Patent ID: 8298420

Claim:
A reverse osmosis water purification system, comprising: a reverse osmosis cartridge having a tap water inflow port for receiving a tap water inflow from a water supply system to produce a supply of relatively purified water discharged from said cartridge via a purified water outflow port, and a supply of brine having impurities concentrated therein and discharged from said cartridge via a brine outflow port; a storage reservoir coupled to said purified water outflow port for receiving and storing a predetermined volume of the produced purified water for on-demand dispensing; a purified water dispense faucet coupled to at least one of said purified water outflow port and to said storage reservoir for dispensing the produced purified water; a multi-cartridge unit including said reverse osmosis cartridge and adapted for unidirectional installation within a manifold housing, said manifold housing including a manifold base for removable unidirectional seated installation of said multi-cartridge unit, said manifold housing and said multicartridge unit further including inter-engageable ported members for sealed fluid-coupled engagement when said multi-cartridge unit is installed onto said manifold base; first and second magnets mounted respectively on said manifold housing and mounted for movement with said multi-cartridge unit carried by said manifold base; and a latch assembly for shifting said first magnet between a normal latched position in magnetic attraction relation with said second magnet for maintaining said ported members in sealed fluid-coupled engagement, and an open position in magnetic repulsion relation with said second magnet for shifting said multicartridge unit to a position with said ported members disengaged to permit removal and replacement of said multi-cartridge unit.