Abstract:
The preferred drinking water pumping system is for receiving and storing drinking water from an outside source and for delivering the drinking water under pressure to a drinking water faucet or the like. A refillable drinking water storage tank provides the drinking water for a water pump that delivers the drinking water to a pressure tank for storing a variable amount of drinking water therein. Use of the drinking water faucet or the like reduces the volume of drinking water in the pressure tank that will be restored by the water pump as needed. The drinking water storage tank includes water level sensors to provide remote indication when the level of drinking water is low and to protect the water pump prior to the drinking water in the drinking water storage tank being expended.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Provisional Application No. 60/447,980 entitled “Drinking Water Pumping System” filed on Feb. 18, 2003. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    The present invention relates to a drinking water pumping system for receiving drinking water from an outside source for storage in a storage tank and for pumping the drinking water from the storage tank by a pump through a pressure tank for delivery to a drinking water faucet or the like.  
           [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0005]    Because of the high level of impurities found in many domestic water supplies, whether from a municipal or private or rural source, which might include river or well water, a substantial number of households prefer not to use their domestic water supplies for drinking water or for use when making ice, coffee or the like. As a consequence, such households frequently purchase bottled water for such use. While there have been numerous devices for dispensing bottled water for drinking, they have not been configured to automatically supply such water under pressure which is comparable to normal domestic water supply systems for convenient use at conventional water faucets or at refrigerators including automatic icemakers.  
           [0006]    Accordingly, a number of other prior art devices are intended to provide pressurized water for such purposes but have been configured to use the large 5-gallon bottles of water that are very heavy and difficult to replace. In some cases, these water bottles must even be opened and inverted in the same manner as typically found in gravity fed water fountains for many years. While such devices might work satisfactorily, the limited amount of water used in such systems without having to change the bottle and the difficulty of manually handing such large bottles when changing have clearly limited their acceptability. There is a continuing concern that the water in the bottles will be expended during use in the household at inconvenient times when more water is desired but no one in the household is able or available to quickly change such large bottles. Typical such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,456,149; 4,848,097; 4,941,806; 5,638,991; 6,155,460; and 6,352,183.  
           [0007]    While a number of these devices include means for easing the difficulty of changing the water bottle, most include one or more features that limit their ability to properly and reliably provide uncontaminated drinking water better than the water provided by the normal domestic water supply system. Some include no means for preventing the introduction into the system of various contaminants when changing the bottle or when venting the system during normal operation. Others have little or no warning systems for properly allowing the bottles to be changed without resulting in a loss of service that might last for an extended period of time. Still others do not even include means for protecting the pump should the bottle be emptied during service which is very significant since most of these devices require the pump to be operated each time that water is being use at the water faucet, icemaker or the like.  
           [0008]    U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,027,499 and 4,597,270 disclose devices that are primarily intended to provide water for icemakers, were probably intended to protect the icemakers from the contaminants found in many water systems and do not directly require the larger 5-gallon water bottles. However, the primary storage containers for the water in such systems appear to be open to possible contamination and to be too small to be able to also satisfy other household needs for the drinking water.  
           [0009]    On the other hand, U.S. Pat. No. 6,349,733 does disclosed a pressurized water supply system that does not directly use the large 5-gallon water bottles but does include a storage tank that is sufficiently large to be able to satisfy the many needs for drinking water that may occur throughout an active household. However, again the acceptability of such a system is in doubt because it includes no means to prevent airborne contamination thought an overflow port and requires that the pump be operated for each use. This is significant because the system appears to include no remote low level warning means and no means for protecting the pump when the storage tank is emptied.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0010]    The preferred drinking water pumping system of the present invention is for receiving and storing drinking water from an outside source and for delivering the drinking water under pressure to a drinking water faucet or the like. The drinking water pumping system includes a water storage tank having an upper portion including a sealable filler opening for receipt of the drinking water from the outside source and filtered venting. The water storage tank has a lower portion including a suction line extending therefrom that is connected to an input side of a water pump having an output side connected to a pressure tank for receiving the drinking water being pumped from the water pump. A discharge line from the pressure tank is for being connected to the drinking water faucet or the like to supply pressurized drinking water thereto. The water pump includes a pressure sensing switching device for sensing a pressure of the drinking water at the output side. The pressure sensing switching device is for operating the water pump to stop the water pump when the drinking water at the output side being delivered to the pressure tank is at a predetermined maximum pressure and to start the water pump when the drinking water at the output side is at a predetermined minimum pressure below the predetermined maximum pressure.  
           [0011]    The pressure tank is capable of storing a variable amount of the drinking water therein. The variable amount of the drinking water in the pressure tank ranges between a first amount and a second amount that is greater than the first amount. The second amount of the drinking water is stored in the pressure tank when the drinking water therein is at the predetermined maximum pressure. The first amount of the drinking water is stored in the pressure tank when the drinking water therein is at the predetermined minimum pressure.  
           [0012]    The preferred water storage tank also includes a first water level sensor that is vertically located in a middle portion thereof to be above and separated from the lower portion of the water storage tank. A second water level sensor in the water storage tank is vertically located in the lower portion above the suction line and below the first water level sensor in the middle portion. The second water level sensor is electrically connected to the water pump for electrically disconnecting the water pump when a level of the drinking water in the water storage tank is below the second water level sensor. The first water level sensor is electrically connected to activate a warning device remote from the water storage tank for indicating when a level of the drinking water in the water storage tank is below the first water level sensor.  
           [0013]    Accordingly, the preferred drinking water pumping system will continue to operate after activation of the remote warning device until a level of the drinking water in the water storage tank has been lowered from the middle portion to the second water level sensor in the lower portion of the water storage tank and the variable amount of drinking water in the pressure tank has been reduced to the first amount. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the base system of the present invention.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the combination faucet, warning light of the present invention.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 3 is a diagram of the electrical circuitry. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0017]    Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a basic version of the drinking water delivery system. The drawing is laid out in a sequential form to better explain the system and those components thereof that could be installed in a basement, closet, or an out of the way location while still being accessible to service and to add water to the system. The system of FIG. 1 would require an electrical power supply, as shown in FIG. 3, for overall operation and include a discharge hose  38  that would extend from the remote location for being connected to an existing refrigerator, water cooler, icemaker, or the like. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the discharge hose  38  is connected to a drinking water faucet  42 , but could further include any number of additional such various components, as will be discussed in further detail herein below.  
         [0018]    As seen in FIG. 2, the drinking water faucet  42 , at a location remote from the system of FIG. 1, includes a warning light  44  that will light to indicate the existence of a low water level in the system of the present invention. The faucet  42  could be added to an existing kitchen sink or bathroom sink of a home or office so that a person could operate a flow control lever of the faucet  42  to fill a glass with water or to acquire water for cooking, etc. One or more of these drinking water faucets or the like could be added to the system as needed and would be connected through additional supply hoses to the discharge hose  38  of the base system shown in FIG. 1.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 3 is a diagram of the electrical circuitry of the present invention and, for the following discussion of the overall operation of the preferred embodiment, reference will be made to all three figures.  
         [0020]    The water delivery system includes a water tank  10  that includes, as can be clearly seen in FIG. 1, a filter vent  12  and a removable filler lid  14  at the upper portion thereof, a low level switch  16  in the middle portion thereof, a shut off switch  18  below the low level switch  16 , and a bulkhead fitting  20  in the lower portion of the tank  10  just below the shut off switch  18 . The bulkhead fitting  20  is connected to a valve  24  by a suction hose  22 A. A suction hose  22 B then connects valve  24  to a strainer  26  while a suction hose  22 C then connects strainer  26  to the inlet side of a diaphragm pump  28 . The valve  24  is used to isolate the water tank  10  by shutting off the water therein for service and repairs to the system. The strainer  26  is installed to protect the diaphragm pump  28  by preventing any foreign materials from entering and damaging diaphragm pump  28 .  
         [0021]    The diaphragm pump  28  has an internal pressure switch  48  at the outlet side thereof, shown in the electrical diagram of FIG. 3, that controls the starting and stopping of the drive motor of the diaphragm pump  28  to controls the “cut in” and “cut out” water pressure of the system. The preferred diaphragm pump  28  does not require priming and can run dry for short periods of time without damage to the diaphragm pump  28 . When pressure switch  48  opens at the set “cut out” pressure, the diaphragm pump  28  includes an internal checking feature to keep the water pressure from feeding back into the tank  10 . The diaphragm pump  28  used in present invention is also thermally protected to prevent damage to the diaphragm pump  28 .  
         [0022]    When a person opens up the flow control lever of the drinking water faucet  42 , or if an icemaker, refrigerator, etc. that is connected to the system requires sufficient water, so that the water pressure in the system at the pressure switch  48  drops to the “cut in” pressure, electrical contacts in the pressure switch  48  will close to start the diaphragm pump  28  and bring the system water pressure up. When the system water pressure at the pressure switch  48  reaches the “cut out” pressure setting, the electrical contacts in the pressure switch  48  will open and the diaphragm pump  28  will shut off.  
         [0023]    The system is designed so that drinking water can be added to the water tank  10  at the upper portion thereof by removing the filler lid  14 . The water in the tank  10  will be gravity feed through the bulkhead fitting  20  in the lower portion of the tank  10 . The filter vent  12  in the upper portion allows atmospheric air to be filtered and enter water tank  10 , so that the drinking water will flow freely out of water tank  10  through the bulkhead fitting  20 , suction hose  22 A, valve  24 , suction hose  22 B, strainer  26 , and suction hose  22 C, and into the diaphragm pump  28 .  
         [0024]    As best seen in FIG. 3, the low level switch  16  in a middle portion of the tank  10  is a “normally closed” switch. As long as the water level in the water tank  10  is above the low level switch  16 , the low level switch  16 , will be held “open” and the warning light  44 , shown in FIG. 2, will not be lit. If the water level in water tank  10  goes below the low level switch  16 , the low level switch  16  will “close” and the warning light  44  will light to indicate the need to add water to the water tank  10 . Water would then be added through the upper portion of the water tank  10  by temporarily removing the filler lid  14  in order to raise the level therein to the upper portion of the tank  10  well above the low level switch  16 .  
         [0025]    As seen in FIG. 3, the shut off switch  18  is a protective device and is a “normally open” switch. The water level in water tank  10  will need to be above the shut off switch  18  to hold the switch “closed” for the diaphragm pump  28  to be operable. If the water level in water tank  10  drops below the low level switch  16 , the warning light  44  will come on. If no water is added to the water tank  10 , the water level will continue to drop, as the diaphragm pump  28  pumps water out of the water tank  10 . The diaphragm pump  28  can continue to pump until the water level drops below the shut off switch  18 , at which point, the shut off switch  18 , will “open” and stop the diaphragm pump  28 .  
         [0026]    The shut off switch  18  shuts down the diaphragm pump  28  before the water level in the tank  10  reaches the bulkhead fitting  20 . This prevents air from being sucked into the diaphragm pump  28  and running dry. The system is designed so that when the warning light  44  lights up, a person would then add water to the water tank  10  and the shut off switch  18  would not be used. Shut off switch  18  is only a protective device for the diaphragm pump  28  and is not used during normal operation to control the diaphragm pump  28 . The diaphragm pump  28  during normal operation is controlled to start and stop by its internal pressure switch  48  as indicated earlier.  
         [0027]    The discharge or outlet side of the diaphragm pump  28  is connected to a tee fitting  32  by a pressure hose  30 . The tee fitting  32  is connected to a pressure tank  34  and also accepts a pressure gauge  36  to indicate the system pressure of the discharge water supply. The discharge hose  38  is connected to the tee fitting  32  for distributing pressurized water to the drinking water faucet  42  of FIG. 2 or the like. The pressure tank  34  is used in the system to store energy and for the protection of the diaphragm pump  28  in the same way it is be used in typical water systems.  
         [0028]    The pressurized drinking water can also tee off discharge hose  38 , as discussed above, to a refrigerator water supply, icemaker, water cooler, another bathroom drinking water faucet, such as seen in FIG. 2, or any other place where quality water is desired.  
         [0029]    A plurality of hose clamps  40  are respectively used at all ends of suction hoses  22 A,  22 B,  22 C, pressure hose  30 , and discharge hose  38 , to insure a leak free system. The hose lengths shown in FIG. 1 are for illustration purposes only and will vary depending on location of components within the system. All of the components of the system in FIG. 1 can be mounted together as one unit including the electrical controls of FIG. 3. Items or components outside of the base system as shown in FIG. 1 and would include any item or component beyond the discharge hose  38 , including but not limited to the faucet  42  of FIG. 2, auxiliary lights, alarms, etc.  
         [0030]    The base system of FIG. 1 would typically be installed in a basement, closet, or anywhere out of the way as a complete package. It would require a wall outlet for electrical power and then plumbed and wired into the faucet  42  of FIG. 2 at a kitchen or bathroom or plumbed to a refrigerator, ice maker, etc.  
         [0031]    Additional warning lights or audible alarms can be added as needed to indicate a low water level in the tank  10  so that water can be supplied uninterrupted to the faucets and appliances mentioned above. These additional warning lights and alarms would be connected to a conductor  76 A and a conductor  70 A, as shown in the wiring diagram of FIG. 3.  
         [0032]    Referring to the wiring diagram in FIG. 3 for a better understanding of the various features of the invention, 115V/AC power from a wall outlet would provide power for the base system through a live conductor  60  and a grounded or neutral conductor  62 . The grounded conductor  62  is connected to the neutral side of the motor of the diaphragm pump  28  and to the neutral side of a power supply  50 .  
         [0033]    The power supply  50  includes a transformer and rectifying circuit to convert the 115V AC incoming power to a control voltage, in this case 12V DC. It is obvious that, if desired, different voltages and power supplies, a different voltage diaphragm pump, etc. could be used to operate the various components of the invention.  
         [0034]    The active conductor  60  is also connected to the power supply  50  so that the output or control voltage from the power supply  50  would be 12V DC between a positive conductor  68  and a grounded or negative conductor  70 . The positive side conductor  68  includes a control fuse  52  that is used to protect the control voltage or low voltage side of the circuit of FIG. 3.  
         [0035]    The conductor  60  is also connected to a “normally open” control contact  46  which is operated by a control relay  56  located in the low voltage side of the circuit. The control contact  46  will remain “closed” and provide 115V AC power through a conductor  64  to pressure switch  48  when the control relay  56  is energized. A conductor  66  leads from pressure switch  48  to the active side of the motor of the diaphragm pump  28 .  
         [0036]    A conductor  68 A leads from the fuse  52  to the “normally open” contact of shut off switch  18  and to one side of the “normally closed” low level switch  16 . A conductor  72  leads from other side of the shut off switch  18  to one side of a main “on-off” switch  54 . A conductor  74  leaves the other side of the main “on-off” switch  54  and goes to the control relay coil  56  and to a power on light  58 . The power on light  58  would be mounted at the base system to show the system is energized and in use. The neutral conductor  70  leads from the control relay coil  56  and from the light  58  back to the neutral side of the power supply  50  to complete the circuit. A conductor  76  leads from the other side of the low level switch  16  to the warning light  44 . The conductor  76 A is also the conductor for the positive terminal for auxiliary warning lights or audible alarms. The conductor  70  connects out of warning light  44  to return it to neutral back to the power supply  50 . The conductor  70 A is the neutral connection for auxiliary warning lights or audible alarms.  
         [0037]    The present invention for a drinking water pumping system provides an internal drinking water supply for home or business. It is separated from the city water or well water supply, etc. The system provides high water pressure, non-stop uninterrupted quality drinking water to drinking water faucets, water coolers, icemakers, refrigerators, bathrooms, etc. The drinking water pumping system can be easily installed and operated with very low maintenance. This system would be installed in a basement, closet, or an out of the way space that has access to electrical power and can be accessed to add water to the unit.  
         [0038]    For explaining the operation of the system, the base unit of the system is shown to be connected to one outlet faucet assembly  42  of FIG. 2. However, the present invention is designed to operate multiple fixtures and appliances that would be plumbed and wired into and along with the one being described.  
         [0039]    After the base unit of FIG. 1 is set in place, typically in the basement, the discharge hose  38  will need to be plumbed into a designated drinking water faucet assembly such as that shown in FIG. 2 at a kitchen sink or bathroom and the low voltage wiring, positive conductor  76 A and negative conductor  70 A will be run from base unit of FIG. 1 to the warning light  44  of the water faucet shown in FIG. 2. With the main “on-off” switch  54  in the open or “off” position, one must simply plug in the power feeding 115V AC to conductor  60  and conductor  62 . To fill water tank  10  up with selected drinking water, one pours the water into the tank  10  and replaces the filler lid  14 .  
         [0040]    The drinking water pumping system is ready to be operated and put into service. The valve  24  should be in the open position and is only used for service to the unit and should not be run in the closed position.  
         [0041]    With the water tank  10 , full of drinking water, the “normally closed” low level switch  16  will be open, and warning light  44  will not be lit, indicating that the system water level is at least over the low level switch  16 . The “normally open” shut off switch  18  will be closed leaving the diaphragm pump  28  ready to be operated by the internal pressure switch  48  of the diaphragm pump  28 .  
         [0042]    With the “on-off” switch  54  turned “on” or closed, the control relay  56  will be energized, closing its normally open control contact  46 . The 115 V AC power will then be provided through conductor  60  and the closed contact  46  to pressure switch  48 . If there is no water pressure in the system, the pressure switch  48  contacts will be closed providing power to the diaphragm pump  28  to cause it to run. The diaphragm pump  28  will continue to run until the pressure in the pressure tank  34  and discharge hoses  38  build up to the “cut out” pressure to cause contacts of the pressure switch  48  to open. System pressure can be observed at pressure gauge  36 . Water flows from water tank  10  through bulkhead fitting  20 , suction hose  22 A, valve  24 , suction hose  22 B, water strainer  26 , suction hose  22 C, to the suction side of the diaphragm pump  28  and through the pressure hose  30  to pressure tank  34  to pressurize the discharge side of the system and the discharge hose  38 .  
         [0043]    When the drinking water pumping system is initially first started up, air will be trapped in the discharge line  38 . The air can be bled out of discharge line  38  by opening the lever of the faucet assembly  42  until water flows out freely from faucet  42  of FIG. 2.  
         [0044]    The system now in operation allows a person to get a glass of drinking water from the faucet  42  of FIG. 2 to use water for cooking, ice cubes, coffee, etc. The diaphragm pump  28  will start up and shut off maintaining discharge pressure through the pressure switch  48 . The diaphragm pump  28 , through water usage, will lower the water level in water tank  10 . Once the water level drops below the low level switch  16 , the warning light  44  will light indicating to add more water to water tank  10 . Water can still be used without adding water immediately to water tank  10 , but continued use, before adding water, can drop water level below shut off switch  18 , opening up the shut off switch  18  to turn off the diaphragm pump  28 .  
         [0045]    As long as water is added as indicated by warning light  44 , or before water level drops to shut off switch  18 , a non-stop, continuous flow of water will be provided to insure good quality drinking water or other supply water.  
         [0046]    The power on light  58  will be lit to show unit is operable when the water level in the water tank  10  is above shut off switch  18 , closing its contacts, and the main “on-off” switch  54  is closed and on.  
         [0047]    Extra auxiliary warning lights or audible alarms can be connected to the positive conductor  76 A and the negative conductor  70 A. These extra auxiliary warning lights or audible alarms can be placed remotely and are used to alarm users that the water level is low and the water tank  10  needs to be refilled through the filler lid  14 .  
         [0048]    While the description provided herein above will enable one skilled in the art to understand and practice the invention, it is appropriate to discuss more details of the preferred embodiment that represent the best mode of operating the invention. For example, the water tank  10  is sized to hold about fifteen gallons of drinking water and would be filled or re-supplied with drinking water from 5-gallon bottles, if a member of the household can handle bottles of such size, or smaller bottles such as 1-gallon jugs or 1-pint bottles so that anyone could add drinking water if necessary. The low level switch  16  or first water level sensor would activate the warning light  44  when about five gallons remains in the water tank  10 . The shut off switch  18  or second water level sensor would be activated to protect the diaphragm pump  28  when less than one gallon of water is left in the tank. Accordingly, after the warning light  44  is activated to indicate a low level in the tank  10 , which might be soon need to be re-supplied, the four gallons in the tank  10  between the low level switch  16  and shut off switch  18  would continue to be available for continued use of the system.  
         [0049]    The diaphragm pump  28  is of a type that is well known in the art to produce a pressure differential between the input side and the output side with the diaphragm thereof preventing the water from flowing or returning to the input side from the output side. The preferred internal pressure switch  48  of the pump  28  has a “cut out” pressure or predetermined maximum pressure of about 40 pounds per square inch and a “cut in” pressure or predetermined minimum pressure of about 20 pounds per square inch.  
         [0050]    The pressure tank  34  is of a type that is well known in the art to store energy as it produces “pressure” on the water stored therein. The volume of water stored in the pressure tank  34  changes, depending on whether the pressure at the output side of the pump  28  is at the “cut out” pressure (predetermined maximum pressure) or at the “cut in” pressure (predetermined minimum pressure). The preferred pressure tank  34  includes a fixed quantity of gas, such as nitrogen, acting on an internal rubber wall in opposition to the water stored therein. The water in the pressure tank  34  is at its normal maximum volume at the “cut-out” or predetermined maximum pressure and is at its normal minimum volume at the “cut-in” or predetermined minimum pressure. It has been found that the best mode of operating the invention occurs when the maximum volume of the pressure tank  34  is about six gallons and the minimum volume is about four gallons. Accordingly, during normal operation of the system, use of the drinking water faucet  42  or the like would initially reduce the volume of the water therein until the volume is at the normal minimum volume, at which time the pump  28  would be activated to return the volume to the normal maximum volume. If the diaphragm pump  28  were deactivated by the shut off switch  18 , the system would continue to operate normally to provide drinking water at the drinking water faucet  42  or the like until the water in the pressure tank  34  is at the normal minimum volume.  
         [0051]    It should be clear to those skilled in the art that various features of the preferred embodiment might be altered without departing from the scope if the invention as claimed.