Recirculation System Using Wireless Power

The present application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 63/571,247, filed Mar. 28, 2024, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

The present disclosure is generally in the field of recirculation systems and more particularly relates to wireless recirculation systems.

Water recirculation systems move hot water to water fixtures and appliances without requiring time to heat the water first using a loop. However, some smart recirculation systems are located at a furthest fixture from a water heater, but such arrangements often require significant wiring and additional communications hardware to communicate between the remote smart recirculation system and the water heater, and a power outlet may not be available to power recirculation pumps located underneath plumbing fixtures.

Hot water recirculation systems are plumbing systems that transport hot water to fixtures and appliances using a dedicated loop or integrated loop. In a dedicated loop, a hot water pipe passes near plumbing fixtures, and a pipe may connect the loop to a hot water valve of any fixture so that hot water circulating through the hot water loop is quickly available to the fixture. In an integrated loop, a pump is installed under a plumbing fixture farthest from the water heater and switches on when the water temperature drops below a threshold temperature. In an integrated loop, hot water is recirculated intermittently and is returned to the water heater via cold water pipes. However, the recirculation system pumps often require a 120V outlet. As a result, an additional 120V outlet may need to be installed at the water heater's location to accommodate both the water heater and the pump, or when the recirculation pump is installed at the fixture remote from the water heater, a nearby 120V outlet is needed.

To operate a recirculation pump under a plumbing fixture (e.g., a sink, etc.), either a 120V outlet needs to be installed under the fixture as well, or the pump needs to be able to be powered from a 120V outlet separated from the pump by a surface (e.g., a sink, countertop, etc.). In particular, a recirculation pump may include multiple connections: (1) to the hot water supply, (2) the cold water supply (e.g., the pump may push against the cold supply pressure and move water from the hot supply line to the cold supply line), and (3) a power supply (e.g., a 120V outlet).

To power a recirculation pump underneath a plumbing fixture with a 120V outlet separated from the pump by a surface, wireless power transmission to the pump may be needed.

Some wireless powering of recirculation pumps is used to recharge a pump battery that supplies power to the pump. One drawback of using a battery powered pump is that the battery sometimes has to be replaced. Another drawback of using a pump battery is having to recharge the battery. Pump designs that include batteries also tend to be larger to accommodate the additional hardware.

In addition, a “cold water sandwich” effect may occur in which when a cold water faucet is opened, some initial hot water comes out of the faucet, then cold water comes out as it arrives from the heat exchanger, and then the flow of newly heated hot water arrives. When the water temperature reaches a threshold temperature, the hot water pump may deactivate, but some hot water may still enter the cold water supply so that when the cold water valve opens, some warm water comes out.

In one or more embodiments, a direct current (DC) recirculation pump underneath a plumbing fixture may consume as little as 15 watts (or greater, such as up to 60 watts or another power) from a 120V power outlet using wireless power transmissions from the 120V power outlet. The wireless power transmission may power the recirculation pump rather than charging a battery of the pump, so the pump may convert the wireless power signals without a battery. By not using a battery, the pump may be smaller in design than battery powered pumps and may avoid the need to recharge and replace pump batteries. The smaller pump design herein allows for a smaller wireless charging “pucks” to transmit and receive the power than a larger pump design would require. In addition, by using wireless power transmission, the need to install a 120V outlet underneath a fixture to connect to the pump is avoided.

Some wireless powering of recirculation pumps uses broadcast power, which drops dramatically per transmission distance. Therefore, a shorter point-to-point wireless power transmission with less signal loss due to shorter distance between the power transmitter for the outlet and receiver for the pump would allow for the power transmitted from the outlet to be sufficient to power the pump directly rather than having to use it to charge a pump battery. When transmitting power wireless over longer distances, a pump battery may be needed so that the power transmission is to charge the battery (e.g., using a trickle charge with a capacitor) rather than directly powering the pump because the signal loss over distance causes the power transmission to be insufficient to power the pump directly. In this manner, a battery for powering a recirculation pump may be necessary rather than an implementation choice, and the need for the battery may be negated by using a shorter distance point-to-point wireless power transmission from a 120V outlet to a nearby recirculation pump whose current draw is small enough (e.g., up to 15 amps) to be powered directly by the wireless power transmission.

In one or more embodiments, to address the cold water sandwich effect, a small temperature probe may be installed in the existing hot water line proximal to the fixture to detect the hot water temperature sooner than measuring the water temperature at the water heater remote from the fixture. Positioning the temperature probe near the fixture, the hot water temperature may be detected earlier than at the water heater so that the pump may deactivate more quickly, avoiding the hot water coming out of a cold water faucet due to the delay in deactivating the hot water pump caused by the latency in detecting the hot water reaching a temperature threshold. The temperature probe may be wired or wireless (e.g., clamping onto the hot water pipe).

In one or more embodiments, the recirculation pump at the plumbing fixture may communicate with the remote water heater to control water heater operations. In particular, tankless water heaters may need time to heat and provide hot water to the fixture, so the pump system may send a trigger (e.g., wirelessly) to the water heater to notify the water heater that the pump is going to turn on. The notification may cause the water heater to turn on its burners to avoid any cold water being in the loop for the fixture. The pump communications may be facilitated by the constant power supply provided by the 120V outlet via the wireless power transmission to the pump. The recirculation pump communications to the water heater may facilitate a proactive (e.g., instead of reactive) providing of hot water to ensure that hot water is immediately available.

In one or more embodiments, temperature sensors may detect cold conditions, such as cold ambient temperatures, which may trigger activation of the remote water heater. For example, a freeze protection technique may rely on temperature sensor data for temperature sensors at water pipes or elsewhere (e.g., in the ambient environment) so that when a temperature is below a threshold temperature, the water heater may be triggered to activate its burners even when there is no current hot water demand. The temperature sensor data may override other controls, such as a vacation mode when the water heater burners may be inactive, instead causing the water heater burners to activate even when not scheduled to be active or when there is no current hot water demand. Alternatively, the recirculation pump may be activated when the temperature sensor data indicates low temperature. The recirculation pump may communicate to the water heater not to activate burners because the recirculation pump will be active. Such controls may alleviate the need to drip faucets in freezing temperatures, for example. As the temperature sensor senses the pipe temp drop close to or below freezing temperature the pump switches on automatically and circulates water throughout the home. Because the pump has access to both hot and cold sides of the pipe it can effectively reduce the risk of freezing in either pipe.

In one or more embodiments, the recirculation pump device may be able to monitor the temperature by using a wired or wireless temperature sensor that can be placed anywhere along the piping of the house. Depending on the temperature and other user provided preference, the system can switch on the pump to ensure hot water is available whenever needed. In some embodiments, the recirculation pump may include a bladder (e.g., connected to the piping or hot/cold water inlet/outlet) in which the temperature sensor may be positioned. Alternatively, or in addition, the recirculation pump may include a multi-valve design to allow for placement of the temperature sensor while also being able to close the valve to prevent hot water mixing with cold water.

In one or more embodiments, the recirculation pump may include communications circuitry and processing circuitry. The communications circuitry may communicate with any temperature or other sensors and with a remote water heater. The processing circuitry may analyze sensor data, determine when to activate the pump, and may control the communications circuitry to send communication signaling to a remote water heater. The recirculation pump hardware may be powered by a power source in communication with a wireless power receiver (e.g., a puck) positioned underneath a surface through which wireless power transmissions may be provided to power the recirculation pump device.

Modifications and variations of the methods and devices described herein will be obvious to those skilled in the art from the foregoing detailed description. Such modifications and variations are intended to come within the scope of the appended claims.

Turning now to the drawings,is a water recirculation systemusing wireless power transmission of one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to, a recirculation pumpconnected to a plumbing fixture(e.g., a sink/faucet, etc.) may recirculate hot water between a water heater (e.g., as shown in) and the plumbing fixture. A hot water supply linemay connect and provide hot water to the plumbing fixture(e.g., passing through the recirculation pumpvia a hot water inletof the recirculation pump), and a cold water supply linemay connect and provide cold water to the plumbing fixture(e.g., passing through the recirculation pumpvia a cold water inletof the recirculation pump). The hot water may pass through a hot water outletto the plumbing fixtureand the cold water may pass through a cold water outletto the plumbing fixture. The recirculation pumpmay pump some hot water from the hot water supply linethrough a valve (e.g., as shown in) for recirculation. For example, when the water temperature in the hot water supply linedrops below a threshold temperature, the recirculation pumpmay activate and move cool water in the hot water supply lineinto the cold water supply line. When the recirculation pumpis inactive, a valve (e.g., see) may close to prevent mixing of hot and cold water.

Still referring to, the recirculation pumpmay be electrically connected (e.g., via wire) to a wireless power transmission system, which may include a wireless power transmitter(e.g., positioned on a top surfaceof a countertop) and a wireless power receiver(e.g., positioned on a bottom surfaceof the countertopso that the wireless power transmitterand the wireless power receiverare separated by the countertop). The wireless power transmittermay be connected (e.g., via wire) to a power receptacle(e.g., a 120V wall receptacle).

In one or more embodiments, instead of the recirculation pumpbeing powered by a battery charged by the wireless power transmission system, the wireless power transmission systempowers the recirculation pump. Some wireless powering of recirculation pumps uses broadcast power, which drops dramatically per transmission distance. Therefore, a shorter point-to-point wireless power transmission with less signal loss due to shorter distance between the wireless power transmitterand the wireless power receiverfor the recirculation pumpwould allow for the power transmitted from the power receptacleto be sufficient to power the recirculation pumprather than having to use the wireless power transmission systemto charge a pump battery. When transmitting power wireless over longer distances, a pump battery may be needed so that the power transmission is to charge the battery (e.g., using a trickle charge with a capacitor) rather than directly powering the pump because the signal loss over distance causes the power transmission to be insufficient to power the pump directly. In this manner, the need for the battery may be negated by using a shorter distance point-to-point wireless power transmission from a 120V outlet (e.g., the power receptacle) to the nearby recirculation pumpwhose current draw is small enough (e.g., up to 15 amps) to be powered directly by the wireless power transmission system.

In one or more embodiments, the wireless power transmittermay receive electrical energy from the power receptacleand may convert the electrical energy to an electromagnetic force (EMF). The wireless power receivermay detect the EMF and convert it back to electrical energy to power the recirculation pump.

shows the recirculation pumpof. of one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to, a temperature sensormay measure the temperature of the hot water supply lineof. When the water temperature in the hot water supply linedrops below a threshold temperature, the recirculation pumpmay activate and a valve(e.g., a check valve) may open to move cool water in the hot water supply lineinto the cold water supply line. When the recirculation pumpis inactive, the valvemay close to prevent mixing of hot and cold water. As a result, the recirculation pumpmay avoid cool water being in the hot water pipes when hot water is demanded at the plumbing fixture.

In one or more embodiments, the temperature sensormay be positioned anywhere along a housingof the recirculation pump. In some embodiments, optionally, the housingmay include or be attached to a bladder, and the temperature sensor may be arranged on or in the bladder. The housingmay include the hot water inlet, the cold water inlet, the hot water outlet, and the cold water outlet. The temperature sensormay be wireless or wired (as explained further with respect to) to communicate temperature data. As the temperature sensorsenses a pipe temperature drop close to/below freezing temperature, the recirculation pumpmay switch on automatically and circulate water. Because the recirculation pumphas access to both hot and cold sides of the pipe, it can effectively reduce the risk of freezing in either pipe.

is a schematic of a recirculation systemusing the recirculation pumpof. of one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to, the systemmay include a water heaterthat may receive and heat cold waterto produce hot water. The cold waterand the hot watermay be provided to one or more plumbing fixtures (e.g., the plumbing fixture). The hot water heatermay include one or more heating elements(e.g., burners, electric elements, heat pumps, and the like) with which to heat the cold water. The water heateralso may include processing circuitryfor determining when to activate and deactivate the heating elementsto produce hot water, and at what temperature, and to facilitate communications (e.g., using communications circuitry) with other devices/systems (e.g., the recirculation pump). The recirculation pumpmay include processing circuitryand communications circuitry. The processing circuitrymay determine when to activate and deactivate the recirculation pump(e.g., based on temperature data from the temperature sensorof). The communications circuitrymay communicate (e.g., wired or wirelessly) with the communications circuitryof the water heaterto signal when the recirculation pumpis to be active and inactive, and when the heating elementsshould be active or inactive.

In one or more embodiments, to address the cold water sandwich effect, the temperature sensormay be installed on or in the hot water supply lineproximal to the plumbing fixture(e.g., more proximal to the plumbing fixturethan to the water heater) to detect the hot water temperature sooner than measuring the water temperature at the water heaterremote from the plumbing fixture. Positioning the temperature sensornear the plumbing fixture, the hot water temperature may be detected earlier than at the water heaterso that the processing circuitrymay deactivate the recirculation pumpmay more quickly, avoiding the hot water coming out of a cold water faucet due to the delay in deactivating the recirculation pumpcaused by the latency in detecting the hot water reaching a temperature threshold. The temperature sensormay be wired or wireless (e.g., clamping onto the hot water pipe), and may communicate with the communications circuitry.

In one or more embodiments, the recirculation pumpat the plumbing fixturemay communicate (e.g., using the communications circuitry) with the remote water heater(e.g., using the communications circuitry) to control water heater operations. In particular, tankless water heaters may need time to heat and provide hot water to the plumbing fixture, so the communications circuitrymay send a trigger (e.g., wirelessly) to the water heaterto notify the water heaterthat the recirculation pumpis going to turn on. The notification may cause the water heaterto turn on the heating elementsto avoid any cold water being in the loop for the plumbing fixture. The pump communications may be facilitated by the constant power supply provided by the 120V receptaclevia the wireless power transmission to the recirculation pump. The recirculation pumpcommunications to the water heatermay facilitate a proactive (e.g., instead of reactive) providing of hot water to ensure that hot water is immediately available at the plumbing fixture.

In one or more embodiments, the temperature sensormay detect cold conditions, such as cold ambient temperatures, which may trigger activation of the remote water heater. For example, a freeze protection technique may rely on temperature sensor data for temperature sensors at water pipes or elsewhere (e.g., in the ambient environment) so that when a temperature is below a threshold temperature, the water heatermay be triggered to activate its heating elementseven when there is no current hot water demand. The temperature sensor data may override other controls, such as a vacation mode when the water heater heating elementsmay be inactive, instead causing the water heater heating elementsto activate even when not scheduled to be active or when there is no current hot water demand. Alternatively, the recirculation pumpmay be activated when the temperature sensor data indicates low temperature. The recirculation pumpmay communicate to the water heaternot to activate heating elementsbecause the recirculation pumpwill be active. Such controls may alleviate the need to drip faucets in freezing temperatures, for example. As the temperature sensorsenses the pipe temperature drop close to or below freezing temperature, the recirculation pumpmay switch on automatically and circulate water throughout the home. Because the recirculation pumphas access to both hot and cold sides of the pipe it can effectively reduce the risk of freezing in either pipe.

In one or more embodiments, the recirculation pumpmay be able to monitor the temperature by the temperature sensorthat can be placed anywhere along the piping of the house. Depending on the temperature and other user provided preference, the system can switch on the recirculation pumpto ensure hot water is available whenever needed.

In one or more embodiments, the recirculation pumphardware may be powered by a power source (e.g., the receptacle) in communication with the wireless power receiverpositioned underneath the countertopthrough which wireless power transmissions may be provided to power the recirculation pump. In this manner, the processing circuitryand the communications circuitrymay be powered without needing a battery that needs to be recharged and replaced.

In one or more embodiments, the water heatermay be tankless or may include one or more water tanks in which to heat the cold water.

In one or more embodiments, the recirculation pumpmay include a motor, which may be single phase and may operate at 15 watts or less. Activating and deactivating the recirculation pumpmay include activating and deactivating the motor. The recirculation pumpmay include a timerto control a length of time when the recirculation pumpis active. The timermay be programmed or manually set to activate recirculation at specific times and for specific durations. The recirculation pumpmay activate and deactivate at times overriding the set timer, such as when there is water demand or when the temperature data indicates that recirculation is needed.

In one or more embodiments, the communications circuitryand/or the communications circuitrymay include a network interface device/transceiver coupled to antenna(s), and may use a number of communications techniques and infrastructure, such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet data network (e.g., the Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellular networks), plain old telephone (POTS) networks, wireless data networks (e.g., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 family of standards known as Wi-Fi®, IEEE 802.16 family of standards known as WiMax®), IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards, and peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, among others.

As used within this document, the term “communicate” is intended to include transmitting, or receiving, or both transmitting and receiving. This may be particularly useful in claims when describing the organization of data that is being transmitted by one device and received by another, but only the functionality of one of those devices is required to infringe the claim. Similarly, the bidirectional exchange of data between two devices (both devices transmit and receive during the exchange) may be described as “communicating,” when only the functionality of one of those devices is being claimed. The term “communicating” as used herein with respect to a wireless communication signal includes transmitting the wireless communication signal and/or receiving the wireless communication signal. For example, a wireless communication unit, which is capable of communicating a wireless communication signal, may include a wireless transmitter to transmit the wireless communication signal to at least one other wireless communication unit, and/or a wireless communication receiver to receive the wireless communication signal from at least one other wireless communication unit.

It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

is a block diagram illustrating an example of a computing device or computer systemwhich may be used in implementing the embodiments of the components of the network disclosed above. For example, the computing systemofmay represent at least a portion of the recirculation pumpof. The computer system (system) includes one or more processors-, and recirculation modules(e.g., representing at least a portion of the processing circuitryand the communications circuitryof). Processors-may include one or more internal levels of cache (not shown) and a bus controlleror bus interface unit to direct interaction with the processor bus. Processor bus, also known as the host bus or the front side bus, may be used to couple the processors-with the system interface. System interfacemay be connected to the processor busto interface other components of the systemwith the processor bus. For example, system interfacemay include a memory controllerfor interfacing a main memorywith the processor bus. The main memorytypically includes one or more memory cards and a control circuit (not shown). System interfacemay also include an input/output (I/O) interfaceto interface one or more I/O bridgesor I/O devices with the processor bus. One or more I/O controllers and/or I/O devices may be connected with the I/O bus, such as I/O controllerand I/O device, as illustrated.

I/O devicemay also include an input device (not shown), such as an alphanumeric input device, including alphanumeric and other keys for communicating information and/or command selections to the processors-. Another type of user input device includes cursor control, such as a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys for communicating direction information and command selections to the processors-and for controlling cursor movement on the display device.

Systemmay include a dynamic storage device, referred to as main memory, or a random access memory (RAM) or other computer-readable devices coupled to the processor busfor storing information and instructions to be executed by the processors-. Main memoryalso may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions by the processors-. Systemmay include a read only memory (ROM) and/or other static storage device coupled to the processor busfor storing static information and instructions for the processors-. The system outlined inis but one possible example of a computer system that may employ or be configured in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

According to one embodiment, the above techniques may be performed by computer systemin response to processorexecuting one or more sequences of one or more instructions contained in main memory. These instructions may be read into main memoryfrom another machine-readable medium, such as a storage device. Execution of the sequences of instructions contained in main memorymay cause processors-to perform the process steps described herein. In alternative embodiments, circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with the software instructions. Thus, embodiments of the present disclosure may include both hardware and software components.

A machine readable medium includes any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form (e.g., software, processing application) readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). Such media may take the form of, but is not limited to, non-volatile media and volatile media and may include removable data storage media, non-removable data storage media, and/or external storage devices made available via a wired or wireless network architecture with such computer program products, including one or more database management products, web server products, application server products, and/or other additional software components. Examples of removable data storage media include Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM), Digital Versatile Disc Read-Only Memory (DVD-ROM), magneto-optical disks, flash drives, and the like. Examples of non-removable data storage media include internal magnetic hard disks, SSDs, and the like. The one or more memory devicesmay include volatile memory (e.g., dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), etc.) and/or non-volatile memory (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, etc.).

Computer program products containing mechanisms to effectuate the systems and methods in accordance with the presently described technology may reside in main memory, which may be referred to as machine-readable media. It will be appreciated that machine-readable media may include any tangible non-transitory medium that is capable of storing or encoding instructions to perform any one or more of the operations of the present disclosure for execution by a machine or that is capable of storing or encoding data structures and/or modules utilized by or associated with such instructions. Machine-readable media may include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more executable instructions or data structures.

Embodiments of the present disclosure include various steps, which are described in this specification. The steps may be performed by hardware components or may be embodied in machine-executable instructions, which may be used to cause a general-purpose or special-purpose processor programmed with the instructions to perform the steps. Alternatively, the steps may be performed by a combination of hardware, software and/or firmware.

Various modifications and additions can be made to the exemplary embodiments discussed without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, while the embodiments described above refer to particular features, the scope of this invention also includes embodiments having different combinations of features and embodiments that do not include all of the described features. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variations together with all equivalents thereof.

The foregoing description of one or more implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various embodiments.

Conditional language, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” or “may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain implementations could include, while other implementations do not include, certain features, elements, and/or operations. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements, and/or operations are in any way required for one or more implementations or that one or more implementations necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input or prompting, whether these features, elements, and/or operations are included or are to be performed in any particular implementation.

Many modifications and other implementations of the disclosure set forth herein will be apparent having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not to be limited to the specific implementations disclosed and that modifications and other implementations are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

In this specification, terms denoting direction, such as vertical, up, down, left, right etc. or rotation, should be taken to refer to the directions or rotations relative to the corresponding drawing rather than to absolute directions or rotations unless the context require otherwise.

Wherever it is used, the word “comprising” is to be understood in its “open” sense, that is, in the sense of “including”, and thus not limited to its “closed” sense, that is the sense of “consisting only of”. A corresponding meaning is to be attributed to the corresponding words “comprise”, “comprised” and “comprises” where they appear.

It will be understood that the invention disclosed and defined herein extends to all alternative combinations of two or more of the individual features mentioned or evident from the text. All of these different combinations constitute various alternative aspects of the invention.