Abstract:
A water purifying apparatus and system capable of sedimenting particulates in the fluid over time, and allowing for the quick flushing of sedimented particulates. Top and bottom baffles act as barriers for the sediments, with the bottom barriers having a removable barrier.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/507,629 titled “Baffle Chamber Draining Valve” filed on Jul. 14, 2011, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     PATENTS CITED 
     The following documents and references are incorporated by reference in their entirety, Use et al (U.S. Pat. No. 7,011,743). 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to water pollution traps and, more particularly, to separators for separating and collecting various pollutants from the intake into water treatment plants. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART 
     Water treatment involves removal of undesirable constituents from water and then disposal of them in easiest and safest manner. To achieve these goals, a variety of treatment operation and processes are utilized, which exploit various physical and chemical phenomena to remove or reduce the undesirable constituents from the water. 
     Baffle boxes are concrete or fiberglass structures containing a series of sediment settling chambers separated by baffles. The primary function of baffle boxes is to remove sediment, suspended particles, and associated pollutants from water. Baffle boxes may also contain trash screens or skimmers to capture larger materials, trash, and floatables. Those operations used in the treatment of water in which change is brought about by means of or through application of physical forces are known as unit operations (UO). Those processes used for the treatment of water in which change is brought about by means of chemical reaction are known as unit processes (UP). 
     One of the critical steps in the separation of solids is the use of chamber in combination with Chemical precipitation through various combinations of the coagulation, flocculation, ion exchange, aeration, gas transfer, and other processes. 
     The above work great at separating the solids from the clean water. Unfortunately, the solids being separated tend to clog the operation of the mixing chambers and baffled chambers used to allow for the separation. There is the need in the art for enhancements that would allow for the cleaning of the sediment from said baffle chambers. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This section is for the purpose of summarizing some aspects of the present invention and to briefly introduce some preferred embodiments. Simplifications or omissions may be made to avoid obscuring the purpose of the section. Such simplifications or omissions are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. 
     All references, including any patents or patent applications cited in this specification are hereby incorporated by reference. No admission is made that any reference constitutes prior art. The discussion of the references states what their authors assert, and the applicants reserve the right to challenge the accuracy and pertinence of the cited documents. It will be clearly understood that, although a number of prior art publications are referred to herein, this reference does not constitute an admission that any of these documents form part of the common general knowledge in the art. 
     It is acknowledged that the term ‘comprise’ may, under varying jurisdictions, be attributed with either an exclusive or an inclusive meaning. For the purpose of this specification, and unless otherwise noted, the term ‘comprise’ shall have an inclusive meaning—i.e. that it will be taken to mean an inclusion of not only the listed components it directly references, but also other non-specified components or elements. This rationale will also be used when the term ‘comprised’ or ‘comprising’ is used in relation to one or more steps in a method or process. 
     In one aspect the invention comprises a baffle for use in a water treatment baffle chamber, said baffle comprising, an elongated body spanning the width of baffle chamber and extending from the bottom of said baffle chamber to a predetermined height within said baffle chamber, said baffle having one or more openings along its bottom, with each opening having one or more valves capable of sealing them and each said valve having open or close means that are actuatable remotely. In another aspect, said valves are each comprised of a door that covers the opening on said baffle and slides up or down in response to the valve open or close means. In yet another aspect, said valve open or close means are comprised of a handle secured to the side of said baffle that travels along said top baffle&#39;s length. 
     In another aspect, the invention is a baffle chamber system comprising a sealed water enclosure having one or more input pipes and one or more output pipes, one or more top baffles, each said top baffle installed along the length of said baffle chamber so that there is a gap between the bottom of said chamber and the bottom of said top baffle, allowing water to flow under said top baffle along said baffle chamber, one or more bottom baffles installed along the length of said baffle chamber in order to form sub-chambers, each said bottom baffle comprised of an elongated body spanning the width of said baffle chamber and extending from the bottom of said baffle chamber to a predetermined height so that water may spill sequentially from one sub-chamber to the next, said bottom baffle having one or more openings along its bottom, with each opening having one or more valves capable of sealing them and each said valve having open or close means that are actuatable remotely. In another aspect, said valves are each comprised of a door that covers the opening on said top baffle and slides up or down in response to the valve open or close means. In yet another aspect, said valve open or close means are comprised of a handle secured to the side of said top baffle that travels along said top baffle&#39;s length. 
     Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon examining the following detailed description of an embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the attached drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an improved baffle chamber, according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a selective flow baffle, according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention. 
         FIGS. 3-9  illustrate portions of an improved baffle chamber, according to various exemplary and illustrative embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     The above-described and other features will be appreciated and understood by those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, drawings, and appended claims. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     To provide an overall understanding of the invention, certain illustrative embodiments and examples will now be described. However, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the same or equivalent functions and sequences may be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of the disclosure. The compositions, apparatuses, systems and/or methods described herein may be adapted and modified as is appropriate for the application being addressed and that those described herein may be employed in other suitable applications, and that such other additions and modifications will not depart from the scope hereof. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a side  100  and top  102  view of the system. A baffled chamber  106  has an input pipe  108  and an output pipe  110 . Water or other fluids, but usually water with solids floating within it, is allowed to enter the chamber  106 , and flows above and below a set of bottom baffles  103  and top baffles  104 , these top/bottom baffles form one or more sub-chambers. As the fluids flow through the system, gravity and eddy currents facilitate their deposition at the bottom. In many cases, the defecation of solids within the fluid is accelerated through the addition of polymers and other coagulation or flocculation materials. 
     Coagulation and flocculation are the unit processes to convert the stable colloidal particles into settle-able flocs by destabilizing the charge on the colloids so as to remove turbidity from the water. Water with little or no turbidity will be clear. In addition to removing turbidity from the fluid, sedimentation within the unit helps to settle out the suspended particles in water by gravitational force, said particles resting within the sub-chambers formed between bottom baffles  103 . This is achieved by lowering the flow velocity of the water below the suspension velocity in a basin to settle out suspended particles by gravity. The process is also known as settling or clarification. 
     The fluid continues to travel through the various chambers, and comes out of the output pipe  110  with a significant reduction of solids, those that have been trapped within the sub-chambers. Since these solids remain within the volume of the chamber  106 , over time, they will proceed to plug the gap  112  formed between the bottom of the chamber and the lower portion of the top baffle  104 . This clogging will either reduce the overall throughput of the unit, or through hydraulic force, allow for the solids to move from one sub-chamber to another, resulting in their coming out through the output pipe  110 . To avoid this, baffle chambers  106  are regularly opened, the top/bottom baffles ( 103 / 104 ) removed and the complete insides flushed. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , we see how the invention  200  allows for this flushing to occur without removal of the baffles ( 103 ,  104 ). This is accomplished through the addition of one or more valves  202  placed over openings  204  that are located at or significantly near the bottom of the bottom baffle  103 . In one embodiment, the valve  202  is a door that covers the opening  204  and remains closed during normal operation of the system. In this fashion, hydraulic force will cause the fluid to flow over the top  114  of the bottom baffle  103 , causing the sediment to settle in front of said bottom baffle&#39;s  103 . 
     In one embodiment, the valve  202  is a trapdoor  212  secured in place by two side channels ( 208 ,  210 ) and having a handle or slider  206  that extends from the trapdoor body to a point reachable by the operator (at or significantly near the top of the bottom baffle  103 ). Acting on said slider  206  slides the trapdoors  212  up/down, resulting in the opening of the sub-chamber&#39;s bottom. 
     To clean the chamber  106 , operators open one or more of the bottom baffle&#39;s valves  202  by activating the valve&#39;s opening means  206 . In many units, there is either a bypass channel  116  located within the chamber  106 , or one outside connected to the output pipe  110  (in order to prevent the sediment from coming in contact with the clean water in the rest of the system). 
     Pressured water (usually from a high pressure hose) is then used to “flush” the system, allowing the collected detritus to flow sequentially through the openings  204  from one sub-chamber to the next, resulting in a baffle chamber that can be cleaned without removal of the individual baffles. The top baffles  104  may remain in place throughout the previous cleaning. 
     In one embodiment, the baffles and other assembly components are made of a combination of materials, including formable corrosion-resistant material selected or combined from the group comprising concrete, high molecular weight polyethylene, thermoplastic, fiberglass-reinforced polymer, carbon fiber, and/or both ferrous and non-ferrous metals. The above may specifically include stainless steel, aluminum, brass, wood, concrete, as well as polymers, plastic or thermoplastic, including such well known materials as nylon, ABS (“acrylonitrile butadiene styrene”) or other such moldable plastics, in addition to composites (both carbon, fiberglass and others. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3-9 , a number of features in various embodiments may be noted. The slider  206  may be held in place by one or more sleeves  306 . The top/bottom baffles ( 103 / 104 ) may be secured to the baffle chamber sides via a combination of slots  302  or brackets  304 . Sais brackets may be secured to the side of the chamber  304 , or slides may be secured to both sides  400  of the baffle chamber ( FIG. 4 ). 
     Referring to  FIGS. 5-7 , we see a valve in the closed  500  and open  600  positions, as well from the top view while open  700 . A critical advantage of the invention is the ability to retrofit any sized baffle chamber, as seen in  FIGS. 8-9 . In one embodiment the advantage of the baffles as embodied, is that they may be easily built of any lengths, and retrofitted into already built chambers. 
     CONCLUSION 
     In concluding the detailed description, it should be noted that it would be obvious to those skilled in the art that many variations and modifications can be made to the preferred embodiment without substantially departing from the principles of the present invention. Also, such variations and modifications are intended to be included herein within the scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims. Further, in the claims hereafter, the structures, materials, acts and equivalents of all means or step-plus function elements are intended to include any structure, materials or acts for performing their cited functions. 
     It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the present invention, particularly any “preferred embodiments” are merely possible examples of the implementations, merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the invention. Any variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments of the invention without departing substantially from the spirit of the principles of the invention. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of the disclosure and present invention and protected by the following claims. 
     The present invention has been described in sufficient detail with a certain degree of particularity. The utilities thereof are appreciated by those skilled in the art. It is understood to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure of embodiments has been made by way of examples only and that numerous changes in the arrangement and combination of parts may be resorted without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the forgoing description of embodiments.