Systems and methods for cathodic protection
OwnerJohn Adams, Nicholas Hillinventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A water heater includes a tank defining an interior for holding water, an anode extending into the interior, and cathodic protection circuitry electrically coupled with the anode. The cathodic protection circuitry is configured to repeatedly apply current and limit application of current to the anode. Application of current to the anode occurs during a first time and limiting application of current to the anode occurs during a second time. The control circuitry is configured to measure an electrical parameter representative of a charge of the tank during the second time and adjust a level of the current applied to the anode based on a value of the electrical parameter.
Claims20
A water heater, comprising:
- a tank defining an interior for holding water;
- an anode extending into the interior;
- cathodic protection circuitry electrically coupled with the anode, the cathodic protection circuitry configured to:
- repeatedly apply current and limit application of current to the anode, wherein the application of current to the anode occurs during a first time and limiting application of current to the anode occurs during a second time;
- measure an electrical parameter representative of a charge of the tank during the second time;
- and
- adjust a level of the current applied to the anode based on a value of the electrical parameter.
A method for cathodically protecting a tank of a water heater using an anode, the method comprising:
- electrically coupling the anode to cathodic protection circuitry;
- repeatedly applying current and limiting application of current to the anode, wherein the application of current to the anode occurs during a first time and limiting application of current to the anode occurs during a second time;
- measuring an electrical parameter representative of a charge of the tank during the second time;
- and
- adjusting a level of the current applied to the anode based on a value of the electrical parameter.
A cathodic protection circuit for a water heater, comprising:
- a constant current circuit electrically coupled with an anode of the water heater;
- a detection circuit;
- an enable circuit;
- and
- control circuitry configured to:
- selectively and repeatedly enable, during a first time, and disable, during a second time, the constant current circuit by controlling the enable circuit;
- measure, via a signal from the detection circuit, a voltage representative of a charge of a tank of the water heater during the second time;
- and
- adjust a level of the current applied to the anode based on the voltage.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.