Patent Application
20240410144
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The disclosure relates to cold water devices and more particularly pertains to a new cold water device for facilitating a user to take a cold shower in a hot environment. The device includes a water storage tank that includes a refrigeration unit to chill water stored in the water storage tank. The device includes a master valve which mixes hot water and cool water from the fluid source to a shower head for bathing. Additionally, the device includes a cold water valve for routing the chilled water in the water storage tank to the shower head to facilitate a cold shower to be taken in a hot environment.
The prior art relates to cold water devices including a variety of water cooler devices that includes thermoelectric coolers for cooling water and an evaporative cooler and a passive water cooler that includes a series of heat exchangers. Additionally, the prior art discloses a control system for a water chiller that includes a heat exchanger and a pump. In no instance does the prior art discloses a residential plumbing system that includes a water storage tank, a refrigeration unit integrated into the water storage tank for chilling water in the water storage tank, a master valve for controlling a shower head and a cold water valve for routing the chilled water in the water storage tank to the shower head.
An embodiment of the disclosure meets the needs presented above by generally comprising a water storage tank which receives cool water from a water source. The water storage tank including a refrigeration unit to chill the cool water in the water storage tank. A master valve is integrated into a wall of a shower in the bathroom which receives hot water from the water heater and cool water from the water source. The master valve directs an adjustable mixture of the hot water and the cool water into a shower head. A cold water valve is integrated into the wall of the shower which receives the cold water from the water storage tank. The cold water valve can either mix the cold water with the mixture of hot water and cool water from the master valve or supply the cold water directly to the shower head.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the disclosure in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the disclosure that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
The objects of the disclosure, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the disclosure, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure.
The disclosure will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to
As best illustrated in
The water storage tank 12 has an inlet 24 that is fluidly coupled to a cool water supply pipe 26 of the water source 14 and the water storage tank 12 has an outlet 28 is fluidly coupled to a cold water supply pipe 30. Additionally, the water storage tank 12 has a warm air exhaust 32 that is in fluid communication with the refrigeration unit 22 to exhaust warm air that results from the heat exchange between the refrigeration unit 22 and the water in the water storage tank 12. The warm air exhaust 32 includes an exhaust pipe 34 that is routed through the building 20 in which the waters storage tank 12 is integrated to direct the warm air outwardly from the building 20.
The refrigeration unit 22 includes a power connection 36 that is integrated into the water storage tank 12. Furthermore, the power connection 36 is electrically coupled to a power source 38 comprising an electrical system of the building 20. The refrigeration unit 22 may comprise a refrigeration unit of any conventional design which employs a compressor, a condenser, an evaporator, an expansion valve and a gaseous refrigerant. Additionally, the building 20 may be located in an area that is commonly exposed to extreme heat that generally maintains the water from the water source 14 at a temperature that is above approximately 20.0 degrees Celsius.
A master valve 40 is provided and the master valve 40 is integrated into a wall 42 of a shower 44 in the bathroom 18. The master valve 40 is in fluid communication with a water heater 46 of the building 20 to receive hot water from the water heater 46. Additionally, the master valve 40 is in fluid communication with the cool water supply pipe 26 of the water source 14 to receive cool water from the water source 14. The master valve 40 is in fluid communication with the shower head 48 in the shower 44 to direct an adjustable mixture of the hot water and the cool water into the shower head 48 for the purposes of bathing.
The master valve 40 has a hot water input 50 and a cool water input 52 and an output 54. The hot water input 50 is fluidly coupled to a hot water supply pipe 56 which is fluidly coupled to the water heater 46. The cool water input 52 is fluidly coupled to the cool water supply pipe 26 of the water source 14. Additionally, the output 54 of the master valve 40 is fluidly coupled to a supply pipe 58 of the shower head 48. The master valve 40 includes a handle 60 which extends through the wall 42 of the shower 44 thereby facilitating the handle 60 to be accessible. The handle 60 is positionable in an off position to inhibit water from flowing to the shower head 48. Conversely, the handle 60 is positionable at a variety of positions between a hot position and a cold position to mix the hot water and the cool water in a variety of ratios. The master valve 40 may be a shower valve of any conventional design that is commonly employed in residential plumbing systems.
A cold water valve 62 is provided and the cold water valve 62 is integrated into the wall of the shower 44. The cold water valve 62 is in fluid communication with the water storage tank 12 to receive the cold water from the water storage tank 12. Additionally, the cold water valve 62 is in fluid communication between the master valve 40 and the shower head 48. In this way the cold water valve 62 can either mix the cold water with the mixture of hot water and cool water from the master valve 40 or supply the cold water directly to the shower head 48.
The cold water valve 62 has a cold water input 64, a mixed water input 66 and an output 68. The cold water input 64 is fluidly coupled to the cold water supply pipe 30 that is fluidly coupled to the outlet 28 of the water storage tank 12. The mixed water input 66 is fluidly coupled to the output 54 of the master valve 40 and the output 68 of the cold water valve 62 is fluidly coupled to the supply pipe 58 of the shower head 48. The cold water valve 62 has a handle 70 extending through the wall 42 of the shower 44 thereby facilitating the handle 70 of the cold water valve 62 to be manipulated. The handle 70 of the cold water valve 62 is positionable in an off position to inhibit the cold water from the water storage tank 12 to flow to the supply pipe 58 of the shower head 48. Conversely, the handle 70 of the cold water valve 62 is positionable in an on position to facilitate the cold water from the water storage tank 12 to flow to the supply pipe 58 of the shower head 48. The cold water valve 62 is continuously actuated in a pass through condition having the output 54 of the master valve 40 being in continuous fluid communication with the supply pipe 58 of the shower head 48 regardless of the positioning of the handle 70 of the cold water valve 62. Finally, the cold water valve 62 may be a shower valve of any conventional design that is commonly employed in residential plumbing systems.
In use, the handle 60 on the master valve 40 is manipulated to deliver water to the shower head 48 at a preferred temperature for bathing. Furthermore, the water from the master valve 40 is delivered to the shower head 48 regardless of the positioning of the handle 70 on the cold water valve 62. The handle 70 on the cold water valve 62 can be manipulated into the open position to mix the cold water from the water storage tank 12 with the water delivered from the master valve 40. In this way the temperature of the water delivered from the master valve 40 can be cooled to a lower temperature than would otherwise be possible. Furthermore, the handle 70 on the cold water valve 62 can be manipulated into the open position when the master valve 40 is turned off. In this way the cold water from the water storage tank 12 can be delivered directly to the shower head 48. Thus, a person living in an environment that experiences extremely hot temperatures can enjoy the refreshing benefits of a cold shower that would otherwise be impossible.
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of an embodiment enabled by the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, device and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by an embodiment of the disclosure.
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the disclosure. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the disclosure to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the disclosure. In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be only one of the elements.
