Portable Water Purifier Pumping Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing portable water filtering and purifying devices face limitations in effectively removing viruses and bacteria due to pore size constraints, leading to clogging issues and high replacement costs, especially in developing countries where access to new filters is impractical.
Innovation Solution
A portable device with a pumping mechanism that allows water to be treated with disinfectants in one chamber and then filtered through activated carbon in another, enabling the use of smaller pore sizes and reversing the flow to clear clogs, making the filter reusable.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the pore size of the filter is made smaller to filter out bacteria and viruses, then the filtering effectiveness is improved, but the filter becomes clogged quickly and cannot pass a meaningful amount of water through mouth suction or gravity pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a hand-operated pump to create positive pressure that forces water through the filter, replacing the inadequate mouth suction or gravity pressure. This hydraulic mechanism enables water to pass through small-pore filters (0.2 microns or smaller) at a meaningful flow rate without relying on human suction capability, thereby resolving the contradiction between fine filtration and water flow rate.
2Reliability
If the pore size of the filter is made smaller to remove more contaminants, then the filtering capability is improved, but the filter becomes impossible to pass water through using only mouth suction or gravity pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The hand-operated pump mechanism transforms the operation from passive (mouth suction or gravity) to active pressurized pumping. This allows the use of ultra-fine pore size filters (0.2 microns or smaller) that would otherwise be impossible to operate with manual suction, thereby improving contaminant removal capability while maintaining ease of operation through a simple manual pump.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If a pre-filter is used to filter out larger particles, then the main filter is protected from immediate clogging, but the smaller pore size of the main filter still causes it to become clogged quickly
Solution Approach 1:
The hand pump generates sufficient pressure to force water through both the pre-filter and the main fine-pore filter simultaneously. This overcomes the clogging issue by maintaining high flow velocity that prevents particle accumulation, allowing the main filter to maintain its small pore size (0.2 microns or smaller) for effective virus and bacteria removal while extending service life through the pumping action that resists clogging.
4Reliability
If filters with very small pore sizes are used to filter out viruses and bacteria, then the purification effectiveness is improved, but the filters become clogged and ineffective quickly, requiring frequent replacement
Solution Approach 1:
The hand-operated pump maintains continuous high-pressure flow through the filter, preventing particle accumulation and clogging. This extends the service life of ultra-fine pore size filters (0.2 microns or smaller) significantly, allowing them to remove viruses and bacteria effectively over extended periods without requiring frequent replacement, thereby reducing time loss associated with filter maintenance.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device effectively filters out viruses and bacteria down to 1 micron, extends the life of the filter by allowing for easy cleaning, and provides a portable solution for obtaining potable water from contaminated sources.
Implementation Method 1
In such device the present inventor has also provided an arrangement for clearing contaminants and materials from the filter device quickly and easily, thereby making the filter reusable and extending its life more or less indefinitely. In such device the present inventor has not only can pump or force water through filters having smaller pore sizes than would be possible with only manual suction, but in addition said same pumping action can be used to force contaminants and other materials clogging the filter out of such filter
Implementation Method 2
The use of granulated activated carbon (GAC) as a water filtration media is well known, since activated carbon is efficient in removing or filtering out small contaminants from water
Implementation Method 3
other agents for destroying certain viruses and bacteria, as well as for eliminating heavy metals and other contaminants are also known
Data Source
AI summary
A portable device for filtering and purifying water comprised of an outer chamber and an inner chamber that is slidable within a section of the outer chamber, and a small pore size pre-filter, whereby water is drawn through the pre-filter into the first container section of the outer chamber where it is isolated and treated with a disinfectant agent, then is drawn out of the first container section and into the second container section, and then into the inner chamber, where it is passed across another filtering material such as an activated carbon bed, removing any remaining contaminants before the potable water exits through a mouthpiece.