Water treatment control apparatus and water treatment system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9551982-B2
Application number	US-201414166069-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 28, 2014
Priority date	Apr 26, 2013
Publication date	Jan 24, 2017
Grant date	Jan 24, 2017

Abstract

According to one embodiment, a water treatment control apparatus generates an indication to a water treatment facility referring to conditions including a drought status and a water treatment cost at the water treatment facility. The indication indicates a type of water to be taken by the water treatment facility between a plurality of types of water including river water from rivers, rainwater, and waste water used by a customer.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A water treatment system configured to control a water treatment facility including a water purification facility configured to treat taken water and to feed the treated water to a customer through a clean water line as clean water and a recycled water facility configured to treat taken water and to feed the treated water to the customer through a gray water line as gray water, the water treatment system comprising:
a monitoring control apparatus configured to acquire a first water demand for the clean water in a water supply area in which the customer is present based on a quantity of the clean water fed to the water supply area, to acquire a second water demand for the gray water in the water supply area based on a quantity of the gray water fed to the water supply area, to acquire qualities and quantities of a plurality of types of water including river water from a river, rainwater, and waste water used by the customer, and to determine quantities of the plurality of types of water to be treated in the water treatment facility at the water treatment facility while meeting the first and second water demands referring to the qualities and quantities; and
a water treatment control apparatus configured to generate a first indication, to the water purification facility, of a type of water to be taken by the water purification facility referring to the quantities of treated water determined by the monitoring control apparatus, and to generate a second indication, to the recycled water facility, of a type of water to be taken by the recycled water facility referring to the quantities of treated water determined by the monitoring control apparatus;
wherein the monitoring control apparatus is configured to generate first water unit price information on a change in a water unit price of the clean water and second water unit price information on a change in a water unit price of the gray water and to distribute the first and second water unit price information to a management terminal configured to control operation of a user facility.

2. The water treatment system according to claim 1 , wherein the management terminal is configured to supply the clean water or the gray water to the user facility in accordance with an instruction input by the customer depending on display of the first and second water unit price information.

3. The water treatment system according to claim 1 , wherein the management terminal is configured to operate the user facility at a time of day when the water unit price of the clean water or the gray water used by the facility is less than a specified value based on the received first and second water unit price information.

4. The water treatment system according to claim 3 , wherein the management terminal is configured to supply the clean water or the gray water to the user facility to reduce a charge for the clean water or the gray water used by the facility based on the first and second water unit price information.

5. The water treatment system according to claim 1 , wherein the management terminal is configured to estimate water quality of waste water from the user facility and to selectively determine whether to feed the waste water to the water treatment facility or to a sewage treatment plant based on a result of the estimation.

6. A water treatment system configured to control a water treatment facility including a water purification facility configured to treat taken water and to feed the treated water to a customer through a clean water line as clean water and a recycled water facility configured to treat taken water and to feed the treated water to the customer through a gray water line as gray water, the water treatment system comprising:
a monitoring control apparatus configured to acquire a first water demand for the clean water in a water supply area in which the customer is present based on a quantity of the clean water fed to the water supply area, to acquire a second water demand for the gray water in the water supply area based on a quantity of the gray water fed to the water supply area, to acquire qualities and quantities of a plurality of types of water including river water from a river, rainwater, and waste water used by the customer, and to determine quantities of the plurality of types of water to be treated in the water treatment facility at the water treatment facility while meeting the first and second water demands referring to the qualities and quantities; and
a water treatment control apparatus configured to generate a first indication, to the water purification facility, of a type of water to be taken by the water purification facility referring to the quantities of treated water determined by the monitoring control apparatus, and to generate a second indication, to the recycled water facility, of a type of water to be taken by the recycled water facility referring to the quantities of treated water determined by the monitoring control apparatus;
wherein the monitoring control apparatus is configured to generate first water unit price information on a change in a water unit price of the clean water and second water unit price information on a change in a water unit price of the gray water and to distribute the first and second water unit price information to a management terminal configured to control operation of a user facility;
wherein the monitoring control apparatus is configured to determine quantities of the plurality of types of water treated in the water purification facility and the recycled water facility referring to weather information observed by a radar rain gauge, and
the monitoring control apparatus is further configured to store rainwater obtained within a given time from beginning of rainfall in one of a plurality of water reservoirs configured to store rainwater and to allow a water reservoir in which rainwater obtained after elapse of the given time is stored to discharge the rainwater to the water purification facility and the recycled water facility in such a manner as to realize the quantity of rainwater to be treated.

7. The water treatment system according to claim 6 , wherein the radar rain gauge comprises a phased array meteorological radar configured to observe a quantity of moisture in air.

8. The water treatment system according to claim 6 , wherein the monitoring control apparatus is configured to store the rainwater obtained within the given time from the beginning of rainfall in one of the plurality of water reservoirs and to allow the water reservoir in which the rainwater obtained within the given time from the beginning of rainfall is stored to discharge the rainwater to a sewage treatment plant based on an operation status of the sewage treatment plant.

9. The water treatment system according to claim 6 , wherein the monitoring control apparatus is configured to store waste water used by the customer in one of the plurality of water reservoirs upon determining that a treatment load greater than a specified value is imposed on the sewage treatment plant and to allow the water reservoir in which the waste water used by the customer is stored to discharge the waste water to the sewage treatment plant upon determining that the treatment load on the sewage treatment plant reduces.

Assignees

• Toshiba Kk

Inventors

• Kobayashi Hisashi
• Kobayashi Yoshitaka
• Shinohara Tetsuya

Classifications

• C02F2209/42

  Liquid level · CPC title

• C02F2209/005

  Processes using a programmable logic controller [PLC] · CPC title

• C02F1/008

  Control or steering systems not provided for elsewhere in subclass C02F · CPC title

• B01D17/12

  Auxiliary equipment particularly adapted for use with liquid-separating apparatus, e.g. control circuits · CPC title

• C02F2209/006

  comprising a software program or a logic diagram · CPC title