Network monitoring and control of fluid handling apparatus

Abstract

Aspects are provided for positive displacement pumps and methods and systems for remotely controlling such positive displacement pumps via a network. An application server receives, from a registered user, a selection of an operation program for the positive displacement pump, the operation program including control commands to control a drive motor of the pump. The application server sends the program to a network hub to publish the control commands to the pump, wherein the pump retrieves the control commands from the network hub. The application server stores a record of the control commands associated with the registered user. The application server receives operation parameters from the pump and stores the operation parameters in association with the registered user. The application server evaluates the operation parameters according to defined conditions. The application server transmits an alert to a registered user, for example.

1 . A positive displacement pump, comprising:
 a pumphead;   a motor operably connected to the pumphead to drive the pump;   a leak sensor configured to detect leakage from the pumphead or tube installed therein;   a memory;   a network interface;   a processor in communication with the memory and the network interface, the processor configured to:
 subscribe, via the network interface, to a command hub that publishes commands for the pump; 
 control the motor to drive the pumphead according to commands received from the command hub via the network interface; 
 collect operation parameters from the motor and the leak sensor; and 
 send the operation parameters to a remote server via the network interface. 
   
     
     
         2 . The positive displacement pump of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to communicate with the command hub using Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) protocol. 
     
     
         3 . The positive displacement pump of  claim 1 , wherein the command hub publishes commands for multiple pumps, and the processor is configured to determine which commands to execute based on an identifier of the positive displacement pump. 
     
     
         4 . The positive displacement pump of  claim 3 , wherein the identifier is a media access control (MAC) address of the positive displacement pump. 
     
     
         5 . The positive displacement pump of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a local user interface, wherein the processor is configured to operate in one of a local mode in which the processor executes commands from the local user interface and a remote mode in which the local user interface is at least partially disabled to prevent local input.   
     
     
         6 . The positive displacement pump of  claim 1 , wherein the leak sensor comprises an electronic mesh that forms a circuit when liquid is present. 
     
     
         7 . The positive displacement pump of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to stop the motor in response to the leak sensor detecting a leak. 
     
     
         8 . The positive displacement pump of  claim 1 , wherein the operation parameters include rotation speed, rotation direction, and number of compressions. 
     
     
         9 . The positive displacement pump of  claim 1 , wherein the pumphead is one of: a peristaltic pumphead, a quaternary diaphragm pumphead, or a gear pumphead. 
     
     
         10 . A method of controlling a positive displacement pump via a network, comprising:
 receiving, from a registered user, a selection of an operation program for the positive displacement pump, the operation program including control commands to control a drive motor of the positive displacement pump;   sending the program to a network hub to publish the control commands to the positive displacement pump, wherein the positive displacement pump retrieves the control commands from the network hub;   storing a record of the control commands associated with the registered user;   receiving operation parameters from the positive displacement pump and storing the operation parameters in association with the registered user;   evaluating the operation parameters according to defined conditions to determine whether an alert condition has occurred; and   transmitting an alert to the registered user or another registered user.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the network hub publishes the control commands using Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT) protocol. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the command hub publishes commands for multiple pumps, each command including an identifier of the positive displacement pump to execute the respective command. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the identifier is a media access control (MAC) address of the positive displacement pump. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the operation parameters include rotation speed, rotation direction, and number of compressions. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein evaluating the operation parameters according to defined conditions comprises:
 comparing a current configuration and the operating parameters of the positive displacement pump to historical failure information for a same or similar model of pump or pump component to predict a likelihood of failure or a component lifetime.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the positive displacement pump is a peristaltic pump and the historical failure information includes an average time to failure or average number of cycles to failure for a tubing used in the current configuration. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein sending the program to the network hub to publish the control commands comprises:
 indicating a time to publish the commands to control the positive displacement pump to operate according to the program.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 generating an audit report including the record of the control commands and associated registered user, the operation parameters from the positive displacement pump, and the alert.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 receiving an indication that a leak has been detected at the positive displacement pump.   
     
     
         20 . A system of controlling a positive displacement pump via a network, comprising:
 a positive displacement pump, comprising:
 a pumphead, a motor operably connected to the pumphead to drive the pump, and a leak sensor configured to detect leakage from the pumphead or tube installed therein; and 
   a server comprising a memory, a network interface, and a processor in communication with the memory and the network interface, the processor configured to:
 receive, from a registered user, a selection of an operation program for the positive displacement pump, the operation program including control commands to control a drive motor of the positive displacement pump; 
 send the program to a network hub to publish the control commands to the positive displacement pump, wherein the positive displacement pump retrieves the control commands from the network hub; 
 store a record of the control commands associated with the registered user; 
 receive operation parameters from the positive displacement pump and storing the operation parameters in association with the registered user; 
 evaluate the operation parameters according to defined conditions to determine whether an alert condition has occurred; and 
 transmit an alert to the registered user or another registered user.