US3869382A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Method and apparatus for determining exhaustion of a mass of ion exchange material and a device using the same
Assignee: PAULINA RIELOFF-TEJEDA (50%)
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Filing: 1974-01-03
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Granted: 1975-03-04
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Expires: 1994-01-03
Abstract
Abstract Equipment and process for treating water with a bed of ion exchange material in which exhaustion of the bed is determined by measuring an internally generated potential which markedly changes as exhaustion is approached. The potential is measured between two points having at least a portion of the material disposed therebetween, one of the points being adjacent the discharge end of the bed and the other being upstream thereof. In a preferred form of the invention the bed is in a household device that softens water flowing from a faucet.
Inventors
- 👤 Alvaro R Tejeda
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-26 09:33
CPC Classifications
B; B01; B01J; B01J47/00; B01J47/14
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 34
Claim 1
Independent Claim
442 words
An apparatus for detecting the exhaustion point of a porous mass of ion exchange material originally charged with desirable ions selected from the group consisting of desirable cations and desirable anions, said apparatus comprising: A. a container having an inlet boundary and an outlet boundary spaced from one another, B. a porous mass of ion exchange material in the container between said boundaries, the whole mass originally being substantially uniformly charged with selected desirable ions from the aforesaid group consisting of desirable cations and desirable anions, C. an inlet for directing liquid to be treated by said material to the inlet boundary, D. an outlet through which liquid flows after treatment by said material and after leaving the outlet boundary, E. means providing a continuous flow path for said liquid between said inlet boundary and said outlet boundary, said path traversing at least a substantial portion of said mass, F. means mounting a downstream electrode in electrical contact with said flow path, G. means mounting an upstream electrode spaced from the downstream electrode in the direction of flow of the liquid, said upstream electrode being in electrical contact with said flow path, H. means electrically insulating said mounting means from one another, I. at least a substantial portion of said material being disposed between said electrodes, J. said material progressively changing its ionic state from its original state of charge with selected desirable ions to a final state as the liquid flows therethrough and an ion transfer takes place between the liquid and the material by which undesirable ions in the liquid are exchanged for charged desirable ions on the material so that the material in its final state is charged with undesirable ions and the liquid leaving the bed before the material reaches its final state contains desirable ions substituted for undesirable ions, K. said mass between said electrodes in the presence of said liquid constituting a battery wholly disposed within the apparatus, L. an electric potential of one value being generated solely by said battery between the electrodes when the liquid in the upstream portion of the material is in an ionic state differing from the ionic state of the liquid in the downstream portion of the matErial, while the downstream portion of the material still is in its original state, M. an electric potential of a different value being generated solely by said battery between the electrodes when the downstream portion of the material approaches its final state, and N. electrical means for indicating the potential between the electrodes so that a change in potential denotes substantial exhaustion of the material and the need for regeneration or replacement thereof.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
442 words
An apparatus for detecting the exhaustion point of a porous mass of ion exchange material originally charged with desirable ions selected from the group consisting of desirable cations and desirable anions, said apparatus comprising: A. a container having an inlet boundary and an outlet boundary spaced from one another, B. a porous mass of ion exchange material in the container between said boundaries, the whole mass originally being substantially uniformly charged with selected desirable ions from the aforesaid group consisting of desirable cations and desirable anions, C. an inlet for directing liquid to be treated by said material to the inlet boundary, D. an outlet through which liquid flows after treatment by said material and after leaving the outlet boundary, E. means providing a continuous flow path for said liquid between said inlet boundary and said outlet boundary, said path traversing at least a substantial portion of said mass, F. means mounting a downstream electrode in electrical contact with said flow path, G. means mounting an upstream electrode spaced from the downstream electrode in the direction of flow of the liquid, said upstream electrode being in electrical contact with said flow path, H. means electrically insulating said mounting means from one another, I. at least a substantial portion of said material being disposed between said electrodes, J. said material progressively changing its ionic state from its original state of charge with selected desirable ions to a final state as the liquid flows therethrough and an ion transfer takes place between the liquid and the material by which undesirable ions in the liquid are exchanged for charged desirable ions on the material so that the material in its final state is charged with undesirable ions and the liquid leaving the bed before the material reaches its final state contains desirable ions substituted for undesirable ions, K. said mass between said electrodes in the presence of said liquid constituting a battery wholly disposed within the apparatus, L. an electric potential of one value being generated solely by said battery between the electrodes when the liquid in the upstream portion of the material is in an ionic state differing from the ionic state of the liquid in the downstream portion of the matErial, while the downstream portion of the material still is in its original state, M. an electric potential of a different value being generated solely by said battery between the electrodes when the downstream portion of the material approaches its final state, and N. electrical means for indicating the potential between the electrodes so that a change in potential denotes substantial exhaustion of the material and the need for regeneration or replacement thereof.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
15 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the electrical means is a meter.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
16 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the electrical means is a volt meter.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
15 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the electrical means is a millivoltmeter.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
15 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the electrical means is an ammeter.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
15 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the electrical means is a microammeter.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
16 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the material is a cation exchange material.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
18 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 7 wherein the material is initially charged on an Na cycle.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
18 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 7 wherein the material is initially charged on an H cycle.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
16 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the material is an anion exchange material.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
18 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 10 wherein the material is initially charged on a Cl cycle.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
18 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 10 wherein the material is initially charged on an OH cycle.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
18 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the material includes both cationic and anionic exchange materials.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
23 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 13 wherein the cationic and anionic materials are initially charged on H and OH cycles, respectively.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
20 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the downstream electrode is adjacent the downstream portion of the material.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
21 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the downstream electrode is embedded in the downstream portion of the material.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
32 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 15 wherein the downstream electrode is beyond the downstream portion of the material so as to be disposed in the treated liquid leaving the material.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
37 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein a porous mass of inert material is abutted against the downstream portion of the ion exchange material and wherein the downstream electrode is embedded in the inert material.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
20 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 15 wherein the upstream electrode is adjacent the upstream portion of the material.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
21 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 19 wherein the upstream electrode is embedded in the upstream portion of the material.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
36 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 19 wherein the upstream electrode is upstream of the upstream portion of the material so as to be disposed in the untreated liquid before such liquid reaches the material.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
37 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 19 wherein a porous mass of inert material is abutted against the upstream portion of the ion exchange material and wherein the upstream electrode is embedded in the inert material.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
32 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the material is initially charged on an Na cycle and wherein means is included to connect the inlet to a domestic water outlet.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
16 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 23 wherein the domestic water outlet is a faucet.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
25 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 24 wherein filter means is interposed between the inlet and the upstream portion of the ion exchange material.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
15 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 25 wherein the filter means includes fibrous material.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
18 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 25 wherein the filter means includes a mass of activated charcoal.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
18 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 25 wherein the filter means includes fibrous material and activated charcoal.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
40 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 23 wherein the device iNcludes a chamber between the inlet and the upstream portion of the ion exchange material, said chamber having removable entry means for insertion of filter means or regenerating material.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
21 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 24 wherein the container is elongated and wherein the longitudinal axis thereof is horizontal.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
26 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 30 wherein the container is mounted on a wall next to the faucet and in back of the sink.
Claim 33
Independent Claim
145 words
A METHOD FOR DETECTING THE EXHAUSTION POINT OF A POROUS MASS OF ION EXCHANGE MATERIAL EXTENDING IN A CONTAINER FROM AN INLET BOUNDARY TO AN OUTLET BOUNDARY AND ORIGINALLY WHOLLY BEING SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORMLY CHARGED TO AN ORIGINAL STATE WITH DESIRABLE IONS SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF DESIRABLE CATIONS AND DESIRABLE ANIONS, SAID METHOD COMPRISING: A. FLOWING A LIQUID TO BE TREATED AND CONTAINING UNDERSIRABLE IONS THROUGH THE MASS BETWEEN THE BOUNDARIES SO AS TO PROGRESSIVELY CHANGE THE IONIC STATE THEREOF TO A FINAL IONIC STATE WHILE EXCHANGING DESIRABLE IONS ON THE MATERIAL FOR UNDERSIRABLE IONS IN THE LIQUID B. PROVIDING ELECTRODES SPACED FROM ONE ANOTHER IN THE DIRECTION OF FLOW OF THE LIQUID AND WITH AT LEAST A PORTION OF SAID MATERIAL THEREBETWEEN SO THAT SAID MASS BETWEEN SAID ELECTRODES IN THE PRESENCE OF SAID LIQUID CONSTITUTES A BATTERY WHOLLY DISPOSED WITHIN THE CONTAINER,
Claim 34
Independent Claim
145 words
A METHOD FOR DETECTING THE EXHAUSTION POINT OF A POROUS MASS OF ION EXCHANGE MATERIAL EXTENDING IN A CONTAINER FROM AN INLET BOUNDARY TO AN OUTLET BOUNDARY AND ORIGINALLY WHOLLY BEING SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORMLY CHARGED TO AN ORIGINAL STATE WITH DESIRABLE IONS SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF DESIRABLE CATIONS AND DESIRABLE ANIONS, SAID METHOD COMPRISING: A. FLOWING A LIQUID TO BE TREATED AND CONTAINING UNDERSIRABLE IONS THROUGH THE MASS BETWEEN THE BOUNDARIES SO AS TO PROGRESSIVELY CHANGE THE IONIC STATE THEREOF TO A FINAL IONIC STATE WHILE EXCHANGING DESIRABLE IONS ON THE MATERIAL FOR UNDERSIRABLE IONS IN THE LIQUID B. PROVIDING ELECTRODES SPACED FROM ONE ANOTHER IN THE DIRECTION OF FLOW OF THE LIQUID AND WITH AT LEAST A PORTION OF SAID MATERIAL THEREBETWEEN SO THAT SAID MASS BETWEEN SAID ELECTRODES IN THE PRESENCE OF SAID LIQUID CONSTITUTES A BATTERY WHOLLY DISPOSED WITHIN THE CONTAINER,
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-03-03 | 1978-09-02 | 1979-03-04 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-03-03 | 1982-09-02 | 1983-03-04 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-03-03 | 1986-09-02 | 1987-03-04 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |