Point-of-use water treatment system

Abstract

The present invention is directed to a point-of-use water treatment system (WTS) unit ( ) for filtering and treating contaminants in water. WTS unit ( ) may include a first primary coil ( ) located in a base unit ( ) which inductively power a secondary treatment device such as a UV lamp assembly ( ). Secondary treatment device ( ) may be a lamp assembly ( ) which includes a condensing element ( ) to condense mercury in a bulb in the arc path between filaments ( ). Maintaining the condensed mercury between filaments ( ) serves to reduce the time needed for lamp assembly ( ) to produce light emissions of a predetermined intensity upon subsequent energization as compared to allowing the mercury to condense outside the arc path. A reflector assembly ( ) may be used in lamp assembly ( ) to focus radiation upon conduits ( ) carrying water therethrough and away from returning to a bulb assembly ( ) from which the radiation was originally emitted. An outer enclosure or housing ( ) surrounds the bulb and reflector assemblies ( ) such that lamp assembly ( ) becomes a generally closed pressure vessel. Also, a light pipe ( ) impregnated with a florescent dye may be used to convert UV light into visible light for ease of monitoring the light output intensity of lamp assembly ( ). Light pipe ( ) also serves as a filter to primarily emit light of a particular wavelength (green) while significantly inhibiting light transmission through light pipe ( ) of other wavelengths.