1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a submersible craft for the purification of water. Particularly, the submersible craft has a buoyant hollow housing for controlled submersion in a body of water. More particularly, the hollow housing receives a plurality of guide vanes for directing water through the housing and a plurality of filter elements for filtering contaminants out of the water which passes through the hollow housing as the craft navigates through the fluid medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wide variety of water purification systems have been utilized to remove contaminants and pollutants from both man-made and natural bodies of water. However, such systems are either typically water skimmers, which can only collect oils having a density less than that of water, residing on the surface of the water, or must remain stationary with respect to a fixed point. Neither type of system is effective for collection, filtering and monitoring of water containing a variety of either known or unknown contaminants.
Water skimmers tend to be only effective at removing oils with densities lower than the density of water; i.e., oils which float on the surface of the water. The water skimmers cannot remove other types of contaminants and pollutants, namely, impurities which reside beneath the surface of the water, and may take the form of high density oils or particulate matter.
Water purification systems which are submersible have been utilized for filtering water below the surface. Such purification systems, however, are typically stationary, both in the area covered and in the depth of the water. As with prior water skimmers, the submersible water purification systems tend to be only effective at removing one type of contaminant found at a single depth in a highly localized area. Further, moving such a system requires external sources of power and locomotion, such as a crane or the construction of a separate propulsion system. Additionally, such systems must be powered by an external power source, which is both energy inefficient, but also inconvenient, given that large sources of power are rarely convenient to bodies of water.
It would be desirable to provide a submersible craft which relies on the natural buoyancy of the materials used in its construction and gravity in order to control depth, thus reducing power consumption. Additionally, it would be further desirable to provide solar panels, which may be utilized for recharging submarine-carried batteries, further reducing power consumption and production of pollutants.
None of the above inventions, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus, a submersible craft for water purification solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
A submersible craft for water purification is provided. The submersible craft includes an annular hollow housing which contains a plurality of guide vanes for directing water flow through the housing when the craft is submersed in a body of water, and a plurality of filters for filtering contaminants from the water. The craft includes a drive system and a navigational system for allowing a user control over thrust, depth and navigation through the body of water. The submersible water filtration system may be remote controlled or may be controlled by an onboard guidance system. Further, water monitoring sensors may be mounted on the craft for monitoring of water conditions as the craft navigates through the body of water.
These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.
Referring now to
As best shown in the top-view of
An inner core member 14 is received within the interior of hollow body 12. The inner core member 14 is elongated and projects along the longitudinal axis of hollow body 12, as shown in
A plurality of guide vanes 16 are provided in the interior of hollow body 12 and are mounted on inner core 14. The guide vanes 16 may have any desired shape and configuration, though guide vanes 16 are generally oriented and shaped to optimize passage of fluid through the interior of hollow body 12. As shown in the cross-sectional view of
A plurality of filter elements 18 are mounted on inner core 14 and are positioned within hollow body 12.
Filters 18 are provided for the filtering and removal of contaminants from a body of water, such as an ocean, lake, swimming pool, reservoir or the like. The filter elements are selected by the user depending on the particular type of contaminant to be removed from the body of water. For example, filter elements 18 made of hydrophobic membrane materials may be used to filter out sun tan or bathing oils. As another example, filters formed of granular activated carbon (GAC) may be used to filter methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), a common pollutant in public waterways.
Mounted exterior to the hollow body member 12 are a pair of guide wings 20. Wings 20 are conventional submarine guide wings and are shown as having a substantially airfoil-type contour, though the wings may be sized and shaped as required by the user and as dependent upon the specific fluid medium in which craft 10 is submerged. Guide wings 20 provide for navigation, stability and support as the craft 10 passes through the body of water.
In the embodiment of
A second pair of servo-actuators 34 are mounted to the exterior of hollow body member 12 for selective control of rudder 32, shown best in
The drive system, providing power for servo-actuators 22 and 34, and further providing propulsive power for the submarine, includes motor 28 mounted on a rear end of inner core 14. As shown in
In the embodiment of
Also shown in the embodiment of
Craft 100 includes a main core 114, guide vanes 116 and filter elements 118, both mounted on the main core 114, and a plurality of batteries 126, similar to the corresponding elements in the embodiments of
In the embodiment of
Additionally, an auxiliary monitoring and control module 132 may be mounted on the front end of the main core 114. The auxiliary monitoring and control module 132 may contain a camera, lighting, a contamination sensor and other equipment useful in the monitoring and analysis of the water for contaminants. Further the module 132 may contain a pre-programmed guidance system, thus allowing a user to program navigational and drive information prior to the launching of craft 100.
In yet another embodiment, shown in
It has been noted above that motors 28, 128 are, respectively, powered by electric batteries 26, 126. The use of electric motors for powering the crafts 10, 100 allows for usage of the craft in a body of water without increasing the level of pollutants already contained within the water.
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
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