WO2006021966A1 - Improvement in or relating to personal filter bottle - Google Patents

Abstract

Described herein is an improvement in or relating to personal filter bottle for filtering the water for drinking. The personal filter bottle includes a bottle body, a cap assembly attachable to the body and through which the liquid passes before being dispensed from the container, a filter assembly including a microporous structure, activated carbon block, hollow fiber filter cartridge and polyiodide resin cartridge capable of filtering particles in the liquid that are as small as about 0.01 microns before the liquid is dispensed from the dispenser, and an air vent assembly including the rubber seal and the breather disc which allows only the air to go inside the bottle and does not allow the water from bottle to come through it.

Description

IMPROVEMENT IN OR RELATING TO PERSONAL FILTER BOTTLE

Background of the Invention

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to improvements in or relating to personal filter bottle wherein the water is passed through filter having microporous structure, which holds the suspended impurities and micro-organisms and includes microporous filter with activated carbon in a bottle, a hollow fiber filter cartridge and Polyiodide resin cartridge.

2. Description of the Related Art

The quality of drinking water has been compromised in many parts of the world as the source of water pollution in our industrial age have increased. Both organic pollutants, such as bacteria and viruses, and inorganic pollutants, such as heavy metals, are of great concern. To make matters worse, increases in industrial output and population has resulted in increased water consumption. Consequently, potable water has become scarcer.

It is not surprising, then, that the volume of bottled water sold has increased as people become distrustful of public sources of water. However, even the purity of bottled water, such as spring water, has been questioned because the sources of such water have become compromised with industrial waste. For these reasons, methods and systems that can provide water that is cleaner and purer would be most welcome. Summary of the Invention

To solve the above-described . problems, it is an objective of the present invention to make the present invention more advantageous and technically sound than the conventional water filters and the defect has been removed and our present invention is personal bottle filter, which can provide clean, pure and safe water.

The improvement in personal filter bottle described herein includes what are commonly called "water bottles," though it should be understood that the term "bottle" can include any container from which a water can be dispensed for drinking.

An efficient way of cleaning the water is passing it through filter having microporous structure, which holds the suspended impurities and micro-organisms.

The present invention is supplied with filters that can remove impurities and micro-organisms. For this purpose, activated carbon can be used as filtering medium. Activated carbon can be used to eliminate undesirable odors and tastes, as well as many organic compounds, residual chlorine and potentially hazardous elements such as herbicides and pesticides. The activated carbon acts like a sponge attracting and retaining chemicals as the water passes through it and improves the aesthetics of water. The hollow fiber filter ultra filtration cartridge cuts off molecular impurities present in water down to 0.01 microns and the Polyiodide resin cartridge disinfects water on contact leaving the micro biological purity of water at its best. When a microporous filter is combined with activated carbon, a hollow fiber filter cartridge and Polyiodide resin cartridge, the resultant combination provides an effective filtering means for use in a dispenser of water for drinking. Thus combined filtration technology envolving micro filtration, adsorption, molecular cut off and contact disinfection gives rise to a miraculous change in water quality leaving pure and safe water for drinking.

The personal water bottle system can be divided into four parts. l.The Cap Assembly 2.The Filter Assembly 3. The Air Vent Assembly 4. The Bottle Body

The filter assembly includes a filter mesh and a microporous structure capable of filtering particles in the water that are as small as about 10 microns and 0.3 microns, respectively, before the water is dispensed from the container. The hollow fiber filter cartridge and Polyiodide resin cartridge further filter the particles in the water that are as small as about 0.01 micron. The water is filtered by the filter mesh before being filtered by the microporous structure. The filter assembly also includes a threaded neck that is screwable into the cap assembly, thereby allowing an old filter assembly to be replaced.

An improvement in or relating to personal filter bottle comprising a bottle body; a cap assembly attachable to the body and through which the water passes before being dispensed from the container and it further comprises a cup, a cap lock and a cap; a filter assembly including a microporous structure, an activated carbon block, a hollow fiber filter cartridge and a polyiodide resin cartridge capable of filtering particles in the water before the water is dispensed from the bottle and it further comprises the filter body, and the bottom of filter body ; and an air vent assembly including the rubber seal and the breather disc. Brief description of the Drawings

The above objective and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a bottle for dispensing filtered water for drinking, according to the teachings of the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Invention

Now, a filtration system for a personal filter bottle according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Referring to Figure 1, a bottle 01 is shown for dispensing filtered water. The personal filter bottle includes a bottle body 01, a cap assembly 05, 06, 04 a filter assembly 02, 07, 08, 09, 10, 03 and an air vent assembly 11, 12.

The bottle body 01 acts as a container for the water, and can be composed of an appropriate material such as a polymer material, which is flexible enough to allow persons of various strength to squeeze the bottle body 01 to force water out for drinking. The cap assembly 05, 06, 04 functions to cap a drinking spout of the bottle 01 to prevent contamination thereof and to prevent accidental leakage of the water there from. The filter assembly 02, 07, 08, 09, 10, 03 filters the water before the water is dispensed for drinking. The air vent assembly 11, 12 allows air pressure to equilibrate after water is squeezed out of the bottle 01, permitting a user to squeeze again shortly thereafter. l.THE CAP ASSEMBLY

It is further divided into following parts:

a) THE CUP (05): The cup gets snap locked on the cap of the bottle an does not allow undesirable surfaces rubbing and transferring unhygienic elements or dust on the cap lock 06, it also can be used as a container for drinking water by pouring water into it, especially to infants and to older. b) TBE CAP LOCK (06): This is press fitted on the bottle cap 04. Since this goes inside the mouth of the user, there are no rough edges. The cap lock 06 is designed such that when pressed, it shuts the nozzle of the cap and there is no gap for the water to come out. Thus while the cap-lock 06 is locked the water does not leak through the cap 04 during transportation. For consumption of water the cap lock 06 has to be pulled which creates a gap from which the water passes. The gap created is not very big so as to prevent high flow of water, which may choke the user. c) THE CAP (04): The threaded cap is placed on the bottle neck having threads, and is easily unscrewable so that the user can refill the bottle. The cap also having another female threading in the center where a filter assembly is mounted.

2 THE FILTER ASSEMBLY

It is further divided into following parts: a) THE FILTER BODY (02): This has a threaded neck, which gets threaded on the cap 04 directly or through resin filter assembly 09. It also is a skeleton for the filter assembly 07, 08, 09, 10, 03. An interlaced structure of inert polymer is inserted during the manufacturing. This acts as a first stage filter stopping large particles of suspended impurities thus increases the life of second stage filter; it also acts as a dampener for water pressure, distributor for even supply of water to the second stage filter apart from protecting the second stage filter from physical damages. b) THE ACTIVATED CARBON BLOCK (07) AND FILTER GASKET (10): This is a three dimension second stage filter and cylindrical in shape with microporous structure. The activated carbon block 07 is manufactured using selectively graded activated carbon and bonding material. The activated carbon block 07 is inert against attack by various chemicals because it is dry sintered using polyethylene as bonding material. The fine and controlled size of the material used and the wall thickness results in good filtration efficiency.

The activated carbon block 07 is most effective under low pressure and low volume. This attribute is used in the development of activated carbon block 07. The quantity of water required from bottle is quite low and pressure generated is also less thus the filtration efficiency is down to 0.3 microns. The water passing through the block has to pass through a torturous zigzag path and the water gets cleaned and purified simultaneously on account of adsorption. The block is inserted inside the filter body 02 sealed with gasket 10 on each side of the block and secured with help of bottom of filter body 03. c) THE HOLLOW FIBER FILTER CARTRIDGE (08): This hollow fiber membrane filter is cylindrical in shape fitted with disc at both the ends to hold the hollow fibers. This is capable of removing impurities down to 0.01 micron. Filtered water from the carbon block 07 comes in contact with hollow fiber membrane & establishes cross flow and ensures molecular cut off. On account of smaller pore size it retains all the molecular impurities, bacteria, virus, and also results in reduction of total organic carbon (T.O.C). The block of hollow fiber is protected by polymeric mesh which gives uniform passage of filtered water across. d) THE POLYIODIDE RESIN CARTRIDGE (09): This is the final filter containing resin protected by covers on both the sides. The cartridge is fabricated using 200 micron polymeric mesh holding polyiodide resin for contact disinfection. The cartridge is mounted over the main filter body 02 and its outlet is mounted under the main cap. The three stage filtered water from the main filter body comes in contact with polyiodide resin for final disinfection. The contained resin has the property of release of controlled iodine as per microbiological impurities present in water, thereby sterilizing water completely and render safe for dinking. e) THE BOTTOM OF FILTER BODY (03): This is threaded on the filter body 02. The bottom of filter body 03 has been designed to work as a seal for the air vent. An annular space is provided in this where the rubber seal 11 is inserted. There is a curvaceous surface and a vent hole on the other side of the annular space. Air passes through the vent hole. There is a place to fit breather disc 12 on the bottom of filter body 03. The cartridge surface works as a perfect sealing for the rubber seal 11 and the hole is designed to ensure that enough amount of air passes through the hole quickly to reduce the time delay in between two squeezes.

3 THE AIR VENT ASSEMBLY

It is further divided into following parts: a) THE RUBBER SEAL (11): This is a bullet shaped product of controlled hardness (65 share A) which goes in the place provided in bottom of filter body 03. The round surface of the seal is perfectly matched with the curvaceous surface given in the bottom of filter so with a little pressure it gets sealed and does not allow the water to pass. Since length of the seal is more than diameter of the place it does not invert inside. b) THE BREATHER DISC (12): This gets fitted on the bottom of the filter body 02. It has a vent with a one-Λvay valve to suck air from the nozzle of the cap after the squeeze to bring the bottle back to its original form. It also acts as a stopper for the rubber seal. c) WORKING OF AIR VENT. : During use the user applies pressure and squeezes the bottle. The water passes through the filter assembly 02, 07, 08, 03 and purified water comes out of nozzle of the cap 04. The water is consumed by the user.

As the user releases the pressure, the bottle tries to come back to its original shape. This creates a negative pressure in the bottle and the air from atmosphere gets sucked inside the bottle through the cap nozzle, replacing the volume of water consumed.

The air prefers to pass through a path of least resistance to make the bottle ready for the next squeeze early. Hence it passes through the air vent lifting the rubber seal 10 due to its pressure. The air vent acts as effective one way valve which allows only the air to go inside the bottle and does not allow the water from bottle to come through it.

4 THE BOTTLE BODY (01):

This is the container for the water. The volume of water it can hold is sufficient for a person for one session. The weight of the filled bottle is not uncomfortable for person to carry. The shape of the bottle is such that it can be held and squeezed by hand easily. The shape and polymer material used imparts enough elasticity, which allows the bottle to come back to its original shape, creating a negative pressure for the air vent to function.

While this invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. An improvement in or relating to personal filter bottle comprising a bottle body; a cap assembly attachable to the body and through which the water passes before being dispensed from the container and it further comprises a cup, a cap lock and a cap; a filter assembly including a microporous structure, an activated carbon block, a hollow fiber filter cartridge and a polyiodide resin cartridge capable of filtering particles in the water before the water is dispensed from the bottle and it further comprises the filter body, and the bottom of filter body ; and an air vent assembly including the rubber seal and the breather disc.

2. An improvement in or relating to personal filter bottle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the filter assembly includes a threaded neck that is screwable into the cap assembly or through resin filter assembly.

3. An improvement in or relating to personal filter bottle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the filter assembly has an interlaced structure of inert polymer inserted in it during the manufacturing which acts as a first stage filter stopping large particles of suspended impurities thus increasing the life of second stage filter, it also acts as a dampener for water pressure, distributor for even-supply of water to the second stage filter apart from protecting the second stage filter from physical damages

4. An improvement in or relating to personal filter bottle as claimed in claims I or 2, wherein the filter assembly further includes a filter mesh capable of filtering particles in the water that are as small as about 10 microns to 0.3 microns and the water is filtered by the filter mesh before being filtered by the microporous structure.

5. An improvement in or relating to personal filter bottle as claimed in claim 1 for holding a water for drinking wherein the filter assembly filters the water prior to being dispensed from

the bottle.

6. An improvement in or relating to personal filter bottle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the water is being filtered by a filter assembly including a microporous structure, the activated carbon block, the hollow fiber filter cartridge and the polyiodide resin cartridge in order.

7. An improvement in or relating to personal filter bottle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the air vent assembly allows air pressure to equilibrate after water is squeezed out of the bottle and the dimensions of the rubber seal are such that it does not invert inside the bottom of the filter body.

8. An improvement in or relating to personal filter bottle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the breather disc has a vent with a one-way valve to suck air from the nozzle of the cap after the squeeze to bring the bottle back to its original form and acts as a stopper for the rubber seal.

9. An improvement in or relating to personal filter bottle as claimed in claim 1, wherein filtered water from the carbon block comes in contact with hollow fiber membrane & establishes cross flow and ensures molecular cut off and the hollow fiber membrane removes impurities down to 0.01 micron.

10. An improvement in or relating to personal filter bottle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the final filter containing resin is protected by covers on both the sides and the resin filter cartridge is fabricated using 200 micron polymeric mesh holding polyiodide resin for contact disinfection.

11. An improvement in or relating to personal filter bottle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the resin filter cartridge is mounted over the main filter body and its outlet is mounted under the main cap and the three stage filtered water from the main filter body comes in contact with polyiodide resin for final disinfection.

12. An improvement in or relating to personal filter bottle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the resin of the resin filter cartridge has the property of release of controlled iodine as per microbiological impurities present in water, thereby sterilizing water completely and rendering it safe for dinking.

13. An improvement in or relating to personal filter bottle as claimed in any of the above claims substantially as described in the specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.