DESC:FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
[See section 10; rule 13]

IOT DEVICE FOR REMOTE MONITORING OF WATER SUPPLY SCHEMES

PIRAMAL CORPORATE SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED, an Indian company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956, of Piramal Tower Annexe, 4th Floor, Ganpatrao Kadam Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai - 400013, State of Maharashtra, India

The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an IoT device based on IoT technology and Off-The-Shelf sensors for the real time monitoring of critical parameters of water supply schemes. The present invention also provides a method for functioning of the IoT device for real time monitoring of critical parameters of water supply schemes.

Background of the Invention
The Internet of things (IoT) is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines provided with unique identifiers (UIDs) and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction.
The definition of the Internet of things has evolved due to the convergence of multiple technologies, real-time analytics, machine learning, commodity sensors, and embedded systems. Traditional fields of embedded systems, wireless sensor networks, control systems, automation (including home and building automation), and others all contribute to enabling the Internet of things.
Intelligent monitoring is defined as a method which is used to monitor, control, manage and optimize the network by using different computational methods that will provide customers with relevant tools and information. The internet of things forms an important part of intelligent monitoring which connects people and devices using wireless sensor technology. It is a fast growing research area in the military, energy management, healthcare and many more. The concept of IoT was proposed by Kevin Ashton to demonstrate a set of interconnected devices. IoT makes it possible to transfer information between different electronic devices embedded with new technology.
Water Management System is one such field which is highly impacted by the Internet of Things. The internet of things can be used for measuring and monitoring the data captured and drawing real-time analysis of water testing in industries like manufacturing, energy etc. IoT can also be used for public utility companies in the field. The readings are provided to the end users with the help of water testing meters and sensor devices. The end user can get information like Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Bacterial content, Chlorine content, Electrical conductivity, etc. This will help in accessing the real-time, accurate quantification of results and will also provide the ability to pinpoint the problem areas.
Korean Patent Publication No.KR20190043781A claims an apparatus for monitoring water leakage in a water supply and sewer pipe buried in the ground, a wireless communication unit for performing data communication; sensor unit including at least one sensor for sensing a state of the water supply and drainage pipe; a memory including at least one or more of logic and data types and conditions through sensing of the sensor unit; and a controller for processing the water leakage state of the water supply and drainage pipe by at least one or more modulated logic included in the memory; and an IoT device for monitoring water leakage in a pipeline.
International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) Volume: 05 Issue: 03, Mar-2018, Jyotirmaya Ijaradar et al., “Real-Time Water Quality Monitoring System” teaches monitoring of real time quality of water from reserve tank of house and colony makes use of pH, turbidity and temperature sensor with Raspberry Pi and existing Cloud system for data analytics.
2018 IEEE 20th International Conference on High Performance Computing and Communications; IEEE 16th International Conference on Smart City; IEEE 4th Intl. Conference on Data Science and Systems, Varsha Radhakrishnan et al., “IoT technology for Smart water system” provides a comparison of energy harvesting methods and water quality sensors used in the current water pipelines to select the best method suitable for the application. The reference discloses that the basic architecture of IoT lacks a proper structure and requires more research for developing and implementing an architecture and integrate it into the water distribution system.
Advances in Wireless and Mobile Communications. ISSN 0973-6972 Volume 10, Number 5 (2017), pp. 1107-1116, Vaishnavi V. Daigavane, “Water Quality Monitoring System Based on IOT” reports design and development of a low cost system for real time monitoring of the water quality in IOT (internet of things).It is further reported that the system consist of several sensors used to measure physical and chemical parameters of the water such as temperature, pH, turbidity, flow sensor of the water. The measured values from the sensors can be processed by the core controller namely Arduino model.
Availability of surface water is limited in terms of rivers, lakes, ponds etc. Wherever surface water is available, it is used as potable water after taking necessary remedial measures of removal of impurities and then disinfecting it using chlorination. The monitoring of such schemes is usually done through Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems and they are mostly located in urban/semi-urban areas. The far-flung villages or habitats where availability of surface water is very limited, ground water is the only source for potable water. The water supply schemes which are ground water based are called single village schemes.
Although there have been several methods reported in the art for monitoring the water quality or water leakage in the supply system, there is a need for monitoring the performance of single village water supply schemes or ground water based water supply schemes.
In consideration of the need as indicated above, the inventors of present invention have carried out extensive research and developed an IoT device that uses Internet of Things technology for remote monitoring of water supply schemes which is designed in such a way that it helps in remote monitoring of all the three stages of any water supply scheme, i.e. Water source, Water storage and Water distribution. The device of present invention helps to know the status of source water, storage tank monitoring and control and status of water distribution and meets most of the need of remote monitoring of any water supply scheme, be it surface water based or ground water based.
Summary of the Invention
In one aspect, the present invention relates to an IoT device based on IoT technology and Off-The-Shelf sensors for the real time monitoring of critical parameters of water supply schemes.
In yet another aspect, there is provided a method for functioning of the IoT device for the real time monitoring of critical parameters of water supply schemes.

These and other aspects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description.
Brief Description of Drawings of the Invention
• Figure 1 represents the schematic design of the IoT device
• Figure 2 represents the data flow of the IoT device
• Figure 3A to 3C is the graphical representation for monitoring Daily water extraction, Water Quality and Ground water level respectively.
• Figure 4 depicts summary of month wise average water extraction and ground water level data.

Detailed Description of the Invention
It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art. One skilled in the art, based upon the definitions herein, may utilize the present invention to its fullest extent. The following specific embodiments are to be construed as merely illustrative, and not limitative of the remainder of the disclosure in any way whatsoever.
Except as defined herein, all the technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention relates.
Definitions:
For the purpose of the disclosure, listed below are definitions of various terms used to describe the present invention. Unless otherwise indicated, these definitions apply to the terms as they are used throughout the specification and the appended claims, either individually or as part of a larger group. They should not be interpreted in the literal sense. They are not general definitions and are relevant only for this application.
It should be noted that, as used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.
It should be noted that the term “or” is generally employed in its sense including “and/or” unless the content clearly dictates otherwise.
As used herein, the term "about" means approximately and in the context of numerical values the term “about” can be construed to estimate a value that is ±10% of the value or range recited.
pH sensor: The pH of a solution is the measure of the acidity or alkalinity of that solution. The pH scale is a logarithmic scale whose range is from 0-14 with a neutral point being 7. Values above 7 indicate a basic or alkaline solution and values below 7 would indicate an acidic solution. It operates on 5V power supply. The normal range of pH is 6 to 8.5.
Turbidity sensor: Turbidity is a measure of the cloudiness of water. Turbidity has indicated the degree at which the water loses its transparency. It is considered as a good measure of the quality of water. Turbidity blocks out the light needed by submerged aquatic vegetation. It also can raise surface water temperatures above normal because suspended particles near the surface facilitate the absorption of heat from sunlight.
Pressure sensor: Water pressure sensors are often used to measure the level of water in a tank, or the rate of change in that level (as shown in the diagram on the right). The sensor is fitted to the top of an open-ended tube submerged within the container. As the water level rises, the air above the water in the tube is compressed, increasing the pressure on the sensor. An analogue-to-digital convertor (ADC) is used to convert the signal from the sensor into a digital value. They are also used to gauge the pressure in pipes where water is flowing – for example, in water distribution systems, to automatically determine whether pumps need to be activated to increase the flow rate.
Total dissolved solids (TDS) is the term used to describe the inorganic salts and small amounts of organic matter present in solution in water. The principal constituents are usually calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium cations and carbonate, hydrogencarbonate, chloride, sulfate, and nitrate anions.
Residual chlorine is the low level amount of chlorine remaining in the water after a certain period or contact time after its initial application. It constitutes an important safeguard against the risk of subsequent microbial contamination after treatment—a unique and significant benefit for public health.
In an embodiment, the present invention relates to an IoT device based on IoT technology and Off-The-Shelf sensors for the real time monitoring of critical parameters of water supply schemes.
In another embodiment, the IoT device helps in remote monitoring of functional status of the water supply scheme.
In yet another embodiment, the IoT device helps in remote monitoring of quantity of water extracted from borewell in litres.
In a further embodiment, the IoT device helps in remote monitoring of quality of water in terms of Total Dissolved Solids - TDS in ppm.
In an embodiment, the IoT device helps in remote monitoring of acidity/basicity of the water in terms of pH.
In another embodiment, the IoT device helps in remote monitoring of turbidity of water in nephelometric turbidity units (NTU).
In yet another embodiment, the IoT device helps in remote monitoring of residual chlorine in mg/L.
In a further embodiment, the IoT device helps in remote monitoring of water pressure in distribution pipe.
In another embodiment, the IoT device helps in remote monitoring of ground water level in borewell in terms of feet/meter below ground level.
In an embodiment, there is provided a method for functioning of the IoT device for monitoring the real time monitoring of critical parameters of water supply schemes.
Method of functioning of the IoT device:
In an embodiment, the IoT device of the present invention is designed such that it accepts maximum 7 digital inputs and 6 analog inputs. The digital inputs are of +5V potential and analog inputs range from about 4 to 20mA. Necessary power to analog sensors is provided from IoT device. The IoT device is powered through 230VAC power source.
The selection of sensor is dependent on requirements of particular parameter to be monitored and availability of budget. In a typical water supply scheme, usually following parameters are required to be monitored as shown in Table 1:
TABLE 1
Type Sensor Parameter to be monitored
Digital Input Relay contact Submersible pump / motor ON status
Digital Input Water Level Switch To detect the high water level in the storage tank
Digital Input Water Level Switch To detect the low water level in the storage tank
Digital Input Flow meter with pulse output Volume of water extracted from borewell
Analog Input Water quality – TDS Total dissolved solids in water
Analog Input Water quality – pH How acid or basic the water is in terms of pH
Analog Input Water quality – Turbidity Relative clarity of water or suspended particulates
Analog Input Water quality – Residual chlorine Residual chlorine in the distributed water
Analog Input Ground water level sensor Ground water level inside borewell
Analog Input Pressure sensor Water pressure inside distribution pipe

The hardware design of IoT device is based on 32 bit microcontroller and Global System for Mobile Communication/General packet radio service (GSM/GPRS) communication module. All analog input signals are conditioned and attenuated to acceptable range and then converted to digital format. The firmware reads the sensor value and converts it to human understandable units and then sends that data to centralized server using GSM/GPRS module. Three programmable light-emitting diode (LED) indications are provided to indicate the state of IoT device. Relay outputs are provided in case if pump is to be controlled. The IoT device is represented in Figure 1.
Figure 2 represents typical water supply scheme with IoT device and sensors. The main components of the water supply scheme are:
1. Borewell
2. Submersible pump
3. Motor Starter
4. Pipeline to water tank from borewell
5. Pipeline from borewell to each household
6. Water tank
7. IoT Device
8. Sensors

The overall operation comprises of the following steps:
1. Appropriate sensors are selected for the parameters to be monitored. For example, for Water Quantity - Flow sensor, for Water Quality – TDS/pH/Turbidity/Residual Chlorine sensor, for Water Level in tank and in borewell – Water Level sensor and so on.
2. The IoT device accepts analog signal from analog sensor in the range of 4-20mA whereas +5V digital signal from digital sensor. While selecting any sensor, it is ensured that the sensor output matches with IoT device specification.
3. The analog signals are converted into digital value with the help of 12-bit ADC (Analog to Digital Converter).
4. The device performs analog signal sampling at regular interval whereas digital signals are handled through interrupt.
5. The IoT device converts digital value into human understandable units (data) as per measuring range of the sensor.
6. The IoT device generates output to control the external device like Submersible Pump ON/OFF command to Motor starter based on the Low or High water level detection in the water tank.
7. The IoT device ensures availability of internet connectivity from the GSM network (cellular network) service provider.
8. The IoT device frames the data in to defined protocol format and sends the data to centralized server.
9. Under normal circumstances when GSM network is available, SMS mode of communication is used to communicate with centralized server.
10. When GSM network is weak or not available, the device saves the data in predefined protocol format in its internal memory.
11. On availability of the internet network; IoT device uploads the data to centralized server over data mode of communication over GPRS at a predefined IP address of centralized server.
12. Centralized server is a Cloud server where server application receives the data in predefined protocol format from all the IoT devices located in the field.
13. Appropriate data security measures are taken so no third party device can steal the data or send the data to centralized server.
14. Centralized server has database where it pushes all the received data in to appropriate tables.
15. A website created for remote monitoring of water supply scheme fetches data from the centralized server’s database and presents it on dashboard.
16. Dashboard shows collection of data in various graphs. Data is displayed in easy to understand graphical form for Ex. Water Extraction data in litres/day, TDS in PPM, Ground water level data in Ft. or Meter etc. Refer Fig. 3A, 3B and 3C.

The advantages of the IoT device are:
? Provides real time data of critical parameters of water supply scheme
? Data helps in quantifying daily water usage
? Data helps to know deterioration or improvement in water quality over a period of time
? Data helps in water budgeting
? Data helps in decision making
? Status update helps in timely maintenance

It is understood that modifications that do not substantially affect the activity of the various embodiments of this invention are included within scope of the invention disclosed herein. Accordingly, the following examples are intended to illustrate but not to limit the scope of the present invention.
Examples
IoT enabled Remote Monitoring of Rural Water Supply Scheme
Location: Kali Pahar, Dist. Kamrup, Assam
Installation Date: 11-Aug-2019
Population: Approx. 1000 persons (496 persons as per 2011 census)

Kali Pahar is a small village in North Guwahati Tehsil/Block in Kamrup District of Assam State. As per 2011 census, total population of the village was 496 persons. To fulfill their water needs, ASSAM Public Health Engineering Department has established a ground water based piped water supply scheme. The scheme has a borewell, an Iron removal chamber, a water storage tank and a pump to deliver the water through pipeline. The submersible pump gets supply from the Grid supply/DG set. Pipeline is already laid from the tank to each household. Kali Pahar is situated near to Brahmaputra River hence there is no major issue of water availability except ground water is having excess Iron.
A submersible pump is operated by a local person (operator), who operates the pump twice a day (morning and evening).

The IoT enabled remote monitoring solution of the present invention uses IoT device along with sensors to monitor Daily water extraction from the Borewell in terms of Litres, Daily water distribution to village, Sensor to monitor Ground water level in ft. and Water quality sensor to measure TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) in distribution line.
Below Table 2 gives summary of month wise average water extraction and ground water level data. The graphical representation of the same is provided in Figure 4.

TABLE 2
MONTH Average Extraction of Water (Ltrs./day) Average Ground Water Level
(BGL – Ft.) Water Quality TDS (ppm)
Aug-2019 39,268.50 37.06 317.90
Sep-2019 37,429.00 37.19 321.38
Oct-2019 37,845.16 40.08 317.51
Nov-2019 37,216.00 45.14 304.29
Dec-2019 40,436.13 47.63 298.58
Jan-2020 38,667.10 50.00 292.24
Feb-2020 38,426.90 51.36 292.37
Mar-2020 40,004.32 51.07 296.83
Apr-2020 41,170.00 47.86 288.57
May-2020 40,606.45 43.34 289.61
Jun-2020 40,592.33 34.98 291.63
Jul-2020 42,850.65 32.10 288.04
TOTAL Water Extraction till 31-Jul-2020 is 14,129,083 Litres (14.12 Million Litres)

ADVANTAGES OF REMOTE MONITORING SYSTEM
In the past, when there was no remote monitoring system installed, no data was available. Hence, it was practically not feasible to find what the daily water consumption at the above mentioned location is. Even the status of whether the operator turned on the pump or not was could not be traced. Only after the implementation of the remote monitoring system of the present invention at Kali Pahar water supply scheme, real time data started coming in with the help of IoT technology.
The system of the present invention is completely user friendly and provides easy to understand data in graphical format which helps in monitoring the various parameters. The system provided through the present invention helps in monitoring of Daily water extraction, Water Quality and Ground water level as depicted in Figure 3A to 3C. Furthermore, through remote monitoring it is possible to identify whether the scheme is functional on any particular day or not.
With the help of remote monitoring system, the user can view historical data of any parameter. It helps in understanding the behaviour of any particular parameter. The graph of Ground Water Level is depicted in Figure 4.
From these historical data graph of Ground water level, it could be seen that during Feb-Mar, 2020 month, ground water level reached to ~50 ft. below ground level and in the month of May, 2020 when due to heavy rain in Guwahati, Assam hit by Cyclone Amphan and heavy flood in River Brahmputra, the borewell was recharged and again water level reached to 34 ft.
Also, the graph shows month wise average water extraction in Litres/day. It helps in understanding seasonal effect on daily water need. During Sep-Nov, 2020 months average extraction of water is in the range of 37000 Litres/day (due to winter). It reached up to 42000 Litres/day in the month of Apr-Jul, 2020 (due to summer).
With the help of remote monitoring system, it is possible to know the functional status of the water supply scheme, anytime from anywhere. From practical point of view, incase certain data points are available, it helps in taking data driven decisions. Hence, to take data driven decision, it is essential to have a system that provides real time data.
,CLAIMS:We claim:

1. An IoT device based on IoT technology and Off-The-Shelf sensors for the real time monitoring of critical parameters of water supply schemes, wherein:
(i) the device accepts maximum 7 digital inputs and 6 analog inputs, wherein the digital inputs are of +5V potential and analog inputs range from about 4 to 20mA;
(ii) the device provides the necessary power to analog sensors;
(iii) the device is powered through a 230V AC power source;
(iv) the hardware design of the device is based on 32 bit microcontroller and GSM/GPRS communication module; wherein microcontroller’s internal ADC (Analog to Digital Converter) converts analog input signals to digital format and the microcontroller firmware calculates digital data to human understandable units according to the sensor’s measuring range, which is further sent to centralized server using GSM/GPRS module;
(v) the state of the device is indicated by three programmable LED indications; and
(vi) the pump is optionally controlled through relay outputs.

2. The IoT device as claimed in claim 1, wherein digital input to the device remotely monitors the level of water in the storage tank, through a water level switch sensor.

3. The IoT device as claimed in claim 1, wherein digital input to the device remotely monitors the functional status of the water supply scheme.

4. The IoT device as claimed in claim 1, wherein digital input to the device remotely monitors the quantity of water extracted from borewell in litres, through flow meter with pulse output sensor.

5. The IoT device as claimed in claim 1, wherein analog input to the device remotely monitors the quality of water in terms of Total Dissolved Solids - TDS in ppm, through water quality sensor.

6. The IoT device as claimed in claim 1, wherein analog input to the device remotely monitors the acidity or basicity of water in terms of pH, through water quality sensor.

7. The IoT device as claimed in claim 1, wherein analog input to the device remotely monitors the turbidity of water in nephelometric turbidity units, through water quality sensor.

8. The IoT device as claimed in claim 1, wherein analog input to the device remotely monitors the residual chlorine in mg/L, through water quality sensor.

9. The IoT device as claimed in claim 1, wherein analog input to the device remotely monitors the water pressure in distribution pipe, through pressure sensor.

10. The IoT device as claimed in claim 1, wherein analog input to the device remotely monitors the ground water level in borewell in terms of feet or meter below ground level, through ground water level sensor.