IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
|
국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
|
출원번호 |
US-0138406
(2008-06-12)
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등록번호 |
US-8152995
(2012-04-10)
|
발명자
/ 주소 |
|
출원인 / 주소 |
|
대리인 / 주소 |
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인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
0 인용 특허 :
31 |
초록
▼
Hot water pipes, in areas with hard water, tend to fill with scale until they no longer pass enough water. De-scaling water pipes with acid is dangerous, expensive and damages the pipes. Ion exchange and reverse osmosis water softeners eliminate scale buildup in pipes, but are expensive. Embodiments
Hot water pipes, in areas with hard water, tend to fill with scale until they no longer pass enough water. De-scaling water pipes with acid is dangerous, expensive and damages the pipes. Ion exchange and reverse osmosis water softeners eliminate scale buildup in pipes, but are expensive. Embodiments of this invention provide a means of keeping an amount of the scale precipitate, created when water is heated, inside a housing by passing the hot water through a removal medium where the scale sticks to the surface. The removal medium can be placed inside the water heater or in a separate housing connected to the water heater; both configurations remove the precipitate from hot water; both save hot water pipes from scale accumulation.
대표청구항
▼
1. An apparatus comprising: a hot water heater comprising a water intake and a hot water outlet, and a heater to heat water passing through the hot water heater;a housing having a hot water inlet and a housing water outlet, the housing coupled with the hot water heater via the hot water outlet at th
1. An apparatus comprising: a hot water heater comprising a water intake and a hot water outlet, and a heater to heat water passing through the hot water heater;a housing having a hot water inlet and a housing water outlet, the housing coupled with the hot water heater via the hot water outlet at the hot water inlet;a removal medium having a surface area that is larger than the surface area of the interior surface of the housing within which the removal medium resides, wherein the removal medium has a surface area that accommodates adherence of precipitates formed in water and continues to accommodate adherence of precipitates while water flows through the removal medium from the hot water inlet to the housing water outlet until water fails to flow through the removal medium;an agitator coupled with the housing to agitate the removal medium; anda controller coupled with the agitator to agitate the removal medium at selected time intervals. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a disposable liner in the housing between the interior surface of the housing and the removal medium to reduce or eliminate scale build-up on the interior surface of the housing. 3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a meter to monitor hardness of the flow to determine the amount of the precipitate removed from the hot water. 4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a circulation pump to re-circulate the hot water through the removal medium. 5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising another housing coupled with the housing in parallel or series. 6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a valve to redirect the flow between the housing and another housing to designate an in-use housing and an offline housing, wherein the in-use housing receives the flow while the flow is blocked from reaching the offline housing. 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the amount of precipitate deposited on the removal medium is not limited by depletion of active ions in the removal medium. 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the removal medium does not regenerate via brine. 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the removal medium is not a significant source of sodium ions. 10. An apparatus comprising: a hot water heater comprising a water intake and a hot water outlet, and a heater;a housing having a hot water inlet and a housing water outlet, the housing coupled with the hot water heater via the hot water outlet at the hot water inlet;a removal medium having a surface area that is larger than the surface area of the interior surface of the housing within which the removal medium resides, wherein the removal medium has a surface area that accommodates adherence of precipitates formed in water and continues to accommodate adherence of precipitates while water continues to flow through the removal medium from the hot water inlet to the housing water outlet with no need for regeneration;an agitator coupled with the housing to agitate the removal medium; anda controller coupled with the agitator to agitate the removal medium at selected time intervals. 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein housing with the removal medium is a disposable unit. 12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein housing with the removal medium can be decoupled from the hot water heater and replaced by a new housing with new removal medium. 13. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the amount of precipitate deposited on the removal medium is not limited by depletion of active ions in the removal medium. 14. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the removal medium does not regenerate via brine. 15. An apparatus comprising: a hot water heater comprising a water intake and a hot water outlet, and a heater;a housing having a hot water inlet and a housing water outlet, the housing coupled with the hot water heater via the hot water outlet at the hot water inlet;a removal medium having a surface area that is larger than the surface area of the interior surface of the housing within which the removal medium resides, wherein the removal medium has a surface area that accommodates adherence of precipitates formed in water and continues to accommodate adherence of precipitates while water continues to flow through the removal medium from the hot water inlet to the housing water outlet with no need for regeneration;at least one valve coupled between the hot water outlet and the hot water inlet to redirect water output from the hot water outlet to a second housing, the at least one valve being capable of blocking water from flowing into the hot water inlet of the housing from the hot water outlet of the hot water heater;an agitator coupled with the housing to agitate the removal medium; anda controller coupled with the agitator to agitate the removal medium at selected time intervals. 16. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising an agitator coupled with the housing to agitate the removal medium. 17. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising a circulation pump to circulate the hot water through the removal medium to adhere a further amount of the precipitate to the removal medium. 18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the housing comprises an opening to load, remove and replace the removal medium. 19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the housing comprises a viewing port to inspect the precipitate on the removal medium. 20. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the hot water pipes comprise a transparent portion to inspect for scale accumulation.
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