Water heaters with computing elements as a network
OwnerSimon Duchesne, Dominique Duchesneinventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An electric water heater with a computing device used to heat water from a residential or industrial water tank while executing useful computational tasks for a network. It includes a water tank, a heat exchanger, a computing device, a connectivity system to connect the computing device to a network, the network supplying computing tasks to the computing device, such that running the computing tasks results in a heat production, and a temperature control system to control the heat production from the computing device responsive to the water and heat exchanging fluid temperatures. The computational tasks are defined by one or more network user.
Claims19
A water heater for receiving a computing device and for using heat produced by said computing device to heat water of in said water heater, the water heater comprising:
- a water tank having a top wall, a bottom wall, at least one side wall, a height defined by a distance between the top and bottom walls and a width defined by a length of the water tank perpendicularly to said height, said water tank comprising at least one water temperature gauge, an upper electric heating element, an upper side opening for receiving and being imperviously sealable by the upper electric heating element, a lower electric heating element, a lower side opening for receiving and being imperviously sealable by the lower electric heating element, a cold water inlet through the top wall, a hot water outlet through the top wall, and a cold water pipe connected to said cold water inlet, extending downwardly in said water tank and having a cold water outlet inside the water tank below a heat exchanger tank;
- the heat exchanger tank having a width smaller than the width of the water tank, having a shape able to withstand water pressure when said water tank is in operation, mounted into the top wall and imperviously sealing the top wall of said water tank, and extending downwardly inside the water tank to above the upper electric heating element so as to be immersed in said water tank when said water tank is filled with the water, thereby exchanging heat between the inside of the heat exchanger tank and an upper portion of the water tank above the upper electric heating element by conduction through the heat exchanger tank,
- wherein said heat exchanger tank is for containing a dielectric heat exchanging fluid maintained at normal atmospheric pressure,
- wherein said heat exchanger tank comprises at least one impervious connector pass-through, at least one heat exchanger temperature sensor, and a top access door for allowing access to an inside of said heat exchanger tank without draining said water tank, without depressurizing said dielectric heat exchanging fluid and without draining said dielectric heat exchanging fluid;
- an insulating layer enclosing said water tank, wherein said insulating layer is adjacent to said heat exchanger tank;
- wherein said heat exchanger tank is further for receiving a computing device being immersible in said heat exchanger tank through the top access door and being accessible through the top access door without draining said dielectric heat exchanging fluid, wherein said computing device comprises a processor for processing computing tasks;
- and
- a connectivity system to connect said computing device to a computer network supplying said computing tasks to said computing device such that running said computing tasks results in a heat production.
A system comprising:
- a computer network;
- a plurality of water heaters comprising a computing device and for using heat produced from said computing device to heat water of in said water heater, each water heater from said plurality of water heater being connected to said computer network through a connectivity system, said water heater comprising:
- a water tank having a top wall, a bottom wall, at least one side wall, a height defined by a distance between the top and bottom walls and a width defined by a length of the water tank perpendicularly to said height, said water tank comprising at least one water temperature gauge, an upper electric heating element, an upper side opening receiving and being imperviously sealed by the upper electric heating element, a lower electric heating element, a lower side opening receiving and being imperviously sealed by the lower electric heating element, a cold water inlet through the top wall, a hot water outlet through the top wall, and a cold water pipe connected to said cold water inlet, extending downwardly in said water tank and having a cold water outlet inside the water tank below a heat exchanger tank;
- the heat exchanger tank having a width smaller than the width of the water tank having a shape able to withstand water pressure when said water tank is in operation, mounted into the top wall and imperviously sealing the top wall of said water tank, immersed in said water tank and extending downwardly inside the water tank to above the upper electric heating element,
- wherein said heat exchanger tank contains a dielectric heat exchanging fluid maintained at normal atmospheric pressure,
- wherein said heat exchanger tank comprises at least one impervious connector pass-through, at least one heat exchanger temperature sensor, and a top access door for allowing access to an inside of said heat exchanger tank without draining said water tank, without depressurizing said dielectric heat exchanging fluid and without draining said dielectric heat exchanging fluid;
- an insulating layer enclosing said water tank, wherein said insulating layer is adjacent to said heat exchanger tank;
- a computing device immersed in the dielectric heat exchanging fluid of said heat exchanger tank, wherein said computing device comprises a processor for processing computing tasks, the computing device being removable through the top access door and being accessible through the top access door without draining said dielectric heat exchanging fluid;
- and
- said connectivity system to connect said computing device to said computer network, said computer network supplying said computing tasks to said computing device such that running said computing tasks results in a heat production;
- one or more user computing devices connected to said computer network and receiving computational results defined by a plurality of computational tasks performed by said plurality of water heaters;
- a network task controller assigning computational tasks to the plurality of water heaters;
- and
- a network control interface, whereby users of the computer network submit computational tasks to be assigned to the plurality of water heaters.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.