Patent Publication Number: US-2022226840-A1

Title: Heated Hose Nozzle

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     Embodiments described herein relate generally to hose nozzles that are capable of heating water from a hose, and more particularly to a hose nozzle with a bare wire water heater internal to the nozzle. 
     BACKGROUND 
     In use, one end of a typical garden hose is connected to an outdoor spigot while the other end is open or connected to a nozzle, such as a sprayer. When a nozzle is used on the end of the garden hose, the water comes under pressure and can be selectively dispensed from the nozzle. The temperature of the water running out of the spigot and thus, the nozzle, tends to be at the temperature of the ground. 
     However, some applications need heated water. Providing heated water to remote locations inside and outside a home can be challenging. For example, heated water can be used to fill horse troughs, bathe animals, wash cars or boats, fill a pool, and water plants. However, the tanks used to heat and store hot water do not tend to be connected to outdoor spigots. 
     Thus, what is needed is a way of heating water from a common garden hose using a small profile nozzle with the ability to control both flow rates and temperature. 
     SUMMARY 
     The disclosure relates to a water heating hose nozzle assembly. A general embodiment of a hose nozzle assembly comprises an electrical cord; a handle comprising an inlet, a valve, and a valve tubing; a body connected to the handle comprising a heating chamber, wherein the heating chamber comprises a bare wire heating element and wherein the bare wire heating element is configured to be electrically connected to the electrical cord; and a nozzle sprayer connected to the body; wherein a fluid path is formed from the inlet, through the valve, the valve tubing, and the heating chamber, and ends at the nozzle sprayer. In some embodiments, the bare wire heating element comprises more than one bare wire heating element, such as two, three, four, five or six bare wire heating elements. In some specific embodiments, each bare wire heating element has a different watt density. For example, a first heating element of the three bare wire heating elements that is closest in the fluid path to the nozzle sprayer can have a lesser watt density than the other bare wire heating elements of the three bare wire heating element. In some embodiments, the body additionally comprises a control board, an inlet temperature sensor, an outlet temperature sensor, and a flow sensor. The control board can be configured to modulate the power to the bare wire heating element based on inputs from the inlet temperature sensor, the outlet temperature sensor, and the flow sensor. Within the hose nozzle assembly, the handle can additionally comprise a trigger configured to open the valve upon actuation of the trigger. In some embodiments, the trigger is configured to activate the bare wire heating element upon actuation of the trigger. In other embodiments, the bare wire heating element is actuated when the flow sensor senses a continuous fluid flow through the hose nozzle assembly. In specific embodiments, the inlet is a hose with a threaded end configured to be attached to a conventional water spigot or a garden hose. In some embodiments, the nozzle sprayer is configurable to slow a flow of fluid and to provide a plurality of different spray patterns when the fluid exits the nozzle sprayer. The hose nozzle assembly can further comprise a bimetal thermostatic switch which is configured to disable power if a fluid flowing through the hose nozzle assembly is hotter than a predetermined maximum temperature, such as 100, 105, 110, 115, or 120 degrees F. 
     Another general embodiment of a hose nozzle assembly comprises: an electrical cord; a handle comprising an inlet, a valve and a valve tubing; a body connected to the handle comprising: an inlet temperature sensor; a heating chamber, wherein the heating chamber comprises a heating element; an outlet temperature sensor; a flow sensor; and a control board, wherein the control board is configured to receive inputs from the inlet temperature sensor and the flow sensor; and a nozzle sprayer connected to the body; wherein a fluid path is formed from the inlet, through the valve, the valve tubing, the heating chamber, and the nozzle sprayer; and wherein the control board is configured to regulate an amount of power provided to the heating element given a predetermined temperature set point and the inputs received from the inlet temperature sensor and the flow sensor. The hose nozzle assembly can also comprise a switch configured to control the predetermined temperature set point. In embodiments, the heating element is one or more bare wire heating elements. In some embodiments, the nozzle sprayer is configurable to provide a plurality of different spray patterns when fluid exits the nozzle sprayer. In some embodiments, the control board is configured to modulate the amount of power to the heating element when a change in fluid flow is detected by the flow sensor. The hose nozzle assembly can further comprise a bimetal thermostatic switch which is configured to disable power if a fluid flowing through the hose nozzle assembly is hotter than a predetermined maximum temperature, such as 100, 105, 110, 115, or 120 degrees F. In some embodiments, the heating element is actuated when a steady flow is detected by the flow sensor. In an additional embodiment, the control board is configured to: additionally receive input from the outlet temperature sensor, calculate a power needed by the heating element to adjust an output temperature to equal the predetermined temperature set point; and adjust the amount of power provided to the heating element to equal the calculated power needed. 
     These and other aspects, objects, features, and embodiments will be apparent from the following description and the appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The drawings illustrate only example embodiments of hose nozzle assembly configurations within systems and are therefore not to be considered limiting in scope, as hose nozzle assembly configurations may admit to other equally effective embodiments. The elements and features shown in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the example embodiments. Additionally, certain dimensions or positions may be exaggerated to help visually convey such principles. In the drawings, reference numerals designate like or corresponding, but not necessarily identical, elements. 
         FIG. 1  is a bottom perspective view of a hose nozzle assembly. 
         FIG. 2  is a top perspective view of a hose nozzle assembly. 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded view of a hose nozzle assembly. 
         FIG. 4  is a cross section of a hose nozzle assembly. 
         FIG. 5  is a block diagram of a control system for a hose nozzle assembly. 
         FIG. 6  is a flow chart for a control system for a hose nozzle assembly. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS 
     The example embodiments discussed herein are directed to hose nozzle assembly configurations. Example embodiments can be pre-fabricated or specifically generated (e.g., by shaping a malleable body) for a particular environment. Example embodiments can have standard or customized features (e.g., shape, size, features on the inner surface, pattern, configuration). Therefore, the example embodiments described herein should not be considered limited to creation or assembly at any particular location and/or by any particular person. Additionally, a hose nozzle assembly (or components thereof) described herein can be made of one or more of a number of suitable materials. 
     As used herein, “connected” means two components are indirectly or directly connected to one another. For example, the two components could be connected to each other through the use of a coupling feature or could be directly threaded to each other. In another example, connected could mean connected through one or more wires. 
     As used herein, “attached” means two components are directly attached to one another, such as through threading one component directly to another. 
     As used herein, a “coupling feature” can couple, secure, fasten, abut, and/or perform other functions aside from merely coupling. A coupling feature as described herein can allow one or more components of a hose nozzle assembly to become coupled, directly or indirectly, to another portion of the hose nozzle assembly. A coupling feature can include, but is not limited to, a swage, a snap, a clamp, a portion of a hinge, an aperture, a recessed area, a protrusion, a slot, a spring clip, a tab, a detent, a compression fitting, and mating threads. 
     Any component described in one or more figures herein can apply to any other figures having the same label. In other words, the description for any component of a figure can be considered substantially the same as the corresponding component described with respect to another figure. For any figure shown and described herein, one or more of the components may be omitted, added, repeated, and/or substituted. Accordingly, embodiments shown in a particular figure should not be considered limited to the specific arrangements of components shown in such figure. 
     Example embodiments of hose nozzle assemblies will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which example embodiments of hose nozzle assemblies are shown. Hose nozzle assemblies may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the example embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of hose nozzle assemblies to those of ordinary skill in the art. Like, but not necessarily the same, elements (also sometimes called components) in the various figures are denoted by like reference numerals for consistency. 
     Terms such as “first,” “second,” “top,” “bottom,” “left,” “right,” “end,” “back,” “front,” “side”, “length,” “width,” “inner,” “outer,” “above”, “lower”, and “upper” are used merely to distinguish one component (or part of a component or state of a component) from another. Such terms are not meant to denote a preference or a particular orientation unless specified, and are not meant to limit embodiments of hose nozzle assemblies. In the following detailed description of the example embodiments, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the disclosure. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known features have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily complicating the description. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a bottom perspective view of an embodiment of the hose nozzle assembly  100 . In this embodiment, an electrical cord  102  is shown attached to the inlet  104  and the inlet  104  is connected to the handle  106 . In some alternate embodiments, the inlet  104  may be a water hose which is connected to the handle  106 . While many of the examples described herein relate to heating water, the hose nozzle assembly can also be used to heat other liquids or mixtures of liquids. The inlet  104  is configured to let water into the hose nozzle assembly  100 . The handle  106  may comprise grooves to increase grip. In the embodiment shown, the handle  106  further comprises a trigger  108 . Above the handle  106  is the body  110  of the hose nozzle assembly  100  with one end of the body  110  comprising a nozzle sprayer  112 . The nozzle sprayer can have a single nozzle or multiple nozzles that can be selected for varying spray patterns. Located on the user side of the body  110  is a switch  114 . In certain example embodiments, the switch  114  is used to set the preferred water temperature for water exiting the nozzle sprayer  112 . Upon compression of the trigger  108 , water flows through the hose nozzle assembly  100 , is heated, and flows out of the nozzle sprayer  112 . The nozzle sprayer  112  is rotatable such that different configurations of sprays can be selected by a user.  FIG. 2  is a top perspective view of an embodiment of a hose nozzle assembly  100  illustrating the elements described in connection with  FIG. 1 . 
     In other embodiments, the electrical cord  102  may enter the handle  106  or the body  110  separate from the inlet  104 . In some embodiments, the electrical cord  102  is combined with the inlet  104 , such as an attached hose. In this embodiment, the electrical cord  102  branches from the attached hose close to the handle  106 , or may branch from the attached hose at the other end of the attached hose, or any length in between. In this embodiment, the inlet  104 , such as a hose, may be molded together with the electrical cord  102  in a seamless manner. In some embodiments, the electrical cord  102  ends in a wire grounding plug. In some embodiments, the plug comprises a ground fault circuit interrupter or a residual current device. Some embodiments of the disclosure can comprise an on/off switch or depressible power button. The electrical cord  102  can be a standard 120V electrical cord. The inlet  104  may additionally comprise a coupler at the end of the inlet  104  away from the handle  106  of the hose nozzle assembly  100 . An inlet coupler may be configured to attached to a common garden hose or spigot. 
       FIG. 3  is an exploded view of an embodiment of a hose nozzle assembly  100 . Starting from the bottom of  FIG. 3 , the hose nozzle assembly  100  comprises an inlet  104 , handle  106 , and trigger  108 . Inside of the handle  106  resides a valve  300  configured to cut off the flow of water from the inlet  104 . When the valve  300  is actuated by the trigger  108  being depressed, the valve  300  allows water flow from the inlet  104  into the valve tubing  302 . A triac  304  is also installed which gates power through the hose nozzle assembly. 
     The handle  106  is connected to a housing  306  which forms the majority of the body  110  of the hose nozzle assembly  100 . A switch  114  fits into the user end of the housing  306  and a nozzle sprayer  112  is located on the opposing end of the housing  306 . A heating chamber  307 , comprising a bottom section  308  and a top section  310 , is located within the housing  306 . The bottom section  308  and top section  310  are connected together with a gasket  312  making the heating chamber  307  water tight. 
     The heating chamber comprises a fluid path and at least one heating element. The fluid path can have a variety of forms. In the example embodiment of  FIG. 3 , the fluid path is formed in a spiral manner through the heating chamber  307  with a heating chamber inlet  314  connected to the valve tubing  302  and a heating chamber outlet  316  connected to outlet tubing  318 . In the example of  FIG. 3 , the heating element is implemented as three bare wire heating elements  320  that are contained within the heating chamber  307 , each within a section of the spiral. Each of the bare wire heating elements  320  are connected to two termination rod wire connections  322 , which supply power and ground to the heating elements  320 . The termination rod wire connections  322  are connected to termination rods which are in turn connected to the bare wire heating elements  320  through termination screws. The other side of the termination rod wire connections  322  are crimped to wires which receive power from the electrical cord  102 . 
     The outlet tubing  318  is connected to the nozzle sprayer  112 , such that water flow can go through the outlet tubing  318  into the nozzle sprayer  112 . A water tight fluid path is formed from the inlet  104 , through the valve  300 , the valve tubing  302 , the heating chamber  307 , the outlet tubing  318 , and ends at the nozzle sprayer  112 , releasing a spray of water. 
     The hose nozzle assembly  100  also comprises sensors. An inlet temperature sensor  324  is located at the heating chamber inlet  314  and is configured to measure the temperature of water flowing into the heating chamber  307 . An outlet temperature sensor  326  is located at the heating chamber outlet  316  and is configured to measure the temperature of water flowing out of the heating chamber  307 . A flow meter  328  is located within the heating chamber  307  near the heating chamber outlet  316  and is configured to measure the amount of water flowing out of the heating chamber  307 . As an additional safety feature, an ECO switch  330  (electrical cutoff thermostatic switch in series with main power) and an ECO wire connector  332  are included in this embodiment to measure the temperature of the water and to turn off power to the bare wire heating elements  320  if the temperature of the water exceeds 120° F. A control board  334  sits on the bottom of the housing  306 . The control board  334  is connected to the inlet temperature sensor  324 , outlet temperature sensor  326 , flow meter  328 , and bare wire heating elements  320 . A cover  336  is connected to the housing  306  through the use of screws  338 .  FIG. 4  illustrates a cross section of an embodiment of the hose nozzle assembly  100  illustrating the elements of  FIG. 3  from a different view. 
     The handle  106 , trigger  108 , housing  306 , switch  114 , nozzle sprayer  112 , and cover  336  can be made of any of one or more of a number of suitable materials. In some embodiments, these may be formed from plastic, such as ABS, nylon, or fiber reinforced nylon. In certain embodiments, these elements are made of materials that are heat safe to at least 120 degrees F. The handle  106  and trigger  108  are made to be used with one hand during operation of the hose nozzle. 
     The switch  114  is configured to be adjustable, such that a user can set a preferred temperature for the outlet water. The switch  114  is a multi-position switch such as a rotary potentiometer, potential switch, multi-position switch, rotary encoder, linear encoder, potentiometer or the like. 
     The inlet temperature sensor  324  and outlet temperature sensor  326  are configured to sense the temperature of the water within a hose nozzle assembly  100 . The inlet temperature sensor  324  and outlet temperature sensor  326  may be the same type of temperature sensor, or may be different. The inlet temperature sensor  324  and outlet temperature sensor  326  may be a thermistor or a thermocouple, for example. 
     The flow meter  328  is able to measure the flow of water through a hose nozzle assembly  100 . In some embodiments, the flow meter  328  is a magnetic turbine, paddle wheel, or vortex shedding. 
     The nozzle sprayer  112  comprises a rotary dial used to select spray patterns. The different spray patterns may also affect flow rates which affect the heating capacity of the heating elements. For example, lower flow rates may result in increased heating of water passing through the heating chamber  307 , while higher flow rates may result in a lower temperature rise of water passing through the heating chamber  307 . In some embodiments, the nozzle sprayer  112  comprises 6-8 selectable spray patterns. 
     In example embodiments, the heating chamber  307  is made of a reinforced polymer, such as glass filled polymer. In certain embodiments, the heating chamber  307  is made of materials that are heat safe to at least 120 degrees F. The termination rods may be made from stainless steel, brass, or nickel plated brass, for example. 
     In certain example embodiments of the disclosure, there are one or more heating elements. For example, there could be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or more heating elements located within the heating chamber  307 . In example embodiments, the bare wire heating elements  320  (also known as resistant wire heating elements) are made of Nichrome, Nikrothal, or FeCrAl. The bare wire heating elements  320  may be shaped like a spring. In some embodiments, the bare wire heating elements  320  are all shaped like a spring, but may have varying numbers of coils or varying tension in the coils such that the watt density of each bare wire heating element  320  is different. In a specific embodiment, the bare wire heating elements  320  have decreasing watt density closer to the heating chamber outlet  316 . 
       FIG. 5  is a block diagram of an embodiment of the control system  500  for the hose nozzle assembly  100 . The control system  500  can be implemented on the example control board  334  shown in  FIG. 3 . A printed circuit board  501  comprises a power supply  502 , which receives power via the electrical cord  102 , a microcontroller  504 , a galvanic isolator  506 , and a flow sensor  508 . The flow sensor  508  receives data from the flow meter  328  that is located near the heating chamber outlet  316 . The microcontroller  504  can be programmable and can comprise one or more processor cores and memory. The galvanic isolator  506  is used to isolate current flow. The galvanic isolator can be implemented as a transformer or optocoupler, for example. 
     The microcontroller  504  receives input from the flow sensor  508 , the inlet temperature sensor  324 , and in some embodiments, the outlet temperature sensor  326 . The microcontroller uses one or more of the inputs it receives to control the heating elements. For example, the microcontroller  504  can provide control signals through a galvanic isolator  506  to a driver  510  which provides power to the bare wire heating elements  320 . In some embodiments, the galvanic isolator  506  and driver  510  are implemented as a triac  304 . The triac  304  receives a control signal (e.g., a 5V signal) from the microcontroller  504 , which causes the triac  304  to close to permit power (e.g., 120V) to flow from the electrical cord  102  to the bare wire heating elements  320 . 
       FIG. 6  is a flow chart of an embodiment of the operation of the hose nozzle assembly  100 . The hose nozzle assembly  100  initially starts unplugged with the power off (step  602 ). Once the electrical cord  102  is plugged in (step  604 ) the microprocessor starts initialization (step  606 ). Once initialization is complete and the hose nozzle assembly  100  is actuated (step  610 ), the control system  500  enters into a hybrid heating algorithm  612 . The hybrid heating algorithm  612  includes a responsive algorithm  614  and a predictive algorithm  616 . The predictive algorithm  616  is an anticipating control loop which takes in the measured water flow from the flow sensor  508  and the inlet temperature from the inlet temperature sensor  324  (in step  618 ). The responsive algorithm  614 , a feedback control loop, measures the outlet temperature from the outlet temperature sensor  326  (in step  620 ). The power required to heat the outlet water to a predetermined temperature set point (set by switch  114 ) is calculated given the sensor inputs (in step  622 ). If the flow, as determined by the flow sensor  508  is greater than a set minimum (in step  624 ), the microcontroller  504  provides a control signal to apply the power calculated in step  622  to the heating element  626 . If the microcontroller  504  detects an error in step  628  at any time, the hose nozzle assembly  100  runs with degraded performance (in step  630 ). If the microcontroller  504  detects a fault in step  632  at any time, the control system  500  stops all heating with a fault (in step  632 ). The use of the hybrid heating algorithm  612  allows for adjustments of power to the heating elements to be made on the fly as conditions change. 
     In some embodiments, the hybrid heating algorithm includes an additional step to check to see if the outlet temperature, measured in step  620 , is greater than a predetermined maximum temperature, such as 100° F., 105° F., 110° F., 115° F. 120° F., 125° F., 130° F., or 140° F. If the outlet temperature is greater than the predetermined maximum temperature, the microcontroller  504  turns off power to the heating element until the outlet temperature, measured in step  620 , is less than the predetermined maximum temperature. In some embodiments, the minimum flow setting (compared in step  624 ) can be between 0.1-0.25 gpm for example. In certain embodiments, the microcontroller  504  looks for irregular flow of fluid, and delays activating the heating element if irregular fluid flow is detected. 
     In some embodiments, a predetermined temperature set point is set from the switch  114 . As a non-limiting example, the switch can have 2-6 selectable temperature set points that can range from 50 to 115° F. In other embodiments, the predetermined temperature set point is a constant. 
     In certain embodiments, the actuation of the nozzle assembly is actuated through depression of the trigger  108 . In other embodiments, the actuation of the nozzle assembly could be from an additional depressible button or a power switch. In some embodiments, the actuation of the nozzle assembly could be triggered when the flow sensor  508  senses a steady flow of water or when the flow sensor senses flow above a certain amount, such as 0.1-0.25 gpm. In some embodiments, a secondary on/off switch is included such that the switch must be on and the trigger  108  depressed to actuate the hose nozzle assembly  100  (step  610 ). In some embodiments, depression of the trigger  108  both opens the valve  300  for the inlet flow of water and also actuates the hybrid heating algorithm  612 . 
     Accordingly, many modifications and other embodiments set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which example hose nozzle apparatus pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that example hose nozzle apparatus are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of this application. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.