Not applicable.
Not applicable.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus for treating water to remove chemicals and other impurities, and more particularly to reverse osmosis water filtration systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Reverse osmosis (RO) water treatment systems are often located under a countertop or sink in a kitchen or adjacent another place at which purified water is desired to be provided. The typical system comprises a pre-filter, that employs a conventional filter medium, to remove relatively large particles as all the water being treated passes through the medium. The water exits the pre-filter and enters a reverse osmosis unit.
Reverse osmosis is a method that separates solutes from a solution by causing the solvent (such as water) to float through a membrane at pressures higher than normal osmotic pressure. The osmosis phenomenon is manifested by the diffusion of a solvent through a semi-permeable membrane from a region of greater osmotic pressure to a region of lower osmotic pressure. As the solvent diffuses through the membrane, dissolved substances, such as salts, minerals and other contaminants, are left behind so that the region of lower osmotic pressure has a lower concentration of dissolved substances. The remaining dissolved substances are flushed from the higher pressure side of the membrane through a restricted drain aperture that creates the increased pressure within the unit. The fluid from the drain aperture may be sent to a sewer system or recycled through the water treatment system by a pump so that less water is wasted.
The treated water exiting the reverse osmosis unit may pass through an optional post-filter to improve the taste of that water. A tank may also be provided on the output of the treatment apparatus to store the purified water. When needed, the purified water is drawn from the tank.
Depending upon the characteristics of the untreated water at a particular installation, several pre-filters may be utilized and various pluralities of reverse osmosis units may be connected in parallel or series to treat the water and provide the necessary flow volume. Therefore, it is desirable to design components of the reverse osmosis water treatment system, which can be connected in various combinations and numbers to provide the necessary level of treatment required for a particular instillation.
A water treatment system includes a filter module and a reverse osmosis module secured to the filter module. The filter module has a first manifold with a first filter cartridge and second filter cartridge mounted thereto. The first manifold has a filter inlet port and a filter outlet port. The first filter cartridge has a first inlet connected to the filter inlet port and has a first outlet. The second filter cartridge has a second inlet and having second outlet connected to the filter outlet port.
The first reverse osmosis module secured to the filter module and including a second manifold with a first RO inlet port, a first RO outlet port and a first drain port, the first RO inlet port being connected to the filter module and receiving water therefrom.
The modularity of the water treatment system enables several different configurations of the filter module to be connected to the first reverse osmosis module. In one version, the filter module is configured with the first filter cartridge acting as a pre-filter for the first reverse osmosis module and the second filter cartridge is connected as a post-filter. In another version, the two filter cartridge are coupled in series to function as a dual-stage pre-filter. The modularity also enables. multiple reverse osmosis modules to be connected in a daisy chain to increase the water treatment capability of the system.
With initial reference to
The first intermediate port 20 of the filter module 12 is connected by a tube 32 to a first RO inlet port 30 of the reverse osmosis module 14, which thereby receives water from the pre-filter cartridge 18. The reverse osmosis module 14 has first and second reverse osmosis cartridges 34 and 36 with inlets that are connected to the first RO inlet port 30. Each of the two reverse osmosis cartridges has a conventional semi-permeable membrane which filter water flowing there through. The treated water passes to cartridge outlets 38 and 40 that are connected to a first RO outlet port 42. The first RO outlet port 42 is coupled by a tube 43 to the second intermediate port 22 of the filter module 12. Therefore, the water treated in the two reverse osmosis cartridges 34 and 36 is fed back through the post-filter cartridge 24 to produce purified water at the filter outlet port 26. Each of the reverse osmosis cartridges 34 and 36 also has a drain outlet 35 from which some of the untreated water, carrying a high concentration of solutes, exits the cartridges. The drain outlets 35 are connected to first and second drain ports 44 of the reverse osmosis module 14.
The first water treatment system 10 has a modular configuration, illustrated in
With reference to
The second intermediate port 22 on that opposite side of the filter module 12 communicates with a second inlet passage 60 that connects to a third aperture 62 in the bottom of the filter manifold 50 that opens inside the perimeter of the post-filter cartridge 24. After passing through the filter medium 69 in the post-filter cartridge 24, the water flows through a centrally located fourth aperture 64 in the bottom of the filter manifold 50. This fourth aperture 64 is connected by a second outlet passage 66 in the manifold 50 to the filter outlet port 26.
It should be noted that there is an inlet port, an outlet port and a drain port on the opposite sides of the reverse osmosis module 14 enabling several of the reverse osmosis modules to be connected side by side. Such daisy chaining enables a plurality of reverse osmosis cartridges to be connected in parallel for increased water purification capability. In a particular application, any unused ports are closed by a plug. The port arrangement also facilitates connecting the filter module 12 to a reverse osmosis module 14 in a modular configuration.
The individual modules of the water treatment system have brackets for attaching them together in a single structural assembly, as illustrated in
When the two modules 12 and 14 are secured directly together, the first intermediate port 20 of the filter module 12 aligns with the first RO inlet port 30 of the reverse osmosis module 14. As used herein, the term “secured directly” refers to two components, in this case the two modules 12 and 14, being attached with one component contacting the other, as opposed to each being attached separately to one or more intermediate elements which link the two components. As a result of that direct securing, a straight tube 32 is secured in each of those ports to provide a conduit between the two modules. The first RO outlet port 42 of the reverse osmosis module 14 similarly aligns with the second intermediate port 22 of the filter module 12 so that another straight tube 43 provides a conduit between those latter ports. The abutting brackets 70 and 74 provide a fixed spacing between the aligned ports so that the two tubes 32 and 43 can be supplied to the installer precut to the proper lengths. Each of the ports 16, 20, 22, 26, 30, 42 and 44 of the two modules 12 and 14 preferably utilize standard compression fittings.
An example of another modular configuration of a second water treatment system 100 is depicted in
With reference to
Referring again to
With respect to that parallel connection, the first RO inlet port 30 of the first reverse osmosis module 131 is coupled by the RO inlet passage 80 to that module's the second RO inlet port 31. That second RO inlet port 31 is connected by a tube 140 to the first RO inlet port 30 of the second reverse osmosis module 132. Similarly the second RO outlet port 41 of the first reverse osmosis module 131 is connected by a second tube 142 to the first RO outlet port 42 of the second reverse osmosis module 132, and the first drain port 44 of the first reverse osmosis module is coupled by a third tube 143 to the second drain port 45 on the second reverse osmosis module. The first drain port 44 of the second reverse osmosis module 132 is connected to a drain line for the second water treatment system 100 and the second RO outlet port 41 of the second reverse osmosis module 132 provides the outlet for the purified water.
The first and second reverse osmosis modules 131 and 132 also can be connected in other configurations. For example, the second RO outlet port 41 of the first reverse osmosis module 131 can be connected to the first RO inlet port 30 of the second reverse osmosis module 132 so that the two modules are in series. Alternatively, the first drain port 44 of the first reverse osmosis module can be coupled to the first RO inlet port 30 of the second reverse osmosis module 132. In this implementation, the second RO outlet port 41 of the first reverse osmosis module 131 is connected to the first RO outlet port 42 of the second reverse osmosis module 131. Here the second reverse osmosis module 132 processes some of the first RO module's drain water so that less water flows into the drain system thereby conserving water.
Additional reverse osmosis modules can be attached together. The modular configuration of the present water treatment systems enables various numbers of pre-filter cartridges, post-filter cartridges, and reverse osmosis cartridges to be connected together to provide the amount of water treatment capacity to satisfy the requirements of a particular installation.
The foregoing description was primarily directed to a preferred embodiment of the invention. Although some attention was given to various alternatives within the scope of the invention, it is anticipated that one skilled in the art will likely realize additional alternatives that are now apparent from disclosure of embodiments of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined from the following claims and not limited by the above disclosure.