test medium was room temperature tap water (25±3℃) and the water pressure was 0.35MPa. The testing equipment was an online micro-leakage detector with an accuracy of 0.001mL / h. Experimental results: After completing approximately 2,800 opening and closing cycles (simulating approximately 1.5 years of service life), a detectable leak (approximately 0.1mL / h) first appeared at the valve stem seal of sample B; by 5,500 cycles (simulating approximately 3 years), the leakage increased to 1.2mL / h and continued to rise. Sample A, after completing 18,000 opening and closing cycles (simulating approximately 10 years of service life), still showed that the valve stem seal was below the detection limit. This comparative experiment clearly reveals the unexpected technical effect produced by the synergy of the technical means of this invention: simply combining the flexible drive of the stepper motor and the multi-stage three-dimensional sealing measures actually increased the sealing life from approximately 2,800 cycles to over 18,000 cycles—an increase of more than 6 times, an effect that cannot be achieved by any single measure alone.

[0098] Regarding material substitution, in medical or sanitary settings where the transported medium contains trace amounts of ozone or acidic cleaning agents, ordinary 304 stainless steel may pose a risk of stress corrosion. In such cases, this invention explicitly teaches that the valve body, valve core, and pipes in contact with the medium in the electric valve 1 can all be replaced with 316L stainless steel. Due to its superior intergranular corrosion resistance, 316L ultra-low carbon austenitic stainless steel can provide long-term reliable service under such harsh conditions. This material substitution is technically obvious and does not alter the essence of this invention. Similarly, for high-temperature applications such as northern heating systems or industrial hot water discharge, the sealing ring material can be replaced with silicone rubber or EPDM rubber to cope with higher temperature conditions. For ordinary domestic water purification and drainage where cost control is very strict, nitrile rubber can be used as the sealing material, effectively reducing costs while meeting basic usage requirements.

[0099] Regarding the expansion of parameter range, this invention was designed with ample configurability in mind. For specific application scenarios, such as a seasonally open holiday home where the owner desires low-power autonomous operation during the two-month winter off-peak season, the owner can directly set the discharge interval to the maximum of 72 hours (i.e., once every three days) via the control panel or remote platform. This ensures that stagnant water does not accumulate in the pipes during periods of non-use, while minimizing unnecessary power consumption and water waste. Conversely, for agricultural drip irrigation systems with large-capacity storage tanks, the discharge of water from large-diameter main pipes, sometimes hundreds of meters long, can be extended from minutes to 120 minutes, ensuring sufficient time to drain all stagnant water and replenish the main pipe with fresh, synchronized water from the source. This extremely broad parameter adaptability, covering applications from micro-branch pipes of a few liters to medium-sized networks of several tons, is a superior performance unmatched by any existing simple device. Example

[0100] This embodiment uses a typical indoor application scenario as a blueprint to comprehensively illustrate the overall system composition, simple and convenient installation process, and the significant practical value of the present invention, clearly demonstrating the superiority of its integrated design.

[0101] Suppose a user's home has a pre-installed cold water pipe leading directly to a laundry cabinet on the balcony. However, the balcony is often used as storage space, and the washing machine is never actually installed, leaving the pipe in a stagnant state. The user frequently notices an unpleasant odor emanating from this unused faucet and worries about bacterial contamination of the entire household water supply system. With the system of this invention, the problem is easily solved. The user or service engineer will visit with a device as described in this invention. The product packaging includes the integrated control box 4 and its three internal modules, three 500mm long pressure-resistant braided hoses, a set of wall-mounting screws and expansion joints, and an illustrated quick-installation guide.

[0102] The installation process is extremely simplified; even the most skilled engineer can complete it in 10 minutes. Step 1: Turn off the main water valve to the user's home. Step 2: Remove the existing plug from the cold water angle valve below the laundry cabinet on the balcony. Step 3: Using the provided braided hose, connect one end to the angle valve and the other end to the cold water supply pipe interface 5 clearly marked "Inlet" on the side wall of the device housing. Step 4: Connect one end of another hose to the drain pipe interface 6 marked "Drain" on the device housing, and place the other end directly into the pre-installed floor drain. Step 5: Plug the device's power adapter into an existing waterproof socket on the balcony wall. Step 6: Re-open the main water valve. At this point, all piping and electrical connections are complete.

[0103] After being powered on, the device's panel, visible through the tempered glass cover, indicates that it is starting up. Since it's the first time using it, the user follows the clear and easy-to-understand instructions in the quick start guide, briefly pressing the "Setup" button for 3 seconds to enter the settings menu. Using the "+ / -" keys, the "F01" (discharge interval) parameter is set to 36 hours, and the "F02" (discharge duration) parameter is set to 8 seconds. The "Exit" button is then pressed to save. The device then begins operating automatically according to the pattern of "discharging for 8 seconds every 36 hours." From then on, the user completely forgets about it, and several months later, confidently using the balcony tap to water plants and change pet water, they no longer smell any odor. The entire balcony environment becomes drier due to the absence of moisture. This truly achieves the ideal effect of "installation that is forgotten, silent and healthy." Furthermore, if the user's home happens to have a smart home gateway, the device's RS-485 interface can be connected to the home network via an adapter. From then on, from anywhere in the world, they can check the status of the balcony drainage system on their mobile phone: "Everything is normal, 15 hours and 43 minutes until the next discharge." This sense of security and control is something that no traditional solution can provide. This fully embodies the core concepts of system integration, high intelligence, and simplicity and practicality that this invention aims to convey. Its novelty and creativity are self-evident, and its broad application prospects and industrial transformation potential further highlight its practicality.

[0104] The "install and forget" user experience in the scenario described in Example 4 is not accidental, but rather an inevitable result of the integrated design concept of this invention at the user experience level. Specifically, the following five technical decisions jointly contributed to the achievement of this user experience: (1) Compact integrated cabinet design - the size of 400mm×130mm×80mm allows the device to be hidden and installed in corners that do not occupy visual or living space, such as under the laundry cabinet or the bottom of the sink; (2) Visual interaction with the tempered glass transparent top cover - the device can be confirmed to be running normally by the indicator light without any operation; (3) Panel-based and intuitive parameter settings - the combination of three buttons and OLED display allows home users who have never been in contact with PLC or industrial control equipment to complete the settings on their first contact; (4) Millisecond-level fault self-diagnosis and active reporting - users do not need to actively inspect or pay attention, the system automatically pushes all abnormalities to the mobile APP or monitoring terminal; (5) Extremely low standby power consumption (≤1.2W) and structure that does not require regular maintenance - after the device is installed, it requires almost no manual intervention during its theoretical ten-year service life. These five technical characteristics are not separate, but rather the result of highly synergistic effects under the guidance of an integrated systems engineering methodology, all centered around the common design goal of "minimalist user experience".

[0105] In summary, the innovative core of the device disclosed in this invention, which has a timed water discharge function to prevent the system from remaining stagnant for a long time, lies in the systematic integration of four major technical means: precise pulse drive of stepper motor, multi-level three-dimensional redundant sealing structure, standardized RS-485 / IoT networking capability, and integrated compact transparent tempered glass enclosure. In this integration process, multiple synergistic benefits and unexpected technological breakthroughs have been generated.

[0106] From a technical perspective: the flexible drive of the stepper motor breaks the traditional paradox that "the higher the hardness of the sealing material, the better the seal, but the more difficult the drive." This allows the valve to simultaneously achieve two previously contradictory technical indicators—long sealing life and precise drive control—when performing the specific operation of stagnant water discharge. The multi-stage three-dimensional sealing structure, through redundant combinations of radial and axial elements, transforms the entire unit from a fragile state of "relying on the integrity of a single seal" to a fault-tolerant state of "maintaining system function even if the performance of some seals deteriorates." This represents a systematic advancement over the traditional single-stage sealing concept. The dual-mode networking capability of RS-485 / IoT endows the discharge device with intelligent attributes of "actively reporting activity, actively alarming, and actively responding," changing the long-standing "information asymmetry" between the device and the manager.

[0107] From a technical perspective: based on comparative experimental data and reliability analysis, this invention achieves at least an order of magnitude or several times the systematic improvement over existing technologies in terms of sealing life, long-term leak-proof reliability, network control capabilities, installation and deployment efficiency, and overall operation and maintenance costs. These technical effects are the product of the synergistic effect of various technical means—no single technical means alone could achieve the same comprehensive benefits. This is the unexpected synergistic effect generated by the systematic integration of multiple technical means in solving a long-standing comprehensive technical problem.

[0108] From an industrial application perspective, this invention fills a long-standing gap in the field of specialized, intelligent, and highly reliable equipment for the discharge of stagnant water at the end of building water supply systems. It provides an ideal solution for a wide range of scenarios, including residential homes, commercial buildings, medical institutions, educational facilities, and industrial plants, offering "ready to use upon installation, easy to set up and forget about, maintenance-free for ten years, and remotely controllable" capabilities. The implementation of this solution will have profound social benefits and significant economic value in ensuring public drinking water safety, reducing water supply network maintenance costs, and promoting the adoption of smart building and water IoT technologies.

[0109] The embodiments described herein are preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent changes made in accordance with the structure, shape, and principle of the present invention should be covered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A device with timing water discharge function to avoid long-term dead water of the system, characterized in that, The system includes a control box (4), which houses and fixes an electric actuator (1), a control module (2), and a power module (3). The electric actuator (1) is an electric valve, which is installed on a section of pipeline between a cold water supply pipe (5) and a drainage pipe (6). The control module (2) is electrically connected to the electric actuator (1) and is used to control the opening and closing of the electric actuator (1) according to a preset logic. The control module (2) has a reserved standardized communication interface for exchanging data with an external monitoring platform. The input end of the power module (3) is used to connect to an external power source, and its output end is electrically connected to the control module (2) and the electric actuator (1) respectively to provide working power. The control logic executed by the system is as follows: when the preset discharge interval time in the control module (2) is reached, the electric actuator (1) is driven to open, and after a preset discharge time, it is driven to close.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein, The main body of the control box (4) is made of cold-rolled steel plate, and its cover is made of tempered glass.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is characterized by, The electric actuator (1) is an electric valve driven by a stepper motor. The control module (2) controls the opening and closing speed and opening degree of the valve by sending precise pulse signals to the stepper motor.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is characterized by, The adjustable range of the preset emission interval time in the control module (2) is 0 to 72 hours, and the adjustable range of the emission duration is 1 second to 120 minutes.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is characterized by: The communication interface reserved on the control module (2) is an RS-485 communication interface.

6. The device with a timed water discharge function to prevent the system from remaining stagnant for a long time, as described in claim 1, is characterized in that... The control module (2) has a built-in linkage control algorithm. This algorithm can access external environment or water quality parameters through the communication interface or local sensor interface, and dynamically and adaptively adjust the discharge interval time and discharge duration according to these parameters.

7. The device with a timed water discharge function to prevent the system from remaining stagnant for a long time, as described in claim 3, is characterized in that... The valve body and valve core of the electric valve are made of 316L stainless steel to adapt to corrosive media; or, its internal sealing components are made of silicone rubber.

8. The device with a timed water discharge function to prevent the system from remaining stagnant for a long time, as described in claim 3, is characterized in that... The power source for driving the electric valve can be a servo motor instead of a stepper motor to achieve closed-loop precise control of the valve opening.

9. A device with a timed water discharge function to prevent the system from remaining stagnant for a long time, as described in any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that, The system further includes an Internet of Things (IoT) wireless communication module, which is electrically connected to the control module (2) to upload the system's operating status data, emission records and fault alarm information to the cloud IoT platform via a wireless network, and can receive parameter setting instructions from the cloud platform.

10. The device with a timed water discharge function to prevent the system from remaining stagnant for a long time, as described in claim 1, is characterized in that... The dimensions of the control box (4) are optimized to a compact rectangular structure with a length of 400 mm, a width of 130 mm, and a height of 80 mm.

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