INFORMATION COLLECTION SYSTEM, PUMP SYSTEM AND ASSOCIATED METHOD
20180267563 ยท 2018-09-20
Inventors
Cpc classification
F04B2203/0402
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
G07C3/00
PHYSICS
F04B23/04
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F04B17/03
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F04B2203/0405
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
G05B23/0237
PHYSICS
F04B49/00
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F04B2203/0201
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F04B51/00
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F04B2203/0205
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F04B2203/0401
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
E03F5/22
FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
F04B2203/0202
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
F04B2205/09
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
International classification
Abstract
An information collection system for a pump for removing fluid collected by a buildings drainage system from subterranean locations adjacent a building is provided. The system includes a sensor for sensing operation information regarding the operation of the pump and an information collection device operably connected to the sensor and adapted to receive the operation information. The system also includes an information storage device operably connected to the information collection device and adapted to store the operation information. The system further includes a retrieval device operably connected to the storage device and adapted to retrieve the operation information.
Claims
1. An information collection system for a pump for removing fluid collected by a buildings drainage system from subterranean locations adjacent a building, the system comprising: a sensor for sensing operation information regarding the operation of the pump; an information collection device operably connected to the sensor and adapted to receive the operation information; an information storage device operably connected to the information collection device and adapted to store the operation information; and a retrieval device operably connected to the storage device and adapted to retrieve the operation information.
2. The information collection system as in claim 1, further comprising a database storing device for storing comparison information related to at least one of weather, rainfall, snowmelt, ambient temperature, topography and operation information of other pumps used to remove fluid collected from subterranean locations adjacent another building, said database storing device operably connected to the retrieval device.
3. The information collection system as in claim 2, further comprising a comparing device for comparing the operation information with the comparison information.
4. The information collection system as in claim 1, further comprising a motor operably connected to pump and adapted to provide energy to the pump.
5. The information collection system as in claim 4, further comprising a controller, said controller operably connected to the motor and adapted to control the operation of said motor.
6. The information collection system as in claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises one of a motor current or a motor voltage sensor.
7. The information collection system as in claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises a controller.
8. The information collection system as in claim 6, wherein the controller provides a signal indicative of at least one of a motor current or a motor voltage.
9. The information collection system according to claim 3, wherein said comparing device comprises a controller.
10. The information collection system according to claim 4, further comprising a battery operably connected to said motor and adapted to provide energy to said motor.
11. The information collection system according to claim 4, further comprising a second motor operably connected to the pump and adapted to provide energy to the pump.
12. The information collection system according to claim 1, further comprising a clock operably connected to said information storage device, said information storage device and said clock configured to provide historical data related to the operational information.
13. The information collection system according to claim 1, wherein said retrieval device comprises a remote device.
14. The information collection system according to claim 13, wherein said remote device comprises one of the cloud, a file server, a computing device an electronic storage device.
15. The information collection system as in claim 3, wherein said comparing device is adapted to perform an evaluation of the operation information based at least in part on the comparison information.
16. The information collection system as in claim 15, wherein the evaluation includes at least one of the relative state of the buildings drainage system and the effectiveness of the buildings drainage system.
17. A pump system for removing fluid collected from subterranean locations adjacent a building, the system comprising: a pump operably connected to the fluid and adapted to pump the fluid; a pump motor operably connected to said pump; a sensor for sensing operation information regarding the operation of the pump; an information collection device operably connected to the sensor and adapted to receive the information; an information storage device operably connected to the information collection device and adapted to store the information; and a retrieval device operably connected to the storage device and adapted to retrieve the information.
18. A method for removing fluid collected from subterranean locations adjacent a building, the method comprising the steps of: pumping fluid from the surface; sensing operation information regarding the pumping of the fluid from the surface; collecting the operation information; and retrieving the operation information
19. The method as in claim 19, further comprising the step of storing comparison information related to at least one of local weather, local rainfall, local topography and operation information of other pumps used to remove fluid collected from subterranean locations adjacent another building.
20. The method as in claim 19, further comprising the step of comparing the operation information with the comparison information.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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[0032]
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[0039]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0040] A motorized pump, typically called a sump pump, is often positioned in a cylindrical pit formed in the floor of a basement or crawl space of a dwelling or other building. Drainage tile is typically positioned around the inner and/or, outer periphery of the foundation of the dwelling and is connected to the pit so that the accumulated subterranean water is directed into the pit. The sump pumps may fail causing flooding in the basement and, if the basement is finished, great damage. The motor may fail, the power may be interrupted, the pump may fail, the water conduits may be obstructed or disconnected and the pump needs may exceed the capacity of the system in extreme weather conditions.
[0041] While the status of the pump can be monitored by the homeowner when he/she is there, if the homeowner is gone, the damage from a failed pump may be extensive as no one will know it has failed. Further, if the home is repaired after a pump failure that had caused great damage, a prospective new homeowner will not be able to know of the pump failure and potential long term damage to the home that is masked by the repair. Due to costs involved with the consequences of sump pump failure proved, improved monitoring of sump pump operation is desirable in sump pumps and other fluid moving devices powered by electric motors. The methods, systems, and apparatus described herein facilitate improved monitoring of an electric machine. This disclosure provides designs and methods to improve monitoring of such motors. This disclosure further provides designs and methods to improve monitoring of such motors.
[0042] Technical effects of the methods, systems, and apparatus described herein include at least one of improved performance and quality and reduced labor costs.
[0043] According to an embodiment of the present invention and referring to
[0044] The system 10 also includes an information storage device 28 operably connected to the information collection device 26 and adapted to store the operation information 24. The system 10 further includes a retrieval device 30 operably connected to the storage device 28 and adapted to retrieve the operation information 24.
[0045] Continuing to refer to
[0046] The pump system 32 may also include a pump motor 34 operably connected to the pump 12 and sensor 22 for sensing operation information 24 regarding the operation of the pump 12. The pump system 32 may also include information collection device 26 operably connected to the sensor 22 and adapted to receive the operation information 24. The pump system 32 may also include information storage device 28 operably connected to the information collection device 26 and adapted to store the operation information 24. The pump system 32 may also include retrieval device 30 operably connected to the information storage device 28 and adapted to retrieve the operation information 24.
[0047] Continuing to refer to
[0048] Referring now to
[0049] The power supply 50 may be a residential or commercial power supply, for example 110V AC or 220V AC from a power utility. Alternately the power supply 50 may be back up power from for example a generator or a battery. The battery may be a dry or liquid battery and may be rechargeable or not rechargeable. The battery may include rare earth metals. Note, each of the power supply 50 may include any combination of the aforementioned power supplies.
[0050] Referring now to
[0051] The first motor 34A may be connected to first power supply 50A and the second motor 35A may be connected to second power supply 51A. The power supplies 50A and 51A may be a residential or commercial power supply, for example 110V AC or 220V AC from a power utility. Alternately the power supplies 50A and 51A may be back up power from for example a generator or a battery. Note each of the power supplies 50A and 51A may include any combination of the aforementioned power supplies.
[0052] Referring now to
[0053] Referring now to
[0054] For example, the motor may be an electronically commutated motor hereinafter referred to as an ECM motor. The motor may be a brushless alternating current motor, a brushless direct current motor, or a switched reluctance motor. An ECM motor may include a trapezoidal drive or a sinusoidal drive. Further an ECM motor may have a radial or an axial airgap.
[0055] For example, the motor or motors may be any of the various motors or combination of motors as disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication US 2015/0110642 Published Apr. 23, 2015 for PUMP, ASSOCIATED ELECTRIC MACHINE AND ASSOCIATED METHOD, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
[0056] The motor 34, as shown in
[0057] In accordance with known constructions, a stator unit 23 is secured within the main frame 19 having winding 25 which includes a run winding and a start winding. A rotor 27 is rotatably mounted within the stator unit 23 with its shaft 29 supported by bearings located in the respective end bearing frames 17 and 21. The shaft 29 terminates within the upper bearing frame 17. The opposite end of the shaft 29 extends outwardly from the corresponding bearing frame for interconnection to the pump shaft. The main frame 19 has top and bottom side openings to allow cooling air flow through the motor. The motor 34 may include a fan unit mounted within the motor to establish forced cooling of the motor 34.
[0058] Referring again to
[0059] The input 11 may be current or historical information about the fluid collection system 36, current or historical information about another fluid collection system or systems, and/or current or historical information about the environment or anything else. The input 11 may also be a compilation, product, interpolation, extrapolation and/or other manipulation of the information.
[0060] It should be appreciated that the input 11 may be utilized to manage other data collection systems installed in other building or for other purposes related to pump usage, precipitation, water accumulation, flooding, flood control, ground water saturation, soil condition, wetland preservation, construction site moisture, farm field readiness for soil preparation, farm land valuation, commercial property land valuation, residential building land valuation and/or suitability of land for development.
[0061] It should be appreciated that the control module or controller 54 may be operably connected to the motor 34 and adapted to control the operation of the motor 34.
[0062] It should be appreciated that the information collection system may be configured such that the fluid collection system 36 may include sensor 22. The sensor 22 may be any device capable of sensing a characteristic of an object or a phenomenon. The characteristic or phenomenon may be proximity, magnetic field, light, current, voltage, pressure, flow, motion, temperature, or any other characteristic or phenomenon. The sensor may, for example, be a proximity sensor, magnetic field sensor, light sensor, current sensor, voltage sensor, pressure sensor, flow sensor, motion sensor, and/or temperature sensor. Additional sensors (not shown) may be used in the information collection system 10.
[0063] It should be appreciated that the sensor 22 may include the controller 54 or that the controller 54 may include a sensor 22 and/or other sensors.
[0064] It should be appreciated that the sensor 22 may be positioned anywhere in the fluid collection system 36 or in the information collection system 10. Typically the sensor 22 is positioned in or adjacent the location of the object or phenomenon. For example, if the sensor 22 is configured to measure the fluid 14, the sensor may be positioned in or adjacent the pump 12, the drainage system 16 and/or the discharge plumbing 48. For example, if the sensor 22 is configured to measure the electrical energy conveyed in the electrical lines 53, the sensor may be positioned in or adjacent the electrical lines 53.
[0065] The information collection system 10 of the present invention may be utilized to collect information or input 11 related to the fluid collection system 36 for storage and later retrieval for any of a number of purposes and/or to collect information or input 11 related to the fluid collection system 36 over time and to process that information to make adjustments over time to the operation of the fluid collection system 36.
[0066] Continuing to refer to
[0067] The retrieval device 30 may be any device that may extract electric input signal 56 or its equivalent signal from the control module 54. The retrieval device 30 may be a volt/ohm meter or more complicated device that can read and/or extract the electric input signal 56 or its equivalent signal from the control module 54. The retrieval device 30 may be directly connectable to the control module 54 or the retrieval device 30 may include a remote or wireless device 60. The remote device 60 may, for example, use wi/fi signals, NFC signals or any other applicable signals. The remote device 60 may, for example, include the cloud, a file server, a computing device or an electronic storage device.
[0068] Continuing to refer to
[0069] The information collection system 10 may further include a clock 60 operably connected to the information storage device 10. The information storage device 10 and the clock 60 may be configured to provide historical data related to the operational information. The electric input signals 56 may be tagged with times provided by the clock 60 to provide each signal 56 with the exact time it was generated.
[0070] The information collection system of the present invention may be utilized to collect information or input related to the fluid collection system over time. The information collection system may be used to compile information or data about the use of a device, such as a sump pump.
[0071] The information, for example and as shown in
[0072] This information may be used by the homeowner to monitor the sump pump. Measuring pump flow or current, for example, may be used to determine the use of the motor and possible preventive maintenance of the sump pump or motor.
[0073] This information may also be used by a prospective home buyer to verify that the basement or crawl space has been continuously protected by a sump pump and that the basement or crawl space has not been subjected to a flood that might have caused undetectable damage such as mold or rot.
[0074] For example and as shown in
[0075] While the information collection system of the present invention may be utilized to operate the fluid collection system independently of other input external to the fluid collection system, the information collection system may interact with external inputs to enhance the operation of the fluid collection system and to enhance the input that may be collected by the information collection system.
[0076] For example and referring now to
[0077] While it should be appreciated that the signals 56C may be physically extracted manually from the controllers 54C and sent manually, physically or electronically to the information collection device 26C, either at the separate sites and later sent manually, physically or electronically on to a common remote information storage device 28C, for simplicity and to utilize available technology, the information collection device 26C and the information storage device 28C may be located in the cloud or the signals 56C may be transmitted via the internet to remote storage and processing facilities which will provide the information collection device 26C and the information storage device 28C. An information retrieval device 30C may also be located in the cloud and is used to retrieve information in the cloud and send it back to the home/router/modem 31 or to the Data Service 33C.
[0078] The information storage device 28C may collect signals 56C from many, perhaps thousands or millions of fluid collection systems 36C. The information collection system IOC may further include database storing device 62C including an operation information database storing portion 64C for storing operation information 66C obtained from the signals 56C of pumps 12C used around the country and/or world to remove fluid collected from subterranean locations adjacent another building database. The database storing device 62C may also include comparison information storing portion 68C storing comparison information 70C related to at least one of weather, rainfall, snowmelt, ambient temperature, topography.
[0079] The information collection system 10C may further include a comparing device 72C for comparing the operation information 66C with the comparison information 70C. It should be appreciated that the comparing device 72C may include a computer or controller 74C that may provide optimum command signals 58C for each of the fluid collection systems 36C.
[0080] The information retrieval device 30C of the information collection system 10C may send data signals 78C to the modem 31 or to a data service 33C which may be access by a user 35C that may or may not be related to a sump pump installation.
[0081] It should be appreciated that the information collection system 10C may be provided such that optimum command signals 58C are formulated by having the comparing device 72C perform an evaluation 76C of the operation information 66C based at least in part on the comparison information 70C.
[0082] It should be appreciated that the information collection system 10C may be provided such that the evaluation 76C includes at least one of the relative state of the buildings drainage system and the effectiveness of the buildings drainage system.
[0083] Referring now to
[0084] The information collection system may be used to compile information or data about the use of the networks of sump pumps located at in many locations. The information for example and as shown in
[0085] In addition to the information about the sump pumps, the information collection system may also collect data for sources other than the sump pumps. For example and referring now to
[0086] Referring now to
[0087] The data as listed in
[0088] According to another embodiment of the present invention and referring now to
[0089] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the method may further include the step of storing comparison information related to at least one of local weather, local rainfall, local topography and operation information of other pumps used to remove fluid collected from subterranean locations adjacent another building.
[0090] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the method may further include the step of comparing the operation information with the comparison information.
[0091] The methods, systems, and apparatus described herein facilitate efficient and economical assembly of an electric motor. Exemplary embodiments of methods, systems, and apparatus are described and/or illustrated herein in detail. The methods, systems, and apparatus are not limited to the specific embodiments described herein, but rather, components of each apparatus and system, as well as steps of each method, may be utilized independently and separately from other components and steps described herein. Each component, and each method step, can also be used in combination with other components and/or method steps.
[0092] When introducing elements/components/etc. of the methods and apparatus described and/or illustrated herein, the articles a, an, the, and the are intended to mean that there are one or more of the element(s)/component(s)/etc. The terms comprising, including, and having are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional element(s)/component(s)/etc. other than the listed element(s)/component(s)/etc.
[0093] This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims.
[0094] Described herein are exemplary methods, systems and apparatus that may be used to collect data about the environment, about pump and motor usage both over time and geographic regions. Furthermore, the exemplary methods system and apparatus achieve added security to homeowners and to potential home buyers. The methods, system and apparatus described herein may be used in any suitable application. However, they are particularly suited for sub pump applications.
[0095] Exemplary embodiments of the fluid flow device and system are described above in detail. The electric motor and its components are not limited to the specific embodiments described herein, but rather, components of the systems may be utilized independently and separately from other components described herein. For example, the components may also be used in combination with other motor systems, methods, and apparatuses, and are not limited to practice with only the systems and apparatus as described herein. Rather, the exemplary embodiments can be implemented and utilized in connection with many other applications.
[0096] Although specific features of various embodiments of the disclosure may be shown in some drawings and not in others, this is for convenience only. In accordance with the principles of the disclosure, any feature of a drawing may be referenced and/or claimed in combination with any feature of any other drawing.
[0097] This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.