Abstract:
A water treatment apparatus for treating ozone with water is disclosed. The water treatment reservoir has a bottom, a fill line, a head space for receiving off gas provided above the fill line and a passageway for conveying off gas from the head space to an off gas venting outlet and for removing water which is above the fill from the water treatment reservoir.

Description:
[0001]    This application is a continuation in part of united States application Ser. No. 09/417,836 filed on Oct. 14, 1999. 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    This invention relates to water treatment apparatus, which uses a gas, preferably ozone, as a water treatment agent. In a preferred embodiment, the invention relates to a water treatment carafe for a domestic counter top water treatment appliance.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    Water treatment apparatus using oxidizing gases have been developed. Some of these devices operate on a batch basis. According to this process, the water is placed in a treatment container and the treatment agent (e.g. a gas), is disbursed through the water, such as via a sparger. Following the completion of the cycle, the water may then be used.  
           [0004]    Ozone is an effective oxidizing agent. However, if the device releases excessive quantities of ozone, headaches and the like can occur. However, the treatment vessel is preferably airtight so that the ozone which is not consumed in the treatment cycle is collected and preferably converted to a benign gas (e.g. oxygen).  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    In accordance with the instant invention, there is provided a water treatment apparatus comprising a base; a water treatment reservoir removable from the base, the water treatment reservoir in fluid communication with an ozone source when mounted on the base, the reservoir having a bottom, a head space for receiving off gas and a passageway having a first end in the head space and a second end associated with an off gas venting outlet, the passageway being in communication with the head space at at least one position and the first and second ends being open to the ambient when the water treatment reservoir is removed from the base; and, a fluid passageway extending between the off gas venting outlet of the water treatment reservoir and an ozone destructor when the water treatment reservoir is mounted on the base.  
           [0006]    In one embodiment, the water treatment reservoir has a fill line and the first end of the passageway is positioned above the fill line.  
           [0007]    In another embodiment, the passageway is in communication with the head space at at least two positions.  
           [0008]    In another embodiment, the water treatment reservoir has a fill line and the at least two positions are positioned above the fill line.  
           [0009]    In another embodiment, the off gas venting outlet is positioned in the bottom of the water treatment reservoir.  
           [0010]    In another embodiment, the water treatment reservoir has a water inlet and the apparatus further comprises a sealing member movably mounted between a first position in which the water inlet is sealed and a second position in which the water inlet is open and a driving member for moving the sealing member between the first and second positions.  
           [0011]    In another embodiment, the driving member is actuated when the water treatment reservoir is placed on the base and removed from the base.  
           [0012]    In accordance with the instant invention, there is also provided a water treatment reservoir having a bottom, a head space for receiving off gas and an open passageway extending between the head space and an off gas venting outlet provided at a lower position in the water treatment reservoir, the passageway being in communication with the head space at at least one position.  
           [0013]    In accordance with the instant invention, there is also provided a water treatment reservoir having a bottom, a fill line, head space means for receiving off gas provided above the fill line and passageway means for conveying off gas from the head space means to an off gas venting outlet and for removing water which is above the fill from the water treatment reservoir. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]    These and other advantages of the instant application will be more fully and clearly understood in connection with the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention in which:  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus according to the instant invention;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 2 is a top plan view of FIG. 1 with a treated water carafe shown in position for receiving water dispensed from the apparatus of FIG. 1;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 3 is a cross-section along the line  3 - 3  in FIG. 2;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 4 with the treatment carafe removed therefrom;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 5 is a cross-section along the line  3 - 3  of FIG. 2 of the treatment carafe when removed from the base portion of the apparatus; and,  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment for a venting tube for a treatment carafe according to the instant invention. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0021]    Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the water treatment apparatus is generally designated by reference numeral  10 . The apparatus comprises a base  12 , removable treatment carafe  14  and housing  18 . Housing  18  may be of any particular design and may contain any required sensing equipment, water filters, pumps and the like. Housing  18  is preferably connectable in flow communication with treatment carafe  14  such that treated water may be dispensed from dispenser  20  after the completion of the treatment cycle of the water in treatment carafe  14 . As shown in FIG. 2, a treated water carafe  16  may be positioned underneath dispenser  20  for receiving the treated water.  
         [0022]    The shape and configuration of treatment carafe  14  and treated water carafe  16  may be of any particular design which is aesthetically pleasing. As shown in particular in FIGS. 3 and 5, treatment carafe  14  has a top  22 , side walls  24  and a bottom  26 . Optionally, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a handle  28  may be provided to allow the user to manipulate carafe  14 .  
         [0023]    Carafe  14  is designed to be filled with a liquid which is to be treated. In particular, it is preferred that the liquid is water. Carafe  14  is removably mounted to base  12 . Accordingly, when the user wishes to treat water, the user may be move carafe  14 , e.g. by means of handle  28 . The top 22 of carafe  14  may be placed underneath a source of water (e.g. a kitchen tap) and the tap may be turned on to allow the carafe to be filled. Once filled, carafe  14  may then be placed on base  12 .  
         [0024]    In one preferred embodiment of this invention, in order to simplify the filling operation, top  22  is provided with a recess  30 . The upper portion of carafe  14  is provided with at least one, but preferably a plurality of water inlet ports  32  in recess  30 . Recess  30  may be of any particular configuration which provides an open area in which the water to be treated may be poured so that it may drain into carafe  14  through water inlet ports  32 . Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 5, recess  30  may be funnel shaped. For example, the upper portion of cavity  14  has an upper surface  34 . A portion of upper surface  34  may comprise sloped portion  36  which extends downwardly towards the centre of carafe  30 . By designing carafe  14  with a recess  30  containing water inlet ports  32 , the user need not remove a lid from carafe  14  so as to fill it. It will be appreciated that the automatic sealing mechanism and the automatic gas conduit connection feature of this invention may be designed to work regardless of the shape of the top of carafe  14 . For example, the top of carafe  14  may be flat and that inlet ports  32  may be provided in the flat top (not shown). The creation of a recess provides a funnel to reduce or prevent spillage during the filling operation.  
         [0025]    The water in treatment carafe  14  is treated with an oxidizing gas. The oxidizing gas is preferably ozone. However, other oxidizing gases such as hydrogen peroxide are known. The remaining description is based upon a preferred embodiment in which the oxidizing gas is ozone.  
         [0026]    When the treatment cycle is commenced, ozone is introduced into carafe  14 . In the preferred embodiment, carafe  14  is provided with an annular sparger  38  which has a plurality of openings in the surface thereof. Sparger  38  is connected to a supply port  40 . Supply port  40  has an associated valve  42 . Base  12  is provided with a supply conduit  44  which is seated immediately below valve  42 . Supply conduit  44  is in air flow communication with a source of ozone. For example, an air pump may be positioned upstream of supply conduit  44  so as to feed air to an ozone generator which in turn provides a feed supply of ozone to supply conduit  44 . The air pump and the ozone generator may be provided in one of the housings  18 . Electricity to run the electronics of the unit, including the air pump and the ozone generator, may be supplied by means of electric cord  46  (see FIG. 2).  
         [0027]    Valve  42  is movable between an open position and a closed position. When valve  42  is in the closed position, sparger  38  is sealed. Accordingly, as water is introduced into carafe  14 , water will not drain through supply port  40 . When valve  42  is in the open position, ozone may be supplied via conduit  44 , through port  40  into sparger  38 . Valve  42  may be moved from the closed position to the open position by means of the force of ozone containing air passing through conduit  44 . It is to be appreciated that valve  42  may be biased to the closed position by gravity, a spring or the like.  
         [0028]    Treated water may be decanted from carafe  14  by any means known in the art. Accordingly, carafe  14  could be removed from base  12  and the water decanted such as by means of a spout or the like. Preferably, the treated water is decanted from carafe  14  while carafe  14  is positioned on base  12 . To this end, a water exit port  48  may be provided in bottom  26  (see FIG. 3). A valve  50  is provided in water exit port  48 . At the end of a cycle, valve  50  may be actuated, for example, by the means of solenoid  52 . When solenoid  52  is actuated, linkage  54  moves engagement member  56  upwardly. This movement displaces engagement member  56  upwardly so as to move displacer rod  58  upwardly. The upward movement of displacer rod  58  moves valve  50  to the open position allowing the treated water to exit through water exit port  48 . Water exit port  48  may be in flow communication with a water pump so as to pump the treated water through a filter (e.g. a carbon block filter) which may be located in housing  18  and from there through dispenser  20  to, e.g. a glass or treated water carafe  16 .  
         [0029]    Carafe  14  may be provided with a fill line  60  so as to indicate to the user the portion of carafe  14  which should be filled with water to be treated. Fill line  60  may be provided at any location in carafe  14  provided a chamber or the like which acts as an off gas receiving means is provided above fill line  60  for receiving off gases. The top of carafe  14  may be flat if the carafe is not filled to the top. Alternately, the top of carafe  14  may be angled so as to direct the off gas to a particular location, head gas space  62 . In the embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 5, the top of carafe  14  has an angled top to create an annular head gas space  62  in which the off gas may accumulate. During the treatment of water in carafe  14 , ozone is bubbled through the water by means of sparger  38 . The off gases accumulate above the water (e.g. above fill line  60 ) in head gas space  62 .  
         [0030]    Ozone may cause side effects in people exposed to sufficient quantities of these gases (e.g. headaches). Accordingly, the off gases are preferably collected and treated (e.g. by exposing them to a destructor which will convert the gas to a more benign form). For example, in the case of ozone, the destructor may be a catalyst for converting ozone to oxygen such as one or more of manganese dioxide, titanium dioxide, iron oxide and carbon. Contact between ozone and one or more of these catalysts will case the ozone to convert to oxygen which may then be released harmlessly from the system. Accordingly, in one preferred embodiment, carafe  14  includes a gas conduit having a first end in fluid flow communication with head gas space  62  and a second end which is connected in fluid flow communication with an off gas treatment member (e.g. a destructor) when carafe  14  is placed on base  12  and apparatus  10  is actuated to treat water in carafe  14 .  
         [0031]    Referring to FIG. 3, carafe  14  is provided with a support rod  64  having two arms  66 . Each arm  66  has an upper end  68  positioned in head gas space  62  when apparatus  10  is operational. Support rod  64  and arms  66  are hollow so as to define a passage  70  extending from head gas space  62  through bottom  26  of carafe  14 . Support rod  64  is provided with an end portion  72  which is connectable in air flow communication with off gas conduit  74 . In the embodiment of FIG. 5, support rod  64  is provided with a single arm  66 . In the embodiment of FIG. 6, Support rod has  4  arms  66 . Despite carafe including fill line  60 , a user may still over fill carafe  14 . This may occur by the user placing carafe  14  at an angle under a tap (e.g. axis A is at an angle to the vertical). By providing arms  66 , the excess water above fill line  60  will flow down arm  66 , through rod  64  into the sink. Preferably, a plurality of arms  66  are provided so as to ensure that excess water will flow through rod  64  regardless of the angle of axis A.  
         [0032]    Off gas conduit  74  is in air flow communication with off gas treatment member  76 . Off gas treatment member  76  may be a destructor for catalytically converting the ozone to a benign gas (e.g. oxygen). Examples of such destructor material are known in the are, such as Caruilite™ and may comprise oxides of manganese, iron titanium, and tin. Such destructor materials degrade or lose mechanical integrity upon exposure to water. Therefore, off gas treatment member is positioned downstream from passage so as not to be damaged by water if water enters passage  70  (e.g. carafe  14  is overfilled such that water flows down passage  70 . Preferably, off gas treatment member  76  is positioned above arms  66  and more preferably above ends  68  of arms  66 .  
         [0033]    As some water may enter passage  70  due to the bubbling effect caused by the ozonation process, an accumulator  102  is preferably positioned upstream from off gas treatment member  76 . Accumulator  102  may be any gas/liquid separator known in the art. Preferably, accumulator is a hollow chamber having an increased diameter compared to passage  74  so that the off gas decelerates as it enters accumulator  102  and allows water entrained in the off gas flow to settle out from the off gas. The off gas then exits accumulator  102  via passage  104  and passes through off gas treatment member  76  were the ozone is converted to oxygen. The treated off gas then exits the apparatus via passage  106 . After a treatment cycle, water may have accumulated in accumulator  102 . The water may be stored in accumulator  102 . When carafe  14  is removed from the apparatus for refilling, end  72  of rod  64  is removed from passage  74 . When this occurs, water in accumulator  102  may from downwardly to the beginning of passage  74  due to gravity and accumulate of upper surface  78  where it may be removed by a user. Alternately, the water may flow to a drainage channel provided in surface  78 . Thus passage  74  functions as a drainage means for draining accumulator  102 . It will be appreciated that a separate passage may be utilized to drain water from accumulator  102  to a convenient outlet located on the apparatus. Preferably, water drains from accumulator  102  solely by gravity flow. Preferably, the drainage occurs automatically when carafe  14  is removed from the base. In this way, water will not accumulate in passage  74  during several treatment cycles and build up to the extent that off gas treatment member  76  is damaged.  
         [0034]    Preferably, upper end  68  is positioned above water inlet ports  32  so that, when the unit is filled, water will not enter into passage  70 . It will also be appreciated that by placing upper end  68  to one side of carafe  14  (e.g. spaced from water inlet ports  32 ) that water will tend not to enter passage  70  as carafe  14  is filled. It will also be appreciated that upper end  68  may be configured so as to inhibit the entry of water regardless of the position of upper end  68  with respect to water inlet ports  32 . Upper end  68  should be far enough above the water line so that the increase in water volume when air is bubbled through it does not cause water to drain into passage  70 . As upper end  68  is positioned and/or configured so as not to allow water to enter passage  70  there through, end portion  72  need not include a valve member to seal passage  70 . Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 5, end portion  72  may be opened when carafe  14  is removed from base  12 .  
         [0035]    Referring to FIG. 4, base  12  is shown having a generally horizontal upper surface  78 . Upper surface  78  is configured so as to allow bottom  26  to be seated thereon. The seating of bottom  26  on upper surface  78  is shown in detail in FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 4, three openings are provided in upper surface  78 . The first is the upper end of supply conduit  44  which is engaged with supply port  40  when carafe  14  is placed on base  12 . The second is the top of water outlet conduit  80  which receives treated water when valve  50  is opened. The third is the upper end of off gas conduit  74 . End portion  72  engages the upper end of off gas conduit  74  when carafe  14  is placed on base  12 .  
         [0036]    Accordingly, it will be understood that one advantage of the instant invention is that head gas space  62  is automatically in communication with off gas conduit  74  by placing carafe  14  on base  12 . The user need not make any connections between the carafe and an off gas treatment conduit. Accordingly, ozone will not be accidentally released during the operation of the unit if the consumer forgets to make a connection. Further, if an off gas sensor is used to control the duration of the treatment cycle, all of the off gas will be available for passage through a sensor via conduit  74 .  
         [0037]    In accordance with another embodiment of this invention, sealing member  82  is provided for closing water inlet ports. Sealing member  82  is movable between a first position in which water inlet  32  is sealed (see FIG. 3) and a second position in which the water inlet ports  32  are open (see FIG. 5). Referring to FIG. 3, when carafe  14  is placed on base  12  and is ready for a treatment cycle to begin, sealing member  82  is in the closed position. In this position, engagement surface  84  of sealing member  82  contacts engagement surface  86  of carafe  14  thereby creating a seal between water inlet  32  and the interior of carafe  14 . As shown in FIG. 5, when carafe  14  is removed from the unit and is ready to be filled, sealing member  82  is displaced from engagement surface  86  thereby allowing water to enter through water inlet  32  into carafe  14 .  
         [0038]    A linkage, which is connected to sealing member  82 , is provided for moving sealing member  82  between the second and first positions in response to the placement of carafe  14  on base  12 . Thus, when carafe  14  is placed on base  12 , carafe  14  is automatically sealed and ready for the commencement of a treatment cycle. In a preferred embodiment, sealing member  82  is provided at the upper end of support rod  64  which acts as the driving member. The engagement of end portion  72  into the upper end of off gas conduit  74  drives sealing member  82  (which may be a resilient member which is resistant to ozone) into engagement with engagement surface  86 . Thus, end portion  72  comprises an actuating means drivingly connected to sealing member  82  and operably responsive to placement of carafe  14  on base  12 . It will be appreciated that other means may be provided for moving the sealing means. For example, handle  28  may have a trigger to open sealing member  82  when the user picks up carafe  14 . Thus the user may automatically open water inlet  32  when they pick up the carafe and seal water inlet  32  when they release handle  28 .  
         [0039]    In the preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, support rod  64  (with end portion  72 ) operates both as the actuating means as well as the gas conduit means for connecting head gas space  62  with off gas conduit  74 . It will be appreciated that different apparatus may be included in carafe  14  for performing each of these different functions. It will further be appreciated that only one of these two apparatus (i.e. one of the actuating means and the gas conduit means) may be provided in a carafe  14 .  
         [0040]    In order to prevent water from leaking from carafe  14  into off gas conduit  74 , a sealing member may be provided. The sealing member may comprise a water tight bushing provided in bottom  26  surrounding end portion  72 . Alternately, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, a diaphragm  88  may be provided. Diaphragm  88  is a deformable member (preferably a resilient member) which may be made from any ozone resistant material. The upper portion of diaphragm  88  has an opening defining an upper perimeter  90  which surrounds the upper end of end portion  72  and forms a water tight seal therewith. The lower portion of diaphragm  88  is provided with a lower perimeter  92  which is connected to the interior of bottom  26  so as to form a water tight seal with bottom  26 . As support rod  64  moves downwardly to the open position (see FIG. 5) and then back upwardly to the sealed position (see FIG. 3) diaphragm  88  flexes downwardly and upwardly to maintain a water tight seal.  
         [0041]    Support rod  64  may be designed so as to automatically move to the open position as shown in FIG. 5 due the force of gravity when carafe  14  is removed from base  12 . Alternately, a biasing member (e.g. a spring or other resiliently deformable member) may be provided to bias support rod  64  to the open position. The biasing member may be provided so as to interact with any portion of support rod  64  (either upper end  96  or end portion  72 ). For example, a spring  98  may be provided around support arm  100  and upper end  96 . Spring  98  exerts a downward pressure on support rod  64  at all times. Accordingly, when carafe  14  is removed from base  12 , spring  98  will cause support rod  64  to move to the downward position. The weight of carafe  14  is sufficient, particularly when filled with water, to cause support rod  64  to move upwardly thereby compressing spring  98 . Alternately, it will be appreciated that diaphragm  88  may be configured to bias support rod  64  to the open position.  
         [0042]    It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various additions and modifications may be made to the instant invention and all of these are within scope of the following claims.