Emergency shutdown system for a water-circulating pump

• US 6,059,536 A
• Filed: 01/21/1997
• Issued: 05/09/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Stingl Products LLC
• Original Assignee: O.I.A., LLC
• Inventors: Stingl, David A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Thorpe, Timothy S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gartenberg, Ehud
• Application Number:
  US08/786,656
• Time in Patent Office: 1,204 Days
• Field of Search: 417/44.2, 417/44.3, 4/541.2
• US Class Current: 417/44.2
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2201/0176 By stopping operation
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 33/005 Electrical circuits therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 33/0087 Therapeutic baths with agitated or circulated water
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 33/60 Components specifically designed for the therapeutic baths of groups A61H33/00 plumbing E03C1/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 33/6073 Intake mouths for recirculation of fluid in whirlpool baths
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 2205/01 Pressure before the pump inlet
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 2207/701 Sound
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 2207/702 Light
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 2207/703 Stopping
• CPC Class Codes: F04B 49/06 Control using electricity regulating by means of floats actuating electric switches F04B49/04

Abstract

An emergency shutdown system for a water-circulating pump monitors the vacuum on the influent side of a pump. The system includes a vacuum switch connected to the influent side of the pump by a vacuum line. The vacuum switch is connected to a pump shut-off switch which is, in turn, connected to the motor of the pump. When one of the influent lines leading to the pump becomes clogged or blocked, the vacuum switch, through the vacuum line, senses the increased suction and delivers an electrical shut-off signal. The pump shut-off switch opens in response to the electrical signal, thereby interrupting line power to the pump. Audible and visual alarms are also electrically connected to the vacuum switch. A main switch, including on, off, start and vacuum bypass positions, is included for manually activating and deactivating the pump motor and for enabling the pump to operate under selected high vacuum situations without deactivating the alarms. A siren key switch is also provided for turning off the audible alarms during pool maintenance. The components of the system are housed in a corrosion-resistant box having a deep base and a cover hinged and locked to the base.

Claims

1. An emergency shutdown system for a pool or spa water-circulating pump comprising a pool or a spa, a power source, a pump motor connected to the power source, a water-circulating pump connected to the motor, the pump having an influent side and an intake and an exhaust, an effluent side, the influent side further comprising an influent line connected to the intake of the pump, the effluent side further comprising an effluent line connected to the exhaust of the pump, a vacuum switch connected to the influent side for providing an electrical shut-off in response to increased vacuum on the influent side, a pump switch electrically connected between the power source and the motor, the pump switch being connected to the vacuum switch for receiving the electrical shut-off from the vacuum switch, wherein the pump switch breaks electrical connection between the power source and the motor in response to the receiving of the electrical shut-off from the vacuum switch, an audible alarm and a visual alarm electrically connected to the vacuum switch for energizing the alarms upon increased vacuum on the influent side, the system further comprising an on-off switch, a start switch and a vacuum bypass switch, the start switch electrically overriding the electrical shut-off to the pump switch for electrically connecting the power source to the motor during high vacuum level pump start-up, the bypass switch electrically overriding the electrical shut-off to the pump switch for electrically connecting the power source to the motor during high vacuum use of the water-circulating pump for pool or spa vacuuming.

2. The emergency shutdown system of claim 1, further comprising a vacuum gauge, and wherein the vacuum switch is adjustable for selecting precise levels of sensed vacuum at which to provide the electrical shut-off.

3. The emergency shutdown system of claim 2, further comprising a box with a lockable cover, and wherein the adjustable vacuum switch and the vacuum gauge are mounted in the box with the cover.

4. The emergency shutdown system of claim 1, further comprising a key-operated audible alarm overriding switch and a pump control box, wherein the start switch, on-off switch and vacuum bypass switch are combined in one four-position main control switch, and wherein the main control switch and the audible alarm overriding switch are mounted on the pump control box.

5. The emergency shutdown system of claim 4, wherein the pump switch is a pump relay, and wherein the pump relay is mounted in the pump control box under the cover.

6. The emergency shutdown system of claim 1, further comprising alarm terminals for external alarms connected to the vacuum switch, and wherein the alarms are external audible and visual alarms connected to the alarm terminals.

7. The emergency shutdown system of claim 1, further comprising a check valve connected between the influent side and the vacuum switch.

8. The emergency shutdown system of claim 7, further comprising a vacuum reset bleeder connected between the vacuum switch and the check valve.

9. The emergency shutdown system of claim 1, wherein the start switch, on-off switch and vacuum bypass switch form a portion of main control switches, the main control switches having a vacuum bypass position, an off-position, an on position and a start position, and wherein the start position is spring-loaded to return the main control switches to the on position.

10. The emergency shutdown system of claim 1, further comprising a timed auto start relay electrically connected to the start switch for providing a timed start sequence for pump priming.

11. The emergency shutdown system of claim 10, wherein the timed auto start relay is adjustable and is electrically connected to the on-off switch for energizing the auto start relay and for bypassing the start switch when the water-circulating pump is operated with an automatic timer or automatically after power outages.

12. The emergency shutdown system of claim 1, further comprising an internal power supply connected to the power source and to the on-off switch, to the pump switch and through the on-off switch to the vacuum switch, and through the vacuum switch to the pump switch, for providing low voltage dc power to the system and for providing the electrical shut-off to the pump switch.

13. The emergency shutdown system of claim 12, wherein the internal power supply comprises a step-down transformer connected to the power source and a bridge rectifier connected to the step-down transformer and to the on-off switch.

14. The emergency shut-down system of claim 13, wherein the pump switch is a pump relay, and wherein the vacuum switch further comprises a logic relay having a coil, normally-open contacts and normally-closed contacts, wherein the start switch is connected to the coil for energizing the coil and thereby closing the normally-open contacts for supplying power from the rectifier through the closed normally-open contacts to the pump relay, and wherein the vacuum switch is connected to the rectifier and to the coil for energizing the coil when the vacuum switch is in a low vacuum condition and thereby closing the normally-open contacts for supplying power from the rectifier through the closed normally-open contacts to the pump relay, and a vacuum sensor connected to the rectifier and the coil for energizing the coil when the vacuum sensor is in a low vacuum condition and thereby closing the normally-open contacts for supplying power to the pump relay through the closed normally-open contacts while the coil is energized, and thereby allowing the normally-closed contacts to supply power to alarms when the coil is deenergized.

15. The emergency shutdown system of claim 1, wherein the alarms further comprise an audible alarm and an audible alarm overriding switch connected to the audible alarm for preventing operation of the audible alarm.

16. The emergency shutdown system of claim 1, further comprising a vacuum line connected to and extending between the influent side and the vacuum switch.

17. The emergency shutdown system for a pool or spa water-circulating pump, comprising a pool or a spa, a power source, a pump motor connected to the power source, a water-circulating pump connected to the motor, the pump having an influent side and an effluent side, an influent line connected to the influent side of the pump, an effluent line connected to the effluent side of the pump, a vacuum switch connected to the influent side for providing an electrical shut-off in response to increased vacuum on the influent side, a pump switch electrically connected between the power source and the motor, the pump switch being connected to the vacuum switch for receiving the electrical shut-off from the vacuum switch, wherein the pump switch breaks electrical connection between the power source and the motor in response to the receiving of the electrical shut-off from the vacuum switch, an audible alarm and a visual alarm electrically connected to the vacuum switch for energizing the alarms upon increased vacuum on the influent side, an off-on switch, a start switch and a vacuum by-pass switch, the start switch electrically overriding the electrical shut-off to the pump switch for electrically connecting the power source to the motor during high vacuum level pump start-up, the vacuum bypass switch electrically overriding the electrical shut-off to the pump switch for electrically connecting the power source to the motor during high vacuum use of the water-circulating pump for pool or spa vacuuming;

and wherein the start switch, on-off switch and vacuum by-pass switch form a portion of a main control switch, the main control switch having a vacuum bypass position, an off position, an on position, and a start position, and wherein the start position is spring-loaded to return the main control switch to the on position.

18. The emergency shutdown system of claim 17, further comprising a vacuum gauge, and wherein the vacuum switch is adjustable for selecting precise levels of sensed vacuum at which to provide the electrical shut-off.

19. The emergency shutdown system of claim 18, further comprising a box with a lockable cover, and wherein the adjustable vacuum switch and the vacuum gauge are mounted in the box with the cover.

20. The emergency shutdown system of claim 17, further comprising a key-operated audible alarm overriding switch and a pump control box, wherein the start swith, on-off switch and vacuum bypass switch are combined in one four-position main control switch, and wherein the main control switch and the audible alarm overriding switch are mounted on the pump control box.

21. The emergency shutdown system of claim 20, wherein the pump switch is a pump relay, and wherein the pump relay is mounted in the pump control box under the cover.

22. The emergency shutdown system of claim 20, further comprising alarm terminals for external alarms, and wherein the alarms are external audible and visual alarms connected to the alarm terminals.

23. The emergency shutdown system of claim 17, further comprising a check valve connected between the influent side and the vacuum switch.

24. The emergency shutdown system of claim 23, further comprising a vacuum reset bleeder connected between the vacuum switch and the check valve.

25. The emergency shutdown system of claim 17, further comprising a timed auto start relay electrically connected to the main control switch for providing a timed start sequence for pump priming.

26. The emergency shutdown system of claim 25, wherein the timed auto start relay is adjustable and is electrically connected to the main control switch for energizing the auto start relay for bypassing the start switch when the water-circulating pump is operated with an automatic timer or in case of frequent power outages.

27. The emergency shutdown system of claim 17, further comprising an internal power supply connected to the power source and to the main control switch, to the pump switch and through the main control switch to the vacuum switch, and through the vacuum switch to the pump switch or to the alarms, for providing low voltage dc power to the system and for providing the electrical shut-off to the pump switch.

28. The emergency shutdown system of claim 27, wherein the power supply comprises a step-down transformer connected to the power source and a bridge rectifier connected to the step-down transformer and to the main control switch.

29. The emergency shut-down system of claim 28, wherein the pump switch is a pump relay, and further comprising a logic relay having a coil, normally-open contacts and normally-closed contacts, wherein the start switch is connected to the coil for energizing the coil and thereby closing the normally-open contacts for supplying power from the rectifier through the closed normally-open contacts to the pump relay, and wherein the vacuum switch is connected to the rectifier and to the coil for energizing the coil when the vacuum switch is in a low vacuum condition and thereby closing the normally-open contacts for supplying power to the pump relay while the coil is energized, and thereby allowing the normally-closed contacts to supply power to the alarms when the coil is deenergized.

30. The emergency shutdown of claim 17, further comprising and an audible alarm overriding switch connected to the audible alarm for preventing operation of the audible alarm.

31. The emergency shutdown system of claim 17, further comprising a vacuum line connected to and extending between the influent side and the vacuum switch.

32. An emergency shutdown system comprising an internal power supply for connecting to a power source, a pump relay for connecting to the power source and to a circulating pump in a pool or spa and a vacuum sensor for sensing low and high vacuum conditions on an influent side of the circulating pump, wherein the internal power supply further comprises a step-down transformer for connecting to the power source and a bridge rectifier connected to the step-down transformer for providing low-voltage dc power to the system, the system further comprising an on-off switch connected to the bridge rectifier, and a logic relay having a coil, and first and second normally-open contacts, a start switch connected to the rectifier and to the coil for temporarily energizing the coil and thereby closing the normally-open contacts for supplying power from the rectifier through the closed firtst normally-open contacts to the pump relay for energizing the pump relay and supplying power from the power source to the circulating pump, and wherein the vacuum sensor is connected to the rectifier and through the closed second normally-open contacts to the coil for energizing the coil when the vacuum sensor is in a low vacuum condition and thereby holding closed the first and second normally-open contacts for supplying power to the pump relay and supplying power to the coil while the coil is energized, and wherein the vacuum sensor upon sensing high vacuum condition opening and discontinuing power to the coil and allowing the normally-open contacts to open and discontinue power to the pump relay.

33. The emergency shutdown system of claim 32, wherein the logic relay further comprises a vacuuming bypass switch connected to the normally-closed contacts and to the pump relay for supplying power to the pump relay during vacuuming.

34. The emergency shutdown system of claim 33, further comprising alarms, including an audible alarm and a lighted alarm connected to the normally-closed contacts for supplying power to the alarms when the on-off switch is on and the normally-closed contacts are closed.

35. The emergency shutdown system of claim 34, further comprising an audible alarm overriding switch connected to the audible alarm for preventing operation of the audible alarm.