Water heater
First Claim
1. A water heater system for use in spas, hot tubs, pools, hydrotherapy pools, and bath tubs, the water heater system comprising:
- a water heater, the water heater comprising a heating chamber for heating water passing therethrough, the heating chamber comprising at least a portion of a recirculating water flow path and having an inlet, an outlet, and at least one heating surface, the heating surface having an inner wet surface and an outer dry surface, wherein a dielectric layer is 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 is attached to the dielectric layer, a conductive layer is connected to at least a portion of the at least one resistor, and at least one terminal is connected to at least a portion of the conductive layer;
at least one temperature sensor located on or near the water heater for sensing a temperature indicative of a water temperature;
an electronic controller having at least one microprocessor adapted to process signals from a plurality of devices providing water parameter information, wherein the electronic controller is connected to the at least one terminal and is arranged to control the operation of and to controllably energize the water heater, wherein the electronic controller is connected to the at least one temperature sensor, and wherein the electronic controller is configured for connection to a power supply and to control power to a pump for moving the water through the recirculating water flow path.
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
114 Claims
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1. A water heater system for use in spas, hot tubs, pools, hydrotherapy pools, and bath tubs, the water heater system comprising:
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a water heater, the water heater comprising a heating chamber for heating water passing therethrough, the heating chamber comprising at least a portion of a recirculating water flow path and having an inlet, an outlet, and at least one heating surface, the heating surface having an inner wet surface and an outer dry surface, wherein a dielectric layer is 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 is attached to the dielectric layer, a conductive layer is connected to at least a portion of the at least one resistor, and at least one terminal is connected to at least a portion of the conductive layer;
at least one temperature sensor located on or near the water heater for sensing a temperature indicative of a water temperature;
an electronic controller having at least one microprocessor adapted to process signals from a plurality of devices providing water parameter information, wherein the electronic controller is connected to the at least one terminal and is arranged to control the operation of and to controllably energize the water heater, wherein the electronic controller is connected to the at least one temperature sensor, and wherein the electronic controller is configured for connection to a power supply and to control power to a pump for moving the water through the recirculating water flow path. - 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)
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37. A water heater system for use in spas, hot tubs, pools, hydrotherapy pools, and bath tubs, the water heater system comprising:
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a recirculating water flow path, wherein water is recirculated from the body of water and one or more devices including a water heater for heating water passing therethrough, the water heater comprising a pipe, the pipe comprising at least a portion of the recirculating water flow path and having an outer surface an inner surface, an inlet and an outlet, wherein a dielectric layer is 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 is attached to the dielectric layer, a conductive layer is connected to at least a portion of the at least one resistor, and at least one terminal is connected to at least a portion of the conductive layer;
at least one temperature sensor located on or near the pipe for sensing a temperature indicative of a water temperature; and
an electronic controller having at least one microprocessor adapted to process signals from a plurality of devices providing water parameter information, wherein the electronic controller is connected to the the at least one temperature sensor and the at least one terminal and wherein the electronic controller is arranged to control the operation of the water heater and to controllably energize the water heater, and is configured for connection to a power supply and to control power to a pump for recirculating the water through the recirculating water flow path. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 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, 69, 70, 107, 108)
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71. A water heater system for use in spas, hot tubs, pools, hydrotherapy pools, and bath tubs, the water heater system comprising:
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a recirculating water flow path, wherein water is recirculated from the body of water and one or more devices including a water heater for heating water passing therethrough, the water heater comprising a heating chamber comprising at least a portion of a recirculating water flow path and having an inlet, and outlet, and at least one heating surface, the heating surface having an inner wet surface and an outer dry surface, wherein a dielectric layer is 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 is attached to the dielectric layer, a conductive layer is connected to at least a portion of the at least one resistor, and at least one terminal is connected to at least a portion of the conductive layer;
at least one temperature sensor located on or near the water heater for sensing a temperature indicative of a water temperature;
at least one water presence sensor located on or near the heating chamber for sensing the presence or absence of water within the pipe;
at least one electronic controller, wherein the at least one electronic controller is connected to the at least one temperature sensor and the at least one water presence sensor; and
wherein the electronic controller is configured to connect to a power supply for controllably energizing the water heater to regulate the temperature of the water heater and configured to control power to a pump for recirculating the water through the recirculating water flow path;
wherein the at least one electronic controller 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 electronic controller 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 (72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 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)
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105. A water heater system 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 system comprising:
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a water heater, the water heater comprising a heating chamber for heating water passing therethrough, the heating chamber comprising at least a portion of a recirculating water flow path and having an inlet, an outlet, and at least one heating surface, the heating surface having an inner wet surface and an outer dry surface, wherein the heating chamber comprises electrically non-conductive material and at least one resistor is attached directly to the outer dry surface of the heating chamber and a conductive layer is connected to at least a portion of the at least one resistor, and at least one terminal is connected to at least a portion of the conductive layer;
at least one temperature sensor located on or near the water heater for sensing a temperature indicative of a water temperature;
an electronic controller having at least one microprocessor adapted to process signals from a plurality of devices providing water parameter information, wherein the electronic controller is connected to the at least one terminal and is arranged to control the operation of and to controllably energize the water heater, wherein the electronic controller is connected to the at least one temperature sensor, and wherein the electronic controller is configured for connection to a power supply and to control power to a pump for recirculating the water through the recirculating water flow path. - View Dependent Claims (106)
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109. A recirculating water heating system for use in spas, hot tubs, pools, hydrotherapy pools, and bath tubs, the recirculating water heating system comprising:
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a vessel for holding water;
a recirculating pump for recirculating water from the vessel through a recirculating water flow path;
a water heater, the water heater comprising a heating chamber for heating the water passing therethrough, the heating chamber comprising at least a portion of the recirculating water flow path and having an inlet, and outlet, and at least one heating surface, the heating surface having an inner wet surface and an outer dry surface, wherein a dielectric layer is 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 is attached to the dielectric layer, a conductive layer is connected to at least a portion of the at least one resistor, and at least one terminal is connected to at least a portion of the conductive layer;
at least one temperature sensor located on or near the water heater for sensing a temperature indicative of a water temperature;
an electronic controller having at least one microprocessor adapted to process signals from a plurality of devices providing water parameter information, wherein the electronic controller is connected to the at least one terminal and is arranged to control the operation of and to controllably energize the water heater, wherein the electronic controller is connected to the at least one temperature sensor, and wherein the electronic controller is configured for connection to a power supply and to control power to the recirculating pump for recirculating the water through the recirculating water flow path.
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110. A spa system, comprising:
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a vessel for holding a body of water;
a recirculating water flow path from the vessel and returning back to the vessel;
a pump connected in the recirculating water flow path for recirculating water from the vessel through the recirculating water flow path;
a heating chamber comprising at least a portion of the recirculating water flow path;
a heating element coupled to an outer dry surface of the heating chamber, the heating element comprising a thick-film resistor applied over a dielectric layer attached to the outer dry surface of the heating chamber; and
an electronic controller having at least one microprocessor adapted to process signals from a plurality of devices providing water parameter information. - View Dependent Claims (111, 112, 113, 114)
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Specification