Systems and methods are provided for determining a use condition of an appliance, such as a sump pump, and outputting an indication of the current use condition of the appliance. A system implementing the method will first generate an actual first signature of a first characteristic associated with the appliance. The system will then generate an actual second signature of a second characteristic associated with the appliance. Each of the actual first and second signatures are then compared to corresponding expected signatures. The system then selects a current use condition from a plurality of use conditions based on the relationship between the actual signatures and the expected signatures.

Provided herein is a method of determining whether process water is present in a circulation pump of an appliance for washing and rinsing goods, and an appliance performing the method. The method of determining whether process water is present in a circulation pump of an appliance for washing and rinsing goods may include measuring a minimum value of a property representing load of the circulation pump at a predetermined first speed, measuring a maximum value of a property representing load of the circulation pump at a predetermined second speed, the second speed being higher than the first speed, determining a relation between said minimum value and said maximum value, and determining, from said relation, whether process water is present in the circulation pump.

A variable frequency drive system and a method of controlling a pump driven by a motor with the pump in fluid communication with a fluid system is provided. The method includes monitoring a pressure in the fluid system, monitoring and adjusting an operating frequency of the motor to maintain the pressure at a pressure set point, and, based on the monitored operating frequency, causing the pump to temporarily boost the pressure in the fluid system to a temporary boost set point for a first time period. The method also includes determining whether the temporarily boosted pressure in the fluid system stays above the pressure set point for a second time period and causing the pump to enter a sleep mode when the temporarily boosted pressure stays above the pressure set point through the second time period.

A variable frequency drive system and a method of controlling a pump driven by a motor with the pump in fluid communication with a fluid system is provided. The method includes monitoring a pressure in the fluid system, monitoring and adjusting an operating frequency of the motor to maintain the pressure at a pressure set point, and, based on the monitored operating frequency, causing the pump to temporarily boost the pressure in the fluid system to a temporary boost set point for a first time period. The method also includes determining whether the temporarily boosted pressure in the fluid system stays above the pressure set point for a second time period and causing the pump to enter a sleep mode when the temporarily boosted pressure stays above the pressure set point through the second time period.

A smart coolant pump for a robotic or computer-controlled machine. The smart pump uses a servo motor rather than a conventional industrial motor such as an induction motor. The smart pump has inherent torque and speed sensing, and a controller integrated with the computer-controlled machine controller. The motor torque/speed sensing and coolant pressure/flow sensing enable immediate detection of any anomalous conditions such as low coolant level or coolant port blockage. The smart pump can be configured to run at a certain speed and provide a specific coolant pressure and flow rate for each machining operation performed at the station, and to run at a very low speed between machining operations. This speed configurability saves energy and allows the pump and coolant to run at lower temperatures compared to conventional constant-speed coolant pumps.

A method and apparatus for a pump control system. One or more embodiments include a controller communicatively coupled to one or both of a pump and a motor connected to the pump. A device is connected to the controller and configured to connect to a computer network, the device enabling the controller to electronically send, via the computer network to a remote device connected to the computer network, data comprising operational parameters associated with one or both of the pump and the motor.

A method for controlling a pump arrangement comprising a pump having a motor and a control unit. The motor, when the pump is in an active state and the motor is driven in a first direction, is associated with a load factor that corresponds to an operating condition of the pump arrangement. The pump arrangement also includes a unit configured to monitor at least one operating parameter from which the load factor of the motor can be derived. The method includes determining a real value of the at least one operating parameter, determining if an externally applied force is acting on the motor to such an extent that an operating condition detrimental to the pump arrangement is initiated, effecting a state shift from the active state to an inactive state of the pump if an operating condition detrimental to the pump arrangement is initiated, the state shift including a step according to which the control unit, immediately after a detrimental operating condition is initiated, abruptly breaks the driving of the motor in the first direction.

Described herein is a method for stopping a submersible pump when the pump is snoring, wherein the pump is operatively connected to a control unit. The method includes regulating, by way of the control unit, the operational speed of the pump in order to direct an average power of the pump towards a predetermined set level. The method includes determining whether the instantaneous power of the pump is outside a predetermined range, by monitoring at least one of the parameters: power [P], current [I] and power factor [cos ]. The method further includes determining whether the operational speed of the pump is increasing, and stopping the pump due to snoring, by way of the control unit, when the instantaneous power of the pump is determined as being outside the predetermined range at the same time the operational speed of the pump is determined as increasing.

A method and apparatus for a pump control system. One or more embodiments of the invention include a pump controller that can perform a self-calibrating procedure, can provide precise motor speed control, can provide a limp mode before shutting down the motor when system parameters are exceeded and/or fault conditions occur, can detect fault conditions, and can store fault conditions for later retrieval.

A pumping system for at least one aquatic application includes a motor coupled to a pump and a controller in communication with the motor. The controller is adapted to determine a first motor speed of the motor, determine a reference power consumption using a reference flow rate and a curve of speed versus power consumption for the reference flow rate, and generate a difference value between the reference power consumption and a present power consumption. The controller drives the motor to reach a steady state condition at a second motor speed based on the difference value.