Scaling treatment systems for water heaters

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12139429-B2
Application number	US-202017113211-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 7, 2020
Priority date	Dec 7, 2020
Publication date	Nov 12, 2024
Grant date	Nov 12, 2024

Abstract

A liquid dosing system is disclosed and can include an inlet conduit and an outlet conduit. The inlet and outlet conduits can each be configured to fluidly communicate a heat exchanger of a water heater. The liquid dosing system can include one or more connector conduits configured to fluidly connect the inlet conduit and the outlet conduit to define a fluid circuit by at least the inlet conduit, the heat exchanger, the outlet conduit, and the one or more connector conduits. The liquid dosing system can include a pump configured to pump water through the fluid circuit, a reservoir configured to store an additive, and a dosing device configured to dispense the additive into the fluid circuit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A liquid dosing system comprising:
an inlet conduit directly connected to a water source and an inlet of a heat exchanger of a water heater;
an outlet conduit directly connected to an outlet of the heat exchanger;
a reservoir configured to store an additive;
a first connector conduit directly connected to the outlet conduit and to the reservoir, and a second connector conduit directly connected to the reservoir and to the inlet conduit such that a fluid circuit is defined by at least the inlet conduit, the heat exchanger, the outlet conduit, the first connector conduit, the second connector conduit, and the reservoir;
a dosing device configured to dispense the additive into the fluid circuit; and
a pump configured to pump water through the fluid circuit.

2. The liquid dosing system of claim 1 further comprising:
a first check valve located at a position that is upstream of an intersection between the second connector conduit and the inlet conduit, the first check valve being configured to (i) permit a flow of water from the water source and into the inlet of the heat exchanger and (ii) prevent a flow of water from the fluid circuit and to the water source; and
a second check valve located at a position that is downstream of an intersection between the first connector conduit and the outlet conduit, the second check valve being configured to (i) permit a flow of water from the outlet of the heat exchanger and to an external location and (ii) prevent a flow of water from the external location and into the fluid circuit.

3. The liquid dosing system of claim 1 , wherein the dosing device comprises a peristaltic pump comprising:
a tube in fluid communication with the reservoir; and
a rotor system configured to at least partially impinge the tube to move the additive through the tube.

4. The liquid dosing system of claim 1 , wherein the dosing device comprises:
a screw; and
a plunger (i) disposed within the reservoir, (ii) connected to the screw, and (iii) configured to move laterally within the reservoir when the screw turns.

5. The liquid dosing system of claim 1 , wherein the dosing device comprises:
a pump cavity in fluid communication with the reservoir;
a diaphragm membrane attached to at least a portion of the pump cavity;
a motor in mechanical communication with the diaphragm membrane, and wherein the motor is configured to (i) pull the additive from the reservoir by moving at least a portion of the diaphragm membrane away from the pump cavity and (ii) push the additive from the pump cavity and toward the fluid circuit by moving the at least a portion of the diaphragm membrane toward the pump cavity.

6. The liquid dosing system of claim 1 , wherein the dosing device comprises a motor to selectively dispense the additive.

7. The liquid dosing system of claim 6 , wherein the motor comprises at least one of a stepper motor, a continuous motor with a gear reducer, and a variable frequency drive direct drive motor.

8. The liquid dosing system of claim 1 , further comprising a flow sensor configured to detect a flow of water through at least a portion of the fluid circuit.

9. The liquid dosing system of claim 8 further comprising:
a controller in electrical communication with the flow sensor and the dosing device, the controller being configured to:
receive flow data from the flow sensor; and
output, based at least in part on the flow data, instructions for the dosing device to output a predetermined amount of the additive into the fluid circuit.

10. The liquid dosing system of claim 9 , wherein the controller is configured to output the instructions for the dosing device in response to determining, based at least in part on the flow data, that water is not flowing from the heat exchanger to an external location.

11. The liquid dosing system of claim 9 , wherein the controller is configured to output the instructions for the dosing device in response to determining that water has not flowed from the heat exchanger to an external location for at least a predetermined duration.

12. The liquid dosing system of claim 9 , wherein the predetermined amount of the additive corresponds to between approximately 1 part per million (ppm) and 10 ppm of the additive in the water.

13. The liquid dosing system of claim 9 , wherein the predetermined amount of the additive corresponds to between approximately 0.020 mL and approximately 0.040 mL of additive per gallon of water flowing through the fluid circuit.

14. The liquid dosing system of claim 8 , wherein at least one of the inlet conduit, the outlet conduit, the first connector conduit, the second connector conduit, the pump, the dosing device, and the flow sensor is located in the water heater.

15. The liquid dosing system of claim 1 , wherein the liquid dosing system is detachably attachable to the water heater.

16. The liquid dosing system of claim 1 , wherein the pump and the dosing device are disposed in a housing.

17. The liquid dosing system of claim 1 , wherein the additive comprises at least one of sodium hexametaphosphate and sodium polyphosphate.

18. A liquid dosing system comprising:
an inlet conduit directly connected to a water source and an inlet of a heat exchanger of a water heater;
an outlet conduit directly connected to an outlet of the heat exchanger;
a reservoir configured to store an additive;
a first connector conduit directly connected to the outlet conduit and to the reservoir, and a second connector conduit directly connected to the reservoir and to the inlet conduit such that, when the inlet conduit and the outlet conduit are connected to the heat exchanger, a fluid circuit is defined by at least the inlet conduit, the heat exchanger, the outlet conduit, the first connector conduit, the second connector conduit, and the reservoir;
a dosing device configured to dispense the additive into the fluid circuit; and
a pump configured to pump water through the fluid circuit,
wherein the water heater is a tankless water heater.

19. The liquid dosing system of claim 1 , wherein the dosing device is configured to output a predetermined amount of the additive into the fluid circuit.

20. The liquid dosing system of claim 19 , wherein the predetermined amount is between approximately 0.02 mL and approximately 0.04 mL of additive per gallon of water flowing through the fluid circuit.

Assignees

• Rheem Mfg Co

Inventors

• Leigh Taylor
• Lye Jason
• Manay Atilhan
• Phelps Stephen
• Trant Troy
• Thomas Jon
• Amaravadhi Prudhvi
• Holman Edward
• Sangare Fahira

Classifications

• C02F2209/40

  Liquid flow rate · CPC title

• C02F2301/043

  Treatment of partial or bypass streams · CPC title

• C02F2209/006

  comprising a software program or a logic diagram · CPC title

• C02F2103/02

  Non-contaminated water, e.g. for industrial water supply · CPC title

• F28G9/00

  Cleaning by flushing or washing, e.g. with chemical solvents (appliances using jets of fluid for removing debris F28G1/16, F28G3/16) · CPC title