Phyn LLC

Salil P Banerjee

Shwetak N Patel

Miroslav Enev

Ryan Yong Kim

Aanand Esterberg

Raul I Ramos-Garcia

Babak Abbasi Bastami

Brady C Houston

Systems and methods for determining leaks in a water distribution system using water devices within buildings. Pressure readings over time from two or more water devices. Egress readings and possibly other noise are removed from the pressure readings to isolate signals for leaks from outside of the buildings. Using the isolated signals, the location of the leak in the water distribution system can be approximated.

Liquid flow processing for plumbing systems

A system including a sensing device configured to (i) measure pressure of water in cold and hot water lines proximate to a fixture of a water system of a structure, and (ii) generate pressure measurement data representing the pressure of the water. The system also includes one or more processors. The system additionally includes one or more non-transitory computer readable media storing machine-executable instructions configured, when executed on the one or more processors, to perform detecting a non-cyclical pressure event corresponding to a water leak in the water system of the structure during a first time period based on an analysis of information comprising the pressure measurement data. Other embodiments are described.

Water leak detection using pressure sensing

A method of identifying a type of plumbing system of a building is provided. The method includes determining a spectral energy ratio as a function of first pressure data acquired during a first time period in which a water flow through a plumbing system of a building is below a threshold. The method also includes determining a multimodal test value as a function of second pressure data acquired during a second time period that includes at least some time during which the water flow through the plumbing system is greater than or equal to the threshold. Further, the method includes identifying a type of the plumbing system of the building as a function of the spectral energy ratio and the multimodal test value.

Building type classification

A method and system for detecting small leaks in a plumbing system is disclosed. A temperature sensor coupled to the water in the plumbing system is used to determine if there is a leak. During times of inactivity for fixtures in the plumbing systems, a flow sensor might measure usage of water that would indicate a leak. For very small leaks, the flow is below a minimum measurable flow of the flow sensor. Embodiments of the invention measure temperature of water within a pipe coupled to the plumbing system. Temperature will generally decay in a particular predicable way when there is flow as the temperature of water upon entry to the building is lower than the air temperature within the building. Signal processing, machine learning and/or statistical approaches are used to analyze the temperature and optionally flow and/or pressure over time to determine when a leak is likely.

Passive leak detection for building water supply

Systems and methods for predicting, detecting, and/or mitigating a pipe freeze are provided. A system for analyzing water in a plumbing system includes a sensor that is configured to measure pressure within a pipe in the plumbing system as a function of time, and a processor that is configured to determine a state of water within the pipe by analyzing the pressure within the pipe as a function of time. The state of the water includes a prediction that the water within the pipe will freeze and/or a determination that the water within the pipe has frozen. The sensor is arranged at a first location within the plumbing system that is remote from a second location within the plumbing system that corresponds to the state of the water.

Freeze prediction, detection, and mitigation

A system for determining a location of an egress point in a plumbing system that includes a branched system of pipes within a building is provided. The system includes a first sensor that is configured to measure a first pressure signal as a function of time at a first location within the plumbing system, and a second sensor that is configured to measure a second pressure signal as a function of time at a second location within the plumbing system. The plumbing system includes multiple branch points between the first location and the second location. The system also includes a processor that is configured to determine a temporal difference between a first pressure drop in the first pressure signal and a second pressure drop in the second pressure signal, and use the temporal difference to determine an estimated location of the egress point in the plumbing system.

Egress point localization

A method including measuring pressure of water in a water system of a structure at a single location in the water system using a pressure sensor of a sensing device to generate pressure measurement data representing the pressure of the water as measured by the pressure sensor. The method also can include communicating the pressure measurement data to one or more processors. The method additionally can include detecting a non-cyclical pressure event corresponding to a water leak in the water system of the structure during a first time period based on an analysis of information including the pressure measurement data. The information analyzed in the analysis does not include flow measurement data that represents a total amount of flow of the water in the water system of the structure during the first time period. Other embodiments are described.

A system including a sensing device including a pressure sensor configured to measure pressure of water in a water system of a structure. The sensing device can be configured to generate pressure measurement data representing the pressure of the water as measured by the pressure sensor. The system also can include one or more processing units including one or more processors and one or more non-transitory storage media storing machine executable instructions configured when run on the one or more processors to perform detecting a non-cyclical pressure event corresponding to a water leak in the water system of the structure during a first time period based on an analysis of information including the pressure measurement data. The information analyzed in the analysis does not include any flow measurement data that represents a total amount of flow of the water in the water system of the structure during the first time period. The pressure sensor can be coupled to the water system of the structure at a single location of the water system of the structure when measuring the pressure of the water in the water system of the structure. Other embodiments are provided.

The system including a sensing device including a pressure sensor configured to measure pressure of water in a water system of a structure during a testing interval when a system shutoff valve of the water system is closed. The sensing device can be configured to generate pressure measurement data representing the pressure of the water as measured by the pressure sensor. The system also can include one or more processing units comprising one or more processors and one or more non-transitory storage media storing machine-executable instructions configured when run on the one or more processors to perform estimating an orifice size of a leak in the water system based on the pressure measurement data. Other embodiments are provided.

Growing community of inventors

Lynchburg, VA, United States of America

Salil P Banerjee