Abstract:
A method and apparatus of sanitizing drinking water to be dispensed from a water dispenser having a reservoir includes the steps of providing the ozone gas generator that generates an ozone gas stream, transmitting the ozone gas stream from the generator to the water dispenser reservoir, mechanically breaking up the ozone gas stream inside the reservoir to produce ozone gas bubbles, and using the ozone gas bubbles to disinfect water in the reservoir. The ozone gas stream can be mechanically broken up using a pump such as, for example, an impeller type pump.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/511,986, filed Oct. 16, 2003, incorporated herein by reference, is hereby claimed. 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not applicable 
     REFERENCE TO A “MICROFICHE APPENDIX” 
     Not applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to water dispensers including refrigerated and non-refrigerated water dispensers that provide a reservoir for holding water. More particularly, the present invention provides an improved method and apparatus for sanitizing drinking water to be dispensed from a water dispenser having a reservoir wherein ozone gas is generated and transmitted from a generator to the water dispenser reservoir, a pump being positioned inside the reservoir that enables the ozone gas mechanically broken up inside the reservoir to produce very small ozone gas bubbles that are used to disinfect the water in the reservoir and the reservoir floor. 
     2. General Background of the Invention 
     The EPA publication “Alternative Method&#39;s of Disinfection” relates that aerator diffusion systems have achieved over 95% ozone mass transfer diffusion efficiency when properly configured. The highest transfer efficiencies are achieved by any known conventional means used in large scale ozone water treatment applications. 
     Aerators are special types of liquid pumps adapted to production of a mixed phase gas and liquid flow stream for the sole purpose of dissolving said gases into the liquid. Two types of conventional aerator pumps can be used for adaptation to the batch type water dispenser reservoir as the primary ozone diffusion means. The two conventional types are high shear centrifugal flow aerators as described for example by the Naito, U.S. Pat. No. 4,193,949, hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
     A centrifugal water pump impeller designed for aeration, as the name implies, pumps liquids by radial action of radial or spiral blades or tines. Such blades or tines are either sandwiched between two discs or affixed to a single disc. In most instances they act as a housing where water and a gas are draw in from either ports located near the axis or in the case of the single disc types open to the bulk liquid. This fluid is propelled radially outward by the radial-centrifugal pushing and slinging action of the plurality of vanes in rotary motion. Gas is typically supplied through ports in a hollow drive shaft or in the case of single disc open impeller models, from an annular opening formed between shaft and exterior sleeve in connecting with gas supply. In some models, the perimeter of the dual disc radial flow impeller is provided with a housing displaying a plurality of slots or a screen capable of further sub-dividing gas bubbles by shear between porous perimeter housing surface and tips of the blades and passage through the metered slots or screens. 
     Axial flow impellers pump water sourced from an axial suppling means through one or more pitched rotary screw impellers. These screw impellers propel water axially by pushing and form a region of low pressure on the water intake side, providing the means for gas siphoning to the liquid for shear mixing by the impeller. Variations range from thin dimension, low pitched shearing blades with one or more such impellers like those found on vortex action household blenders. These devices aerate and mix gases from the air gap with the liquid such as disclosed by Zeff, U.S. Pat. No. 3,843,521, hereby incorporated herein by reference. The Zeff &#39;521 patented pump uses an impeller stack consisting of one or more high pitch drive impellers that pump water and provide maximum gas siphoning rates when stack is placed in a tubular housing. The most advanced stack models exhibit thin walled parabolic cross-sectioned net-zero pitched shearing blades lying between drive impellers that generate maximum turbulence and regions of high and low pressure within the flow stream capable of shearing a partial mixed gas phase down to fast dissolving non-buoyant, gas colloid-suspension dimensions. 
     Due to their increased gas siphoning ability without adverse gas flooding cavitation to impellers resulting in liquid flow stoppage, such pumps are often outfitted with positive pressure gas supplies capable of quickly gas saturating liquids. 
     Gas bubble volume to water mass transfer in open cooler reservoir systems with tuned aerator pumps can rotary shear gas bubbles down to micron dimensions found in pressured water venturi injection systems. Gas being a compressible fluid, when the venturi injection returns ozonated water flow to open systems cooler reservoir with corresponding pressure decrease, bubbles quickly increase to larger dimensions that quickly rise to reservoir air water interface and exhaust without effectively mass transferring any of the prossess ozone to water in the highly abbreviated water columns of cooler reservoirs. 
     Typically, low pressure, fine bubble diffuser stones are limited to production of bubbles no smaller than about 300 micron diameters with the majority of the bubble population capable of supporting adequate gas volumes for disinfecting reservoirs in contacting times ranging from 10-45 minutes with small output ozonators lie in the 400-600 micron diameter range, relatively slow rising and exhausting bubbles. 
     Diffusion efficiencies of cooler based diffuser stone based diffusion typically do not exceed 5-40% depending on ozonator output. Gas supply rates cannot exceed 2 liters per minute in the most prevalent 2 liter water volume form of cooler without turning the reservoir water volume to froth with the accompanying risk of inducing catastrophic cooler flooding in bottled water coolers and float regulated pressured supply point of use coolers. 
     When a point of use type water dispenser intake valve float drops due to loss of liquid head and allow pressured supply to continuously dump water into reservoir that in turn is continually converted to low density froth. Flooding can occur in these devices from overdriven ozone supply systems. 
     All of these deficiencies can be overcome with air flow rate and bubble size tuned aerator systems that are capable of circulating chiefly non-buoyant bubbles around in the reservoir and inhibiting the buoyant bubble size fractions from rising to the surface, exhausting with a swirling flow circulating around reservoir walls instead of toroidal water flow dynamics that roll to air water interface and back down. In effect, this feature greatly increases the contacting times of the larger bubble fractions. The very small non-buoyant fractions diffuse by pressure dynamics, diffusing to extinction in usually about 40 seconds are less. The larger buoyant fraction on the other hand must be diffused by the conventional motional transfer of external bubble film mixed phase gas-water stripping dynamics. 
     In cooler reservoir bubble reactors, the conventional method has not demonstrated itself to be an effective transfer means for low bubble rise velocity in abbreviated water column. Layer stripping diffusion of this bubble fraction requires considerable mechanical stirring action, as occurs with aerator circulation where the layer is stripped and contents dispersed within the bulk liquid by active mixing, decreasing gas solution density around bubble allowing the mixed phase layer to quickly replenish and be stripped again in a low dissolved gas environment. With continual stripping of bubbles whose initial size was 500-700 microns, bubble sizes diminish until they reach non-buoyant, fast pressure diffusion bubble dimension where viscous drag and circulation in excess of rise velocity holds these bubbles in suspension until they diffuse to extinction. This effect has been demonstrated with sparingly soluble ozone and air dissolving in water at water temperatures in excess of 75 F with aerator diffusion. 
     The rapid mass transfer effect is only accelerated in chilled water found in cooler reservoirs averaging about 38 degrees F. It is not uncommon in 2 liter chilled water volumes to gas saturate the water in less than about 4 minutes to the point continued aeration is a pointless waste of energy. Site generated ozone as dissolved ozone concentration peaks long before the remaining gas phase stored in small non-buoyant bubbles have depleted. The dissolved gas concentration effectively inhibits further gas transfer to the liquid. On return to static equilibrium conditions, post aerator diffusion, the reservoir water volume begins to demonstrate the milky liquid light dispersion appearance of a true, meta-stable gas colloid that will remain stable for days without off-gassing and returning to a clear state. 
     Due to the effectiveness of rotary mechanical shearing of gas to fine particulate dimensions and circulation capture of gas particles that one can achieve with aerator diffusion, aerators or their impellers can be located either near the reservoir air-water interface or (when operating near the bottoms of coolers) provided with a small water intake extension in addition to regular intake whose terminus lies relatively close to the interface to form a vortex capable of drawing exhaust phase ozone back down into the water where it can be recycled and transferred to water, reducing process ozone demand even further. 
     As long as the amount of exhaust gas quantity drawn into the mixer is small, the effect on primary process ozone siphoning is small and impeller cavitation will not occur. A further consideration is keeping ancillary extension&#39;s intake orifice small to eliminate the potential the reservoir flooding resulting from the formation of large vortices. 
     Another option open to axial flow housed impeller stack aerators, that of split flow transfer of ozonated water to other regions of a cooler include the ability to pump ozonated water from reservoir into water bottles of bottled water coolers. This results in pre-ozonating the source water and sanitizing the inner surfaces of bottles as well as its anti-spill device, the tubular hypodermic like protusions that pierce special sanitary bottle caps. When bottled water and especially the tubes of anti-spill devices extend up into the clear bottles exposure to sunlight over extended periods causes algae to bloom in the bottle. This forms algal biofilms on both bottle and tubular extension surfaces that ozonated water will bleach and render inert. Since there is little air exchange associated suspended fine bubbles and dissolved ozone, the positive displacement ozonated water pumped into bottles, returning to reservoir by gravity flow at a rate equal to that pumped in, thus no danger of the disequilibria, air exchange cooler flooding exists. 
     Prior art addressing ozonating water in the bottle, is seen in the Troglione, U.S. Pat. No. 3,726,404. The &#39;404 patent reveals a dual reservoir transfer ozonation system, usable to disinfect a bottled water dispenser=s water. The primary differences in the &#39;404 patent as opposed to the present embodiment are that Troglione required a dedicated water pump to pump water from a separate ozone bubble reactor reservoir reserve to the bottle and demonstrated no capacity to completely exchange the non-ozonated contents of the bottle with freshly ozonated reservoir water. Troglione &#39;404 required a dedicated air pump for transferring ozone to the bubble reactor&gt;s porous diffuser stone. The present invention provides other split-flow transfer options include running small diameter tubing through water courses that terminate immediately behind spigot valves for back flushing watercourses and exposed valve bodies with freshly ozonated water, thereby bleaching and washing any biofilms that might have formed in these stagnate, slow water mixing exchange areas. Such areas would not otherwise be exposed to high concentrations ozone unless freshly ozonated water were dispensed from cooler, which represents insufficient contacting time without sufficient water flow velocity to achieve a biofilm abrading effect. The bleaching and scrubbing of organic deposits with rising streams of ozone bubbles aimed at reservoir sidewalls by a gated ring diffuser is discussed in the Davis U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,085,540 and 6,389,690 for reservoir sidewall sanitisation. 
     Removal and bleaching of the reservoir floor or bottom wall area is most necessary as the loose sediment has no place to go except down the watercourses and out the spigot into an individuals drinking glass. In fact no other conventional form of diffusion presently in use can provide the stirring action and accompanying turbulence need to stir up sediment and strip biofilms from a reservoir base and beach them to an inert. 
     Small applications aerators of appropriate scale for cooler applications can be supplied by current manufacturers in two basic configurations: Firstly, in compact, short shafted units in housing&#39;s integrated with its prime mover suitable for below water level in reservoir mounting, inversion mount with only impeller stack and housing protruding through reservoir base or 90 degree sidewall mount, impeller and housing protruding through reservoir sidewall. In the case of a cooler reservoir outfitted with two tangential sidewall ports connected to supply tubing, one side serves as water inlet, the other as a water outlet with a mixing chamber located between the two terminal ends of tubing. An aerator is fixed to the external mixing chamber where water can be pumped, and shear mixed and siphoned ozone supply from ozonator can be siphoned across impeller, shear mixed and pumped into reservoir flowing in the preferred swirl around the reservoir perimeter. Ozone can be recycled through the aerator, with or without split stream transfer to the previously described critical areas. 
     Long hollow gas supply drive shafted units are suitable for exterior motor mounting to a point of use (POU) cooler reservoir cover or to the anti-spill device cover found on bottled water coolers where impellers and the associated housing project into the reservoir below water level. 
     Silva U.S. Pat. No. 3,382,980 discloses a radial flow aerator being used as primary ozone diffusion means in an on demand, partially continuous throughput water treatment system suitable for the needs of small municipalities. The reservoir was built expressly for this purpose. The Silva system has a dual reservoir, contactor separate form dispensing accumulation tank and water is not chilled in either tank and not the same utility. 
     Blender impellers (see e.g. Zeff U.S. Pat. No. 3,843,521) are of the axial flow type, but differ from chemical engineering gas diffusion aerators in that the chemical engineering models feature housed impellers and gas tube supplying means and flow directed mixed phase flows that minimize or eliminate vortex and corresponding air core conduits from surface. The open impeller design of blenders in conjunction with the container geometry incorporated by Zeff cause cyclonic toroidal convection vortex flow in the aerator embodiment due to the potential of cooler flooding. The low density air core of a vortex can destabilize both a bottled water cooler and a float actuated point of use cooler&#39;s water supplying means, promoting uninterrupted water drainage into the cooler reservoir. This type of axial aerator is incapable of directing split flow streams to other parts of a cooler. 
     Several patents have issued that discuss the general concept of using ozone to sanitize drinking water contained in the reservoir of a water dispensing device, water cooler, or the like. 
     As examples, patents have issued that relate to the use of ozone for disinfecting drinking water that is to be dispensed. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,085,540 entitled “Method and apparatus for disinfecting a water cooler reservoir”; 6,389,690 entitled “Method and apparatus for disinfecting a water cooler reservoir”; 6,532,760 entitled “Method and apparatus for disinfecting a water cooler reservoir”; 6,561,382 entitled “Method and apparatus for disinfecting a water cooler reservoir and its dispensing spigot(s)”, each of said patents being incorporated herein by reference. 
     Other possibly relevant patents include Olsen U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,576 and Matsui U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,619. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Ozone gas is generated and transmitted from a generator to an aerator pump impeller. The impeller is positioned either inside the dispenser reservoir and submerged below water level or in a recirculation loop channel. The channel can be in tangential connection with the dispenser&#39;s reservoir. The channel is preferably positioned below a level that enables the ozone gas to be siphoned through a supply tube by a partial pressure differential. This differential is generated by both a flow stream and water intake cavitation dynamics generated by the impeller. 
     The ozone gas is then drawn by the impeller (or impellers) across its blades where the ozone gas phase is sheared and finely subdivided into bubbles. On some types of aerator pumps this ozone gas is further sheared to even finer dimensions when passing between an impeller housing and its impeller, or by passage through exit slots or screens provided across the housing&#39;s discharge or out feed ports. Such very fine ozone bubbles dissolve more readily in the volume of a motional water flow stream contained in the reservoir. Such very small ozone bubbles can be used to disinfect the water and any exposed surfaces of the reservoir, as well as its associated watercourses and internal components below the water. Disinfection is by direct contact with the ozonated water and that above the waterline by direct contact with ozonated water vapor and gas phase exhaust ozone that develops during the process of ozonation. 
     The present invention provides an improved method and apparatus for sanitizing drinking water to be dispenser from a water dispenser having a reservoir. 
     The method includes the providing of an ozone gas generator that generates in an ozone gas stream. 
     The ozone gas stream is transferred from the generator to the water dispenser reservoir. 
     Inside the reservoir, the ozone gas stream is mechanically broken up to produce ozone gas bubbles. These ozone gas bubbles are broken up sufficiently so that they are small enough to disinfect the reservoir. In the preferred embodiment, a pump can be used to mechanically break up the ozone gas stream inside the reservoir to produce very small ozone gas bubbles. 
     The pump can be a motor driven pump having a pump housing with one or more fluid inlets. The pump has an impeller that is placed inside the reservoir, the impeller breaking up the ozone gas stream as it flows from an inlet into the pump housing. 
     The pump also provides one or more discharge outlets with a discharge structure that can further break up the ozone exiting the pump. 
     The pump can include a pump impeller that has multiple vanes (see  FIGS. 12-15 ). The pump discharge outlet can optionally provide a screen that covers all or part of the outlet to help break bubbles into very small pieces. 
     The method includes the further step of intaking water from the reservoir with the pump so that water and ozone mixed and circulated inside the pump housing. 
     The pump inlet(s) can include a water inlet and a gas or ozone inlet. The gas inlet can intake ozone, air, or a mixture of ozone and air. 
     As part of the method, the ozone gas stream can be sheared using an impeller and/or a screen or other structure that is placed at the pump discharge or spaced closely to the periphery of the impeller. 
     The present invention provides an improved water dispenser that includes a housing having a spigot for dispensing water. A flowline or conduit inside the housing supplies water to the spigot. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a further understanding of the nature, objects, and advantages of the present invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description, read in conjunction with the following drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote like elements and wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a sectional, elevation view of the preferred embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a sectional elevation view of a second embodiment; and 
         FIG. 3  is a sectional view taken along lines  3 - 3  of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a sectional view taken along lines  4 - 4  of  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a partial sectional elevation view of the preferred embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention illustrating an alternate pump arrangement; 
         FIG. 5A  is a plan view of the pump arrangement of  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a partial sectional elevation view of the preferred embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention illustrating an alternate pump arrangement; 
         FIG. 6A  is a plan view of the pump arrangement of  FIG. 6 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a partial sectional elevation view of the preferred embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention illustrating an alternate pump arrangement; 
         FIG. 7A  is a plan view of the pump arrangement of  FIG. 7 ; 
         FIG. 8  is a partial sectional elevation view of the preferred embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention illustrating an alternate pump arrangement; 
         FIG. 8A  is a plan view of the pump arrangement of  FIG. 8 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a partial sectional elevation view of the preferred embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention illustrating an alternate pump arrangement; 
         FIG. 9A  is a plan view of the pump arrangement of  FIG. 9 ; 
         FIG. 10  is a partial sectional elevation view of the preferred embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention illustrating an alternate pump arrangement; 
         FIG. 10A  is a plan view of the pump arrangement of  FIG. 10 ; 
         FIG. 11  is a sectional fragmentary view of the preferred embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention; 
         FIG. 12  is a fragmentary sectional elevation view of the preferred embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention illustrating an optional pump configuration; 
         FIG. 13  is a sectional view taken along lines  13 - 13  of  FIG. 12 ; 
         FIG. 14  is a fragmentary sectional elevation view of the preferred embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention illustrating an optional pump configuration; 
         FIG. 15  is a sectional view taken along lines  15 - 15  of  FIG. 14 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Water dispenser  20  is shown in  FIG. 1  as including cabinet  21  having a reservoir  15  for holding water  16  to be consumed by a user. Reservoir  15  has a sidewall and a bottom wall  19 . Cabinet  21  can support a known, commercially available supply bottle  12  having neck outlet  26 . Such a reservoir  15  containing water  16  is shown and described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,085,540; 6,389,690, and 6,532,760 each hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
     The present invention further provides an improved method for sanitizing drinking water to be dispensed from a water dispenser having a reservoir and further provides an improved water dispenser. Water dispenser  20  can be any known water dispensing device that typically uses a cabinet  21  that has reservoir  15  containing water  16 . The cabinet  21  can include known electrical components, known refrigeration system  22  and other components that are known. Hollow drive shaft is contained within a cylindrically shaped housing section  18  of housing  2 . Pump  23  can include a housing  2  positioned inside reservoir  15  and below water level  9 , being surrounded by water  16  to be sanitized and dispensed. Pump housing  2  contains impeller  3  (see  FIGS. 12-13 ) driven by hollow drive shaft  4  and motor  1 . Pump  23  can be any of a number of different pump configurations as shown in  FIGS. 1-4 ,  5 - 5 A,  6 - 6 A,  7 - 7 A,  8 - 8 A,  9 - 9 A,  10 - 10 A,  12 - 15 . 
     An air supply tubing  5  can supply a combination of air and ozone to pump  23 . Air supply tubing  5  connects to pump  23  at air supply barb  6 . An ozone generator  7  connects to cabinet  21  ( FIG. 1 ). Ozone generator  7  connects to tubing  5 . Tubing  5  can provide filter  24 . Ozone generator  7  intakes air at inlet  25 . The water=s surface of reservoir  15  provides an air water interface  9 . Ozone bubbles that are emitted from pump discharge manifold  17  mix with water  16  and sanitize water  16  as well as reach the air water interface  9 . Housing  2  provides multiple intakes including water intake  10  and gas intake  8  inside drive shaft  4 . 
     The arrows  11  in  FIG. 3  schematically shows ozone gas bubbles mixing within the reservoir  15  thus providing ozone disinfection of water  16 . The numeral  13  in  FIG. 3  illustrates very fine bubbles or a very fine bubble fraction undergoing contact diffusion with the surrounding water  16  for sanitizing the water  16 . 
     The discharge manifold  17  is provided with three outlet ports  27 ,  28 ,  29 . The outlet port  27  communicates with flowline  34  for transmitting ozone to bottled water supply  12  as indicated by arrows  39  in  FIG. 1 . The port  28  discharges ozone directly into reservoir  15  as indicated by arrow  38  so that ozone can be used to disinfect the bottom  36  of reservoir  15 . Bottle  12  nests in an anti-spill receiver  35  that can be supplied with cabinet  21 . Such anti-spill receivers  35  are known. 
     Cabinet  21  provides spigot  30  having handle  31 , the spigot  30  being a known structure. Such spigots  30  are typically provided on commercially available water dispensers and communicate with water  16  and reservoir  15  via channel  32 . Port  29  communicates with flowline  33  to provide ozone directly to spigot  30  for sanitizing it and its channel  32  (see  FIGS. 1 and 11 ). 
       FIGS. 2 and 4  show an alternate construction of apparatus  10  of the present invention in the form of point of use (POU) dispenser  40 . Point of use dispenser  40  provides a cabinet  41  having a reservoir  42  with a bottom  58  and sidewall  59 . Reservoir  42  contains water  43  having water surface  44 . 
     An influent flowline  45  communicates with float valve  46 . Float valve  46  is commercially available, providing a float  48  that rises and falls with water level  44 , the valve  46  being opened to discharge water into reservoir  42  when float  48  falls below a predetermined elevation. Arrows  47  in  FIG. 2  illustrate the up and down movement of float  48  for opening and closing valve  46 . When float  48  reaches a maximum elevation, it closes valve  46  halting the flow of fluid from flowline  45  to reservoir  42 . Ozone generator  7  is mounted on cabinet  41 . The ozone generator  7  transmits ozone via flowline  49  to motor  50 , then to motor drive shaft  51  and to housing  52 . Motor  50  provides a motor shaft  51  which is hollow, the motor shaft  51  driving an impeller contained in housing  52  and also transmitting ozone that it receives via line  49  to pump housing  52 . Housing  52  can include a cylindrically shaped section that surrounds drive shaft  51 . 
     Pump housing  52  provides discharge manifold  53  having outlet ports  54 ,  55 . As indicated by arrows  56  in  FIG. 4 , discharged ozone leaves outlet port  54  and mixes with the water  43  contained in reservoir  42 . Discharge manifold  53  is positioned next to bottom wall  58  of reservoir  42  so that the discharged bubbles exiting port  54  scrub the bottom of  58  and sanitize it. Outlet port  55  communicates with flowline  57  for transmitting ozone to spigot  30 . 
       FIGS. 12-15  show exemplary impeller constructions. In  FIGS. 12 and 13 , housing  2  is provided with an impeller  3  that is comprised of a plurality of long radial vanes  60  and short radial vanes  61 . Ozone enters housing  2  as indicated by arrows  67  in  FIG. 12 . Water enters housing  2  via intake  10  as indicated by arrows  68  in  FIG. 12 . Water and ozone mix as hollow drive shaft  4  is provided with openings  69  next to vanes  60 ,  61 . The ozone mixes with water at the vanes  60 ,  61  forming a very fine bubble fraction that is discharged at mixed fluid outlet  62  to one of the discharge manifolds  17  or  53 . Thus the impeller configuration of  FIGS. 12 and 13  could be used in either the embodiment of  FIG. 1  or the embodiment of  FIG. 2 . Likewise, the embodiment of  FIGS. 14 and 15  could be used with either of the embodiments of  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
     In  FIG. 14 , the housing  52  contains an impeller  70  mounted at the lower end portion of drive shaft  51 . The impeller  70  has a plurality of blades  63  and a plurality of vanes  64 . A plurality of push propeller blades  63  are provided, preferably at different elevations as shown in  FIGS. 14 and 15 . In addition, zero pitch shearing vanes  64  are attached to drive shaft  51  as shown in  FIG. 14 . Housing  52  provides one or more intake opening  66  for intaking water. Water intake is schematically illustrated by the arrow  71  in  FIG. 14 . 
     The ozone carried in hollow drive shaft  51  is indicated by arrow  67 . Water indicated by arrow  71  mixes at the vanes  63 ,  64  and is discharged at outlet  72  as indicated by arrow  73 . 
       FIGS. 5-5A ,  6 - 6 A,  7 - 7 A,  8 - 8 A,  9 - 9 A and  10 - 10 A illustrate various other configurations of the pump, its motor drive and discharge in relation to reservoir  15  and its contained water  16 . These figures illustrate that numerous pump shaft, pump housing configurations can be used within the spirit of the present invention. 
     In  FIGS. 5-5A , pump housing  2  is placed next to the periphery of reservoir  15 . 
     In  FIGS. 6-6A , the motor drive  1  is located at the bottom of reservoir  15  so that a very short drive shaft would be needed to form a connection between motor  1  and housing  2  and its impeller. 
     In  FIG. 7 , a submersible combination motor drive  1  and pump housing  2  is shown. 
     In  FIGS. 8-8A , a recirculating loop defined by flowlines  74 ,  75  is disclosed. In  FIGS. 9-9A , pump housing  2  is mounted to the inside surface of the side wall of reservoir  15 . Motor drive  1  is mounted on the outside surface of reservoir  15 . A drive shaft that connects motor drive  1  to pump housing  2  extends through the reservoir wall. 
       FIGS. 10-10A  illustrate a motor  1  and housing  2  configuration such as that shown in  FIGS. 12 and 13 . 
     The following is a list of suitable parts and materials for the various elements of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
       
         
               
             
               
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 PARTS LIST 
               
             
          
           
               
                 Parts Number 
                 Description 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 1 
                 motor 
               
               
                 2 
                 pump housing 
               
               
                 3 
                 impeller 
               
               
                 4 
                 drive shaft 
               
               
                 5 
                 air supply tubing 
               
               
                 6 
                 air supply barb 
               
               
                 7 
                 ozone generator 
               
               
                 8 
                 gas intake 
               
               
                 9 
                 air/water interface 
               
               
                 10 
                 water intake 
               
               
                 11 
                 gas bubble and water mixing 
               
               
                 12 
                 supply bottle 
               
               
                 13 
                 fine bubble fraction 
               
               
                 14 
                 fluid flow arrow 
               
               
                 15 
                 reservoir 
               
               
                 16 
                 water 
               
               
                 17 
                 discharge manifold 
               
               
                 18 
                 cylindrical housing section 
               
               
                 19 
                 bottom wall 
               
               
                 20 
                 water dispenser 
               
               
                 21 
                 cabinet 
               
               
                 22 
                 refrigeration system 
               
               
                 23 
                 pump 
               
               
                 24 
                 filter 
               
               
                 25 
                 inlet 
               
               
                 26 
                 neck outlet 
               
               
                 27 
                 outlet port 
               
               
                 28 
                 outlet port 
               
               
                 29 
                 outlet port 
               
               
                 30 
                 spigot 
               
               
                 31 
                 handle 
               
               
                 32 
                 channel 
               
               
                 33 
                 flowline 
               
               
                 34 
                 flowline 
               
               
                 35 
                 anti-spill receiver 
               
               
                 36 
                 bottom 
               
               
                 37 
                 bottom 
               
               
                 38 
                 arrow 
               
               
                 39 
                 arrow 
               
               
                 40 
                 point of use dispenser 
               
               
                 41 
                 cabinet 
               
               
                 42 
                 reservoir 
               
               
                 43 
                 water 
               
               
                 44 
                 water surface 
               
               
                 45 
                 influent flowline 
               
               
                 46 
                 float valve 
               
               
                 47 
                 arrow 
               
               
                 48 
                 float 
               
               
                 49 
                 flowline 
               
               
                 50 
                 motor 
               
               
                 51 
                 shaft 
               
               
                 52 
                 housing 
               
               
                 53 
                 discharge manifold 
               
               
                 54 
                 outlet port 
               
               
                 55 
                 outlet port 
               
               
                 56 
                 arrow 
               
               
                 57 
                 flowline 
               
               
                 58 
                 bottom 
               
               
                 59 
                 side wall 
               
               
                 60 
                 long radial vane 
               
               
                 61 
                 short radial vane 
               
               
                 62 
                 mixed fluid flow outlet 
               
               
                 63 
                 push propeller blade 
               
               
                 64 
                 ozone pitch shearing vane 
               
               
                 65 
                 tubular housing section 
               
               
                 66 
                 water intake 
               
               
                 67 
                 arrow 
               
               
                 68 
                 arrow 
               
               
                 69 
                 opening 
               
               
                 70 
                 impeller 
               
               
                 71 
                 arrow 
               
               
                 72 
                 outlet 
               
               
                 73 
                 arrow 
               
               
                 74 
                 flowline 
               
               
                 75 
                 flowline 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     The foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only; the scope of the present invention is to be limited only by the following claims.