Patent Grant
10444158
This application is related to commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/713,495, entitled “Submersible Chemical Indicator Apparatuses For Use In Aquatic-Environment Monitoring/Measuring System,” now U.S. Pat. No. 9,023,281, issued on May 5, 2015; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/713,537, entitled “Aquatic Environment Water-Quality Monitor Having a Submersible Chemical Indicator Wheel,” now U.S. Pat. No. 8,883,079, issued on Nov. 11, 2014; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/713,595, entitled “Combined Illuminator/Light Collectors For Optical Readers,” now U.S. Pat. No. 9,494,526, issued on Nov. 15, 2016; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/713,629, entitled “Dosage Protection System and Method For An Aquatic Environment,” now U.S. Pat. No. 8,828,728, issued on Sep. 9, 2014; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/713,668, entitled “Chemical Indicator Obstruction Detection System and Method For An Aquatic Environment,” now U.S. Pat. No. 8,797,523, issued on Aug. 5, 2014; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/713,714, entitled “Rate of Change Protection System and Method for an Aquatic Environment,” now abandoned; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/713,737, entitled “Monitoring of Photo-Aging of Light-Based Chemical Indicators Using Cumulative Exposure Tracking, and Systems, Methods, Apparatuses, and Software Relating Thereto,” now abandoned; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/713,773, entitled “Monitoring of Photo-Aging of Light-Based Chemical Indicators Using Illumination-Brightness Differential Scheme, and Systems, Methods, Apparatuses, and Software Relating Thereto,” now U.S. Pat. No. 9,261,462, issued on Feb. 16, 2016; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/713,818, entitled “Assisted Dosing of Aquatic Environments For Maintaining Water Quality Therein, and Systems, Methods, Apparatuses, and Software Relating Thereto,” now abandoned; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/713,864, entitled “Optical Reader Optic Cleaning Systems Having Motion Deployed Cleaning Elements, and Methods of Cleaning An Optical Reader Optic,” now U.S. Pat. No. 9,494,527, issued on Nov. 15, 2016, each of which was filed on Dec. 13, 2012, each of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
The present invention generally relates to the field of water quality management, such as for fish and coral aquariums, swimming pools, and hot tubs, among other aquatic environments. In particular, the present invention is directed to aquatic environment monitoring and dosing systems and apparatuses, and methods and software relating thereto.
Measuring and maintaining the quality of water is important in a wide variety of circumstances. For example, for keeping fish and/or other aquatic life, the quality of the water must be kept within certain tolerances to keep the aquatic life healthy. As another example, the water in swimming and diving pools, hot tubs, and other sports, recreational, and therapeutic bodies of water need to be kept at certain levels of quality not only to maintain that water's clarity, but also to keep the users of these bodies of water safe from waterborne illnesses. As yet another example, the quality of potable water needs to be maintained within a range of tolerances as to a variety of chemical constituents for any one or more of a number of reasons, such as to make the water safe for ingesting, less harmful to distribution systems, and to promote healthfulness of the drinkers (e.g., in the case of adding fluorine and/or other nutrients). Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that these are but a few examples of settings in which it is important to monitor and/or control the quality of water.
In one implementation, a method of monitoring errors in an aquatic environment monitoring system is provided. The method includes measuring a plurality of error values in the environment monitoring system using the environment monitoring system, each of the plurality of error values being an error value related to a condition selected from the group consisting of a degradation in a chemical indicator due to photo-aging, a degradation in a chemical indicator due to water-aging, a physical contamination of a chemical indicator, an illumination imbalance related to an optical reader, a degradation of a light source of an optical reader, a physical contamination in water between an optical reader and a chemical indicator, a displacement due to friction between a chemical indicator apparatus and a monitoring unit, an error intrinsic in a chemical indicator, an error in distance between a chemical indicator apparatus and an optical reader, and any combinations thereof; determining a confidence level based on the plurality of error values; comparing the confidence level to a threshold value associated with the aquatic environment monitoring system; and generating a correction instruction based on said comparing using a dosing calculator associated with the aquatic environment monitoring system, the correction instruction for correcting a condition associated with the plurality of error values.
In another implementation, an aquatic environment monitoring system is provided. The system includes an optical reader; one or more chemical indicators; a processing element; and a memory element having stored instructions executable by the processing element for: measuring a plurality of error values in the environment monitoring system using the environment monitoring system, each of the plurality of error values being an error value related to a condition selected from the group consisting of a degradation in a chemical indicator due to photo-aging, a degradation in a chemical indicator due to water-aging, a physical contamination of a chemical indicator, an illumination imbalance related to an optical reader, a degradation of a light source of an optical reader, a physical contamination in water between an optical reader and a chemical indicator, a displacement due to friction between a chemical indicator apparatus and a monitoring unit, an error intrinsic in a chemical indicator, an error in distance between a chemical indicator apparatus and an optical reader, and any combinations thereof; determining a confidence level based on the plurality of error values; comparing the confidence level to a threshold value associated with the aquatic environment monitoring system; and generating a correction instruction based on said comparing using a dosing calculator associated with the aquatic environment monitoring system, the correction instruction for correcting a condition associated with the plurality of error values.
In still another implementation, a machine-readable hardware storage medium including machine-executable instructions for performing a method of monitoring errors in an aquatic environment monitoring system is provided. The instructions include a set of instructions for measuring a plurality of error values in the environment monitoring system using the environment monitoring system, each of the plurality of error values being an error value related to a condition selected from the group consisting of a degradation in a chemical indicator due to photo-aging, a degradation in a chemical indicator due to water-aging, a physical contamination of a chemical indicator, an illumination imbalance related to an optical reader, a degradation of a light source of an optical reader, a physical contamination in water between an optical reader and a chemical indicator, a displacement due to friction between a chemical indicator apparatus and a monitoring unit, an error intrinsic in a chemical indicator, an error in distance between a chemical indicator apparatus and an optical reader, and any combinations thereof; a set of instructions for determining a confidence level based on the plurality of error values; a set of instructions for comparing the confidence level to a threshold value associated with the aquatic environment monitoring system; and a set of instructions for generating a correction instruction based on said comparing using a dosing calculator associated with the aquatic environment monitoring system, the correction instruction for correcting a condition associated with the plurality of error values.
For the purpose of illustrating the invention, the drawings show aspects of one or more embodiments of the invention. However, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown in the drawings, wherein:
Some aspects of the present invention are directed to systems for measuring and/or monitoring the quality of water in various aquatic environments and for dosing, when the monitoring determines that the water quality is outside one or more predetermined tolerances, the water with one or more additives in corresponding respective amounts that bring the water quality into the predetermined tolerance(s). As those skilled in the art will readily understand from reading this entire disclosure, despite the fact that this introductory section addresses systems for monitoring and/or dosing, other aspects of the present invention lie within individual components, apparatuses, methods, and software of such a system, as well as within methods, apparatuses, systems, and software not directly involved in monitoring and/or dosing but related thereto, such as systems, methods, and software for social networking based on water quality monitoring and methods, systems and apparatuses that are especially adapted to be used with various monitoring and dosing systems and apparatuses disclosed herein.
Before describing several exemplary water quality monitoring and dosing systems, the term “aquatic environment” is defined, for example, to give the reader a sense of the wide applicability of the systems, apparatuses, methods, and software disclosed herein. As used herein and in the appended claims, “aquatic environment” shall mean any environment wherein water is present and for which it is desired to measure at least one parameter indicative of a quality of the water. In turn, “quality” is measured by the presence, absence, and/or amount of one or more chemicals, including minerals, in the water, and/or the presence, absence, and/or amount of one or more other materials, such as organic matter, inorganic particles, bacteria, etc., in the water, and any combination thereof. Examples of aquatic environments include, but are not limited to: aquariums, including aquarium sumps and aquarium plumbing; swimming/diving/wave pools, including swimming/diving/wave pool plumbing; hot tubs, including hot tub plumbing; fish ponds, including fish pond plumbing; potable water supplies, including plumbing therefor; sewage treatment infrastructure; water fountains; water displays; lakes and lagoons, and control structures and plumbing therefor (such as at amusement parks and other facilities having highly controlled environments); and food processing facilities that use water, for example, to wash food items, cook food items, transport food items, to name just a few. Those skilled in the art will certainly be able to think of other examples of aquatic environments for which teachings of the present disclosure will be pertinent. In this connection, while many of the examples herein are directed to aquarium set ups for keeping fish, coral, and/or other aquatic life, skilled artisans will readily be able to adapt the fundamental teachings herein to virtually any other aquatic environment wherein water quality measurement and/or monitoring and dosing is desired.
Referring now to the drawings,
System 100 includes a monitoring system 116, a dosing calculator 120, and a dosing system 124. Before describing each of these parts of system 100, it is noted that the diagram in
Monitoring system 116 is designed and configured to monitor (i.e., measure repeatedly) at least one parameter indicative of the quality of water 104 in aquatic environment 108. Though the number of measured parameters can be as few as one, in many applications, such as aquarium monitoring applications, the number of measured parameters will typically be four or more, as will be seen below in the context of specific examples. Monitoring system 116 can monitor each of the parameters using one or more suitable technology(ies), such as one or more chemical indicators that each undergo a physical change that can be sensed (read), one or more electrodes, one or more chemical probes, among others, and any combination thereof. Monitoring system 116 generates one or more outputs 128 indicative of the measurement(s) taken by the monitoring system and outputs the resulting signal(s) to dosing calculator 120. In one example, monitoring system 116 takes the measurement(s) and outputs the corresponding output(s) 128 multiple times (e.g., periodically or at differing intervals) over a given time period in a manner that attempts to ensure that none of the measured parameters goes out of range or goes out of range long enough to risk damage to aquatic environment 108, its contents, and/or its users. Each output 128 can be in any suitable form, such as a raw analog signal, a raw digital signal, or a digitally converted value, among others. The type of output used in a particular implementation may depend, for example, on whether dosing calculator 120 is implemented within monitoring system 116 where raw signals can be readily utilized or outside of the monitoring system, such as in dosing system 124 or on a remote device, such as a computing device (not shown) (e.g., laptop computer, tablet computer, webserver, smartphone, desktop computer etc.), where it is easier to convey converted values via a suitable communications protocol, such as transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), among others. Other examples of computing devices that can be used are disclosed below in connection with
Dosing calculator 120 is designed and configured to determine whether or not any one or more of the measured parameters are out of acceptable range and, if so, how much of one or more additives 112 that dosing system 124 should add to water 104 with the goal of restoring the one or more out-of-range parameters to the corresponding respective acceptable ranges. Depending on the type of a particular additive 112, the dosing may be made all at once or it may be made over a period of time. For example, some additives cannot be added too quickly without detrimental effects, and so need to be dosed at a rate that avoids the detrimental effects. In order for dosing calculator 120 to make its out-of-range and dosing determinations, it must know certain information about aquatic environment 108 and/or water 104, such as the volume of the water, the nature of environment (e.g., it contains certain fauna and/or flora), and the acceptable range(s) of the measured parameter(s), among others. Dosing calculator 120 may communicate dosing instructions 132 to dosing system 124 in any manner suited to the implementation. For example, if dosing calculator 120 is located so that it must use a data communications protocol, such as TCP/IP, the dosing instructions may include the additive type(s) and an amount of each additive 112 that dosing system 124 should dispense. In another data communications protocol example, the dosing instructions can include instructions that tell dosing system 124 which additive(s) to dispense and how long to dispense each additive needed. This latter example requires that dosing calculator 120 knows how much additive is dispensed per unit of time. In other implementations in which dosing calculator 120 communicates directly with dosing system 124, the instructions can be in another form, such as a voltage signal or a digital signal. As will become apparent from reading this entire disclosure, monitoring system 116 can comprise or consist of any of the monitoring systems, or part(s) thereof, described herein or any other suitable monitoring system. Likewise, dosing calculator 120 can be implemented in any suitable manner, such as any one of the manners described in this disclosure. Similarly, dosing system 124 can comprise any of the dosing systems, or part(s) thereof, described herein or any other suitable dosing system. It is noted that although
Monitoring system 216 includes a monitor 224 that monitors one or more of the parameters, for example, by reading one or more indicator devices (not shown), such as one or more chemical indicators, one or more electrodes, one or more probes, etc. In the exemplary system 200 of
Each computing system 236 may also include a user interface 244 that allows a user to access monitoring data 228 either in its unprocessed format or in a processed format, or both. As an example of unprocessed format, researchers, professional aquarists, enthusiasts, troubleshooters, etc., may find it desirable to have all of the “raw” data provided by monitor 224. On the other hand, consumers, casual users, hobbyists, etc., may only desire a version of monitor data 228 that has been processed, such as to present the data to the user in a simplified form, such as graphically, binary (e.g., in tolerance/out of tolerance), etc. Those skilled in the art will readily be able to understand the benefits and formats of processed and unprocessed formats of monitor data 228, such that further description is not necessary herein for them to appreciate the broad scope of the present invention. It is noted that the processing and displaying of monitor data 228 and data derived therefrom through processing can be distributed over two or more computing systems 236. For example, in a webserver/client context, the webserver may provide some initial processing of monitor data 228 while a client device, for example, via a smartphone “app” (i.e., a software application), receives the processed data from the webserver and uses that data to generate one or more suitable graphical displays on the client device representing the monitor data.
In another example, a client device may receive unprocessed monitor data 228, in which case a software application on the client device may use the unprocessed data directly to create suitable graphical displays and/or allow a user to use the unprocessed monitor data in another way. As yet another example, a computing system 236, such as a smartphone, laptop computer, tablet computer, desktop computer, etc., may receive monitor data 228 directly, for example, via a wired or wireless data connection, and that system may include a software application for processing monitor data 228, or not, and use either the processed data or unprocessed data, or both, in any suitable manner, such as for producing graphical displays or transferring the data to a spreadsheet or other program for detailed analysis, among many other possibilities. In still a further example, monitor 224 itself may provide a relatively high level of data processing, such that monitor data 228 is already processed for high level use, such as graphical display by one or more computing system 236. It is noted that if monitor 224 processes its reading data, it may contain one or more onboard displays 248, which can be, for example, visual (e.g., visual indicator(s), electronic display(s), etc.), aural (e.g., sound generator for generating one or more sounds, spoken words, etc.), or a combination of visual and aural displays.
Dosing calculator 240 can be embodied and realized in any of a number of ways. In addition to being located at various locations within system 200 as noted above, dosing calculator 240 can be configured to provide dosing instructions for manual dosing or automated dosing, or both. Manual dosing can be performed in any one or more of a variety of ways. For example, if dosing system 220 is manually controllable, i.e., requires a human operator to control the dosing, dosing calculator 240 can be augmented with a user interface 252 that displays an indication of the amount of each additive that the user needs to cause dosing system 220 to dispense. Depending on the type of additive and any limitations of dosing rate, such indication may be accompanied by further dosing instructions advising the user of the dosing rate parameters. In this connection, depending on how they are implemented, user interface 252 and/or dosing calculator 240 may need to be aware of information regarding dosing system 220, such as make and model, that allow the user interface and/or dosing calculator to provide instructions specific to the dosing system being used.
In another example, dosing system 220 may not be present at all, such that the dosing needs to be carried out virtually entirely by a human user 256, using, for example, chemicals and/or other additives that are provided in bulk form in individual containers and need to be manually dispensed or taken from such containers by the human user. In this example, if each/any of the additives is available in differing forms (e.g., powder, liquid, gel, etc.) and/or in differing concentrations, etc., then user interface 252 and/or dosing calculator 240 may need to be aware of information regarding the specific additive(s) being used, such as brand and formulation, that allow the user interface and/or dosing calculator to provide instructions specific to the particular additive(s) being used. Examples of dosing systems and additives for particular applications are described below. However, those skilled in the art will readily understand that these examples are illustrative and not limiting.
Whereas
In some instantiations, setup 300 can be self-contained, i.e., not require communication of monitor data to any devices outside of monitoring system 304, and dosing system 308 or communication of control data, for example, data needed to set operating parameters of the system, from any device outside of the monitoring and dosing systems. However, it is noted that system 300 can be outfitted with such external communications capability if so desired. In such cases, outside communications capability can be provided via any suitable wired or wireless technology available. In either case, monitoring system 304 and/or dosing system 308 can be provided with any suitable user interface(s), such as interfaces 320 and 324, that allow(s) a user to control operating parameters of system 300.
In one example, when one or more of chemical indicators 412(1) to 412(N) are submersible chemical indicators, it is noted that the chemical indicators are stable in water, i.e., the active dyes remain contained in the mediums and they do not mix with, and they do not change, the water in which they are submerged. Each chemical indicator 412(1) to 412(N) is preferably reversible. Examples of constituents/properties of water, the levels of which can be detected using suitable chemical indicators, include, but are not limited to, pH, hardness, calcium, magnesium, oxygen (O2), carbon dioxide, ammonia, phosphate, nitrate. Depending on the type of aquatic environment (not shown, but see, e.g., aquatic environments 108, 208, and 316 of
In another example, an aquatic environment monitoring apparatus may include a plurality of immobilized chemical indicators supported by a chemical indicator holder. Various holders are discussed further below. Such a chemical indicator holder having a plurality of immobilized chemical indicators can be illuminated by light (e.g., excitation light for fluorescence, reference illumination, etc.) from an optical reader. Various optical readers are also discussed herein. In one example of a chemical holder that can be used with an aquatic environment monitoring system (such as those disclosed herein), a chemical holder (e.g., a discoidal holder) includes a chemical indicator dye sensitive for detecting calcium in the aquatic environment, a chemical indicator dye sensitive for detecting magnesium in the aquatic environment, and a chemical indicator dye sensitive for detecting carbon dioxide in the aquatic environment. In this example each of the chemical indicator dyes are immobilized in an immobilizing medium, such as a cellulosic hydrogel medium. Examples of a chemical indicator dye sensitive for calcium include, but are not limited to, a calcium detecting aminonaphthalimide, a calcium detecting perylenediamide, and any combination thereof. Examples of a chemical indicator dye sensitive for magnesium include, but are not limited to, a magnesium detecting dye based on a aminonaphthalimide, a magnesium detecting dye based on a photon induced electron transfer process (PET), a magnesium detecting dye based on a intramolecular charge transfer process (ICT), a magnesium detecting perylenediamide and any combinations thereof. Examples of a chemical indicator dye sensitive for carbon dioxide include, but are not limited to, a carbon dioxide sensitive dye based on a aminonaphthalimide, a carbon dioxide sensitive dye based on a photon induced electron transfer process (PET), a carbon dioxide sensitive dye based on a intramolecular charge transfer process (ICT), a carbon dioxide sensitive perylenediamide and any combinations thereof
Water parameter reading system 400 further includes one or more readers 416(1) to 416(M) designed and configured to read the physical change(s) of one or more of chemical indicators 412(1) to 412(N). Some embodiments have a one-to-one correspondence between the number of readers. That is, each chemical indicator 412(1) to 412(N) has a corresponding respective reader 416(1) to 416(M), i.e., M=N. In other embodiments, there are fewer readers 416(1) to 416(M) than chemical indicators 412(1) to 412(N), i.e., M<N, and in still other embodiments there are multiple readers per chemical indicator, i.e., M>N. Any of these embodiments can optionally include one or more mechanisms 420 for moving one or more readers 416(1) to 416(M) relative to chemical indicator apparatus 404, or for moving the chemical indicator apparatus relative to the reader(s), or both. Depending on the configuration of reading system 400 and chemical indicator apparatus 404, the movement that the one or more mechanisms 420 can impart to the driven part (e.g., one of or group of readers 416(1) to 416(M) or chemical indicator apparatus 404) can be in any one or more of the six degrees of freedom (three linear+three rotational) available for motion.
In
Referring to
Returning to
Chemical indicator apparatus 404 can be designed and configured to be fully or partially submerged (collectively referred to herein and in the appended claims as “submerged”) in the water (not shown) of the aquatic environment in which water parameter reading system 400 is deployed. It is noted further that the term “submerged” covers not only the cases of full and partial submersion, for example, in an aquarium, aquarium sump, pond, pool, etc., but also the case of exposure of chemical indicator apparatus 404 to the aquatic environment water within inline plumbing. An example of an inline plumbing instantiation of a water parameter reading system is described below.
Depending on the environment in which chemical indicator apparatus 404 is operating, one or more of readers 416(1) to 416(M) and/or one or more of chemical indicators 412(1) to 412(N) may experience fouling, for example, from algae or other matter building up over time. To combat this fouling, water parameter reading system 400 may include a cleaning system 424 that continuously, intermittently, or periodically cleans critical components of any one or more of readers 416(1) to 416(M) and/or chemical indicator apparatus 404. Examples of cleaning systems that can be used for cleaning system 424 include ultrasound-based cleaning systems, vibration-based cleaning systems, light-based (e.g., UV light to kill organisms) cleaning systems, contact-type (e.g., brush, squeegee, etc.) cleaning systems, and filtered water-jet-based cleaning systems, among others, and any combination thereof. Those skilled in the art will be able to implement, after reading this entire disclosure, any one of these systems given the overall configuration of water parameter reading system and the configuration of interaction of its components in a particular instantiation.
Each of readers 416(1) to 416(M) can be any suitable type of reader for the particular one(s) of chemical indicator(s) 412(1) to 412(N) that the reader at issue is designed and configured to read. For optically read chemical indicators, for example, chemical indicators in which chemical changes are observable by detecting: the amount of light absorbed, fluoresced upon excitation, and/or reflected and/or the color of light absorbed, fluoresced, and/or reflected, etc., and any combination thereof, one or more of reader(s) 416(1) to 416(M) can be an optical reader capable of detecting such amount(s) and/or color(s). Correspondingly, each reader can include one or more detectors (sensors) 428(1) to 428(M) capable of detecting (sensing) the one or more characteristics of the relevant light. As used herein, the term “light” covers electromagnetic radiation in traditional light spectrum, which includes not only visible light, but also infrared (near and far) light, and ultraviolet light. Examples of such optical sensors include, but are not limited to photo-detectors, line cameras, array cameras, charge-coupled device-based sensors, and CMOS-based sensors, among many others. Fundamentally, there are no limitations of the type and configuration of suitable light detectors/sensors as long as they perform the requisite function(s).
Depending on the type(s) and location(s) of detector(s)/sensor(s) 428(1) to 428(M) in each reader 416(1) to 416(M), light from the relevant chemical indicator(s) 412(1) to 412(N) may need to be collected and/or transmitted from each chemical indicator to the detector(s)/sensor(s). Such collection and/or transmission can be accomplished using any suitable optics 432(1) to 432(M). In addition to conventional optics, for example, optical fibers, lenses, light pipes, etc., any of the unique light conductors disclosed herein can be used for optics 432(1) to 432(M). In embodiments wherein any one of readers 416(1) to 416(M) needs to emit light of certain spectral content to illuminate any one or more of chemical indicators 412(1) to 412(N), each of the readers may include one or more suitable light sources 436(1) to 436(M) and/or suitable optics 440(1) to 440(M) for projecting and/or directing the light from the light source(s) to the appropriate chemical indicator(s). Examples of light sources that can be used for any one or more of light sources 436(1) to 436(M) include, but are not limited to, LEDs, lasers, incandescent bulbs or other sources, and any combination thereof. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, each light source 436(1) to 436(M) can include one or more light filters (not shown) as needed to create the desired/necessary spectral content. In addition to conventional optics, for example, optical fibers, lenses, light pipes, etc., any of the unique illuminating optics disclosed herein can be used for optics 440(1) to 440(M). In some embodiments wherein both collection and illumination optics 432(1) to 432(M) and 440(1) to 440(M) are used in a reader, they can be combined as taught below, for example, in the context of combined illuminators/light collectors 1604 and 1800 of
Water parameter reading system 400 may include a processing system 444 that includes one or more processors for controlling the overall operations of the system and implementing whichever of the above-described and other functionalities that a designer chooses to embody in the system. For example, processing system 444 can control each of readers 416(1) to 416(M), mechanism(s) 420 for moving the reader(s) and/or chemical indicator apparatus 404, one or more displays 448, cleaning system 424, one or more communications devices 452, and/or one or more user interfaces 456, among other things, as may be present. Exemplary processors that can be used for each of the one or more processors in processing system 444 include, but are not limited to, an application specific integrated circuit, a microprocessor, a system on chip, etc. Processing system 444 is in communications with one or more memories (collectively represented by memory 460), which can comprise any one or more types of memories, including, but not limited to, cache memory, random-access memory (RAM) (such as dynamic RAM and/or static RAM), read-only memory, removable hardware storage media (such as magnetic storage devices, optical storage device, flash-memory devices, etc.). Memory 460 can contain suitable machine-executable instructions 464 executable by processing system 444 to perform any one or more of the functionalities imparted into water parameter reading system 400.
Each display 448 can be any type of display desired to present one or more outputs to a user and, in some cases, such as with video displays, receive one or more inputs from a user. Examples of displays that can be implemented include, but are not limited to, video displays (such as flat panel video displays (LCD, LED, etc.) and CRT video displays, touchscreen or not), indicator light displays, audio displays, gauges, and non-video flat panel displays (e.g., LCD and LED panels, touchscreen or not), among many others. Fundamentally, there is no limitation on the type(s) of display(s) 448 that can be used in water parameter reading system 400. Similarly, each user interface 456 can be any suitable type of user interface, such as hard and soft user interfaces implemented via software and hardware. Fundamentally, there is no limitation on the type(s) of user interface(s) 456 that can be used in water parameter reading system 400. Each communications device 2252 can be any communications device that is desired to be used to provide water parameter reading system 400, and can be a wired device, such as wired communications port (e.g., universal serial bus port, FIREWIRE® port, HDMI port, RCA jack port, etc.) or can be a wireless transmitter, receiver, or transceiver based on radio-frequency communications (e.g., an IEEE 802.11 standard device and a cellular telecommunications device), on microwave communications, on ultrasonic communications, on optical communications (e.g., an infrared device), or on magnetic communications (e.g., an inductively coupled device), among others. Fundamentally, there is no limitation on the type(s) of communications device(s) 452 that can be used in water parameter reading system 400. Examples of various ones of the components of water parameter reading system 400 are provided below in connection with presentations of several exemplary embodiments of aquatic environment monitoring/measuring systems.
Exemplary Aquarium Monitoring System
Exemplary monitoring unit 812 communicates the ecological conditions, here wirelessly via an onboard antenna 820 (in this example an above-water antenna, but a submersible antenna could be used), to a wireless communications device, such as a WIFI™ router 824, via any suitable communications protocol, here an IEEE 802.11 protocol. Router 824 is connected to a communications network 828, for example, a global communications network such as the Internet, via a suitable connection 832. Connection 832 to communication network F28 enables access to a cloud computing platform 836, which can, among other things, store data 840 from monitoring unit 812, run analyses on such data, provide a web-based GUI 844 for the display of raw, processed, and/or analyzed forms of the data, provide a web-based GUI 848 for allowing a user to control the monitoring unit, provide raw, processed, and/or analyzed forms of the data to a remote device 852, such as a computing device, (e.g., smartphone, tablet computer, laptop computer, desktop computer, etc.), and control one or more applications.
In one embodiment, monitoring unit 812 and corresponding chemical indicator disc 816 are designed and manufactured to have a weight that is close to the weight of the water displaced by the unit and disc when they are installed in the water wherein they will be used. In an embodiment that is engaged with a wall of an aquarium or other container via magnetic coupling with a magnetic device on the exterior of the aquarium or other container (such as described below), it is beneficial to have the combined weight of monitoring unit 812 and disc 816 and the displaced water be close to one another so that the unit (with disc attached) do not tend to slide up or down along the engaged wall. In addition, smaller holding magnets can be used. In addition, if the combined weight of monitoring unit 812 and disc 816 is slightly less than the weight of the displaced water, then if the unit does disengage from the wall, then it will not sink so that it can be easily reached by a user. Monitoring unit 812 can include a 3-axis accelerometer (such as accelerometer 2276 of monitoring unit 2202 of
Chemical indicator disc 816 includes an optional filter 924 that covers flow passages in the disc, here four flow passages 928(1) to 928(4) that allows water to flow from one side of the disc to the other. While four flow passages 928(1) to 928(4) are shown, more or fewer passages can be provided to suit a particular design. Each flow passage 928(1) to 928(4) can be enhanced with one or more features that assist the flow of water therethrough when disc 816 is being rotated by monitoring unit 812. For example, when monitoring unit 812 is rotating disc 816 in a counterclockwise direction when looking toward the monitoring unit along rotational axis 904, the flow assisting feature(s) of each flow passage 928(1) to 928(4) can pull water into the space between the disc and monitoring unit. In this example, filter 924 is used to filter the water being pulled into that space. This can be beneficial to reducing the amount of light-scattering particulate and/or other matter in the water present in that space during measurement readings, which in turn can increase the accuracy of the readings. In one scenario, monitoring unit 812 can be programmed to perform a flush cycle in which it spins disc 816 for a predetermined amount of time and a predetermined speed (and direction) sufficient to pull water into the space between the disc and the monitoring unit just prior to taking one or more measurement readings. Since the water being pulled in is being filtered by filter 924, during the immediately subsequent reading(s) the water in that space is as clean as practicable. It is noted that flushing can also be beneficial in embodiments not including any filters (such as filter 924) and that one or more filters are useful outside the context of flushing.
In the particular embodiment shown, each of patches 1004(1) to 1004(10), 1008, and 1012 is located in a corresponding recess 1016(1) to 1016(12). However, in other embodiments, this need not be the case. For example, depending on the thickness of a particular dye patch it may not reside in a recess, but rather be applied to a non-recessed surface of disc 816. Indeed, in some embodiments, disc 816 may have a completely flat surface in the patch region and all of patches 1004(1) to 1004(10), 1008, and 1012 may be secured to that surface. In addition, it is noted that while patches 1004(1) to 1004(10), 1008, and 1012 are shown as discrete bodies relative to one another, in other embodiments this need not be so. For example, all of patches 1004(1) to 1004(10), 1008, and 1012 can be provided as a unitary structure, such as on an annular substrate to which the various patches are provided. Then, during manufacture, such preformed annular structure can simply be adhered or otherwise secured to holder 1000. In addition, patches 1004(1) to 1004(10), 1008, and 1012 need not necessarily be spaced from one another. On the contrary, for example, adjacent ones of patches 1004(1) to 1004(10), 1008, and 1012 can directly abut one another. It should be noted that while
Still referring to
In the embodiment shown in
Referring again to
In
As noted above, a magnetic coupling is used to hold chemical indicator disc 816 (see, e.g.,
As can be readily appreciated, when opposing pairs of magnets 1328(1), 1328(2), 1024(1), and 1024(2) are of opposing polarities, those pairs attract one another. Thus, chemical indicator disc 816 is magnetically pulled into fully seated engagement with receiver 900. In addition, when motor 1312 rotates support bar 1324, thereby moving the magnets, the magnetic attraction of magnets 1024(1) and 1024(2) to the moving magnets 1328(1) and 1328(2), respectively, causes disc 816 to rotate in virtual unison with the rotating support bar. It is noted that while two pairs of magnets 1328(1), 1328(2), 1024(1), and 1024(2) are illustrated, more or fewer magnets can be used. Regarding the number of magnets provided, it is noted that in some embodiments the number and strength of the magnets need to be carefully selected, as too powerful and/or too many magnets can cause too much friction between disc 816 and monitoring unit 812. If permanent magnets are used, the magnetic force used to hold disc 816 onto receiver 900 should be low enough such that a user can freely remove the disc when it's no longer providing a proper operation. If, for example, electromagnets or other switchable magnets are used, the magnetic coupling may be turned off for disc removal. The magnetic force should also be sufficient to ensure water flow and turbulence against disc 816 will not dislodge it from receiver 900.
The present inventor has determined that the shapes of magnets 1328(1), 1328(2), 1024(1), and 1024(2) can have an impact on the performance of the magnetic coupling, especially in the imparting of motion to disc 816. For example, if magnets 1328(1), 1328(2), 1024(1), and 1024(2) are flat discoidal magnets, i.e., have relative large diameters relative to their thicknesses, or are wide magnets of another shape having expansive faces and they are placed so that their expansive faces face one another, the magnetic interaction between the magnets is relatively sloppy, i.e., there is a relatively large amount of play in the alignment. On the other hand, if opposing ones of magnets 1328(1), 1328(2), 1024(1), and 1024(2) are too narrow, when the narrow ends are made to face one another, the magnets can too easily lose their magnetic coupling.
In one implementation spot lensing 1608 is carefully designed and configured in conjunction with the spacing, S, between combined I/LC 1600 and the surface 1626 of disc 816 to provide highly precisely sized and located spots 1616(1) and 1616(2). As seen in
Referring again to
As distance S is increased, the quantity of rays emanating from between outside half-angle point 1548 and inside half-angle point 1552 of spot 1544 that will exceed critical angle 1556 such that they will be directed onto detector 1524 goes up. When the distance S increases, the distance from target 1504 to the aperture formed by the internal TIR center column also increases and therefore results in a reduction of intensity as a function of 1/S2. So by balancing the rate in which the rays become less intense due to distance with the rate at which the rays start passing through the sides of light collector 1512 at less than critical angle 1556, a peak detection point can be formed at a desired height with spots 1544 at useful distances from the centerline 1568 of I/LC 1500. By adjusting the angle of side walls 1564 of light collector 1512 relative to centerline 1568, distance S at which the peak light collection occurs can be tuned. The rate at which the light falls off as a functions of distance S change can also be tuned by way of changing whether rays inside and outside half-brightness rays 1532 and 1540 are divergent or convergent as they leave spot lensing 1516 of I/LC 1500. This effectively defines a band of useful operation.
Referring again to
In this embodiment, combined I/LC 1600 includes optional laterally dispersive lensing 1640 that acts to direct portions 1644(1) and 1644(2) of the light 1620(1) and 1620(2), respectively, emitted from light sources 1624(1) and 1624(2) away from spots 1616(1) and 1616(2). Directing portions 1644(1) and 1644(2) away from spots 1616(1) and 1616(2), and more generally from the region where light is to be collected by combined I/LC 1600, those portions do not interfere with the readings taken by a reader system, such as reader system 400 of
Each light source 1624(1) and 1624(2) can be any suitable source, including filtered and unfiltered monochromatic and multiband light-emitting diodes (LEDs), filtered and unfiltered monochromatic and multiband lasers, filtered and unfiltered incandescent sources, filtered and unfiltered optic fiber(s) in optical communication with a light emitter, etc. Those skilled in the art will understand how to select the proper light source(s) and any optical filter(s) necessary to achieve the desired results. Some examples of specific light sources are described below.
As for the light collection aspect, combined I/LC 1600 includes central light pipe 1612 that collects light 1648(1) and 1648(2) from the regions of spots 1616(1) and 1616(2), respectively. As should be apparent from the foregoing discussion, light 1648(1) and 1648(2) can be reflected light from spots 1616(1) and 1616(2) or fluorescent light resulting from the stimulation of any fluorescent dye, for example, from any one of chemical indicator patches 1004(1) to 1004(10) (
Light pipe 1612 and combined I/LC 1600 more generally include several features to ensure that the light 1648(1) and 1648(2) collected by the light pipe and directed toward sensor(s) 1660 is substantially only light from the target, i.e., chemical indicator disc 816. These features include: the separation of light pipe 1612 from spot lensing 1608 along a portion of the light pipe; the design (curvatures) of entrance and output surfaces 1632 and 1636, respectively, that inhibits internal reflection from spot lensing into light pipe within body 1604; the provision of laterally dispersive lensing 1640; and the design of lateral surface 1668 of the spot lensing that also help inhibit internal reflections from reaching the light pipe. Sensor 1660 can be a surface mounted detector on the bottom side of a printed circuit board (PCB) with a sensing area that collects light through a hole in the PCB. Light sources 1624(1) and 1624(2) can also be surfaces mounted but on the opposite side of the PCB from sensor 1660. This arrangement permits the use of the PCB material to act as a light block for making sure light that is internally scattered from light sources 1624(1) and 1624(2) can't make direct optical path to sensor 1660.
In the example shown, each light source 1624(1) and 1624(2) comprises a lensed LED package and is located in close proximity to light-entrance surface 1632 of spot lensing 1608. In one example, each light source 1624(1) and 1624(2) output light having a beam angle β of about 10° to about 30°. As used herein and in the appended claims, the term “beam angle” shall mean the angle between the two directions opposed to each other over the beam axis for which the luminous intensity is half that of the maximum luminous intensity of the output of the light source at issue. Depending on the configuration of the reader of which combined I/LC 1600 is part, light sources 1624(1) and 1624(2) can have the same output wavelength(s), or, alternatively, the respective output wavelength(s) can differ from one another. This will become apparent with an exemplary embodiment described below that has four light sources per reader, two light sources for measurement purposes (e.g., either fluorescence or absorbance) and two light sources for determining whether or not there are any contaminants on the target (disc 816) where measurement readings are being taken that might interfere with the resulting measurements. In addition, it is noted that depending on the spectral output of each light source 1624(1) and 1624(2), one, the other, or both can be provided with one or more light filters 1672(1) and 1672(2), respectively, as needed to suit the needs of use.
Whereas
Referring again to
In the embodiment shown, this biasing action is provided by magnetic attraction, in this example a pair of magnets 2012 and 2016, one located in base 2000 of cleaning element 1904 and the other located on holder 1916. It is noted that while a pair of magnets 2012 and 2016 is illustrated, the magnetic attraction can be implemented in another way, such as between a single magnet and a ferromagnetic material or between more than one magnet in/on base 2000 and in/on holder 1916. As those skilled in the art will understand, the mutual attraction of magnets 2012 and 2016 to one another along with the specially curved rocking surface 2020 of base 2000, allows cleaning element 1904 to effectively rock on rocking surface 2020 in response to forces encountered at bristle tips 2008. The strengths of magnets 2012 and 2016 and the curvature of rocking surface 2020 can be varied to vary the pivoting (rocking) response and cleaning effectiveness of cleaning element 1904. Magnets 2012 and 2016 can ideally be diamagnetic types which are attracted on the sides vs. the ends of their rod shape. This diamagnetic attraction and magnetic pole alignment also provides for some of the return spring-like effect when deflected in either direction D1 or D2. In one example, base 2000 can be made of a plastic portion 2024 that is molded around magnet 2016. Magnet 2012 can be inserted into a suitable recess 2028 formed in the “back” side of holder 1916. Such insertion can involve, for example, an adhesive, a press fit or an interference fit, and/or the insertion can be followed by application of a closure 2032 to keep magnet 2012 in its place when magnet 2016 (i.e., cleaning element 1904) is not present.
While cleaning element 1904 is shown as a brush-based element, it can be of another type. For example, bristles 2004 can be replaced by another type of cleaning means, such as a sponge, squeegee, cloth, rubber-fingered, etc., cleaning mean. In addition, it is noted that while the biasing means is provided by magnetic attraction, it can be provided in another manner. For example, cleaning element 1904 can be modified so that magnet 2012 is a central shaft that is rotatable mounted to holder 1916, and the biasing can be provided using a suitable spring means, such as one or more torsional springs, one or more spiral springs, one or more coil springs, one or more resilient bumpers, among others, and any combination thereof. In yet another embodiment, base 2000 can be fixed to holder 1916 and bristles 2004 can be made sufficiently flexible and resilient so that they flex a predetermined amount when they swipe over any protruding optical element, such as combined I/LC 1332 (
Depending on the configuration of monitoring unit 812 (
Monitoring unit 2202 includes four optical readers 2208(1) to 2208(4) for reading the chemical indicators (not shown) present on chemical indicator disc 2204. In this example: optical reader 2208(1) is designed and configured for illuminating and detecting absorbance at 590 nm wavelength; optical reader 2208(2) is designed and configured for illuminating and detecting absorbance at 720 nm wavelength; optical reader 2208(3) is designed and configured for exciting and detecting fluorescence; and optical reader 2208(4) is also designed and configured for exciting and detecting fluorescence. Each of optical readers 2208(1) to 2208(4) includes an optical assembly 2212(1) to 2212(4) that includes one or more suitable light sources (not shown), one or more suitable light sensors (not shown), and a combined I/LC 2214(1) to 2214(4). Optical reader 2208(1) has illumination and detection circuitry 2216(1) designed and configured to send driving signals to, and receive detected signals from, optical assembly 2212(1); optical reader 2208(2) has illumination and detection circuitry 2216(2) designed and configured to send driving signals to, and receive detected signals from, optical assembly 2212(2); optical reader 2208(3) has excitation and detection circuitry 2216(3) designed and configured to send driving signals to, and receive detected signals from, optical assembly 2212(3); and optical reader 2208(4) has excitation and detection circuitry 2216(4) designed and configured to send driving signals to, and receive detected signals from, optical assembly 2212(4). In this embodiment, each of illumination/excitation and detection circuitries 2216(1) to 2216(4) is analog circuitry that is in operative communication with analog signal conditioning circuitry 2218, which in turn is controlled by a processing system 2220 that controls virtually all operations of system 2200, including data processing.
Processing system 2220 may include one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, central processing units, etc., or any logical combination thereof. There are fundamentally no limitations on how processing system 2220 can be embodied, including centralized processing architectures and distributed processing arrangements. Processing system 2220 includes one or more memories, collectively represented by memory 2222, used to store (transitorily and/or non-transitorily, depending on type) machine-executable instructions 2224, data 2226, and other digital information that allows processing system to control the operation of system 2200. Examples of memories that can be aboard monitoring unit 2202 include, but are not limited to, hardware storage memory (removable or non-removable), random-access memory, and cache memory, among others. In addition, memory can be of any suitable type, including transistor based, magnetic, optical, etc. Fundamentally, there is no limit on the nature and type of memory that can be used in processing system R20.
In addition to optical readers 2208(1) to 2208(4), monitoring unit 2202 includes other sensors/detectors. These include: 1) a temperature sensor 2228; 2) a conductivity sensor 2230; 3) a sound detector 2232; and 4) a water level detector 2234, each of which in this embodiment is in operative communication with analog signal conditioning circuitry 2218. It is noted that in other embodiments, some or all of analog signal conditioning circuitry 2218 may not be needed if the outputs (and/or inputs) of the various sensors, detectors, and readers are digital. Temperature sensor 2228 is provided for measuring the temperature of the water (such as water 804 in
Referring again to
Monitoring unit 2202 includes a voltage controller 2238 in electrical communication with analog signal conditioning circuitry 2218 for providing a voltage to conductive receiver 2206, which in turn provides the voltage to disc 2204 to provide one or more of the chemical indicators (not shown) onboard the disc with an enhanced range. Monitoring unit 2202 also includes a stepper motor 2240 that drives disc 2204 via magnetic coupling as described above in response to control input from processing system 2220. In this example, a magnet holder 2242, which supports magnets 2244(1) and 2244(2), is driven by motor 2240, and the magnetic interaction of magnets 2244(1) and 2244(2) with corresponding respective oppositely polarized magnets 2246(1) and 2246(2) on disc 2204 drives the corresponding rotation of the disc.
Monitoring unit 2202 includes first and second radios 2248 and 2250, respectively, controlled by processing system 2220. In the embodiment shown, first radio 2248 is provided for communicating with one or more local area network devices, for example, wireless TCP/IP router, radio-enabled smartphone, tablet computer, laptop computer, desktop computer, etc. First radio 2248 may be the primary communications device, for example, for receiving operating parameters from an off-monitor software application and for communicating measurement data, monitor status information, and other information, such as audio from sound detector 2232, to the external device(s), and/or to an off-monitor software application for receiving such information. In one embodiment, first radio 2248 is designed and configured to operate under any one or more of the IEEE 802.11 standards, but the radio can be designed and configured to work under any other suitable standard(s).
In this example, second radio 2250 is included to provide a small area network or piconet to allow monitoring unit 2202 to communicate with proximate external devices that are part of the overall aquatic-environment environmental control scheme. Examples of such external devices include, but are not limited to, one or more: lighting devices 2252 for providing light to the aquatic environment; chemical dosers 2254 for dispensing one or more chemicals to the aquatic environment; feeding devices 2256 for dispensing food to the aquatic environment; water pumps 2258 for circulating water within the aquatic environment; wave generators 2260 for generating waves within the aquatic environment; and power strips into which these and other devices are plugged. In one example, second radio 2250 is designed and configured to utilize BLUETOOTH® standards. However, second radio 2250 can be designed and configured to work under any other suitable standard(s). It should be noted that while two radios are shown, that a single radio which supports multiple modes and standards can also be used to provide both the proximate local communications and the network connectivity.
Monitoring unit 2202 includes power supply 2262 that provides conditioned power to other components and circuits onboard the monitoring unit. Power supply 2262 can include voltage regulation circuitry that provides a high-precision electrical reference, which can be very important for taking readings and/or driving the light sources. Other components of monitoring unit 2202 may include a suitable timing source, such as a crystal oscillator, for ensuring that timing throughout the system is precise, such as for controlling integration times of light detectors. In one embodiment, wherein monitoring unit 2202 is designed and configured to be located within a water container (represented by wall 2264 in
Monitoring unit 2202 may also include an accelerometer 2276, such as a 3-axis accelerometer. As discussed above relative to monitoring unit 812 of
In some cases, when a monitoring unit made in accordance with the present disclosure is sealed for watertightness, pressure changes during shipping, such as shipping by air, can affect the precision alignments and/or positional tolerance of various critical components of the unit, such as components of the optical readers, such as light sources, optics, light detectors, etc. Large pressure differentials experienced during shipping can cause permanent deflections in various components, such as housing components that can affect reading accuracy of the unit. To combat this, a watertight monitoring unit, such as monitoring unit 2202 of
In alternative embodiments, processing system 2324 can be eliminated, with data and information from and to second inductive coupler 2316 being provided directly to the one or more communications devices 2328 and 2332 or an intermediary device(s) (not shown) other than processing system 2324. In various alternative embodiments, first and second inductive digital couplers 2312 and 2316 can be integrated into inductive transformer components 2304 and 2308 by suitably superimposing data signals on the power signals and using suitable encoders and decoders for the embedded signals as known in the art. In addition, in various other alternative embodiments, first and second inductive digital couplers 2312 and 2316 can be replaced by other suitable wireless data communications devices that can communicate data across wall 2336, such as very-near-range radio devices and optical devices, such as infrared transmitters, receivers, and/or transceivers, among other wireless data communications devices.
Depending on the intended deployment of monitoring unit 2300, locating communications device(s), here devices 2328 and 2332, outside of the water container (represented in
In aquarium setup 2400, monitoring system 2404 can communicate automated dispensing instructions 2428 to doser 2408 via a piconet radio system 2432 in which the monitoring system and doser are provided with piconet radios (not shown) wherein there is at least one-way communication from the monitoring system to the doser. Alternatively, wired or other wireless communications may be used. To provide this functionality, monitoring system 2404 can be provided with a dosing calculator 2436 in which automated dispensing instructions 2428 are determined based on water quality measurements made by the monitoring system, for example, using any of the measuring and monitoring techniques described above. Dosing calculator 2436 can, for example, be located onboard a monitoring unit 2440 of monitoring system 2404, located off-board the monitoring unit, such as in a cloud-computing platform 2444 and/or on a computing device 2448 (such as a smartphone, tablet computer, laptop computer, desktop computer, etc.), or any combination of distributed functionality.
When monitoring system 2404 is configured to communicate with a local, wide, or global area network (such as, e.g., the Internet), it can be provided with a suitable communications system 2452 that allows it to communicate with the appropriate network or networks. In the present example, communications network 2452 includes a wireless connection 2456 between monitoring unit 2440 and a wireless router 2460, which itself is operatively connected to cloud-computing platform 2444. If some or all of dosing calculator 2436 is located remotely, such as on cloud-computing platform 2444 and/or a computing device 2448, automated dispensing instructions 2428 can be communicated to monitoring unit 2440 via communications network 2452, and the monitoring unit can relay the instructions to doser 2408. Alternatively, for example, if doser 2408 is outfitted so that it can communicate with wireless router 2460, the automated dosing instructions 2428 can be provided directly to the doser to avoid such relaying.
Alternatively, or in addition, to automated dosing, monitoring system 2400 can be configured to provide assisted dosing, i.e., configured to provide a person who maintains an aquarium (hereinafter “user” 2464) with assisted dosing instructions 2468. Dosing calculator 2436 can be configured to generate assisted dosing instructions 2468 along with, or in lieu of automated dosing instructions 2428. Monitoring system 2404 can provide assisted dosing instructions 2468 to any suitable computing device 2448 available to user 2464 and/or to a display 2472 on monitoring unit 2440 and/or a display on doser 2408. As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, assisted dosing instructions 2468 can be in any suitable format, such as a tabular form that simply lists the additive and the amount to be added, a demand form, such as “Add 10 ml of pH increaser to sump while pump is running”, or both, or any other type of instructions for the user to add the proper amount.
With either of assisted dosing and automated dosing, monitoring system 2404 can be configured to monitor water 2412 more frequently during dosing, such as to ensure that dosing is proceeding correctly. For example, with automated dosing, monitoring unit 2440 can switch to an “enhanced monitoring” mode in which the monitoring unit monitors continually for a predetermined period at short intervals once it has sent automated dosing instructions 2428 to doser 2408. The period that monitoring unit 2440 performs enhanced monitoring can be determined as a function of the type of additive(s) being added and/or the amount of the additive(s) being added. The enhanced monitoring period can extend for a predetermined amount of time beyond dispensing as may be required for the water quality parameters of water 2412 to rebalance, settle, etc. following dosing. In addition, the particular chemical indicator(s) and/or other sensing (e.g., temperature sensing, conductivity sensing, etc.) that is performed during enhanced monitoring can be tailored to the particular additive(s) being added. For example, if only a particular additive is being added for a particular dosing, only one or more chemical indicators and/or other specific sensing needed to be done during the enhanced monitoring.
Enhanced monitoring during dosing can be performed completely in lieu of normal routine monitoring, i.e., routine monitoring is not performed, or the enhanced monitoring can be performed in addition to normal routine monitoring. If enhanced monitoring detects an abnormality, such as the wrong additive being dispensed, too much additive being dispensed, the additive being dispensed too quickly, or the additive not causing any change (perhaps indicating that the corresponding additive reservoir is empty or a hose is plugged, etc.), among others, monitoring system 2404 can, for example, take any necessary corrective measure (including dispensing an “antidote” additive, stopping dispensing, running diagnostics, etc.) and/or issue one or more suitable alerts to the user, among other things. In the case of assisted dosing, the user can signal monitoring system 2404 that it has begun dispensing using one or more suitable controls. For example, if assisted dosing instructions 2468 are being displayed on a smartphone (e.g., computing device 2448) and the instruction are, for example, being displayed using a software application, or “app,” 2472 for interfacing with monitoring system 2404, then the app may display on a GUI 2476 on the smartphone a soft button 2480 or other control labeled “Dispensing Started”, or the like. By user 2464 activating button 2480, monitoring system 2404 is notified to start operating in the enhanced monitoring mode. Depending on the type of additive being used and its effect(s) on water 2412, additional user interaction can be provided to GUI 2476. For example, GUI 2476 can be provided with a soft button 2480 or other control that user 2464 is instructed to actuate each time she/he has dispensed a certain amount of the additive into water 2412.
In order for dosing calculator 2436 to properly determine dosing instructions, for example, either automated dosing instructions 2428 or assisted dosing instructions 2468, or both, it may need to know one or more pieces of information about aquarium setup 2400 and about the additives being added. Examples of information that dosing calculator 2436 may need to know about aquarium setup 2400 includes the volume of water 2412 in the setup, the type of the water (e.g., fresh, brackish, salt, etc.), and the one or more species of aquatic life (e.g., fish, coral, plants, etc.) that aquarium 2420 is supporting, the number of each species, the approximate mass of any coral, other environmental information, and any combination thereof. Examples of information that dosing calculator 2436 may need to know about each additive include, but are not limited to, the form (e.g., powder, liquid, gel, etc.), a concentration of the additive, the chemistry of the additive, other additive data, and any combination thereof. In lieu of, or in supplement or complement to, providing information of this type, user 2464 may input into monitoring system 2404 brand and product identification information in any one or more of a number of ways, such as by keying in the information, making a selection from a list of choices, and scanning a product code (e.g., bar code, QR code etc.), among others. If a mechanical doser, such as doser 2408, is used either manually or especially automatically, dosing calculator 2436 may also need to know information about the doser, such as its dosing instruction set and other dosing parameters. Depending on the implementation of aquarium setup 2400, doser information can be provided to dosing calculator 2436 in any of a number of ways, including keyed entry, product code scanning, make and model selection from lists, data transfer via a network, etc. Those skilled in the art will understand the information that dosing calculator 2436 needs to provide proper dosing instructions, such as automated dosing instructions 2428 and assisted dosing instructions 2468.
Robustness Features
With the foregoing examples and operating principles in mind, following are a number of features that can be provided as desired to a water quality monitoring/measuring system/units, including any of the systems and units described in this disclosure and that would be evident in view of such description. These features can be broadly termed “robustness features” in that they enhance the robustness of the systems/monitors to which they are added. These robustness features include features for reducing the effect of bad measurements due to: 1) contamination of a chemical indicator; 2) aging of a chemical indicator; and 3) when a magnetically coupled chemical indicator apparatus is used, friction between the chemical indicator apparatus and the receiver on which the indicator is mounted. The robustness features also include protecting against overdosing and protecting against dosing too quickly (e.g., to protect certain species of life supported by a particular aquatic environment being monitored, to prevent precipitation or other chemical reaction, etc.). Each of these robustness features is described in this section. It is noted that each of these features need not necessarily be implemented in conjunction with any particular system or component of the present disclosure, but rather can be implemented separately so as to include only the necessary supporting features and elements.
Multi-Reading Fault Detection/Handling
Detection and/or handling of faults caused, for example, by one or more bad regions on a chemical indicator (such as a region where an indicator dye is lacking, damaged, or occluded by contamination) can be handled by acquiring multiple readings from a single chemical indicator. An example of a multi-reading fault detection/handling scheme is described in this section in connection with
As used in the following example, illumination for measurements (e.g., fluorescence readings and absorbance readings) are each referred to as “measurement illumination” as these illuminations are for taking measurements based on the chemical activity of the chemical dye(s) within chemical indicator 2500 in response to one or more constituent(s) of the water that the chemical indicator is designed for. On the other hand, illumination for determining the presence of contamination and/or other optical interferents (e.g., particulates in water) and conditions (e.g., improper distance between a reader and a chemical indicator being read) that affect indicator measurements (e.g., using reflectance readings) is referred to as “reference illumination,” as this illumination is used as a reference to detect the presence of, for example, 1) any one or more contaminants on and/or in chemical indicator 2500 that may interfere with the fluorescence and/or absorbance of the chemical indicator, 2) an matter in the water located between a measurement reader and the chemical indicator that may affect the measurements being taken by the reader, and 3) any deviation of distance between a reader and the chemical indicator that may affect the measurements being taken by the reader, and any combination thereof. Examples of contaminants include, but are not limited to, surface contaminants such as algae and particulates, as well as physical defects/damage to chemical indicator 2500 itself, such as scratches and gouges. It has been found that many types of these and other contaminants tend to interfere with the reflectivity of a chemical indicator. Consequently, reflectivity readings and data taken from across a chemical indicator, such as chemical indicator 2500 can reveal where contamination may be present. Knowing this, and the fact that fluorescence and/or absorbance measurements taken at locations where contaminants are present, can allow a monitoring system/unit to determine whether or not a particular measurement reading is a trusted reading (i.e., one taken where contamination is likely not present as determined from the reference illumination and reading) or not a trusted reading (i.e., one taken where contamination is likely present). The monitoring system/unit can then be programmed to, for example, discard or treat with a lower weighting each non-trusted reading. In addition, taking multiple ones of each type of measurement reading on a single chemical indicator provides the ability to use statistics, such as averaging, to gain confidence in the measurements. Particular sets of these readings having particular usefulness are described below.
In addition to using averaging and/or trusted reading techniques on the measurement illumination spots, similar techniques can be used for the reference illumination spots. For example, an algorithm can be used to sort readings from each chemical indicator and pick the most common values. When the reading being taken from a reference illumination spot is based on reflectivity, contamination on the chemical indicator could cause more or less reflection. For example, calcium carbonate might start to leave a white film on a chemical indicator, which would cause the reflected light to be more intense. Regardless of whether the contamination causes a brighter or dimmer reflection, in one example only the most closely matched N readings are used for averaging and determining the measurement, and the remaining readings are discarded as being unreliable.
In one example of a multi-reading scheme, four light sources (not shown) are used to illuminate four corresponding spots 2512(1) to 2512(4), with spots 2512(1) and 2512(2) consisting of one or more wavelengths that are not involved with fluorescence excitation and absorbance relative to chemical indicator 2500. Illumination spots 2512(1) and 2512(2) are for reference illumination. Spots 2512(3) and 2512(4), on the other hand, are for measurement illumination. Both spots 2512(3) and 2512(4) can be of the same or differing wavelengths (or wavelength bands) depending on the makeup of the relevant dye(s) within chemical indicator 2500. In one example, both spots 2512(3) and 2512(4) are for exciting the same fluorescence and contain the same excitation wavelength(s). This effectively allows the number of measurement readings on chemical indicator 2500 to be doubled. In another example, one of spots 2512(3) and 2512(4) is for an absorbance measurement and the other spot is for a fluorescence measurement. In a further example, one of spots 2512(3) and 2512(4) is for a first fluorescence measurement at one excitation wavelength and the other spot is for a second fluorescence measurement at a second excitation wavelength. In a still further example, one of spots 2512(3) and 2512(4) is for an absorbance measurement at a first absorbance wavelength and the other spot is for an absorbance measurement at a second absorbance wavelength. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate the wide variety of scenarios that are possible depending on the makeup of a particular chemical indicator and the optical phenomenon(a) being measured. Of course, more or fewer spots of illumination can be used as desired to suit a particular use. In an example, spots 2512(1) to 2512(4) are typically illuminated at differing times so that the light from one does not interfere with readings for another.
In one exemplary implementation and with continuing reference to
It is noted that in some embodiments it is desirable to keep the illumination spots in the pattern of spots at issue, such as measurement and reference illumination spots 2512(1) to 2512(4) in the four-spot pattern illustrated, from overlapping one another. This not only allows the measurement locations on a given chemical indicator to be discrete and independent, but it also assists in reducing photo-aging of the chemical indicator, especially if it is one that is highly susceptible to photo aging. As those skilled in the art will understand, many fluorescent and absorptive dyes that can be used in a chemical indicator of the present disclosure undergo photo-aging, i.e., they become less responsive with increasing amounts of light exposure. Keeping the individual spots in a given pattern, such as the four-spot pattern of
As can be readily appreciated, a monitoring system/unit can utilize the multi-reading, iterative stepping process illustrated with respect to
Referring back to
Fluorescence Reading Contamination Compensation
In one exemplary aspect, with fluorescence, it is believed that most naturally occurring contamination/interference on the surface of a chemical indicator will reduce fluorescence, not increase it. Using corresponding reference illumination and measurement illumination spots, such as contamination and measurement spots 2516(1) and 2512(1) of
Ambient Light Compensation
Light from sources other than reader can interfere with the reading process. For example, ambient light from outside a monitoring system, such as light from aquarium lighting, room lighting, the sun, etc., can reach the detector, such as detector 2632 of
Chemical Indicator Spacing Compensation
As described above, a combined I/LC of the present disclosure can be designed and configured to enable the corresponding light detector(s) to detect nearly the same amount of light from a target over a relatively wide range of variation in the position of the target relative to the light source(s) and detector. However, in some cases, such as to further enhance the accuracy of readings of such as combined I/LC or wherein such a forgiving arrangement of light source(s) and detector(s) is not available, it is useful to collect target position information and use this information to adjust detector readings accordingly. In one example, in monitoring unit, such as monitoring unit 2202 of
The reason that conductivity measurement electrodes, such as electrodes 2236 of
Chemical Indicator Age Compensation
As mentioned in the previous section, aging of a chemical indicator can be a design issue that needs to be considered, for example, for reliability of measurements taken over time as the chemical indicator ages from continual illumination for measurements and/or contamination determination and, in some cases, from ambient light, and from time-aging of indicator dyes themselves. As a chemical indicator ages, the intensity of its response to excitation (fluorescence) or its absorbency, or both, diminishes, and the corresponding diminished readings need to be distinguished from lower readings that are due to changes in the water the chemical indicator is being used to measure. For example, if a monitoring system/unit interprets a low reading as indicating that the level of a particular constituent of the water is below a predetermined threshold, then the monitoring system/unit might recommend that a certain additive be added to the water to bring the level of that constituent back up into tolerance. However, if that low reading was in fact due to aging of the chemical indicator rather than the level of the constituent being low, then the instruction to dose the water with an additive could easily result in the addition of the additive causing the constituent level to be too high. Consequently, it can be seen that tracking and factoring chemical indicator aging into any measurement data and/or dosing instructions generated by a monitoring system/unit can be an important aspect of ensuring dosing accuracy and water quality.
To at least partially account for photo-aging, a measurement/monitoring system/unit of the present disclosure can be configured to track the amount of light to which each region of a chemical indicator is exposed over the life of the chemical indicator. For example,
When chemical indicator disc 2808 is first used and it is engaged with monitoring unit 2804, monitoring unit 2804 causes RFID reader/writer 2824 to read unique ID 2828, which the monitoring unit can store and/or send to software application 2812 for product registration and tracking. As monitoring unit 2804 continually takes measurement and/or contamination detection readings from chemical indicator disc 2808 during use, at certain times, for example, regular intervals, continually, at certain clock times, it can cause RFID reader/writer 2824 to write pertinent exposure data 2836 or updating data, etc., to RFID device 2820 on the disc. Monitoring unit 2804 can alternatively or additionally store such data 2836 internally in a suitable memory 2840 and/or upload the data to a data store 2844 of shared software application 2812 for tracking/redundant tracking. Writing exposure data 2836 to RFID device 2820 on chemical indicator disc 2808 can be useful, for example, if the disc is later used with another monitoring unit that is not in communication with shared software application 2812, among other reasons. Those skilled in the art will readily understand that the physical components used in the example are merely illustrative and that other physical components that provide the same or similar functionality can readily be substituted with no undue experimentation.
With continual tracking of exposure of chemical indicator disc 2808 to light from monitoring unit 2804, which due to its intensity, can typically be considered to be at least the majority of light to which the disc is exposed over time, exposure data 2836 can be compared to known benchmark photo-aging data 2848 determined, for example, in a laboratory for like chemical indicators, and any adjustments to the reading data acquired from the aged chemical indicators 2816 can be made as needed. Such adjustments can be made internally within monitoring unit 2804, by shared software application 2812, or both. A benefit to having adjustments made by shared software application 2812 is that benchmark photo-aging data 2848 can be updated and/or newly added easily at a central location without the need to provide the revised data to each of the monitoring units, such as monitoring unit 2804 and other monitoring units 2852(1) to 2852(N), that utilize the shared software application.
Another way of compensating for aging of a chemical indicator is to use redundant light sources having the same wavelength profiles but that provide differing brightness levels. In this manner, the differing regions of a chemical indicator exposed to the light of differing brightness will photo-age at differing rates. For example,
Similarly, “New x/3” curve 3012 and “Aged x/3” curve 3016 indicate, respectively, the reading intensity over the range of parameter when the chemical indicated is new and aged a certain amount and exposed to measurement illumination of brightness x/3, i.e., illumination that is one-third the brightness of x. A drawback of using light of reduced brightness is that there can be quite a bit more noise than if a higher brightness is used. This noise is seen in curves 3012 and 3016 in the form of the undulations of the curves. However, it can be seen that the reading intensities of both the new and aged readings at reduced brightness x/3 are substantially the same as the intensity of the new readings at brightness x. This information, and knowing benchmark aging profile data for brightness x (such as “Aged x” curve 3008) can be used to make adjustments to the measurement readings over time as the chemical indicator ages. Benefits of using this procedure is that historical light exposure data is not needed and it accounts for light exposure, such as ambient light exposure during use and/or during periods of nonuse, storage, etc. As noted above, these adjustments can be desirable to increase the accuracy of the measurements provided to a user and/or to increase the likelihood that the water being monitored is receiving the proper dosing and is remaining within its target quality tolerances.
Friction Testing
When a chemical indicator apparatus is driven to multiple reading positions using a coupling having significant play, such as a magnetic coupling, friction between the chemical indicator apparatus and the support structure(s) with which it is engaged can be so great that the monitoring system/unit may “believe” it is reading one chemical indicator when it is actually reading another. As an illustration, envision that chemical indicator disc 2500 of
One way that monitoring unit 812 (
Once intensity data has been obtained for readings taken in both the clockwise and counterclockwise direction, such as the data illustrated, respectively, by graphs 3100 and 3200, the data can be compared, for example, using a cross-correlation function that compares the data points at each stepper motor position and finds the differences between them to provide an error for that position. Indeed, the amount of friction, in terms of stepper motor positions, can be determined, for example, by shifting one of curves 3100 and 3200 relative to the other in one-step increments in both directions and calculating the sum of the errors at each stepper motor position. When the two curves are at their position of greatest alignment, the sum of the errors at that stepper motor position will be at a minimum. With due noting of the stepper position offset at which the minimum sum of errors occurs, the collected data can be adjusted accordingly. As can be readily appreciated, where the reading intensities in the two directions are the same or substantially the same at each and every position and the readings are taken very close to one another in time so that differences due to changes in the water parameter being measured can be neglected, then there is little to no friction in the system. This is illustrated by error curve 3300 of
It is noted that if the monitoring system/unit determines that the friction and corresponding lag is excessive, it can take any one or more of a number of actions, such as: 1) attempting to solve the friction problem (e.g., in a disc-based example, by spinning the disc rapidly in one or both directions and performing another friction analysis after such spinning); 2) warning a user that the friction is too great; and 3) instructing a user to remove the chemical indicator apparatus (e.g., disc) from the monitoring system/unit, clean the contacting parts of the chemical indicator apparatus and monitoring system/unit; and 4) instruct a user to replace the chemical indicator apparatus or other part that may be causing the friction. It is noted that these actions may be performed in a certain sequence, such as action 4 being taken only after performing action 1 one or more times and after performing action 3 one or more times, among other sequences.
Dosing Protection/Action Matrix
Over time and for a variety of reasons, the readings/measurements taken by a water quality measuring/monitoring system/unit, such as any of such systems and units described in this disclosure, become less accurate. For example, reading error can be introduced due to any one or more of the following: 1) light output imbalance between “identical” light sources; 2) light source degradation over time; 3) chemical indicator photo-aging; 4) chemical indicator water-aging; 5) chemical indicator water-borne fouling; 6) optical system water-borne fouling; and 7) friction between a chemical indicator apparatus and a measuring/monitoring system/unit, among others. With so many sources of error and with the desire to reasonably ensure that the aquatic environment being measured/monitored is being properly measured/monitored and/or is receiving proper dosing of additives, it is desirable to determine the level of confidence that can be placed on the readings being taken at any point in time. By determining a confidence level, the measuring/monitoring system/unit can then take certain actions (or not) as the confidence level decreases (or uncertainty increases).
As mentioned above, it is desirable to have a certain level of confidence in the measurements/readings that a given measurement/monitoring system/unit is making to inhibit improper dosing of the water in the aquatic environment that is being measured/monitored. Because errors can be cumulative, it can be desirable to calculate an overall dosing confidence value based on the uncertainty levels for multiple error sources. In addition, because some error sources may not be as important to determining an overall dosing confidence value as others, any dosing confidence formula can include weighting. Following is an example of a formula that can be used to calculate a dosing confidence value, C:
C=w1U1+w2U2+w3U3+ . . . +wnUn (1)
As will be readily appreciated, with this formula using the value of uncertainty level 3516 of
Dosing Rate Protection
Depending on the type of aquatic environment at issue, when dosing is needed, there may be limits imposed on how quickly one or more dosing additives should be added to the water. For example, for some species of fish, rapid changes in the pH of the water can cause inflammation of gill membranes. In some cases, the reaction to the rapid change can be so severe that the fish's ability to breathe is severely inhibited and death can result. In another example, if the aquatic environment is a saltwater-based coral environment and the water is at or near its carbonate/calcium saturation point, then adding calcium too quickly to the water can cause the precipitation of calcium carbonate, the effect of which is to undesirably reduce the level of those constituents. In both of these examples, as with many other examples that those skilled in the art will be familiar with or otherwise understand, it is desirable to avoid negative effects by ensuring that dosing is performed at a rate that the negative consequences, such as the gill inflammation in the first example and the calcium carbonate precipitation in the second example, do not occur.
In order to avoid the negative consequences for any particular aquatic environment and dosing situation, a dosing calculator of the present disclosure, such as any of dosing calculators 120 (
For example, GUI 3600 of
Confidence Levels Generally
As discussed above, a confidence level in one or more measurements by a measurement/monitoring system/unit may be influenced by one or more errors (i.e., adverse conditions) in aquatic environment monitoring and/or dosing system. Examples of adverse conditions that may influence a confidence level in one or more measurements include, but are not limited to, of a degradation in a chemical indicator due to photo-aging, a degradation in a chemical indicator due to water-aging, a physical contamination of a chemical indicator, an illumination imbalance related to an optical reader, a degradation of a light source of an optical reader, a physical contamination in water between an optical reader and a chemical indicator, a displacement due to friction between a chemical indicator apparatus and a monitoring unit, an error intrinsic in a chemical indicator, an error in distance between a chemical indicator apparatus and an optical reader, and any combinations thereof. In one exemplary aspect, one or more measured values for one or more errors/conditions can be used to determine a confidence level for a measurement taken from a chemical indicator. Different ways to measure error/conditions are discussed throughout the current disclosure. In one example, a determination of a confidence level and/or generation of instructions for correcting the condition (e.g., automatically acting to correct the condition using one of the components of a aquatic environment monitoring/dosing system according to the current disclosure, alerting a user to the condition, such that the user may act to correct the condition, discarding data, etc.) can be executed by a dosing calculator or other component of an aquatic environment monitoring and/or dosing system.
In certain examples, when a value of a confidence level exceeds a threshold (e.g., a threshold stored in a memory associated with an aquatic environment monitoring and/or dosing system as discussed herein) or moves to a position of interest, a confidence adjustment can be generated (e.g., by a dosing calculator or other processing component of a system). A confidence adjustment can be used to instruct an action. Example actions include, but are not limited to, actions by a monitor device, actions by a dosing device, actions by another component of the system, actions by a user of the system, and any combinations thereof. Additionally, an action or an instruction to take an action related to correcting a condition of a component of the system can occur to correct one or more of the errors/adverse conditions discussed herein. For example, a measured value for a constituent of an aquatic environment (e.g., calcium, magnesium, pH, carbonate, etc.) may be modified based on a confidence value. Other examples include, but are not limited to, providing an alert or other instruction to a user (e.g., via a graphical user interface), automatically addressing an adverse condition, changing a rate of dosing, providing a modified assisted dosing instruction, and any combinations thereof.
Several ways of utilizing a confidence level are discussed above (e.g., with respect to an action matrix, such as the action matrix shown in
The lower confidence plot also shows a sloping dotted line 3735 illustrating the decreasing confidence in measurements over time (e.g., due to known photo aging, aging of a chemical indicator due to water exposure, etc.). Thus, in this example, confidence values decrease with variations in the range of pH values and also decrease steadily over time. Due in part to the decreasing confidence over time, the likelihood of exceeding the threshold line 3730 increases with time in this example.
Confidence levels may also be influenced by measured data that changes rapidly over time. A rapid change surrounded by steady data values can be indicative of a sudden change in environment, such as may be caused by a contaminant or other error condition in the monitoring system.
Exemplary Enhancing Features and Alternatives
This section presents various features that can enhance any of the systems and/or components thereof, as well as alternatives to various parts of one or more of those systems and components. It is noted that each of the features and alternatives described herein need not necessarily be implemented in conjunction with any particular system or component of the present disclosure, but rather can be implemented separately so as to include only the necessary supporting features and elements.
Linear Combined I/LC and Line Camera
In one example, the light source(s) corresponding to spot lensing 3804(1) can be of one wavelength and the light source(s) corresponding to spot lensing 3804(2) can be of another wavelength. This would allow for the use of a ratio or reference wavelength, as discussed above in the context of reference illumination relative to
Apparatus for Ambient Light Analysis
In one embodiment using monitoring unit 812 of
Stationary Magnetic Element Disc Drive
Cylindrical Chemical Indicator Apparatus and Monitoring/Measuring Therefor
Chemical Indicator Apparatuses Having Replaceable Elements
Each of the chemical indicator apparatuses shown in the drawings up to this point of the disclosure suggest that the chemical indicators on each of those apparatuses are fixed. Thus, even if only one or fewer than all of the chemical indicators on a particular apparatus have aged to the point that they should no longer be used, a user's only option to restore reading accuracy and reliability to overcome this aging is to replace the entire apparatus. However, in some cases it would be desirable to have chemical indicator apparatuses wherein the chemical indicators can be individually replaced and/or replaced in groups for any of a variety of reasons. In addition to being able to use slower-aging chemical indicators for longer periods of time before replacement, providing chemical indicator apparatuses with replaceable chemical indicators allows, for example, for the replacement of damaged indicators (such as an indicator that is accidentally scratched while being handled) and for modifying a particular apparatus for reading a different set of water parameters than the apparatus was previously set up for.
In the example shown, element 4104 includes three chemical indicators 4144(1) to 4144(3) that can be of the same type or of differing types. Depending on the motivation for elementizing chemical indicator apparatus 4100 (e.g., for differing aging characteristics, adaption for differing water chemistries, etc.), the grouping of chemical indicators 4144(1) to 4144(3) can be selected accordingly. It is noted that while three chemical indicators 4144(1) to 4144(3) are shown, each element, including element 4104, can have more or fewer chemical indicators and also/alternatively have one or more other features, such as one or more cleaning elements, one or more optical filters, one or more information containing devices, such as RFID tag 4148, one or more indexing markings, such as optical markings 4152(1) to 4152(3), etc. In this example, at least chemical indicator 4144(2) is read by a corresponding optical reader 4156, which can be any suitable optical measuring reader, such as any one of the optical readers described above. Optical indexing markings 4152(1) to 4152(3) are read by a corresponding optical indexing reader 4160. Of course, other replaceable elements need not include any of these additional features, depending on the application at issue. Of course, chemical indicator apparatus 4100 is merely illustrative of the many apparatuses that can be composed in an elementized fashion.
In the view of
Control of Flora and/or Fauna Growth Rates
In this example, setup 4300 includes a monitoring system 4320, which can be any one of the monitoring systems described herein or similar system utilizing one or more of the disclosed features. Setup also includes an auto-doser 4324 and a dosing calculator 4328 that generates dosing instructions 4332 based on water-quality measurements 4336 acquired via monitoring system 4320 and programmed-in parameters 4340 specific to aquatic environment 4304, such as water type, fish species, water volume, coral species, plant species, etc. In operative communication with dosing calculator 4328 is a growth controller 4344, which in this example allows user to select the amount of growth that the user would like the coral (life form 4308) to experience. As those skilled in the art will readily understand, the growth rate of coral is affected by calcium and alkalinity relative to the saturation limit of water 4316. If calcium and alkalinity are kept a small amount below the saturation limit, the growth rate will be the fastest. However, if the free calcium (Ca2+) is around 400 parts per million (ppm), the “growth” will be more of maintenance of the current growth rate. If the free calcium goes below about 400 ppm, for example, then the coral (life form 4308) “growth” will be negative, i.e., the amount of coral will shrink. Growth controller 4344 allows the user to select the rate of coral growth desired and then modifies the dosing calculations that dosing calculator 4328 performs for the relevant parameter and additives. For example, if the user selects a fast growth rate, growth controller 4344 would cause dosing calculator 4328 to base its dosing calculations for calcium and alkalinity so that they remain close to the saturation point. In contrast, if the user selects a low or negative growth rate, growth controller 4344 would cause dosing calculator 4328 to base its relevant calculations on keeping the free calcium around or below 400 ppm.
To assist a user in setting a desired growth rate, growth controller 4344 may include a suitable UI 4348 that includes one or more controls 4352 that allow the user to select a desired coral growth rate. The one or more controls 4352 can take any of a wide variety of forms. For example, when UI 4348 is a GUI implemented in software, such as mobile computing device app 4356, the one or more controls 4352 can be one or more soft controls, such as a slider 4360 that can be positioned adjacent the desired one of “Reduce”, “Maintain”, “Slow Growth”, and “Maximum Growth”. Alternatively, for example, slider 4360 can be replaced by a set of soft radio buttons (not shown) or a soft dial, among other things. If UI 4348 is hardware based, the one or more controls 4352 could be hard controls, such as a physical slider, physical radio buttons, physical dial, etc. As mentioned above, similar features can be implements for plants and/or any other life forms the growth of which can be regulated via controlling the dosing of one or more additives 4312(1) to 4312(N) added to the water 4316 and/or the amount of light provided to aquatic environment 4304.
Social Networking and Targeted Marketing
As described above, some embodiments of the various systems of this disclosure are utilized in a cloud-computing environment. A cloud-computing environment can allow for providing software-based services to multiple subscribers to the services. In the context of the present disclosure, a cloud-computing implementation of water-quality monitoring systems can be configured to allow multiple subscribers, each with one or more water-quality monitoring systems, to become linked with one another, for example, via a social-networking platform. For example and in the context of aquariums, cloud-computing software for providing social networking and/or related services can be configured to receive information about each subscriber's aquarium setup(s), including, but not limited to, any one or more of the following: tank size; water type; fish species; coral species; plant species; dosing additives, and type(s) of tank-support equipment, such as equipment for lighting, heating, filtering, pumping, dosing, etc. In addition, the cloud-computing software can also be configured to receive information from the subscribers' water quality monitoring systems, including, but not limited to, any one or more of the following: aquarium conditions, such as chemical levels, temperature, light readings, pumping status; alarms and/or notifications, such as alarms and/or notifications for out-of-tolerance water-quality conditions, monitoring systems errors and/or confidence levels (e.g., for chemical indicator photo-aging, chemical indicator water aging, indicator wheel friction, optics fouling, etc.; and dosing instructions, among others.
Using the forgoing and/or other information known to the cloud-computing software for multiple subscribers, the software can be configured to provide the subscribers with any one or more of a variety of useful functionalities. For example, the software may automatedly group subscribers into one or more social groups based on any one or more of pieces of information that the software knows, such as any one or more of the pieces of information known about the subscribers' setup and/or any one or more of the pieces of information known from the subscribers' monitoring systems. As examples of automated grouping, the software may automatedly assign subscribers to the one or more relevant groups or automatedly notify subscribers of the relevant group(s) they may want to join. Examples of social groups include groups based on water type (e.g., brackish, saltwater, freshwater), groups based on species (e.g., coral, fish, plants, etc.), groups based on problems with setup (e.g., problems with maintaining calcium levels, problems with maintaining pH levels, problems with excess algae growth, problems with their monitoring systems, etc.) among many others. With such social grouping, subscribers that share one or more commonalities relating to their aquarium setups can also share their problems and their resolutions to those problems, share their dosing regimes, as well as other information, such as sharing photos, videos, and stories concerning their setups with others that may be interested because of the shared commonalities. In addition, when a subscriber to the cloud computing software wishes to chat with other subscribers of the online aquarium community, the software can be configured to automatedly permit sharing of data, trends, fish species, etc., to enable other subscribers to understand the setup, problems, and/or successes of other users. In essence, such cloud-computing software marries physical data collection and diagnostics to social networking.
Regarding targeted marketing, any networked implementation of a monitoring system of the present disclosure can include a targeted-marketing feature that sends relevant advertising to a subscriber as a function of information known about that subscriber's system, such as any one or more of the pieces of information noted above relative to the social networking features. In one example, if a problem or alert condition happens and a subscriber receives a notification via a smartphone or other method, they can also be target marketed for a solution to the issue they have. For instance, if the subscriber's carbonate hardness is too low, the cloud application can suggest commercial additives that might correct their water issues. The manufacturers of these additives can bid on marketing space for specific product suggestions to end users of the system.
Exemplary Installations
As mentioned above, a monitoring/measuring system/unit of the present disclosure can be used in a wide variety of applications. Following are some exemplary installations of monitoring/measuring systems/units to illustrate the variety of differing applications and number of ways the various components of such systems/units can be configured to suit a particular application. Of course, the following installations are merely illustrative and, therefore, should not be taken as limiting the number and type of installation and system/unit configurations.
Plumbed-In System
Standard Aquarium Sump Setup
Various figures already described illustrate monitoring and/or dosing systems deployed in the context of aquariums. For example,
Customized Aquarium Setup
The “custom” features also include one or more combined I/LCs, here two combined I/LCs 4644(1) and 4644(2) that extend through corresponding respective openings 4648(1) and 4648(2) in wall 4628. Each combined I/LC 4644(1) and I/LC 46(2) is engaged with the corresponding opening 4648(1) and 4648(2) so that a watertight seal is created to keep water 4616 from entering recess 4624. Though not shown, other features can be provided through wall 4628, such as conductivity electrodes described elsewhere herein. It is noted that in other embodiments, the sealing member(s) can be of a different type. For example, the sealing member can be an insert (not shown) that contains combined I/LCs 4644(1) and 4644(2) and that itself is sealingly inserted into an opening in wall 4628 within recess 4624. In the example shown, chemical indicator disc 4612 is rotatably engaged with a suitable receiver 4652 that is fixedly secured to wall 4628 and is driven by a magnetic coupling, for example, like either of the magnetic couplings illustrated in
Hidden Aquarium Monitoring System Setup
Non-Aquarium Closed-Loop Systems
While the foregoing setups focus on aquarium setups, monitoring and/or dosing systems of the present disclosure can be implemented in virtually any aquatic environment having a closed-loop circulation system. For example,
In the embodiment shown, closed-loop setup 4804 optionally includes a dosing calculator 4828, which depending on how additives are dosed to water 4808 when needed, can generate automated dosing instructions 4832, assisted dosing instructions 4836, or both types of instructions. In this example, setup 4804 optionally includes an automated dosing system 4840 designed and configured to add one or more additives to water 4808 according to automated dosing instructions 4832. Depending on how many additives are needed to maintain the quality of water 4808 and how many of those additives auto-dosing system 4840 can dispense, the dosing of the water can be complemented, or not, by dosing performed manually either by hand or a manually controlled doser (not shown) based on assisted dosing instructions 4936. Various examples of automated dosing and assisted dosing instructions suitable for implementation as automated dosing instructions 4832 and assisted dosing instructions 4836 are described above. In addition, various ways in which dosing calculator 4828 can function and receive the various information needed for determining and generating automated dosing instructions 4832 and/or assisted dosing instructions 4836 are described above. All of the aspects and features described above relative to dosing calculators, automated dosing instructions, and assisted dosing instructions can be applied to dosing calculator 4828, automated dosing instructions 4832, and assisted dosing instructions 4836 of
Open-Loop Systems
While the foregoing setups largely focus on closed-loop setups, monitoring/measuring and/or dosing systems of the present disclosure can be implemented in virtually any aquatic environment having an open-loop circulation system. For example,
In the embodiment shown, open-loop setup 4904 optionally includes a dosing calculator 4920, which depending on how additives are dosed to water 4908 when needed, can generate automated dosing instructions 4924, assisted dosing instructions 4928, or both types of instructions. In this example, setup 4804 optionally includes an automated dosing system 4932 designed and configured to add one or more additives to water 4808 according to automated dosing instructions 4924. Depending on how many additives are needed to maintain the quality of water 4908 and how many of those additives auto-dosing system 4932 can dispense, the dosing of the water can be complemented, or not, by dosing performed manually either by hand or a manually controlled doser (not shown) based on assisted dosing instructions 4928. Various examples of automated dosing and assisted dosing instructions suitable for implementation as automated dosing instructions 4924 and assisted dosing instructions 4928 are described above. In addition, various ways in which dosing calculator 4920 can function and receive the various information needed for determining and generating automated dosing instructions 4924 and/or assisted dosing instructions 4928 are described above. All of the aspects and features described above relative to dosing calculators, automated dosing instructions, and assisted dosing instructions can be applied to dosing calculator 4920, automated dosing instructions 4924, and assisted dosing instructions 4928 of
It is to be noted that the aspects and embodiments described herein may be conveniently implemented using one or more machines (e.g., one or more computing devices/computer systems that are part of an aquatic environment monitoring and/or dosing system) including hardware and special programming according to the teachings of the present specification, as will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the computer art. Appropriate software coding can readily be prepared by skilled programmers based on the teachings of the present disclosure, as will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the software art.
Such software may be a computer program product that employs a machine-readable hardware storage medium. A machine-readable storage medium may be any medium that is capable of storing and/or encoding a sequence of instructions for execution by a machine (e.g., a computing device) and that causes the machine to perform any one of the methodologies and/or embodiments described herein. Examples of a machine-readable hardware storage medium include, but are not limited to, a magnetic disk (e.g., a conventional floppy disk, a hard drive disk), an optical disk (e.g., a compact disk “CD”, such as a readable, writeable, and/or re-writable CD; a digital video disk “DVD”, such as a readable, writeable, and/or rewritable DVD), a magneto-optical disk, a read-only memory “ROM” device, a random access memory “RAM” device, a magnetic card, an optical card, a solid-state memory device (e.g., a flash memory), an EPROM, an EEPROM, and any combinations thereof. A machine-readable medium, as used herein, is intended to include a single medium as well as a collection of physically separate media, such as, for example, a collection of compact disks or one or more hard disk drives in combination with a computer memory. As used herein, a machine-readable storage medium does not include a signal.
Such software may also include information (e.g., data) carried as a data signal on a data carrier, such as a carrier wave. Such a data signal or carrier wave would not be considered a machine-readable hardware storage medium. For example, machine-executable information may be included as a data-carrying signal embodied in a data carrier in which the signal encodes a sequence of instruction, or portion thereof, for execution by a machine (e.g., a computing device) and any related information (e.g., data structures and data) that causes the machine to perform any one of the methodologies and/or embodiments described herein.
Examples of a computing device include, but are not limited to, a computer workstation, a terminal computer, a server computer, a handheld device (e.g., tablet computer, a personal digital assistant “PDA”, a mobile telephone, etc.), a web appliance, a network router, a network switch, a network bridge, any machine capable of executing a sequence of instructions that specify an action to be taken by that machine, and any combinations thereof. In one example, a computing device may include and/or be included in, a kiosk. In another example, a dosing calculator (as discussed herein) may be associated with (e.g., be part of, be connected to, be included in, etc.) a computing device or any part thereof.
Computing system 5000 can also include a memory 5008 that communicates with the one or more processors 5004, and with other components, for example, via a bus 5012. Bus 5012 may include any of several types of bus structures including, but not limited to, a memory bus, a memory controller, a peripheral bus, a local bus, and any combinations thereof, using any of a variety of bus architectures.
Memory 5008 may include various components (e.g., machine-readable hardware storage media) including, but not limited to, a random access memory component (e.g., a static RAM “SRAM”, a dynamic RAM “DRAM”, etc.), a read only component, and any combinations thereof. In one example, a basic input/output system 5016 (BIOS), including basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within computing system 5000, such as during start-up, may be stored in memory 5008. Memory 5008 may also include (e.g., stored on one or more machine-readable hardware storage media) instructions (e.g., software) 5020 embodying any one or more of the aspects and/or methodologies of the present disclosure. In another example, memory 5008 may further include any number of program modules including, but not limited to, an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, program data, and any combinations thereof
Computing system 5000 may also include a storage device 5024, such as, but not limited to, the machine readable hardware storage medium described above. Storage device 5024 may be connected to bus 5012 by an appropriate interface (not shown). Example interfaces include, but are not limited to, SCSI, advanced technology attachment (ATA), serial ATA, universal serial bus (USB), IEEE 1394 (FIREWIRE), and any combinations thereof. In one example, storage device 5024 (or one or more components thereof) may be removably interfaced with computing system 5000 (e.g., via an external port connector (not shown)). Particularly, storage device 5024 and an associated machine-readable medium 5028 may provide nonvolatile and/or volatile storage of machine-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, and/or other data for computing system 5000. In one example, software instructions 5020 may reside, completely or partially, within machine-readable hardware storage medium 5028. In another example, software instructions 5020 may reside, completely or partially, within processors 5004.
Computing system 5000 may also include an input device 5032. In one example, a user of computing system 5000 may enter commands and/or other information into computing system 5000 via one or more input devices 5032. Examples of an input device 5032 include, but are not limited to, an alpha-numeric input device (e.g., a keyboard), a pointing device, a joystick, a gamepad, an audio input device (e.g., a microphone, a voice response system, etc.), a cursor control device (e.g., a mouse), a touchpad, an optical scanner, a video capture device (e.g., a still camera, a video camera), touch screen, and any combinations thereof. Input device(s) 5032 may be interfaced to bus 5012 via any of a variety of interfaces (not shown) including, but not limited to, a serial interface, a parallel interface, a game port, a USB interface, a FIREWIRE interface, a direct interface to bus 5012, and any combinations thereof. Input device(s) 5032 may include a touch screen interface that may be a part of or separate from display(s) 5036, discussed further below. Input device(s) 5032 may be utilized as a user selection device for selecting one or more graphical representations in a graphical interface as described above.
A user may also input commands and/or other information to computing system 5000 via storage device 5024 (e.g., a removable disk drive, a flash drive, etc.) and/or network interface device(s) 5040. A network interface device, such as any one of network interface device(s) 5040 may be utilized for connecting computing system 5000 to one or more of a variety of networks, such as network 5044, and one or more remote devices 5048 connected thereto. Examples of a network interface device include, but are not limited to, a network interface card (e.g., a mobile network interface card, a LAN card), a modem, and any combination thereof. Examples of a network include, but are not limited to, a wide area network (e.g., the Internet, an enterprise network), a local area network, a telephone network, a data network associated with a telephone/voice provider, a direct connection between two computing devices, and any combinations thereof. A network, such as network 5044, may employ a wired and/or a wireless mode of communication. In general, any network topology may be used. Information (e.g., data, software instructions 5020, etc.) may be communicated to and/or from computing system 5000 via network interface device(s) 5040.
Computing system 5000 may further include one or more video display adapter 5052 for communicating a displayable image to one or more display devices, such as display device(s) 5036. Examples of a display device include, but are not limited to, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a cathode ray tube (CRT), a plasma display, a light emitting diode (LED) display, and any combinations thereof. Display adapter(s) 5052 and display device(s) 5036 may be utilized in combination with processor(s) 5004 to provide a graphical representation of a utility resource, a location of a land parcel, and/or a location of an easement to a user. In addition to a display device, computing system 5000 may include one or more other peripheral output devices including, but not limited to, an audio speaker, a printer, and any combinations thereof. Such peripheral output devices may be connected to bus 5012 via a peripheral interface 5056. Examples of a peripheral interface include, but are not limited to, a serial port, a USB connection, a FIREWIRE connection, a parallel connection, and any combinations thereof.
General Disclosure Aspects
The systems, methods, apparatuses, software, etc. of the present invention have been exemplified by various exemplary embodiments and implementations as shown in the accompanying drawings and as described above. However, it should be understood that the discrete presentation of these embodiments and implementations should not be construed as requiring that: 1) these embodiments and implementations stand in isolation from one another; 2) that individual components, features, aspects, and/or functionalities described relative to each one of the embodiments and implementations cannot be used independently of the corresponding embodiment or implementation; and 3) that individual components, features, aspects, and/or functionalities described cannot be used individually in connection with other embodiments and implementations, either described herein or derivable therefrom, alone and/or in any combination with one another. On the contrary, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the individual components, features, aspects, and functionalities of a particular embodiment or implementation can, as appropriate under the circumstances, be utilized alone and in any subcombination with other components, features, aspects, and/or functionalities of that particular embodiment or implementation and with any other embodiment or implementation, including the specific examples described herein in connection with
For example, it is noted that some implementations described above include a monitoring system, a dosing calculator, and a dosing system. However, in alternative embodiments of those implementations, only one or only two of the three components may be present. For example, some implementations may include only a monitoring system, other implementations may include only a dosing calculator, still other implementations may include only a dosing system, further implementations may include a monitoring system and a dosing calculator, still further implementations may include a dosing calculator and a dosing system, and yet still further implementations may include a monitoring system and a dosing system.
In other examples, specific components, features, aspects, and functionalities of chemical indicator apparatuses, such as shape of the holder, presence or absence of one or more cleaning elements, type of chemical indicator(s), number of indicators, presence or absence of one or more water passages, presence or absence of one or more water filters, presence or absence of one or more light filters, presence or absence of a temperature sensor, presence or absence of one or more information storage devices, presence or absence of one or more position indicators, arrangement of indicator(s), etc., can be used on any chemical indicator apparatus that fall within the scope of the present disclosure, individually, or together within one another in any suitable combination or subcombination. In addition, any resulting chemical indicator apparatus made accordingly can be used with any suitably configured monitoring system that fall within the scope of the present disclosure, such as any one of the monitoring systems specifically illustrated in the accompanying figures and/or described above.
Similarly, any one or more of the robustness features, aspects, and functionalities described above, such as multi-read fault detection, fluorescent-reading contamination compensation, ambient light compensation, chemical indicator age compensation, friction testing, dosing protection, and dosing rate protection, among others, can be used individually and in any combination with one another and/or with any other suitable components, features, aspects, and functionalities, such as the components, features, aspects, and functionalities, described herein with respect to specific embodiments and implementations of non-robustness features, aspects, and functionalities. In addition, the robustness features, aspects, and functionalities can be used with any monitoring system, measuring system, and monitor falling within the scope of the present disclosure, including the specific monitoring systems, measuring systems, and monitors described herein.
Likewise, any one or more of the components, features, aspects, and functionalities of the exemplary enhancements and alternatives described above, such as a linear combined I/LC, an ambient light analysis apparatus, a stationary-magnet magnetic drive, a cylindrical chemical indicator apparatus, individually and group-wise replaceable chemical indicator elements, and growth-rate control, among others, can be used individually and in any combination with one another and/or with any other suitable components, features, aspects, and functionalities, such as the components, features, aspects, and functionalities, described herein with respect to specific embodiments and implementations of monitoring systems, measuring systems, monitors, chemical indicator apparatuses, and dosing calculators falling within the scope of the present disclosure, including the specific monitoring systems, measuring systems, monitors, chemical indicator apparatuses, and dosing calculators described herein.
Furthermore, it is noted that all of the forgoing description of the vastness of inter-combinability, combinations, and subcombinations of the various components, features, aspects, and functionalities of embodiments and implementations that fall within the scope of the present disclosure, including the specific examples of such described herein and illustrated in
Exemplary embodiments have been disclosed above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, omissions and additions may be made to that which is specifically disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The following claims include dependent claims for each independent claim that are shown without multiple dependencies. It is contemplated that each of the dependent claims for a given independent claim could alternatively be multiply dependent from any one or more of the preceding claims for that independent claim.
This application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/713,568, filed on Dec. 13, 2012, entitled “Embedded Indicator Dye Monitoring System and Method for An Aquatic Environment,” which application is a continuation application of International Application No. PCT/US12/69209, filed Dec. 12, 2012, entitled “Aquatic Environment Monitoring and Dosing Systems and Apparatuses, and Methods and Software Relating Thereto,” which application claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/630,450, filed Dec. 12, 2011, entitled “Aquarium Monitor,” each of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20170176339 A1 | Jun 2017 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61630450 | Dec 2011 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 13713568 | Dec 2012 | US |
| Child | 15445453 | US | |
| Parent | PCT/US2012/069209 | Dec 2012 | US |
| Child | 13713568 | US |
