Liquid purification or separation – With means to add treating material – With distinct reactor tank – trough or compartment
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-28
2001-06-12
Simmons, David A. (Department: 1724)
Liquid purification or separation
With means to add treating material
With distinct reactor tank, trough or compartment
C210S232000, C210S251000, C210S255000, C210S257100, C210S259000, C210S287000, C210S435000, C210S437000, C210S464000, C210S473000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06245228
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to devices and methods for water purification for human consumption and more particularly to devices and methods for a portable, single-use disposable system for disinfecting and filtering water of substandard quality to produce potable water.
BACKGROUND ART
The most important step in purifying water is a complete disinfection of the water prior to filtering. Often, complete disinfection is not accomplished because either the process is interrupted prior to completion or insufficient disinfecting agent is introduced to the water. The present invention overcomes these problems by providing an automatically controlled disinfecting period prior to filtering, while also including a disinfecting agent introduced in a primary container. The duration of the disinfecting period is controlled by a physicochemical time control switch contained within a compact, disposable, multi-stage filter cartridge positioned between a primary water container for untreated water and a secondary container, which receives purified water. Prior art devices either do not provide a disinfecting step, do not include a timed disinfecting step, and/or do not include a primary treatment water container pre-charged with disinfecting agent. With the present invention, after the disinfecting step is complete, a physicochemical time switch located within a filter cartridge allows the flow of disinfected water from the primary water container into the filtering elements of the filter cartridge after an appropriate amount of time has lapsed for effective disinfecting. The present system assures that the water will be properly disinfected for an appropriate time period prior to filtering and purifying.
Prior art devices include: Iana et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,122,272 which describes a water purifier container with a filter element extending into the neck of the container with a sipping tube extending from a lower chamber of the filter while water within the container enters the filter into an upper chamber. The Iana patent also describes numerous prior art devices, the U.S. Pat Nos. being: 4,852,781; 4,741,550; 4,443,336; 4,298,475; 4,090,650; 3,731,717; 3,389,803; and 2,738,105.
GENERAL SUMMARY DISCUSSION OF INVENTION
This is a relatively simple and inexpensive device for treating surface and storm water in case of emergency, or natural disasters which disrupt the availability of potable water such as during a hurricane, earthquake, civil unrest, camping, and in locations where sanitary water is unavailable. The device uses two disposable containers, preferably flexible wall plastic bags, connected by a cylindrical filter cartridge all of which are single use for treating a limited amount of water, about 1 gallon or less. Untreated water is filled in a primary container, which is charged with a predetermined amount of disinfecting substance that releases chlorine upon contact with the water and which ultimately disinfects the water. An inlet port of the filter cartridge is attached to the opening of the primary container while a secondary product container is attached to the outlet port of the filter cartridge. After filling the primary container with untreated water, the system is turned upside down to allow the water to seep by gravity through the filter cartridge from the primary container to the product container. The device can be hand carried or preferably hung from any suitable projected support member such as a nail from a wall, a door knob or a tree limb. A physicochemical time control switch, described thereafter, is contained within the filter cartridge to provide a set disinfecting exposure period for the pre-treated water with the disinfecting agent in the primary container before water is allowed to flow through the filtering elements of the filter cartridge. The filtering stages of the filter cartridge include various filtering elements such as pre and post sediment removal fiber mesh, activated charcoal, and ion exchange resins for assuring the water is completely purified. The disinfecting exposure period assures that the water is thoroughly disinfected prior to further filtering, the exposure time is about twenty to twenty five minutes. The physicochemical time control switch includes a water passageway extending from a inlet port to the filtering elements, wherein the passageway is blocked by either a water dissolvable barrier which eventually dissolves upon contact with water allowing water to enter and flow through the filtering elements of the cartridge or an expandable compartment which opens the passageway when exposed to water for a sufficient period of time wherein the expandable compartment includes a hydrophillic compound contained therein. The dissolvable barrier dissolve time, or the expansion period of the expandable compartment, is timed to coincide with the period necessary for thorough disinfection of the water prior to further filtering. The device is packaged preferably in groups of two or more so that they are easily carried while traveling, which makes the device particularly suitable for military personnel, business travels who travel to regions without treated water supplies and the like. The device may be scaled up to accommodate larger volumes such as three to five gallons.
It is thus an object of the invention to provide an emergency water treatment device that can be easily carried on a person and used for disinfecting, filtering, and removing nitrate and heavy metals from a small quantity of non-potable water when these water sources are necessary for survival.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an emergency water treatment device that is non-powered, self-contained, very compact, easy to use, disposable, includes a primary water container pre-charged with disinfecting agent for disinfecting the untreated water, includes numerous filtering stages contained within a single filter cartridge, and includes a physicochemical time switch which times a disinfecting step to assure that substandard quality water is fully disinfected prior to filtering so that a more hygienically and aesthetically acceptable water quality is produced.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide an emergency water treatment device that provides a means for disinfecting non-potable water by exposing the water to a disinfecting agent, particularly chlorine in the form of effervescent grade calcium hypochlorite tablets, powder or granules, at a chlorine concentration up to 20 parts per million to disinfect parasites, bacteria and other biological contaminants for a pre-determined disinfecting period of no less than 20 minutes to assure the disinfection of the untreated water is complete prior to filtering.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide an emergency water treatment device that includes a multistage water filter cartridge comprising a filter media to remove suspended material, activated charcoal to remove organic matter and chlorine residual after chlorine disinfecting, and an ion exchange resin to remove heavy metals and virtually eliminate nitrates, which are commonly observed in high concentration in runoff surface water from farm lands and failing septic systems due to storms and floods. The final stage of the said device is a fine fiber filter for trapping particulate matter.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide an emergency water treatment device that includes a non-powered, self-contained, multistage water filter cartridge modified to remove specific water contaminant or suitable for specific application. For example, the said filter cartridge could be easily used as a primary treatment module, followed by a mixed cation and anion ion exchange bed of comparable configuration to eliminate or reduce water salinity when brackish or sea water is the only source of water supply.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an emergency water treatment device that includes a cylindrical water filter cartridge with an inlet port and an outlet port, where a primary contain
Hoey Betsey Morrison
Simmons David A.
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