WO2012090228A2 - Water consumption transaction system and method - Google Patents

Water consumption transaction system and method Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2012090228A2
WO2012090228A2 PCT/IN2012/000001 IN2012000001W WO2012090228A2 WO 2012090228 A2 WO2012090228 A2 WO 2012090228A2 IN 2012000001 W IN2012000001 W IN 2012000001W WO 2012090228 A2 WO2012090228 A2 WO 2012090228A2
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
water
volume
unit
service provider
utility service
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/IN2012/000001
Other languages
French (fr)
Other versions
WO2012090228A3 (en
Inventor
Gurbrinder Singh Bindra
Original Assignee
Logica Private Limited
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Logica Private Limited filed Critical Logica Private Limited
Publication of WO2012090228A2 publication Critical patent/WO2012090228A2/en
Publication of WO2012090228A3 publication Critical patent/WO2012090228A3/en

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01F—MEASURING VOLUME, VOLUME FLOW, MASS FLOW OR LIQUID LEVEL; METERING BY VOLUME
    • G01F15/00—Details of, or accessories for, apparatus of groups G01F1/00 - G01F13/00 insofar as such details or appliances are not adapted to particular types of such apparatus
    • G01F15/07—Integration to give total flow, e.g. using mechanically-operated integrating mechanism
    • G01F15/075—Integration to give total flow, e.g. using mechanically-operated integrating mechanism using electrically-operated integrating means
    • G01F15/0755—Integration to give total flow, e.g. using mechanically-operated integrating mechanism using electrically-operated integrating means involving digital counting

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to the field of natural resource management system, and more particularly relates to a water consumption transaction system and method.
  • Scarcity of water may be a huge challenge in 21 st century and beyond.
  • Rain water harvesting is common at present to best utilize the natural sources of water.
  • a major volume of the total consumption of water is wasted compared to the volume of water effectively utilized. This wastage of water has to be minimized and there is a need for a mechanism to encourage human beings to reduce the wastage of water and recycling of waste water in such a way that the purified and recycled water can again be utilized.
  • a system includes a utility service provider water supply unit i for supplying water to at least one premise and a water consumption transaction unit located in at least one premise and configured for metering volume of water received from the utility service provider water supply unit and volume of water returned to the utility service provider water supply unit.
  • the water consumption transaction unit further configured for computing volume of water consumed by the consumer in the at least one premise based on the volume of received water and the volume of returned water.
  • the system includes a backend server wirelessly coupled to the water consumption transaction unit and configured for computing a charge associated with the at least one premise based on the volume of water received by the at least one premise and the volume of water returned to the utility service provider water supply unit.
  • an apparatus in another aspect, includes an inlet valve for receiving water supplied from a utility service provider water supply unit, and a water recycling and purifying unit for recycling and purifying the water collected from at least one premise and providing the recycled water back to the utility service provider water supply unit.
  • the apparatus further includes a metering unit operable for metering the volume of water received from the utility service provider water supply unit via the inlet valve and the volume of recycled water returned to the utility service provider water supply unit via the outlet valve.
  • the apparatus may also include a processing unit operable for computing the volume of water consumed by the consumer based on the volume of water received from the utility service provider water supply unit and the volume of recycled water returned to the utility service provider water supply unit.
  • a method includes receiving volume of water supplied from a utility service provider water supply unit via an inlet valve of a water consumption transaction unit and metering the volume of water received from the utility service provider water supply unit using a metering unit of the water consumption transaction unit.
  • the method includes recycling the water collected from at least one customer premise using a water recycling and purifying unit of the water consumption unit and providing the recycled water to the utility service provider water supply unit via an outlet valve connected to the water recycling and purifying unit.
  • the method also includes metering the volume of recycled water returned to the utility service provider water supply unit via the outlet valve using the metering unit.
  • the method may include determining the volume of water consumed by the consumer using a processing unit of the water consumption transaction unit based on the metered volume of water received from the utility— s.erv-i.ce-p.r-av:id.er- water supply unit and the metered volume of recycled water returned to the utility service provider water supply unit and computing a charge associated with the consumer based on the volume of water consumed by the consumer. Additionally, the method may include periodically communicating at least one of the volume of water received by the consumer, the volume of recycled water returned by the consumer, the volume of water consumed by the consumer, and a charge associated with the consumer to a backend server using a transceiver of the water consumption transaction unit.
  • Figure 1 is a system diagram illustrating a water transaction consumption system, according to one embodiment.
  • FIG 2 is a block diagram illustrating various components of a water consumption 5 transaction unit such as those shown in Figure 1 , according to one embodiment.
  • FIG. 3 is a process flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of a charging a consumer based on water consumed and recycled water returned to a utility service provider, according to one embodiment.
  • FIG. 1 is a system diagram 100 illustrating a water consumption transaction system, according to one embodiment.
  • the water consumption transaction system 100 includes a utility service provider water supply unit 102, a 5 water consumption transaction unit 104, a fresh water storage reservoir 106, and a backend server 108 (e.g., a machine to machine (M2M) server).
  • M2M machine to machine
  • the utility service provider water supply unit 102 may be a storage tank or reservoir storing fresh water to be supplied to one or more premises 1 10A-N.
  • Each of the i o premises 10A-N includes the water consumption transaction unit 104 connected to the utility service provider water supply unit 102.
  • the water consumption transaction unit 104 receives fresh water from the utility service provider water supply unit 102 and stores the fresh water in the fresh water storage reservoir 106.
  • the water consumption transaction unit 104 recycles waste water collected from the premise 1 1 OA and provides the recycled water back to the utility service provider water supply unit 102.
  • the water.0 consumption transaction unit 104 meters the volume of recycled water returned to the utility service provider and records time period during which the volume of water is returned.
  • the water consumption transaction unit 104 determines the volume of water5 consumed by the consumer for a fixed time (e.g., per week, month, year, etc.) based on the volume of water received by the consumer and the volume of water returned to the utility service provider.
  • the water consumption transaction unit 104 communicates the volume of water consumed and recorded time information to the backend server 108.
  • the backend server 108 computes a charge0 associated with the premise 1 1 OA based on the volume of water consumed by the consumer and the recorded time information. For example, the backend server 108 considers the difference in time periods during computing the charge.
  • the charge is computed by considering a discount provided to the consumer on the volume of water consumed based on the volume of water returned to the utility service provider. For example, during raining seasons, the consumer may not be utilizing the water supplied by the utility service provider and may be providing huge volume of water back to the utility provider. In this situation, the utility service provider provides a discount in the rental for a next charging period during which the consumer receives water from the utility service provider. It can be noted that, the water consumption transaction unit 104 allows the consumer to set the volume of water to be returned to the utility service provider during a fixed duration. For example, during seasons when the consumer gets more rain, the consumer can collect higher volume of water and provide higher volume of water to the utility service provider.
  • FIG 2 is a block diagram illustrating various components of the water consumption transaction unit 104 such as those shown in Figure 2, according to one embodiment.
  • the water consumption transaction unit 104 includes an inlet valve 202, an outlet valve 204, a digital metering unit 206, a processing unit 208, a display unit 210, memory 212, a transceiver 214, a waste water collection unit 216, a water recycling and purifying unit 218, a rain water harvesting unit 222.
  • the water consumption transaction unit 104 receives fresh water from the utility service provider water supply unit 102 through the inlet valve 202 and stores the received water in the fresh water storage, reservoir 106.
  • the inlet valve 202 is closed automatically and the water supply from the utility service provider water supply unit 102 is stopped.
  • the waste water collection unit 216 collects the waste water from the premise 1 10A and transfers the collected waste water to the water recycling and purifying unit 218 upon reaching a threshold limit.
  • the rain water harvesting unit 222 performs rain water harvesting during rainy season and provides the harvested rain 5 water to the water recycling and purifying unit 218 upon reaching a threshold limit.
  • the water recycling and purifying unit 218 recycles the waste water and/or the harvested rain water and provides the recycled water to the utility service provider through the outlet valve 204.
  • the outlet valve 204 is opened automatically and the i o inlet valve 202 is closed.
  • the water supply from the utility service provider to the consumer is shutoff and the recycled water is provided to the utility service provider through the outlet valve 204.
  • the metering unit 206 meters the volume of water received from the utility service 1 5 p ro vide r wate r co n s u m ptio n_u njtJ_Q2_a nd ⁇ a Iso-record s Joe Jime_p.e riod-to r ⁇ w ich-the- metered volume of fresh water is received. Also, the metering unit 206 meters the volume of recycled water returned to the utility service provider via the outlet valve 204 and records the time period during which the metered volume of water is returned.
  • the metering unit 206 meters the water received and water returned simultaneously. In another embodiment, the metering unit 206 meters the water received and water returned independently.
  • either the inlet valve 204 or the outlet valve 206 is open. For example, when the outlet valve5 204 is opened, the inlet valve 206 is closed electromechanically so that water flow from the utility service provider to the consumer is blocked and water starts flowing from the consumer back to the utility service provider via the outlet valve 204.
  • the outlet valve 204 is closed, the input valve 202 is opened to receive the fresh water from the utility service provider water storage unit 106. Accordingly, the0 metering unit 206 switches the metering mode from water returned to water received.
  • the processing unit 208 is configured for detecting opening and closing of the inlet valve 202 and the outlet valve 204 and notifying the metering unit 206 to switch the mode of metering when the input valve 202 and/or output valve 204 is opened or shut off.
  • the metering unit 206 periodically sends the metered values to the processing unit 208. Accordingly, the processing unit 208 computes the volume of water consumed by the consumer based on the volume of water received from the utility service provider and the volume of recycled water returned to the utility service provider. Further, the processing unit 208 computes the charge associated with the premise 1 1 OA based on the volume of water consumed by the consumer and the time difference between the time period for receiving the water from the utility service provider and the time period for returning the recycled water to the utility service provider; In one exemplary implementation, the memory 212 includes instructions 220 temporarily stored therein, that when executed_by_the ⁇ pr cessing ⁇ u.nit-20.8-.— cause the processing unit 208 to performing the above operations. The processing unit 208 displays the charge associated with the consumer on the display unit 210.
  • the transceiver 214 periodically communicates the volume of water consumed by the consumer, time difference between the time period for receiving the water from the utility service provider and the time period for returning the recycled water to the utility service provider, and the charge associated with the customer to the backend server 108.
  • the transceiver 214 communicates the volume of water consumed by the consumer to the backend server 108 so that the backend server 108 computes the charge associated with the customer based on the volume of water consumed and the time difference between the time period for receiving the water from the utility service provider and the time period for returning the recycled water to the utility service provider.
  • the transceiver 214 may be configured to receive configuration parameters and/or firmware updates from the backend server 108 for configuring the water consumption transaction unit 104.
  • FIG. 3 is a process flowchart 300 illustrating an exemplary method of a charging a consumer based on water consumed and recycled water returned to a utility service provider, according to one embodiment.
  • fresh water supplied 5 from the utility service provider water supply unit 102 is received by the water consumption transaction unit 104 through the inlet valve 202.
  • the volume of water received through the inlet valve 202 is metered using the metering unit 206. i O
  • waste water collected in the waste water collection unit 216 and/or rain water harvested by the rain water harvesting unit 222 is recycled using the water recycling and purifying unit 218.
  • the recycled water is provided to the utility service provider water supply unit 102 via the outlet valve 204.
  • the volume of recycled water returned through the outlet valve 204 is metered using
  • the volume of water consumed by the consumer is determined using the processing unit 208 based on the metered volume of water received and the metered volume of water returned.
  • a charge associated with the0 consumer is computed based on the volume of water consumed by the consumer and time information associated with the volume of water received from the utility service provider and the volume of recycled water returned to the utility service provider.
  • the volume of water received by the consumer, the volume of water returned to the utility service provider, the volume of water consumed by the5 consumer, the charge associated with the consumer and/or the recorded time information is periodically communicated to the backend server 108 using the transceiver 2 4.
  • the various devices, modules, selectors, estimators, and the like described herein may be enabled and operated ' using hardware circuitry, for example, complementary metal oxide semiconductor based logic circuitry, firmware, software and/or any combination of hardware, firmware, and/or software embodied in a machine readable medium.
  • hardware circuitry for example, complementary metal oxide semiconductor based logic circuitry, firmware, software and/or any combination of hardware, firmware, and/or software embodied in a machine readable medium.
  • the various electrical structure and methods may be embodied using transistors, logic gates, and electrical circuits, such as application specific integrated circuit.

Abstract

The present invention provides a water consumption transaction system and method. In one embodiment, a water consumption transaction unit receives fresh water from an utility service provider water supply unit and meters the volume of the water received from the utility service provider. Further, the water consumption transaction unit recycles waste water collected from a premise of a customer and returns the recycled water to the utility service provider water supply unit. The water consumption transaction unit meters the volume of recycled water returned to the utility service provider. The water consumption transaction unit then determines the volume of water consumed by the consumer based on the volume of water received and the volume of water returned to the utility service provider. Accordingly, the backend server computes a charge associated with the customer based on the volume of water consumed by the consumer.

Description

WATER CONSUMPTION TRANSACTION SYSTEM AND METHOD
RELATED APPLICATION Benefit is claimed to India Provisional Application No. 4049/CHE/2010, titled "WATER TRANSACTION CONSUMPTION SYSTEM" by G B S Bindra, et Al., filed on 31 st December 2010, which is herein incorporated in its entirety by reference for all purposes. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of natural resource management system, and more particularly relates to a water consumption transaction system and method.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Scarcity of water may be a huge challenge in 21st century and beyond. Rain water harvesting is common at present to best utilize the natural sources of water. When human beings utilize water for various purposes, a major volume of the total consumption of water is wasted compared to the volume of water effectively utilized. This wastage of water has to be minimized and there is a need for a mechanism to encourage human beings to reduce the wastage of water and recycling of waste water in such a way that the purified and recycled water can again be utilized.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a water consumption transaction system and method. In one aspect, a system includes a utility service provider water supply unit i for supplying water to at least one premise and a water consumption transaction unit located in at least one premise and configured for metering volume of water received from the utility service provider water supply unit and volume of water returned to the utility service provider water supply unit. The water consumption transaction unit further configured for computing volume of water consumed by the consumer in the at least one premise based on the volume of received water and the volume of returned water. Additionally, the system includes a backend server wirelessly coupled to the water consumption transaction unit and configured for computing a charge associated with the at least one premise based on the volume of water received by the at least one premise and the volume of water returned to the utility service provider water supply unit.
In another aspect, an apparatus includes an inlet valve for receiving water supplied from a utility service provider water supply unit, and a water recycling and purifying unit for recycling and purifying the water collected from at least one premise and providing the recycled water back to the utility service provider water supply unit. The apparatus further includes a metering unit operable for metering the volume of water received from the utility service provider water supply unit via the inlet valve and the volume of recycled water returned to the utility service provider water supply unit via the outlet valve. The apparatus may also include a processing unit operable for computing the volume of water consumed by the consumer based on the volume of water received from the utility service provider water supply unit and the volume of recycled water returned to the utility service provider water supply unit. Additionally, the apparatus may include a transceiver operable for periodically communicating at least one of the volume of water received by the consumer, the volume of recycled water returned by the consumer, the volume of water consumed by the consumer, and a charge associated with the consumer to a backend server via a wireless communication channel. In yet another aspect, a method includes receiving volume of water supplied from a utility service provider water supply unit via an inlet valve of a water consumption transaction unit and metering the volume of water received from the utility service provider water supply unit using a metering unit of the water consumption transaction unit. The method includes recycling the water collected from at least one customer premise using a water recycling and purifying unit of the water consumption unit and providing the recycled water to the utility service provider water supply unit via an outlet valve connected to the water recycling and purifying unit. The method also includes metering the volume of recycled water returned to the utility service provider water supply unit via the outlet valve using the metering unit.
Furthermore, the method may include determining the volume of water consumed by the consumer using a processing unit of the water consumption transaction unit based on the metered volume of water received from the utility— s.erv-i.ce-p.r-av:id.er- water supply unit and the metered volume of recycled water returned to the utility service provider water supply unit and computing a charge associated with the consumer based on the volume of water consumed by the consumer. Additionally, the method may include periodically communicating at least one of the volume of water received by the consumer, the volume of recycled water returned by the consumer, the volume of water consumed by the consumer, and a charge associated with the consumer to a backend server using a transceiver of the water consumption transaction unit. Other features of the embodiments will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description that follows.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a system diagram illustrating a water transaction consumption system, according to one embodiment.
Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating various components of a water consumption 5 transaction unit such as those shown in Figure 1 , according to one embodiment.
Figure 3 is a process flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of a charging a consumer based on water consumed and recycled water returned to a utility service provider, according to one embodiment. i o The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
1 5 The present invention provides a water consumption transaction system and method. In the following detailed description of the embodiments of the invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof and in which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable0 those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims.
5
According to the present invention, a water consumption transaction system is disclosed in which consumers borrow the water from a utility service provider, return the equivalent volume of water consumed back to the utility service provider and pay the rental for using the said volume of water for the fixed period agreed0 between the utility provider and the consumers. Figure 1 is a system diagram 100 illustrating a water consumption transaction system, according to one embodiment. In Figure 1 , the water consumption transaction system 100 includes a utility service provider water supply unit 102, a 5 water consumption transaction unit 104, a fresh water storage reservoir 106, and a backend server 108 (e.g., a machine to machine (M2M) server).
The utility service provider water supply unit 102 may be a storage tank or reservoir storing fresh water to be supplied to one or more premises 1 10A-N. Each of the i o premises 10A-N includes the water consumption transaction unit 104 connected to the utility service provider water supply unit 102. In one embodiment, the water consumption transaction unit 104 receives fresh water from the utility service provider water supply unit 102 and stores the fresh water in the fresh water storage reservoir 106. In this embodiment, the water consumption transaction unit 104
1 5 meters the volume of water received from the utility sej^dce_p.r_0-Vider_to_the-Premise- 1 1 OA and records time period during which the volume of water is received. In another embodiment, the water consumption transaction unit 104 recycles waste water collected from the premise 1 1 OA and provides the recycled water back to the utility service provider water supply unit 102. In this embodiment, the water.0 consumption transaction unit 104 meters the volume of recycled water returned to the utility service provider and records time period during which the volume of water is returned.
Further, the water consumption transaction unit 104 determines the volume of water5 consumed by the consumer for a fixed time (e.g., per week, month, year, etc.) based on the volume of water received by the consumer and the volume of water returned to the utility service provider. The water consumption transaction unit 104 communicates the volume of water consumed and recorded time information to the backend server 108. Accordingly, the backend server 108 computes a charge0 associated with the premise 1 1 OA based on the volume of water consumed by the consumer and the recorded time information. For example, the backend server 108 considers the difference in time periods during computing the charge.
The charge is computed by considering a discount provided to the consumer on the volume of water consumed based on the volume of water returned to the utility service provider. For example, during raining seasons, the consumer may not be utilizing the water supplied by the utility service provider and may be providing huge volume of water back to the utility provider. In this situation, the utility service provider provides a discount in the rental for a next charging period during which the consumer receives water from the utility service provider. It can be noted that, the water consumption transaction unit 104 allows the consumer to set the volume of water to be returned to the utility service provider during a fixed duration. For example, during seasons when the consumer gets more rain, the consumer can collect higher volume of water and provide higher volume of water to the utility service provider.
Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating various components of the water consumption transaction unit 104 such as those shown in Figure 2, according to one embodiment. The water consumption transaction unit 104 includes an inlet valve 202, an outlet valve 204, a digital metering unit 206, a processing unit 208, a display unit 210, memory 212, a transceiver 214, a waste water collection unit 216, a water recycling and purifying unit 218, a rain water harvesting unit 222.
As shown in Figure 2, the water consumption transaction unit 104 receives fresh water from the utility service provider water supply unit 102 through the inlet valve 202 and stores the received water in the fresh water storage, reservoir 106. When the fresh water storage reservoir 106 becomes full, the inlet valve 202 is closed automatically and the water supply from the utility service provider water supply unit 102 is stopped. The waste water collection unit 216 collects the waste water from the premise 1 10A and transfers the collected waste water to the water recycling and purifying unit 218 upon reaching a threshold limit. Similarly, the rain water harvesting unit 222 performs rain water harvesting during rainy season and provides the harvested rain 5 water to the water recycling and purifying unit 218 upon reaching a threshold limit.
The water recycling and purifying unit 218 recycles the waste water and/or the harvested rain water and provides the recycled water to the utility service provider through the outlet valve 204. When the storage tank of the recycling unit 218 is full or crosses a threshold level, the outlet valve 204 is opened automatically and the i o inlet valve 202 is closed. Thus, the water supply from the utility service provider to the consumer is shutoff and the recycled water is provided to the utility service provider through the outlet valve 204.
The metering unit 206 meters the volume of water received from the utility service 1 5 p ro vide r wate r co n s u m ptio n_u njtJ_Q2_a nd^a Iso-record s Joe Jime_p.e riod-to r~w ich-the- metered volume of fresh water is received. Also, the metering unit 206 meters the volume of recycled water returned to the utility service provider via the outlet valve 204 and records the time period during which the metered volume of water is returned.
0
In one embodiment, the metering unit 206 meters the water received and water returned simultaneously. In another embodiment, the metering unit 206 meters the water received and water returned independently. In this embodiment, either the inlet valve 204 or the outlet valve 206 is open. For example, when the outlet valve5 204 is opened, the inlet valve 206 is closed electromechanically so that water flow from the utility service provider to the consumer is blocked and water starts flowing from the consumer back to the utility service provider via the outlet valve 204. When the outlet valve 204 is closed, the input valve 202 is opened to receive the fresh water from the utility service provider water storage unit 106. Accordingly, the0 metering unit 206 switches the metering mode from water returned to water received. In some embodiments, the processing unit 208 is configured for detecting opening and closing of the inlet valve 202 and the outlet valve 204 and notifying the metering unit 206 to switch the mode of metering when the input valve 202 and/or output valve 204 is opened or shut off.
The metering unit 206 periodically sends the metered values to the processing unit 208. Accordingly, the processing unit 208 computes the volume of water consumed by the consumer based on the volume of water received from the utility service provider and the volume of recycled water returned to the utility service provider. Further, the processing unit 208 computes the charge associated with the premise 1 1 OA based on the volume of water consumed by the consumer and the time difference between the time period for receiving the water from the utility service provider and the time period for returning the recycled water to the utility service provider; In one exemplary implementation, the memory 212 includes instructions 220 temporarily stored therein, that when executed_by_the^pr cessing^u.nit-20.8-.— cause the processing unit 208 to performing the above operations. The processing unit 208 displays the charge associated with the consumer on the display unit 210.
Also, the transceiver 214 periodically communicates the volume of water consumed by the consumer, time difference between the time period for receiving the water from the utility service provider and the time period for returning the recycled water to the utility service provider, and the charge associated with the customer to the backend server 108. Alternatively, the transceiver 214 communicates the volume of water consumed by the consumer to the backend server 108 so that the backend server 108 computes the charge associated with the customer based on the volume of water consumed and the time difference between the time period for receiving the water from the utility service provider and the time period for returning the recycled water to the utility service provider. Additionally, the transceiver 214 may be configured to receive configuration parameters and/or firmware updates from the backend server 108 for configuring the water consumption transaction unit 104. Figure 3 is a process flowchart 300 illustrating an exemplary method of a charging a consumer based on water consumed and recycled water returned to a utility service provider, according to one embodiment. At step 302, fresh water supplied 5 from the utility service provider water supply unit 102 is received by the water consumption transaction unit 104 through the inlet valve 202. At step 304, the volume of water received through the inlet valve 202 is metered using the metering unit 206. i O At step 306, waste water collected in the waste water collection unit 216 and/or rain water harvested by the rain water harvesting unit 222 is recycled using the water recycling and purifying unit 218. At step 308, the recycled water is provided to the utility service provider water supply unit 102 via the outlet valve 204. At step 310, the volume of recycled water returned through the outlet valve 204 is metered using
1 5 the metering unit 206.
At step 312, the volume of water consumed by the consumer is determined using the processing unit 208 based on the metered volume of water received and the metered volume of water returned. At step 314, a charge associated with the0 consumer is computed based on the volume of water consumed by the consumer and time information associated with the volume of water received from the utility service provider and the volume of recycled water returned to the utility service provider. At step 316, the volume of water received by the consumer, the volume of water returned to the utility service provider, the volume of water consumed by the5 consumer, the charge associated with the consumer and/or the recorded time information is periodically communicated to the backend server 108 using the transceiver 2 4.
The present embodiments have been described with reference to specific example0 embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications and changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the various embodiments. Furthermore, the various devices, modules, selectors, estimators, and the like described herein may be enabled and operated' using hardware circuitry, for example, complementary metal oxide semiconductor based logic circuitry, firmware, software and/or any combination of hardware, firmware, and/or software embodied in a machine readable medium. For example, the various electrical structure and methods may be embodied using transistors, logic gates, and electrical circuits, such as application specific integrated circuit.

Claims

We Claim:
1 . A system comprising:
an utility service provider water supply unit for supplying water to at least one 5 premise; and
a water consumption transaction unit located in the at least one premise and configured for:
metering volume of water received from the utility service provider water supply unit;
l o metering volume of water returned to the utility service provider water supply unit; and
computing volume of water consumed by the at least one premise based on the volume of received water and the volume of returned water.
1 2. The system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the water consumption transaction unit comprises: .
a waste water collection unit operable for collecting waste water from the at least one premise;
a rain water harvesting unit operable for collecting rain water during rainy season;0 and
a water recycling and purifying unit operable for recycling and purifying the waste water collected in the waste water collection unit and the rain water harvested by the rain water harvesting unit. 5
3. The system as claimed in claim 2, wherein in metering the volume of water returned to the utility service provider water supply unit, the water consumption transaction unit is configured for:
providing the recycled water to the utility service provider water supply unit; and metering the volume of recycled water provided to the utility service provider0 water supply unit.
4. The system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the water consumption transaction system comprises:
an inlet valve connected to the utility service provider water supply unit operable for receiving water supplied from the utility service provider water supply unit; and an outlet valve connected to the utility service provider water supply unit operable for providing the recycled water to the utility service provider water supply unit.
5. The system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the water consumption transaction unit is configured for:
detecting opening and closing of the inlet valve and the outlet value; and switching a metering mode based on the opening and closing of the inlet valve and the outlet valve.
6. The system as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising:
a backend server wirelessly coupled to the water consumption transaction unit and configured for computing a charge associated with the at least one premise based on the volume of water received by the at least one premise and the volume of water returned to the utility service provider water supply unit.
7. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the water consumption transaction unit is configured for periodically communicating the volume of water received by the at least one premise, the volume of water returned to the utility service provider water supply unit, and the volume of water consumed by the at least one premise with the backend server.
8. An apparatus comprising:
an inlet valve operable for receiving water supplied from an utility service provider water supply unit; a water recycling and purifying unit operable for recycling and purifying water collected from at least one premise associated with a consumer;
an outlet valve operable for providing the recycled water to the utility service provider water supply unit; and
5 at least one metering unit operable for:
metering the volume of water received from the utility service provider water supply unit via the inlet valve; and
metering the volume of recycled water returned to the utility service provider water supply unit via the outlet valve.
1 0
9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8, further comprising:
a processing unit operable for computing the volume of water consumed by the consumer based on the volume of water received from the utility service provider water supply unit and the volume of recycled water returned to the utility service i s provider water supply unit.
10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the processing unit is operable for computing a charge associated with the consumer based on the volume of water consumed by the consumer.
0
1 1 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 10, further comprising:
a transceiver operable for periodically communicating at least one of the volume of water received by the consumer, the volume of recycled water returned by the consumer, the volume of water consumed by the consumer, and a charge5 associated with the consumer to a backend server via a wireless communication channel.
12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the processing unit is operable for detecting opening and closing of the inlet valve and the outlet value.
0
13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the at least one metering unit is operable for switching a metering mode based on the opening and closing of the inlet valve and the outlet valve.
5 14. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a waste water collection unit operable for collecting waste water from the at least one premise associated with the consumer.
15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a rain water harvesting l o unit operable for collecting rain water during rainy season
16. A method comprising:
receiving volume of water supplied from an utility service provider water supply unit via an inlet valve of a water consumption transaction unit;
i s metering the volume of water received from the utility service provider water supply unit using a-meteFing-unit-oHhe^
recycling water collected from at least one premise associated with a consumer using a water recycling and purifying unit of the water consumption unit;
providing the recycled water to the utility service provider water supply unit via an0 outlet valve connected to the water recycling and purifying unit; and
metering the volume of recycled water returned to the utility service provider water supply unit via the outlet valve using the metering unit.
17. The method as claimed in claim 16, further comprising:
5 determining the volume of water consumed by the consumer using a processing unit of the water consumption transaction unit based on the metered volume of water received from the utility service provider water supply unit and the metered volume of recycled water returned to the utility service provider water supply unit; and
0 computing a charge associated with the consumer based on the volume of water consumed by the consumer.
18. The method as claimed in claim 17, further comprising:
periodically communicating at least one of the volume of water received by the consumer, the volume of recycled water returned by the consumer, the volume of water consumed by the consumer, and a charge associated with the consumer to a backend server using a transceiver of the water consumption transaction unit.
PCT/IN2012/000001 2010-12-31 2012-01-02 Water consumption transaction system and method WO2012090228A2 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
IN4049-CHE/2010 2010-12-31
IN4049CH2010 2010-12-31

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WO2012090228A3 WO2012090228A3 (en) 2012-10-11

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Citations (6)

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US6556142B2 (en) * 2001-09-20 2003-04-29 Intel Corporation System and method to communicate flow information between a service distribution line and a destination point
US6887375B2 (en) * 2003-01-28 2005-05-03 William Chando Johnson System to save and recycle domestic water
US20070063866A1 (en) * 2005-06-02 2007-03-22 Andisa Technologies, Inc. Remote meter monitoring and control system
US7671480B2 (en) * 2006-06-08 2010-03-02 Fairfax County Water Authority Systems and methods for remote utility metering and meter monitoring

Patent Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5192426A (en) * 1991-05-16 1993-03-09 Decoster Marc Water reclamation system for landscape irrigation
US6068773A (en) * 1998-05-01 2000-05-30 Sheaffer International Ltd. Single-cell wastewater reclamation and reuse system
US6556142B2 (en) * 2001-09-20 2003-04-29 Intel Corporation System and method to communicate flow information between a service distribution line and a destination point
US6887375B2 (en) * 2003-01-28 2005-05-03 William Chando Johnson System to save and recycle domestic water
US20070063866A1 (en) * 2005-06-02 2007-03-22 Andisa Technologies, Inc. Remote meter monitoring and control system
US7671480B2 (en) * 2006-06-08 2010-03-02 Fairfax County Water Authority Systems and methods for remote utility metering and meter monitoring

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