Pump Control Devices, Applications and Systems

Abstract

The present invention relates to the modulation of the flow rate of a body of water pumped through a conduit by a fixed speed pump. Pump control devices may comprise a drive converter to alter the operation of a pump drive driving the fixed speed pump to enable the selection of the speed of the fixed speed pump. The drive converter may be connected to a central processing unit to receive information detected by a flow rate sensor and to receive instructions for altering the operation of the pump drive from a software application. The software application may receive input values from a user and the central processing unit, perform a calculation for adjusting the input values, and display the input and output values resulting from the calculation. The drive converter may alter the operation of the pump drive according to the output values resulting from the calculation.

1 . A pump control device for modulating the flow rate of a body of water pumped through a conduit by a fixed speed pump comprising;
 a drive converter configured to alter the operation of a pump drive driving the fixed speed pump to enable the selection of the speed of the fixed speed pump,   the drive converter operably connected to a central processing unit,   the central processing unit adapted to receive information detected by a flow rate sensor and to receive instructions for altering the operation of the pump drive from a software application,   the software application configured to receive input from a user via a graphical user interface and input values from the central processing unit, to perform a calculation for adjusting the input values, and configured to display the input values and output values resulting from the calculation via the graphical user interface,   the software application adapted to display the graphical user interface on a display, and the drive converter adapted to alter the operation of the pump drive according to the output values resulting from the calculation.   
     
     
         2 . A pump control device according to  claim 1 , wherein the drive converter is configured to alter the pump drive waveform thereby altering the operation of a pump drive driving the fixed speed pump. 
     
     
         3 . A pump control device according to  claim 1 , comprising a wireless communication board electrically connected to the central processing unit and configured to transmit data between the central processing unit and the software application. 
     
     
         4 . A pump control device according to  claim 1  adapted to receive a signal from one or more sensors sensing a physical or chemical characteristic of the body of water. 
     
     
         5 . A pump control device according to  claim 4 , wherein the one or more sensors comprises a flow rate sensor. 
     
     
         6 . A pump control device according to  claim 5 , wherein the flow rate sensor is electrically connected to the central processing unit. 
     
     
         7 . A software application for modulating the flow rate of a body of water pumped through a conduit by a fixed speed pump comprising;
 a graphical user interface configured to receive an input from a user, the input being a selection of one or more variable parameters,   a signal input interface configured to receive one or more signal inputs detected by a flow rate sensor configured to sense the flow rate of the body of water pumped through a conduit by the fixed speed pump,   a computation module configured to process the input from a user and the signal input detected by the flow rate sensor, and configured to calculate an adjustment to the operation of a pump drive driving the fixed speed pump to enable the selection of the speed of the fixed speed pump,   a communication module configured to communicate the adjustment to the pump drive of a pump control device according to any one of  claims 1  to  6 , and   an output display adapted to display the selection of one or more variable parameters, the one or more signal inputs detected by the flow rate sensor and the adjustment to the operation of the pump drive.   
     
     
         8 . A software application according to  claim 7 , wherein the software application is configured to receive signal inputs from more than one sensor and is configured to calculate an adjustment to the operation of a pump drive from the signal inputs from more than one sensor. 
     
     
         9 . A software application according to  claim 7 , wherein the graphical user interface and the output display are comprised within an application component configured to be downloadable to a wireless device accessible to the user, and wherein the application component is in wireless communication with the computation module. 
     
     
         10 . A software application according to  claim 7  wherein;
 the signal input interface is linked with the computation module and is configured to receive signal inputs from the central processing unit of the pump control device, comprising a signal input from a flow rate sensor and one or more signal inputs from other sensors, 
 the computation module is linked with the communication module and is configured to calculate an adjustment to the operation of the pump drive and one or more auxiliary components, and 
 the communication module is configured to transmit instructions for the adjustment to the operation of the pump drive and the one or more auxiliary components to the central processing unit of the pump control device. 
 
     
     
         11 . A software application according to  claim 10 , wherein one or more auxiliary components may be selected from a flow rate sensor, a temperature sensor, a pH sensor, an oxidation-reduction potential sensor, a total alkalinity sensor, a pressure sensor or a turbidity sensor. 
     
     
         12 . A pump control system for modulating the flow rate of a body of water pumped through a conduit by a fixed speed pump comprising;
 a pump control device according to any one of  claims 1  to  6  wherein the central processing unit is adapted to receive information detected by a flow rate sensor and to receive instructions for altering the operation of the pump drive from a software application according to any one of  claims 7  to  11 .   
     
     
         13 . A pump control system according to  claim 12  comprising a flow rate sensor and a display, wherein the display is located on a smart device programmed to display the graphical user interface and the output display, which are programmed by an application component downloaded to the smart device. 
     
     
         14 . A pump control system according to  claim 13  comprising a temperature sensor, a pH sensor, and an oxidation-reduction potential sensor.