UV-LED Water Monitoring System for Endpoint Contamination Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Centralized water quality monitoring systems fail to ensure consistent water quality at consumer endpoints due to contamination within distribution networks and lack of real-time monitoring, leading to potential provision of contaminated water.
Innovation Solution
A distributed UV-LED liquid monitoring and purification system that includes a water analysis module, UV treatment module, filtration module, and communication module to analyze and treat water in real-time, using UV LEDs and TiO2 to produce reactive oxygen species for pathogen destruction and chemical removal, with data transmission to centralized servers for trend analysis and corrective actions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If centralized water quality monitoring is used, then monitoring cost is reduced, but water quality reliability at consumer endpoints deteriorates due to contamination in distribution networks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the centralized monitoring system into distributed monitoring units deployed at multiple consumer endpoints. Each unit independently monitors local water quality, eliminating the single-point failure risk of centralized systems and ensuring reliable detection even if some units fail.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces wireless communication modules as intermediaries between distributed monitoring units and centralized servers. This allows local units to autonomously detect and report water quality issues without requiring complex physical connections, reducing system complexity while maintaining reliability.
2Reliability
If periodic testing is used, then monitoring cost is reduced, but response time to contamination deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous real-time monitoring at distributed consumer endpoints using UV-LED-based detection systems. This eliminates the time gaps inherent in periodic testing, ensuring immediate detection of contamination events while maintaining cost-effectiveness through energy-efficient UV-LED technology.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs UV-LED treatment modules that continuously pre-treat water at consumer endpoints, preventing contamination from establishing before detection. This preliminary action ensures that even if contamination occurs, it is detected and neutralized immediately rather than waiting for periodic testing intervals.
3Reliability
If distributed monitoring systems are deployed, then water quality reliability improves, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes UV-LEDs with specific wavelengths optimized for detecting common water contaminants. By changing the detection parameter to UV fluorescence detection, the system achieves high reliability with simple, low-cost components rather than complex multi-parameter analysis systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs inexpensive UV-LED modules and disposable or replaceable sensor components in distributed monitoring units. These low-cost components can be easily replaced if failed, reducing the complexity of maintaining reliable distributed monitoring across many consumer endpoints.
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
Ensures real-time monitoring and treatment of water quality at consumer endpoints, preventing contamination and enabling timely corrective actions in water distribution networks, thereby maintaining safe water quality.
Implementation Method 1
uses a combination of ultraviolet LEDs to kill bacteria, viruses, and spores in the incoming water
Implementation Method 2
Optionally, the system includes TiO2 (Titanium Dioxide), or H2O2 (Hydrogen peroxide) to work with UV LEDs to purify water via production of reactive oxygen species via a photo catalytic oxidation process
Implementation Method 3
the water quality may be analyzed for optical transparency and/or optical absorption
Implementation Method 4
the water quality may be analyzed for optical spectroscopy and/or florescence spectroscopy
Data Source
AI summary
An water providing apparatus includes a input portion for receiving untreated water, a treatment portion for treating and outputting treated water having a UV treatment module for reducing pathogens, a filtering mechanism for reducing physical and chemical impurities, a UV analysis module for determining levels of the impurities in the untreated water and for determining levels of impurities in the treated water, a processing unit for determining whether the levels of impurities in the treated water exceed a threshold, a reporting module for outputting the levels of the impurities in the untreated and treated water to a remote monitoring service, and a water output portion for providing the treated water if safe, and for inhibiting output of the treated water if unsafe.