Liquid purification or separation – Casing divided by membrane into sections having inlet
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-17
2003-08-19
Drodge, Joseph (Department: 1723)
Liquid purification or separation
Casing divided by membrane into sections having inlet
C210S087000, C210S090000, C210S143000, C210S269000, C210S652000, C210S650000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06607668
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a water purifier which delivers a high quality, pure stream of water.
The present invention also relates to a method for controlling a water purifier to optimize the production of pure water by the water purifier.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The need for water purifiers is expanding as water purifiers are needed for the electronic, pharmaceutical and power industries and purified water is needed for the food, beverage and chemical industries. Pure water is also needed for research purposes, pilot facilities and laboratories.
Generally, water purifiers include one or more filtering components and means for directing water through the filtering component(s) so that impurities in the water are removed during passage of the water through the water purifier. Raw, impure water is directed into the water purifier through an inlet and a pure stream of water is obtained from an outlet of the water purifier. The time in which the water remains in each filtering component is often regulated to ensure adequate purification of the water.
In the prior art, there are numerous patents and publications directed to water purifiers. In particular, reference is made to the following U.S. patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,086,754 (Watanabe) describes a water purifier including a timer which controls valves to provide for proper sterilization of the water. The valves are associated with components such as a purification unit, a filter and electrodes. For example, the timer controls the energizing period of the electrodes to ensure that water is heated sufficiently to sterilize it.
Also, U.S. Pat. No. 6,080,313 (Kelada) describes a water purifier with several purification and filtration units in a common housing (see FIG.
1
). A flowboard serves as a base of the water purifier and has several mounting assemblies designed to receive different cartridges. Each cartridges has a different function, for example, an activated carbon filter cartridge and a disinfection cartridge. The type of cartridge and the order of the cartridges can be varied to provide for any number of different flow arrangements. A circuit may be included to shut the unit down if the concentration of dissolved solids exceeds a preset limit, e.g., when the water purifier is not providing sufficiently pure water.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,741,416 (Tempest, Jr.) describes a water purifier in which the quality of the water at the outflow is determined by measuring its electrical potential and if the electrical potential indicates that the water is not sufficiently pure, then the water is diverted through a feedback loop to pass through for additional purification treatment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,698,091 (Kuennen et al.) describes a water purifier with a carbon block filter. A flow regulator is provided to ensure that the system operates at an adequate pressure and provides for an adequate exposure time. Specifically, the flow of water through the filter is measured and if it falls below a preset limit, indicative of blockage in the filter, an audio and/or visual indication is provided indicating that the filter needs to be changed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,584 (Capchart) describes a self-contained water purifier (which presumably means that the components are situated in a common housing) including filter components and pumps which control flow of the water through the purifier. A programmable logic controller is associated with the pumps and pressure switches to control operation of the system and shut the system down when an indication of a malfunction is detected.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,126,050 (Irvine et al.) describes a water treatment apparatus including a microprocessor which controls pumps and valves to provide for desired flows through the apparatus.
The water purifiers described in these patents do not include a particular combination of purification and filtering components as in the invention nor do these patents describe a method for controlling a water purifier to optimize the production of pure water as in the invention.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved water purifier.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved water purifier which produces a high quality, pure water stream.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved water purifier including several purification/filtration modules which are controlled to achieve overall optimum performance of the water purifier.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved water purifier including several purification/filtration modules whose operation is monitored and adjusted if necessary to achieve overall optimum performance of the water purifier.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved method for controlling components in a water purifier with a view toward optimizing and/or maximizing the purification of water, and/or achieving optimum overall performance.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to achieve one or more of the objects set forth above, a general embodiment of a water purifier in accordance with the invention has a novel combination of purification and/or filtration components. Further, the water purifier including the purification and/or filtration components is controlled by controlling the individual components in a specific manner.
The water purifier uses membranes, ion exchange resins and electricity to remove ionic, organic and suspended impurities from water, producing a high quality, pure water stream. In the water purifier, raw or supply water is pretreated by directing it first into a sediment pre-filter module, then into a softener module and then into a sediment removal and dechlorination module. The pre-treated water is then supplied in a controlled manner to a reverse osmosis module which separates the water into two streams (a purified water stream and a concentrate stream) by collecting fluids from both sides of pressurized membranes in the reverse osmosis module. The purified water stream is passed to an electrodeionization module which further purifies the water and directs the water to an ultraviolet sterilization module from which pure water is obtained. The concentrate stream is divided into a recycle stream which is passed to the inlet of the reverse osmosis module and a waste concentrate stream which flows to an outlet of the machine.
An important feature of the invention is the presence of a central microprocessor which utilizes a proprietary program to control the modules, valves and pumps to ensure satisfactory water quality and operation of the machine. The microprocessor is coupled to various monitors and sensors associated with the modules and determines the necessary or allowable operation of the valves and pumps. If the valves or pumps deviate from the necessary or allowable operation, the control system is programmed to either automatically correct the deviation or to notify the operator that manual correction is necessary. In this manner, the water purifier will not operate is the conditions for generating pure water are not proper.
One exemplifying embodiment of the water purifier in accordance with the invention comprises a softener module arranged to receive the supply water and remove metallic ions from the water, a de-chlorination module arranged to receive water from the softener module and remove oxidizing and organic compounds from the water, a control valve arranged downstream of the de-chlorination module for regulating flow of water from the de-chlorination module, a reverse osmosis module arranged downstream of the control valve and comprising reverse osmosis membranes which purify the water upon flow of water through the membranes, a pump arranged between the control valve and the reverse osmosis module for pump water at a high pressure through the reverse osmosis module, an electrodeionization module arranged to receive water from the reverse osmosis module and remove ions from the water to provide a st
Drodge Joseph
Menon Krishnan S
Muserlian, Lucas & Mercanti, LLP
Technology Ventures, Inc.
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