Patent Application
20140238919
The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to water filtration systems, and more particularly to filter heads and the like.
Water filters are used to extract contaminants such as chlorine, chloramine, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), lead, microbes and other undesirable substances. The presence of some such contaminants is a direct result of agricultural chemicals, industrial and municipal wastewater facility processes, water treatment and disinfection byproducts, urban runoff and/or naturally occurring sources in ground water supplies. Others contaminants are introduced after treatment processes within the home and/or municipal sources, for example, from piping and contact with contaminant items.
Household filters can generally be broken into two classes: Point of Entry (POE) filters and Point of Use (POU) filters. POE filters are placed at the entry point of water into the home and continuously filter all water that enters the home. POU filters are installed in areas such as kitchen sinks and refrigerators where water may be used for direct consumption.
A water filter system includes inlet/outlet tubing, a manifold and a filter component. The manifold receives untreated water, directs the water into a filter media, which subsequently directs the treated/filtered water back out for use. The filter media can vary depending on the contaminants targeted for removal. Sediment filters will take out fairly coarse particulate matter greater than 10 microns. Carbon filters, which generally include 60-70% carbon, 2-5% scavenger additives such as titantium dioxide, and 25-40% polyethylene binder dust, will extract contaminants such as chlorine, lead, VOCs, pharmaceuticals, particulates larger than 0.5 microns, and some large microbes such as cysts. The scavenger additives are included to shore-up the block's ability to remove those contaminants that carbon does not have an affinity to adsorb such as heavy metals like lead. Hollow fiber technology, ozone, ultraviolet (UV) lamps and quaternary technologies are also used to extract or destroy microbes, which can be as small as 0.015 microns. In virtually all cases, the filter media will be exhausted over time and use and need to be replaced in order to restore the system's ability to remove contaminants.
Existing water filter heads generally include an inlet check valve feature and a returning outlet feature essentially in line with water supply lines tying into the head. As advances are made in filtration performance (improved reduction, the ability to remove more and finer contaminants, bacteria/virus reduction, higher flow rates, etc.), changes are made within the reusable mounting component referred to as the manifold to enable new filter systems to incorporate the enhanced capabilities.
With improving filter cartridge technology, new systems can achieve the required level of contaminant removal using higher flow rates than older systems. However, use of the older cartridges in the new higher flow rate systems could result in the filter cartridge not performing at its rated removal level because of the system flow rate is higher than that for which the cartridge was designed. Similarly, the useful life of the cartridges militates against use of older lower flow rate cartridges in the new higher flow rate systems. For example, if an older filter rated to have a useful flow through life of approximately 125 gallons when operated at a flow rate of 0.5 gallons per minute (gpm) were to be placed into a newer system that may operate at a flow rate of 0.75 gpm, at that higher flow rate its expected life would be only 75 gallons. To avoid the under-performance resulting from use of older style cartridges in the newer systems, the cartridge manifold interface in the newer systems are designed to prevent the insertion of older style cartridges in the new manifolds.
Commonly, there is more of a pressure loss through the manifold in old systems than through the manifold in newer systems due to varied check valve geometry and flow configuration. Accordingly, as noted, old system canisters placed into a newer system manifold will produce a flow faster than in the old system manifold, which can create a regulatory problem where an advertised flow rate does not apply, as well as leading to a scenario where capacity would drop with the increased flow rate. As such, it would be advantageous to create a new cartridge that can be placed into old system manifolds that leads to a capacity increases as flow rate decreases.
Also, however, features added within newer systems to prevent the use of old cartridges with the new system tend to also preclude use of new cartridges into the older systems. Nonetheless, it can be advantageous to enable new replacement filter cartridges to be capable of being installed into manifolds of older systems as well as newer, enhanced flow systems. For example, as briefly noted above, if a new high flow rate cartridge were to be installed in an older/existing manifold, at the lower flow rate of the older system, the life of the cartridge can actually be extended such that a cartridge rated at 125 gallon at 0.75 gpm would actually last 200 gallons when used in a system with a flow rate of 0.5 gpm. In such situations, while older systems will not fully utilize the enhanced capabilities of the newer cartridges, the newer cartridges will perform at least at the old system levels. So, having new cartridges that are compatible with the older system would avoid the need to provide separate cartridge models. However, challenges exist in facilitating the compatibility of new cartridge filter heads with developing filtration technology, to the older manifolds.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to the consumer in both price and selection to offer a filter cartridge that is compatible with both old and new manifolds, due to the economy of scale and simplicity in purchasing.
As described herein, the exemplary embodiments of the present invention overcome one or more disadvantages known in the art. Embodiments of the invention provide apparatus that are compatible with newer system flow paths, wherein untreated water is direct downward through a horizontal surface via slots and/or holes and outward of the filter media within the canister. Additionally, as detailed herein, embodiments of the invention are compatible with old systems, wherein untreated water is forced, via pressure, radially inward through the filter media and directed back through the center of the canister cap into the manifold and ultimately out of the system.
A first aspect of the present invention relates to a filter canister apparatus for engagement with a manifold including an inlet annular recess defined by a mating surface, and at least a first set of embossments displaced and/or defined upon the mating surface separated approximately 180 degrees apart from each other, and a second set of embossments displaced and/or defined upon the mating surface separated approximately 180 degrees apart from each other, such that each set of embossments is separated relative to each other set by an angular spacing in the range of approximately 30-90 degrees on the mating surface.
Another aspect of the invention relates to a fluid filtration system in conjunction with the first aspect of the invention which includes a manifold having a manifold inlet port and a manifold outlet port, a check valve being disposed for fluidly sealing at least one of said ports, a flow inlet channel leading to the check valve, the manifold inlet port being operably fluidly coupled to a fluid source for receiving a flow of fluid and to a flow inlet channel, the manifold outlet port being fluidly coupled to a flow outlet channel, the flow inlet channel having an intake opening for directing fluid conveyed therein, the intake opening defined in a margin of a depending inlet boss of the manifold, and an outlet boss depending from the inlet boss and having a circumferential outer margin, the outlet boss also having an outlet opening for directing fluid conveyed therein, the outlet opening being fluidly coupled to the flow outlet channel, the flow outlet channel fluidly coupling the outlet opening to the manifold outlet port.
These and other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed solely for purposes of illustration and not as a definition of the limits of the invention, for which reference should be made to the appended claims. Moreover, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale and, unless otherwise indicated, they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and procedures described herein.
In the drawings:
As described herein, one or more embodiments of the invention include an apparatus including a multiple-embossment interface for engaging with a filter head check valve feature for a water filter. Such an apparatus can be implemented, for example, in a household water filter, such as one incorporated with a home sink or faucet to facilitate filtered water coming out of a home tap. As illustrated in the figures described below, at least one embodiment of the invention includes a water filter canister having a canister body with a canister cap that houses a filter media, and a manifold having a manifold body, a check valve assembly, and a bayonet assembly. The canister cap can include features on a horizontal surface of a cap insert component that encloses the filter media within the canister body. Such features can include, for example, a first set of embossments (raised protrusions and/or recessed depressions) spaced approximately 180 degrees about the canister center axis apart from one another and a second set of embossments (raised protrusions and/or recessed depressions) spaced approximately 180 degrees about the canister center axis apart from one another, and each set of embossments spaced from each other by an angular spacing of in the range of 30-90 degrees. A spacing of 90 degrees is employed in the illustrative embodiments. This spacing between sets avoids the need for more than two sets of embossments.
Accordingly,
Also, at least one embodiment of the invention includes attaching a cartridge to a water filter head assembly, and more specifically, at least one embodiment of the invention includes adding an elastomeric seal component (such as, for example, o-ring 204 as depicted in
As noted above, new filters are being engineered to extract more contaminants at higher flow rates due to changes in both the media and filter geometry. By way of example, cartridges filled with hollow fiber media can be capable of removing bacterial and viral microorganisms down to a 15 nanometer size. Another media, as mentioned, includes a traditional carbon block, where the surface area has been increased by almost 50% but volume correspondingly only by approximately 20%.
In addition to the components also depicted in
Additionally,
The fluid exiting the filter travels up through the flow outlet channel 458 (as depicted in
As described and depicted herein, bayonet 106 includes the flow inlet channel 456 (as depicted in
Accordingly, the bayonet 106 receives fluid flow from the manifold inlet port 152 in the manifold body 110. The bayonet 106 distributes the flow into the inlet boss 508 to the discharge opening 556 defined in the lower margin of the bayonet 106. Further, as is known in the art, structural support features above the discharge opening 556 can be provided to align and guide the movement of the check valve 108 along the longitudinal axis of the discharge opening 556.
As noted above, when engaged with the filter canister 102, the large diameter cylinder or inlet boss 508 provides a sealing surface for engagement with a first mating surface provided by an interior annular surface 660 of interlocking member 190, which is formed by the inner surface of the side wall of cap 130 together with the upwardly extending rim 132c of insert component 132, to provide a seal between the incoming, unfiltered fluid and ambient environment. The smaller diameter cylinder or outlet boss 506, when engaged with the filter canister 102, fits and forms a seal against cylindrical interior 182 of media adapter cap 180 and directs filtered fluid toward the exit of the manifold body 110. Each of these bayonet cylinders may, merely by way of example, include an o-ring or a set of o-rings as well as a set of glands to facilitate a proper seal.
On the bottom horizontal surface of the inlet boss 508, a plunger of the check valve 108 protrudes downward and is biased into this position via a mechanical spring within the check valve 108. This plunger is depressed upward as it engages a complementary surface on the filter canister 102 (for example, upon mating surface 1258 of insert component 132) when the filter canister 102 is being installed in the manifold body 110, with said surface comprising embossments such as detailed in accordance with at least one embodiment of the invention and depicted in
Additionally, as depicted in
As noted herein, water enters a filter manifold 110 and travels into the bayonet 106 through a check valve 108. Depending upon its engagement with the cap insert component embossments, the check valve 108 can be moved up and down to allow water in, and once the filter is rotated into the bayonet 106, a seal forms against the o-rings 104. Specifically, for example, once the filter canister 102 is rotated into the manifold body 110, the raised embossments 904 of the filter canister push the check valve 108 up, as depicted in
Also, in at least one additional embodiment of the invention, one or more of the embossments can be recessed elements instead of raised protrusions. For instance, a filter canister can include four embossments of 90 degree orientation: two raised embossments (for example, components 904) and two recessed embossments (for example, components 1008). Additionally, in at least one embodiment of the invention, a check valve can be of different lengths to correspond to the type of embossment (that is, raised or recessed).
As noted herein, the bayonet 106 is a stationary component in the overall apparatus. The manifold 110 has an external helical shoulder (shown, for example, as component 1252 in
In such example embodiments of the invention, the raised embossments selectively placed upon the horizontal surface of the canister cap enable compatibility with both old and newer filtration systems. By way of example, to permit the canister to be used on old filtration systems, two raised embossments, approximately 180 degrees apart, can be maintained at a height consistent with old canister embodiments to maintain equivalent performance on old systems with the new filter canisters. Also, two additional raised embossments, rotated 90 degrees from the two above-noted embossments, can be included but at different heights so as to push the check valves in the newer filtration systems by some relevant additional amount. Accordingly, by incorporating four embossments on filter canister 102 (specifically, displaced and/or defined upon mating surface 1258 of the insert component 132), embodiments of the invention can interact with existing manifolds in existing systems having a check valve with zero degree orientation, as well as engage with newer/distinct systems that have a check valve with 90 degrees orientation about the bayonet.
Additionally, when the new canisters with the additional (that is, second) set of raised embossments are used with the new manifolds that include a check valve relocated to a position 90 degrees away from the position in older systems, the frictional losses through the manifold can be reduced. This reduction is then available to be applied to the sizing of the filter media. As such, for example, volume changes to the media can result in both a shorter, more ergonomic canister height and a lower cost media.
In at least one embodiment of the invention, as detailed herein, the flow path can be moved, via a quarter-turn of the filter canister 102, from coming directly in at approximately zero degrees and travelling down into the check valve 108, and re-routed approximately 90 degrees about the longitudinal axis of the bayonet 106 to a 90 degree point on the other side of the bayonet. As noted herein, such a flow path reduces frictional losses by directing the inlet flow from a first side tube connection downward into an annular distribution ring (as more clearly depicted in
Accordingly, and as described herein, embodiments of the invention can include various configurations with respect to the embossments (904 or 1008) displaced and/or defined upon mating surface 1258 of the insert component 132. For example, a first set of embossments can be a pair of raised embossments 904 at one height above the mating surface 1258 and the second set of embossments can be a pair of raised embossments 904 at a second height above the mating surface 1258 (as detailed above). Additionally, for example, the first set of embossments can be a pair of recessed depressions 1008 at one depth below the mating surface 1258 and the second set of embossments can be a pair of recessed depressions 1008 at a second depth below the mating surface 1258. Further, for example, the first set of embossments can be a pair of raised embossments 904 at one height above the mating surface 1258 and the second set of embossments can be a pair of recessed depressions 1008 at one depth below the mating surface 1258.
Also, the first set of embossments and the second set of embossments can enable dual methods of engaging the check valve 108 via the check valve 108 coming into contact with one of the protrusion embossments 904 (pushing the check valve up) or depression embossments 1008 (permitting the check valve to move downward into the depression) upon a (approximately) quarter-turn of the replaceable filter cartridge 102, opening a flow path through which fluid can pass around the check valve 108.
Accordingly, while there have shown and described and pointed out fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the devices illustrated, and in their operation, may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. Moreover, it is expressly intended that all combinations of those elements and/or method steps which perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve the same results are within the scope of the invention. Furthermore, it should be recognized that structures and/or elements and/or method steps shown and/or described in connection with any disclosed form or embodiment of the invention may be incorporated in any other disclosed or described or suggested form or embodiment as a general matter of design choice. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto.
