SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DIFFERENTIAL ENRICHMENT OF WATER

Abstract

The present disclosure concerns systems and methods for enrichment of water, more specifically controlled addition of minerals and other nutrients into untreated water or water which have been preliminary treated to selectively remove contaminants therefrom in order to obtain a desired nutrients' profile in the water for use consumption.

Claims

1. A system for differential addition of at least one nutrient into drinking water, the system comprising: a water flow-line extending between a water source and a water dispensing outlet; at least one nutrient dispensing unit upstream the dispensing outlet configured for on-demand addition of at least one nutrient into the water flow-line; at least one first sensor configured to provide a first value of at least one measurable parameter of the water that is correlative to the amount of said at least one nutrient in water from the water source, the at least one sensor being positioned upstream the at least one nutrient dispensing unit in the flow-line; and a processing and controlling utility configured to receive said first value from said at least one first sensor, determine the amount of said nutrient in the water based on said first value, and determine an amount of said at least one nutrient to be added to the water from said nutrient dispensing unit for obtaining a pre-determined total amount of said nutrient in the water.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the processing and controlling utility is configured to (i) calculate a difference between a desired total amount of said at least one nutrient in the water and the amount of said nutrient based on said first value, and (ii) operate the nutrient dispensing unit to add an added amount of said nutrient to the water, said added amount being correlative to said difference.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said at least one parameter is selected from the group consisting of conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), pH, turbidity, nutrient content, color, light absorbance, and salinity.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said at least one first sensor is selected from a conductivity sensor, an optical sensor, a spectroscopic sensor, a magnetic sensor, a laser sensor, a viscosity sensor, and a radiofrequency sensor.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said system comprises at least one second sensor, positioned between said nutrient dispensing unit and said water dispensing outlet, configured to provide a second value of said measurable parameter.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein said at least one second sensor is selected from the group consisting of a conductivity sensor, an optical sensor, a spectroscopic sensor, a magnetic sensor, a laser sensor, a viscosity sensor, and a radiofrequency sensor.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein said system comprises at least one temperature sensor configured to measure the temperature of the water in said flow-line.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the processing and controlling unit is configured to receive the measured temperature and determine the amount of said nutrient based on said first value as a function of said measured temperature.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one additional sensor selected from the group consisting of a pH sensor, alkalinity sensor, turbidity sensor, a total dissolved solids (TDS) sensor, and a flow sensor.

10. (canceled)

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising one or more water treatment modules, located upstream said first sensor.

12. (canceled)

13. The system of claim 1, wherein said at least one nutrient is at least one mineral selected from the group consisting of calcium, magnesium, zinc, selenium, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, sodium, chloride, iron, copper, manganese, iodine, molybdenum, chromium, fluoride, inorganic salts thereof, and organic salts thereof.

14. (canceled)

15. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one additive dispensing unit, positioned downstream said nutrient dispensing unit, and configured to add a desired amount of at least one additive to the water, said additive is selected from the group consisting of vitamins, amino acids, fatty acids, proteins, flavoring agents, odorants, food supplements, peptides, antioxidants, nutraceuticals, probiotics, emulsifiers, thickening agents, antifoaming, colorants, flavor masking agents, preservatives, stabilizers, stimulants (such as caffeine, tea extract or concentrate, coffee extract or concentrate, chocolate), alcoholic compounds, juices, juice concentrates and any combination thereof.

16. (canceled)

17. The system of claim 1, wherein said nutrient dispensing unit comprises at least one container for holding a composition comprising said at least one nutrient.

18. (canceled)

19. (canceled)

20. The system of claim 17, wherein said composition is a concentrate of said at least one nutrient.

21. The system of claim 17, wherein said nutrient dispensing unit comprises a plurality of containers, each independently holding a different composition, and said processing and controlling unit is configured to selectively add a required amount of nutrients from said plurality of containers as a function of said first value.

22. (canceled)

23. The system of claim 1, wherein said nutrient is at least one mineral, and said nutrient dispensing unit comprises a concentrate receptacle holding one or more mineral-containing solids, the concentrate receptable being configured to receive water from the water flow line and controllably dispense mineral concentrate into the flow-line downstream the at least one first sensor.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the nutrient dispensing unit comprises at least one auxiliary sensor for determining the amount of minerals in the concentrate before dispensing the concentrate into the flow-line, said processing and controlling utility is configured to receive a mineral concentration value from the auxiliary sensor, and determine the volume of concentrate to be added into the flow line based on said first value and said mineral concentration value for obtaining a pre-determined total amount of minerals in the water.

25. (canceled)

26. The system of claim 23, wherein the nutrient dispensing unit further comprises at least one water pre-treatment module, disposed between the water flow line and a water inlet of the concentrate receptacle.

27. The system of claim 1, wherein said pre-determined total amount of said nutrient is based on a user's profile and said processing and controlling utility is configured to induce addition of nutrient based on said user's profile.

28. (canceled)

29. A system for differential addition of at least one nutrient into drinking water, the system comprising: a water flow-line extending between a water source and a water dispensing outlet; at least one nutrient dispensing unit upstream the dispensing outlet configured for on-demand addition of at least one nutrient into the water flow-line; at least one first sensor configured to provide a first value of at least one measurable parameter of the water that is correlative to the amount of said at least one nutrient in water from the water source, the at least one sensor being positioned upstream the at least one nutrient dispensing unit in the flow-line; and a controller configured to transmit said first value to a processing utility, receive from said processing utility a calculated value indicative of the difference between a measured amount of said nutrient based on said first value and a pre-determined total desired amount said nutrient, and operate said nutrient dispensing unit to dispense an added amount of said nutrient to the water based on said calculated value.

30. A water dispenser comprising the system of any one of claims 1 to 29.

31. The water dispenser of claim 30, further comprising a water carbonation unit for carbonating the water prior to dispensing.

32.-41. (canceled)

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0060] In order to better understand the subject matter that is disclosed herein and to exemplify how it may be carried out in practice, embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0061] FIG. 1A is a block diagram of an exemplary system for mineralization (and/or addition of other additives) into drinking water according to an embodiment of this disclosure.

[0062] FIG. 1B is a block diagram of another exemplary system for mineralization (and/or addition of other additives) into drinking water that utilizes a concentrate container according to another embodiment of this disclosure.

[0063] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a process of mineralization employed in a system of FIG. 1A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0064] Turning to FIGS. 1A-1B and 2, shown are exemplary systems and process of operation thereof, respectively, according to embodiments of this disclosure. In the following examples, referral will be made to addition of minerals as an exemplary nutrient, it is to be understood that any other desired nutrients may be added to the water based on the principles described herein. In the system shown in FIGS. 1A-1B, solid lines represent physical connection between elements, while dashed line indicate data transfer or communication. It is to be understood that communication lines may be physical (i.e. wired) or be wireless.

[0065] System 100 comprises a water flow-line 104, extending between water source 102 and a water dispensing outlet 118. Water fed through the feed line from water source 102 are treated to remove undesired contaminants by one or more water treatment modules, collectively designated 106, for example to remove microbiological contaminants, heavy metals, organic materials, etc. It is of note, however, that module(s) 106 are designed such that no substantive removal of minerals takes place, hence maintaining substantively the content of minerals of the source water. While removal of undesired contaminants is preferable as it may assist in more accurate determination of the minerals content in the water, it is not mandatory. Hence module(s) 106 can also be absent from the system.

[0066] A first sensor (or first sensing module) 108 is located downstream to module(s) 106 along flow-line 104, and is configured to measure and provide a first value of at least one measurable parameter of the water, such as conductivity, turbidity, pH and any other parameter that may be correlative to the amount of the nutrient in the water.

[0067] The first value is typically transmitted from the first sensor 108 to control utility 110, and from there to a processing utility 112 (which can be an integral part of the system or may be external to the system, e.g. a server or a cloud). Processing utility 112 is configured to receive said first value, determine the amount of the nutrient (e.g. mineral) in the water based on the first value (P1), and determine the difference (Δ) between the pre-determined desired amount of the nutrient (P2) and the amount measured based on the first value (P1). The resulting calculation is then transmitted to the control utility 110. In case Δ<0, the control utility induces operation of at least one nutrient dispensing unit 114, positioned downstream to the first sensor 108, to add an added amount of nutrient into the water that is needed in order to obtain a final pre-determined concentration of the nutrient in the water before dispensing. In case Δ≥0, no added amount of nutrients is added to the water. Second sensor 116 is positioned between the nutrient dispensing unit 114 and the dispensing outlet, and functions to measure the amount of nutrient in the water after addition and before dispensing, and can communicate the measured value to control utility 110 as a quality control indicator. Once the desired amount of nutrient has been obtained, the enriched water can be dispensed through dispensing outlet 118 for consumption by the user.

[0068] As noted, the calculated difference (Δ) can also be used as an indicator for the quality of water received from the water source. In case the difference (Δ) is positive and larger than a pre-determined threshold value, this can indicate that the water is contaminated by undesired high levels of the nutrient. The system can provide indication of such high levels to the water supplier (e.g. the municipality), and even can be configured to shut-off water supply from the source to the system.

[0069] Another example is shown in FIG. 1B. Similar to the system of FIG. 1A, system 1000 comprises a water main flow-line 1004, extending between water source 1002 and a water dispensing outlet 1018. Water fed through the main feed line from water source 1002 are optionally treated to remove undesired contaminants by one or more water treatment modules, collectively designated 1006, for example to remove microbiological contaminants, heavy metals, organic materials, etc.

[0070] A first sensor (or first sensing module) 1008 is located downstream to module(s) 1006 along the main flow-line 1004, and is configured to measure and provide a first value of at least one measurable parameter of the water, such as conductivity, turbidity, pH and any other parameter that may be correlative to the amount of the nutrient in the water.

[0071] Nutrient dispensing unit 1014 of this example contains a concentrate receptacle 1020 that holds one or more mineral-containing solids, e.g. mineral rocks, and serves as a minerals' concentrate reservoir. The concentrate receptable 1020 is configured to receive water from the main flow line 1004 through auxiliary flow line 1022 and pass it through the mineral rock within receptacle 1020 to permit dissolution of minerals from the rocks into the water. The so-formed minerals' concentrate can then be introduced back into the main flow line 1004 to obtain water with the desired mineral profile.

[0072] In order to determine the desired volume of concentrate to be added from receptacle 1020 into the main flow line 1004, the concentration of the minerals or an indicator for the concentration of minerals (e.g. conductivity, TDS, etc.) can be measured by auxiliary sensor 1024.

[0073] Control utility 1010 then receives the first value from sensor 1008 and the mineral concentration value from auxiliary sensor 1024, and transmitted to processing utility 1012, that determine the amount of minerals in the water based on the first value (P1), and determine the difference (Δ) between the pre-determined desired amount of the minerals (P2) and the amount measured based on the first value (P1). The processing utility then determines the amount of minerals in the concentrate (P3), and based on the difference between P2 and P1, determines the volume of concentrate that needs to be added (taking into account the concentration of minerals P3 in the concentrate) in order to obtain the desired value of P2 in water to be dispensed from the main flow line. Second sensor 1016 is positioned between the nutrient dispensing unit 1014 and the dispensing outlet, and functions to measure the amount of nutrient in the water after addition and before dispensing, and can communicate the measured value to control utility 1010 as a quality control indicator. Once the desired amount of nutrient has been obtained, the enriched water can be dispensed through dispensing outlet 1018 for consumption by the user.

[0074] The nutrient dispensing unit 1014 can also comprise one or more water pre-treatment modules 1026 (e.g. a filter, a reverse osmosis unit, an ion exchanger, etc.), capable of removing at least a portion of the minerals in the auxiliary flow path 1022, for obtaining water with reduced amount of undesired minerals before enrichment with desired minerals within the concentrate receptacle.