Method and apparatus for automatic flow control for producing effectively treated water with a chemical treatment such as ozone

Abstract

Disclosed are a method and apparatus of automatic flow control based on sensed effectiveness indicators to produce effectively treated water with a portable water treatment unit. In one embodiment, a method for treating water includes activating a pump a first speed to initiate water at a first flow rate through a chemical treatment unit that is initiated to deliver a treatment chemical. An effectiveness value of the chemical treatment is measured from a sensor and compared to a reference value in a physical memory and/or a feedback circuit. It is determined that the effectiveness value is less than a threshold value. The first speed of the pump is adjusted automatically to a second speed to change to a second flow rate. The second flow rate adjusts the concentration of the treatment chemical to ensure an effective treatment, efficient usage of the chemical treatment, and/or efficient use of a power source.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for treating water with a portable water treatment unit, the method comprising:
 activating a pump of the portable water treatment unit at a first speed, the pump capable of operating at multiple speeds, the first speed to initiate a flow of water at a first flow rate through a chemical treatment unit comprising a chemical applicator;   initiating the chemical treatment unit to deliver a treatment chemical from the chemical applicator of the chemical treatment unit to the water flow;   measuring an effectiveness value of an effectiveness indicator of the chemical treatment from a sensor that is located at least one of at the chemical treatment unit and downstream of the chemical treatment unit;   comparing the effectiveness value of at least one of the effectiveness indicator to a reference value in a physical memory and communicating the effectiveness value to a feedback circuit;   determining that the effectiveness value is less than a threshold value for effective treatment by the water treatment unit through at least one of a computer processor and the feedback circuit; and   adjusting automatically the first speed of the pump capable of operating at multiple speeds to a second speed to change the first flow rate to a second flow rate, the second flow rate to adjust the concentration of the treatment chemical to ensure at least one of effective treatment of the water and efficient usage of the chemical treatment.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the chemical treatment unit is an ozone generator. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the ozone generator is an electrolytic cell for producing ozone. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sensor is at least one of:
 an operational sensor integrated into the chemical treatment unit utilizing a communication associated with an operational metric of the chemical treatment unit as the effectiveness indicator,   an oxidation-reduction potential probe utilizing an oxidation-reduction potential of the water flowing past the sensor as the effectiveness indicator,   an ozone concentration sensor utilizing an ozone concentration as the effectiveness indicator, and   a pH sensor utilizing at least one of an acid and a base concentration as the effectiveness indicator.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 supplying a constant current to the electrolytic cell to maintain a fixed ozone production rate by at least one of an anode and a cathode of the electrolytic cell.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 adjusting a bypass valve such that water is routed around one or more filters prefiltering the water before delivery to the chemical treatment unit.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 in response to a flow rate change resulting from activation of the bypass valve routing the water around the one or more filters, automatically adjusting the second speed of the pump capable of operating at multiple speeds to a third speed to change the second flow rate to a third flow rate, the third flow rate to adjust the concentration of the treatment chemical to ensure at least one of effective treatment of the water and efficient usage of the chemical treatment.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the effectiveness indicator is at least one of a concentration of the chemical treatment, an oxidation-reduction potential, a pH, and an operational metric of the chemical treatment unit. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 determining a current voltage of a power source of the chemical treatment unit is below a threshold voltage, and   disabling the pump when the current voltage of the power source is below the threshold voltage.   
     
     
         10 . A method for treating water, the method comprising:
 activating a pump at a first speed, the pump capable of operating at multiple speeds, the first speed to initiate a flow of water at a first flow rate through a chemical treatment unit comprising an ozone generator;   generating ozone with the ozone generator and delivering the ozone to the water flow to treat the water at the first flow rate;   measuring an effectiveness value of an effectiveness indicator of the ozone treating the water from a sensor that is located at least one of at the chemical treatment unit and downstream of the chemical treatment unit;   comparing the effectiveness value of at least one of the effectiveness indicator to a reference value in a physical memory and communicating the effectiveness value to a feedback circuit;   determining that the effectiveness value is less than a threshold value for effective treatment through at least one of a computer processor and the feedback circuit,
 wherein the effectiveness indicator is at least one of a concentration of the chemical treatment, an oxidation-reduction potential, and an operational metric of the chemical treatment unit; and 
   adjusting automatically the first speed of the pump capable of operating at multiple speeds to a second speed to change the first flow rate to a second flow rate, the second flow rate to adjust the concentration of the ozone to ensure at least one of effective treatment of the water and efficient usage of a power source.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the ozone generator is an electrolytic cell for producing ozone. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 determining a current voltage of a power source of the ozone generator is below a threshold voltage, and   disabling the pump when the current voltage of the power source is below the threshold voltage.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the sensor is at least one of:
 an operational sensor integrated into the ozone generator utilizing a communication associated with an operational metric of the ozone generator as the effectiveness indicator,   an oxidation-reduction potential probe utilizing an oxidation-reduction potential of the water flowing past the sensor as the effectiveness indicator, and   an ozone concentration sensor utilizing an ozone concentration as the effectiveness indicator.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 adjusting a bypass valve such that water is routed around one or more filters prefiltering the water before delivery to the chemical treatment unit.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 in response to a flow rate change resulting from activation of the bypass valve routing water around one or more filters, automatically adjusting the second speed of the pump capable of operating at multiple speeds to a third speed to change the second flow rate to a third flow rate, the third flow rate to adjust the concentration of the ozone to ensure at least one of effective treatment of the water and efficient usage of the power source.   
     
     
         16 . A non-transitory machine-readable medium embodying a set of instructions that, when executed on a computer processor:
 activate a pump at a first speed,
 wherein the pump capable of operating at multiple speeds, the first speed to initiate a flow of water at a first flow rate through a chemical treatment unit comprising a chemical applicator; 
   initiate delivery of a treatment chemical to the flow of water from the chemical applicator of the chemical treatment unit,   measure an effectiveness value of an effectiveness indicator of the chemical treatment from a sensor,
 wherein the effectiveness indicator is at least one of a concentration of the chemical treatment, an oxidation-reduction potential, a pH, and an operational metric of the chemical treatment unit, and 
 wherein the sensor is at least one of:
 an operational sensor integrated into the chemical treatment unit utilizing a communication associated with the operational metric of the chemical treatment unit as the effectiveness indicator, 
 an oxidation-reduction potential probe utilizing the oxidation-reduction potential of the water flowing past the sensor as the effectiveness indicator, 
 an ozone concentration sensor utilizing the ozone concentration as the effectiveness indicator, and 
 a pH sensor utilizing at least one of the acid concentration and the base concentration as the effectiveness indicator; 
 
   compare the effectiveness value of the effectiveness indicator to a reference value in a physical memory;   determine that the effectiveness value is less than a threshold value stored in the physical memory for effective treatment by the water treatment unit; and   adjust the first speed of the pump capable of operating at multiple speeds to a second speed to change the first flow rate to a second flow rate, the second flow rate to adjust the concentration of the treatment chemical to ensure at least one of effective treatment of the water and efficient usage of the chemical treatment.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the chemical treatment unit is an ozone generator that is an electrolytic cell for producing ozone. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 determining a current voltage of a power source of the chemical treatment unit is below a threshold voltage, and   disabling the pump when the current voltage of the power source is below the threshold voltage.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 supplying a constant current to the electrolytic cell to maintain a fixed ozone production rate by at least one of an anode of the electrolytic cell and a cathode of the electrolytic cell.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 in response to a flow rate change resulting from activation of a bypass valve routing water around one or more filters prefiltering the water before delivery to the chemical treatment unit, automatically adjusting the second speed of the pump capable of operating at multiple speeds to a third speed to change the second flow rate to a third flow rate, the third flow rate to adjust the concentration of the treatment chemical to ensure at least one of effective treatment of the water and efficient usage of the chemical treatment.