Low maintenance spa control system

• US 8,682,458 B2
• Filed: 02/07/2012
• Issued: 03/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Balboa Water Group LLC (Helios Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Balboa Water Group Incorporated
• Inventors: Hollaway, Jerrell P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bahta, Kidest
• Application Number:
  US13/367,698
• Publication Number:
  US 20120226383A1
• Time in Patent Office: 777 Days
• Field of Search: 700/79, 700/282, 362/562, 362/373, 449/3, 709/201, 361/623, 340/635, 340/650, 340/664, 307/112, 307/149, 219/490
• US Class Current: 700/79
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2033/0066 with low-voltage switching, e.g. using optical isolators, isolated transformers
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2201/0176 By stopping operation
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2201/5043 Displays
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2201/5082 Temperature sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2201/5087 Flow rate sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 33/005 Electrical circuits therefor
• CPC Class Codes: F24H 1/54 Water heaters for bathtubs or pools; Water heaters for reheating the water in bathtubs or pools
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1931 to control the temperature of one space

Abstract

A spa control system designed to reduce maintenance cost by providing modular construction for major control functions, with built-in diagnostic capabilities for isolating defective spa components. Multi-colored LEDs on the spaside panel constantly report the status of each component of the spa as well as the status of the functional modules themselves. Each time a component is activated, measurements of operational parameters, such as load currents, are instantly made and evaluated so that the proper LED color can be presented at the spaside. Since major functions such as audio, LED control, wireless, and spa logic are separated into removable modules, repair of the control system requires less time and less skilled personnel. Other design improvements, such as direct monitoring of heater element temperature and the purging of pumps on an as required-basis, enhance the spa'"'"'s overall reliability and thus reduce the need for maintenance.

Claims

1. A low maintenance spa control system that eliminates the need for mechanical flow or pressure monitoring devices, the spa having a main body of water, a water pump, and a spa water heater having an electrically-powered heating element within a heater housing through which water flows during a heating cycle with the water pump activated, the spa control system comprising:

a water temperature sensor thermally coupled to the main body of water for the spa,

a heater temperature sensor thermally coupled to the spa water heater element, wherein said sensor thermally coupled to said heater is located very near the heating element of said heater in order to measure the actual temperature of said heating element,

logic means connected to said sensors and configured to receive signals from said water temperature sensor and said heater temperature sensor to manage operation of the electrically powered heating element and the water pump, and

power switching means connected to said logic means to activate said heater during the heating cycle only when said temperature sensors indicate that the temperatures at their respective locations are within a prescribed difference of each other and thereby indicate the presence of flowing water through the heater housing during the heating cycle and that the water and heater sensors are working properly;

wherein mechanical water flow and mechanical water pressure monitoring devices are absent from the system.

2. The system in claim 1, wherein said sensor thermally coupled to said heater is located as close as possible to the heating element of said heater in order to measure the actual temperature of said element.

3. The system in claim 1, wherein said logic means comprises two or more processor means able to react independently to said sensors in a failsafe manner, and wherein one of said processor means is configured to de-energize the water heater whenever either said water temperature sensor or said heater temperature measures a temperature greater than a prescribed temperature.

4. The system in claim 1, wherein said difference is an absolute difference, wherein heater operation will be disabled even if the temperature at the heater sensor is cooler than the temperature at the water sensor by more than said prescribed difference, and is also disabled if the temperature at the heater sensor is higher than the temperature at the water sensor by more than said prescribed difference.

5. A method for evaluating the performance of certain components in a spa each time said components are activated by measuring operational parameters of said components, comprising a sequence of the following steps:

monitoring a current sensor;

activating a given one of the certain components the spa during bathing operation, said given one of the certain components connected to a circuit element;

for each time the given one of the certain components is activated, determining as a result of monitoring the current sensor whether a load current drawn by the given one of the components is within expected limits;

if the load current drawn by the given one of the components is not within expected limits, activating another component sharing the circuit element to determine whether said given one of said components is defective.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said activating another component sharing the circuit element to determine whether said given one of said components is defective comprises:

measuring the load current with said another component activated, and if normal, determining that said given one of said components is defective, and if not normal, determining that the circuit element should be checked.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

visually indicating the results of said determining whether a load current drawn by the given one of the components is within expected limits by providing a first visual indication if the load current is within expected limits, and by providing a second visual indication if the load current is not within expected limits.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said visually indicating the results of said determining comprises activating a multi-color light display system on a spa side control panel to produce the respective first and second visual indications.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said multi-color light display system is configured to produce two or more colors associated with each of said certain components, with one of said colors used to indicate normal performances of said components and another of said colors used to indicate abnormal performances of said components.

10. The method of claim 5, wherein said monitoring the current sensor and the activating of said components produces information which is stored in memory for later evaluation of said components.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

selectively purging stale water from components only when said information stored in memory indicates that certain of said components have not been in operation within a prescribed period of time.

18. The system of claim 5, wherein said common circuit element is a fuse.

12. A low maintenance spa control system, comprising:

a controller configured to perform logic functions to manage spa operations including water temperature control and motor activation, said logic functions further including a logic function for evaluating the performance of certain components of the spa;

a multi-color light system on a user interface to indicate the operational status of components of the spa as determined by said logic function for evaluating the performance of certain components of the spa, said components including at least one of a high speed pump, a low speed pump, a circulation pump, a water heater and a blower; and

wherein

said multi-color light system produces two or more colors with one of said colors used to indicate normal performance of said components and another of said colors used to indicate abnormal performance of said components.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein said multi-color light system comprises LEDs.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein said multi-color light system is configured to produce multi-color light effects associated with buttons, or other user interface areas, associated with corresponding ones of said components of said spa.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the user interface is a spaside control with a display and said buttons or other user interface areas.

15. A low maintenance spa control system for controlling operation of spa components, comprising:

a controller including a memory;

the controller including a logic function configured to store in said memory collected data of a detailed history of the spa operation over a time period;

the controller configured to periodically perform a purge of stale water from at least certain of the spa components by activating selected components during a time period for purging components, the controller further configured to use said stored collected data to determine that a component not be activated to be purged of water during said time period if it has been recently been in operation.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein said certain components include a water pump.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein said collected data includes temperatures, line current, time and status of component motors.