Granted Patent B2

US 8,226,823 · App. 12/198,258 · Granted Jul 24, 2012

Abstract

Claims (64)

1. A flow sensor for a water softener system including a brine tank containing a brine solution, the flow sensor being mounted in the brine tank and comprising:

a housing;

a first pair of detectors in said housing;

a second pair of detectors in said housing, said second pair of detectors being spaced from said first pair of detectors;

a movable float located in a cavity defined by said housing;

a timer in communication with said first pair and said second pair of detectors, wherein said timer is started when said float moves a designated distance below said first pair of detectors, and wherein said timer stops when said float is detected by said second pair of detectors;

a controller in communication with said first pair of detectors, said second pair of detectors and said timer, and configured to start said timer when said float moves the designated distance below said first pair of detectors and stop said timer when said float is detected by said second pair of detectors, said controller configured to determine a first brine solution velocity above said second pair of detectors and a second brine solution velocity below said second pair of detectors based on a difference in time between when said timer started and when said time stopped, and a velocity ratio between said first and said second brine solution velocities; and

at least one indicator on said controller, said indicator configured to indicate a probability of a salt bridge based on said velocity ratio determined by said controller.

2. The flow sensor of claim 1 , wherein said first pair of detectors and said second pair of detectors each include at least one photo emitter and at least one photo detector, each of said photo emitters configured to generate and direct light toward a corresponding photo detector.

3. The flow sensor of claim 2 , wherein each of said photo emitters generates an infrared light and each of said photo detectors passes an electrical current that is directly proportional to an intensity level of said infrared light.

4. The flow sensor of claim 1 , wherein said float is a ball-type float.

5. A method for determining a flow rate of a brine solution in a brine tank, the brine tank including a sensor housing having a first pair of detectors including a first photo emitter and a first photo detector, a second pair of detectors including a second photo emitter and a second photo detector, a movable float located in a cavity between the first and second photo emitters and the first and second photo detectors and a timer in communication with the first and second pairs of detectors, said method comprising the steps of:

starting the timer when the float is at a first position relative to the first and second pairs of detectors;

stopping the timer when the float is at a second position relative to the first and second pairs of detectors;

determining a total time taken for the float to move from said first position to said second position;

determining a first brine solution velocity above said second pair of detectors and a second brine solution velocity below said second pair of detectors based on the total time;

determining a velocity ratio between said first and said second brine solution velocities; and

indicating a probability of a salt bridge in the brine tank based on the velocity ratio.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the step of calculating said flow rate includes calculating a brine draw flow rate using the following equation:

FR e ={[π*h*r 1 2 *(PerVoid)]+[(1−PerVoid)*(π *h )*( r 2 2 )]}/ t e

where:

FR e =brine draw flow rate;

h=height between the photo emitter and photo detector;

r 1 =radius of brine tank;

Per Void=% volume of the tank occupied by salt (˜45% for pellet salt);

r 2 =radius of brine valve housing; and

t e =time taken to reach distance h during the brine draw cycle.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the step of calculating said flow rate includes calculating a brine refill flow rate using the following equation:

FR r ={[π*h*r 1 2 *(PerVoid)]+[(1−PerVoid)*(π *h )*( r 2 2 )]}/ t r

where:

FR r =refill flow rate;

h=height between the photo emitter and photo detector;

r 1 =radius of brine tank;

PerVoid=% volume of the tank occupied by salt (˜45% for pellet salt);

r 2 =radius of brine valve housing; and

t r =time taken to reach distance h during the refill cycle.

8. The method of claim 5 , which includes activating at least one indicator when the brine flow draw rate is at a designated flow rate.

9. A method for determining the presence of a salt bridge in a brine solution stored in a brine tank, the brine tank including a sensor housing having a first pair of detectors including a first photo emitter and a first photo detector, a second pair of detectors including a second photo emitter and a second photo detector, and a movable float located in a cavity between the first and second photo emitters and the first and second photo detectors and a timer in communication with the first and second pairs of detectors, said method comprising the steps of:

starting the timer when the float is at a first position relative to the first pair of detectors;

stopping the timer when the float is at a second position relative to the second pair of detectors;

determining a total time taken for the float to move from said first position to said second position;

calculating a first average velocity of the brine solution below the second pair of detectors;

calculating a second average velocity of the brine solution above the second pair of detectors;

determining a velocity ratio based on said first average velocity and said second average velocity; and

activating at least one indicator when said velocity ratio is at a designated velocity ratio.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein said first average velocity is calculated using the following equation:

v 1 =FRr /{(π* r 12)−[(1−PerVoid)*(4*π*[( Ra+Rb )/2]2)}

where:

v 1 =average velocity below the second pair of detectors;

FRr=refill flow rate;

r 1 =radius of brine tank;

Ra=larger radius of brine plate leg 28 b ( FIG. 1 );

Rb=smaller radius of brine plate leg 28 b ( FIG. 1 ); and

PerVoid=% volume of tank occupied by salt (˜45% for pellet salt).

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein said second average velocity is calculated using the following equation:

v 2 =FR r /{[(( π*r 1 2 )−(π* r 2 2 ))*(PerVoid)]+(π* r 2 2 )}

where:

v 2 =average velocity above the second pair of detectors;

FR r =refill flow rate;

r 1 =radius of brine tank;

r 2 radius of brine valve housing;

R a =larger radius of brine plate leg of right cone ( FIG. 1 );

R b =smaller radius of brine plate leg of right cone (FIG. 1 );and

PerVoid=% volume of tank occupied by salt (˜45% for pellet salt).

Assignments (13)