Method and apparatus for sanitizing water dispensed from a water dispenser having a reservoir
AssigneeS.I.P. Technologies L.L.C.
InventorsKenneth A. Davis, James J. Shelton
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method and apparatus of sanitizing drinking water to be dispensed from a water dispenser having a reservoir includes the steps of providing the ozone gas generator that generates an ozone gas stream, transmitting the ozone gas stream from the generator to the water dispenser reservoir, mechanically breaking up the ozone gas stream inside the reservoir to produce ozone gas bubbles, and using the ozone gas bubbles to disinfect water in the reservoir. The ozone gas stream can be mechanically broken up using a pump such as, for example, an impeller type pump.
Claims24
1-25. (canceled)
A water dispenser, comprising:
- a) a cabinet having top and bottom portions, the top portion having a plurality of cabinet cross sections extending from the top to the bottom portions;
- b) a water supply, the water supply including a reservoir having a bottom and a water surface;
- c) an anti-spill receiver on the cabinet top portion and operably connected to the reservoir, the anti-spill receiver having a projecting probe operably connectable to a bottle of water having a tapered neck portion that is connectable to the anti-spill receiver by inverting the bottle of water and registering the neck of the bottle with the anti-spill receiver probe;
- d) an ozone generator;
- e) a flow line that receives ozone from the ozone generator to provide an ozone flow;
- f) wherein the flow line passes through the cabinet top portion and is at least partially contained in the reservoir;
- and
- g) wherein the flow line has a flow line outlet that discharges into the anti-spill receiver at a position closer to the reservoir water surface than to the reservoir bottom.
(canceled)
A method of sanitizing drinking water dispensed from a water dispenser having a water supply that includes an inverted bottle and neck supported upon a cabinet so that the neck extends downwardly, an anti-spill receiver having a projecting probe that connects to the bottle neck, and a reservoir having a bottom and a water surface, comprising the steps of:
- a) providing an ozone gas generator that generates an ozone gas stream;
- b) providing a flow line that carries the ozone gas stream;
- c) transmitting the ozone gas stream from the generator to the water dispenser reservoir via the flow line;
- d) using ozone gas bubbles to disinfect water in the reservoir;
- and
- e) wherein the flow line discharges at a position that is closer to the water surface than to the bottom and is in close proximity to the anti-spill receiver.
48-68. (canceled)
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.