Abstract:
The water purification system and associated method of the present invention consists of a generally self-contained, highly maneuverable, portable water purification system. Maneuverability is enhanced by mounting a cabinet on wheels or on a cart that may be easily guided to a water supply. Power is supplied to the system in a solar cell. The power is used to operate the pump of the system and to power the purifying radiation source. The system can also be used as a portable power source in addition to its capacity as a water purifier.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The invention relates generally to a portable water purification system, and specifically to a self-contained, highly mobile, solar powered portable water purification system.  
           [0003]    2. Description of Related Art  
           [0004]    The importance of having water purification systems are especially critical in third world countries or remote areas which have concentrations of people for human survival. Numerous different types of water purification systems have been devised which include chemicals such as chlorine, ozone and filters to make the water consumable by human beings. Mobile water filtration and chlorination systems are known in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 5,399,260 issued to Eldredge, et al. shows a field portable water purification system. This system uses a diesel engine to transport and draw water from a source through the filtration system into some sort of container. U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,584 issued to Capehart shows a transportable self-contained water purification system. Some of the drawbacks of the prior art units are that they require diesel fuel for diesel motors and the use of a combustion engine as a power source adds to the overall weight of the unit decreasing its mobility especially in remote areas. In remote regions and especially in some third world countries even getting fuel for combustion engines is a difficult process.  
           [0005]    The present invention overcomes problems with the prior art by providing a highly mobile water purification system that includes a self-contained power supply that provides for solar power to an electrical battery that powers an electrical motor that is used for the pumping action in the purification process. The system also includes ultraviolet radiation for purification in addition to a plurality of filters that remove different undesirable particulates from the water supply. The system is highly mobile by a single person and can be directed in remote areas through woods and other type areas. The system may also provide additional energy from its solar cells to other equipment if necessary.  
         SUMMARY OF INVENTION  
         [0006]    A self-contained, highly mobile, compact and relatively light weight portable water purification system for remote geographical areas that lack a power supply comprising a rigid cabinet the exterior of the cabinet covered with solar cells, a first inlet pipe for receiving contaminated water, a pump mounted inside said cabinet, a plurality of water filters connected together serially to perform filtration on the pumped water, an ultraviolet radiation chamber that radiates ultraviolet rays into the water being purified at the final stage and an outlet pipe for receiving and dispensing purified water.  
           [0007]    Mounted inside the cabinet is also a battery and an electrical system for providing power to the water pump and a delay circuit that allows the ultraviolet radiation unit to warm up for approximately ten seconds before the pump is turned on. The exterior of the housing may be made of a any material including but not limited to plastic or metal and has mounted on the exterior surfaces (to cover as much surface area as possible) a plurality of solar cells or solar panels containing cells each of which generate electricity when subjected to sun light and which provide the electricity to the storage battery (which is typically a 12 volt battery). An inverter may be used to provide a 120 volt A/C current to the pump or to an electrical receptacle mounted on the exterior of the housing to receive an electric plug to power accessory equipment. In areas of high sun light, the system may also be used as an electrical supply source when sufficient electrical power is available for purification.  
           [0008]    Attached to the cabinet is at least one axle with two large wheels or a plurality of wheels depending on the type of environment anticipated. A manual handle bar that is removable, collapsible and telescopic is attached to the upper portion or side of the cabinet to allow the device to be manually wheeled in any desired direction. By using the exterior cabinet surfaces, additional solar cells can be added and disposed and panels could be mechanically hinged to the device to provide for additional solar power under certain circumstances, in areas of low sun light.  
           [0009]    In using the invention, the entire device is manually wheeled to a suitable area that has a polluted water supply that is typically fresh water and not salt water. A hose is disposed in the polluted water supply. The power switch is turned on. The pump turn on is delayed about ten seconds to allow the ultraviolet radiation unit to get up to full power in the UV chamber. A series of water filters and strainers are provided in a conduit path of the water supply to be purified mounted inside the housing for multiple stages such as first stage filter, a second stage filter and a third stage filter. The inlet water is carried in a plastic PVC pipe from the inlet hose to the outlet hose through each filter and the UV chamber for ultraviolet radiation for killing bacteria. The amount of gallons per minute is a function of the diameter of the pipe, the size of the pump and the amount of time of transition desired the filters and through the UV chamber.  
           [0010]    It is an object of this invention to provide a highly mobile, solar powered fresh water purification system especially for use in remote and urban areas.  
           [0011]    It is another object of this invention to provide;a highly mobile solar powered water purification system that can also provide additional electrical power from solar energy in remote areas in addition to the water purification.  
           [0012]    Any yet still another object of this invention is to provide a highly efficient self-contained water purification system that can be easily maneuvered in remote and urban areas that does not require petroleum fuel sources for energy.  
           [0013]    In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparent hereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
       [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of the present invention including the purification system mounted inside a mobile cabinet.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the present invention.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0017]    Referring now to the drawings and especially FIG. 1, the present invention is shown schematically mounted in a housing  24  that contains strainers S 1  and S 2  connected together by the inlet pipe  16 . An inlet hose  12  draws water from a source  44  that is polluted, that is fresh water but not drinkable by human beings for various pollution problems. The inlet hose  12  is connected to a fitting  14  that allows the water to flow into pipe  16  within the cabinet  24 . A pre-strainer S 1  removes the particulates from the inlet water. An additional strainer S 2  can be used connected to pipe  16  as the water flows from pre-strainer S 1  into strainer S 2 . The source of the flow energy for the water is a pump P  32  that draws the water from the inlet hose  12  from source  44  through the entire cabinet  24  as described. The pump P is an electrical pump powered by a battery  46 B connected electrically to on/off switch  48  SW. The battery power  46  goes through an inverter  30  that can be used to convert DC to a 110 volt A/C system. A pump delay element  34  allows the ultraviolet radiation to “warm up” to full power in the ultraviolet chamber  36  that contains an ultraviolet radiation source that destroys bacteria in the water by radiation. By having a ten second delay ensures that water contained in chamber  36  will be purified through the ultraviolet radiation. Once the pump  32  is running, water from screen S 2  goes through the pump  32  into a first filter F 1 . The first stage filter F 1  removes particles down to one micron in size. This removes any water borne cysts. The water then under pressure leaves the first stage filter and enters filter F 2  which will filter particulates down to 0.35 microns. This stage cleans most of the turbidity or dirt and anything else that may get past stage F 1 . As the water leaves the filter F 2 , it enters filter F 3  which is solid or granular carbon filter. The filter F 3  polishes the water to a crystal clear state. It can also sweeten the water for better taste. The carbon blocked filter F 3  removes chlorine and most organic chemicals and lead. The water then leaves the carbon filter F 3  and enters the fourth stage which is a UV chamber  36 . Water in the reactor chamber  36  receives the ultraviolet rays which kills all living organisms by the DNA exposure to ultraviolet rays within chamber  36 . As water exits the UV chamber  36 , it is now pure in the sense that it is safe for human beings to drink the water. Other filters can be added to remove specific impurities that are unique to other areas of the world. A bulk head fitting  20  connected to pipe  16  is in fluid communication with the exit pipe  22  which can deposit water into a receptacle  38  either directly or indirectly to collect the purified water.  
         [0018]    Note also that the battery  46  is connected to a solar cell C 40  which can have numerous solar cells C 40  disposed all over the outside of the cabinet connected by wires to the battery or directly to the pump wiring. This allows for maximum solar charging of the battery B. The inverter  30  is used to convert 12 volt battery power current into 120 volt AC when necessary. This could provide receptacle  28  (which is an external electrical receptacle) to provide additional power to other accessory machinery in a remote location if there is excess battery power available. The receptacle also allows for A/C power to be plugged into the unit if it were available in an urban location to charge the battery and to drive the pump  32  from a 110 volt source if available.  
         [0019]    The power control is comprised of the on/off source  48  SW which is the AC/DC power switch, a pump time delay (which can be ten seconds or more)  34  to hold the pump off until the ultraviolet light comes up to full power in the chamber  36 . The water passing through the ultraviolet chamber  36  assumes a 99.9% kill rate of bacteria. A relay can be used with inverter  30  to block out the power being provided from two different power sources external and battery if available. The system may include an indicator light and an alarm A to alert problems with the ultraviolet radiation unit. The alarm A is mounted on the outside of the cabinet and connected electrically to UV unit in chamber  36 .  
         [0020]    Referring now to FIG. 2, the outside cabinet or housing  24  of the portable water purifier system is shown. The housing  21  is made of any suitable rectangular material and may have an access door  54  with hinges  54   a.  A handle bar  50  is connected to the housing that allows maneuvering the cabinet  24  which is connected to wheels  26  on each side. The handle bar  50  may fold down or be removable or telescopic.  
         [0021]    The solar cells C 40  are mounted on five or six surfaces of the housing for increased solar power collection to capture as much solar energy as possible, useful in urban or remote locations. Thus each side and end panel that makes up housing  24  can include additional solar cells  40  which are electrically connected to the battery for charging the battery when not in use.  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 3 shows portable purifier  1   0  and housing  24  on the purified water outlet side. The outlet hose  22  is a source of purified water under pressure for use with a water container. Additional solar panels C 40  can be used. An alarm that can be used to warn of any problems with the ultraviolet.  
         [0023]    Using the present invention drinkable, portable water can be obtained from any fresh water source regardless of how polluted in any remote region that has even a moderate amount of sun light through the use of the solar cells that collect solar energy to charge a battery. The mobile unit can also be easily maneuvered with two large wheels as shown or additional wheels if required for any type of terrain. The wheels can be solid material such as rubber, tubeless or tube containing tires. The unit is easy to maneuver manually because of its light weight since it does not have a huge, heavy internal combustion engine typically found on other water purification systems.  
         [0024]    In the electrical wiring of the system if an external power source is available, a relay locks out one of the two voltage power sources from being on together that could cause a short.  
         [0025]    There is also the option of mounting a battery charger on board to speed up the battery recharge cycle if needed. In addition the system may be used as a portable power source to run accessories such as a light, radio, tv, or power tools.  
         [0026]    The instant invention has been shown and described herein in what is considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment. It is recognized, however, that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.