A water treatment cartridge and spout units comprising it

TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD

The disclosure concerns a water treatment cartridge for fitting into a pressurized water supply line and a water spout unit comprising such cartridges.

BACKGROUND

Municipal water often varies in quality in different areas, often depending on the type of water source (e.g. well water, lake water, river water, desalinated water, recycled water, etc.). Often such water not only differ in quality, but also in their taste and smell.

Thus, it is often desired to treat municipal water at the user's end point in order to modify their taste or quality, add various nutrients and flavoring, as well as remove various contaminants from water.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure provides a water treatment cartridge that contains one or more water treatment substances, and is configured for fitting into a pressurized water supply line, e.g. into a municipal pressurized water supply system or the pressurized water system of a house or a building. Once fitted into the water supply line, source water flowing through the cartridge undergo one or more desired water treatment processes (to be described below), such that treated water are dispensed at the user's end.

One of the unique features of the cartridge of this disclosure is a tortuous water flow path that is formed within the cartridge, such that water to be treated is directed to tortuously flow within the cartridge, in a manner to be described in details below, thereby increasing the contact time between the water and water treatment substances that are disposed along the flow path. Such an arrangement provides for prolonged water treatment time within the cartridge, while allowing maintaining compact dimensions of the cartridge.

Thus, in one of its aspects, the disclosure provides water treatment cartridge for fitting into a pressurized water supply line between a pressurized water source and a water dispensing device, such as a water dispenser, a tap or a spout. The water treatment cartridge comprises a cartridge body having a pressurized water inlet linkable to the pressurized water source, a treated water outlet linkable to the water dispensing device, and a tortuous water flow path that is defined between the inlet and the outlet. One or more water treatment substances are disposed within the path.

The term tortuous flow path means to denote any flow path that is curved or convoluted. The tortuous flow path may be spiral, curvilinear, sinusoidal, randomly curved, etc.

Typically, the tortuous flow path is defined within a water treatment space that is formed within the cartridge body, and, by some embodiments, the water treatment space comprises a flow-directing arrangement for defining and forming the tortuous flow path between the pressurized water inlet and the treated water outlet.

The water treatment space is typically at least partially filled with said one or more water treatment substances, such that water entering the water treatment space of the cartridge body through the pressurized water inlet are diverted by the flow-directing arrangement to form the tortuous flow path through the water treatment substance(s) on their way to the treated water outlet.

By one embodiment, the tortuous flow path is a spiral flow path. This embodiment will be referred to herein as the "spiral embodiment" .

In the spiral embodiment, the flow-directing arrangement may comprise a longitudinal shaft, that extends within the treatment space along a longitudinal axis of the cartridge body, and at least one fin that arranged spirally along at least a portion of the shaft, and perpendicularly extending between a face of the shaft and walls of the cartridge body. In this arrangement, a continuous spiral flow path is formed about the shaft, such that water spiral about the shaft and advance both axially and radially through the treatment space. In this manner a spiral, or a corkscrew-like flow path is formed within the treatment space.

The flow-directing arrangement may comprise a single fin, arranged spirally along at least a portion of the shaft. At times, the fin is arranged spirally along the entire length of the shaft. However, in some embodiments, more than one fin can be utilized. For example, two or more fins can be arranged along the shaft, each arranged along a portion of the shaft's length. In another arrangement, two or more fins can be arranged along at least a portion of the shaft's length, such that the fins may be off-set one another along the length of the shaft to at least partially overlap one another.

The at least one fin may be integrally formed with the shaft; however it is also contemplated that the fin may be a distinct structural element that is held in position by various means or even by the static pressure applied by the water treatment substance(s) residing in the water treatment space.

By another embodiment, the tortuous flow path is a curvilinear flow path. This embodiment will be referred to herein as the " curvilinear embodiment” .

In the curvilinear embodiment, the flow-directing arrangement typically comprises a plurality of divider walls that are disposed in the water treatment space. The divider walls divide the treatment space into a plurality of treatment compartments, that are circumferentially arranged about a conduit extending along a longitudinal axis of the cartridge body. The plurality of treatment compartments are linked to one another in serial-manner, such that a serial fluid communication is formed between the compartments. A first compartment in said plurality of treatment compartments is in liquid communication with the pressurized water inlet and a last of said plurality of treatment compartments is in liquid communication with the treated water outlet via said conduit. Thus, the tortuous flow path from the pressurized water inlet to the treated water outlet is formed when the water flows from one compartment to the next in a serial manner, as will be described below.

The circumferential arrangement of the compartments refers to an arrangement in which the compartments are located one adjacent the other, and serially arranged along a circumference of the cartridge body. For example, when the cartridge body has a circular cross-section, the compartments are arranged about the longitudinal axis of the cartridge body such that each compartment occupies a portion of a sector of an annular ring defined between the circumference of the circle and the circumference of the conduit. As a person of the art may appreciate, the cross section of the cartridge body may have a shape other than a circle, e.g. oval, triangular, rectangular, etc.

The compartments may be arranged in series along one or more such annular rings, the rings being concentrically defined between the circumference of the cartridge body and the circumference of the conduit. In other words, the compartments may be arranged, such that each ring contains at least 2 compartments (for example, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or even more such compartments are arranged to form together an annular ring).

The conduit may be constituted by a generally cylindrical hollow axial tube, by an axial bore formed along the length of the container body, or even by an axial bore formed in an axial block of solid treatment medium ( e.g . a porous carbon block) that may be located at the center of the treatment space and extending along the longitudinal axis of the cartridge. The conduit typically extends between a conduit inlet, being in liquid communication with an outlet of the last compartment in the series of compartments, and a conduit outlet that is in liquid communication with the treated water outlet of the cartridge.

Each compartment in said plurality of compartments may be formed (or defined) between two or more divider walls of said plurality of walls. Two adjacent compartments may typically share a common divider wall that separates between the adjacent compartments.

By one example, a first-in-line compartment in the plurality of treatment compartments may be linked to a next-in-line compartment in the plurality of treatment compartments through a bottom passage linking the bottoms of said first-in-line and said next- in-line compartments. Alternatively, a first- in-line compartment in the plurality of treatment compartments may be linked to a next-in-line compartment in the plurality of treatment compartments through a top passage linking the tops of said first- in-line and said next- in-line compartments. By such an arrangement, the general direction of liquid flow in the first-in-line compartment is opposite to the general direction of liquid flow in the next- in-line compartment.

The terms first-in-line and next-in-line mean to denote serial locations of the compartments along the flow path. When referring to a serial arrangement of compartments, a first-in-line compartment is a compartment into which liquid flows, and a next-in-line compartment is a compartment into which liquid enters after flowing out of the first-in-line compartment. Thus, when liquid flows between of compartments which are arranged one adjacent the other, water flows from a first-in-line compartment to the next-in-line compartment, which in turns then becomes a first-in-line compartment with respect to the subsequent adjacent compartment in the series. By one embodiment, the bottom and/or top passages may be constituted by openings ( e.g . a through-hole, one or more perforations, a mesh element, etc.) defined in a divider wall separating between said first-in-line and said next-in-line compartments, thus forming a liquid communication between the first-in-line and the next-in-line compartments. By another embodiment, the bottom and top passages may be constituted by a space defined between a bottom wall of the treatment space and a bottom edge of the divider wall or between a top wall of the treatment space and a top edge of the divider wall, respectively.

Each compartment is typically at least partially filled with the one or more water treatment substances. The water treatment substances in different compartments may be the same or different.

As noted above, in both the spiral and the curvilinear embodiments, one or more water treatment substances are disposed in the flow path, such that water fed from the pressurized water source flow through the water treatment substance(s). The tortuous flow path increases the contact time between the water and the treatment substance(s), thereby allowing an efficient treatment of the water. The water treatment substance typically has one or more desired functions, for example, removal of a certain component from the water, disinfection, addition of a certain component to the water, etc. Components to remove may, for example, be particulate matter, organic substances (particularly organic contaminants), heavy metals, arsenic, certain salts, calcium, and others. Disinfection may comprise removal of bacteria or viruses. Adding components to the water may comprise adding substances of nutritional value, or may be adding a disinfectant such as bromine and others.

Thus, in some embodiments, the one or more water treatment substances may be selected from a water filtering substance, a contaminants absorbing substance, a disinfectant, an antimicrobial substance, a food or nutritional supplement, a flavor releasing substance, a flavor-masking substance, an odor-releasing substance, an odor- masking substance and any mixture or combination thereof. It is to be understood that the term substance encompasses a single-component substance (e.g. a pure or neat material) or to a mixture or composition of components. The substance may be in any suitable form, e.g. a block, a porous block, flakes, particles, granules, shavings, multi layer particles, powder, pellets, capsules, resin, etc. When two or more water treatment substances are utilized in the cartridge, the substances may be disposed in a desired sequence, e.g. consecutively arranged along the flow path, or in any arrangement that causes a water volume to be treated consecutively by the substances (i.e. one substance at a time) in a desired sequence of treatment when a given water volume flows along the flow path. Alternatively, the substances may be provided in a mixture form, such that a water volume is treated by various substances at the same time.

The choice of treatment functions to be included may be based on the specific properties and quality of the water to be treated, on the basis of intended properties of the treated water, based on regulatory requirements and many others. As will be appreciated the cartridge provided herein is not limited to a certain combination of water treatment substances.

The cartridge can be configured for re-filling or replacing the water treatment substances housed therein. For example, the cartridge may have a closable opening formed in the cartridge body that permits the use to empty the spent water treatment substance and re-fill the cartridge with fresh or different substance(s). In another arrangement, the cartridge body may be constituted by at least two shell members detachably fitted with one another to form the cartridge body, such that a user can separate the shell members in order to have access to the cartridge's interior space.

The cartridge may be fixedly (i.e. permanently) linked to one or both of the pressurized water source and the treated water device. In another arrangement, the cartridge may be detachably linkable to one or both of the pressurized water source and the treated water device, such that a user can detach the cartridge and remove it from the water supply line, e.g. for replacing the cartridge, or replacing and/or re-filling the water treatment medium within the cartridge. Such detachable link may be in any suitable form known per se, for example by a screw-fitting, snap-fitting, bayonet coupling, etc.

In another arrangement, the cartridge is provided with a water spout that functions as a treated water dispensing device, similar to a standard house-hold spout, and is linkable as an add-on unit to a pressurized water supply line. Thus, in another aspect, this disclosure provides a water spout unit for fitting onto a water outlet of a pressurized water supply line, that comprises a water treatment cartridge as described herein and a treated water spout linked to the treated water outlet. The spout may be integrally formed with the cartridge, such that the unit is provided as an add-on device to be assembled onto a pressurized water line, e.g. replacing the standard house-hold water spout. In other arrangements, the spout is detachably attachable to the cartridge.

Another aspect provides a water treatment cartridge for fitting into a pressurized water supply line between a pressurized water source and a water dispensing device, comprising a cartridge body with a pressurized water inlet linkable to the pressurized water source, a treated water outlet linkable to the water dispensing device, and a tortuous water flow path defined between said inlet and said outlet. The cartridge body is configured for accommodating one or more water treatment substances to be disposed within said path, to permit the user to fill, re-fill or replace the cartridge body with said water treatment substance(s).

Further, there is provided a kit comprising a cartridge as described herein and one or more water treatment substances.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to better understand the subject matter that is disclosed herein and to exemplify how it may be carried out in practice, embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figs. 1A-1C are schematic representations of an exemplary cartridge according to an embodiment of this disclosure in a side view (Fig. 1A), a longitudinal cross- section (Fig. 1B), and a longitudinal cross-section showing a spiral flow path of the water through the cartridge (Fig. 1C).

Figs. 2A-2B are schematic representations of an exemplary spout unit according to an embodiment of this disclosure in a side view (Fig. 2A) and a longitudinal cross- section (Fig. 2B).

Fig. 3 is an schematic illustration of a spout unit according to another embodiment of this disclosure in an exploded view.

Figs. 4A-4B are schematic perspective views of a spout unit (Fig. 4 A) and a cartridge (4B) according to another embodiment of this disclosure. Figs. 5A-5E are perspective views of cross-sections through the cartridge of Fig. 4B along lines A- A, B-B, C-C, D-D and E-E, respectively.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

In the following description the invention will be illustrated with some details in reference to specific embodiments of a cartridge and a spout unit that illustrates the features of this disclosure. This illustration is exemplary and non-limiting of the disclosure in its full scope as described.

In the following for sake of convenience the exemplified cartridge will be described in reference to an upward-downward orientation. Direction towards the bottom of the figure will be regarded as“downward” and direction towards the top of the figure will be regarded as “upward”. This, as may be appreciated, does not necessarily have any functional significance and in actual use the cartridge may have a different orientation, e.g. it may be reversed, laterally rotated, etc.

Turning first to Figs. 1A-1B, shown is a cartridge 100, having a cartridge body 102, with a pressurized water inlet 104 linkable, e.g. via threaded member 106, to a pressurized water source (not shown), such as a pressurized water supply line, a pressurized water container or tank, etc. The cartridge body has also a treated water outlet 108, linkable to a water dispensing device (not shown), e.g. via threaded member 110. The water dispensing device may be any device known per se, for example a water dispenser, a spout, a tap, a nozzle, a shower head, etc. In the exemplified embodiment, a longitudinal axis 112 is defined between inlet 104 and outlet 108.

Formed within cartridge body 102 is a water treatment space 114, in which a spiral flow path is defined (best seen in Fig. 1C). In the exemplified spiral embodiment, a spiral flow path is defined and formed by a flow -directing arrangement 116. Arrangement 116 has a longitudinal shaft 118 extending longitudinally within the treatment space, about which a fin 120 is spirally arranged. Fin 120 has a helical structure, such that it is spirally arranged along shaft 118, i.e. the fin being connected to the shaft such that its connection location 122 to the shaft traces a helical or screw-like line along the surface of the shaft. Fin 120 extends perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 112, from its connection location 122 on the surface of the shaft to the inner face 124 of the cartridge body 102. In the exemplified embodiment of Figs. 1A-1C, fin 120 is arranged about the entire length of shaft 118. However, as also noted above, it is also contemplated that the fin be arranged about a portion of the shaft's length, or more than one fin be arranged along the shaft, e.g. spaced apart along the longitudinal axis or at least about partially overlapping segments of the shaft.

The water treatment space 114 may be a priori filled, or can be filled and/or re filled by the user with one or more water treatment substances 126 (as schematically shown in Fig. 1C). As shown in Fig. 1C, pressurized water are being fed into the cartridge through inlet 104. As fin 120 extends from the surface of shaft 118 to face 124 of the cartridge body, pressurized water contacting the fin are forced to flow in a spiral flow path along the spiral-like space formed by the arrangement of the fin within the treatment space, as generally represented by arrow 128 towards the outlet 108. Such a spiral flow increases the residence time and/or length of path of the water through the cartridge, thus increasing the contact time between the water and the water treatment substance(s) within the cartridge. This arrangement allows obtaining efficient water treatment, while maintaining a compact cartridge volume and overall size.

Seen in Figs. 2A-2B is a water spout unit 1000 according to an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure. For ease of reference, functional elements similar to those described in connection with the cartridge of Figs. 1A-1C were given like reference numbers, shifted by 1000. For example cartridge body 1102 in Figs. 2A-2B is similar in function and structure to cartridge body 102 in Figs. 1A-1C and the reader is referred to the description of Figs. 1A-1C for complete description.

In spout unit 1000, cartridge body 1102 includes a pressurized water inlet 1104, detachably linkable to a pressurized water source (not shown) through threaded member 1106. Treated water outlet 1108 is in flow-communication and linked to spout member 1200, that functions as a water dispensing device. Once pressurized water is introduced into the cartridge, they flow in a spiral path through the cartridge, as described in connection with Figs. 1A-1C, and then out of spout member 1200 for user consumption. Such a spout unit can be fitted onto house-hold water supply lines at the point of utilization, e.g. as a kitchen or bathroom tap.

As noted above, the cartridge may be configured to permit a user to fill, replace or re-fill the water treatment space with water treatment substances. For example, as seen in Fig. 3, spout unit 2000 comprises a cartridge having a cartridge body constituted by two shell members 2302 and 2304, that together form the cartridge body. Shell members 2302 and 2304 are detachably fitted one with the other, such that the user can access the water treatment space in order to fill, replace or re-fill it with water treatment substance(s) when needed or desired.

An example of a cartridge according to the curvilinear embodiment of the present disclosure is shown in Figs. 4A-5E.

Seen in Fig. 4A is a water spout unit 3000, comprising a cartridge 200, in flow- communication and linked to spout member 3200 that functions as a water dispensing device. The cartridge is fitted onto a tap 3300 that is fed pressurized water from a water supply line.

Cartridge 200, seen in isolation in Fig. 4B, has a cartridge body 202, with a pressurized water inlet 204 linkable to a pressurized water source, and a treated water outlet 208, linkable to a water dispensing device (not shown). A longitudinal axis 212 is defined between inlet 204 and outlet 208.

In the exemplified curvilinear embodiment, water treatment space 214 is divided into a plurality of compartments, collectively designated 215, by a plurality of divider walls 217 that are disposed within the treatment space, as seen in Figs. 5A-5E. As can best be seen in Fig. 5B, shown is a bottom section 211 of the cartridge (sectioned along line B-B in Fig. 4B). The bottom section 211 comprises a bottom wall 221, in which the pressurized water inlet 206 is defined. Some of the divider walls 217 extend upwardly from the bottom wall 221 (as shown in Fig. 5B), while other divider walls 219 (seen in Fig. 5C) can extend downwardly from an upper wall (not shown) of the cartridge body. As seen in Figs. 5A-5E, the compartments defined between the divider walls are typically axially elongated and are at least partially filled by water treatment media (not shown for sake of clarity of these figures).

As can be seen, the compartments are circumferentially arranged about a conduit 223 that extends along the longitudinal axis 212 of the cartridge body, and the compartments 215 are arranged in serial fluid communication one with the other. A first of the compartments (marked "1" in Fig. 5B) is in liquid communication with the pressurized water inlet 206, while the last compartments (in this example, the compartment marked "12" in Fig. 5B) is in liquid communication with the treated water outlet 208 through conduit 223. It is noted that in this specific example 12 compartments are shown; however it is to be understood that a smaller or larger number of compartments may be used, e.g. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 or even more. Further, in the specific example, the compartments are serially arranged along two concentric annular rings; it is to be understood that the cartridge can comprise only one such annular ring, or more than two annular rings. Thus, in this specific example, water flows through the cartridge, passing serially between the compartments - starting at compartment "1" and ending at compartment "12" after passing through all of the compartments in serial sequence in a manner to be described below.

In the series of compartments, the water flows from a first-in-line compartment to a next-in-line compartment. For example, when the first-in-line compartment is compartment "1", the next-in-line compartment will be compartment "2". When the water flows into compartment "2", it, in turn, becomes a first-in-line compartment, while the next-in-line compartment is then compartment "3", and so-forth.

Each first-in-line compartment may be linked to a next-in-line compartment through one of (i) a bottom passage linking the bottoms of said first-in-line and said next-in-line compartments, or (ii) a top passage linking the tops of said first-in-line and said next-in-line compartments, such that the direction of liquid flow in the first-in-line compartment is opposite to the direction of liquid flow in the next-in-line compartment.

The bottom and/or top passages may be constituted by openings defined through the divider wall separating between the first-in-line and the next- in-line compartments. Alternatively, the bottom and top passages are constituted by a space defined between the bottom wall and a bottom edge of divider wall or between a top wall and a top edge of divider wall, respectively. For example, compartment "1" is linked to compartment "2" by a space defined between top wall 227 and a top edge 229 of divider wall 217 (as seen in Fig. 5E), while compartments "2" and "3" are linked by a space defined between bottom wall 221 and a bottom edge 231 of divider wall 219 (as seen in Fig. 5D).

The manner of water flow throughout the cartridge of this example will now be explained. Water enters the cartridge through pressurized water inlet 206 and is diverted laterally by a manifold element 225 into compartment "1". The water flows upwardly, in a general axial direction, along compartment "1", and through the space defined between upper edge 229 of the divider wall and top wall 227 into compartment "2". In compartment "2", water flows downwardly in a general axial direction opposite to the flow through compartment "1". Passage of water from compartment "2" into compartment "3" is via a space defined between bottom wall 221 and a bottom edge 231 of divider wall 219. In such a manner, the water flows in a series from compartment "1" to compartment "12", passing through all of the compartments. In such a manner (and as schematically represented by arrows in Figs. 5A-5E) water follows in opposite directions in adjacent compartments, resulting in a curvilinear flow path through the cartridge. From compartment "12", the water flows through orifice 233 into conduit 223, and upwardly through the conduit to treated water outlet 208.