WO2018231277A1

WO2018231277A1 - Improved portable, countertop water purifier and methods of use

Info

Publication number: WO2018231277A1
Application number: PCT/US2017/066884
Authority: WO
Inventors: Anchie KUO
Original assignee: Thalos, Llc
Priority date: 2017-06-16
Filing date: 2017-12-16
Publication date: 2018-12-20

Abstract

The inventive disclosure disclosed herein is generally directed to a compact, portable, kitchen-countertop-sized high-efficiency water purifier comprised of a lower reservoir/tank for holding unpurified (dirty) water and an upper reservoir/tank for receiving newly purified water. A high-efficiency filter, an electric motor and pump assembly, and associated piping to facilitate the purification of dirty water from the lower reservoir to deliver purified water to the upper reservoir. The improved portable water-purification apparatus does not rely on gravity to push water through the high-efficiency filter media, and thus more-effectively and efficiently produces purified water from any fresh-water source.

Description

IMPROVED PORTABLE, COUNTERTOP WATER PURIFIER

AND METHODS OF USE

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application claims the priority benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. 201730249322.4, filed on June 16, 2017, for "Water Purifier Design" and Chinese Patent Application No. 201720704228.8, filed on June 16, 2017, for "A Highly Efficient Water Purifier." In addition, this patent application hereby incorporates by reference both Chinese Patent Application No. 2017302493224 and Chinese Patent Application No. 2017207042288 herein for all purposes. If there are any irreconcilable conflicts between this patent application and the disclosures of Chinese Patent Application No. 2017302493224 and/or

Chinese Patent Application No. 2017207042288, then this patent application's teachings shall govern.

BACKGROUND

The present inventive disclosure herein generally relates to the field of water- treatment equipment, in particular to an efficient portable water purifier.

At present, water purifiers are used in many counties to provide a certain degree of water purity, especially in venues where the quality of the public water supply is suspect. Most of the time, people is such areas boil their water and use/ingest the boiled water thinking it as safe thereafter. In typical early staged industrialized nations, public water sources is often extremely polluted with heavy metals, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), inorganic compounds, arsenic, etc. in addition to the live contaminants that exist such as bacteria and viruses. Boiling water, assuming boiling for a sufficient period of time, will probably kill the biologicals, but unfortunately, will also concentrate most other unwanted chemicals and impurities. Consequently, over the years, many Asian countries have opened- up purified-water-delivery services to homes. But the water quality of these services is suspect, as there is a lack of reliable regulatory oversight monitoring the quality of the product being sold to consumers. In addition, bottled water has been seen a tremendous growth in Asia over the last decade. However, and particularly in China, many consumers know that there is no meaningful government regulation of water quality for the domestic brands, and the consumers have turned more towards the foreign brands such as Fiji, Perrier, etc. Unfortunately, some Asian nations, such as China, have a very high rate of

counterfeiting regarding such purified-water products, which is also generally known to the consumer.

A water purifier can filter-out suspended solids, biologicals, and other chemical impurities so as to better protect the health of users. A traditional household water purifier is directly connected with the water-supply pipe; that is, a tap-water source. In many current-art water filters, the tap-water-supply pipeline provides hydrostatic pressure to the filter in order to achieve water filtration, while in other situations, the water flowing directly through a filter relies on gravity. These two kinds of water purifiers have certain defects: the first being the inconvenience and expense of installing an in-line water filter system within the household plumbing, which in turn may also present logistical issues relating to the available installation location because of water-pipe-position constraints; and the second being the fact that water filters that rely on gravity for flow through the filter are slow and inefficient, and often the filtering effect is poor.

Technically, there are a couple of hurdles to overcome to create a household, countertop-sized, water-filtering device: First, not all filter technology is the same and there are very few technologies that can be both compact and have a broad spectrum covering many chemicals and biologicals. Finding technology that can eliminate both chemicals and biologicals is particularly difficult. In addition, most biological-filter systems do not address viruses, which recently have become more of a concern. Secondly, finding a water-filter system that does not require a high-pressure source is particularly difficult. Presently, almost all chemicals are eliminated through some combination of carbon- absorbing technology. The more chemicals that are targeted, the more carbon that is needed in the filter media, which makes the water-pressure requirement particularly difficult for a portable system. This has been the main issue for such devices— trying to find a compact low-pressure-filter system that filters both chemicals and biologicals. As an example, the Brita® systems that most people in the USA have been exposed to is only a filter system adapted to improve the taste of water and therefore, only really targets chlorine. In addition, the Brita® systems rely on gravity to filter the water and thus requires a significant amount of time to filter adequate amounts of water, somewhere in the range of over an hour per gallon. This is unacceptable to most consumers, even those who may only be concerned about water taste and may not care about filtering biologicals and most chemical impurities.

What is needed in the market is a portable, self-contained water-purification device sized to fit on a typical kitchen countertop that can receive unpurified water and efficiently process that water into safe, drinkable water, whereby over 99% of unwanted biologies, heavy metals, and other unwanted chemicals and impurities have been filtered-out.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The inventive disclosure contained herein is directed to a self-contained, portable, countertop water purifier that can store and process/purify at least about 2.5 gallons of water at a time over a period of five to 10 minutes. In some embodiments, the device can filter at least 1 to 3 liters per minute. In some variations, the device is designed to employ an easy- flow gravity system that requires minimal filter-input water pressure. However, in other preferred embodiments, the device uses a small electrically powered (AC or DC) pump that can generate the water pressure needed to push the water through the filter media (typically 30 - 60 psi, depending on the type of filter media used).

Somewhat counter-intuitively, the unpurified water is stored in the device in a tray/reservoir that is disposed at the bottom of the device below the purified-water-receiving reservoir/container and is pumped/pushed-up through the filter media into the upper "clean" reservoir. In preferred embodiments, the filter itself employs nano-carbon technology (already known in the art) that maximizes filter efficiency. In many embodiments, the unfiltered water (lower) reservoir, which is located below the filtered-water (upper) reservoir, has a greater volume than that of the upper reservoir and thus serves to add stability to the entire device due to the added volumetric footprint and weight disposed at the bottom of the device. In short, an improved stand-alone kitchen-countertop water-purification apparatus is disclosed herein. A key advantage of the improved stand-alone kitchen-countertop water- purification apparatus is the fact that no connection to the household plumbing is needed, thus eliminating the inconvenience of trying to connect to the household plumbing and keeping the kitchen faucet area free and clear or any filtering apparatuses because no connection is required. Moreover, the apparatus is portable to other sources of fresh water such as a river, stream, lakes, ponds, etc.; and fresh water can be directly poured into the apparatus from any source of water (such as the bathroom sink).

The foregoing Brief Summary is intended to merely provide a short, general overview of the inventive disclosure described throughout this patent application, and therefore, is not intended to limit the scope of the inventive disclosure contained throughout the balance of this patent application, including any appended claims and drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figures 1A-1H depicts one embodiment of an improved portable countertop water- purifying device, with the following views shown, respectively: a front-left isometric view, a rear-right isometric view, a front view, a rear view, a right-side view, a left-side view, a top view, and a bottom view.

Figures 2A-2H depicts one alternative embodiment of an improved portable countertop water-purifying device, with the following views shown, respectively: a front-left isometric view, a rear-right isometric view, a front view, a rear view, a right-side view, a leftside view, a top view, and a bottom view. Figure 3A-3D each depicts one embodiment of a front-left isometric view of a third version of an improved portable countertop water-purifying device, with Figures 3B-3D showing a progressive cut-away view to show the internal structures.

Figure 3E depicts one embodiment of a rear cut-away view of the improved portable countertop water-purifying device depicted in Figure 3A in order to show the internal structures.

Figure 3F depicts one embodiment of a right-side cut-away view of the improved portable countertop water-purifying device depicted in Figure 3A in order to show the internal structures.

Figure 4A-4B depicts one embodiment of a rear-right cut-away isometric view of a fourth version of an improved portable countertop water-purifying device in order to show the internal structures. In the case of Figure 4B, it shows a more-progressive cut-away (as compared to Figure 4A) and with the lower unfiltered-water reservoir shown removed (slid out) from its parent housing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Overview

The inventive disclosure contained herein is directed to a self-contained, portable, countertop water purifier that can store and process/purify at least about 2.5 gallons of water at a time over a period of five to 10 minutes. In some embodiments, the device can filter at least 1 to 3 liters per minute. In some variations, the device is designed to employ an easy- flow gravity system that requires minimal filter-input water pressure. However, in other preferred embodiments, the device uses a small electrically powered (AC or DC) pump that can generate the water pressure needed push the water through the filter media (typically 30 to 60 psi, depending on the type of filter media used).

Somewhat counter-intuitively, the unpurified water is stored in the device in a tray/reservoir that is disposed at the bottom of the device below the purified-water-receiving reservoir/container and is pumped/pushed-up through the filter media into the upper "clean" reservoir. In preferred embodiments, the filter itself employs nano-carbon technology (already known in the art) that maximizes filter efficiency. In many embodiments, the unfiltered water (lower) reservoir, which is located below the filtered-water (upper) reservoir, has a greater volume than that of the upper reservoir and thus serves to add stability to the entire device due to the added volumetric footprint and weight disposed at the bottom of the device.

In short, an improved stand-alone kitchen-countertop water-purification apparatus is disclosed herein. A key advantage of the improved stand-alone kitchen-countertop water- purification apparatus is the fact that no connection to the household plumbing is needed, thus eliminating the inconvenience of trying to connect to the household plumbing and keeping the kitchen faucet area free and clear or any filtering apparatuses because no connection is required. Moreover, the apparatus is portable to other sources of fresh water such as a river, stream, lakes, ponds, etc.; and fresh water can be directly poured into the apparatus from any source of water (such as the bathroom sink). II. Terminology

The terms and phrases as indicated in quotes (" ") in this Section are intended to have the meaning ascribed to them in this Terminology Section applied to them throughout this document, including the claims, unless clearly indicated otherwise in context. Further, as applicable, the stated definitions are to apply, regardless of the word or phrase's case, to the singular and plural variations of the defined word or phrase.

The term "or", as used in this specification, drawings, and any appended claims, is not meant to be exclusive; rather, the term is inclusive, meaning "either or both".

References in the specification to "one embodiment", "an embodiment", "a preferred embodiment", "an alternative embodiment", "a variation", "one variation", and similar phrases mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least an embodiment of the invention. The

appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment", "in one variation", and/or similar phrases in various places in the specification are not necessarily all meant to refer to the same embodiment.

The term "couple" or "coupled", as used in this specification, drawings, and any appended claims, refers to either an indirect or a direct connection between the identified elements, components, or objects. Often the manner of the coupling will be related specifically to the manner in which the two coupled elements interact.

The term "removable", "removably coupled", "readily removable", "readily detachable", "detachably coupled", and similar terms, as used in this specification, drawings, and any appended claims, refer to structures that can be uncoupled from an adjoining structure with relative ease (i.e., non-destructively and without a complicated or time- consuming process) and that can also be readily reattached or coupled to the previously adjoining structure.

Directional and/or relational terms such as, but not limited to, left, right, nadir, apex, top, bottom, vertical, horizontal, back, front, lateral, proximal, and distal are relative to each other, are dependent on the specific orientation of an applicable element or article, are used accordingly to aid in the description of the various embodiments, and are not necessarily intended to be construed as limiting in this specification, drawings, and any appended claims.

As applicable, the terms "about" or "generally", as used herein unless otherwise indicated, means a margin of +- 20%. Also, as applicable, the term "substantially" as used herein unless otherwise indicated means a margin of +- 10%. It is to be appreciated that not all uses of the above terms are quantifiable such that the referenced ranges can be applied.

III. A Self-Contained, Portable, Countertop Water Purifier

This Section III is directed to a self-contained, portable, countertop water purifier device that can store and process/purify at least about 2.5 gallons of water at a time over a period of five to 10 minutes. Refer to Figures 1A-1H, 2A-2H, 3A-3F, and 4A-4B, which depict various form factors of the same basic device.

In an embodiment, the self-contained, portable, countertop water purifier device 1 is comprised of a first tank (or reservoir) 10 for accommodating tap water or other unpurified water, a second tank (or reservoir) 20 for accommodating purified water and a high- efficiency filter 90 disposed within the second reservoir 20, wherein the second reservoir 20 (also called the "upper reservoir" or "upper tank") is disposed directly above the first reservoir 10 (also called the "lower reservoir" or "lower tank"). In variations, the lower reservoir 10 is can be detached and removed from the lower housing 60 and bottom-support base 70 to that the lower reservoir 10 can be filled and/or replaced. In some embodiments, the lower removable reservoir 10 has an alignment member 105 disposed at the top of the lower reservoir 10 to help facilitate proper alignment when the lower reservoir 10 is slidably inserted into its housing 60, 70, such that the intake pipe 95 can align with the inserted lower reservoir 10, which has an internal intake pipe 75 oriented to allow the pump 100 to take a suction from the bottom of the lower reservoir 10. In many versions, the upper reservoir 20 has a detachably coupled and/or openable cap member 30 that allows a user easy access to the filter media 90 and for tank cleaning and/or filter replacement. In a typical application, the filter 90 is easily detached and removed by unscrewing/rotating it from its seating, with installation requiring the opposite process. In some embodiments, the lower reservoir 10 has a user handle/grip member 40.

In an alternative embodiment, the pump 100 assembly does not have a motor and is instead manually operated by a user (the manual-operation handle on the pump 100 is not shown). This embodiment would be useful for situations/environments where there may be no electricity available.

Similarly, in another one alternative embodiment, the pump-motor assembly 100 is replaced by a manually operated air pump (not shown), the lower reservoir 10 is adapted to hold a pressure of 30 psi +/- 10 psi, and a piped intake to the filter 90 is disposed at the bottom of the lower reservoir 10 with a manually operated in-line valve (not shown) such that a user can pump-up the pressure in the lower reservoir 10, then open the filter-intake valve (not shown) to force unfiltered water through the filter 90, which is then stored in the upper reservoir 20. This embodiment would be also useful for situations/environments where there may be no electricity available. In many typical embodiments, the lower reservoir 10 is filled with dirty/unpurified water, then the device/unit 1 is plugged 80 into an electrical power source and the internal pump 100 is energized/started such that it takes a suction from the lower reservoir 10 via piping 95 and forces the water through the high-efficiency filter 90. In many variations, the purified water flows though and to the top of the filter 90, running out at the top of the filter 90 and then down the sides of the filter 90 where it accumulates in the upper reservoir 20. A spigot member 50 (or similar device), which is disposed toward the bottom of the upper reservoir 20 in order to take full advantage of the force of gravity during draining, is then actuated by a user to obtain the purified water for use, with the ability to throttle the spigot's 50 outflow up or down. It should be noted that the location of the purified-water (upper) reservoir 20 above the unpurified-water (lower) reservoir 10 also makes the location of the spigot 50 more convenient for users to place a water-receiving container under the spigot 50. In other embodiments, the piping 95 is also equipped with a check valve (not shown) to prevent back flow of water from the upper reservoir 20 to the lower reservoir 10 when the pump 100 is not running.

In some embodiments, the water pump 100 is fixedly mounted in a separate space of the lower housing base 65 in order to help effectively block noise and vibration in the device 1 as a whole. Preferably, the water pump 100 is a food-grade water pump which can provide a sufficient pressure and flow rate for the water purifier; i.e., a higher water pressure is generated to allow the use of a high-efficiency filter 90 so as to filter out the presence of heavy metals in tap water and harmful impurities, microbes, etc. The resultant higher water flows through the filter 90 also shorten the time required to process unfiltered water to fill the upper reservoir 20. In contrast, many current-art solutions rely on gravity only to force water through a filter, which effectively prevents the use of high-end filters because of the insufficient water flow from gravity through such filters.

In many preferred embodiments, the cross-section of the lower reservoir 10 is equal to or greater than the cross-section of the upper reservoir 20, which aids in the stability of the device 1 as it sits on a surface, such as a kitchen countertop. In addition, by locating the clean-water reservoir 20 above the dirty -water reservoir 10, users can more-easily access the clean-water reservoir 20 for cleaning and to service/replace the filter 90. In many embodiments, the capacity of the lower reservoir 10 is deliberately designed to be at least 20% greater than the capacity of the upper reservoir 20 so that when the upper reservoir is filled to its predetermined limit, there will still be enough unpurified water remaining in the lower reservoir 10 to still provide stability to the device 1 as well as to ensure that the pump 100 still has liquid at its suction up until the point when the pump 100 is turned off by a user or, in comer variations, automatically turns off when a water-level limit is reached in the upper reservoir 20 and/or, in some embodiments, in the lower reservoir 10. Another benefit to using an oversized lower reservoir 10 for unpurified water is that the number of lower- reservoir 10 re-fillings needed is reduced.

In many embodiments, each of the upper and lower reservoirs 20, 10 has a capacity of 5-8 gal. If larger-capacity reservoirs are used, then the device 1 potentially becomes impractical to fit and use on a typical kitchen countertop. The design of the upper and lower reservoirs 20, 10 helps make the sizing and form factor of the overall device 1 more practical to for spacing on a typical kitchen countertop.

In many variations, the range of height of the device 1 is also very important, so that the device 1 can fit under most kitchen cabinets. In a typical application, the height of the device 1 is 18 inches or less, which also avoids the device 1 from being hit by opened kitchen-cabinet doors, even if the device 1 is not located under the cabinets.

However, in some cases, the height of the device 1 can be greater; e.g., 24 inches or more if the space below kitchen cabinetry is great-enough to facilitate the storage of the device 1 underneath. By using a compact design/form factor, the overall height required of the device 1 is significantly reduced in order to facilitate a more aesthetically pleasing indoor display.

In embodiments, the device 1 is equipped with a flow-rate sensor (not shown) in the piping 105 for monitoring the water flow rate through the filter 90 via the lower housing 60, which also helps detect when the filter 90 needs to be serviced or replaced due to the accumulation of impurities and other debris in the filter 90. Further, in embodiments, the flow-rate sensor is in electrical communication with a control chip and an alarm device for monitoring the flow rate of water, and the setpoints for such alarms is based on the type of filter used and thus the differential pressure that builds up as a filter 90 becomes overused/clogged; that is, the filter threshold. The alarm, which in variations can be an audio and/or visual LED alarm, is intended to remind the user to immediately replace the filter 90 to ensure the effectiveness of the improved water purifier device 1.

In many embodiments, the upper reservoir 20 is substantially comprised of transparent materials to allow a user to observe the purified water level in the upper reservoir 20 and the water flow through the filter 90, in variations through at least one perforation 110 in the filter 90. In variations, such a perforation 110 is disposed at the top of the filter 90 so that the outflow of the purified water has a fountain effect visually (assuming transparent materials used for the upper reservoir 20 housing), which can be pleasing to users. Similarly, in many embodiments, the lower reservoir is also substantially comprised of transparent materials to allow a user to observe the unpurified water level in the lower reservoir 10.

In some embodiments, the device 1 is provided with a water-intake valve (not shown) and connection (not shown) to the lower reservoir 10 for connection to an external water source, such as a hose that connects the device 1 to a household spigot. However, in contrast to a conventional water filter that is required to be connected to an external water-source pipe, the improved device 1 that relies only on its lower reservoir 10 for water to purify does not need to be connected with an external water pipe and can be moved to be conveniently placed indoors or outdoors without being limited by the position of such an external water pipe or source.

In an embodiment, the filter media 90 used in the device 1 is a finished nanomesh- and-carbon lock filter that meets the following minimum specifications:

• Finished Filter Dimensions: o Outside diameter: 3.85" o Inside diameter: 1.25" o Length: 5.00"

• Carbon Filter Element: o Outside diameter: 3.30" +/- 0.030" o Inside diameter: 2.20" +/- 0.030" o Length: 4.75" +/- 0.030" o Formula: Coconut shell carbon; NSF-grade materials o Pore Size: Submicron (0.5 < 1.0 micron)

• Filter Components: o Outer Wrap 1 : Nanomesh SP 160 o Outer Wrap 2: White Typar polypropylene filter paper o Netting: Clear polypropylene netting o Enclosure: End caps and casing spin-welded into an assembly

• Operating Pressure (Test): 30 psi +/- 10 psi

• Flow-Rate Range (Unrestricted): 0.50 - 0.75 gpm (minimum of 0.050 gpm)

• Estimated Test Capacity: o Chlorine: 10,000 gal. o Volatile organic compounds (VOCs): 480 gal. o Lead: 870 gal. o Arsenic: 900 gal. • Expected Performance: o NSF/ANSI 42: Chlorine, Taste, and Odor; NSF Particulate Class I o NSF/ANSI 53 : VOC, Lead, Mercury, and Arsenic o NSF/ANSI 401 : Emerging Contaminants o NSF P231 : Bacteria, Virus, and Cyst

Some existing over-the-counter filters can be used in the device 1. Generally, in most applications, a very high-end filter 90 is used, which in turn requires that the pump 100 (and its associated electric AC or DC powered motor) be rated to supply enough water pressure to allow adequate water flow through the filter 90 with effective filtration of unwanted impurities. In variations, a DC-powered motor is used and includes an internal rechargeable battery (not shown) that can power the DC motor when an external power source is not available. In most applications, to be effective for multiple filtration processes, the internal rechargeable battery should have an ampere-hour (A-H) capacity of at least 10 A-H, and the size and cost considerations probably make the practical ceiling on the battery capacity of around 50 A-H. Such a filter 90 is selected based on its ability to create purified water that meets or exceeds applicable government-regulatory standards for drinking water. The device 1 is designed to be able to accept water from almost any inferior water source; e.g., rivers, rain-water collections, secondary drinking water, etc.; and convert such water to highly purified water.

In some embodiments, the pump motor is rated between 6-36 VDC at 1.0-6.0 Amps DC, or 100-240 VAC at 1.0-10 Amps AC. In variations, the device 1 contains a rechargeable battery for operating a DC-powered pump motor.

In some example applications, the pump-and-motor assembly 100 used is a

SEAFLO® 21 Series DC Diaphragm Pump 12V/24 VDC, 4.0/2.0 A DC, 1.2-4.3 liters per minute (1pm), 17-80 psi, which is controlled by a pressure switch set to shut-off pump operations at an output pressure setpoint of 35 psi +/- 3 psi. In some of those applications, the pump 100 valve is substantially made from ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber, and the pump 100 diaphragm is substantially made from thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPV), such as Santoprene®. It should be noted that, generally speaking, in most applications, if the pump 100 is rated to provide an output pressure of less than 15 psi, then the overall device 1 would be ineffective to push through water through the high-efficiency filter 90 to produce enough clean, filtered water within a reasonable amount of time.

In embodiments, the device is designed to provide a filtered-water flow rate of 0.1 liter/min. to up to 50 liters/min, with a pump 100 output pressure rating of from 5 psi to 100 psi.

In many variations, the operation of the device 1, and in particular pump motor 100, is controlled by a controller module 115 (e.g. a printed circuit board [PCB]) (not shown) that provides various control functions, including monitoring reservoir levels and filter differential pressure in order to determine whether to allow the pump motor 100 to be turned- on or whether to automatically shut-off the pump motor 100, energize an audio and/or visual alarm for low-reservoir level, filter-changeout/maintenance required, etc. Figure 5 provides one embodiment of the basic control logic in the PCB 115 to operate the pump motor 100:

• Start Process. 120

• Ensure that clean tank 20 is empty. 125

• Ensure that dirty tank 10 is NOT empty (that is, adequately filled to a predetermined minimum level). 130

• Ensure that power supply 80 is connected. 135

• Turn-ON pump 100. 140

• Is pump 100 ON? 145

• If YES, then track Total Working Time (TWT). 150

• If NO, the END Process. 180

• Is TWT > 850? 155

• If YES, then RED LED alarm ON. 165

• If NO, then GREEN LED indicator ON. 160

• Reset TWT to ZERO? 170

• If YES, then TWT = 0, and GO TO Step 145. 175

• If NO, then GO TO Step 145. In embodiments, the aforementioned major components of the self-contained, portable, countertop water purifier device 1 are arranged to facilitate a relatively compact structure and appearance, which overcomes the inconvenience of the installing and using a traditional water purifier. The device 1 is sized and designed such that it can be placed in any upright position on a surface without installation. In addition, in most embodiments, the device 1 is designed such that it can be relatively easily disassembled for cleaning and maintenance, in order to avoid use after the breeding of microorganisms, especially within the lower reservoir 10 containing unpurified water.

IV. Alternative Embodiments and Other Variations

The various embodiments and variations thereof described herein, including the descriptions in any appended claims and/or illustrated in the accompanying Figures, are merely exemplary and are not meant to limit the scope of the inventive disclosure. It should be appreciated that numerous variations of the invention have been contemplated as would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of this disclosure.

Hence, those ordinarily skilled in the art will have no difficulty devising myriad obvious variations and improvements to the invention, all of which are intended to be encompassed within the scope of the Description, Figures, and Claims herein.

Claims

CLAIMS is claimed is:

A portable, self-contained water-purifier apparatus, comprising: a first reservoir, wherein: said first reservoir is intended to hold unpurified fresh water, and said first reservoir is adapted to be slidably removable from said water-purifier apparatus; a second reservoir, wherein: said second reservoir is intended to receive purified water, said second reservoir has a water-holding capacity that is less than said first reservoir, and said second reservoir is disposed above said first reservoir; a high-efficiency water filter, said water filter adapted to filter-out chlorine, NSF Particulate Class I, VOCs, lead, mercury, arsenic, bacteria, viruses, and cysts; and a pump and associated intake and effluent piping adapted to facilitate taking a suction from said first reservoir and providing at least 30 psi of pressure at the intake of said high-efficiency water filter in order to cause water flow through said water filter to deliver purified water to said second reservoir.

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said first reservoir is disposed within a lower housing and is slidably detachable from said lower housing to facilitate filling or replacement of said first reservoir.

The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said first reservoir has an alignment member disposed at the top of said first reservoir to help facilitate proper alignment when said first reservoir is slidably inserted into said lower housing such that said intake piping can align with said first reservoir.

The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said slidably detachable first reservoir has a user- handle or grip member disposed on its outer-front face.

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said second reservoir comprises a detachably coupled cap member that allows a user easy access to the internal cavity of said second reservoir to facilitate cleaning and/or filter replacement.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 or claim 5, wherein said second reservoir is substantially comprised of transparent materials to allow a user to observe the purified water level in said second reservoir.

7. The apparatus of any of claims 1-4, wherein said first reservoir is substantially

comprised of transparent materials to allow a user to observe the unpurified water level in said first reservoir.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an electric motor coupled to said pump, wherein said electric motor is selected from the group consisting of an AC-powered motors and DC-powered motors.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said electric motor is a DC-powered motor and the apparatus further comprises an internal battery for powering said DC motor when an external power source is not readily available.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said internal battery is rechargeable.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said internal battery has an ampere-hours rating of 10-100 A-H.

12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein said electric motor is rated to run on a supply voltage in the range of 6-36 VDC.

13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said electric motor is an AC-powered motor and is rated to run on a supply voltage in the range of 100-240 VAC.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said high-efficiency filter has its water intake

disposed at the bottom of said high-efficiency filter and has at least one outlet perforation disposed in the top of said high-efficiency filter such that the purified water flows out of the top of said high-efficiency filter and into said second reservoir.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said second reservoir further comprises a spigot member disposed at the lower half of said second reservoir to allow gravity draining of purified water from said second reservoir.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said piping associated with said pump further comprises a check valve to prevent the back flow of water from said second reservoir to said first reservoir.

17. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said pump and its coupled electric motor are

disposed in a separate dedicated space in said lower housing in order to help effectively block noise and vibration when the apparatus is running.

18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said pump is a food-grade water pump.

19. The apparatus of any of claims 8-13 and 17, wherein said pump and its coupled electric motor have a pumping capacity of 1.2-4.3 1pm.

20. The apparatus of any of claims 8-13 and 17, wherein said pump and its coupled electric motor have a power rating of 48-100 W.

21. The apparatus of any of claims 8-13 and 17, wherein said pump and its coupled electric motor are rated to provide an output water pressure of 17-80 psi.

22. The apparatus of any of claims 1-21, wherein said high-efficiency filter is a nanomesh- and-carbon lock filter.

23. The apparatus of any of claims 1-21, wherein said high-efficiency filter is rated to filter- out particulates as small as 0.5 microns in diameter.

24. The apparatus of any of claims 1-21, wherein said high-efficiency filter is rated to filter- out at least 99% of microbial contamination.

25. The apparatus of any of claims 1-21, wherein said high-efficiency filter is rated to

comply with comply with NSF/ANSI 42, NSF/ANSI 53, NSF/ANSI 401, and NSF P231.

26. The apparatus of any or claims 8-13 and 17-21, further comprising a flow-rate sensor in said piping with associated alarm circuitry, including a visual and/or audio alarm, in order to alert a user of a potentially clogged filter and/or pumping problem.

27. The apparatus of any of claims 1-26, wherein said first reservoir further comprises a connection point to an external water supply for filling said first reservoir with unpurified water.