CLIAMS:1. A water purification apparatus wherein electrical conductivity of stored water regulates the flow of purification operation of the water purification, comprising a water input unit, a purification unit, a storage tank with conductivity sensor assembly and a water outlet unit

2. The conductivity sensor assembly of the storage unit as claimed in claim 1, comprises a sensor electrode, an electromagnetic flow control valve and an electronic controller circuit.

3. The sensor electrode of the conductivity sensor assembly as claimed in claim 2, is placed within the storage tank, such that the electrode is in contact with the stored water

4. The sensor electrode of the conductivity sensor assembly as claimed in claim 2, comprises a partition between said electrodes to avoid water bubble formation between two electrodes and to prevent false indication.

5. The sensor electrode of the conductivity sensor assembly as claimed in claim 2, conducts electricity, when in contact with the stored water and do not conduct electricity when not in contact with the stored water

6. The electronic controller circuit of the storage unit as claimed in claim 1, is programmed to shut OFF and switch ON purification unit, based on the conductivity of the sensor electrode

7. The electronic controller circuit of the storage unit as claimed in claim 1, is programmed to shut OFF the purification unit, when sensor electrode conducts electricity, as the electrode is in contact with the stored water

8. The electronic controller circuit of the storage unit as claimed in claim 1, is programmed to shut OFF the purification unit for a holding time when sensor electrode do not conduct electricity, as the electrode is not in contact with the stored water

9. The electronic controller circuit of the storage unit as claimed in claim 1, is programmed to shut ON the purification unit after the holding time when sensor electrode do not conduct electricity, as the electrode is not in contact with the stored water

10. The conductivity sensor assembly of the storage unit as claimed in claim 1, regulates the flow of water from the purification unit based on the conductivity of the sensor in the storage tank

11. The method of regulating flow of purification of water is provided via the water purification apparatus with a conductivity sensor assembly, comprising,
a) allowing water to flow through a water inlet,
b) allowing water from step (a) to be purified in said purification unit,
c) Storing water in the storage tank comprising said conductivity sensor assembly, such that electric current is conducted based in the level of water in the storage tank,
d) programming the electronic controller unit, to shut OFF purification of water as in (step b), when the sensor electrode conducts electric current,
e) programming the electronic controller unit to a predetermined holding time when the sensor electrode does not conduct electric current
f) programming the electronic controller unit to switch ON purification of water as in (step b), when the sensor electrode does not conduct electric current, and after the predetermined holding time as in step (e)
g) dispensing purified water from the storage tank ,TagSPECI:TITLE OF THE INVENTION
“Conductivity sensor assembly for water purifier storage”
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a conductivity sensor, more particularly conductivity sensor which senses ionic conductivity to regulate flow of incoming liquid in a storage tank.
OBJECTIVE OF THE INVENTION
It is an objective of the present invention, to provide a new and improved apparatus for purification of water that is provided with conductivity sensor assembly with self regulated cut off mechanism for flow of water.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a reliable mechanism for regulating flow of water from the purification unit to the storage tank for dispensing.
It is an objective of the present invention, to provide a new and improved electronic sensor to new construction wherein the assembly for shutting off and on the flow of water and in turn the purification of water in a water purification apparatus.
ABSTRACT OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to providing a water purification apparatus in which an electric conductivity of stored water is directly determined to control a purification operation of the water purifier. The said apparatus comprises a water input unit, a purification unit, storage tank with conductivity sensor assembly and a water outlet unit. The said storage tank with the conductivity sensor assembly regulates the flow of purified water in to the storage tank. The water purification apparatus of the present invention provides an efficient method for regulating water purification for use in commercial and industrial applications.
RELEVANT PRIOR ART OF THE INVENTION
Various residential water purification systems are known to people for many years. Conventional water purification apparatus comprises a water inlet, purification unit comprising various technologies of purification and a storage unit that stores the purified water to dispense via outlet. Different water purification technologies are available today in the market including the ultra filtration, Reverse Osmosis, Nano filtration, Ultaviolet filtration etc. Once water is purified based on the technology, the water is stored in a storage tank to dispense via the outlet. The technology of purification depends on the quality of the input water. For example, when input water has high TDS, the purification unit comprises membrane purification system, such as reverse osmosis. The storage tank uses mechanical water sensing apparatus that stops the flow of purified water when the tank is full.
In related art, mechanical water level sensing apparatus requires the float to perform a mechanical operation; there is a possibility that its operation may be defective due to the mechanical structure of the float. In addition, the defective operation of the float may lead to a defective detection by a magnet, making it impossible to accurately measure the water level of the liquid within the liquid tank.
Also, the liquid tank of a water purifier is fabricated to have a smooth inner wall in order to prevent formation of scratches thereupon, thus minimizing the possibility of becoming dirty (i.e., preventing the inner wall from being covered with dirt). Also, if a structure is installed within the liquid tank, the structure would be inevitably covered with dirt in any event, therefore, structures within the interior of the liquid tank are avoided as much as possible in designing a water purifier.
Thus, an installation of the mechanical water level sensing apparatus having a complicated external appearance within the liquid tank would result in an easy collection of debris on the outer surface of the water level sensing apparatus, contaminating purified water. Also, in this case, the interior of the liquid tank and the water level sensing apparatus should be cleaned more frequently.
In addition, because the mechanical water level sensing apparatus has a complicated structure in which the float ascends or descends, or the float is fixedly coupled with the liquid tank, the size and unit fabrication cost of the water level sensing apparatus increase.
Also, in mechanical level sensing apparatus, when the level of water is slightly reduces, the purification unit is switched on to initiate purification of water. This affects the performance of the purification unit such that the unit is switched on/off very often due to small changes in the float mechanism.
However, the technologies in the art depend on a mechanical means for providing flow of water from the purification apparatus. These changes do not address the need to provide an improved conductivity sensing apparatus and in-turn regulating the flow of water.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for methods and apparatuses that provides a water purification device with a mechanism to regulate the flow of water from the purification unit via reliable apparatus and improves the efficiency of purification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
The embodiments herein will be better understood from the following detailed description with reference to the drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 illustrates a general block diagram of a conductivity sensing apparatus, as disclosed in the embodiments herein;
DETAILED SPECIFICATION OF THE INVENTION
The embodiments herein and the various features and advantages, details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
The present invention relates to a water purification apparatus in which an electrical conductivity of stored water is directly determined to control a purification operation of the water purifier.
In one embodiment, the said apparatus comprises a water input unit, a purification unit, storage tank with conductivity sensor assembly and a water outlet unit. In a conventional purification apparatus, water from the inlet is purified via the purification unit and stored in the said storage tank for dispensing.
In one embodiment, the storage tank comprises a conductivity sensor assembly disposed within the tank having an accommodating space therein. The said conductivity sensor assembly comprises a sensor, an electromagnetic flow control valve and an electronic controller circuit. The said sensor of the conductivity sensor assembly is an electrode embedded in the storage tank, to allow surfaces thereof to be exposed to the interior of the storage tank and is activated when in contact with the stored water.
In one embodiment, the conductivity sensor assembly is provided with said electronic controller circuit, which controls and executes the desired functions of the water purifier through microprocessor based program.
In one embodiment, the stored water acts as an electrolyte, and due to the presence of H+ ions in said stored water, the sensor electrode is activated to conduct a small electrical current. In another embodiment, the sensor electrode of the conductivity sensor assembly comprises a partition between said electrodes to avoid water bubble formation between two electrodes and to prevent false indication.
When the level of water in the storage tank is reaches such predetermined level, such that the sensor electrode is in contact with the water, the electrode conducts electric current. Additionally, when the level of water in the storage tank is reaches such predetermined level, such that the sensor electrode is not in contact with the water, the electrode do not conduct electric current. This mechanism creates and shut off or shut on mechanism based on the level of water in the storage tank.
The electric conductivity of water (s=S/l) is in reverse proportion to the length of an electrode and in proportion to a contact area (S) between water and sensor electrodes. Accordingly, when the contact area is enlarged as the amount of water supplied to a storage tank is full, the electric conductivity of water is proportionally increased. Thereafter, the electric conductivity of water is converted into voltages, the voltages are output to the electronic controller circuit.
In one embodiment, the electronic controller circuit is programmed, such that when there is a conductivity of electric current, the flow of water from the purification unit is shut off.
In one embodiment, the electronic controller circuit is programmed, such that when there is no conductivity of electric current, the purification unit is shut off for a holding time, and then shut on to provide purified water to the storage tank.
In one embodiment, the holding time is a predetermined time between the shut off and shut on mechanism, such that it prevents any frequent fluctuations in regulating the flow of water to the storage tank. The said holding time according to the present invention, is any time between, 2 to 20 minutes depending on the capacity of the storage tank.
In a preferred embodiment, the holding time of the conductivity sensor assembly is predetermined as 2 minutes, 3 minutes and/or 4 minutes.
In one of the preferred embodiment, the holding time of the conductivity sensor assembly is predetermined depending on the capacity of the storage tank
Additionally, the conductivity sensor of the present invention is capable of detecting water levels through a relative water level measuring method using the sensor electrodes, so precise water level measurement can be achieved regardless of the turbidity of water. Further, the water level sensor of the present invention can prevent the damage of the electrodes due to corrosion by forming gold or silver coating on the surfaces of the electrodes.
In one embodiment, the method of regulating flow of purification of water is provided via a water purification apparatus with a conductivity sensor assembly, comprising,
a) allowing water to flow through a water inlet,
b) allowing water from step (a) to be purified in said purification unit,
c) Storing water in the storage tank comprising said conductivity sensor assembly, such that electric current is conducted based in the level of water in the storage tank,
d) programming the electronic controller unit, to shut OFF purification of water as in (step b), when the sensor electrode conducts electric current,
e) programming the electronic controller unit to a predetermined holding time when the sensor electrode does not conduct electric current
f) programming the electronic controller unit to switch ON purification of water as in (step b), when the sensor electrode does not conduct electric current, and after the predetermined holding time as in step (e)
g) dispensing purified water from the storage tank
Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims