Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02831753 2013-10-31
DETERMINATION OF PIPE BLOCKAGES THROUGH THE MONITORING OF
AMBIENT ACOUSTICS
The present invention relates to the field of alarms and warning devices. In
particular, the
present invention provides a device that provides a warning when sewer pipes
are
blocked.
Typically, the plumbing fixtures within residences are connected with
municipal sewer
systems, in particular sanitary sewers, by a sewer pipe extending from the
residence to
the sewer line. Such a pipe can, however, become clogged, by debris, tree
roots or by
other means. Accordingly, an access point is provided in the residence,
comprising a pipe
extending upwardly from the sewer connecting line, and capped with a removable
cap, so
that equipment to unblock or clean out the line can be fed into the line from
a convenient
location in the residence.
However, even if sewer lines and connections are regularly inspected, it is
very often the
case that the first indication of a blocked connection is a backed up toilet,
or a sink that
will not drain. This can lead to damage in a home, and to expensive, urgent
repairs.
The Applicant has observed, however, that the sewer line into which household
waste
water drains virtually always has a flow of water in it, and that the sound of
this flow can
be detected at the clean out location in a home, if the cap to the clean out
access pipe is
removed. The present invention, then, provides a device that constantly
"listens" to the
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CA 02831753 2013-10-31
flow in the municipal sewer, and provides an alarm indication when the sound
of the flow
drops statistically significant.
In drawings that illustrate the present invention by way of example:
Figure 1 is a schematic of a residential sewer connection.
Figure 2 is a top perspective view of an alarm device according to one
embodiment of the
present invention.
Figure 3 is an underside view of the device shown in Figure 2.
Referring to the drawings, it will be observed that municipal sewer line 1 is
connected to
a house 2 by means of a residential connecting line 3. Access to the
connecting line 3 is
by a clean out pipe 4 in the house 2. The clean out pipe 4 is provided with a
screw-on cap
5, to prevent liquids or gasses in the connection line 3 from escaping into
the house. It
will be understood, moreover, that the connecting line is a hollow pipe, and
that sound
will travel in it. Accordingly, the device of the present invention comprises
a microphone
6 mounted in cap 5. Microphone 6 is connected to a power supply, such as a
battery pack
or a low voltage power line. Microphone 6 is also connected to an RF or wifi
transmitter
7 that transmits a signal to a receiver 8 that may be positioned elsewhere in
the house or
may connect to an external system. Under normal circumstances a signal
indicating that
the microphone is detecting a normal sound level is transmitted to the
receiver, and the
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receiver is provided with an indicator, such as a green light to show this.
The receiver is
also provided with an alarm indicator, which can be a red light, an audible
alarm or the
like. The receiver is programmed to trigger the alarm when the sound level
detected by
the microphone falls below the predetermined level. This would indicate a
blockage in
the connecting line preventing sound from traveling from the municipal sewer
line to the
microphone in the clean out cap. The microphone can be mounted other places
besides
the cap as long as it can "hear" the sound in the pipe.
As can be seen from Figures 2 and 3, the microphone is mounted inside the
clean out cap,
and the transmitter is mounted on the outside of the cap. Preferably, all
parts associated
with the device are waterproof, or are coated or otherwise protected from
water damage.
In a preferred embodiment, the alarm device of the present invention is
capable of
transmitting signals to permit remote monitoring of a sewer line or other
piping system.
In such an embodiment, the monitoring and alarm signals may be sent to the
interne, a
separate alarm system or directed to a private entity via RF, wifi, LAN,
telephone lines,
cable, VHF or other established means.
Accordingly, it will be understood that in a preferred embodiment, the alarm
of the
present invention also includes a smartphone application, so that an interne
capable
phone of a user upon which the application has been loaded can be used to
monitor the
signal being received by the computer. Moreover, the receiver or the cap may
be
provided with a wireless interne access device upon which the application has
been
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loaded, whereby it is only necessary to provide an interne connected computer
with a
wireless router to establish a network to which the wireless internet access
device in the
cap or receiver may connect. If the wireless internet access device is located
in or at the
cap, the receiver may be eliminated entirely, and the condition of the drain
line monitored
over the interne or by smartphone application only.
It will be understood that in using the device of the present invention that
the normal
sound level in a sewer will vary from one location to another, and to some
extent from
one time to another during the day. Therefore, after the device of the present
invention is
installed by replacement of the existing clean-out cap with a cap according to
the present
invention, it is necessary to calibrate the device of the present invention to
the location.
To do this, the cap is installed after the drain line has been cleaned out, or
inspected to
ensure it is clean, and then the sound levels in the sewer are monitored for a
predetermined period of time, say two weeks. Based on the sound levels
observed during
the two week period, a minimum acceptable normal sound level is determined,
and the
system is calibrated to indicate that an alarm condition exists, i.e. a
blockage of the drain
line has occurred, if sound levels fall below the predetermined minimum for a
predetermined length of time.
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