BR-112021008201-B1 - DOSAGE SYSTEM AND METHOD

BR112021008201B1BR 112021008201 B1BR112021008201 B1BR 112021008201B1BR-112021008201-B1

Abstract

This is a dosing system for dispensing a liquid additive into a livestock water supply line, wherein the dosing system comprises: a first connector configured to be fluidly coupled to a liquid additive supply line for dispensing the liquid additive; a second connector configured to be fluidly coupled to a dispensing line for dispensing the liquid additive into the water supply line; a pump unit coupled to the first connector to pump the liquid additive from the supply line, wherein the pump is fluidly coupled to a dispensing outlet for dispensing the pumped liquid additive into the water supply line through the first connector; and a control unit being operatively coupled to the pump unit to control a dispensing rate of the liquid additive being dispensed through the dispensing outlet; and a flow detector to detect the water flow rate in the water supply line and transmit data associated with the detected water flow rate to the control unit to control the operation of the pump unit, thus controlling the rate (...).

Inventors

MARK RAWLINSON PEART
THOMAS ROBINSON FEEZ

Assignees

D.I.T Technologies Ltd

Dates

Publication Date: 20260310
Application Date: 20191029
Priority Date: 20181101

Claims (19)

1. Dosing system (100) for dosing a liquid additive into a water supply line (170) to provide potable water to a livestock drinking trough, wherein the dosing system (100) comprises: a first connector (102) configured to be fluidly coupled to a liquid additive supply line (152) for supplying the liquid additive; a second connector (104) configured to be fluidly coupled to a dosing line (106) for dosing the liquid additive into the water supply line (170); a pump unit (110) coupled to the first connector (102) for pumping the liquid additive from the liquid additive supply line (152), wherein the pump is fluidly coupled to a dosing outlet for dosing the pumped liquid additive into the water supply line (170) via the second connector (104); a control unit (120) being operatively coupled to the pump unit (110) for controlling a rate a dosing system for the liquid additive being dosed through the dosing outlet; a flow detector to detect the flow rate (180) of water in the water supply line (170) and transmit data associated with the detected water flow rate (180) to the control unit (120) to control the operation of the pump unit (110), thus controlling the dosing rate of the liquid additive in response to the flow rate (180) in the water supply line; wherein the dosing system is characterized by: an additional detector to detect changes in the conductivity and/or dielectric properties of the water in the water supply line, the detector being in communication with the control unit (120) to control the operation of the pump, thus controlling the discharge rate of the liquid additive in response to changes in the conductivity and/or dielectric properties of the water.
2. Dosing system (100), according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit (120) comprises a microprocessor in communication with a memory device (122), wherein the microprocessor is disposed to receive data associated with the flow rate (180) of water and conductivity and/or dielectric properties of the water to process the data according to one or more predetermined rules saved in the memory device (122) and control the operation of the pump unit (110), thus controlling the discharge rate of the liquid additive in response to the flow rate (180) and/or conductivity and/or dielectric properties of the water in the water supply line.
3. Dosing system (100), according to claim 2, characterized in that it further comprises an input interface for receiving user input from a user to enter one or more predetermined rules or instructions to control the operation of the control unit (120).
4. Dosing system (100), according to claim 2, wherein the system (100) is characterized in that it further comprises one or more alarms that are operatively coupled to said microprocessor, such that the alarms are adapted to be activated in response to changes in the conductivity and/or dielectric properties of the water in the water supply line.
5. Dosing system (100) according to claim 4, characterized in that said alarms are adapted to be programmed to be activated when the conductivity and/or dielectric properties exceed a predefined or predetermined threshold.
6. Dosing system (100), according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pump unit (110) is a peristaltic pump configured to measure and distribute a dose of liquid additive in the water supply line (170) for livestock.
7. Dosing system (100), according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it further comprises a diaphragm pump coupled to the discharge outlet for pumping the liquid additive into the water supply line.
8. Dosing system (100), according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it further comprises a valve fluidly coupled to the discharge line to prevent water from the water supply line (170) from flowing back into the dosing system (100).
9. Dosing system (100) according to claim 8, characterized in that the valve is a solenoid valve.
10. Dosing system (100), according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it further comprises a transceiver coupled to the control unit (120), wherein the transceiver is adapted for communication with a remotely located device via a communication network.
11. Dosing system (100), according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it further comprises a reservoir (150) for supplying the liquid additive, wherein the reservoir (150) is adapted to be coupled to the liquid additive supply line (152).
12. Dosing system (100), according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the water supply line (170) comprises a pressurized water supply line (170) and in that the system (100) further comprises an additional pumping unit for pumping the liquid additive from the discharge outlet to the pressurized water supply line through the first connector (102).
13. Dosing system (100), according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control unit (120) comprises an adjustment arrangement for limiting the dosing rate of the liquid additive within a predetermined range.
14. Dosing system (100), according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it further comprises a feed unit for feeding the control unit (120) and the pump unit (110).
15. Dosing system (100) according to claim 14, characterized in that the power supply unit comprises one or more power generators and one or more energy storage devices.
16. Dosing system (100), according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the flow sensor is an ultrasonic flow sensor.
17. Dosing system (100), according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the dosing line (106) has a plurality of branches to dose the liquid additive into a plurality of water supply lines (170) to supply potable water to a plurality of drinking fountains; and in that the plurality of branches of the dosing line (106) is configured to supplement the liquid additive proportionally to the plurality of drinking fountains.
18. Dosing system (100), according to claim 17, characterized in that a flow sensor is associated with each of the plurality of water supply lines, wherein each flow sensor detects the water flow rate in a respective line of the plurality of water supply lines and transmits data associated with the detected water flow rates to the control unit (120) to control the operation of the pump unit, thus controlling the dosing rates of the liquid additive in response to the flow rates in each of the plurality of water supply lines.
19. Method for dispensing a liquid additive into a water supply line (170) for livestock, wherein the dispensing method comprises: fluidly coupling a first connector (102) with a liquid additive supply line (152) adapted to supply the liquid additive; fluidly coupling a second connector (104) with a dispensing line (106) to dispense the liquid additive into the water supply line; fluidly coupling a pump unit (110) with the first connector (102) to pump the liquid additive and fluidly coupling the pump unit (110) with the second connector (104) to direct the pumped liquid additive to a dispensing outlet; detecting the flow rate (180) of water in the water supply line (170) by locating a flow detector in the water supply line (170) and transmitting data associated with the detected water flow rate to a control unit (120) for control the operation of the pump unit (110) to control the dosing rate of the liquid additive in response to the flow rate (180) in the water supply line; wherein the method is characterized by: detecting changes in the conductivity and/or dielectric properties of the water in the water supply line (170) and controlling the discharge rate of the liquid additive in response to changes in the conductivity and/or dielectric properties of the water.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a dosing system for dosing a liquid additive into a water supply line. In particular, the present invention finds advantageous, but not exclusive, application in the livestock sector for dosing one or more water supply lines used to provide drinking water for livestock. BACKGROUND [0002] Any references to prior art methods, apparatus or documents should not be considered as constituting any evidence or admission that they formed or are part of common general knowledge. [0003] The use of drinking water for distributing supplements to livestock is well known. A variety of devices and systems have been designed for distributing nutrients, minerals, and supplements to livestock via stock water supplies. These devices and systems historically relied on the use of a mixing tank, in which the additive was diluted before being pumped into the stock water supply. Newer devices have been developed to dose the additive directly into the stock water, without the use of a mixing tank. However, there are several shortcomings and problems with existing devices and systems. [0004] The use of mixing tanks is not suitable for at least some additives that have a shorter shelf life than the period in which the mixture can be dispensed for storage. Organic compounds, such as seaweed extracts, need to be dispensed for storage soon after dilution. As a result, the use of mixing tanks can often limit the variety of supplements that can be effectively administered to livestock. [0005] Another disadvantage associated with the use of mixing tanks to administer supplements is that some of the supplements may not be fully dissolved in water and may therefore settle to the bottom of the mixing tank because manually mixing such additives or supplements in large quantities can be quite challenging. As a result, higher than ideal concentrations of additives may be inadvertently discharged into the stock water, which can cause health risks to the stock and/or lack of palatability in the water supply. [0006] The process of pouring liquid additives into mixing tanks and ensuring that proper mixing has been achieved can also be labor-intensive and increase costs. Furthermore, performing the mixing manually in large mixing tanks can give rise to a significant health and safety risk in the workplace, especially in remote locations where additives are frequently used and livestock farmers often work alone. [0007] Diaphragm pumps are known to be used for dispensing liquid additives in drinking water supply lines. One of the disadvantages of diaphragm pumps is that they are not capable of pumping exceptionally viscous additives and can become clogged. This is especially the case during extreme temperature changes or after periods when no additive is dispensed for a certain time. Another disadvantage associated with the use of diaphragm pumps in currently known systems is that, in the event of power loss or other malfunction, liquid is allowed to pass through the pump. Where additives are toxic in high doses, such as with urea, this problem with existing pumps can be fatal to the stock. [0008] Yet another problem with currently known dosing systems is that such systems cannot dispense supplements with high levels of precision. When trace minerals or other additives are being supplied to the stock to overcome specific dietary deficiencies, or when the stock is drinking low levels of water, high levels of precision of the additives delivered via stock water are essential, but cannot be met by current systems. By way of example, in some cases, very small doses (e.g., 2 ml/animal/day) may need to be dispensed when using some trace mineral additives, medicated additives, and similar products. [0009] At least some prior art dosing systems are adjusted or programmed to work at a consistent dosing rate. However, such systems do not adjust to varying levels of water consumption or varying levels of water flow rate. In some cases, where alternative water supplies are available for stocking, the continuous release of additives may result in very high concentrations being fed into the water supplies, which may cause health risks to the stock and/or lack of palatability in the water supplies. [0010] In view of the above, there is at least a need to provide an improved dosing system. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0011] In one aspect, the invention provides a dosing system for dosing a liquid additive into a livestock water supply line, wherein the dosing system comprises: [0012] a first connector configured to be seamlessly coupled to a liquid additive supply line for a supply of the liquid additive; [0013] a second connector configured to be fluidly coupled to a dosing line to dose the liquid additive into the water supply line, [0014] a pump unit coupled to the first connector for pumping the liquid additive from the supply line, wherein the pump is fluidly coupled to a dosing outlet to dose the pumped liquid