Electronic mixed water preparation device and method for preparing mixed water

• US 6,688,530 B2
• Filed: 06/17/2002
• Issued: 02/10/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Innotech Electronic GmbH
• Original Assignee: Nnotech Electronic GmbH
• Inventors: Petzold, Heiko, Wack, Volker
• Primary Examiner(s): Tapolcai, William E.
• Application Number:
  US10/149,957
• Publication Number:
  US 20020179723A1
• Time in Patent Office: 603 Days
• Field of Search: 236/12.12, 236/12.17, 236/12.19, 467/6, 467/7
• US Class Current: 236/12.12
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1393 characterised by the use of electric means

Abstract

The invention relates to an electronic mixed water preparation device. Previously such methods could only be implemented in an industrial environment or in combination with additional devices. The inventive mixed water preparation device is a compact flush-mounted unit for electronically controlling mixed water in private households. The compact inventive unit comprises an electronic controller and a step motor which acts upon a mechanical actuator. The preparation of said mixed water can be exclusively carried out in conjunction with a temperature sensor whose measuring values are used to detect throughflow and excess temperature, in addition to actual temperature values.

Claims

1. A method for preparing mixed water, in which a nominal value presettable via an operating unit (3) acts by means of a mechanical setting element (17) on a control line for preparing mixed water depending on an actual value detected by means of a temperature sensor (13), whereby the water supplied, the nominal temperature of which can be preset via the operating unit (3), is exclusively mixed by means of the temperature sensor (13) for detecting the actual value, characterized in that the gradient of the temperature curve detected by means of the temperature sensor (13) is additionally evaluated, so that a detection of the through-flow is possible;

and whereby the tracking of the setting element (17) is switched off as soon and as long as the gradient of the temperature curve falls short at a presettable threshold value.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the control method distinguishes between to temperature control ranges having different control accuracies.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that the tracking of the setting element (17) is switched off outside of a defined temperature range.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the evaluation of the gradient of the temperature curve is used for detecting an excess temperature and/or for detecting a water failure in such a manner that in the event the one and/or the other event are detected, the controller is supplied with a preset control constant in a manner such that the setting element (17) is driven into an end position interrupting the feed of water.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the controller unit (6) itself is designed as a self-parameterizing unit;

that in a first step, a minimum and/or maximum point of the control range, preferably the feed of cold water is targeted, and the specified nominal value corresponding with this position of the setting element is filed in a data memory (33); and

that in the further course of the operation, the positions of the setting element corresponding with the respective temperature setting are continuously filed in said data memory (33) in a histogram, the latter being continually up-dated in this way.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that different temperature ranges of the fine control are on file in the data memory (33) of the controller unit (6).

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the controller unit (6) is connected to an operating data acquisition.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that a program module for thermal disinfection is filed in the program memory (32) of the controller unit (6) in such a manner that an extremely high, preset nominal temperature value is supplied to the controller for a defined length of time based on the value specified by the program.

9. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that a program module for thermal disinfection is filed in the program memory (32) of the controller unit (6) in such a way that the controller is provided for a defined period of time with an extremely high, preset nominal temperature value based on the value preset by the program.