Water purification system and method including dispensed volume sensing and control
A water purification system for purifying water flowing through a water flow path. The system includes a water purification device having an inlet and an outlet in the water flow path and at least one interior volume communicating with the inlet and outlet. A purification medium is disposed within the interior volume of the water purification device. A flow control system is provided controlling a volume of purified water dispensed from the outlet. The flow control system includes an input device configured to allow a user to input a desired volume of purified water to be dispensed from the outlet and a sensing device coupled with the electronic input device and operative to determine the volume of purified water being dispensed from the outlet. A flow regulation device is coupled with the flow control system and operative to stop the discharge of purified water at the outlet upon reaching the desired volume of purified water.
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The present application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/520,827 filed Mar. 8, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,328,881, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention generally relates to water purification systems and methods and, more specifically, to control systems used to sense and control a volumetric amount of water dispensed from the system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONWater purification systems are used to provide high quality reagent grade water for various applications, including the field of scientific testing and analysis. Many of these applications require that the total organic carbon content of the water be on the order of 10 parts per billion or less ASTM. Type I water is the highest purity and is used for high performance liquid chromatography, atomic absorption spectrometry, tissue culture, etc. Type II water is less pure and may be used for hematological, serological, and microbiological procedures. Type III water is suitable for general laboratory qualitative analyses, such as urinalysis, parasitology and histological procedures. Two prior systems for purifying water are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,397,468 and 5,399,263, each assigned to the assignee of the present invention. The disclosure of each of these patents is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
Purified water dispensing systems that currently provide automatic controlled dispensing of water do so using a timed dispense technique. This is accomplished by electronically controlling a solenoid valve and holding the solenoid valve open for a user-programmed time period. The user sets this time based on the amount of water they wish to dispense from the system. The user determines a relationship between dispensing time and flow rate for their specific system and operating conditions. Another method of controlling the dispensed amount of purified water involves manually opening a valve with the system pump shut off. Actuation of a switch in the valve initiates the pump when the valve is open. The pump remains energized for a time programmed by the user. When the time has expired, the pump is turned off by the control system. The manual valve remains open until the user returns to the system to close this valve. One significant drawback to this method is that the manual valve may remain open for some time until the user returns to shut it off. The main reason for using this method is to provide a manner of dispensing water into a larger vessel without holding a remote operating valve open for a long period of time and without running the water out of the vessel. Another drawback to both of these prior methods relates to the accuracy of the volume dispensed when relying on a user-defined relationship between dispensing time and dispensed volume. If the time value entered by the user is too long, the vessel being filled may run over. Generally, if the time value is incorrect by being either too long or too short, the user must manually correct the dispensed amount of water by removing water from the vessel or manually filling the vessel to the required amount. This, of course, defeats the purpose of having an automatic dispense control. The relationship between dispensed volume and dispensing time will also vary for any given system, depending on the pressure at the inlet of the system, the voltage on any pump associated with the system, the condition of the filters and membranes, among other factors.
In light of these and other problems in the art, it would be desirable to provide a water purification system having an accurate and automatic manner of sensing and, preferably, controlling the volume of water discharged from the system.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention, in one aspect, provides a water purification system for purifying water flowing through a water flow path, and having a sensing device coupled with an electronic control for accurately indicating the volume of water dispensed from an outlet of the system. More specifically, the system includes a water purification device having an inlet and an outlet in the water flow path and at least one interior volume communicating with the inlet and outlet. A purification medium is positioned within the interior volume of the water purification device. The sensing device operates to generate a signal that is used to determine a volume of water dispensed from the outlet. The electronic control is coupled with the sensing device and includes an output responsive to the signal generated by the sensing device for indicating the volume of water dispensed from the outlet. The sensing device may comprise a flow sensor or, for example, a timer. The flow sensor may be coupled upstream of the inlet or downstream of the inlet, or at any other suitable location in the water flow path. The upstream position is preferred so that any contaminates from the sensor will be filtered out or purified by the purification device. If the sensing device is a timer, the timer is associated with a look-up table in the electronic control having time values usable to determine an amount of time for dispensing a desired volume of purified water from the outlet. Alternatively, the control may include an algorithm which is used in conjunction with the timer for dispensing the desired volume of purified water from the outlet. The control may further include an alerting device configured to alert the user when the desired volume of purified water has been dispensed from the outlet.
In the preferred embodiment, the control system includes an input device configured to allow a user to input a desired volume of purified water to be dispensed from the outlet. A flow regulation device is coupled with the control system and operative to stop the discharge of purified water at the outlet upon reaching the desired volume of purified water.
Various objectives, advantages and features of the invention will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
With reference to the drawings, and to
Further referring to
As illustrated in
Briefly, water purification device 34 comprises a filter assembly 36 including a plurality of identically constructed cartridges 38a-d coupled in fluid communication with each other and with the inlet and outlet of the water purification device 34. In operation, water circulating or passing through the fluid circuit 12 is directed through the filter assembly 36 or cartridges 38a-d as schematically illustrated in FIG. 1. Purified water exiting from cartridge 38d moves past a sanitization port 40 which may be used to periodically inject a sanitent into fluid circuit 12 as necessitated by application requirements. A jumper 42 is provided for optionally connecting the remote dispensing gun 32 to the fluid circuit 12 as described in detail below.
Upon exiting the filter assembly 36, the purified water enters a dispense manifold 44 connected in the fluid circuit 12. The dispenser manifold 44 includes a first normally-closed solenoid valve 46 that is coupled to the flow control system 20. The normally-closed solenoid valve 46 may be selectively opened by the user to direct water through a final filter 48 and through the water outlet 16. When purified water is not being dispensed, a normally-open solenoid valve 50 is provided to direct the water in a recirculating manner through a check valve 52 and back to the beginning of fluid circuit 12 to be continuously recirculated by pump 30. Check valve 52 prevents backflow from inlet 14 and also provides any necessary back pressure for a manual valve (not shown) associated with the option remote dispensing gun 32.
Flow control system 20 is the primary focus of the present invention and is illustrated according to a preferred embodiment in FIG. 2. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, flow control system 20 includes a vane-type flow sensor 54 that is coupled to a flow controller 56 of the flow control system 20. Flow sensor 54 is operable to generate a signal that is used by the flow controller 56 to determine a volume of water dispensed from the water outlet 16. The flow controller 56 provides an output that is responsive to the signal generated by the flow sensor 54 for indicating the volume of water dispensed from the outlet 16.
The flow control system 20 of the present invention is provided to allow a user to input a desired volume of water to be dispensed at the outlet 16, and also to determine the volume of water dispensed from the water purification system 10. The user input 26 of the user interface 24 (
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention as shown in
Operation of the water purification system 10, including the flow sensor 54 and flow controller 56, will now be described in connection with monitoring and controlling the volume of purified water dispensed through outlet 16. Flow controller 56 is operable to run the software routines of
Referring now to
Further referring to
With reference now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
If a determination is made at step 138 that the remote gun 32 is connected to the fluid circuit 12, the flow controller 56 turns the pump 30 to “full speed” at step 146. A determination is made at step 148 whether a pulse is detected by the pulse counter 62, indicating that purified water is being dispensed through the remote gun 32. If no pulse is detected at step 148, indicating that the valve (not shown) of the remote gun 32 has been closed, the flow controller 56 resets the pump 30 to operate at its “recirculation speed” at step 150.
While a vane-type flow sensor 54 is shown in the preferred embodiment of
Alternatively, when the sensing device is a timer and algorithm, the flow controller 56 converts the user's input of the desired volume of purified water to be dispensed into a time value for opening the normally-closed solenoid valve 46. The time value is computed in the algorithm by dividing the desired volume of purified water input by the user by the known flow rate of the system 10.
It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in art that while the flow control system 20 has been described as being positioned upstream of the inlet to the water purification device 34, the flow control system may alternatively be positioned downstream of the outlet of the water purification device 34 without departing from the spirit and the scope of the present invention.
While the present invention has been illustrated by a description of these preferred embodiments and while these embodiments have been described in some detail, it is not the intention of the Applicants to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. This has been a description of the present invention, along with the preferred methods of practicing the present invention as currently known. Various aspects of this invention may be used alone or in different combinations. The scope of the invention itself should only be defined by the appended claims, wherein we claim:
Claims
1. A water purification system for purifying water flowing through a water flow path between an inlet and an outlet, the system comprising:
- a water purification device in a water flow path having an outlet, said water purification device having at least one interior volume;
- a purification medium positioned within the interior volume;
- a pump for moving water through the purification medium;
- a flow control system for controlling a volume of purified water dispensed from the outlet of the water flow path, the flow control system including an input device configured to allow a user to input a desired volume of purified water to be dispensed from the outlet of the water flow path during a dispense cycle and a sensing device operable to generate a signal used to determine a volume of purified water dispensed from the outlet of the water flow path; and
- a flow regulation device coupled with the flow control system and operable to stop the discharge of purified water at the outlet of the water flow path when the desired volume of purified water has been dispensed from the outlet of the water flow path.; and
- wherein the flow control system is configured to execute a system leak checking routine to determine whether purified water is leaking from the system based at least in part on the signal from the sensing device used to determine a volume of purified water dispensed from the outlet of the water flow path and disable the pump when a leak is detected.
2. A water purification system for purifying water flowing through a water flow path between an inlet and an outlet, the system comprising:
- a recirculating water flow circuit including a recirculating water flow path having an inlet and an outlet;
- a pump for moving and recirculating water through the recirculating water flow path;
- a water purification device in a the water flow path having an outlet, said water purification device having at least one interior volume;
- a purification medium positioned within the interior volume;
- an input device configured to allow a user to input a desired volume of water to be dispensed from the outlet of the water flow path during a dispense cycle;
- a sensing device operable to generate a signal used to determine a volume of water dispensed from the outlet of the water flow path;
- an electronic control coupled with the sensing device and having an output responsive to the signal for indicating the volume of water dispensed from the outlet of the water flow path; and
- a display coupled to the electronic control and responsive to the output for displaying the volume of water dispensed from the outlet of the water flow path.
- a flow regulation device controlled by the electronic control to selectively dispense purified water through the outlet or recirculate water through the recirculating water flow path;
- wherein the electronic control is operable to control the flow regulation device to stop the discharge of purified water through the outlet of the water flow path when the desired volume of purified water has been dispensed from the outlet of the water flow path and sets the flow regulation device to automatically recirculate water through the water flow path upon stopping the discharge of purified water through the outlet of the water flow path.
3. A water purification device system for purifying water flowing through a water flow path between an inlet and an outlet, the system comprising:
- a water purification device in a water flow path having an outlet, said water purification device having at least one interior volume;
- a purification medium positioned within the interior volume;
- a pump for moving water through the purification medium;
- an input device configured to allow a user to input a desired volume of purified water to be dispensed from the outlet of the water flow path during a dispense cycle;
- a sensing device configured to sense a fluid characteristic of the water flowing through the water flow path, the fluid characteristic being at least indirectly indicative of the volume of water flowing through the outlet of the water flow path;
- a flow regulation device coupled to the water flow path and configured to control the discharge of purified water from the outlet of the water flow path; and
- a control coupled to the input device, the sensing device, and the flow regulation device, the control operating to manipulate information generated by the input device and the sensing device to thereby control the flow regulation device to dispense the desired volume of purified water from the outlet of the water flow path.; and
- a remote dispensing gun for dispensing purified water from the water flow path and connectable to the water flow path at a location separate from the outlet, the control being operable to manipulate information to determine the presence of the remote dispensing gun for controlling the flow of water through the water flow path.
4. A water purification system for purifying water flowing through a water flow path between an inlet and an outlet, the system comprising:
- a recirculating water flow circuit including a recirculating water flow path having an inlet and an outlet;
- a pump for moving water through the recirculating water flow path;
- a water purification device in a the water flow path having an outlet, said water purification device having at least one interior volume;
- a purification medium positioned within the interior volume;
- an input device configured to allow a user to input a desired volume of water to be dispensed from the outlet of the water flow path during a dispense cycle;
- a sensing device operable to generate a signal comprising a timer used to determine a volume of water dispensed from the outlet of the water flow path; and
- an electronic control coupled with the sensing device and having an electronic control comprising means for correlating a desired volume of purified water input by the user to a dispense time and generating an output responsive to the signal timer for indicating the volume of water remaining to be dispensed from the outlet of the water flow path until the desired volume of water to be dispensed from the outlet of the water flow path is reached; and and causing recirculation through the water flow path after reaching the desired volume of water.
- a display coupled to the electronic control and responsive to the output for displaying the volume of water remaining to be dispensed from the outlet of the water flow path until the desired volume of water to be dispensed from the water flow path is reached.
5. The water purification system recited in claim 1 further comprising a remote dispensing gun connected to the water flow path downstream of the interior volume containing the purification medium for dispensing purified water from the water flow path at a location different from the output of the water flow path; and
- wherein the flow control system is configured to execute the system leak checking routine to determine whether purified water is leaking from the system based at least in part on indication of whether the remote dispensing gun is in use.
6. The water purification system recited in claim 2 wherein the sensing device measures the volume of water flowing into the inlet of the water flow path.
7. The system recited in claim 2 wherein the sensing device is a vane-type water flowmeter.
8. The system as recited in claim 7 wherein the vane-type water flowmeter is positioned upstream of the inlet to the recirculating water flow path.
9. The system as recited in claim 2 wherein the pump can be operated at a full speed and at a lower recirculation speed, and the electronic control controls the speed of the pump in accordance with the following steps:
- setting pump speed to the full speed when the user initiates a desired volume of purified water to be dispensed;
- positioning the flow regulation device to dispense purified water through the outlet with the pump set at full speed;
- positioning the flow regulation device to stop flow through the outlet when the desired volume of water has been dispensed; and
- setting the pump speed to the lower recirculation speed after the flow regulation device has been positioned to stop flow through the outlet.
10. The system recited in claim 2 wherein a check valve is located in the water flow path downstream of the outlet and upstream of the inlet to help prevent backflow from the inlet.
11. The system recited in claim 2 further comprising a remote dispensing gun connected to the recirculating water flow path downstream of the interior volume containing the purification medium and upstream of the inlet of the recirculating water flow path for dispensing purified water from the water flow path at a location different from the outlet of the water flow path.
12. The system as recited in claim 2 further comprising a display coupled to the electronic control for displaying the volume of water that has been dispensed from the outlet of the water flow path.
13. The system recited in claim 2 further comprising a display coupled to the electronic control for displaying the volume of water remaining to be dispensed from the outlet of the water flow path until the desired volume of water to be dispensed from the water flow path is reached.
14. The system as recited in claim 3 wherein the water flow path is a recirculating water flow path and the remote dispensing gun is connected to the water flow path downstream of the interior volume containing the purification medium and upstream of an inlet to the water flow path.
15. The system as recited in claim 14 further comprising a check valve downstream of the flow regulation device and the remote dispensing gun and upstream of an inlet to the water flow path.
16. The system recited in claim 4 further comprising a flow regulation device controlled by the electronic control to selectively dispense purified water through the outlet or recirculate water through the water flow path; wherein the electronic control controls the flow regulation device to stop the discharge of purified water through the outlet of the water flow path and automatically recirculates water through the water flow path when the desired volume of purified water has been dispensed from the outlet of the water flow path.
17. The system recited in claim 4 further comprising a final filter that filters purified water immediately before it exits the system through the outlet.
18. The system recited in claim 4 further comprising a remote dispensing gun connected to the recirculating water flow path downstream of the interior volume containing the purification medium and upstream of the inlet of the recirculating water flow path for dispensing purified water from the water flow path at a location different from the outlet of the water flow path.
19. The system recited in claim 4 further comprising a pressure regulator for regulating water pressure of water feeding into the recirculating water flow path.
20. The system as recited in claim 4 further comprising a display coupled to the electronic control for displaying the volume of water that has been dispensed from the outlet of the water flow path.
21. The system recited in claim 4 further comprising a display coupled to the electronic control for displaying the volume of water remaining to be dispensed from the outlet of the water flow path until the desired volume of water to be dispensed from the water flow path is reached.
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Type: Grant
Filed: May 3, 2004
Date of Patent: May 13, 2008
Assignee: Barnstead Thermolyne Corporation (Dubuque, IA)
Inventors: Thomas J. Larkner (Dubuque, IA), Steven C. Peake (Dubuque, IA), Chester E. Chomka (Dubuque, IA), Joseph F. Tilp (Dubuque, IA), Eric J. Willman (White Bear Lake, MN), Kerry W. Leppert (Dubuque, IA), Tina M. Timmerman (Dubuque, IA)
Primary Examiner: Joseph Drodge
Attorney: Wood, Herron & Evans, LLP
Application Number: 10/838,183
International Classification: B01D 17/12 (20060101); B01D 35/14 (20060101);