Patent Publication Number: US-6655826-B1

Title: Device for the treatment of liquids by mechanical vibration

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates in general to an apparatus for treating fluids by imparting high frequency vibrations to the fluids. 
     2. Description of the Background Art 
     Water in liquid state is an essential element for life. Certain minimal potability conditions, which refer not only to the water&#39;s physical or chemical characteristics but to its microorganism contents are required in order to use this liquid for human consumption. In order to eliminate said microorganisms, chemical treatments for potabilization such as the application of ultraviolet radiation, reverse osmosis, and even boiling the liquid at home are used, some of them with adverse side effects. Simple filtration of the liquid is not enough to eliminate harmful microorganisms. The need of water for human consumption, which complies with health requirements has given origin to water treatment in an industrial scale, and even if it complies with purity standards, it has a very high cost. It can be stated that there is no device in the market for either industrial or domestic use that for a reasonable cost and easy installation, provides a dependable form to treat water according to health standards. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The behavior of a liquid medium, to be virtually incompressible, is known. A displacement or pressure applied to part of said liquid is transmitted to all of the liquid&#39;s volume, and a vibration exerted to say liquid will derive in the resulting vibration of the liquid and its contents. The present invention is distinguished from known inventions as it provides a device that allows the application of mechanically originated vibrations to a fluid medium, specifically to liquids. The device takes advantage of the incompressibility characteristic of liquids in such a way that the undulation of elastic media in the liquid will result in the liquid&#39;s vibration. 
     The undulation of these elastic media will be such as to provide a primary vibration and its harmonics at very high frequencies in the neighborhood of megahertz, which when applied to a liquid, will make this liquid and its contents vibrate. Due to the primary vibration frequency and its harmonics, which will turn out to be the frequency that impacts the mass of the biological contents of the liquid with the greatest intensity, the vibration will thereby destroy, inhibit or affect the reproduction of algae, fungi, bacteria or viruses in the liquid. 
     Thus, the invention provides in a functional combination, a plurality of elongated elastic rods, which are disposed in a liquid flow stream, and means for directing the liquid into contact with the elastic rods in such a manner that causes the elastic rods to vibrate. This vibration in turn imparts a vibration to the liquid, thereby treating the liquid by destroying or inhibiting the growth of the biological contents of the liquid. In the preferred embodiment, a multiple vane helix is positioned in the flow stream and each of the elongated elastic rods passes through perforations or apertures in each of the vanes. The rods are held loosely in the perforations so that as the vanes direct the liquid flow through the helix in a generally spiral fashion, the liquid will impact each of the rods, thereby causing a displacement of the rods which results in a resonant vibration of the same. To enhance the vibration of the rods further, an electrical capacitance effect is employed wherein a pulsating high frequency electrical current is applied to the helix vanes and the elastic rods, which in effect act as opposite polarity plates of an electrical capacitor. The vibration of the elastic rods is also preferably increased and controlled by a permanent magnetic field that is produced by a plurality of semiconductor bodies contained in a central support tube of the helix. The magnetic field acts over the elastic rods in a such a way that the undulation of the rods is further enhanced and controlled. 
     The essential purpose of the invention is thus to provide a device for the treatment of liquid fluids that takes advantage of the liquids— incompressible characteristic, thereby using the liquid as a vehicle for the application to its biological content of undulations or vibrations produced by elastic media with controlled intensity and frequency, so that this vibration will considerably affect fungi, algae, bacteria or viruses contained in the liquid. 
     Another purpose of the invention is to provide a tubular container for the liquid that allows its circulation and a helix, which directs the liquid towards the vibration elements in the helix and is supported by the tubular container. 
     Another purpose of the invention is to provide vibration media, consisting of elongated elastic elements or rods, which act in the helix that directs the liquid flow, which elements are displaced with an undulatory movement by the circulation of the liquid in the helix. 
     Another purpose of the invention is to provide, by the effect of electrical capacitance, an increase in the vibration of the elastic rods or elements, produced by the interaction of a pulsating current in the helix as well as on the elastic elements, which capacitance increases the displacement of the vibrating elastic rods or elements and also determines the desired range of oscillation. 
     Another purpose of the invention is to provide in such a device, magnetic media generating low power lines of force that contribute to the intensity and frequency control of the vibration of the elastic rods or elements. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     In the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, the same numbers designate the same parts on the different figures of the drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a lateral elevation of the device showing its installation in a hydraulic system, which provides a passage for liquid fluid for its treatment by the application of a mechanical vibration. 
     FIG. 2 illustrates in a cross section a lateral elevation of a tubular container and the relative array of the central support, fluid conduction helix and rods or elongated vibration bodies, as well as the central support cylinder and permanent magnetic field semiconductor media. 
     FIG. 3 illustrates in a front elevation, the assembly of fluid flow helix and the central support cylinder, containing the semiconductor field generation media. 
     FIG. 4 illustrates in a conventional perspective the helix and central supporting cylinder assembly, showing the relative position of this helix with interspaced perforations in its vanes, as well as the supporting means for the vibrating elements or rods. 
     FIG. 5 is a lateral perspective view of the assembly of the central support and liquid flow helix and the oscillating elastic rods, operating in the center of the perforations in the vanes of said helix. 
     FIG. 6 is a lateral elevation, showing the helix assembly, vibrating elastic rods, central support and means for fixed support and free sustainment of the rods. 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective elevation, showing on the back vane of the helix assembly, the rod supporting bushings and in its front vane, the free sustainment means for the rods, as well as showing the different lengths of these rods for obtaining different frequencies of the vibrations. 
     FIG. 8 is a front view of a vane of the helix, showing the relative position of an elastic rod in the center of a perforation in the vane, which in the partially enlarged view, shows the existence of liquid around the rod and schematically the array of a dielectric material within the vane&#39;s perforation. 
     FIG. 9 illustrates in a lateral elevation and cross section of the back part of the device, the open end of the tubular container and its cap which includes watertight seals and electrical connection media for the vibration rod ends, which connection is of the electrical arc type, due to the open space between the end of the rod and the electrode cap. 
     FIG. 10 illustrates in an exploded view, the conductor to the electrical system, the closing stopper that contains and retains this conductor and the end of the vibration rod provided with its electrode and deformable washer with watertight seal. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The modality of the invention as illustrated in the drawings comprises a tubular container  11 , which is open both at a threaded back end  11 ′, and at a front end  12 , and is provided with an apertured lateral projection  13 . The lateral projection  13  acts as a liquid intake to the container  11  and is connected to a first pipe  14 , which supplies water or other liquid to be treated from a hydraulic system or other source of liquid to the container  11 . A second pipe  14 ′ is connected to the front open end  12  of the container  11 , which open end  12  acts as an outlet for the device, for redirecting the water or liquid back to the hydraulic system after treatment by the present invention. A closing cap  15 , with threaded media  15 ′, is screwed onto the threaded open end  11 ′ of the container  11  and has an elongated tubular cylinder  16  fixed to its center, which cylinder has a front open end  17 , in which is disposed a stopper  18 . A back end  19  of the elongated cylinder  16 , is affixed to the cap  15  by a bolt  19 ′. To provide a watertight connection between the cap  15  and the container  11 , an annular washer  20  is disposed between the cap  15  and the open end  11 ′ of the container  11 . 
     The central cylinder  16  supports a helix  21  for the flow of the liquid to be treated. The helix  21  includes a plurality of vanes  22 , each of which has a plurality of interspaced perforations or apertures  23 . 
     The illustrated modality of the invention includes four elongated cylindrical bodies or rods  24 , each of which is elastic to facilitate displacement and thus vibration in response to the flow of liquid into contact with the rods  24 . Preferably, the rods  24  are of different lengths to obtain resonant vibrations of different frequencies. Each of the rods  24  is attached at first fixed ends  24 ′ to a corresponding one of a plurality of bushings  25  that are secured to a first, rear vane  22 ″ of the helix  21 . As illustrated in FIG. 2, the first, rear vane  22 ″ is aligned approximately with one side of the liquid intake lateral projection  13 . 
     A last, front vane  22 ′ of the helix  21  contains a plurality of larger diameter perforations or apertures  23 ′ in each of which a corresponding one of a plurality of centering bushings  26  is inserted for reception of the elastic rods  24 , which are allowed certain free movement when vibrating in order to compensate their position during undulation. 
     This assembly of the central support  16  and multiple vane helix  21  will provide an adequate flow for the liquid for a longer distance than the length of the tubular container  11 . With the elongated bodies or rods  24  positioned in the passage of the liquid, this liquid, when flowing towards the rods  24 , will displace them, according to the length of each rod, and its position in the different vanes  22  of the helix  21 . 
     The elasticity of the rods  24 , will force such rods to return to their original position, which will result in a vibration of these rods  24  which is transmitted to the liquid in movement. 
     Preferably, the described assembly also provides an electrical capacitance effect which results from the combination of rods  24  with the perforations  23  in the vanes  22 . The perforations  23  are shown in detail in FIG. 8, which shows a single one of the vanes  22 , with the perforations  23  that correspond to each of the rods  24 . An insulating coating  27  or dielectric is disposed between the rods  24  and the edges of the perforations  23  which provides the capacitance effect mentioned between the rods  24  and the vanes  22  when an electrical potential is applied across these elements. 
     This capacitance provides for each of the rods  24  a displacement effect which is multiplied by the number of the vanes  22 , and which is added to the thrust already been applied to the rods  24  by the liquid mass flowing through the vanes  22 . 
     To obtain the desired capacitance effect, an electrical potential must thus be applied to the rods  24  and the vanes  22  of the helix  21 . This is achieved by connecting a rear end  24 ′ of each of the rods  24  and the central support  16  of the helix  21  to a current source  40  which provides a direct pulsating current which results in further control of the vibration of the rods  24 . With the purpose of providing the pulsating electric energy to rods  24 , the invention includes in these rods an electrode end  28 , which is secured to cap  15  of tubular container  11 , in such a way that it is placed at a certain distance apart from a connector-stopper  29  that is threaded to the cap  15 . This connector-stopper  29 , one for each of rods  24 , has a perforation  29 ′, in which the end of a conductor  30  is inserted, for connection to the current source  40 . The passage of an electrical current will operate the capacitance media formed by vibration rods  24 , vanes  22 , and perforations  23 , which capacitance effect will be produced when an electrical arc is formed in an open space  31 , between the end of the conductor  30 , in the connector-stopper  29 , and the electrode end  28  of the elongated or rod  24 . 
     In the enlarged cross section view of FIG. 9, and in FIG. 10, the corresponding connection of these elements may be seen, as well as the open space  31  in which the electrical arc is formed. 
     The assembly of cap  15  and connector stoppers  29 , is watertight by means of the annular washer  20 , and a plurality of deformable washers  32 , one placed at the electrode end  28  of each of the rods  24 . More particularly, on each of a plurality of conical openings  33  in the cap  15 , one of the washers  32  is provided, which assumes a conical shape upon being deformed that seals the openings  33  and the rods  24 , thereby not allowing any leakage of the liquid flowing through the container  11 , but providing the electrical connection of the rods  24  to the current source  40 . 
     As described and illustrated in FIG. 2, the central tubular support cylinder  16  preferably contains semiconductor media  34  which is provided in order to generate a magnetic field. This field will also have an effect on the rods or elongated bodies  24 , in order to assist in the frequency and intensity control of their vibration or undulation. 
     A description has been made of this basic modality of the invention, which comprises a device to allow the passage of, liquid mass through a conduction helix in which a set of rods, or elongated bodies, operate, resulting from the pressure applied by the liquid mass on the elastic rods in a displacement of said rods, which return to their original position and initiate an oscillation or vibration, that continues due to the constant pressure exerted by the flow of the liquid mass. 
     This vibration is increased by the pulsating electrical capacitance effect over the rods as each rod moves close to and away from the vane&#39;s conductive material, thereby producing an increase of the rods vibration and controlling its frequency. This control over the frequency is also fine tuned by the action of a permanent magnetic field produced by the semiconductors in the central tubular support affixed to the tubular container. 
     The design of the components of this device and their combined operation provide on the liquid mass flowing inside the device a vibration, which in its harmonic frequencies is transmitted to the liquid, which being an incompressible medium, in turn transmits these vibrations to the biological content of the liquid mass; i.e., algae, fungi, bacteria and viruses, thereby destroying them or inhibiting their vital functions. 
     The device, as designed and constructed as described, can be advantageously used when there is liquid which has to be treated by any means for the suppression or destruction of algae, fungi, bacteria or viruses. This is the case of water purification plants, in which it is expected to obtain a liquid that is not only treated for the suppression of salts or non-desired chemical components, but is also treated to suppress or destroy any biological content which is harmful to consumers.