Abstract:
The present invention relates to filtering a collected sample for water analysis, and a device where filtered water is collected so that filtered water can be contained in a sample container and where the collecting rate of the sample can be controlled. The collecting device comprises at least one filter funnel part, an upper plate on which the funnel part placed, mounting means comprising a supporting rod wherein one side of the supporting rod is combined with the edge of the upper plate and a waste box fixing the supporting rod, several base container parts wherein the sample container is inserted and a outlet port is formed, and a vacuum pump connected to the vacuum connecting port by a pump tube. Accordingly, the step of transferring filtered water into the sample container can be omitted, and the collection time can be reduced by controlling the collecting rate of the sample.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to a device for analyzing the quality of liquid, more particularly to a device for collecting simultaneously the filter paper through which the sampled water is filtered (hereinafter referred as “the served filter paper”) and the water which is filtered through the filter paper (hereinafter referred as “the filtered water”). Water is generally sampled from the sources such as domestic water, wells, ponds, rivers, lakes, the sea, etc.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     As well known to those skilled in the art, there have been disclosed several kinds of water sampling devices to sample water from such sources as wells, ponds, rivers, lakes, the sea, etc. at a given depth. As a prior step to analyze a pollution level, bacteria, organisms, compositions, etc. of the water sampled by the water sampling devices or other means, the sampled water is filtered through a porous filter paper. Subsequently, the served filter paper and the filtered water are collected at the same time. As such, there has been proposed a filtering device capable of simultaneously collecting the served filter paper and the filtered water, which is disclosed in Korean Patent Appln. No. 1996-0013564.  
         [0003]     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the conventional filtering device for both pressuring and decompressing comprises a funnel-shaped filtering unit  1  and a flask  10 . The sampled water is filtered through the filter paper  4  of the funnel-shaped filtering unit  1  and the filtered water flows into the flask  10 .  
         [0004]     Said funnel-shaped filtering unit  1  comprises an influx container  2 , a seat  6 , a feeding pipe  7 , and a plug  9  which is holed through. The influx container  2  is cup-shaped without the bottom. A flange  3  is provided around an outer edge of the open bottom of the influx container  2 . The sampled water for analyzing is fed into an upper portion of the funnel-shaped filtering unit  1 , such that the sampled water flows downward. The seat  6  is holed through. A mesh  5  is placed on the seat  6  to support the filter paper  4 , and then the flange  3  of the influx container  2  is seated on the seat  6 . A feeding pipe  7  downwardly extends from the seating part  6 . The feeding pipe  7  and the seat  6  may be a single body. Alternatively, the feeding pipe  7  and the seat  6  may be assembled when they are used. The plug  9  is holed through along its center and the feeding pipe  7  is fitted into the through hole of the plug  9 .  
         [0005]     Said flask  10  is provided at its upper portion with a drain port  11  through which air or the filtered water passes. The plug  9  is fitted into the mouth  12  of the flask  10 . A tube (not shown) may be connected to the drain port  11  to drain the surplus filtered water from the flask  10 . Further, a vacuum pump (not shown) may be connected to the tube.  
         [0006]     In such said conventional device, the sampled water fed into the influx container  2  is filtered through the filter paper  4  which is interposed between the flange  3  of the influx container  2  and the seat  6 , and almost all of the filtered water which is filtered through the filter paper  4  flows into the flask  10  via the feeding pipe  7  which extends downwardly from the seat  6 .  
         [0007]     So it is possible to collect the served filter paper  4  and the filtered water from the conventional device simultaneously. However, in order to transfer the filtered water in the flask  10  to the filtered water container  15 , the plug  9  of the funnel-shaped filtering unit  1  must be detached from the flask  10  and then the filtered water in the flask  10  must be poured into the filtered water container  15 . So it is inconvenient to use the conventional device and the filtered water may be polluted during the transferring step of the conventional device.  
         [0008]     Furthermore, because the conventional device is designed such that the sampled water flows downwards due to the gravity, it takes a considerably long time to filter the sampled water through the filter paper  4 . And the filtered water may be not fed into the flask  10  when the filter paper  4  is clogged with the impurities of the sampled water. In order to solve the problems, the vacuum pump is connected to the drain port  11  of the flask  10 . When the vacuum pump is operated to generate negative pressure in the flask  10 , the sampled water may be filtered through the filter paper  4  more rapidly.  
         [0009]     However, the filtered water may be fed into the flask  10  above the drain port  11  and then the filtered water may flow into the vacuum pump. Thus, in order to prevent the filtered water from feeding into the flask  10  above the drain port  11 , it is necessary to observe whether the filtered water is fed in the filtered water container above the drain port  11  or not and transfer the filtered water in the flask  10  to another container before the filtered water is fed above the drain port  11 .  
         [0010]     So it is inconvenient and troublesome to use the conventional device.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0011]     The present invention has been made keeping in mind the problem mentioned above. According to the present invention, the filtered water is directly fed into the filtered water container, so that the funnel-shaped filtering unit needs not to be detached from the flask to transfer the filtered water in the flask to the filtered water container, that is the transferring step is not needed. So the possibility of the pollution happened during the transferring step can be minimized. In order to reduce the time to filter the sampled water through the filter paper, the vacuum pump is used to generate the negative pressure in the filtered water storage unit in the present invention. The collecting rate is controlled by the vacuum pump and the additional storage space is provided. It is possible to prevent the filtered water from flowing over the filtered water container and it is not necessary to observe whether the filtered water flows over the filtered water container or not. Thus it is possible to perform another work while collecting the served filter paper and the filtered water with the device according the present invention.  
         [0012]     To make all the things mentioned above possible, the present invention provides a device simultaneously collecting the served filter paper and the filtered water. The device according to the present invention comprises at least one funnel-shaped filtering unit, a supporting unit, a drain tank, a mounting means, at least one filtered water storage unit of the same number as that of the funnel-shaped filtering units, and a vacuum pump. A funnel-shaped filtering unit comprises an influx container holed through to allow water to pass therethrough, a seat seated on the flange of the influx container in such a way that a filter paper is interposed between the influx container and the seat, and a plug provided with a through hole in which the feeding pipe is fitted. The feeding pipe extends vertically and downwardly from a lower part of the seat. A supporting unit comprises a supporting plate having at least one support through hole, at least one plug support blocks, at least one sealing means provided on a lower surface of the supporting plate, and at least one first attaching means provided on the lower surface of the supporting plate at a position outside the sealing means, wherein the number of the plug support blocks, the sealing means and the first attaching means is the same as that of the support through holes.  
         [0013]     A plug support block comprises a large-diameter hollow part and a small-diameter hollow part. The plug is fitted into the large-diameter hollow part and the small-diameter hollow part is fitted into the support through hole to be sealed. A drain tank defines a space therein and comprises the tube connecting through holes of the same number as that of the support through holes, a vacuum pump connecting through hole provided at a predetermined position of the top surface of the drain tank, a discharging through hole formed at a predetermined position of a lower part of the drain tank and a shut-off cock placed at the discharging through hole. The tube connecting through holes are placed at the top surface of the drain tank at regular intervals. A mounting means comprises the supporting rods to support the supporting unit, so that the supporting unit is spaced apart from the drain tank at a predetermined distance. A filtered water storage unit comprises the main bodies of the same number as that of the support through holes and the drain tubes. The main body is opened at its top, defines a space therein to hold the filtered water container for collecting the filtered water, has a flange extending around its upper part and is provided with a second attaching means to be attached to the first attaching means of the supporting unit. One end of the drain tube is connected to the drain through hole formed at a center of a bottom of the main body and the other end is connected to the tube connecting through hole of the drain tank. A vacuum pump is connected to the vacuum pump connecting through hole via a pump tube. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]     The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing the conventional device for collecting the filtered water and the served filter paper;  
         [0016]      FIG. 2  is a front view showing the step which the filtered water in the flask of the conventional device is transferred to the filtered water container;  
         [0017]      FIG. 3  is a front sectional view showing the device for simultaneously collecting the filtered water and the served filter paper according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0018]      FIG. 4  is a side sectional view showing the device for simultaneously collecting the filtered water and the served filter paper according to an embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0019]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view showing the device for simultaneously collecting the filtered water and the served filter paper according to an embodiment of the present invention, which a filtered water storage unit is detached from a supporting unit. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0020]     Reference should now be made to the drawings, in which the same reference numerals are used throughout the different drawings to designate the same components.  
         [0021]      FIG. 3  is a front sectional view showing a device for simultaneously collecting the filtered water and the served filter paper according to an embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 4  is a side sectional view showing the device for simultaneously collecting the filtered water and the served filter paper according to an embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 5  is a perspective view showing the device for simultaneously collecting the filtered water and the served filter paper according to an embodiment of the present invention, which the filtered water storage unit is detached from a supporting unit.  
         [0022]     As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the device for simultaneously collecting the filtered water and the served filter paper according to the present invention comprises the funnel-shaped filtering unit  1 , the mounting means  20 , the filtered water storage unit  60 , and the vacuum pump (not shown).  
         [0023]     The funnel-shaped filtering unit  1  comprises an influx container  2 , a feeding unit  8 , and a plug  9 . In this case, the influx container  2  tapers off from its upper end, so the diameter of its upper part is larger than that of the lower part. A flange  3  is integrally provided at the lower end of the influx container  2 , so that the influx container  2  is seated on a seat  6  by the flange  3 . The sampled water collected for analyzing is fed into an upper portion of the funnel-shaped filtering unit  1 . The sampled water is discharged downwards through the filter paper  4 . The feeding unit  8  is holed through vertically to form a vertical passage. A filtering mesh  5  is seated on the upper end of the seat  6  to support the filter paper  4 . The seat  6  is removably seated on the flange  3  of the influx container  2 . A feeding pipe  7  extends vertically and downwardly from the seat  6 . In this case, the feeding pipe  7  and the seat  6  may be a single body or may be assembled when they are used. Along its center, the plug  9  is provided with a through hole into which the feeding pipe  7  is fitted.  
         [0024]     The magnets having opposite polarities may be provided in the flange  3  and the seat  6 , respectively. It is desirable that the inner diameter of the feeding pipe  7  is smaller than that of the lower part of the influx container  2 . Further, in order to allow the whole filtered water passing through the feeding pipe  7  to flow into the filtered water container  15 , the inner diameter of the feeding pipe  7  must be smaller than that of the mouth of a filtered water container  15 . And it is preferable that the plug  9  tapers off downwards, so that the diameter of its lower part of the plug is smaller than that of its upper part.  
         [0025]     The mounting means  20  comprises a supporting unit  30 , supporting rods  40  and a drain tank  50 .  
         [0026]     The supporting unit  30  comprises a supporting plate  35 , a plug support block  41 , a sealing means  38  and a first attaching means  39 . The shape of the supporting plate  35  is rectangular. At least one support through hole  31  is formed in the supporting plate  35  at regular intervals, and the guide through holes  32  are formed at four corners of the supporting plate  35 . The plug support block  41  comprises the large-diameter hollow part  36  and the small-diameter hollow part  37 . The number of the plug support blocks  41  is the same as that of the support through holes  31 . The plug  9  of the funnel-shaped filtering unit  1  is fitted into the large-diameter hollow part  36  to be sealed. The small-diameter hollow part  37  is fitted into the support through hole  31  to be sealed. Further, the sealing means  38  of the same number as that of the support through holes  31  are provided on a lower surface of the supporting plate  35  at a position around the support through hole  31 . The first attaching means  39  is provided on the lower surface of the supporting plate  35  at a position outside the sealing means  38  and the number of the first attaching means  39  is the same as that of the support through holes  31 .  
         [0027]     The inner diameter of the small-diameter hollow part  37  of the plug support block  41  is larger than the outer diameter of the feeding pipe  7 , so that the feeding pipe  7  of the funnel-shaped filtering unit  1  extends into the small-diameter hollow part  37 . In this case, the plug support block  41  having the large-diameter hollow part  36  and the small-diameter hollow part  37  or the plug support block  41  having only the large-diameter hollow part  36  may be integrated with the supporting plate  35 .  
         [0028]     A ventilating through hole  43  is formed at the large-diameter hollow part  36  of the plug support block  41 . A vacuum release valve  45  is provided at the ventilating through hole  43 , and is opened or closed to release or maintain vacuum.  
         [0029]     The sealing means  38  may comprise a rubber ring. A circular groove having a rectangular cross-section is formed at the lower surface of the supporting plate  35  so that the rubber ring is inserted into the groove. Further, the sealing means  38  may comprise two pieces of neighboring rubber rings, that is the first rubber ring and the second rubber ring. The first rubber ring is inserted into the circular groove whose cross-section is rectangular and is formed at the lower surface of the supporting plate  35 . The second rubber ring is provided along an outer circumference of the first rubber ring in such a way as to be attached to the first rubber ring at a plurality of contacts provided at several positions, and the diameter of the second rubber ring is larger than that of the first rubber ring.  
         [0030]     One end of the supporting rod  40  is fitted into the guide through holes  32  which are formed at the supporting unit  30 , and the other end is mounted on the edge of the top surface of the drain tank  50 . In this case, the supporting rod  40  is threaded externally to engage with the guide through hole  32 . The supporting plate  35  of the supporting unit  30  is movable upward or downward relative to the drain tank  50  along the supporting rod  40 , and is fastened to a desired position of the supporting rod  40  using a wing nut  46  and a support nut  47  at its upper and lower surfaces.  
         [0031]     The drain tank  50  is box-shaped, and defines a space  51  therein to store the filtered water flowing over the filtered water container  15 . The tube connecting through holes  53  of the same number as that of the support through holes  31  are formed at the top surface of the drain tank  50  at regular intervals. A first connecting member  54  is assembled to the tube connecting through hole  53 . A vacuum pump connecting through hole  56  is provided at a predetermined position of the top surface of the drain tank  50 , and a pump connecting member  57  is assembled to the vacuum pump connecting through hole  56 . Further, a discharging through hole  58  is formed at a predetermined position of a lower part of the drain tank  50 . A shut-off cock  59  is provided at the discharging through hole  58 .  
         [0032]     As shown in  FIG. 5  in detail, the number of the filtered water storage units  60  is the same as that of said support through holes  31 . A filtered water storage unit  60  comprises a main body  61 , a second connecting member  71  and a drain tube  70 . A main body  61  comprises a cylindrical part  62 , a flange  68 , and a bottom plate  66 . The cylindrical part  62  defines a space which is opened at its top so as to hold the filtered water container  15  for containing the filtered water flowing out of the feeding pipe  7  of the funnel-shaped filtering unit  1 . The flange  68  outwardly extends around an upper portion of the cylindrical part  62 , and is provided with a second attaching means  69  to be removably attached to the first attaching means  39  of the supporting unit  30 . The bottom plate  66  is provided in the cylindrical part  62  as shown in  FIG. 3 . A drain through hole  65  is formed at the center of the bottom plate  66  to drain the filtered water flowing over the filtered water container  15 .  
         [0033]     The second connecting member  71  is placed at the drain through hole  65  of the main body  61 . The filtered water flowing over the filtered water container  15  flows in the drain tank  50  via the drain tube  70  connected to an outlet of the second connecting member  71 .  
         [0034]     The first attaching means  39  of the supporting unit  30  and the second attaching means  69  of the filtered water storage unit  60  comprise magnets whose polarities are opposite each other, so that the filtered water storage unit  60  is removably attached to the supporting unit  30 . According to the embodiment of the present invention, the first and second attaching means  39 ,  69  comprise two magnets respectively. But the first and second attaching means  39 ,  69  may comprise three or more magnets respectively.  
         [0035]     When the first attaching means  39  is attached to the second attaching means  69 , the sealing means  38  of the supporting unit  30  contacts closely enough to be sealed with the flange  68  of the filtered water storage unit  60 . Although not shown in the drawings, the first and second attaching means  39 ,  69  may be externally and internally threaded, respectively, so as to engage with each other.  
         [0036]     A drain member  75  is provided at the bottom plate  66  of the main body  61 , and is provided with a bottom hole at its bottom and with a plurality of side holes at its sidewall. Upper and lower flanges are provided at the upper and lower edges of the drain member  75 . Such a drain member  75  allows the surplus filtered water to be smoothly drained through the drain through hole  65 . In this case, the various shapes of drain member  75  may be manufactured, but the drain member  75  is necessarily provided with the bottom hole and the side holes. A plurality of grooves may be arranged around the drain through hole  65  on an upper surface of the bottom plate  66  at regular angular intervals in radial directions. Such grooves extend from the drain through hole  65  to the inside of the cylindrical part  62 , so that the filtered water flowing over the filtered water container  15  is guided to the drain through hole  65  and smoothly drained.  
         [0037]     A hollow extension part  76  downwardly extends from a lower edge of the main body  61 . A tube hole  77  is formed at a predetermined position of a sidewall of the hollow extension part  76 , so that the drain tube  70  which is connected to the second connecting member  71  passes through the tube hole  77 . Thus, when the filtered water storage unit  60  is put on the ground surface or the drain tank  50 , it uprightly stands on the ground surface or the drain tank  50  without interfering with the drain tube  70 .  
         [0038]     A pressure control device  78  is provided at a position of a sidewall of the main body  61  to press the outer surface of the drain tube  70 , thus cutting off the negative pressure generated by the vacuum pump, and thereby preventing the negative pressure from being concentrated in the filtered water storage unit  60  when the filtered water storage unit  60  is detached from the supporting unit  30 . Thus, although one of several filtered water storage units  60  is detached from the supporting unit  30 , the negative pressure in other filtered water storage units  60  is maintained and the collecting can be continued normally.  
         [0039]     The drain tube  70  connected to the drain through hole  65  of the filtered water storage unit  60  is long enough to allow the filtered water storage unit  60  to be moved away from the supporting unit  30  when the filtered water storage unit  60  is detached from the supporting unit  30 . The drain tube  70  adjacent to the first connecting member  54  is coiled to be neatly arranged, and this prevents said drain tube  70  from drooping and being entangled when said filtered water storage unit  60  is moved to the other place. The vacuum pump is provided with a pump tube  89 . And the pump tube  89  is connected to the pump connecting unit  57  of the drain tank  50 . It is possible to control the collecting rate of the filtered water by controlling the pressure generated by the pump.  
         [0040]     In the device of the present invention, it is preferable that the components made of rubber or plastics are transparent so that the flow of water may be easily observed.  
         [0041]     The method how to operate the device according to the present invention will be described as follows, in detail. At least one funnel-shaped filtering unit  1  and the supporting unit  30  are assembled together by inserting the plug  9  into the plug support block  41 .  
         [0042]     First, the filter paper  4  is disposed between the influx container  2  and the seat  6  of the funnel-shaped filtering unit  1 . Next, the filtered water storage unit  60 , which is attached to the supporting unit  30  using the first attaching means  39  of the supporting unit  30  and the second attaching means  69  of the filtered water storage unit  60 , is detached from the supporting unit  30 . Thereafter, the filtered water container  15  is put into the filtered water storage unit  60 . The filtered water storage unit  60  with the filtered water container  15  is attached to the supporting unit  30  again, and is sealed by the sealing means  38 .  
         [0043]     When the vacuum pump is operated after closing the shut-off cock  59  of the drain tank  50  and the vacuum release valve  45  of the plug support block  41 , the negative pressure is generated in the drain tank  50  via the pump tube  89  and the pump connecting member  57 . At this time, the negative pressure is transferred to at least one filtered water storage unit  60  for collecting filtered water via the drain tube  70 . One end of the drain tube  70  is connected to the first connecting member  54  of the drain tank  50  and the other end is connected to the second connecting member  71  of the filtered water storage unit  60 . Because of the difference in pressure between in the storage unit  60  and in the influx container  2 , the sampled water in the influx container  2  of the funnel-shaped filtering unit  1  thus forcibly flows downward and is filtered through the filter paper  4 .  
         [0044]     Almost all of the filtered water is fed into the filtered water container  15 . The filtered water may flows over the filtered water container  15 . But there is nothing to worry about the water flowing into the vacuum pump because the filtered water flown over the filtered water container  15  flows into the drain tank  50  through the drain tube  70  which is connected to the filtered water storage unit  60 . When the amount of the filtered water contained in the drain tank  50  exceeds a predetermined level, the shut-off cock  59  of the drain tank  50  is opened to drain.  
         [0045]     According to the present invention, the served filter paper  4  and the filtered water may be simultaneously collected using a plurality of the funnel-shaped filtering units  1  and the filtered water containers  15 . In this case, when it is required to detach one of the filtered water storage units  60  from the supporting unit  30 , the filtered water storage unit  60  may not be easily detached from the supporting unit  30  due to the negative pressure produced in the filtered water storage unit  60 . Thus, it is necessary to release the negative pressure from the storage unit  60 . The negative pressure of the filtered water storage unit  60  is released by opening the vacuum release valve  45  of the supporting unit  30 , which is placed above the filtered water storage unit  60 . Further, the pressure cut-off device  78  which is provided at the sidewall of the main body  61  cuts off the filtered water storage unit  60  from the negative pressure by pressing the outer surface of the drain tube  70 . Thus, a selected storage unit  60  is easily released from the supporting unit  30  without interrupting the filtering process of the other storage units  60 . As such, the device according to the present invention allows the filtered water to be conveniently collected in the several filtered water containers  15  while allowing a number of filter papers  4  to be collected.  
         [0046]     When the vacuum pump is not used, it is impossible to control air pressure in the storage units. However, in this case the device of the present invention allows the filtered water and a plurality of filter papers  4  to be simultaneously collected too.  
         [0047]     In the present invention, the sampled liquid is not limited to water, and includes other liquids in addition to water. Thus, the device of the present invention is used for simultaneously collecting the filter paper  4  through which the liquid is filtered and the filtered liquid through the filter paper  4 .  
       INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY  
       [0048]     According to the present invention, because the filtered water directly flows into the filtered water container, the transferring step from the flask to the filtered water container is not needed differently from the conventional device. So it is convenient to use the device according to the present invention while saving time and expense, and minimizing the pollution of the filtered water.  
         [0049]     Further, the device according to the present invention is designed to control the filtering rate by using the vacuum pump. Thus it is possible to reduce the time required to discharge the filtered water by controlling the pressure in the filtered water storage unit. Because the filtered water flowing over the filtered water container is drained to the drain tank, it is not needed to observe whether the filtered water flows over the filtered water container or not. Thus, it is possible to perform another work while carrying out the collecting process with the device according the present invention.  
         [0050]     Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.