Patent ID: 9644349
Date: 2017-05-09
CPC Classifications: E03B,F16K,G05D

Claim:
1. An apparatus for adjusting the output pressure of a pressure reducing valve supplying fluid to a consumer region, in order to establish a desired minimum fluid pressure at a critical point in the consumer region, the apparatus comprising: a controller and a remote data processing system remote from the controller; wherein the controller comprises a processor, a data storage unit, a flow rate module which provides data representative of fluid flow rate from the pressure reducing valve into the consumer region, and a first input for a signal representative of said flow rate which is used in determining the required output pressure of the pressure reducing valve; a control output for providing a signal to an adjusting mechanism for adjusting the output pressure of the pressure reducing valve; a second input for receiving, from an output pressure sensor, a signal representative of the output pressure of the pressure reducing valve; a data logging module for logging data representative of the output pressure of the pressure reducing valve at moments in time, together with time stamp information; and a communications module for receiving data from and sending data to the remote data processing system over a wireless communication network; the data storage unit stores parameters representing a required output pressure from the pressure reducing valve as a function of the flow rate; and the processor is configured to process (i) data representative of the flow rate and (ii) the stored parameters, so that a signal is provided from the control output in order to cause the pressure reducing valve to be adjusted to provide the required output pressure corresponding to the flow rate; the controller is configured to use the communications module to communicate data logged by the data logging module to the remote data processing system over the wireless communications network at intervals; the remote data processing system is configured to receive the logged data from the controller at intervals; to receive critical point pressure data from a critical point pressure sensor adjacent the critical point, the critical point pressure data being representative of the pressure at the critical point at moments in time and including time stamp information; to use the logged data received from the controller and the critical point pressure data so as to calculate revised parameters to be transmitted at intervals to the controller, the revised parameters representing a required output pressure from the pressure reducing valve as a revised function of the flow rate; and to transmit the revised parameters to the controller over the wireless communications network at intervals; and the controller is configured to use the communications module to receive the revised parameters from the remote data processing system at intervals over the wireless communications network; to store the revised parameters in the data storage unit; and to use the revised parameters to provide a signal from the control output in order to cause the pressure reducing valve to be adjusted.