Urinal Water Flow Valve Control for Leak Detection and Flush Pressure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing water usage management systems in buildings face challenges in detecting leaks and managing water flow effectively, leading to waste and damage, as they struggle to differentiate between unusual and unintended water usage, and often require manual monitoring across multiple facilities, which can be time-consuming and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A valve assembly with a processor and water flow detector that communicates with water usage products to detect leaks, adjust water flow rates, and send alerts, allowing for real-time control and monitoring of water usage, including the ability to increase or decrease pressure and flow rates based on operational status and usage patterns.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If water flow rate is reduced to comply with water use reduction regulations, then water consumption is reduced, but water pressure and flow rate at the fixture become insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts water flow rate and pressure based on real-time detection of usage type (leak vs. intended use). During intended use, full pressure and flow are provided; during detected leaks, flow is reduced or shut off. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by making the system responsive to actual conditions rather than using fixed restrictive settings.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates water flow detectors and processors that continuously monitor water usage patterns and provide feedback to control valves. This feedback mechanism enables the system to distinguish between legitimate water usage and leaks, adjusting flow rates accordingly. The feedback loop allows the system to maintain adequate pressure during normal use while reducing consumption during abnormal conditions.
2Loss of energy
If automated water flow control systems are implemented to detect leaks, then water waste is reduced, but the system cannot differentiate between unusual and unintended water usage, leading to false shut-offs
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary classification of water usage into different categories (intended use, unusual use, leaks) based on pre-established criteria such as flow rate thresholds, duration of usage, and temporal patterns. By pre-defining these classification rules, the system can accurately distinguish between legitimate unusual usage (e.g., a long shower) and actual leaks, reducing false positives while maintaining automated waste detection.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes multiple parameters simultaneously for classification including flow rate, duration, temporal patterns, and usage sequences. By analyzing combinations of these parameters rather than relying on a single threshold, the system achieves more accurate differentiation between intended and unintended water usage, improving reliability while maintaining automated control.
3Device complexity
If manual monitoring of water usage products is performed across multiple facilities, then system complexity is low, but time consumption and inefficiency increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service monitoring where water usage products automatically detect, classify, and report their own status along with adjacent products. Each product equipped with flow detectors and processors autonomously monitors its own water usage patterns and those of neighboring products, eliminating the need for manual inspection. This self-service capability significantly reduces time consumption while the modular architecture keeps system complexity manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a universal monitoring platform that can detect and classify multiple types of water usage events (leaks, intended use, unusual use) across diverse water usage products (urinals, showers, toilets) using a common architecture. This multi-functional approach consolidates what would otherwise require multiple separate monitoring systems, reducing overall complexity while enabling comprehensive automated monitoring across all facilities.
4Loss of energy
If water flow rate is limited to minimum requirements for urinals, then water consumption is reduced, but urine salts build up in the S-bend causing blockages
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts water flow rate to urinals based on detected usage patterns. During actual urination events, the system provides elevated flow rates sufficient to flush urine salts through the S-bend and prevent blockages. Between usage events, flow is reduced or shut off to minimize consumption. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by providing high flow only when necessary for performance while maintaining low average consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
A water flow management system (1) is disclosed including a valve (22), the valve (22) being adapted to communicate with at least one water flow detector (24) and a set of water usage products (40), wherein the water flow detector (24) is for detecting water flow to the set of water usage products (40). The valve includes a processor (205) that is arranged to determine: an operational status of the set of water usage products (40), a water flow status of the water flow detector (24), and whether, on the basis of the operational status and the water flow status, the water flow to the set of water usage products (40) requires alteration. The processor (205) is adapted to operate the valve (40) to effect the required alteration.