Portable, potable water recovery and dispensing apparatus

• US 5,669,221 A
• Filed: 04/08/1996
• Issued: 09/23/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Worldwide Water Incorporated (Clear Water Compliance LLC), Drought Masters Inc
• Original Assignee: Worldwide Water Incorporated (Clear Water Compliance LLC)
• Inventors: Forsberg, Francis C., LeBleu, Terry L.
• Primary Examiner(s): BENNETT, HENRY A
• Application Number:
  US08/629,305
• Time in Patent Office: 533 Days
• Field of Search: 62/272, 62/285, 62/288, 62/290, 62/291, 62/125, 62/126, 62/129, 62/150, 62/92
• US Class Current: 62/92
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 5/0072 with filtration
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/001 Processes for the treatment of water whereby the filtration technique is of importance C02F1/44 takes precedence; construction of filters in general B01D24/00 - B01D41/00
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/008 Control or steering systems not provided for elsewhere in subclass C02F
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/283 using coal, charred products, or inorganic mixtures containing them
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/32 with ultraviolet light
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/36 ultrasonic vibrations
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/78 with ozone C02F1/4672 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2201/009 Apparatus with independent power supply, e.g. solar cells, windpower, fuel cells for electrolysis apparatus C02F2201/46165
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2209/008 comprising telecommunication features, e.g. modems or antennas
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2209/02 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2209/40 Liquid flow rate
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2209/42 Liquid level
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 9/00 Multistage treatment of water, waste water or sewage
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 9/20 Portable or detachable small-scale multistage treatment devices, e.g. point of use or laboratory water purification systems
• CPC Class Codes: E03B 3/28 from humid air condensing of vapours in general B01D5/00; dehumidification of air for air-conditioning F24F3/14
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 20/00 Water conservation; Efficient water supply; Efficient water use
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 20/152 Water filtration
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 20/208 Off-grid powered water treatment
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 20/211 Solar-powered water purification
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 20/212 Solar-powered wastewater sewage treatment, e.g. spray evaporation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02W 10/37 : using solar energy

Abstract

A portable, potable-water generator for producing high-purity liquid water by condensation of dew from ambient air. The generator employs filtration subsystems to remove particulates and aerosols from the incoming air. An enclosed heat absorber cools the filtered air to its dew point and collects droplets of condensate into a closed system. The collected dew is further continually treated in a bacteriostat loop to destroy adventitious living organisms and to filter out undesirable and dangerous contaminants. All the subsystems are failsafe-interlocked to disable the generator immediately and prevent delivery of water if any one of them stops functioning within predetermined safe limits.

Claims

1. A portable, potable water recovery and dispensing system for use inside a home, office or, in an emergency situation, unprotected outside a building, comprising:

a. a wheeled, finished, furniture-type housing enclosure having four vertical side panels with handling grips on at least two of said panels, a top panel and a bottom panel, said housing provided with tightly-sealed seams between said panels and insect-preventive openings for all hinged or lift-out service-access sub-panels, through-wall connections and pass-through openings, including openings for mechanical controls, tubes, valves, electronic cables, power cables and air-transfer ports,

b. edge-sealed inlet and exhaust air-transfer ports of area in the range 0.1 to 0.5 m2 covered with insect-resistant screens,

c. ducted particle-generating means sealingly connected downstream of said inlet air-transfer port provided with at least one of;

(a) electrodes for generating charged particles and ions or (b) one or more radioisotope sources for emitting charged particles, said particle-generating means sealingly connected to said air inlet port,

c. filtration means adapted to remove and trap particulates of diameter larger than 1-10 micrometers dispersed in ambient air, said particle-generating means sealingly connected upstream of said filtration means,

d. said exhaust air transfer port adapted to mount an optional charged-particle generator inside said housing whereby a physiologically-safe level of charged particles and ions is added to the air being discharged,

f. internal, ducted, electric, rotary air-circulation means of controllable, variable flow volume in the range 1-10 m3/min of ambient air sealingly connected downstream of said filtration means,

g. an enclosed cooling means, heat absorber-1, sealingly connected downstream to said exhaust port and upstream to said air-circulation means, containing a plurality of cooled, spaced-apart, extended-area, dew-forming surfaces sealingly connected to receive particle-free air from said air-circulation means adapted to cool the boundary-lay air adjacent to said dew-forming surfaces to a temperature at least 1-10 deg. C. below the equilibrium dewpoint of the inlet air stream, thereby forming liquid-water on said dew-forming surfaces, said surfaces being formed and positioned for gravity flow of said liquid water into a removably-attached, enclosed dripoff collection vessel,

h. enclosed fluid-reservoir means of volume in the range 1-10 liters, sealingly connected to said dripoff collection vessel of said heat absorber-1, said reservoir being formed using welding techniques and materials appropriate for storage vessels for high-purity drinking water and fitted with a outlet connection whereby at least 90% of the water held therein can be pumped out,

i. bacteriostat loop means sealingly connected to said fluid reservoir and fitted with a closed-loop, recirculation channel and pump whereby water in said reservoir is pumped at a predetermined flow rate through an activated-carbon porous filter-absorber connected in series with a UV treatment zone where it is continually exposed to radiation of sufficient energy and appropriate wavelength to kill adventitious bacteria and viruses, and

j. pressurized delivery channel sealingly connected to said closed-loop channel and extending through one of said vertical panels to an external dispensing valve whereby opening said external dispensing valve by a user allows delivery of a controlled amount of purified water from said reservoir,

wherein said enclosure and all subsystems are interconnected with a networked array of failsafe sensors and alarms which continually verifies integrity, function and operation of each component within predetermined pressure, temperature, and flow-rate control limits, and if excessive deviations are measured, the entire generator is shut down and no water can be dispensed.

2. The water-recovery system of claim 1 provided with:

an additional means located within said enclosure and connected to said recirculation channel for providing, holding and dispensing chilled, purified water at a predetermined temperature range of 5-15 deg. C. to a separate, cold-water spigot valve and

an additional enclosed holder-dispenser, mounted external to said enclosure, for disposable, cold-fluid drinking cups.

3. The water-recovery system of claim 2 provided with:

additional means located within said enclosure and connected to said recirculation channel for providing, holding and dispensing heated, purified water at a predetermined temperature of 60-80 deg. C. to a separate hot-water spigot valve and an additional enclosed holder-dispenser, mounted external to said enclosure, for disposable, hot-fluid drinking cups.

4. The water-recovery system of claim 3, wherein:

(a) said heat absorber-1 includes a closed-system compression-refrigeration unit filled with an EPA-compliant refrigerant, said unit also being fitted with an upstream, electric-resistance air-heater, which is automatically regulated by thermal sensors located in the air downstream of heat absorber-1, to prevent formation of ice on extended cooling surfaces of said heat absorber-1,

(b) said heat absorber-1 is adapted to cool a flowing stream of filtered air to at least a temperature below its dew point using a temperature-controlled flow of said boiling refrigerant in one or more closed channels thermally connected to an array of extended-surface elements located in said air stream,

(c) said heat absorber-1 is maintained in an ice-free state below dew point temperature of said air stream by automatic, controlled heating of incoming air using said upstream electric-resistance air-heater,

(d) said additional means of providing and holding cooled water is a temperature-controlled, auxiliary evaporator of said closed-system, compression-refrigeration unit located in thermal contact with the bottom surface of a thermally-insulated, closed reservoir vessel also fitted with a horizontally-oriented, fluid-convection-inhibiting, thermal-insulating, separator baffle, located vertically above said reservoir bottom surface, adapted to trap cold water below said baffle,

(e) said additional means of providing and holding heated water is a separate reservoir fitted with thermostatically-controlled electric-resistance heating elements in thermal contact with said reservoir walls and enclosed in an efficient thermal-insulating shell, and

(f) said dispensing valves for ambient, hot and cold water are located at a height of 0.8 to 1.6 m above the base plane upon which said wheeled enclosure is situated.

5. A process for preparing and dispensing EPA-compliant primary drinking water by condensation of moisture from ambient air carried out within a closed, wheeled housing comprising the steps of:

a. removing particulate contaminants from ambient air by drawing a flowing stream through an enclosed channel fitted with electrostatic particle separators and particle filters,

b. cooling the stream of particle-free air from step a. by closed-system, forced convection across a plurality of chemically-inert, dew-forming surfaces in a heat absorber to at least 3 deg. C. below its equilibrium dew point temperature,

c. allowing liquid water formed on said cooled, dew-forming surfaces to flow under gravitational forces to a predetermined, enclosed dew-dripoff collection zone,

d. collecting said dripoff liquid water into an enclosed receptacle,

e. continually circulating said collected liquid water through an enclosed bacteriostat treatment loop wherein any extant microorganisms are killed and any absorbable dissolved or dispersed contaminants are removed by activated-carbon filtration, and

f. dispensing water to an external location from a branch line connected to said treatment loop by manual operation of a remote dispensing valve,

wherein all said process steps (a)-(f) are accomplished under continuous monitoring by an array of sensors interconnected to a failsafe, control system adapted to disable water dispensing should the integrity of said housing be breached or the regulation of each of said steps fall outside predetermined control limits for temperature and flow rate,

wherein all said steps (a)-(f) are accomplished by electrically-powered subsystems mounted within an upright, wheeled enclosure, all seams and openings of said enclosure being fitted with barriers and seals to repel and prevent entry of insects and airborne contaminants,

wherein said remote dispensing valve is external to said enclosure and located at a height of 0.8 to 1.6 m above the base plane upon which said wheeled enclosure is situated, and

whereby impurities detectable in said dispensed water are below levels allowed by EPA for primary drinking water.

6. The process for preparing and dispensing EPA-compliant primary drinking water of claim 5, further comprising two additional steps following step (f):

(g) cooling, holding and dispensing of chilled water, in the temperature range of 5-15 C., to an external location, and

(h) heating, holding and dispensing of heated water, in the temperature range of 60-80 C., to an external location.