GB2161866A - Automatic distilled water fountain - Google Patents

Abstract

An automatic distilled water fountain comprises four sections: The first section consists of a mesh filter 1, a flow control valve 2 and an electromagnetic switch valve 3 for controlling the water-flow into the water fountain. The second section is a still consisting of two heaters. The first heater 4 heats the water instantaneously and the second heater 5 makes the water turn into vapor. The water flow unit and the heaters are operated automatically and controlled by the water level control switch 10 in the distilled water receiver 9. The third section includes a condenser and a receiver. With the pump 8 in the water receiver and Bernoulli's tube 7, the vapor is sucked into the circulating tube and condensed and flows into the receiver 9. The operation of the first, second and third sections is controlled by the water level switch 10 in the receiver. The fourth section is a hot water, cold water and ice water supply unit consisting of a heater 11, a refrigerator 15-17, an ice water tank 12, and three micro-switches for hot, cold and ice water. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Automatic distilled water fountain BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Running tap water is a kind of drinking water which can be rather convenient, safe and sanitary. But it is often polluted beyond control and becomes a medium of diseases. In fact, water pollution has become more serious and repeated calls for purer water supply have been reported. In places, the water from the faucet is not reliable and the time when water can be drunk without the need to be boiled is still far. The water supplied from the bottom part of reservoir during the period of water shortage is, of course, bad in quality. The deeper odor of disinfectant and the larger amount of chlorine added are an evidence that the water is bad in quality. According to recent water survey reports, the running water in Taiwan contains trichloromethane which is alleged to cause cancer.It concerns us deeply though the amount is not great.

Water pollution is so serious that water purifiers and water fountains have been developed. But the efficiency of such water processing devices is uncertain. At present, there are two kinds of water processing: mesh filtering and boiling. These methods are efficient when used to process water containing visible particles of pollutant and bacteria but it is doubtful whether they can be used to remove microchemical pollutant such as metal ions, trichloromethane or other chlorides. Mesh filter with charcoal particles can remove unpleasant odor, bacteria or larger particles of pollutant from the water. But this mesh filter only does what the waterworks has done or can do. It purifies the water mainly by removing the biological and bacterial pollutants. It can not remove chemical pollutant such as heavy metal elements, trichloromethane, etc.

Metal pollutant comes with the water source while trichloromethane comes from the growth of algae in the water source. The amount of trichloromethane produced in this way is not great but the trichloromethane produced by the organic pollutant in the water source and the chlorine added by the waterworks to kill bacteria in the water are of great importance. The dirtier the water source is and the more the chlorine is added, the higher the concentration of this cancerigenic trichloromethane exists in the water.

Like the waterworks, a mesh filter can not remove such chemical pollutant because the particles of this pollutant is smaller than the opening of the mesh. Boiling can not purify the water but kill the bacteria. It is said that trichloromethane will be destroyed in the course of heating, but during heating, new trichloromethane or chlorides will be produced through chemical reaction of chlorine and organic pollutant existing in the water. So it id doubtful if boiling can remove all pollutant from the water.

Trichloromethane and heavy metals in the water are cancerigenic chemicals and poisonous pollutants and their toxicity will be accumulated. At present, the only method the waterworks uses to treat polluted water is to add chlorine in the water. In the past when water pollution was not so serious, the amount of chlorine added is 1-2PPM but now the amount has been increased to 1 Oppm or even 65ppm. It was reported that some children were poisoned after drinking milk with water from family water fountain.

Obviously, conventional water fountains still have many faults. In view of this, the inventor tried hard to develop a fully automatic distilled water fountain which can remove the pollutant completely from the water and ensure the health of the users.

According to the present invention there is provided an automatic distilled water fountain comprising a first section which consists of a mesh filter, a water flow control valve and an electromagnetic switch valve serving as an initial water filtering and flow regulating system; a second section which consists of a heating and vaporizing system to vaporize the water; a third section which consists of a condenser, a distilled water receiver and a pump intercalated in a recirculation conduit of the receiver whereby vapour produced in the second section is sucked into the circulation conduit by means of Bernoulli's suction, and condensed and passed into the receiver; a water level control being provided to control the operation of the above three sections depending on the water level in the receiver, a fourth section which consists of distilled water discharge means including a controlled outlet operable on demand to supply distilled water from the water receiver for consumption, and a second control means to start said pump when the controlled outlet is open.

The fully automatic distilled water fountain of this invention can supply cold, hot and ice water at the same time from the distilled water produced by this apparatus. A preferred form of the apparatus of the invention operates as follows.

1. Running water flowing into the delivery tube and through the mesh filter is removed of its odor, bacteria and bacterial pollutant and then flows through a control valve and an electro-magnetic switch valve which distributes the water.

2. The second section of the fountain includes a heating and vaporizing unit consisting of a first heater and a second heater. The water flowing in is heated first by the first heater and then by the second heater, and changes into vapor. The first and second heaters are well insulated so as to enhance the heating efficiency. The water control valve, the electromagnetic switch valve, the first heater and the second heater are operated and controlled by the water level control switch installed in the receiver specified below.

3. The third section consists of a condenser, a receiver and a pump. Through the pumping and Bernoulli's suction, the vapor produced in the second section is condensed here and flows into the receiver. When the water in the receiver reaches a specific level, the control switch will open or close the circuit and put off or put on the pump and first and second heaters.

4. The fourth section consists of a refrigerator, water outlets and microswitches. When the receiver, circulating tube and ice water tank are filled with distilled water, the whole machine will stop operating.

When the microswitch is pressed for cold water, the pump is switched on and begins to pump the water from the receiver. With the water level in the receiver being lowered, the water level control switch will cause the inlet valve, the first and second heaters and the pump to operate and to produce distilled water to be collected in the receiver through delivery tubes. Until the distilled water in the receiver reaches a specific high level, the water level control switch will cut off the power supply and the machine will stop operating. Distillation is carried out through the continuous operation of the steps (1), (2) and (3).

When the microswitch for hot water is pressed, a third heater will begin to operate instantaneously to heat the distilled water being flowing through the outlet. In this case the water level control switch and other units will operate as cold water is flowing out.

5. During the operation of the preceding Item (4) as the pump pumps the distilled water in the receiver into the Bernoulli's tube, the vapor is sucked into the circulating tube due to the Bernoullic suction, and changes back into liquid and flows into the receiver. At the same time, some water flows from the circulating tube into the tank of the refrigerator. When the referigerator tank is full of distilled water and the water in the receiver reaches a specific high level, the water level control switch will cause the electromagnetic switch valve to cut off the water supply and cause the pump, first heater and second heater to stop operating.

6. When the receiver is filled with distilled water during the operation of the preceding Item (5), the temperature inductor mounted in the refrigerator will cause the refrigerating system including a compressor and electric fan to operate for producing ice water. When the temperature of water in the reprigerator tank lowers to a specific degree, the inductor will cut off the circuit and cause the compressor and the fan to stop operating. When the ice water is replaced by the distilled water from the receiver and the temperature in the tank rises, the inductor will cause the compressor and the fan to operate to produce ice water.

7. When the outlet micro-switch is pressed for ice water, the micro-switch will cause the pump to pump ice water to the outlet and the water level in the receiver will be lowered. When the water is lowered to a specific level, the water level control switch will cause the electro-magnetic switch valve to open and let the water flow in. It will also cause the first and second heaters to heat the water and cause the pump to suck the vapor into the Bernoulli's tube where the vapor changes back into water and flows through the circulating tube into the receiver. When the distilled water in the receiver reaches a specific high level, the water level control will cut off the circuit and the inlet valve, the first and second heaters, and the pump will stop operating.

8. The operation of the preceding Item(1) to Item(7) is controlled by the water level control switch, the outlet micro-switch, and the temperature inductor. In addition, the first and second heaters have overheat detectors which will cut off the power supply to the heaters and pump so as to ensure safe operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS: Reference will be made to the attached drawings in which: Figure 1 is a flow chart of the fully automatic distilled water fountain of this invention.

Figure 2 is a schematic view of the fully automatic distilled water fountain of this invention.

Figure 3A is a front view of the first section of the said fountain.

Figure 3B is a top view of the first section of the said fountain.

Figure 3C is a right side view of the first section of the said fountain.

Figure 4D is a front view of the second section of the said fountain.

Figure 4D is a front view of the second section of the said fountain.

Figure 4E is a top view of the second section of the said fountain.

Figure 4F is a right side view of the second section of the said fountain.

Figure 5G is a front view of the said first and second sections in combination.

Figure 5H is a right side view of the said first and second section in combination.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 1. Referring now to the drawings, the water flows through the mesh filter 1, which removes odor, bacteria, larger particles of pol iutant and impurity from the water with its fiber mesh and active charcoal, and the flow control valve 2 which regulates the water and lets an appropriate amount of water pass to the electro-magnetic switch valve 3 to prevent undistilled water from flowing into the receover due to overflow or overpressure and to prevent unnecessary consumption of electricity due to insufficient water flow.

2. The flow control valve 2 and the electro-magnetic switch valve 3 are operated by the water level control switch installed in the receiver 9. When the water in the receiver 9 rises up to a specific level, the water level control switch will cause the electro-magnetic switch valve to block the passage and vice versa.

3. The water passing through the electromagnetic switch valve 3 into the first heater 4, which is actuated by the pump 8, the water level control switch 10 and the outlet micro-switches 181, 182, 183, is heated instantaneously and flows into the distilling tank 6 which has the second heater 5 for further heating and vaporizing.

4. When the water flows into the second heater 5, the second heater 5 in the distilling tank 6 makes the water to vaporize. With the negative pressure suction produced in the Bernoulli's tube 7 due to the pumping of distilled water from the receiver 9 into the circulating tube the vapor is sucked into the circulating tube and condensed. Then the condensate flows into the receiver 9 and the level of the distilled water in the receiver 9 rises gradually.

5. When the water from the first heater 4 begins to vaporize in the distilling tank 6, the pump 8 actuated by the water level control switch 10 pumps the distilled water from the receiver into the circulating tube, the negative pressure suction produced in the Bernoulli's tube 2 leads the vapor into the circulating tube where the vapor is condensed and flows into the receiver and the ice water tank until the water in the receiver rises up to a specific level.

6. When the water in the receiver drops to a specific level, the water level control switch 10 will cause the electro-magnetic switch valve to oper and let the water flow in. After going through the above mentioned steps (1)- (5), the water is distilled and flows into the receiver 9. When one of the micro-switches 181, 182, 183, is pressed for drinking water, the pump 8 will pump the distilled water from the receiver 9 into the circulating tube and out of one of the outlets 180, 190, 200.

When the distilled water in the receiver 9 drops to a specific level, the water level control switch 10 will cause the electromagnetic switch valve to open and let the water in, and cause the first and second heaters to operate. When the distilled water in the receiver 9 rises up to a specific level, and the microswitch 181, 182,183 are not pressed the water level control switch will cause the pump to stop operating.

7. The hot vapor sucked into the cooling tube with negative pressure suction of the Bernoulli's tube 7 is condensed into water.

And pumped by the pump 8, the distilled water flows into the receiver 9. The above procedures from (1) to (7) are the whole process of distillation.

8. When the distilled water in the receiver 9 rises up to a specific level, the water level control switch 10 will cause the pump 8, the second heater 5, the first heater 4, and the electromagnetic switch valve to stop operating. On the contrary, when the distilled water in the receiver 9 lowers to a specific level after being used, the water level control switch will cause the pump 8, the second heater 5, the first heater 4 and the electromagnetic switch valve to start operating.

9. When the microswitch 182 is pressed for hot water, it will cause the pump 8 to pump the distilled water from the receiver, through the circulating tube into the third heater 11 where the water is heated and flows out of the faucet 190. The pump will also be caused to pump the distilled water from the receiver 9 into the ice water tank 12 when the microswitch 181 is pressed for ice water.

10. When the distilled water is pumped into the ice water tank 12, the temperature inductor 13 will cause the compressor 15, the radiator 16 and the fan 17 of the refrigerator to cool the distilled water through heat exchange circulating. When the temperature of the distilled water in the ice water tank drops to a specific degree, the temperature inductor 13 will cause the compressor 15 and the fan 17 to stop operating. The ice water tank has cooling coil 14 around it. After the compressor 15 is actuated by the temperature inductor 13, it will compress the refrigerant into the cooling coil 14 and the radiator 16 and back to the compressor 15.

11. The operation of the compressor 15 is controlled by the temperature inductor 13.

When the water temperature rises, the inductor 13 will cause the compressor 15 to operate and refrigerate the distilled water in the ice tank 12 through heat exchange circulating. The operation of the said compressor 15, the radiator 16 and the fan 17 is controlled by the inductor 13 installed in the ice water tank 12.

12. The water fountain of this invention makes cold, hot and ice water through the above mentioned procedures to meet different need and since the water, cold, hot or ice, is distilled, it is very pure and sanitary. When one of the micro-switches 181. 182, 183, is pressed, it will cause the pump 8 to pump the distilled water in the receiver 9 out of one of the outlets of faucets 180, 190, 200. When the distilled water in the receiver 9 is reduced to a specific level, the water level control switch 10 will cause the second heater 5, the first heater 4 and the electromagnetic switch valve 3 to operate. After being heated, the water changes into vapor. With the Bernoulli's suction of negative pressure, the vapor is sucked into the circulating tube where it is condensed and flows into the receiver 9.

When the distilled water in the receiver 9 is increased to a specific level, the water level control switch 10 will cause the pump 8, the second heater 5, the first heater 4 and the electromagnetic switch valve 3 to stop working. By way of distillation, the water fountain of this invention removes the remaining chlorine, trichloromethane and heavy metal elements from the filtered water and produces much purer drinking water than that from a convention water fountain which is only boiled and still has harmful minerals or such cancerigenic substances as chlorine, trichloromethane and heavy metal elements. So the distilled water fountain of this invention is helpful to human health.

Claims (7)

1. An automatic distilled water fountain comprising a first section which consists of a mesh filter, a water flow control valve and an electromagnetic switch valve serving as an initial water filtering and flow regulating system; a second suction which consists of a heating and vaporizing system to vaporize the water; a third section which consists of a condenser, a distilled water receiver and a pump intercalated in a recirculation conduit of the receiver whereby vapour produced in the second section is sucked into the circulation conduit by means of Bernoulli's suction, and condensed and passed into the receiver; a water level control being provided to control the operation of the above three sections depending on the water level in the receiver, a fourth section which consists of distilled water discharge means including a controlled outlet operable on demand to supply distilled water from the water receiver for consumption, and a second control means to start said pump when the controlled outlet is open.

2. A water fountain as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the heating and vaporizing system includes first and second instantaneous water heaters.

3. A water fountain as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the water discharge means includes a water heater for the supply of hot water for consumption via a controlled hot water outlet operatively connected to said pump of the third section.

4. A water fountain as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the water discharge means includes a refrigerator for the provision of iced or chilled water from water of said receiver, an iced water tank being provided together with a controlled iced water outlet operatively connected to said pump of the third section.

5. A water fountain as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein said water level control and said second control means comprises microswitches.

6. A water fountain as claimed in Claims 3 and 4, wherein the second and third sections together with the water heater of the water discharge means are arranged as a first package unit, while the fourth section together with the receiver pump is arranged as a second package unit, the first and second package units being housed in a common housing with the first unit above the second.

7. An automatic distilled water fountain substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.