Multimembrane apparatus for demineralizing liquids

Claim 1

IN A SOLUTION TREATMENT APPARATUS HAVING A MULTIPLICITY OF GENERALLY PARALLEL ION MEMBRANES DEFINING COMPARTMENTED, THIN WALLED RECEPTACLES THROUGH WHICH SOLUTION FLOWS DURING TREATMENT, INTEKRCONNECTED RELATIVELY RIGID WALL FORMING ELEMENTS INCLUDING END WALLS RETAINING SAID RECEPTACLES IN OPERATIVE POSITION BETWEEN THEM, OPENINGS DEFINED BY SURFACES IN SAID END WALL ELEMENTS WHICH ARE IN AXIAL ALIGNMENT WITH APERTURES THROUGH SAID MEMBRANES, A SOLUTION DISTRIBUTION ARRANGEMENT COMPRISING SOLUTION INPUT AND OUTPUT CONDUITS PASSING THROUGH SAID OPENINGS AND APERTURES, A PLURALITY OF ADJUSTABLE COUPLING COMPONENTS RETAINING END PORTIONS OF SAID CONDUITS IN SAID OPENINGS, A MULTIPLICITY OF CHANNELING ELEMENTS SUPPORTED ON EACH SAID CONDUIT WHEREBY INDIVIDUAL CHANNELING ELEMENTS OF SAID MULTIPLICITY ARE SEPARATELY SUPPORTED WITHIN INDIVIDUAL RECEPTACLES OF SAID MULTIPLICITY, SAID CHANNELING ELEMENTS BEING DISPOSED IN SAID RECEPTACLES CONTIGUOUS TO SAID THIN WALLS THEREOF, AND EACH CHANNELING ELEMENT HAVING WALL MEANS THEREIN DEFINING HOLES GENERALLY REGISTERING WITH SAID APERTURES AND THROUGH WHICH A CONDUIT OF SAID CONDUITS IS RECEIVED, AND LONGITUDINAL OPENINGS IN SAID CONDUITS COMMUNICATING WITH PASSAGES IN SAID CHANNELING ELEMENTS, SAID PASSAGES OPENING INTO SAID INDIVIDUAL RECEPTACLES WHEREBY A SOLUTION FLOWING BETWEEN INPUT AND OUTPUT CONDUITS FINDS A PATH THROUGH THE CHANNELING ELEMENTS AND THE RECEPTACLES.