Fluid Identification and Tracking via Automated Sensor Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional fluid transportation recording and reporting methods are manual and often inaccurate, leading to errors in tracking fluid properties and destinations, as densities and ingredients are not consistently tested or recorded.
Innovation Solution
An automated system using computing devices and infrastructure, including global positioning hardware and software, to determine fluid properties, locations, and routes, with preventative measures for improper fluid discharge or receipt based on ingredient analysis and regulatory compliance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual recording and reporting methods are used for fluid transportation, then the process is simple and requires minimal infrastructure, but errors occur in recording, reporting, and monitoring fluid properties and locations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual recording and reporting processes with an automated electronic monitoring system that uses computing devices to track fluid transportation. The system automatically determines vehicle locations via GPS, identifies fluid ingredients through sensors, and monitors discharge activities, eliminating human error associated with manual methods while maintaining operational simplicity through centralized digital management.
Solution Approach 2:
The monitoring system performs self-service by automatically collecting data from vehicles and fluid containers without requiring manual intervention. The computing device autonomously processes location data, fluid property information, and discharge records, generating compliance reports and alerts without human input, thereby improving reliability while keeping the system relatively simple to operate.
2Measurement precision
If automated monitoring systems are implemented to track fluid properties and locations, then recording accuracy improves, but the device complexity and infrastructure requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The computing device serves multiple functions within a single integrated system: it tracks vehicle locations, identifies fluid ingredients, monitors discharge activities, generates compliance reports, and sends alerts. This multi-functionality consolidates what would otherwise require separate systems into one device, improving measurement precision while limiting the increase in overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a centralized computing device as an intermediary that coordinates between various monitoring components (GPS receivers, fluid sensors, communication devices). This intermediary manages the complexity by providing a single point of control and data integration, allowing precise measurements from multiple sources to be processed uniformly without requiring each component to be independently complex.
3Productivity
If fluid ingredients are assumed rather than tested, then the process is faster and requires fewer resources, but errors occur in fluid composition recording
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary identification of fluid ingredients using sensors and testing equipment before the fluid is transported or discharged. By determining fluid composition in advance, the system eliminates the need to assume ingredients during transportation, ensuring accurate recording without significantly delaying the overall process. The computing device stores this pre-determined information for later verification.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual assumption of fluid ingredients with automated scientific testing and electronic identification methods. Sensors and analytical equipment objectively determine fluid composition, and the computing device records this data automatically. This substitution maintains productivity by streamlining the testing process while dramatically improving the precision of fluid composition data through objective measurement rather than assumption.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If preventative measures are implemented to stop improper fluid discharge, then environmental compliance improves, but the system complexity and response time requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring system implements continuous feedback by constantly comparing actual fluid discharge activities against regulatory requirements and authorized destinations. When improper discharge is detected, the system immediately alerts authorities and can trigger automated responses. This feedback loop prevents environmental harm by catching violations in real-time while managing complexity through standardized compliance rules that the computing device applies automatically.
Solution Approach 2:
The system takes preliminary anti-action by pre-establishing compliance rules, authorized discharge locations, and acceptable fluid types in the computing device before transportation begins. This allows the system to automatically prevent improper discharge by comparing actual activities against pre-programmed requirements, reducing environmental harm through proactive compliance checking while limiting complexity through standardized pre-set parameters rather than requiring complex real-time decision-making algorithms.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments disclosed herein include systems and methods for fluid identification and tracking. At least one embodiment of a method includes determining that a vehicle is discharging a fluid, determining an ingredient of the fluid, and determining a first vehicle location. Some embodiments include determining, based on the ingredient, whether discharge of the fluid at the first vehicle location is allowable and in response to determining that discharge of the fluid at the first vehicle location is not allowable, performing, by a computing device, a first preventative measure.