Eastman-kodak Company

Krishna S Menon

Evan A Edwards

Peter J Harissis

Rodger W Beck

Michael J Witham

Stephen J Laird

A fluid treatment device is described which includes a cylindrical housing with fluid inlet and outlet means at or adjacent opposite ends. Particulate material for treating fluid flowed through the device, is disposed within the housing, between the inlet and outlet means. A helical baffle is disposed within the housing in the particulate material. The baffle extends axially along the housing and the free edges of its fins are in contact with the housing. The baffle serves to impose a helical path on fluid flowing through the device so that, when the device is mounted with its axis horizontal and with a volume of particulate material less than the volume of the space within the housing, fluid flows through the particulate material most of the time and not entirely along the void as would be the case if the baffle were not present.

Baffled particulate material housing

A reverse osmosis water purification system has a feed water line and outlets for reject and product water. Instead of wasting the reject water by allowing it to flow to a drain, the reject water is returned to the water feed line downstream of the reverse osmosis system so that is can be used for other purposes. A section of the water feed line has a flow restrictor which estabishes a dynamic pressure drop. Feed water for the reverse osmosis system is taken off the feed line upstream of the restrictor and reject water is returned downstream of the restrictor, thereby reducing the water wastage due to the reverse osmosis process.

Reverse osmosis water purification systems

A three element reverse osmosis filter cartridge assembly has a pre-filter section for solid particles, a reverse osmosis membrane filter section which produces product water and waste water from feed water circulated thereto via the pre-filter section, and a post-filter section for filtering the product water. These sections are disposed in coaxial, concentric relationship. The pre-filter section forms a replaceable outside sheath which is slideable onto and off the membrane section. The post-filter section is a tubular body containing carbon or other particles which is removably disposed in a central opening inside the membrane section. The membrane section has a support ring defining one end of the cartridge assembly which is disposed in sealing relationship with a ring which holds filter media layers of the pre-filter section. The pre-filter section has another ring at the end thereof opposite to said first ring and defines the opposite end of said pre-filter section. The cartridge assembly is replaceably disposed in a tubular housing having an end plate at one end thereof and a removable end cap at the opposite end thereof. The end plate has openings or ports for communicating feed water into said pre-filter section and for the out feed of waste water and product water from said membrane section and post-filter section, respectively. The cartridge assembly may be removed as an integral unit from the tubular housing when the end cap is removed, and the three sections thereof are each replaceable independently so that either an entire cartridge unit or the cartridge unit with a fresh pre-filter section, a fresh post-filter section or a fresh membrane section can be replaced in the housing.

Reverse osmosis filter cartridge assembly

A reverse osmosis water purification system produces product water in response to pressurized feed water from a water supply line. The unit also produces waste or drain water. The purified product water is supplied to a reservoir wherein the pressure of the water increases when the reservoir becomes filled or when waste water is used to pressurized the product water and enable it to be withdrawn at a tap or faucet. The product water is carbonated within the product water reservoir with pressurized carbon dioxide gas supplied to the reservoir at a pressure sufficient for the gas to dissolve in the product water via a valve responsive to the pressure of the product water in the reservoir which is normally closed and opens only when the product water is under pressure sufficient to dissolve the gas; this pressure occurring when the reservoir is full in accordance with one embodiment of the invention or when the reservoir pressure is increased when a regulating valve supplies pressurized waste water from the reverse osmosis unit to the reservoir to pressurize the product water therein, in accordance with another embodiment of the invention.

Growing community of inventors

Liverpool, NY, United States of America

Krishna S Menon