Water Meter Sizing via Remote Flow Data Analysis
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for selecting an appropriate water meter for specific applications often fail to account for all desired characteristics, leading to potential damage or inaccuracy due to mismatched flow rates, and lack comprehensive methodologies for determining the optimal meter size.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that associate an encoder-receiver-transmitter (ERT) endpoint with a consumption measuring meter to record and analyze data over selectable time intervals, comparing it with known specifications to select an appropriately sized meter, allowing for remote configuration and data sorting based on consumption ranges.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a larger water meter is selected to handle high flow rates, then the meter can withstand excessive flow without damage, but the meter becomes inaccurate at low flow rates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary monitoring of actual flow rates before final meter selection. By collecting flow data over a monitoring period and analyzing peak and sustained flow rates, the system determines the appropriate meter size in advance, preventing both oversizing (which causes low flow inaccuracy) and undersizing (which causes high flow damage)
2Measurement precision
If a smaller water meter is selected to improve low flow measurement accuracy, then low flow rates are recorded more accurately, but the meter may be damaged by high flow rates
Solution Approach 1:
The system monitors flow rates during a preliminary period to establish the actual maximum flow requirements before selecting the meter. This preliminary data collection enables accurate matching of meter capacity to actual needs, ensuring the meter is neither too small (which would cause damage) nor too large (which would reduce low flow accuracy)
3Ease of operation
If traditional meter selection methods are used without comprehensive flow data analysis, then the selection process is simpler and faster, but the selected meter may not be optimally sized leading to inaccuracy or damage
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically monitors flow rates, analyzes the data to determine peak and sustained flow patterns, and selects the appropriate meter size without requiring manual intervention. This self-service approach eliminates the need for complex manual calculations while ensuring reliable meter selection based on actual flow characteristics
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors flow rates and uses this feedback to determine the appropriate meter sizing. By analyzing actual flow data over time and comparing it against meter specifications, the system provides accurate feedback-driven selection that ensures both simplicity and reliability
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
The present subject matter relates to apparatus and methodologies for determining an appropriate size for a consumption measurement meter to be installed for a particular application, and/or for validating the appropriateness of a previously installed meter. A remotely controllable endpoint is associated with a consumption measure meter, which may be a water meter. Upon remote command to begin a measurement period, the endpoint will store data representing different levels of consumption during different time intervals over a period of time. The time intervals, length of time for recording data, and start time for recording data, may be remotely selected. Analysis of collected data with reference to known characteristics of available consumption measuring meters permits selection and/or validation of an appropriately sized meter for a particular application.