Water is one of the leading causes of property damage in both commercial and residential properties—estimated to be in the billions of dollars annually. Water leaks can occur from a range of appliances and fixtures. The most common sources of these leaks include junctions and connections from water heaters, refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers, toilets, and sinks.
Even though the valves, junctions, and line connections are visible for these appliances and areas, they are usually not reviewed or observed on a regular basis. Therefore, if a slow water leak occurs at any of these junctions or devices, framing, flooring, walls, and nearby items are usually significantly damaged before the leak is detected. Additionally, many of these situations will also develop mold, which requires additional steps of remediation and cost.
Water leak detection systems, also called water damage loss mitigation devices, are proactive systems that detect and notify when a water leak has occurred. These systems are ideal for use in apartment buildings, condominiums, rental properties, households, commercial buildings, and highly sensitive areas such as laboratories or computer rooms.
Water detection systems and devices can help prevent losses from slow leaks as well as more forceful types of water damage. Systems can be passive and/or active. A simple passive system will provide a leak alert to the area impacted while an active system can send an alarm to a central monitoring station and also stop water flow by activating a shutoff valve.
Fluid conduit system such as piping systems enable the delivery control of a fluid. Fluids include materials in liquid or gaseous form, or any material that that generally exhibit the characteristic readiness to flow, including finely divided solids. Fluid conduit systems such as piping systems can carry fluids from one location to another. Piping systems are usually made from materials that can sustain the weight, pressure, fluid momentum, and/or other forces exhibited by the properties and/or movement of a fluid.
Examples of a piping system include oil supply systems, gas supply systems, water supply systems, and sewage systems. In typical water supply systems or sewage systems, a system, or a network, of piping and plumbing fittings transport water or water-based aqueous materials from one location to another. In one aspect, piping and plumbing fittings, when connected properly enable the delivery of water, or aqueous materials from one location to another. Piping systems in general include, but are not limited to components such as pipes, hoses, valves, couplings, unions, outlets, joints, appliances, and pumps. Piping system components, when fitted together, have an opening through which a fluid can flow through the piping system from one location to another. Commonly found examples of piping and plumbing fittings include, pipes or hoses, valves, faucets, water-related fixtures, and other plumbing fittings which may be found in a typical household, or the more complex system of pipes or hoses which may be found in large commercial buildings.
Piping system components are typically made of materials such as steel, like galvanized steel, copper, brass, silicone, rubber, and/or plastics, where an example of a plastic material is colloquially referred to as polyvinyl chloride (PVC). While typical system components are designed to enable movement of a fluid from one location to another, replacement, fixing, or otherwise repairing some or all sections of a piping system is an integral part of maintaining the movement of a fluid from one location to another. Because many of the components that make up the piping and plumbing fittings can fail over time, repair is integral to maintaining effective flow of fluids. Such failure of piping system components can occur because of, for example, corrosion, fatigue, impact, wear, buckling, fracture, and other causes of mechanical, temperature, biological, and chemical stresses, among other stresses.
Damage to a part or whole of a piping system, from normal wear and tear and/or sudden damage from use and misuse can also cause failure within a piping system, and lead to decreased flow of a fluid from one location to another. For instance, gaskets can fail leading to leak of fluids in various piping systems. In one example, certain valves further comprise gaskets and/or seals that mitigate the unwanted flow of a fluid from flowing through or flowing out of a piping system. Failure of these gaskets and/or seals can lead to unwanted flow of a fluid, thus resulting in a slow leak.
A possible result of failure from a part or sum of parts of a piping system is a leak. In a typical piping system, component failure can result in a leak. In the case of a typical water supply system or sewage system, a leak can cause inefficient transfer of water from one location to another. The resulting water or aqueous substance that escapes a water supply system or sewage system is then typically found on the exterior of piping and plumbing fittings associated with the water supply system or sewage system. Slow leaks are characterized by relatively slower escape of a fluid from a piping system than fast leaks. Slow leaks can be further characterized by a gradual, consistent or inconsistent, flow of a fluid on the exterior of piping and plumbing fittings.
Insurance claims related to water damage are the second most frequently filed claims in the United States, accounting for approximately 23% of all homeowner property losses over the course of 5 years. According to the Insurance Services Office, between 2008 and 2012, the average cost of a water damage claim was $7,195 per claim, with an estimated loss of $11 billion annually in the U.S. alone. In 2012, the frequency of water-damage and freezing claims accounted for 1.79 claims per 100 house years (policies). Furthermore, according to the ACE Private Risk Services study (published by ACE Group, Apr. 4, 2011), up to 93% of the cost of water damage could have been prevented or minimized if an automatic water leak detection and shut-off system has been present at home.
Common sources of leaks related to piping systems, and specifically in water supply system or sewage systems, are related to junctions, which can include connections, hoses, pipes, fittings, and/or valves and junctions with washing machines, refrigerators, icemakers, water heaters, water mains, dishwashers, restaurant equipment, toilets, sinks, and industrial distribution applications. To prevent such leaks, it is advised that persons regularly inspect these piping systems and related components, and replace any of such systems or components on a regular basis or when damage or leaks are detected. However, it is not always the case that inspections and replacements are performed regularly, and the problem of potentially damaging sources of leaks is thus still present. Problems related to such water leaks include slow leaks that can cause significant damage to framing, flooring, walls, and other nearby property before the leak is detected. In some cases, a piping system may be hidden or out of view, and leaks may occur without a person's knowledge, potentially leading to substantial damage to property before the leak is detected. Additionally, there is a risk for mold development and other unwanted biological growth, which often requires additional steps of remediation and cost.
Leaks, and particularly slow leaks are typically not avoidable. The materials that comprise piping systems are susceptible to damage and wear over the course of time. Various sources of stress can exist for a piping system, and the sources of stress can create a leak in which the liquid substance flowing through said piping system could escape. A common source of leaks is at and near fittings. Typical fittings join two pieces of pipe or hoses together. However, stress on a fitting can weaken seals and regions associated with such joining, and result in a leak of a liquid substance. Another common example of a source of leaks is at and near valves. In certain cases, the moving elements of valves can weaken or become damaged from stress. In one example, some valves have elastomers that prevent the flow of unwanted fluid flow through the components of the valve. In these cases, the elastomers can break, corrode, or may not properly fit, leading to a leak. However, it is known to persons having skill in the art that the source of leaks and slow leaks are not limited to these examples and locations related to a piping system.
Japanese Patent No. JP10292893A (Ohigata, 1997) discloses a doughnut-shaped pan with a detector that may attach to the exterior of a pipe. The doughnut shaped pan is fitted to the outer circumference of a distribution pipe, and condensation along the exterior of a distribution pipe is detected. However, there are number of shortcomings related to attachment of such detector to a pipe. For example, junctions and valves of piping systems are a common source of slow leaks. Therefore, there is a need for a detector that specifically enables detection of leaks from other areas of piping systems, including detection from areas of piping systems that are prone to leaks, such as leaks located at connection points like fittings, junctions and/or the valves.
In addition, many common types of fittings and valves change the direction of flow of a liquid substance, which can also induce a change in flow rate, or pressure, which can be associated with an increased rate of failure. For instance, a number of different types of fittings, commonly used in plumbing, include elbows, couplings, crosses, caps, and tees. These fittings can have a size and/or shape different from those of a pipe in their proximity. Valves can have irregular shapes and sizes. Fittings and valves can also have an irregular form. One of the problems with JP10292893A (Ohigata, 1997) is that it cannot be attached to fittings and valves to detect leaks.
When slow leaks are not repaired quickly, water or aqueous substances escaping the piping and plumbing fittings can cause substantial damage. Because of the slower rate of escape, slow leaks are not detected easily, and thus can cause substantial damage prior to detection. Problems associated with a slow leak can range from economic loss due to unnecessary consumption of the fluid escaping through a slow leak, or damage to building structures or foundations. Furthermore, insurance companies specializing in property insurance may have specific guidelines for covering certain types of risks to property. In some instances, a given insurance policy does not protect a payer from certain types of damage. In many cases, a higher, thus more expensive insurance premium must be paid to ensure protection against potential damage caused by leaks relating to piping system, and particularly for slow leaks. Therefore, there is a need for an early detection of a leak, particularly for slow leaks as to prevent further damage that can be derived from such slow leak.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,191 (McAtamney, 1993, incorporated by reference in its entirety) discloses a leak detection system installed on a pipeline system. An outer compartment encompasses a piping system and detects leaks from the pipeline system in the interstitial space. Various sensors placed along the outer compartment are disclosed. However, this leak detector system requires that the outer compartment be installed while installing a piping system, or while modifying a piping system. These requirements make installation of such leak detectors costly and labor intensive. Further, a number of leak sensors may be placed across the outer compartment, and because the outer compartment is interconnected, it may become difficult to discern specific regions of the piping system as a source of a leak. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,191 (McAtamney, 1993) is designed for both underground and above-ground installations. However, any mechanical problems, hydraulic problems, structural problems, electrical problems, leakage, or other problems to a piping system and/or the leak detector disclosed in McAtamney, 1993 requires that part or a whole of the piping system and/or the leak detector be disassembled, fixed, re-assembled. Therefore, there is a need for a retrofit leak detection means that fits on existing piping systems, and further, specifically target the detection of leaks from problematic components of a piping system, including but not limited to junctions, valves, joints, and fittings. Additionally, there is a need for a leak detection means that is modular, and that can be installed more simply, quickly, and efficiently on a number of different piping system applications.
Many water detection products exist today to identify water once it is on the ground or after the water has caused significant damage. These devices primarily consist of contact based cable-type or rope-type devices, contact based sensors, and cylinders/towers. Examples of such existing products include the Leak Alert™ Water Detector by Zircon Corp, and the Water Defense Water Alarm by Honeywell, Inc. These types of designs rely on water moving across a floor or flat surface, and then, if the device is placed correctly, the potential exists for the water to come into contact and be detected with the probe, sensor, or other types units. If water contact occurs, these types of devices then trigger an audible alarm. However, there are a number of limitations with these types of prior art detectors. For instance, it is sometimes difficult to predict where to place an existing water detection product, and an incorrect prediction of placement can greatly affect whether or not these detectors will detect a leak and how soon such that much damage may be done prior to detection. For instance, these existing products rely on water moving towards and contacting the sensor portion these products. If a floor is uneven, not level, or there are obstructions that affect the flow of a fluid, such fluid may not reach a prior art water-detection product. The path of the pipe can allow the leak to flow into floors, walls, ceilings, and other environments, etc. away from the device, and therefore, be undetected by the alarm device or user. Thus, significant damage from the leak occurs over time, usually without detection from these types of devices. Additionally, these designs rely on water being leaked on a surface in significant quantities before an alarm is generated. In some cases, these devices or portions of these devices are spatially bulky and may not fit in certain environments. In a related sense, the design of these devices or portions of these devices are, subjectively speaking, not aesthetically pleasing, and may further lead to low adoption rates. Therefore, there is a need for a form fitting, inconspicuous and/or aesthetically pleasing detector for leaks that may lead to greater adoption, and hence, decreased costs associated with water damage.