Cold Water Delivery System with Multi-Reservoir Temperature Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Cold water delivery systems face challenges in maintaining a desirable output temperature, especially during high volume consumption or when filling larger reusable water bottles, as they often rely on a single flow path and struggle to adjust to frequent and large water draws.
Innovation Solution
A cold water delivery system with multiple water reservoirs and flow paths, utilizing a control system with temperature sensors and mixing valves to dynamically adjust the water temperature and proportion from different reservoirs and the inlet, ensuring consistent dispensing of cold water at a desired temperature.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a single flow path and single reservoir system is used, then the device complexity is low, but the system cannot maintain desirable output temperature during high volume consumption or large draws
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the water storage into multiple reservoirs (first reservoir, second reservoir, third reservoir) with different cooling capacities. Each reservoir stores water at different temperatures, allowing the system to segment the cooling load and maintain output temperature during high demand by drawing from appropriate reservoirs.
Solution Approach 2:
The system adds a temporal dimension to temperature management by pre-cooling water in multiple reservoirs to different temperature levels. This allows the system to respond to varying demand patterns by selecting from previously prepared water at different temperatures, effectively adding a time-based strategy to temperature control.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a single reservoir is used, then the device complexity is low, but the system cannot adapt to frequent and large water draws while maintaining temperature
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically selects which reservoirs to draw from based on real-time temperature monitoring and demand patterns. The control system adjusts the composition of water drawn from each reservoir (first, second, and third reservoirs) to adapt to varying draw frequencies and volumes, maintaining optimal output temperature through dynamic resource allocation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary cooling actions by pre-cooling water in multiple reservoirs to different temperature levels before demand occurs. This allows the system to have pre-prepared water at various temperatures ready for immediate dispensing, enabling rapid response to frequent and large draws without compromising output temperature.
3Reliability
If multiple reservoirs with different temperatures are used, then the system can maintain consistent temperature during large draws, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates temperature monitoring that continuously measures the temperature of dispensed water and uses this feedback to adjust the mixing ratio from different reservoirs. When output temperature begins to rise, the system increases drawing from colder reservoirs (second and third reservoirs) to maintain the desired temperature range, ensuring reliable temperature consistency through closed-loop control.
Solution Approach 2:
The multiple reservoirs serve multiple functions: the first reservoir provides initial cooling, the second reservoir provides intermediate cooling, and the third reservoir provides deep cooling for high-demand scenarios. This multi-functional design allows a single system to handle various draw patterns (frequent small draws, infrequent large draws) while maintaining temperature consistency through appropriate reservoir selection.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively maintains a consistent cold water temperature during repetitive and large draws by using multiple reservoirs and flow paths, ensuring the water dispensed remains within a desired range, even under high demand conditions.
Implementation Method 1
A cooling system can be provided that cools a plurality of reservoirs of water. The reservoirs can maintain cold water at different temperatures.
Implementation Method 2
The mixing valve proportions the water dispensed from the outlet from amongst the water received from the first reservoir, the second reservoir, and the inlet at the first temperature to maintain the water dispensed from the outlet at or below the predetermined threshold temperature.
Implementation Method 3
Temperature sensors can be disposed in the system to monitor water temperature at desired positions in the system.
Data Source
AI summary
A cold water delivery system is described that can consistently provide cold water at a desired temperature over repetitive and large draws from the outlet of the system. The cold water system can provide multiple pathways for the water to travel from a source, or inlet, to the outlet. A cooling system can be provided that cools a plurality of reservoirs of water. The reservoirs can maintain cold water at different temperatures. A control system controls the cooling system to maintain the temperature of the water in the reservoirs. The control system can also control one or more mixing valves to determine the volume of water from each of the reservoirs and the water inlet that reaches the outlet.