HF Motion Sensing for Water Outlet Obstruction Detection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing water consumer systems in high-traffic buildings face challenges in promptly detecting malfunctions, such as obstructed fluid outlets or malfunctioning inlet valves, leading to unnecessary water consumption and inefficient cleaning due to the reliance on manual detection by sanitary technicians.
Innovation Solution
A water consumer system equipped with HF motion sensors on the receptacle and outlet, coupled with a data processing system that evaluates sensor data to detect malfunctions, adapt valve operation, and communicate through wireless networks, enabling real-time monitoring and adaptive control to prevent issues like obstructions and pressure fluctuations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If manual detection by sanitary technicians is used, then device complexity is reduced, but malfunction detection time increases and water waste occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The water consumer system performs self-diagnosis by automatically detecting malfunctions through integrated sensors and evaluation circuits, eliminating the need for manual inspection by sanitary technicians. The system monitors its own operation and generates service messages when anomalies are detected, enabling autonomous fault detection and reducing detection time to near-real-time.
Solution Approach 2:
Manual detection methods are replaced with electronic sensing and automated evaluation systems. HF motion sensors, capacitive sensors, and evaluation circuits substitute for human technicians, converting mechanical/physical monitoring into electronic detection that can process and respond to malfunction conditions automatically.
2Reliability
If automated sensor detection is implemented, then malfunction detection speed improves, but water consumption increases due to false positives
Solution Approach 1:
The evaluation circuit continuously monitors sensor signals and compares them against predefined thresholds and patterns. When a malfunction is detected, the system can adjust valve operation or trigger corrective actions, and learn from outcomes to refine future detection accuracy. This feedback mechanism reduces false positives by validating detections against multiple criteria before triggering water-intensive responses.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses a hierarchical detection approach where preliminary sensor checks are performed first, and only when these indicate a potential issue does the system escalate to more intensive monitoring or corrective actions. This staged approach minimizes unnecessary water consumption by avoiding full-scale responses to minor or false anomalies.
3Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If HF motion sensors are added to detect fluid motion, then obstruction detection capability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The HF motion sensor serves multiple functions: detecting fluid motion to identify obstructions, monitoring flow patterns to detect valve malfunctions, and providing data for predictive maintenance. By designing the sensor system to perform multiple detection tasks simultaneously, the patent reduces overall system complexity compared to having separate specialized sensors for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The evaluation circuit integrates multiple sensor inputs (HF motion sensors, capacitive sensors, flow sensors) into a unified processing system. Rather than having separate evaluation systems for each sensor type, the patent combines them into a single intelligent evaluation unit that handles multiple detection modalities, reducing the overall complexity of the control architecture.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively reduces water waste by automatically detecting and addressing malfunctions, optimizing water usage based on usage patterns, and reducing the need for manual intervention through intelligent valve control and timely maintenance alerts.
Implementation Method 1
at least one HF motion sensor for detecting fluid motion provided on the water receptacle and/or the fluid outlet
Data Source
AI summary
A water consumer system comprising a water consumer that comprises a water receptacle, the water consumer system further comprising a fluid inlet with an inlet valve, a fluid outlet, at least one HF motion sensor for detecting fluid motion provided on the water receptacle and/or at the fluid outlet and a water consumer controller coupled with the HF motion sensor and the inlet valve, wherein the water consumer controller comprises a data processing system, which is arranged to Retrieve or receive data captured by the HF motion sensor, to evaluate the data arithmetically and, based on the evaluated data, to detect one of the following malfunctions or initiate an action, in order to prevent one out of the variety of the following malfunctions, such as that the outlet is obstructed, there is a pressure fluctuation in a wastewater system, the fluid inlet is malfunctioning, etc.