US20170254333A1

US20170254333A1 - Multi-pump system with system check

Info

Publication number: US20170254333A1
Application number: US15/600,580
Authority: US
Inventors: Geoffrey Wen-Tai Shuy; Wen Ten Chang; Jau-Dar Liao; Hsin-Chen Lai; Chang-Horang Li; Ming Huei LU
Original assignee: LT Lighting Taiwan Corp
Current assignee: LT Lighting Taiwan Corp
Priority date: 2017-05-19
Filing date: 2017-05-19
Publication date: 2017-09-07
Also published as: CN110998097A; EP3635258A1; ZA201908209B; JP2020521081A; TW201901038A; CA3063194A1; RU2019142094A; TWI683963B; WO2018213639A1; RU2019142094A3; KR20200009048A; EP3635258A4

Abstract

Design solutions to mitigate the following four fatal flaws in the conventional pump system design; namely, (1) surprised pump-failure in single pump design that can result in costly water damage; (2) the threat of fatal high voltage electrocution accident in flooding situation; (3) grid power outage and no energy supply to support the needed pumping power that result in water damage; (4) stinky smell from the sitting foil water in the well after a period of low seeping rate with or without activated pumping. The principles described in the content disclosure, the proposed designs can completely mitigate the above four fatal design issues.

Description

BACKGROUND

Millions of houses in the United States of America are built with a basement. Many of these houses use a pump system that operates from a sunk well below the basement floor. Such a pump system is referred to as a “sunk” pump system. A sunk pump system operates to pump water that has leaked from outside (e.g., due to a high water table, flooding, or other forms of leakage) and that has thus gathered into the sunk well in the basement. The pumped water is channeled out back out of the house, thereby allowing the basement to stay dry.
The typical existing sunk pump system is powered by a high voltage electrical grid to which the houses are connected. Such existing pumps often comprise a single pump that operates at a fixed pumping rate, and which has a capacity that meets the anticipated worst-case flooding conditions. The pump is typically activated by a “high” water level sensor to pump water in the sunk well to the outside. After activation, the pump is stopped upon a “low” water level sensor being triggered. The typical existing pump system is referred hereinafter as “the conventional pump system”.
If the convention pump system has insufficient pumping to accommodate a large volume of water flooding into the house, the inadequate pumping can result in water damage. Likewise, if there is an unexpected pump failure, or a period of grid power outage, the pump will not operate at all, again resulting in water damage. Such water damage can typically costs thousands of dollar to repair. Furthermore, when there is a low seeping rate, and the pump is not activated for a long period of time, the relatively stagnant water can begin to emit a musty and foul odor, thereby diminishing the quality of life of the occupants.
The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is only provided to illustrate one exemplary technology area where some embodiments described herein may be practiced.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Statistically, when using the conventional pump system, the most frequent cause of the serious water damages is due to unexpected pump failures that lead to basement flooding. Unexpected pump failure is the Akeley's heel of the conventional pump system which operates using a single pump. The second most frequent cause of major water damage when using the conventional pump system is due to grid power outages. But use of the conventional pump system also has other potential concerns, in addition to water damage. For instance, there is a threat of high voltage electrocution when there is flooding.
The principles described herein comprises a pump system of multiple smaller pumps, and that only turns on or off pumps at the granularity down to a single pump to better match the water seeping rate. This system reduces the severe consequences of pump failure, since redundant pumps now exist in case of failure of any given pump. To mitigate the risk of electrocution and exposure to grid power outage, the embodiments of the pump system convert the high voltage (e.g., above 100 volts) AC grid power to a low voltage (e.g., below 72 volts) DC power and then temporarily stores the power in an energy reservoir. This DC energy reservoir supplies a low voltage DC power for the pump system together with the grid power that is converted into the charging DC power. During a grid power outage, the reservoir alone can provide the needed emergency power to the pump system (e.g., as an UPS but without an inverter) for a design duration time (e.g., six hours). Thus, the proposed design concept not only provides pumping power support during grid power outage; but also alleviates the threat of high voltage electrocution in basement flooding situations.
Embodiments described herein also may use a regulator to manage the charging and discharging of the reservoir. As described later, a system check device may perform a scheduled periodic check on the system's functions according to a designed procedure, and uses a communication device to send out the findings so as to prevent flooding due to unexpected pump failure. The proposed system check and communication devices can also monitor/detect in real time and send out proper messages when important incidents occur. These events might include pump failure during normal operation, grid power outage and recovery, water influx rate exceeding the pump system's capacity, and so forth. When these events occur, the messages are sent out to a person or persons (as specified by the owner) via channels (as also specified by the owner) such that someone can judge what action he/she should take to minimize the upcoming consequence. For instance, an individual might choose to rush to the house to contain the water damage at its early stage.
The principles described herein can also correct at least two other shortcomings of the conventional pump system design. Firstly, a single big pump is designed with a fix pumping rate to handle the largest anticipated water leak-in flow. As a result, during the normal seeping rate, there is a periodic short pulsed start-then-stop pumping action that can shorten the motor's life and also waste a lot of electric energy. The system described herein turns on or off the small pumps one by one at the granularity of a single pump to better match the seeping rate that results in much less wasteful motor actions. Secondly, a single big pump is designed with no spare pumping capacity to handle a larger than designed maximum seeping rate. Even if the seeping rate exceeds the pumping rate by just 10% for a short time; there may still be water damage. The system described herein can have a total maximum pumping rate that equals or exceeds the single pump capacity of the conventional pump system, and then add at least one pump as a system's “assurance spare”; resulting in a higher capacity.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to describe the manner in which the above-recited and other advantages and features can be obtained, a more particular description of various embodiments will be rendered by reference to the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only sample embodiments and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting of the scope of the invention, the embodiments will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1A schematically illustrates a conventional pump system;

FIG. 1B schematically illustrates an embodiment of a pump system in accordance with the principles described herein, and may be compared with FIG. 1A to show the novel differences;

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an assembly that includes a water level sensors and a corresponding switch, and which may operate within the pump system of FIG. 1B;

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of method for checking a pump function in accordance with the principles described herein; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of a method for checking an energy reservoir in accordance with the principles described herein;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Section One: Conventional Pump Systems.
Statistically, when using the conventional pump system, the most frequent cause of the serious water damages is due to unexpected pump failures that lead to basement flooding. Unexpected pump failure is the Akeley's heel of the conventional pump system which operates using a single pump. The second most frequent cause of major water damage when using the conventional pump system is due to grid power outages. But use of the conventional pump system also has other potential concerns, in addition to water damage. For instance, there is a threat of high voltage electrocution when there is flooding.
FIG. 1A schematically illustrates a conventional pump system 1000A. In contrast, FIG. 1B schematically illustrates an embodiment of a pump system 1000B in accordance with the principles described herein. As depicted in FIG. 1A, a conventional pump system 1000A includes (1) a power supply subsystem (or “energy subsystem”) 1100A to supply AC electric power from a high voltage power source; (2) a water pump subsystem 1200A consisting of a single AC-powered water pump 1201A to pump the water in a sunk well; (3) a system regulator 1300A consisting of single water level sensor assembly 1311W in which there is built-in a pair of high/low water level sensors 1311H and 1311L; and (4) a power switch subsystem 1400A consisting of a single pump switch 1411A.
The AC electric power supply subsystem 1100A connects through the pump switch 1411A to power the AC-powered pump 1201A. The switch 1411A is activated by the high level sensor 1311H to turn on the electric power supply to drive the pump 1201A; and is deactivated by the low water level sensor 1311L to turn off the electrical power supply to stop the pump 1201A.
Typically, the water pump 1201A is powered by the high voltage AC power of an electrical grid. The water level sensor assembly 1311W is often a buoy-spring device that uses the water buoyancy to detect water levels. When water reaches above the location of the buoy, the buoy-weight is reduced by the water buoyancy; when the water level falls below the buoy location, the buoy recovers its normal weight. This weight difference activates the spring and produces a distinct high/low signals that turn the switch 1411A on and off.
Typically, a single assembly contains the switch 1411A and the water level sensors 1311W as a combined unit and is named as the “pump-control-switch” assembly in the art; and is referred to as “the assembly” or “assembly module” herein. As used herein, the assembly module has the same labels as the water level sensor in each of FIGS. 1A and 1B. Accordingly, the water level sensor (or the same numbered assembly module) can also send out control signals herein, unless otherwise specified. As example, “the assembly” that combines the switch 1411A and the water level sensor 1311W is also numbered as assembly 1311W; and can also send out signals for control functions in FIG. 1A. Likewise, the assemblies that respectively combine the switches 1311W, 1312W, and 1313W of FIG. 1B can send out signals for control functions of respective pumps 1201B, 1202 and 1203, respectively, of FIG. 1B.
To reiterate, the conventional pump designs use an AC grid power to drive a single big pump controlled by a single pump-control-switch assembly. When a water level reaches above a high level, the assembly turns on the switch and sends in the AC power to drive the pump to pump water. When the water level falls below a low level, the assembly turns off the power to the pump to stop pumping of the water. Thus, any unexpected grid power outage, or assembly failure, or pump failure could allow basement flooding to occur; causing significant damage, and introducing a chance of high voltage electrocution.
Section Two: Pump System in accordance with the Principles Described Herein.
As an embodiment depicted in FIG. 1B, water pump systems 1000B that incorporate the principles described herein include a power supply subsystem 1100B that, unlike the conventional pump system 1000A, supply low voltage (e.g., 36 volts DC) electrical power. Furthermore, unlike the conventional pump system, the power supply subsystem 1100B also includes an energy reservoir 1102. Also, unlike the conventional pump system, the water pump system 1000B includes a water pump subsystem 1201A that includes multiple water pumps (three pumps 1201B, 1202, and 1203 in the illustrated example) to pump the water from a well. The water pump system 1000B further includes a subsystem of regulators 1300B to regulate management functions of the pump system. The water pump system 1000B further includes switch groups 1400B consisting of groups of switches. Each switch can be activated to turn on or turn off the electric power that is supplied to a specific module when dictated.
The water pump system 1000B also includes a subsystem of a check/monitoring device 1500 to perform the designed functional checking and monitoring for specific individual subsystems or modules; a valve (or “water inlet regulator”) subsystem 1600 to turn on/off fresh water inlet through a group of valves in the procedure of system check and flushing; a communication module 1700 to deliver proper communications to people of concern; an AC to DC converter 1800 to convert AC power to charge the reservoir 1102; and a charging/discharging regulator 1900 to regulate the charging and discharging of the energy reservoir in 1100. The functions of the above subsystems, devices, components, and modules will be described later.
In lieu of being designed and equipped with only one big pump 1201A as in the conventional pump system, the principles described herein uses multiple smaller pumps (say, 1201B, 1202, and 1203 as depicted in FIG. 1B). Note that pump 1201B of the water pump system 1000B is different (e.g., smaller and/or DC powered) than the single pump 1201A of the convention pump system 1000A and thus has a different label. The power delivery routes to these pumps are controlled by a group of pump-control-switch assemblies (or the “assemblies”) 1311W, 1312W and 1313W, respectively. The total maximum capacity of the multiple small pumps is proposed to be equal to or just exceed the anticipated worst influx rate, and thereto add at least one additional pump as the “assurance spare” pump(s) to mitigate the consequence of pump failure that might occur in the middle of operation or other unexpected situations. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 1B, the total pumping capacity of the pumps 1201B and 1202 is equal to or exceeds of the capacity of anticipated worst water in-flux rate; while the pump 1203 is the “assurance spare” pump.
FIG. 1B depicts the proposed multiple pump system 1000B with 3 smaller pumps and the additional devices 1500 and 1700, which are absent in the conventional pump system depicted in FIG. 1A. As described above, unexpected pump failure is the Akeley's heel of the conventional pump system 1100A which operates using a single pump 1201A. In accordance with the multiple pump system described herein, the consequence of expected single pump failure is definitively much less than those of the conventional pump system designs; especially when there is an additional assurance spare pump. Even so, the addition of the devices of the system checking/monitoring subsystem 1500 and the communication subsystem 1700 can even further reduce the consequence of an unexpected single pump failure. Thus, the multiple pump system as described herein clearly improves the technical state of the art.
The regulator subsystem 1300B comprises sensors that include a sensor 1310G to detect the grid power outage and recovery. The regulator 1300B also includes a group 1310W of level sensing assemblies (e.g., sensors 1311W, 1312W, 1313W, and so forth). These level sensing assemblies 1310W are positioned to detect water levels and are thus also referred as “the water level sensors” herein. A switch and a pair of high/low water level sensors may be built into each of these level sensing assemblies. As examples, the assembly 1311W may have a built-in switch 1411B and high/low water level sensors 1311H and 1311L that controls the power delivery of the pump 1201B. The assembly 1312W may have a built-in switch 1412 and high/ low sensors 1312H and 1312L that controls the power delivery of the pump 1202. Likewise, the assembly 1313W may have a built-in switch 1413 and high/ low sensors 1313H and 1313L that controls the power delivery of the pump 1203. Such continues for as many pumps as there may exist in the multiple pump system 1000B. The regulator subsystem 1300B also includes a system check assembly 13SC1, that includes two flow sensors 1361F and 1362F, and high level sensor 13SCH.
The working principle of these assemblies can be the same as the buoy-spring plus switch assembly described in the previous section (Section One). Thus, these assemblies (1311W, 1312W, 1313W, and so forth) can also send out water level signals to control devices to perform the designed control functions. FIG. 2 depicts the assembly 1311W which consisting high/low water level sensors 1311H, 1311L and assembly 1411B that can also send out control signals. The assemblies 1312W and 1313W may be similarly structured, each with their respectively high/low water level sensors and switch.
For instance, when the seeping rate increases such that water level reaches the high water level 1311H; the sensor activates the switch 1411B to turn on the electric power to drive the pump 1201B. When the water level increases further to reach above another high water level 1312H (located above the first high water level 1311H), the sensors 1312H further activates the switch 1412 to turn on the electric power to drive pump 1202 (in addition to pump 1201B being driven by switch 1411). When the combined pumping and seeping rate results in a decreasing water level; and the water level decreased to below the sensor 1312L but above the sensor 1311H, the sensor 1312L activates the switch 1412 to turn off the pump 1202; but the sensor 1311H can still keep the pump 1201B running.
As described, the design of the embodiment FIG. 1B is equipped with 3 assemblies (1311W, 1312W, and 1313W) to control the 3 pumps (1201B, 1202, and 1203) that can be turned on/off to better matching the seeping rate to adequately handle the anticipated maximum seeping rate (pump 1201B plus pump 1202); and also have at least one more assurance spare pump (pump 1203) for purposes described above.
Section Three: System Checking:
At a specified schedule, the system regulator 1300B performs a system check. At the specified scheduled check time, the regulator 1300B activates the system check module 1530 as the system check coordinator. The system check module 1530 then sends out a signal to activate the communication device 1700 so as to register this activation into the record keeping module 1701, and activates the system check/monitoring device 1533 to perform the scheduled system check. After finishing the system check, the coordinator device 1530 activates the message delivery component 1702 to send out the finalized check report.
As an example, when the system check shows normal operation, the finalized check report might be “The water pump system of [name or address] performed a scheduled system check at [yy/mm/dd/hh] (dating the year, the month, the day, and the hour). The results are as follows: All subsystems are in normal condition.”. As another example, when the system check shows the pump 1202 and/or its related control assembly is not operating normally, the finalized check report might be “Alert!! The system check of the water pump system of [name or address] reports the following malfunction(s): pump 1202 not functioning”. As yet another example, when the system check failed to finish at the scheduled time, the finalized check report might be “Alert! ! The system check of the water pump system of [name or address] did not perform its scheduled system check”.
Section Four: Pump Check Procedure:
Since the reliability of each subsystem may be very different, the subsystem checks may be performed at different frequencies. For instance, the check of the pump subsystem may be performed semiannually while the check of the energy reservoir may be performed every season. Also, the fresh water inlet flow rate might be adjusted such that the flow rate is less than the designed worst flooding rate (e.g., less than the total pumping capacity of pumps 1201B and 1202).
During the pump check, the checking and monitoring subsystem 1500 activates the check coordination device 1530 (depicted in FIG. 2) to coordinate the pump checking. As the starting point, the subsystem 1500 records the system's running state into the record keeping module 1701. For instance, at the initial state of pump check, pump 1201B is running—but pumps 1202 and 1203 are not. The device 1530 keeps the system running state as is; and starts to perform the pump checking procedure. At the end of pump check, the subsystem 1500 resets back to the initial running state. The following checking sequence assumes the initial state is as stated above (i.e., pump 1201B is running, but pumps 1202 and 1203 are not).
FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of method 300 for checking a pump function in accordance with the principles described herein. Depicted in the starting step 301 (i.e., the fresh water inlet step), the system check coordinator 1530 activates a fresh water inlet regulator 1600 to let-in the fresh water through a set of series-connected valves 1601 and 1602, which are respectively controlled by inlet switches 1460, which includes switches 1461 and 1462. At the initial state, the valve 1601 is shut while the valve 1602 is open. The water inlet regulator 1600 activates the valve 1601 to open its valve such that fresh water can flow through valve 1601 (detected by flow sensor 1361F) and valve 1602 (detected by flow sensor 1362F) and into the well. Signals of water flow through valve 1601 and 1602 are sent out by flow sensors 1361F and 1362F of the assembly 13SC1 to the coordinator 1530 and are recorded by the record keeping module 1701 indicating the water inlet valves properly opened. Commercial water flow sensors are available. For instance, they are used in the flow activated gas ignitor of water heaters or in flow activated electric shower heaters.
Thereafter, the water level may then be increased to reach a designed water-level (level SC1H at the assembly 13SC1). The level SC1H is higher than the highest pump control assembly (level 1313H as in the embodiment of FIG. 1B). The assembly 13SC1 sends out a signal to the coordinator 1530 when the water level reaches level SC1H, resulting in the event being recorded by the record keeping module 1701, which indicates that the inlet step 301 has been performed and is completed. The coordinator 1530 then performs the step 302 (the step of shutting off the water inlet).
As depicted in step 302, the water inlet regulator 1600 activates the valve 1602 to shut off such that fresh water cannot flow through valve 1602. The resulting lack of flow is detected by flow sensor 1362F, and a resulting signal that the water flow is off is then set to water inlet regulator 1600. The water inlet regulator 1600 then activates the valve 1601 to shut off. When valve 1601 is completely shut off, and the signal sent to the water inlet regulator 1600, the water inlet regulator 1600 then activates the valve 1602 to reopen. If the valve 1601 is shut off and the valve 1602 is indeed reopened, then for a short while, there will be some water flow detected by flow sensor 1362F but not by flow sensor 1361F. However, after a proper time delay, the water flow sensors 1361F and 1362F sense no fresh water flow through valves 1601 and 1602.
This step 302 can detect whether the valves are function properly or not. When the inlet regulator 1600 determines that the valves 1601 and 1602 return to their initial state (valve 1601 is closed and valve 1602 is open) and also no water flows through the valves, an “ok” signal is then sent to the coordinator 1530 indicating the valves 1601 and 1602 are properly closed and opened, respectively.
The steps 301 and 302 not only perform water inlet and water shut off for purposes of checking the pumps, but also for purposes of checking the valves to prevent the malfunctioning of the fresh inlet valves, which could also lead to basement flooding. Any valve failure is detected and reported before there is the potential for any two of the valves to have failed. A manual valve at the inlet source can shut off the water flow when a valve repair is needed. The coordinator 1530 records the completion of step 302 into the record keeping module 1701; and activates the step 303.
As depicted in step 303, pump function is checked for all pumps. The coordinator 1530 turns on all the pumps (1203, 1202, and 1201B) through their control assemblies; specifically 1313H of 1313W, 1312H of 1312W, and 1311H of 1311W. The water level decreases with time to reach level 1313L to turn off the pump 1203. The water level shall then decrease with time to reach 1312L to turn off the pump 1202, if the pump 1202 was not running at the initial state. The water level shall then decrease with time to reach 1311L to turn off the pump 1201B, if the pump 1201B was not running at the initial state. When the pumps are activated one by one by the control assemblies to pump water and turned off one by one by the control assemblies to return to the initial state described above, the coordinator 1530 can conclude that the pumps and their control assemblies are functioning properly. The coordinator 1530 records the completion of step 303 into the record keeper 1701; and proceeds to step 304. As an alternative embodiment, one can directly equip each pump with one flow sensor to determine whether each pump and its control assembly is functioning properly or not.
As depicted in step 304, the pump subsystem is analyzed and reported about. The system check coordinator 1530 activates the system check analyzer 1510 to analyze the pumps based on the records produced in step 301 to step 303. Based on this analysis, the analyzer 1510 concludes as to whether the pumps are function properly and fill in a formatted report as designed. When finished, the analyzer sends a signal for the coordinator 1530 to activate the message delivery module 1702 to deliver the report to all people concerned via predetermined means such as e-mail, TWITTER, or phone messages.
Section Five: Energy Reservoir Check:
When the time for the scheduled energy reservoir checking arrives, the system control 1300 activates the system check coordinator 1530 to perform the checking sequential block diagram depicted in FIG. 4.
As depicted in the step 401, the DC charge inlet power of the AC/DC converter is turned off. As depicted in step 402, fresh water is taken in in accordance with the step 301 of the pump check described above. In other words, fresh water is taken in through the valves 1601 and 1602 (which are again at the control of respective switches 1461 and 1462) such that the water level activates at least two of the pumps 1201B, 1202, and 1203. The water inlet is then turned off in accordance with the procedure described above for step 302 of the pump check. After the energy reservoir supplies the pumping power of the three pumps for about an hour or after the water level reaches 13SC1H, the pump(s) is/are kept running for another hour before proceeding to the next step 403.
As depicted in the step 403, the coordinator 1530 activates the regulator 1910 to measure the terminal voltage and determine whether or not the energy storage level is larger than 60%. If it is larger than 60%, the reservoir is functioning properly. If it is smaller than 60%, the reservoir needs to be replaced by a new reservoir in about one to three months.
The charge/discharge regulator 1900 is designed in a robust way and monitored continuously by the monitoring module 1520. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the charge/discharge regulator is not checked. Other subsystems are commercially available units, including the AC/DC converter. They shall be maintained and check in according with the guidelines specified in their user's manual. Thus, they are not included in the specified system check of this disclosure.
Section Six: System Monitoring:
The stated system-check and communication devices 1500, 1700 can perform not only scheduled system checks and resulting reporting, but may also perform real-time checks and send out proper messages as important incidents are detected (e.g., pump-failure in the middle of normal operation, grid power outage, the water influx rate exceeding the maximum pump system's capacity) to a list of owner specified phone numbers. Accordingly, someone can judge that what action should be taken to mitigate the upcoming consequence (such as rushing to the house to contain the water damage at its early stage; or no immediate action needed but call for repair or replacement help in a month; or other action).
For instance, the module 1310G may monitor and report grid power outage and recovery in real time. Therefore, the owner specified people receive this information via owner specified channels. The pumps are also monitored in real time. When any pump failure occurs, it will report to the owner specified people via owner specified communication channels. A water level assembly 130F1 is placed near and above the assembly 13SC1 level; such that when an abnormal flooding rate enters into the well, such is detected and reported to the owner specified people via owner specified communication channels.
To alleviate the issue of unpleasant odors emitting from stagnant water in the sunk-well stated in the background section, an automatic water flushing regulator 1350 flushes the sunk well periodically with a time clock. When pumps are not running, the clock is counting to a preset time period. If the preset time period arrives after the last pump run, flushing is initiated. To avoid fresh water waste, the flushing schedule can be arranged to coincide with the system-check schedules. For instance, whenever the regulator decides to flush the sunk well, the system check performs the pump check. After every system check performed, the clock of the 1350 shall be reset to initiate the counting.
Section Seven: Other Benefits:
The proposed principles herein can also correct at least two other shortcomings of the conventional pump system design. First, in the convention pump system, a single big pump is designed with a fixed pumping rate to handle the rarely occurred maximum anticipated water leak-in condition. As a result, during regular normal seeping, there is an induced periodic short pulsed start-then-stop motor-action that shorten the motor's life and also waste a lot of electric energy. On the other hand, the proposed design turns on/off the additional small pumps to better matching the seeping rate. Second, the single pump of the conventional design often has no spare pumping capacity to handle a larger than typical maximum designed leak-in rate (say, 36 gallons per minute). In contrast, the principles described herein proposes to have the total maximum pumping rate (say, 18 gallons per minute for each pump, 54 gallons per minute in total) which is a substantially bigger capacity than the single pump capacity; and also has built-in one assurance spare pump.
Section Eight: Elaboration on Other Subsystems
To elaborate on the power subsystem 1100, as depicted in FIG. 1B, the convertor 1800 converts high voltage AC to low voltage DC power, which is temporarily stored into an energy reservoir 1100. When grid power is normal, the combined DC power from the convertor and the reservoir operates the pump system including the DC pumps 1201, 1202, and 1203. While grid power is out, the energy reservoir alone powers the system directly in a low voltage DC form within a designed time-duration (no invertor needed).
This power subsystem operates with built-in sensors to check itself in real-time; and the vitality of the reservoir also regularly checked by the system-check coordinator 1530 as described above. Therefore, the vitality of the UPS energy reservoir during grid power outage can be assured.
The principles described herein propose that the converter 1800 is purchased from commercial market; which is safety certified (with UL and CE), and designed to be water-proof; or to be located at a place free of water. All the other subsystems, devices, modules, and motors are proposed to operate with low voltage DC power. Thus, the safety from fatal electrocution of this pump system as well as its UPS energy reservoir can be assured.
To elaborate on the water pump subsystem 1200, as depicted in FIG. 1B, multiple smaller pumps 120B, 1202, and 1203 may be low voltage DC powered (say, either 36, 24, or 12 volts) that are free from electrocution dangers. The pump motors are DC motors such as simple blushless DC motor or variable frequency blushless DC motor.
The water pumps can be mounted at the bottom of the well at the same height; or mounted inside the well with different height; or mounted above the well. These water pumps shall be activate by the water level sensors 1310W to start/stop water pumping. For instant, the water pump 1201B is activated by water level sensor 1311H to start water pumping and activated by 1311L to stop pumping; the water pump 1202 is activated by water level sensor 1312H to start water pumping and activate 1312L to stop pumping; and so forth. In another embodiment, when the pumps are mounted at the same height or above the well, the water level sensors can send their signals to the device 1310W; and the device 1310W can be designed to determine which pump to be turned on or turned off.
Among the designed functions, the system-checking device 1500 can perform periodic system checking on all standby functions in accordance with a designed procedure. The devices 1300B and 1500 combined can also monitors system's operating functions in real time; including grid power is normal or outage, the convertor is delivering DC power or not, the pump is fail in mid of operation or not, etc. The communication device 1700 can deliver these findings via proper messages at proper time to proper persons.
The device 1900 is designed to properly regulate the UPS' charging by grid power conversion and discharging to the pump system. As an example, when energy storage of the energy reservoir reaches or exceeds 95%, the regulator 1360 stops the charging until the energy reservoir declines to or below 75% storage, at which time the regulator 1900 again allows charging. On the other hand, when the energy reservoir storage level declines to 5% or below, the regulator 1900 stops the discharging; until the charge is recovered to at or above 15% of energy storage, at which time the regulator 1900 again allows discharging. In doing so, the regulator prevents the battery over-charging and over-draining; such that the reservoir's batteries are well protected to have their designed long life.
All the electronic signals between sensors, regulators, and switches can be sent via standard industrial electronic communication cables, or via wireless gear such as the blue-tooth; or being translate into optical signals and using optical cable for mutual communication among these devices.
Section Nine: Summary
To summarize, the principles described herein propose to use multiple smaller pumps in the pumping subsystem 1200B, in lieu of the single big pump design as in the conventional pump system. The principles described herein add a system-checking device 1500 to monitor in real-time operation and periodically check all functions of the whole system. The principles described herein also add a communication device 1700 to send out messages to the owner specified persons via owner specified communication channels for either the findings in the periodic check, or at the important incident occurrence.
The principle described herein further design for the total capacity of the smaller pumps to be bigger than the capacity at the anticipated worst case scenario; preferably to add one more pump as the assurance spare. Therefore, there will be almost no chance for basement water damage to happen when grid power is normal.
As described above, to perform the system function check and the sunk well flushing, the principles described herein further equipped with a fresh water inlet valve set and regulator 1601, 1602 and 1600. The fresh water inlet regulator 1600 lets in the designed amount of fresh water via the inlet valve set 1601 and 1602 to fill the sunk well up to a designed water level sensor location SC1H, and then shut-off the valve; such that the water level sensors can activate all the pumps as scheduled. By monitoring the actions of sensors' signals and switching on/off of each water pump, the system-check device 1500 can collect all the vital data to determine the subsystem's function or not. The findings of the system check described above can be sent out via the communication device 1700 to proper persons. Notice that the in-let valve 1600 is designed to have at least 2 in- let valves 1601 and 1602 connecting in series such that the inlet water can be shut off even one valve is failed; that prevents the basement flooding due to the valve failure. The message of valve malfunction will be sent out also.
The principles described herein further propose to convert high voltage AC power to a low voltage DC power and also to temporarily store the DC energy into an energy reservoir; such that the pump system is operated at low voltage DC form. The designed energy storage capacity of the reservoir shall support system's operation for a desired duration time. The principles described herein therefore propose to use low voltage DC pumps in its pumping subsystem to realize the embodiments without any inverter.
The principles further suggest that the convertor, which converts high voltage AC to the low voltage DC power; either be located at a location free from flood-water, or should be fabricated with water-proof design. By doing so, it can assure the system not only is safe and free from high voltage electrocution accidents, but also provides a reliable UPS energy to sustain the pumping function during a period of grid power outage.
A charge/discharge regulator is also incorporated; not only to regulate the reservoir to be properly charged and discharged, but also to assure the energy storage level of the reservoir is keep to above the designed level. This not only assures the ability of energy support to endure grid power outage, but also assures the long lifetime of the batteries.
As stated above, when incorporate the principles described herein, there would be almost no chance of having water damage to occur either with normal grid power or during grid power outage. Additional benefits of incorporating the principles described herein include mitigating any threat from fatal high voltage electrocution, and reduction in odor emissions due to stagnant water. Notice that a term, “well” is used hereinafter that covers all wells including the basement sunk well used above; or any container at the lower ground relative to the location receiving the liquid (water) that to be pumped.
While the system described above is referred as a “water” pump system, many modifications and changes can occur in those skilled in the art; such as one can design a pump system to pump liquid from a lower location to a higher location and overcoming similar obstacles described above. Or a pump system to pump water from water well to a tank (reservoir) with certain water head using the principle described herein to obtain certain desired benefits. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended in cover all such modifications and changes as full within the spirit of the invention; and the term “liquid” is thus used to replace “water” in the claims.
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by appended claims rather than by the forgoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.

Claims

1. A liquid pump system comprising:

a plurality of liquid pumps that are powered by an electric power source to pump a liquid;

a liquid level sensor subsystem configured to turn on each of the plurality of liquid pumps one at a time as a liquid level rises, and configured to turn off each of the plurality of liquid pumps as the liquid level lowers; and

a system check device that performs scheduled checks of at least the plurality of pumps to verify proper operation of the plurality of pumps, and that causes communications to be transmitted to one or more recipients at least in the case that a scheduled check detects improper operation of a subset of the plurality of liquid pumps.

2. The liquid pump system in accordance with claim 1, further comprising:

a communication device that transmits messages to the one or more recipients when caused to transmit by the system check device.

3. The liquid pump system in accordance with claim 1, the liquid being water.

4. The liquid pump system in accordance with claim 1, a number of the plurality of pumps being one more than that required to have a pumping rate equal to or exceeding an anticipated maximum seeping rate.

5. The liquid pump system in accordance with claim 1, further comprising:

a set of fresh liquid in-let valves and a liquid in-let regulator to control the amount of in-let liquid taken in during a scheduled check of the plurality of pumps, the set of fresh liquid inlet valves comprising at least two in-let valves connected in series such that the in-let regulator can shut-off the in-let liquid flow even when one valve is in malfunction.

6. The liquid pump system in accordance with claim 1, the electric power source comprising an electrical power grid.

7. The liquid pump system in accordance with claim 1, the electric power source comprising an auxiliary power including gasoline or diesel generator.

8. The liquid pump system in accordance with claim 1, the electric power source comprising a low voltage power source.

9. The liquid pump system in accordance with claim 1, the electric power source comprising an AC/DC converter to convert AC power into low voltage DC power to power the pump system.

10. The liquid pump system in accordance with claim 9, the electric power source further comprising an energy reservoir to store the converted DC energy.

11. The liquid pump system in accordance with claim 10, the energy reservoir comprising at least one battery.

12. The liquid pump system in accordance with claim 1, at least one pump of the plurality of pumps comprising a brushless DC motor.

13. The liquid pump system in accordance with claim 1, at least two of the plurality of pumps being located at about the same horizontal level in a pump well.

14. The liquid pump system in accordance with claim 1, none of the plurality of pumps being located at different horizontal level in a pump well.

15. The liquid pump system in accordance with claim 1, at least one pump of the plurality of pumps being located at different horizontal level in a pump well.

16. The liquid pump system in accordance with claim 1, at least one the plurality of pumps being located on or above the ground with respect to a pump well.

17. The liquid pump system in accordance with claim 1, all the pumps are located at or above the ground with respect to a pump well.

18. The liquid pump system in accordance with claim 1, all of a plurality of liquid level sensors of the liquid level sensor subsystem being located inside of a pump well.

19. The liquid pump system in accordance with claim 1, at least one liquid level sensor of a plurality of liquid level sensors of the liquid level sensor subsystem being located outside of the well.

20. The liquid pump system in accordance with claim 1, all signals communication from liquid pump system passing through electric cables.