Granted Patent B2

US 7,338,595 · App. 10/971,294 · Granted Mar 4, 2008

Abstract

Claims (22)

1. A fluid treatment system comprising:

at least one non-treating flow-through tank for temporarily retaining a supply of fluid for subsequent use by the system;

an inlet line leading to a first intersection;

a first line leading from said first intersection to an interior of said tank;

a second line leading from said first intersection to a side-stream treatment device configured for treating at least one of an untreated fluid from said inlet line and a treated fluid from said tank via said first line and selectively providing the treated fluid to said at least one flow-through tank;

a third line leading from said treatment device to an interior of said tank for delivering said treated fluid to the interior of said tank;

an outlet line connected to the interior of the tank for delivering water to a point of use;

and

at least one sensing device configured for sensing the quality of fluid in said at least one flow-through tank and being connected to said side-stream treatment device for providing the treated fluid to said at least one flow-through tank upon a determination of a quality of fluids in said at least one flow-through tank being less than or equal to a predetermined fluid quality threshold.

2. The fluid treatment system of claim 1 , wherein said inlet line distributes fluid through said flow-through tank in a plug-like flow manner.

3. The fluid treatment system of claim 2 , wherein said inlet line includes a slotted, drilled or screened end configured for feeding untreated fluid to said at least one flow-through tank.

4. The fluid treatment system of claim 2 , wherein said at least one flow-through tank has gravel in a bottom of said at least one flow-through tank to facilitate distribution of said untreated fluid fed through said inlet line in said plug-like flow manner.

5. The fluid treatment system of claim 1 , further comprising a mixer configured for mixing said untreated and treated fluids in said at least one flow-through tank.

6. The fluid treatment system of claim 1 , further including at least one baffle in said at least one flow-through tank.

7. The fluid treatment system of claim 1 , further comprising a control panel configured for receiving a turn-on signal from said at least one sensor and turning on said treatment device to provide the treated fluid to said at least one flow-through tank.

8. The fluid treatment system of claim 1 further including a bypass valve in fluid communication with said treatment device and said at least one tank and configured for blending fluid from said treatment device with incoming untreated fluid into said at least one tank.

9. The fluid treatment system of claim 1 , wherein said treatment device includes a reverse osmosis system comprising:

a pressure vessel having a reverse osmosis membrane;

a drain line connected to said pressure vessel and configured for draining filtered fluid having a lower quality than said predetermined threshold;

a product fluid line connected to said pressure vessel and configured for receiving treated fluid having a higher quality than said predetermined threshold and delivering the treated fluid to the third line; and

a pump fluidly connected to said pressure vessel and configured to pump said treated fluid to said third line.

10. The fluid treatment system of claim 9 , wherein said pump is provided in said product fluid line at a downstream side of said reverse osmosis membrane.

Assignments (17)