CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] The application claims priority from Canadian Patent Application No. 3,169,142 entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING LIQUID DISTRIBUTION IN A PIPING ASSEMBLY”, filed on July 27, 2022, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

[0002] The present disclosure generally relates to the field of piping assemblies and, in particular, to methods and systems for a controlling liquid distribution in a piping assembly.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Typical implementation of systems for controlling liquid distribution that aim to detect leakage in a piping assembly rely on external sensing devices. For example, said piping assembly may be a water distribution system of a house or an office, and liquid sensors are typically disposed on a floor of the bathroom or under the sink to detect leaks. With such systems, leakage detection thus depends on a position and location of the external liquid sensor around the house or the office.

[0004] Therefore, there remains an interest in being able to provide a system for controlling liquid distribution that can prevent leak from happening and that is independent of a location of the leak along the piping assembly is desirable.

SUMMARY

[0005] An aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a system for controlling liquid distribution in a piping assembly, the piping assembly receiving a liquid at a liquid inlet and discharging the liquid at a liquid outlet, the system comprising a controller, a valve disposed at the liquid inlet, the valve being selectively operable, by the controller, in an open configuration for enabling a flow of the liquid at the liquid inlet, and a close configuration for disabling the flow, an ultrasonic sensor communicably connected to the controller for sensing the flow of the liquid entering the piping assembly at the liquid inlet, the ultrasonic sensor being operably connected to the piping assembly in a contactless configuration with the liquid such that no contact occurs between the ultrasonic sensor and the liquid and a electronic device communicably coupled with the controller. The controller is configured to, in response to the ultrasonic sensor detecting the flow of the liquid at the liquid inlet, trigger a counter indicative of an amount of time that has passed since the flow has been enabled, in response to the counter reaching a pre-determined value, operate the valve in the close configuration, the pre-determined value being indicative of a maximum amount of time for which the flow is to be enabled without receipt of a non-fault signal, and in response to the controller receiving the non-fault signal from the electronic device, trigger a new counter indicative of an amount of time that has passed since receipt of the non-fault signal.

[0006] In some embodiments of the system, the electronic device is one of a plurality of electronic devices, the controller being configured to trigger the new counter in response to receiving the non-fault signal from at least one of the plurality of electronic devices.

[0007] In some embodiments of the system, the controller is further configured to receive, from the electronic device, a free-flow order signal indicative of a desire of a user of the electronic device to maintain the valve in the open configuration, and, in response to receiving the free-flow order signal, maintain the valve in the open configuration after the counter has reached the predetermined value.

[0008] In some embodiments of the system, the controller is further configured to, in response to the ultrasonic sensor sensing an increase of the flow at the liquid inlet, trigger a second new counter indicative of an amount of time that has passed since the flow has increased; and, upon the second new counter reaching a second pre-determined value, operate the valve in the close configuration.

[0009] In some embodiments of the system, the electronic device is a motion-sensing device, the electronic device being configured to transmit a non-fault signal to the controller upon sensing a motion.

[0010] In some embodiments of the system, the electronic device is disposed in a vicinity of the liquid outlet of the piping assembly. [0011] In some embodiments of the system, the electronic device is a user device associated with a user, the electronic device being configured to transmit a non-fault signal to the controller in response to the user entering manual instructions to trigger the new counter.

[0012] In some embodiments of the system, the liquid is water.

[0013] In some embodiments of the system, the piping assembly is a piping assembly of a household.

[0014] In some embodiments of the system, the pre-determined value is selected among a plurality of pre-determined values based on an initial flow value of the flow measured by the ultrasonic sensor.

[0015] In some embodiments of the system, the controller is further configured to, in response to the new counter reaching the pre-determined value, operate the valve in the close configuration.

[0016] In some embodiments of the system, the controller is further configured to, subsequently to triggering the new counter and in response to the controller receiving a second non-fault signal from the electronic device, trigger another new counter indicative of an amount of time that has passed since receipt of the second non-fault signal.

[0017] In some embodiments of the system, the system further comprises a networking device communicably connected with the controller and configured to establish communication between the controller and the electronic device.

[0018] In some embodiments of the system, the electronic device is a sensor mounted on the liquid outlet of the piping assembly and configured to transmit a non-fault signal in response to at least one of (i) detecting presence of the liquid flowing at the liquid outlet (ii) detecting an open position of the liquid outlet.

[0019] In some embodiments of the system, the sensor is configured to periodically transmit non-fault signals to the controller in response to the at least one of (i) detecting presence of the liquid flowing at the liquid outlet (ii) detecting an open position of the liquid outlet. [0020] In some embodiments of the system, the sensor includes at least one of another ultrasonic sensor, a seismographic sensor, and a positional sensor.

[0021] In some embodiments of the system, the new counter may represent the counter that has been restarted or refreshed following receipt of the non-fault signal. As such, it is contemplated that the counter and the new counter may represent a same counter before and after receipt of the non-fault signal, respectively.

[0022] In a second broad aspect of the present technology, there is provided a method for controlling liquid distribution in a piping assembly, the piping assembly receiving a liquid at a liquid inlet and discharging the liquid at a liquid outlet, the method executable by a system including a controller, an ultrasonic sensor, a valve, and an electronic device. The method comprises monitoring, by the ultrasonic sensor, a flow of the liquid at the liquid inlet, the ultrasonic sensor being operably connected to the piping assembly in a contactless configuration with the liquid such that no contact occurs between the ultrasonic sensor and the liquid, triggering, in response to the ultrasonic sensor detecting a flow of the liquid at the liquid inlet, a counter at a first moment in time indicative of an amount of time that has passed since the flow has been enabled, the counter being a current counter at the first moment in time, triggering, in response to receipt of a non-fault signal from a electronic device communicably connected to the controller, a new counter at a second moment in time indicative of an amount of time that has passed since receipt of the non-fault signal, the new counter replacing the counter as the current counter at the second moment in time, and operating, in response to the current counter reaching a pre-determined value, the valve in a close configuration for disabling a flow of the liquid at the liquid inlet, the predetermined value being indicative of a maximum amount of time for which the flow is to be enabled without receipt of a non-fault signal.

[0023] In some embodiments of the method, the electronic device is one of a plurality of electronic devices, the controller being configured to trigger the new counter in response to receiving the non-fault signal from at least one of the plurality of electronic devices.

[0024] In some embodiments of the method, the method further comprises receiving, from the electronic device, a free-flow order signal indicative of a desire of a user of the electronic device to maintain the valve in the open configuration, and maintaining, in response to receiving the firee- flow order signal, the valve in the open configuration after the current counter has reached the predetermined value.

[0025] In some embodiments of the method, the method further comprises triggering, in response to the ultrasonic sensor sensing an increase of the flow at the liquid inlet, a second new counter indicative of an amount of time that has passed since the flow has increased, the second new counter being the current counter at a third moment in time, and operating, upon the current counter reaching a second pre-determined value, the valve in the close configuration.

[0026] In some embodiments of the method, the electronic device is a motion-sensing device, the remote electronic device being configured to transmit a non-fault signal to the controller upon sensing a motion.

[0027] In some embodiments of the method, the electronic device is disposed in a vicinity of the liquid outlet of the piping assembly.

[0028] In some embodiments of the method, the electronic device is a user device associated with a user, the electronic device being configured to transmit a non-fault signal to the controller in response to the user entering manual instructions to trigger the new counter.

[0029] In some embodiments of the method, the liquid is water.

[0030] In some embodiments of the method, the piping assembly is a piping assembly of a household.

[0031] In some embodiments of the method, triggering at the first moment in time the counter indicative of an amount of time that has passed since the flow has been enabled comprises selecting the pre-determined value among a plurality of pre-determined values based on an initial flow value of the flow measured by the ultrasonic sensor.

[0032] In some embodiments of the method, the method further comprises, subsequently to triggering the new counter at the second moment in time, triggering, in response to the controller receiving a second non-fault signal from the electronic device, a third new counter indicative of an amount of time that has passed since receipt of the second non-fault signal, the third new counter replacing the current counter at a fourth moment in time. [0033] In some embodiments of the method, communication between the controller and the electronic device is established by a networking device.

[0034] In some embodiments of the method, the electronic device is a sensor mounted on the liquid outlet of the piping assembly and configured to transmit a non-fault signal in response to at least one of (i) detecting presence of the liquid flowing at the liquid outlet (ii) detecting an open position of the liquid outlet.

[0035] In some embodiments of the method, the sensor is configured to periodically transmit non-fault signals to the controller in response to the at least one of (i) detecting presence of the liquid flowing at the liquid outlet (ii) detecting an open position of the liquid outlet.

[0036] In some embodiments of the method, the sensor includes at least one of another ultrasonic sensor, a seismographic sensor, and a positional sensor.

[0037] In some embodiments of the method, the new counter may represent the counter that has been restarted or refreshed following receipt of the non-fault signal. As such, it is contemplated that the counter and the new counter may represent a same counter before and after receipt of the non-fault signal, respectively.

[0038] In a third broad aspect of the present technology, there is provided a system for controlling liquid distribution in a piping assembly, the piping assembly receiving a liquid at a liquid inlet and discharging the liquid at a liquid outlet. The system comprises a controller, a valve disposed at the liquid inlet, the valve being selectively operable, in an open configuration for enabling a flow of the liquid at the liquid inlet, and a close configuration for disabling the flow, an ultrasonic sensor communicably connected to the controller for sensing the flow of the liquid entering the piping assembly at the liquid inlet, the ultrasonic sensor being operably connected to the piping assembly in a contactless configuration with the liquid such that no contact occurs between the ultrasonic sensor and the liquid and a electronic device communicably coupled with the controller. The controller is configured to, in response to the ultrasonic sensor detecting the flow of the liquid at the liquid inlet, trigger a counter at a first moment in time indicative of an amount of time that has passed since the flow has been enabled, the counter being a current counter at the first moment in time, in response to the current counter reaching a pre-determined value, operate the valve in the close configuration, the pre-determined value being indicative of a maximum amount of time for which the flow is to be enabled without receipt of a non-fault signal, and, in response to the controller receiving the non-fault signal from the electronic device, trigger a new counter at a third moment in time indicative of an amount of time that has passed since receipt of the non-fault signal, the new counter replacing the counter as the current counter at the third moment in time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0039] The features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in combination with the appended drawings, in which:

[0040] FIG. l is a high-level diagram of a system for controlling liquid distribution in a piping assembly in accordance with some embodiments of the present technology;

[0041] FIG. 2 is a block-diagram of a controller in accordance with some embodiments of the present technology;

[0042] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a user device in accordance with an embodiment of the present technology;

[0043] FIG. 4 is a representation of temporal evolution of operation of the system of FIG. 1 according to different usage scenarios; and

[0044] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram showing operations of a controlling liquid distribution in a piping assembly in accordance with some embodiments of the present technology.

[0045] It is to be understood that throughout the appended drawings and corresponding descriptions, like features are identified by like reference characters. Furthermore, it is also to be understood that the drawings and ensuing descriptions are intended for illustrative purposes only and that such disclosures are not intended to limit the scope of the claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] Various representative embodiments of the described technology will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which representative embodiments are shown. The present technology concept may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the representative embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these representative embodiments are provided so that the disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present technology to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, the sizes and relative sizes of layers and regions may be exaggerated for clarity. Like numerals refer to like elements throughout.

[0047] It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used to distinguish one element from another. Thus, a first element discussed below could be termed a second element without departing from the teachings of the present technology. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0048] It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "coupled" to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected" or "directly coupled" to another element, there are no intervening elements present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., "between" versus "directly between," "adjacent" versus "directly adjacent," etc.).

[0049] The terminology used herein is only intended to describe particular representative embodiments and is not intended to be limiting of the present technology. As used herein, the singular forms "a," "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. [0050] Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and implementations of the present technology, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof, whether they are currently known or developed in the future. Thus, for example, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any block diagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrative circuitry embodying the principles of the present technology. Similarly, it will be appreciated that any flowcharts, flow diagrams, state transition diagrams, pseudo-code, and the like represent various processes which may be substantially represented in computer-readable media and so executed by a computer or processor, whether or not such computer or processor is explicitly shown.

[0051] The functions of the various elements shown in the figures, including any functional block labeled as a “controller”, "processor" or “processing unit”, may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing software in association with appropriate software and according to the methods described herein. When provided by a processor, the functions may be provided by a single dedicated processor, by a single shared processor, or by a plurality of individual processors, some of which may be shared. In some embodiments of the present technology, the processor may be a general purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a processor dedicated to a specific purpose, such as a digital signal processor (DSP). Moreover, explicit use of the term a "processor" should not be construed to refer exclusively to hardware capable of executing software, and may implicitly include, without limitation, application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA), read-only memory (ROM) for storing software, random access memory (RAM), and non-volatile storage. Other hardware, conventional and/or custom, may also be included.

[0052] Software modules, or simply modules or units which are implied to be software, may be represented herein as any combination of flowchart elements or other elements indicating performance of process steps and/or textual description. Such modules may be executed by hardware that is expressly or implicitly shown, the hardware being adapted to (made to, designed to, or configured to) execute the modules. Moreover, it should be understood that module may include for example, but without being limitative, computer program logic, computer program instructions, software, stack, firmware, hardware circuitry or a combination thereof which provides the required capabilities. [0053] With these fundamentals in place, we will now consider some non-limiting examples to illustrate various implementations of aspects of the present disclosure.

[0054] Broadly speaking, the present technology provides a system and a method for controlling liquid distribution in a piping assembly. For example, the piping assembly may be a piping assembly of a household receiving a liquid (e.g. water) at a fluid inlet and discharging the liquid at a liquid outlet. The liquid outlet may be for example a faucet or a shower valve. In at least some embodiment, the system comprises a valve disposed at the liquid inlet and selectively operable in an open configuration for enabling a flow of the liquid at the liquid inlet, and a close configuration for disabling the flow. The system further comprises a controller for operating the valve and a ultrasonic flow sensor communicably sensing the flow of the liquid entering the piping assembly at the liquid inlet, the controller being communicably connected to the ultrasonic flow sensor and to a remote electronic device to control the valve based on data provided by the ultrasonic flow sensor and the remote electronic device. Broadly speaking, the controller may trigger a counter indicative of an amount of time that has passed since the flow has been enabled, and operate the valve in the close configuration in response to the counter reaching a predetermined value, the pre-determined value being indicative of a maximum amount of time for which the flow is to be enabled. As such, the controller may limit occurrences of leaks by operating the valve in the close configuration once the pre-determined duration has elapsed.

[0055] In at least some embodiments, the controller triggers, in response to receiving a nonfault signal from the remote electronic device, a new counter indicative of an amount of time that has passed since receipt of the non-fault signal and thus maintain the valve in the open configuration. The non-fault signal may be transmitted by the remote electronic device upon, for example, executing instructions entered by a user that may desire to keep the valve in the open configuration.

[0056] Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a schematic diagram of a system 10, the system 10 being suitable for implementing non-limiting embodiments of the present technology. It is to be expressly understood that the system 10 as depicted is merely an illustrative implementation of the present technology. Thus, the description thereof that follows is intended to be only a description of illustrative examples of the present technology. This description is not intended to define the scope or set forth the bounds of the present technology. In some cases, what is believed to be helpful examples of modifications to the system 10 may also be set forth below. This is done merely as an aid to understanding, and, again, not to define the scope or set forth the bounds of the present technology. These modifications are not an exhaustive list, and, as a person skilled in the art would understand, other modifications are likely possible. Further, where this has not been done (i.e., where no examples of modifications have been set forth), it should not be interpreted that no modifications are possible and/or that what is described is the sole manner of implementing that element of the present technology. As a person skilled in the art would understand, this is likely not the case. In addition, it is to be understood that the system 10 may provide in certain instances simple implementations of the present technology, and that where such is the case they have been presented in this manner as an aid to understanding. As persons skilled in the art would understand, various implementations of the present technology may be of a greater complexity.

[0057] Generally speaking, the system 10 is configured to control liquid distribution in a piping assembly 50 and, more particularly, adjust a flow of the liquid in said piping assembly 50 to prevent reduce consequences of potential leaks in the piping assembly 50. For example, the piping assembly 50 may be liquid distribution system of a house, an office, a warehouse, a building, a hydraulic system, or any other system suitable for delivering liquid from a liquid inlet to one or more liquid outlets. As such, any system variation configured to control liquid distribution in a piping assembly or, more generally, any liquid distribution system can be adapted to execute embodiments of the present technology, once teachings presented herein are appreciated.

[0058] In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 1, the piping assembly 50 comprises a liquid inlet 12 for receiving liquid and a plurality of liquid outlets 14 for discharging the liquid. Embodiments where the piping assembly 50 comprises a single liquid outlet are also contemplated. The liquid may be water, a dielectric liquid, a heat-transfer fluid, or any other liquid suitable for flowing in the piping assembly 50.

[0059] The system 10 comprises a controller 110 and a valve 120 disposed at the liquid inlet 12, the valve 120 being selectively operable, by the controller 110, in an open configuration for enabling a flow of the liquid at the liquid inlet, and a close configuration for disabling the flow. The controller 110 may, for example, operate a motor (not shown) of the valve to selectively operate the valve 120 in the open and close configurations. In one embodiment, the valve 120 is a standard valve implemented in the piping assembly at a building thereof. The controller 110 is described in greater details herein further below.

[0060] The system 10 further comprises an ultrasonic flow sensor 130 communicably connected to the controller 110 for sensing the flow of the liquid entering the piping assembly 50 at the liquid inlet 12. Broadly speaking, the ultrasonic flow sensor 130 is an inferential sensor that uses ultrasonic technology to measure the velocity of the liquid flowing in the piping assembly 50 at the liquid inlet 12. The ultrasonic flow sensor 130 may rely on the Doppler effect or a transit time to measure the flow of the liquid. In one embodiment, the ultrasonic flow sensor 130 is a VTSYIQI™ TUF-2000M ultrasonic flow sensor.

[0061] In this embodiment, the ultrasonic flow sensor 130 is operably connected to the piping assembly 50 in a contactless configuration with the liquid such that no contact occurs between the ultrasonic flow sensor 130 and the liquid. For example, the ultrasonic flow sensor 130 may comprise transducers attached on an external side of a pipe of the piping assembly 50. Installation of the ultrasonic flow sensor 130 may thus be performed by, for example, a user or an operator of the system 10 without the need of a plumber to access an interior of a pipe section of the piping assembly 50. The contactless configuration may facilitate maintenance operation and/or replacement of the ultrasonic flow sensor 130. In addition, measurements of the ultrasonic flow sensor 130 are non-invasive with respect to the piping assembly 50 and the liquid flowing therein. Integration and operation of the ultrasonic sensor 130 are thus facilitated compared to other sensors that require to be immersed in the liquid.

[0062] In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 1, the controller 110, the valve 120 and the ultrasonic flow sensor 130 are encapsulated in an operating module 100 to ease an installation of the system 10 and integration thereof on the piping assembly 50. As a result, installation of the system 10 may be performed by the user of the system 10 and may not require the expertise of a plumber.

[0063] In at least some embodiments, the controller 110 is communicably connected to a first remote electronic device 200 and second remote electronic devices 24. In the illustrative embodiment of the FIG.l, the system 10 further comprises a networking device 160 to establish a communication of the controller 110 with the first and second remote electronic devices 200, 24 over the communication network 30. The networking device 160 is communicably connected to remote electronic devices via one or more communication network (illustrated as a single communication network 30 for simplicity of FIG. 1). For example, the networking device 160 may be communicably connected with a first remote electronic device 200 via a first communication network, and to a second remote electronic device 24 via a second communication network. In one embodiment, a plurality of first remote electronic devices 200 may be communicably connected to the controller 110 (only one of which is illustrated for clarity of FIG. 1). How the communication network 30 is implemented will depend inter alia on how the first and second remote electronic devices 200, 24 and the networking device 160 are implemented. Merely as an example and not as a limitation, in those embodiments of the present technology where the first and second remote electronic devices 200, 24 are implemented as a wireless communication devices, a communication link between said first and second remote electronic devices 200, 24 and the networking device 160 in the communication network 30 can be implemented as a wireless communication link (such as but not limited to, a 3G communication network link, a 4G communication network link, Wireless Fidelity, or WiFi® for short, Bluetooth® and the like). In those examples where one of the first remote electronic device 200, and/or the networking device 160 is implemented as a notebook computer, the corresponding communication link can be either wireless (such as Wireless Fidelity, or WiFi® for short, Bluetooth® or the like) or wired (such as an Ethernet based connection). As will be described in greater details herein further below, the first remote electronic device 200 may be associated to and operated by a corresponding user (e.g. the user of the system 10). As such, the electronic device 200 is referred to as a user device 200 in the following description.

[0064] In addition, as will be described in greater details herein further below, each of the second remote electronic devices 24 may be associated to a corresponding liquid outlet 14 of the piping assembly 50. As such, the second remote electronic devices 24 are referred to as liquid outlet-associated devices 24. In this embodiment, communication between the liquid outlet- associated devices 24 and the operating module 100 is wireless. As such, a communication link between the controller 110 and the liquid outlet-associated devices 24 in the communication network 30 can be implemented as a wireless communication link (such as but not limited to, a 3G communication network link, a 4G communication network link, Wireless Fidelity, or WiFi® for short, Bluetooth® and the like). In some embodiments, the second remote electronic device 24 may be omitted altogether without departing from the scope of the present technology. Implementations of the electronic devices 24 are described in greater details hereinafter.

[0065] It should be noted that embodiments where the controller 110 is communicably connected to a user device 200 only are contemplated. Embodiments where the controller 110 is communicably connected to one or more liquid outlet-associated devices 24 only are also contemplated.

[0066] In use, the controller 110 triggers, in response to the ultrasonic flow sensor 130 detecting a flow of the liquid at the liquid inlet 12, a counter indicative of an amount of time that has passed since the flow has been enabled. For example, said detection of the flow may comprise measuring the flow varying from a first value below a pre-determined threshold to a second value above the pre-determined threshold.

[0067] Once the counter has been triggered, the controller 110, may receive a non-fault signal from the user device 200 and/or any one of the liquid outlet-associated devices 24, said non-fault signal being indicative that the system 10 is operating under non-abnormal conditions and that the controller 110 may continue to maintain the valve 120 in the open configuration. In response to the counter reaching a pre-determined value, the controller 110 operates the valve 120 in the close configuration and thus prevents the liquid from further flowing in the piping assembly 50. The pre-determined value is thus indicative of a maximum amount of time for which the flow is to be enabled without receipt of the non-fault signal. In response to the controller 110 receiving a non- fault signal from a remote electronic device, the controller 110 triggers a new counter indicative of an amount of time that has passed since receipt of the non-fault signal. The controller 110 may operate the valve 120 in the close configuration once the new counter reaches the pre-determined value (i.e. the pre-determined value has elapsed). As such it can be said the reception of a non- fault signal by the controller 110 “postpones” the operating the valve 120 in the close configuration in order to keep the liquid flowing in the piping assembly 50. It should be noted that, in the context of the present disclosure, the new counter may be the same counter that has been restarted or refreshed following receipt of the non-fault signal. As such, it is contemplated that the counter and the new counter may represent a same counter before and after receipt of the non-fault signal, respectively.

[0068] In addition, in this embodiment, the controller 110 triggers another new counter in response to the ultrasonic flow sensor 130 sensing an increase of the flow at the liquid inlet, the controller 110 operating the valve 120 in the close configuration once said new counter reaches a corresponding pre-determined value. Indeed, such an increase of the flow may be indicative of a potential leak occurring in the piping assembly 50.

[0069] In at least some embodiments, the pre-determined value is adjusted based on an initial flow value of the flow of the liquid measured at the liquid inlet 12 by the ultrasonic flow sensor 130. The initial flow value may be defined by an average of the flow of the liquid during a predetermined duration (e.g. five seconds) starting once the ultrasonic flow sensor 130 detects a flow. For example, in response to the initial flow value being 0.5L/min, the pre-determined value associated with the counter for operating the valve 120 in the close configuration may be 1 hour. As another example, in response to the initial flow value being 0.6L/min, the pre-determined value associated with the counter for operating the valve 120 in the close configuration may be 0.75 hour. The different pre-determined values and the corresponding initial flow values may be stored in a memory of the controller 110 as it is described in greater details below.

[0070] As an example, FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of the controller 110 of the system 10 according to an embodiment of the present technology. The controller 110 comprises a processor or a plurality of cooperating processors (represented as a processor 105 for simplicity), a memory device or a plurality of memory devices (represented as a memory device 150 for simplicity), and an input/output interface 140 allowing the controller 110 to communicate with other components of the operating module 100 and/or other components in remote communication with the operating module 100. The processor 105 is operatively connected to the memory device 150 and to the input/output interface 140. The memory device 150 includes a storage for storing parameters 154, including for example and without limitation the above-mentioned predetermined values. The memory device 150 may comprise a non-transitory computer-readable medium for storing code instructions 152 that are executable by the processor 105 to allow the controller 110 to perform the various tasks allocated to the controller 110 in the method recited herein (e.g. method 500 in FIG. 5).

[0071] The controller 110 is operatively connected, via the input/output interface 140, to the one or more user devices 200, the one or more liquid outlet-associated devices 24, the valve 120 (or a motor thereof), the ultrasonic flow sensor 130 and the networking device 160. The controller 110 executes the code instructions 132 stored in the memory device 150 to implement the various above-described functions that may be present in a particular embodiment. FIG. 2 as illustrated represents a non-limiting embodiment in which the controller 110 orchestrates operations of the system 10. This particular embodiment is not meant to limit the present disclosure and is provided for illustration purposes.

[0072] In one embodiment, the liquid outlet-associated devices 24 are motion-sensing devices that transmit a non-fault signal to the controller 110 upon detecting a movement. Each liquid outlet- associated device 24 may be disposed in a vicinity of the corresponding liquid outlet 14 such that they transmit a non-fault signal upon detecting a movement at the liquid outlet 14. As such, the liquid outlet-associated device 24 may detect a user at the liquid outlet 14 (e.g. a user using the sink in the kitchen, the sink tap being the liquid outlet 14) such that the flow of liquid is not disabled by the controller 110 operating the valve 120 until the user has left the vicinity of the liquid outlet 14.

[0073] In the same or other embodiments, some of the liquid outlet-associated devices 24 may be mounted on their corresponding liquid outlets 14. It can be said that such devices 24 may be referred to as “outlet-dedicated” devices that are dedicated to respective liquid outlets 14. In use, each liquid outlet-associated device 24 may transmit a non-fault signal to the controller 110 in response to detecting liquid flowing at the corresponding liquid outlet 14. To do so, the liquid outlet-associated device 24 may be an ultrasonic sensor, a seismographic sensor or any other suitable sensor. In some embodiments, the liquid outlet-associated device 24 may alternatively or additionally detect an open/close position of the liquid outlet 14. To do so, the liquid outlet- associated device 24 may be positional sensor configured to detect a position (i.e. open or close position) of the liquid outlet 14. For example, the liquid outlet 14 may be a faucet of a sink, an outlet or an inlet of a hose, an inlet conduit of a washing machine, or any other liquid outlet of the piping assembly 50. More specifically, the liquid outlet-associated device 24 may detect a position of an actuator and/or a valve located at the liquid outlet 14 and detect a position thereof.

[0074] For example, the seismographic sensor may include a mass or float suspended on a flexible element such as a spring and immersed in the liquid flowing in the piping assembly 50. The movement of the mass due to the liquid flow would be measured using sensors such as accelerometers, strain gauges, or displacement transducers. These sensors would record the displacement of the mass caused by the liquid flow. Alternatively or optionally, the seismographic sensor may include a vibration sensor that detects presence of a liquid flowing in the liquid outlet 14 in a contactless manner through vibrations induced by the liquid flowing in the piping assembly 50.

[0075] In use, each liquid outlet-associated device 24 may periodically transmit a signal to the controller 110 via a communication link. For example and without limitation, a temporal period of between two consecutive transmissions by a given liquid outlet-associated device 24 may be 5 seconds. Said signal may be a non-fault signal in response to the liquid outlet-associated device 24 detecting liquid flowing at the corresponding liquid outlet 14. Said signal may alternatively or additionally be indicative of an open and/or close position of the corresponding liquid outlet 14. More specifically, the liquid outlet-associated device 24 may transmit a non-fault signal in response to detecting presence of the liquid flowing at the liquid outlet and/or in response to detecting an open position of the liquid outlet.

[0076] In some embodiments, the controller 110 may actuate the valve 120 in the close configuration in response to none of the liquid outlet-associated device 24 transmitting a non-fault signal and/or a signal indicative of an open position of a liquid outlet 14.

[0077] FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of the user device 200 in accordance with an embodiment of the present technology. The user device 200 comprises a computing unit 205 that may receive captured images of an object to be characterized. The computing unit 205 may be configured to communicate with the controller 110 of the system 10.

[0078] In some embodiments, the computing unit 205 may be implemented by any of a conventional personal computer, a controller, and/or an electronic device (e.g., a server, a controller unit, a control device, a monitoring device etc.) and/or any combination thereof appropriate to the relevant task at hand. In some embodiments, the computing unit 205 comprises various hardware components including one or more single or multi-core processors collectively represented by a processor 210, a solid-state drive 250, a random access memory (RAM) 230, a dedicated memory 240 and an input/output interface 260. The computing unit 205 may be a computer specifically designed to operate a machine learning algorithm (MLA) and/or deep learning algorithms (DLA). The computing unit 205 may be a generic computer system.

[0079] In some other embodiments, the computing unit 205 may be an “off the shelf’ generic computer system. In some embodiments, the computing unit 205 may also be distributed amongst multiple systems. The computing unit 205 may also be specifically dedicated to the implementation of the present technology. As a person in the art of the present technology may appreciate, multiple variations as to how the computing unit 205 is implemented may be envisioned without departing from the scope of the present technology.

[0080] Communication between the various components of the computing unit 205 may be enabled by one or more internal and/or external buses 270 (e.g. a PCI bus, universal serial bus, IEEE 1394 “Firewire” bus, SCSI bus, Serial-ATA bus, ARINC bus, etc.), to which the various hardware components are electronically coupled.

[0081] The input/output interface 260 may provide networking capabilities such as wired or wireless access. As an example, the input/output interface 260 may comprise a networking interface such as, but not limited to, one or more network ports, one or more network sockets, one or more network interface controllers and the like. Multiple examples of how the networking interface may be implemented will become apparent to the person skilled in the art of the present technology. For example, but without being limitative, the networking interface may implement specific physical layer and data link layer standard such as Ethernet, Fibre Channel, Wi-Fi or Token Ring. The specific physical layer and the data link layer may provide a base for a full network protocol stack, allowing communication among small groups of computers on the same local area network (LAN) and large-scale network communications through routable protocols, such as Internet Protocol (IP). [0082] According to implementations of the present technology, the solid-state drive 250 stores program instructions suitable for being loaded into the RAM 230 and executed by the processor 210. Although illustrated as a solid-state drive 250, any type of memory may be used in place of the solid-state drive 250, such as a hard disk, optical disk, and/or removable storage media. According to implementations of the present technology, the solid-state drive 250 stores program instructions suitable for being loaded into the RAM 230 and executed by the processor 210. For example, the program instructions may be part of a library or an application.

[0083] The processor 210 may be a general -purpose processor, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a processor dedicated to a specific purpose, such as a digital signal processor (DSP). In some embodiments, the processor 210 may also rely on an accelerator 220 dedicated to certain given tasks, such as executing the methods set forth in the paragraphs below. In some embodiments, the processor 210 or the accelerator 220 may be implemented as one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). Moreover, explicit use of the term "processor", should not be construed to refer exclusively to hardware capable of executing software, and may implicitly include, without limitation, application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), read-only memory (ROM) for storing software, RAM, and non-volatile storage. Other hardware, conventional and/or custom, may also be included.

[0084] Further, the user device 200 may include a screen or display 16 capable of rendering color images, charts and the like. In some embodiments, the display 16 may be used to display temporal evolution of the flow of liquid measured by the ultrasonic flow sensor 130 at the liquid inlet 12. As a result, the user may be provided with visual indication of a liquid consumption of the piping assembly 50 over time. In some embodiments, display 216 may comprise and/or be housed with a touchscreen to permit users to input data via some combination of virtual keyboards, icons, menus, or other Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs). In some embodiments, display 216 may be implemented using a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) display or a Light Emitting Diode (LED) display, such as an Organic LED (OLED) display. In other embodiments, display 216 may be remotely communicatively connected to the user device 200 via a wired or a wireless connection (not shown), so that outputs of the computing unit 205 may be displayed at a location different from the location of the user device 200. In this situation, the display 216 may be operationally coupled to, but housed separately from, other functional units and systems in user device 200. The user device 200 may be, for example, an iPhone® mobile phone from Apple™ or a Galaxy® mobile phone or tablet from Samsung™, or any other mobile device whose features are similar or equivalent to the aforementioned features. The device may be, for example and without being limitative, a handheld computer, a personal digital assistant, a cellular phone, a network device, a camera, a smart phone, an enhanced general packet radio service (EGPRS) mobile phone, a network base station, a media player, a navigation device, an e-mail device, a game console, or a combination of two or more of these data processing devices or other data processing devices.

[0085] The user device 200 may comprise a memory 212 communicatively connected to the computing unit 205 and configured to store without limitation data, diagrams, flow values, and raw data provided by the operating module 100 and/or the liquid outlet-associated devices 24. The memory 212 may be embedded in the user device 200 as in the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 3 or located in an external physical location. The computing unit 205 may be configured to access a content of the memory 212 via a network (not shown) such as a Local Area Network (LAN) and/or a wireless connexion such as a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN).

[0086] The user device 200 may also include a power system (not depicted) for powering the various components. The power system may include a power management system, one or more power sources (e.g., battery, alternating current (AC)), a recharging system, a power failure detection circuit, a power converter or inverter and any other components associated with the generation, management and distribution of power in mobile or non-mobile devices.

[0087] In this embodiment, the user device 200 may transmit a non-fault signal to the controller 110 upon receiving instructions, by the user triggering such action (e.g. typing on the touchscreen) indicative of that the user desires to maintain the valve 120 in the open configuration. As such, the user device 200 transmits a non-fault signal to the controller 110 in response to the user entering manual instructions to trigger a new counter.

[0088] In at least some embodiments and in addition to the non-fault signals, the user device 200 may be configured to transmit a free-flow order signal indicative of a desire of a user of the user device 200 to maintain the valve in the open configuration indefinitely or until receipt of a closing order signal order by the controller 110. In response to receiving the free-flow order signal, the controller 110 thus maintains the valve 120 in the open configuration after the counter has reached the pre-determined value.

[0089] It should be understood that the system may comprise additional devices (i.e. in addition to the user device 200 and the liquid outlet-associated devices 24) that may transmit a non-fault signal to the controller 110. For example, a push-button disposed on the operating module 100 and communicably connected to the controller 110 may transmit a non-fault signal to the controller 110 upon being actuated by a human operator.

[0090] FIG. 4 is a representation of temporal evolution of operation of the system 10 according to different usage scenarios. In the first scenario indicated as “1” on FIG. 4, the flow of the liquid is detected at t=0. A counter is thus triggered by the controller 110 at t=0. Once the counter has reached the pre-determined value AT, the controller 110 operates the valve 120 in the close configuration at t=T2.

[0091] In the second scenario indicated as “2” on FIG. 4, the flow of the liquid is detected at t=0. A counter is thus triggered by the controller 110 at t=0. A non-fault signal is received by the controller 110 at t=Ti (e.g. one of the liquid outlet-associated devices 24 senses a movement, or a user of the user device 200 has entered manual instructions to maintain the valve 120 open longer than the pre-determined value AT). A new counter is thus triggered by the controller 110 at t=Ti. Once the new counter has reached the pre-determined value AT, the controller 110 operates the valve 120 in the close configuration at t=Ts.

[0092] In some embodiments, it can be said that the new counter may be triggered for replacing the counter as a current counter of the system. The current counter may be monitored to determined whether the current counter has reached the pre-determined value AT.

[0093] In the third scenario indicated as “3” on FIG. 4, the flow of the liquid is detected at t=0. A counter is thus triggered by the controller 110 at t=0. A free-flow order signal is received by the controller 110 at t=Ti (e.g. or a user of the user device 200 has entered manual instructions to maintain the valve 120 open indefinitely). The controller 110 thus maintain the valve in the open configuration indefinitely. [0094] In the fourth scenario indicated as “4” on FIG. 4, the flow of the liquid is detected at t=0. A counter is thus triggered by the controller 110 at t=0. A free-flow order signal is received by the controller 110 at t=Ti (e.g. or a user of the user device 200 has entered manual instructions to maintain the valve 120 open indefinitely). The controller 110 thus maintain the valve in the open configuration indefinitely. At t=T4, the ultrasonic flow sensor 130 detects an increase of the flow of the liquid at the liquid inlet 12. In response, the controller 110 triggers a new counter at t=T4. Once the new counter has reached the pre-determined value AT, the controller 110 operates the valve 120 in the close configuration at t=Ts.

[0095] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method 500 for controlling liquid distribution in a piping assembly, according to some implementations of the present technology. In this implementation, the operations of the method 500 are implemented by processors of the controller 110. In some implementations, one or more operations of the method 500 could be implemented, whole or in part, by another computer-implemented device communicably connected to the controller 110. It is also contemplated that the method 500 or one or more operation thereof may be embodied in computer-executable instructions that are stored in a computer-readable medium, such as a non- transitory mass storage device, loaded into memory and executed by a processor. Some operations or portions of operations in the flow diagram may be possibly being executed concurrently, omitted or changed in order.

[0096] The method 500 may begin with monitoring, at operation 510 by the ultrasonic flow sensor 130, a flow of the liquid at the liquid inlet 12. As described above, the ultrasonic flow sensor 130 is operably connected to the piping assembly 50 in a contactless configuration with the liquid such that no contact occurs between the ultrasonic flow sensor 130 and the liquid. In this embodiment, the liquid is water but other liquids are contemplate in alternative embodiments. For example, the liquid may be oil, a dielectric liquid or a heat-transfer liquid.

[0097] The method 500 may continue with triggering, at operation 520, in response to the ultrasonic flow sensor 130 detecting a flow of the liquid at the liquid inlet 12, a counter at a first moment in time indicative of an amount of time that has passed since the flow has been enabled. It can be said that the counter is a current counter at the first moment in time. [0098] The method 500 may continue with triggering, at operation 530, in response to receipt of a non-fault signal from the remote electronic device 200, 24, a new counter at a second moment in time indicative of an amount of time that has passed since receipt of the non-fault signal, the new counter replacing the counter as the current counter at the second moment in time. In this embodiment, the controller 110 may also operate the valve 120 in the open configuration in response to receiving the non-fault signal.

[0099] The method 500 may continue with operating, at operation 540, in response to the current counter reaching a pre-determined value, the valve 120 in the close configuration for disabling the flow of the liquid at the liquid inlet 12. As described herein above, the pre-determined value may be determined by the controller 110 based on the initial flow value.

[0100] In some embodiments, the controller 110 may receive, from the remote electronic device 200, 24, a free-flow order signal indicative of a desire of a user of the remote electronic device 200, 24 to indefinitely maintain the valve in the open configuration. In response to receiving the free-flow order signal, the controller 110 maintains the valve 120 in the open configuration after the current counter has reached the pre-determined value.

[0101] In some embodiments, the controller 110 may trigger, in response to the ultrasonic flow sensor 130 sensing an increase of the flow at the liquid inlet 12, a new counter indicative of an amount of time that has passed since the flow has increased. The new counter becomes the current counter upon being triggered. A pre-determined value corresponding to the new counter may be determined by the controller 110 based on an average flow value of the flow at the liquid inlet 12 upon detecting the increase of the flow. For example, the average flow value may be defined by an average of the flow of the liquid during a pre-determined duration (e.g. five seconds) starting once the ultrasonic flow sensor 130 detects the increase of the flow. In the same or another embodiment, the pre-determined value of the current counter that is triggered in response to the detecting of an increase of the flow at the liquid inlet 12 is based on a value of said increase. For example, in response to the flow having increased by +0.3L/min, the pre-determined value associated with the new counter for operating the valve 120 in the close configuration may be 20 seconds. As another example, in response to the flow having increased by +0.6L/min, the predetermined value associated with the new counter for operating the valve 120 in the close configuration may be 5 seconds. The different pre-determined values, the corresponding flow increase values and/or the corresponding average flow value may be stored in the memory 150 of the controller 110.

[0102] For example, at t=0, a flow may be detected by the ultrasonic flow sensor 130 such that the controller 110 triggers a timer having a corresponding pre-determined value of 2 minutes. In response to detecting an increase of the flow at t=l minute, the controller 110 may trigger a new counter having a corresponding pre-determined value of 10 seconds such that the valve 120 will be operated in the close configuration 10 seconds after detecting the increase of the flow if non non-fault signal is received.

[0103] It will be appreciated that at least some of the operations of the method 500 may also be performed by computer programs, which may exist in a variety of forms, both active and inactive. Such as, the computer programs may exist as software program(s) comprised of program instructions in source code, object code, executable code or other formats. Any of the above may be embodied on a computer readable medium, which include storage devices and signals, in compressed or uncompressed form. Representative computer readable storage devices include conventional computer system RAM (random access memory), ROM (read only memory), EPROM (erasable, programmable ROM), EEPROM (electrically erasable, programmable ROM), and magnetic or optical disks or tapes. Representative computer readable signals, whether modulated using a carrier or not, are signals that a computer system hosting or running the computer program may be configured to access, including signals downloaded through the Internet or other networks. Concrete examples of the foregoing include distribution of the programs on a CD ROM or via Internet download. In a sense, the Internet itself, as an abstract entity, is a computer readable medium. The same is true of computer networks in general.

[0104] It is to be understood that the operations and functionality of the described system 10, its constituent components, and associated processes may be achieved by any one or more of hardware-based, software-based, and firmware-based elements. Such operational alternatives do not, in any way, limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0105] While the above-described implementations have been described and shown with reference to particular operations performed in a particular order, it will be understood that these steps may be combined, sub-divided, or re-ordered without departing from the teachings of the present technology. At least some of the steps may be executed in parallel or in series. Accordingly, the order and grouping of the steps are not a limitation of the present technology.

[0106] It should be expressly understood that not all technical effects mentioned herein need to be enjoyed in each and every implementation of the present technology.

[0107] Modifications and improvements to the above-described implementations of the present technology may become apparent to those skilled in the art. The foregoing description is intended to be exemplary rather than limiting. The scope of the present technology is therefore intended to be limited solely by the scope of the appended claims.