Water heater
First Claim
1. A water heater for use in spas, hot tubs, pools, hydrotherapy pools, bath tubs, and similar bodies of water used indoors, outdoors, or both indoors and outdoors, the water heater comprising:
- a heating chamber connected in a water flow path for heating water passing therethrough, the heating chamber having an inlet, an outlet, and at least one heating surface;
the heating surface having an inner wet surface, and an outer dry surface;
a dielectric layer coupled to the outer dry surface of the at least one heating surface by a binding material formed on the outer dry surface of the heating chamber;
at least one resistor attached to the dielectric layer;
a conductive layer connected to at least a portion of the at least one resistor;
at least one temperature sensor located on or near the water heater;
at least one temperature sensor located on or near the at least one heating surface for sensing temperature;
at least one terminal connected to at least a portion of the conductive layer;
an electronic controller having at least one microprocessor adapted to process signals from a plurality of devices providing water parameter information, the electronic controller connected to the at least one terminal, the at least one temperature sensor, and to a power supply, the electronic controller arranged to control the operation of the water heater and to controllably energize the water heater.
12 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An improved water heater for use in spas, hot tubs, pools, hydrotherapy pools, bath tubs, and similar bodies of water used indoors, outdoors, or both indoors and outdoors are used for both therapeutic and recreational purposes. The water heater uses heating element technology know as thick film on substrate comprising resistive elements bonded to the outer dry surface of a pipe to heat the pipe which in turn heats the water flowing therethrough. The heater is highly efficient due to the direct contact of the wet heating surface with the water and provides a smooth seamless inner heating surface by eliminating the need to pass electrical leads into the wet region of the heater. This virtually eliminates the risk of leaks in the water heater due to bulkhead fittings. The invention further eliminates the need for a heating element to be contained in the inner wet region of a spa heater, thereby reducing the risk of corrosion. The water heater is used in combination with an electronic controller having a microprocessor to control and regulate the operation of the water heater. The water heater can be used with electrical, electro-mechanical, and mechanical control systems for spas and can be retrofitted into existing spa applications.
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Citations
111 Claims
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1. A water heater for use in spas, hot tubs, pools, hydrotherapy pools, bath tubs, and similar bodies of water used indoors, outdoors, or both indoors and outdoors, the water heater comprising:
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a heating chamber connected in a water flow path for heating water passing therethrough, the heating chamber having an inlet, an outlet, and at least one heating surface;
the heating surface having an inner wet surface, and an outer dry surface;
a dielectric layer coupled to the outer dry surface of the at least one heating surface by a binding material formed on the outer dry surface of the heating chamber;
at least one resistor attached to the dielectric layer;
a conductive layer connected to at least a portion of the at least one resistor;
at least one temperature sensor located on or near the water heater;
at least one temperature sensor located on or near the at least one heating surface for sensing temperature;
at least one terminal connected to at least a portion of the conductive layer;
an electronic controller having at least one microprocessor adapted to process signals from a plurality of devices providing water parameter information, the electronic controller connected to the at least one terminal, the at least one temperature sensor, and to a power supply, the electronic controller arranged to control the operation of the water heater and to controllably energize the water heater. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75)
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39. A water heater for use in spas, hot tubs, pools, hydrotherapy pools, bath tubs, and similar bodies of water used indoors, outdoors, or both indoors and outdoors, the water heater comprising:
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a pipe connected in a water flow path for heating water passing therethrough, the pipe having an outer surface, an inner surface, an inlet, and an outlet;
a dielectric layer attached to at least a portion of the outer surface of the pipe by a binding material formed on the outer surface of the pipe and configured to bind the at least one dielectric layer to the outer surface of the pipe;
at least one resistor attached to the dielectric layer;
a conductive layer connected to at least a portion of the at least one resistor;
at least one temperature sensor located on or near the pipe for sensing temperature;
at least one terminal connected to at least a portion of the conductive layer;
an electronic controller having at least one microprocessor adapted to process signals from a plurality of devices providing water parameter information, the electronic controller connected to the at least one terminal, the at least one temperature sensor, and to a power supply, the electronic controller arranged to control the operation of the water heater and to controllably energize the water heater.
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76. A water heater for use in spas, hot tubs, pools, hydrotherapy pools, bath tubs, and similar bodies of water used indoors, outdoors, or both indoors and outdoors, the water heater comprising:
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a pipe connected in a water flow path for heating water passing therethrough, the pipe having an outer surface, an inner surface, an inlet, and an outlet;
a dielectric layer attached to at least a portion of the outer surface of the pipe by a binding material formed on the outer surface of the pipe and configured to bind the at least one dielectric layer to the outer surface of the pipe;
at least one resistor attached to the dielectric layer;
a conductive layer connected to at least a portion of the at least one resistor;
at least one temperature sensor located on or near the pipe for sensing temperature;
at least one water presence sensor located on or near the pipe for sensing the presence or absence of water within the pipe;
at least one terminal connected to at least a portion of the conductive layer and connected to at least one power controlling device, the at least one power controlling device connected to the at least one temperature sensor, the at least one water presence sensor, and a power supply for controllably energizing the water heater to regulate the temperature of the water heater;
wherein the at least one power controlling device disconnects power to the water heater when the temperature sensed by the at least one temperature sensor exceeds a predetermined temperature and allows power to be reconnected to the water heater once the temperature has dropped below a predetermined temperature;
wherein the at least one power controlling device disconnects power to the water heater when the at least one water presence sensor detects the absence of water within the pipe and allows power to be reconnected to the water heater once the at least one water presence sensor senses water present within the pipe. - View Dependent Claims (77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111)
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Specification