U.S. patent application number 12/204942 was filed with the patent office on 2008-12-25 for portable, refillable water dispenser serving batches of water purified of organic and inorganic pollutants.
Invention is credited to Troy G. Anderson, Jeremy Hamilton, Charles R. Lanning, Rudy A. Vandenbelt.
Application Number | 20080314808 12/204942 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37107476 |
Filed Date | 2008-12-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080314808 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Vandenbelt; Rudy A. ; et
al. |
December 25, 2008 |
Portable, refillable water dispenser serving batches of water
purified of organic and inorganic pollutants
Abstract
A portable, refillable water dispenser serving batches of water
purified of organic and inorganic pollutants includes a portable,
refillable and hand-holdable vessel for holding and pouring water
having a spout and, inside the portable, refillable and
hand-holdable vessel, moving water and still water processing
module cooperative to remove inorganic and organic pollutants from
water received batchwise by the vessel.
Inventors: |
Vandenbelt; Rudy A.;
(Ottawa, CA) ; Hamilton; Jeremy; (Ottawa, CA)
; Anderson; Troy G.; (Marblehead, MA) ; Lanning;
Charles R.; (Ottawa, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Law Office of A.P. Durigon
20 Eustis Street
Cambridge
MA
02140
US
|
Family ID: |
37107476 |
Appl. No.: |
12/204942 |
Filed: |
September 5, 2008 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11163160 |
Oct 7, 2005 |
7438799 |
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12204942 |
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10726779 |
Dec 3, 2003 |
6953523 |
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11163160 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
210/85 ;
210/241 |
Current CPC
Class: |
C02F 1/283 20130101;
C02F 2201/009 20130101; C02F 2201/326 20130101; C02F 1/32 20130101;
Y02A 20/212 20180101; C02F 2307/04 20130101; C02F 1/003 20130101;
C02F 1/42 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
210/85 ;
210/241 |
International
Class: |
C02F 9/12 20060101
C02F009/12; C02F 101/10 20060101 C02F101/10; C02F 101/30 20060101
C02F101/30; C02F 103/04 20060101 C02F103/04 |
Claims
1. A refillable water dispenser serving purified water, comprising:
a portable, refillable and hand-holdable vessel for holding and
pouring water having a spout and a basin and, coupled to the
portable, refillable and hand-holdable vessel, moving water and
still water processing modules cooperative to remove water
pollutants and neutralize microorganims; said module processing
moving water coupled to said vessel is adapted to receive water to
be processed batchwise, and is further adapted to cause the water
to be processed received batchwise to move through a flow-through
filter containing flow-through filter media adapted to remove water
pollutants as the received water moves therethrough and then out of
said module processing moving water into said basin which contains
it as a body of still water in fluid communication with said spout
of said vessel; and said module processing still water coupled to
said vessel and cooperative with said module processing moving
water includes a UV radiator operative to provide UV radiation of
an intensity and duration to neutralize microorganisms in said
basin containing still water from which water purified of said
water pollutants and microorganisms may be served through said
spout.
2. The refillable water dispenser serving purified water of claim
1, wherein said module processing moving water is operative to
provide a signal that is indicative that the water in the basin has
been purified of microorganisms and is ready to drink.
3. The refillable water dispenser serving purified water of claim
1, wherein said flow-through filter contains an ion exchange and
activated carbon flow-through filter bed that is fed by gravity
action with water to be processed that is poured batchwise into
said moving water processing module all at once.
4. The refillable water dispenser serving purified water of claim
1, wherein said UV radiator of said module processing still water
is disposed within said basin of said pitcher, and wherein said
module processing still water includes a controller having a
control panel and user interface that is operatively connected to
said UV radiator.
5. The refillable water dispenser serving purified water of claim
4, wherein said controller is battery-powered.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation application of co-pending
U.S. non-provisional application Ser. No. 11/163,160, filed Oct. 7,
2005, which is a continuation of U.S. non-provisional application
Ser. No. 10/726,779, filed Dec. 3, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No.
6,953,523, both of the same inventive entity as herein,
incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention is drawn to the field of water purification,
more particularly, to point of use water purifiers, and more
particularly, to a novel portable, refillable water dispenser
serving batches of water purified of organic and inorganic
pollutants.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Systems that treat water for regional consumption such as
municipal waterworks and systems that treat water for point of use
consumption are the two basic types of systems by which water may
be treated to remove impurities. The municipal systems, of course,
afford no purification of other than "city" water, such as well
water, and organic and inorganic impurities often remain in "city"
water notwithstanding filtration, UV treatment, ozone treatment or
treatment by any of the other water purification techniques
well-known to those of skill in the art. The point of use systems
for their part may be locally installed or portable. However, point
of use systems installed into existing plumbing are typically
line-powered, requiring line voltage and current for the treatment
of water, and often involve an expense beyond the budget of many
consumers for equipment acquisition, installation services and
periodic maintenance. The portable point of use systems on the
other hand are often cumbersome, suitcase-sized units that are
difficult to use, involving multiple manual treatment steps, or do
not remove both inorganic and organic impurities, and sometimes are
no less expensive to acquire and maintain than their installed
counterparts.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] It accordingly is the general object of the present
invention to provide a novel point of use water purifier, and more
particularly, to provide a portable, refillable water dispenser
that itself serves batches of water purified of both organic and
inorganic pollutants. As used herein, the term "organic" in the
phrase "organic pollutants" refers to "living organisms" such as
bacteria, and the term "inorganic" in the phrase "inorganic
pollutants" refers to "non-living, organic (carbon) or inorganic
compounds."
[0005] In general terms, the present invention contemplates a
portable, refillable water dispenser serving batches of water
purified of organic and inorganic pollutants that includes a
portable, refillable and hand-holdable vessel for holding and
pouring water having a spout and, inside the portable, refillable
and hand-holdable vessel, moving water and still water processing
modules cooperative to remove inorganic and organic pollutants from
water received batchwise by said vessel. The module processing
moving water disposed inside the vessel is adapted to receive water
to be processed batchwise, and is further adapted to cause the
water to be processed received batchwise to move through a
flow-through filter to remove inorganic impurities and then out of
said module. The module processing still water disposed inside the
vessel is adapted to receive the water that flows out said module
processing moving water and to contain it batchwise as a body of
still water in fluid communication with said spout of said vessel,
and is further adapted to provide UV radiation that is omnipresent
to every region of each said body of still water contained
batchwise therein with an intensity and a duration to neutralize
organic impurities at every region of said body of still water
contained batchwise therein. In this manner, water from which
inorganic impurities have been removed and in which organic
impurities have been neutralized may be dispensed through said
spout of said portable, refillable and hand-holdable vessel.
[0006] Preferably, the portable, refillable and hand-holdable
vessel includes a pitcher with an open mouth and side and bottom
walls that provide a basin for containing and pouring still water,
a handle to one side of the pitcher, and a lid removably mounted to
said open mouth of said pitcher. The module processing moving water
preferably includes a bucket mounted inside said pitcher with its
mouth in fluid communication with said mouth of said pitcher having
an ion exchange and activated carbon flow-through filter bed that
is fed by gravity action with water to be processed that is poured
batchwise into said bucket all at once. The module processing still
water preferably includes a single UV line radiator upstanding in,
and centrally disposed within, said basin of said pitcher and a
battery-powered controller carried by the pitcher that includes a
control panel and user interface, preferably located on its handle,
operatively coupled to the single UV line radiator.
[0007] Preferably, the removable lid includes a fill opening, and a
louvered disc valve cooperative therewith to allow water to be
poured through the fill opening batchwise into the bucket of the
moving water processing module while blocking direct viewing of the
UV line radiator.
[0008] Operation of the presently preferred portable, refillable
and hand-holdable water dispenser serving batches of water purified
of organic and inorganic pollutants is elegantly straightforward.
All that is needed is to pour water to be processed batchwise into
the bucket of the moving water processing module either directly,
when the lid is removed, or through the fill opening, when the lid
is attached to the pitcher, and to start the processing sequence by
actuation of the control panel and user interface. The controller
of the still water processing module waits for a first time to
allow the water to be processed that has been poured batchwise into
the bucket to move through the moving water processing module
flow-through filter to remove inorganic impurities therefrom, then
actuates the UV line radiator for a second time to neutralize
organic impurities in the body of still water contained batchwise
in the basin of the still water processing module, after which time
it provides an indication at the control panel that a batch of
water purified of organic and inorganic pollutants is ready to be
dispensed through the spout of the pitcher.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] These and other objects, inventive aspects and advantageous
features of the present invention will become apparent as the
invention becomes better understood by referring to the following,
solely exemplary, detailed description of the presently preferred
embodiments thereof, and to the drawings, wherein:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portable, refillable water
dispenser serving batches of water purified of organic and
inorganic impurities in accord with the present invention;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the
midsection thereof;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through the
midsection of the removable lid of the portable, refillable water
dispenser of FIGS. 1 and 2;
[0013] FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the removable lid; and
[0014] FIG. 5 is a block circuit diagram of the portable,
refillable and hand-holdable water dispenser serving batches of
water purified of organic and inorganic impurities in accord with
the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0015] Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, generally designated at 10
is a portable, refillable water dispenser serving batches of water
purified of organic and inorganic impurities in accord with the
present invention. The portable, refillable water dispenser 10
includes a portable, refillable and hand-holdable pitcher 12 for
containing, receiving and pouring water having a handle 14 to one
side thereof, a pour spout 16 and a removable lid 18. Any portable,
refillable water dispenser for receiving, containing and dispensing
water such as a standalone, countertop water purifier, may be
employed without departing from the inventive concepts. A control
panel and user-interface 20 to be described is mounted on the
handle 14. A flip lid 22, cooperative with the spout 16 of the
pitcher 12, and a fill opening generally designated 24 and
cooperative louvered disc valve to be described having actuation
handle 26, are carried by the removable lid 18.
[0016] As best seen in FIG. 2, a bucket generally designated 28 is
mounted inside the pitcher 12 having side and bottom walls 30, 32
that bound a volume whose capacity, when filled, accepts water to
be purified poured batchwise all at once thereinto. A flow-through
filter generally designated 34 is removably mounted in an opening
provided therefor in the bottom wall 32 of the bucket 28 that is
fed with water to be processed received batchwise in the bucket 28
by action of gravity. Water to be processed received batchwise by
the bucket 28 flows into inlet ports generally designated 36 of
flow-through filter 34, though ion exchange and activated carbon
filter media, not shown, contained inside the walls of inner and
outer cups 38, 40 to remove inorganic impurities, and out outlet
port generally designated 42 at the top and to the side of
flow-through filter 34 away from the spout 16 of the pitcher 12.
Reference in this connection may be had to commonly assigned,
co-pending United States utility patent application entitled
"Filter Cartridge for a Standalone Point of Use Water Purification
Device," filed on even date herewith, incorporated herein by
reference. Any suitable moving water processing module adapted to
receive water to be processed batchwise and further adapted to
cause the water be processed received batchwise to move through a
flow-through filter to remove inorganic impurities may be employed
without departing from the inventive concepts, and a flow-through
filter having other than an ion exchange and activated carbon
flow-through filter media such as activated carbon block media,
ceramic media, or semipermeable membranes, may be employed.
[0017] The pitcher 12 has side walls 44 and a contained bottom wall
46 that provide a basin in fluid communication with the spout 16
for receiving, holding and pouring water. The side walls 44 of the
pitcher 12 are fashioned of a material that is transparent to
ambient light and opaque to UV light, such as plastic. The capacity
of the basin is at least as great as the capacity of the bucket
28.
[0018] A single UV line radiator generally designated 48 is
upstanding in, and centrally positioned within, the basin of the
pitcher 12. The UV line radiator 48 includes a two hundred
fifty-four (254) nm cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) 50 and
protective, UV transparent quartz sheath 52 mounted in water-tight
sealing relation to the bottom wall 46 of the pitcher 12. The UV
lamp 50 of the UV line radiator 48 is operatively connected to a
controller to be described supplied by power from batteries 52
carried in an electronics pack generally designated 54 attached to
the bottom wall 46 of the pitcher 12. The electronics pack 54 is
connected to the control panel and user interface 20 via cable 56
that is threaded through the handle 14 of the pitcher 12.
[0019] Water to be processed received batchwise by the bucket 28 of
the moving water processing module is received in the basin of the
pitcher 12 as it flows streamwise through the flow-through filter
34 thereof, which, after all the water of a batch has flowed
therethrough, is contained batchwise as a body of still water in
the basin of the pitcher 12 in fluid communication with the spout
16. The body of still water contained batchwise in the basin
completely submerges the UV line radiator 48. The CCFL 50, actuated
by the controller in response to user control input to the control
panel and user interface 20 in a manner to be described, provides
UV radiation that is omnipresent to every region of the basin
containing the body of still water received batchwise with an
intensity and a duration to neutralize inorganic impurities at
every region of the body of still water contained batchwise in the
basin of the pitcher 12. The controller thereafter provides a
signal indication at the control panel and user-interface 20 that a
batch of water purified of organic and inorganic pollutants is
ready for dispensation through spout 16. Any still water processing
module adapted to receive water from the moving water processing
module and contain it batchwise as a body of still water other than
the basin of the pitcher 12 and further adapted to provide UV
radiation that is omnipresent to every region of the body of still
water received batchwise with an intensity and a duration to
neutralize inorganic impurities at every region of the body of
still water contained batchwise other than the battery-powered,
single UV line radiator upstanding in, and centrally disposed
within, the basin of the pitcher may be employed without departing
from the inventive concepts.
[0020] Referring now to FIG. 3, generally designated at 60 is a
longitudinal view through the midsection of the removable lid 18 of
the portable, refillable water dispenser serving batches of water
purified of organic and inorganic pollutants in accord with the
present invention. The flip lid 22 is pivotally mounted on an axle
62 best seen in FIG. 4. The flip lid 22 covers the pour spout 16 of
the pitcher 12 while allowing water contained in the basin thereof
to be dispensed therethrough. The bucket 28 includes a front wall
56 that intercepts the line of sight from the pour spout 16 to
prevent direct viewing of the UV line radiator 48 in the basin of
the pitcher 12 as schematically illustrated by arrow 58 in FIG. 2.
A lid seat sensing switch 64, such as a magnetic reed switch, is
mounted to the removable lid 18 to disable the UV line radiator 48
in the basin of the pitcher 12 when the removable lid 18 is off of
the pitcher 12.
[0021] A louvered disc valve generally designated 66 retained by
cap 68 on rotary bearing 70 is mounted for rotation to the
underside of the removable lid 18 adjacent the fill opening 24
thereof. The louvered disc valve 66 includes the actuation handle
26, and as best seen in FIG. 4, a disc valve 72 and a louver
generally designated 74, whose opening generally designated 76 is
provided with a series of slanted, radially spaced fins 78. Water
received through fill opening 24 of the removable lid 18 with the
louvered disc valve 66 rotated to its fully opened position
illustrated in FIG. 4 by handle 26 flows through the louver opening
76 into the bucket 28 while the slanted fins 78 thereof block
direct viewing of the UV line radiator 48 within the pitcher 12 as
schematically illustrated by dashed arrow 80 in FIG. 3. As will be
appreciated, the slanted fins 78 of the louvered disc valve 66
block direct viewing of the UV line radiator 48 inside the pitcher
12 when it is not in any of its non-fully-closed positions, not
shown, which are not further described herein for the sake of
brevity of exposition. Another mechanism that allows water to be
processed to be received batchwise through the removable lid while
blocking direct view of the UV radiator other than the louvered
disc valve 66 may be employed without departing from the inventive
concepts.
[0022] Referring now to FIG. 5, generally designated at 90 is a
block circuit diagram of the portable, refillable water dispenser
serving batches of water purified of organic and inorganic
pollutants in accord with the present invention. Controller 92,
supplied with DC power from battery 94, is operatively coupled to
UV line radiator 96. A lid seat sensor 98 is electrically connected
to the controller 92. A control panel and user interface 100 is
electrically connected to the controller 92. The controller 92 may
be powered by AC line power or a combination of AC and rechargeable
DC without departing from the inventive concepts.
[0023] In operation, the controller 92 in response to sequence
initiation input via the control panel and user interface 100 waits
a first time to allow water to be processed received batchwise in
the bucket to move through the moving water processing module and
into the basin of the pitcher where it is contained as a body of
still water. For an exemplary thirty-two (32) ounce capacity
bucket, water received batchwise takes about takes about ten (10)
minutes to drip through its flow-through filter. After the first
time lapses, the controller 92 actuates the UV line radiator 96 to
provide UV radiation that is omnipresent to every region of the
body of still water contained in the basin of the still water
processing module with an intensity and a second time duration to
neutralize inorganic impurities at every region of the body of
still water contained in the basin of the still water processing
module. Different second time durations may be selected for "city"
versus water from wells or other sources. For an exemplary
thirty-two (32) ounce capacity basin, five (5) minutes of
irradiation neutralizes organic impurities in "city" water and ten
(10) minutes neutralizes organic impurities in well water. If at
any time during the processing sequence (or at any other time) a
signal is detected from the lid seat sensor 98, the controller
disables the UV line radiator 96 and resets its water treatment
sequence. Otherwise, after the second time has elapsed, the
controller 92 provides a signal indication at the control panel and
user interface 100, such as by illuminating a light or causing an
audio signal to sound, that a batch of water purified of organic
and inorganic pollutants is ready to be served through the spout of
the pitcher. The controller monitors the time since it was last
actuated, and if a predetermined third time elapses, such as
twenty-four (24) hours, since it was last actuated, it provides a
signal indication at the control panel and user interface to
retreat the batch of water. Many modifications of the presently
disclosed invention will become apparent to those of skill in the
art without departing from the inventive concepts.
* * * * *