Patent ID: 11920581
Assignee: MASTERFLEX, LLC
Field: Engines, pumps, turbines (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC F | IPC F

Claim 16:
17. A method of controlling a pump based on a pump speed and a downstream flow sensor, comprising:
determining a targeted motor speed for a flow rate set point based on a flow rate function;
controlling the pump according to consecutive control cycles, wherein each control cycle includes a pump movement sub-cycle, a wait sub-cycle, and a measurement sub-cycle;
determining a measured flow rate during the measurement sub-cycle, wherein a subsequent control cycle of the consecutive control cycles is based on the measured flow rate; and
detecting a pump condition based on the pump speed and the measured flow rate;
wherein detecting the pump condition comprises at least one of (i) detecting an open pump head condition based on the measured flow rate being zero when the pump speed is greater than zero; (ii) detecting an incorrect tubing size condition based on a difference between an expected flow rate change based on the flow rate function and a measured flow rate change; and (iii) detecting a tubing obstruction condition based on a pump motion profile, a difference between a local minimum flow rate and a local maximum flow rate, and a pulsation duration.