Water vending system
US4801375A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 17, 1987 |
| Grant date | Jan 31, 1989 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 17, 2007 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG07F13/025
- WIPO fieldChemical engineering
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
The invention is related to water vending systems for the automatic dispensing of purified water from a machine which is preferably activated by coin or other form of payment. Reverse osmosis filtration of local water together with other water treatment operations is used to improve the quality of the vended water. Stagnation of stored permeate is automatically prevented to assure the freshness of dispensed water. The system is designed to reduce the frequency of servicing and the life of components without decreasing the quality of the vended water. In one embodiment the vending system comprises control means for automatically dumping the filtered water stored in a tank in the system if there has not been at least a predetermined number of vends of water within a predetermined period of time. After the storage tank has been dumped the drain is automatically closed and fresh filtered water is produced to refill the storage tank. Another embodiment allows the storage tank to remain at atmospheric pressure at all times thereby preventing leaks due to high pressure or aspiration due to below atmospheric pressure in the system. Contamination of the filtered water in the storage tank by…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.