WO1997040906B1

WO1997040906B1 - Pour-through and pitcher mounted water filter

Info

Publication number: WO1997040906B1
Application number: PCT/US1997/007397
Authority: WO
Filing date: 1997-05-02
Publication date: 1997-12-31

Abstract

A gravity fed, pour-through water filtration device (10) includes a chamber housing (11), a spiral filter (30, 80) including a biocidal material and an annular holding chamber. Several porous separator disks, a volume of filtration media (64), and a cyst membrane (70) are positioned beneath the spiral filter and holding chamber. The device (10) is effective in significantly reducing the number of bacteria, viruses and cysts present in the filtrated water. The filtration device is a fully scaleable design for use in municipal flow-through and other systems. The configuration of the flow path may be a thin channel of minimal width lined with granular active material to improve the efficiency of the filtration and treatment process while keeping to a minimum the resistance to flow. The spiral or helical geometry lends itself to compact arrangement where space is limited. The fluid channel lined with granular material disrupts laminar flow and creates an environment inhospitable for the growth of bacterial contaminants such as biofilm typically found and described in dental water treatment lines.

Claims

AMENDED CLAIMS

[received by the International Bureau on 24 November 1997 (24.11.97); new claims 30-41 added; remaining claims unchanged (3 pages)]

30. A filter for purifying a liquid, comprising:

(a) a filter container having an inlet and an outlet and a longitudinal axis extending therebetween,-

(b) said filter having an elongate channel arranged in a predetermined geometric configuration; and

(c) a filter material disposed in said channel, wherein substantially entirely all of said filter material is adhered to interior walls of said channel.

31. The filter of claim 30, wherein said filter material includes a first biocidal material and a second biocidal material arranged in alternating sequence to each other within said channel .

32. The method of claim 6, wherein said liquid traverses through the channel in intimate contact with at least said one cycle of first and second biocidal materials lining the channel walls .

33. The filter of claim 30, wherein said filter material is adhesively secured to the interior walls of said channel.

34. The filter of claim 30, wherein opposing side walls of the channel are closely spaced from each other by a distance equal to the thickness of the particles of the filter material.

35. A filter adapted for placement in a pitcher for purifying water flowing through the filter under the influence of gravity only, comprising a housing including an inlet through which the water is received and an outlet; and a porous cyst removal structure disposed in said housing and having pore size operable to remove cysts and not bacteria from said water under gravity fed, pour through use condition only.

36. A reduction-oxidation method for killing biological organisms, comprising the steps of:

AMENDED SHEET {ARTICLE 19) (a) putting first and second biocidal materials by bonding said first and second materials to walls which are to form channel walls of a channel having a predetermined geometric configuration;

(b) exposing the biological organisms to the first biocidal material for a period of time, the first biocidal material increasing (or decreasing) the number of electrons associated with the biological organisms;

(c) exposing the biological organisms to the second biocidal material for a period of time, the second biocidal material decreasing (or increasing) the number of electrons in the biological organisms.

37. A filter for purifying a liquid, comprising:

(a) a filter container having an inlet and an outlet and a longitudinal axis extending therebetween;

(c) a filter material disposed in said channel, wherein substantially an entire surface of the interior walls of said channel has the filter material adhered to it.

38. The filter of claim 35, wherein said porous removal structure is effective to achieve a greater than 99% reduction of cysts.

39. A method for removal of cysts from a liquid, comprising the steps of: a) placing a filter into communication with a supply of liquid from which cysts are to be removed, said filter including a porous cyst removal structure having pore sizes operable to trap cysts from the liquid flowing through the structure; and b) directing said supply of liquid into said filter under gravity fed pressure only such that said porous cyst removal structure is effective to remove cysts from said liquid under non- pressure and only gravity operated influence. 51

40. The method of claim 39, wherein said filter is connected to a reservoir in communication with said supply of liquid such that the liquid is fed from the reservoir into the filter under gravity influence only.

41. The method of claim 39, wherein said filter is mounted atop a water pitcher.