Water level monitoring for multiple water tanks of sewer cleaning vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10436624-B2
Application number	US-201715684689-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 23, 2017
Priority date	Aug 23, 2017
Publication date	Oct 8, 2019
Grant date	Oct 8, 2019

Abstract

A sewer cleaning vehicle includes a monitoring device for detecting a water level in a plurality of water tanks using a sensor engaged with the water tanks. The vehicle can present to an operator the water level together with operational conditions of the vehicle. The vehicle can continuously fill the water tanks based on the water level, and inform the operator of the water tanks having a water level lower than a user-configurable threshold.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A sewer cleaning vehicle comprising:
a plurality of water tanks being in fluid communication with one another and having a single outlet connected to a water pump;
a sensor engaged with the plurality of water tanks and configured to measure a water height in the plurality of water tanks; and
a monitoring device including:
a processing unit configured to calculate a water level in the plurality of water tanks based on the water height; and
a display device configured to display the water level;

wherein the sensor includes a pressure sensor.

2. The sewer cleaning vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the processing unit is configured to:
obtain a lookup table for the plurality of water tanks; and
calculate the water level based on the lookup table and the water height.

3. The sewer cleaning vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the water level is represented as a single value.

4. The sewer cleaning vehicle of claim 3 , wherein the single value is a percent value.

5. The sewer cleaning vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the water level is displayed in the display device along with operational conditions of the vehicle.

6. The sewer cleaning vehicle of claim 1 further comprising:
a vehicle bed;
a debris tank configured to collect debris from a sewer pipe; and
the water pump, the water pump configured to supply water from the plurality of water tanks.

7. The sewer cleaning vehicle of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of water tanks has a different dimension than the other water tanks.

8. The sewer cleaning vehicle of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of water tanks is arranged at a different level than the other water tanks.

9. The sewer cleaning vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the monitoring device is configured to:
determine whether the water level is below a fill start threshold; and
upon determining that the water level is below the fill start threshold, operate to fill the plurality of water tanks with water.

10. The sewer cleaning vehicle of claim 9 , wherein the monitoring device is configured to:
receive a user input of the fill start threshold.

11. The sewer cleaning vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the monitoring device is configured to:
determine whether the water level is above a fill end threshold; and
upon determining that the water level is above the fill end threshold, operate to stop filling the plurality of water tanks with water.

12. The sewer cleaning vehicle of claim 11 , wherein the monitoring device is configured to:
receive a user input of the fill end threshold.

13. The sewer cleaning vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the monitoring device is configured to:
determine whether the water level is below a low water threshold; and
upon determining that the water level is below the low water threshold, generate a notification to inform an operator that the water level is below the low water threshold.

14. The sewer cleaning vehicle of claim 13 , wherein the monitoring device is configured to:
receive a user input of the low water threshold.

15. The sewer cleaning vehicle of claim 13 , wherein the notification is displayed in a display device of the monitoring device.

16. A method for monitoring a water volume in a plurality of water tanks mounted in a sewer cleaning vehicle, the plurality of water tanks being in fluid communication with one another and having a single outlet connected to a water pump, the method comprising:
monitoring a water height in the plurality of water tanks;
calculating a water level based on the water height; and
displaying the water level using a display device;
wherein monitoring a water height includes:
monitoring a water pressure in the plurality of water tanks using a pressure sensor; and
calculating the water height based on the water pressure.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the water level is represented as a single percent value.

18. The method of claim 16 further comprising:
obtaining a lookup table for the plurality of water tanks;
wherein calculating a water level is based on the lookup table and the water height.

19. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
determining whether the water level is below a fill start threshold;
upon determining that the water level is below the fill start threshold, operating to fill the plurality of water tanks with water;
determining whether the water level is above a fill end threshold;
upon determining that the water level is above the fill end threshold, operating to stop filling the plurality of water tanks with water;
determining whether the water level is below a low water threshold; and
upon determining that the water level is below the low water threshold, generating a notification to inform an operator that the water level is below the low water threshold.

20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising:
receiving a user input of the fill start threshold, the fill end threshold, and the low water threshold.

Assignees

• Fed Signal Corp

Inventors

• Brodbeck Jared James

Classifications

• B08B9/0321

  using pressurised, pulsating or purging fluid (E04F17/126 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B08B9/035

  by suction · CPC title

• E03F7/10

  Wheeled apparatus for emptying sewers or cesspools · CPC title

• E03F9/007 Primary

  Devices providing a flushing surge · CPC title

• G01F23/14 Primary

  by measurement of pressure · CPC title