UNIVERSAL MULTI-PARAMETER REMOTE WATER MONITORING SYSTEM

Abstract

A remote hydraulic and water quality monitoring and telemetry device for being connected to a fire hydrant. The device connects to a hydrant nozzle via a swivel connection and includes a control valve mounted inside the nozzle to conserve space and release a determined volume of water from the hydrant lateral pipe to provide a sample from the main line pipe. The device includes a multi-parameter water quality sonde or sensors, data acquisition, and telemetry hardware. The door of the enclosure may include a solar panel. The device may rest on a plate mounted to the hydrant riser flange after the hydrant and upper hydrant valve stem are removed. The device may rest on the ground and be connected to a hydrant nozzle by a rotating pipe assembly which can be adjusted to be positioned at locations around the hydrant and at varying elevations relative to the hydrant nozzle.

Claims

1. A method of measuring water quality, the method comprising: using a control valve positioned internally within a hydrant, allowing a release of water flow; determining at least one measured value for at least one characteristic of the water flow using at least one analyzer; and transmitting the measured value to a remote entity.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein allowing release of water flow comprises periodically releasing water.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein allowing release of water flow comprises releasing a volume of water determined to empty a hydrant lateral pipe and riser to get a water-quality sample from a mainline pipe.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one analyzer sensor is housed by an enclosure mounted on the hydrant.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one analyzer sensor is mounted within the hydrant nozzle.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein allowing release of water flow comprises discharging the water flow outside the hydrant.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the control valve is located in a throat of a hydrant nozzle.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the flow control valve is connected to a cylindrical cap that is held in place by a swivel adapter that seals the hydrant nozzle when the hydrant is pressurized with water.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein a solar collector provides power for at least one of the control valve, analyzer, and telemetry.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein a battery provides power for at least one of the control valve and analyzer.

11. A system for measuring water quality, the system comprising: a control valve for positioning internal within a hydrant, and allowing a release of water flow; at least one analyzer for determining at least one measured value for at least one characteristic of the water flow; and a transmitter for transmitting the measured value to a remote entity.

12. The system according to claim 11, further comprising a controller coupled to the control valve to cause the control valve to release water periodically.

13. The system according to claim 11, further comprising a controller coupled to the control valve to cause the control valve to release a equivalent volume of water determined to empty a hydrant lateral pipe to get a water-quality sample from a mainline pipe.

14. The system according to claim 11, further comprising an enclosure for mounting on a hydrant, wherein the enclosure houses the at least on analyzer sensor.

15. The system according to claim 11, wherein the at least one analyzer sensor is mounted within the hydrant.

16. The system according to claim 11, wherein allowing release of water flow comprises discharging the water flow outside the hydrant.

17. The system according to claim 11, wherein the control valve is located in a throat of a hydrant nozzle.

18. The system according to claim 11, wherein the flow control valve is connected to a cylindrical cap held in place by a nozzle swivel adapter that seals the nozzle when the hydrant is pressurized with water.

19. The system according to claim 11, further comprising a solar collector for providing power for at least one of the control valve and analyzer.

20. The system according to claim 11, further comprising a battery provides power for at least one of the control valve and analyzer.

21. A method of measuring water quality, the method comprising: using a rotating pipe assembly to connect a hydrant nozzle, at various heights above ground, to a water monitoring and control valve station, allowing the station to be installed at various locations around the hydrant to avoid physical obstacles, and on the ground regardless of the distance and angle between the hydrant nozzle and the ground.

22. A system for measuring water quality, the system comprising: a hydrant swivel adapter nozzle connection; a rotating pipe; a coupling; a flexible hose conduit; a prefabricated enclosure pad that rests on the ground and provides a pathway for one or more flexible conduits; an enclosure housing that rests on the equipment pad; a control valve within the enclosure housing connecting to the flexible hose conduits; one or more measurement analyzers within the enclosure housing for measuring one or more characteristics of the released water from a control valve; a discharge pipe that exits the enclosure and discharges to atmosphere; and a transmission system for transmitting the measured characteristics.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed descriptions of preferred embodiments, is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purposes of illustration, there is shown in the drawings exemplary embodiments; however, the presently disclosed subject matter is not limited to the specific methods and instrumentalities disclosed. In the drawings:

[0029] FIG. 1 is an elevation view, partially in cross section, of a typical hydrant installation including: hydrant body, riser pipe, hydrant valve, lateral pipe, isolation valve, and main line pipe.

[0030] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the interaction of the major system components of the apparatus of the present disclosure.

[0031] FIG. 3 is an elevation front view illustrating the major external system components of the apparatus of the present disclosure

[0032] FIG. 4 is an elevation side view illustrating the major external system components of the apparatus of the present disclosure.

[0033] FIG. 5 is an isometric view of an apparatus in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0034] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating the wireless communication pathway from the apparatus of the present disclosure to remote server, database, and human machine interface (HMI) display.

[0035] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating the hydrant control valve program logic of the apparatus of the present disclosure.

[0036] FIG. 8 is an elevation view illustrating a hydrant riser pipe isolation plate and lower valve stem lock, of an apparatus in accordance with the present disclosure, used for connecting the apparatus of the present disclosure directly to the top of the hydrant riser with the upper hydrant body removed.

[0037] FIG. 9 is an elevation view, partially in cross section, of an apparatus in accordance with the present disclosure, including a typical hydrant installation and internal recirculation sampling line and pump.

[0038] FIG. 10 is an elevation view, partially in cross section, of an apparatus in accordance with the present disclosure, including a typical hydrant installation, a monitoring and control valve station located on an equipment pad on the ground and connected by a rotating pipe assembly.

[0039] FIG. 11 is an elevation view, partially in cross section, of an apparatus in accordance with the present disclosure, including a typical hydrant at various heights above ground and a rotating pipe assembly connecting the hydrant nozzle to the base entry point of the monitoring and control valve station.

[0040] FIG. 12 is a plan view of an apparatus in accordance with the present disclosure, including a typical hydrant installation next to vegetation and man-made ground features, showing multiple installation location options for the water monitoring and control valve station.

DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS

[0041] The presently disclosed subject matter now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments are shown. Indeed, this disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

[0042] When elements are referred to as being “connected” or “coupled”, the elements can be directly connected or coupled together, or one or more intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when elements are referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled,” there are no intervening elements present.

[0043] The subject matter may be embodied as devices, systems, methods, and/or computer program products. Accordingly, some or all of the subject matter may be embodied in hardware and/or in software (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, state machines, gate arrays, etc.) Furthermore, the subject matter may take the form of a computer program product on a computer-usable or computer-readable storage medium having computer-usable or computer-readable program code embodied in the medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system. In the context of this document, a computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be any medium that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0044] The computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagation medium. By way of example, and not limitation, computer-readable media may comprise computer storage media and communication media.

[0045] Computer storage media is non-transitory and includes volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage components, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and may be accessed by an instruction execution system. Note that the computer-usable or computer-readable medium can be paper or other suitable medium upon which the program is printed, as the program can be electronically captured via, for instance, optical scanning of the paper or other suitable medium, then compiled, interpreted or otherwise processed in a suitable manner if necessary, and then stored in computer memory.

[0046] Communication media typically embodies computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” can be defined as a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of any of the above-mentioned should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0047] When the subject matter is embodied in the general context of computer-executable instructions, the embodiment may comprise program modules, executed by one or more systems, computers, or other devices. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, and data structures (and the like) that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Typically, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or distributed as desired in various embodiments.

[0048] Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein; and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. Therefore, any given numerical range shall include whole and fractions of numbers within the range. For example, the range “1 to 10” shall be interpreted to specifically include whole numbers between 1 and 10 (e.g., 1, 2, 3, . . . 9) and non-whole numbers (e.g., 1.1, 1.2, . . . 1.9).

[0049] Although process (or method) steps may be described or claimed in a particular sequential order, such processes may be configured to work in different orders. In other words, any sequence or order of steps that may be explicitly described or claimed does not necessarily indicate a requirement that the steps be performed in that order unless specifically indicated. Further, some steps may be performed simultaneously despite being described or implied as occurring non-simultaneously (e.g., because one step is described after the other step) unless specifically indicated. Where a process is described in an embodiment, the process may operate without any user intervention.

[0050] For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the present disclosure, reference will now be made to preferred embodiments, and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the disclosure is thereby intended; such alteration and further modifications of the disclosure, as illustrated herein, is being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the disclosure relates.

[0051] Articles “a” and “an” are used herein to refer to one or to more than one (i.e. at least one) of the grammatical object of the article. By way of example, “an element” means at least one element and can include more than one element.

[0052] Unless otherwise defined, all technical terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 1 a typical fire hydrant 1 consists of two (2) 2½″ nozzles 2 and a single 4.5″ pumper nozzle 3. The hydrant bonnet 4 sits on top of the main hydrant body 5 which is connected to a riser pipe 6 which is connected to the hydrant shoe 7. The ground is illustrated as 6a. The bonnet 4 holds the valve operating nut 8 and upper valve stem 9 which is connected to the lower valve stem 11 using a break away coupling 10. The lower valve stem 11 is connected to the hydrant valve 12. When in the closed upward position, one or two weep holes 13 in the shoe 7 are uncovered, thereby allowing water to drain from the hydrant 1 and riser pipe 6 into the ground. When the hydrant valve 12 is in the open or downward position, the hydrant valve 12 covers the weep holes 13 in order to prevent pressurized water from escaping. The hydrant secondary valve 15 is typically open, thereby allowing the hydrant lateral pipe 14 to be fully pressurized from the main line pipe 16.

[0054] As shown in FIG. 2, a block diagram elevation view illustrates a water quality monitoring station 40 where a flow control valve 26 is located inside the hydrant in the throat of the pumper nozzle 3. An interior void 19 of the hydrant is illustrated. The flow control valve 26 is connected to a cylindrical cap/port 18 which is held in place by a nozzle swivel adapter 30 to seal the pumper nozzle 3 when the hydrant is pressurized with water.

[0055] Connected to the swivel adapter 30 is the bottom cylindrical enclosure 36, including fabricated tee, which supports an upper enclosure 38. The upper enclosure includes two compartments, the intermediate wet panel enclosure 35 and dry electrical compartment 34. The upper enclosure 38 swivels on a rotating flange 37 to orient the solar panel 32 toward the sun. The flow control valve 26 is hydropneumatically controlled via sensing lines that connect to a sample flow regulator 29, located in the intermediate wet panel compartment 35, which is controlled by electronic solenoid. The sample flow regulator 29 provides a constant flow to the low water pressure chamber/flow cell 20 in which the primary multi-parameter water quality sonde 21 is located. A secondary sonde 22 can be located at the top of the flow cell 20. The primary sonde 21 and secondary sonde 22 are connected to the central data acquisition system 24 located in the dry electrical compartment 34 and is mounted on a hinged electrical subpanel that opens to allow the sondes 21 22 to be removed from the flow cell 20 and to adjust the sample flow regulator 29. Likewise, the solar panel/hinged door 32 is opened to access the data acquisition system 24 and batteries 39. A harness 23 secures the water quality monitoring station 40 to the hydrant 1.

[0056] In operation, water flows from the hydrant 1 into atmospheric void 17 through sample tubing 57 into the sample flow regulator 29. The regulated water then flows through sample tubing 57 and through the sonde flow cell 20 before being discharged at discharge outlet 27.

[0057] The sonde flow cell 20 in at least one embodiment is an instrument probe that transmits data, for example to a remote device or entity. For example, the flow control valve 26 positioned internal within the hydrant 1 can allow a release of water flow and the sonde flow cell 20 can include at least one analyzer that determines a measured value for at least one characteristic of the water flow. The measured value can be transmitted to a separate nearby or remote entity or device. For example, the transceiver 25 in FIG. 2, which functions as both a transmitter and a receiver in at least one embodiment, has an antenna that can be used to transmit the measured value and receive signals.

[0058] As shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5, a front, side, and isometric elevation view illustrates a water quality monitoring station 40 connected to a typical fire hydrant.

[0059] As shown in FIG. 6, a schematic diagram illustrates one embodiment of the disclosure describing the water quality sonde 21, data acquisition and local data storage device 24, wireless communication to a base station or cell tower 41 and communication network 42, to a local area network (LAN) 43 including communication server, database storage, and human machine interface (HMI), or to a managed cloud computing environment 44 including web-based HMI.

[0060] As shown in FIG. 7 a schematic diagram illustrates one embodiment describing the control valve sampling program logic 45, which can be user adjusted in a local configuration software or remotely from a web-based HMI, to evacuate the stagnant water in the hydrant lateral 14 and riser pipe 6 prior to scanning the water quality sonde 21. Physical parameters 46 are user entered (L=Length of Hydrant Lateral Plus Riser, D=Hydrant Lateral/Riser Internal Diameter, and Q=Actual Control Valve Flow Rate). The program calculates the volume of water (V) and determines the time (T) it takes to evacuate the water in the hydrant lateral 14, riser pipe 6, and hydrant body 1. The user enters the desired water quality sensor scan interval 47 (S), and the program calculates the sensor scan clock times based on the equation Sc=0:00+S1/(24×60)+S2/(24×60)+ . . . +Sn/(24×60)) where S>T+B and where B is a user entered buffer time after the control valve closes and the water quality sensor is scanned by the program. The program then determines the control valve open and close clock time 48 based on the equation CVo=[0:00+(S−T−B)/(24×60)+ . . . +(Sn−T−B)/(24×60)] and CVc=[0:00+(S−B)/(24×60))+ . . . +(Sn−B)/(24×60)] which evacuates a volume of water (V) from the hydrant lateral 16, riser pipe 6, and hydrant body 1 prior to the sensor scan interval by an amount of time B. The sampling control valve program logic 45 provides a sample from the main line pipe 16 in the city street to the water quality sonde 21 in a relatively short time frame (a few minutes as opposed to several hours) providing the water utility operator with up to the minute situational awareness of water distribution network water quality and ability to respond more quickly to operational problems or emergency threats due to contamination.

[0061] As shown in FIG. 8, the water quality monitoring station can be connected directly to the top of the hydrant riser 6 with the upper hydrant body 1 removed. For dry barrel hydrants, the upper valve stem assembly 48, consisting of the hydrant nut 8, upper valve stem 9, and breakaway coupling 10, is removed along with the upper hydrant body 1. A lower valve stem locking assembly 49 is connected to the top of the remaining lower stem 11 and connected to the riser isolation plate 50, positioning the lower valve stem and hydrant valve 12 in the open position which closes the weep holes 13 in the hydrant shoe 7, enabling the hydrant riser pipe 6 of a dry barrel hydrant to be pressurized such that a water quality monitoring station can be connected to the top of the riser pipe 6 using a flange or coupling connection.

[0062] As shown in FIG. 9, the water quality monitoring station 40 can be configured with a sleeve tube 51, inner recirculation sampling tube 53, and circulation sampling pump 54 to supply the water quality sonde flow cell 20 and keep water contained within the water distribution piping network. The outer sampling tube 51 is installed after the hydrant lateral secondary valve 15 is closed and the hydrant primary valve 12 is open. The outer sampling tube 51 is run through an open hydrant pumper nozzle 3 into the hydrant interior void 19 through the open hydrant primary valve 12, and to the closed secondary lateral valve 15, and then connected to the pumper nozzle cap/port 18 which is connected securely to the pumper nozzle 3. The smaller inner sample tube 53 is inserted into the larger outer sampling tube 51 and run to the closed secondary lateral valve 15. The compression seal 52 on the nozzle cap/port 18 is tightened and the secondary lateral valve 15 is opened allowing the hydrant riser pipe 6 and hydrant body 1 to be pressurized from the water distribution network. The inner sampling tube 53 is then pushed further so that the end reaches the main line pipe 16. The circulation sampling pump 54 is supplied water from the inner recirculation tube 53 and pumps it through high pressure tubing 56 through the water quality sonde flow cell 20 and back to the pumper nozzle cap/port 18 so that return water is pumped back into the hydrant interior void 19, down the hydrant riser 6, along the hydrant lateral 14, and back to the main line pipe 16 which forms a mixing zone 55 at the intersection of the hydrant lateral pipe 14 and the main line pipe 16.

[0063] While the embodiments have been described in connection with the preferred embodiments of the various figures, it is to be understood that other similar embodiments may be used or modifications and additions may be made to the described embodiments for performing the same function without deviating therefrom. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments should not be limited to any single embodiment, but rather should be construed in breadth and scope in accordance with the appended claims.

[0064] As shown in FIG. 10, a similar embodiment consists of a ground-based water monitoring station 57, which contains water monitoring, control, and communication equipment 58 and is housed in a secure enclosure 59 which is mounted on a pre-fabricated equipment pad 60, which can be mounted on the ground 6a near the hydrant 1. The pre-fabricated equipment pad 60 contains a high pressure rated flexible hose 61 which allows the water monitoring station 57 to be installed on inclined ground surfaces which are out of plane with the hydrant nozzle connection 2. The water quality monitoring station 57 is supplied with water through a rotating pipe assembly 62 which is connected to the flexible hose 61 using a standard pipe coupling 63 and to the hydrant nozzle 2 using a hydrant nozzle swivel adapter 30. The rotating pipe assembly 62 may also have a flow meter 64 to monitor the volume of water expelled from the discharge pipe 65. The water monitoring station 57 may be powered by a solar panel 66 which is mounted to a pole 67 which is secured to the hydrant 1 in two places, on the hydrant using a large U-bolt 68 and channel strut assembly 69 and to the ground 6a using an embedded soil anchor 70 or surface mount anchor plate 71. The solar panel 66 is wired to the water quality monitoring, control, and communication equipment 58 through an electrical conduit 72.

[0065] As shown in FIG. 11, the water monitoring station 57 is shown with a standard hydrant 1 mounted in the ground at proper height and an abnormal hydrant installation 73 which either extends out of the ground and or is partially buried. Prior to tightening the nozzle swivel adapter 30, the rotating pipe assembly 62 is positioned to match the elevation of the flexible hose 61 connection in the pre-fabricated base pad 60 which is either at an elevation below, equal, or above the hydrant nozzle 2. Handles 74 are mounted to the pre-fabricated base pad 60 so that the water monitoring station 57 can be installed or removed from service quickly and easily transported to another site.

[0066] As shown in FIG. 12, a plan view illustrates that the water monitoring station 57 can be installed at alternate locations (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6) around the hydrant 1 to avoid physical obstructions which may include vegetation 75 or manmade structures such as a sidewalk 76, street curb 77, or utility pole 78. The rotating pipe assembly 62 can be installed on either hydrant nozzle 2 and rotated to an ideal location and elevation such as location #6.

[0067] Particular embodiments and features have been described with reference to the drawings. It is to be understood that these descriptions are not limited to any single embodiment or any particular set of features, and that similar embodiments and features may arise or modifications and additions may be made without departing from the scope of these descriptions and the spirit of the appended claims.