Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02916868 2016-01-07
WATER TREATMENT APPARATUS
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a magnetic treatment apparatus for water and
more
particularly, relates to an apparatus which is suitable for treating water for
different
purposes.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The ability to maintain minerals in a colloidal suspension in water is
required in
certain uses. Thus, for example, in irrigation modern techniques permit the
diminishment of
the consumption of water and thereby an increase in productivity. The current
trend is to
provide irrigation drop by drop as it is more efficient and less expensive. In
regions which
are served by artisan wells, the problem of blockage of the feeders is well
known.
In addition to the above, water containing calcium and magnesium calcify
rapidly in
contact with warm air. One can see the minerals deposit on the leaves of the
plants.
It would therefore be desirable to have a method for treating water where the
minerals are kept in a colloidal suspension delaying any precipitation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a catalyser which helps to
maintain
the colloidal suspension of calcium and magnesium in water.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a magnetic
treatment apparatus comprising an outer housing, a plurality of parallel water
conditioning
devices mounted within the outer housing, each conditioning device comprising
a cylindrical
inner tube, a cylindrical outer tube surrounding the cylindrical inner tube, a
fluid path
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formed between the cylindrical outer tube and the cylindrical inner tube, a
plurality of
. helical flights extending through the fluid passageway, a plurality of
magnets within the
cylindrical inner tube, each of the magnets having a length equal to a
distance between
adjacent helical flights, the magnets in the inner tube being magnetically
aligned, and an
inlet to the fluid path and an outlet therefrom.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a
method for
maintaining a colloidal suspension in water comprising the step of supplying a
magnetic
treatment apparatus comprising an outer housing, a plurality of parallel water
conditioning
devices mounted within the outer housing, each conditioning device comprising
a cylindrical
inner tube, a cylindrical outer tube surrounding the cylindrical inner tube, a
fluid path
formed between the cylindrical outer tube and the cylindrical inner tube, a
plurality of
helical flights extending through the fluid passageway, a plurality of magnets
within the
cylindrical inner tube, each of the magnets having a length equal to a
distance between
adjacent helical flights, the magnets in the inner tube being magnetically
aligned, an inlet to
the fluid path and an outlet therefrom, and passing water through the water
conditioning
devices.
As noted above, the magnetic treatment apparatus has an outer housing with an
entry
plenum and an exit plenum. The entry plenum is designed to distribute the
incoming water
to various conditioning devices mounted within the outer housing. At the other
end, the exit
plenum connects the output from each of the conditioning devices.
The number of conditioning devices enclosed within the outer housing may vary.
Generally, there will be between one and nine such devices. Thus, one could
use a single
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conditioning device although this would be rare as it is simpler in many
instances to just use
the conditioning device per se without the outer housing. Preferred
arrangements would
include three, five or seven conditioning devices mounted within the magnetic
treatment
apparatus. However, the number of conditioning devices may include other
numbers.
The conditioning device will have an inner cylindrical tube which is
preferably
formed of stainless steel and is surrounded by an outer cylindrical tube.
Mounted interiorly
of the inner cylindrical tube are a plurality of magnets. The magnets are
aligned i.e. they
would have a north pole adjacent a south pole of an adjacent magnet.
Surrounding the inner cylindrical tube, as above mentioned, is an outer
cylindrical
tube which defines a fluid passageway between the inner cylindrical tube and
outer
cylindrical tube. Mounted within the fluid passageway is a helical flight. As
used herein,
helical flight or helical flights can refer to the same structure. Thus, there
is provided a fluid
passageway which is helical in nature due to the helical flight mounted in the
area between
the inner cylindrical tube and the outer cylindrical tube.
The arrangement is such that the distance between adjacent helical flights is
equal to
the length of the magnets. In other words, for each turn of the helical path,
there is a single
magnet. Preferably, the magnets would be between two and four inches in
length.
Preferably, the water being treated will have at least 50 ppm mineral salts
therein.
More preferably, the water treated will have between 50 and 1,000 ppm mineral
salts.
The conditioning devices are preferably formed of stainless steel. The type of
stainless steel may vary depending upon the use of the water being treated.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Having thus generally described the invention, reference will be made to the
=
accompanying drawings illustrating embodiments thereof, in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a magnetic treatment apparatus according to
the
present invention;
Figure 1A is an exploded view thereof;
Figure 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view thereof;
Figure 2A is a longitudinal sectional view of the central portion of the
magnetic
treatment apparatus;
Figure 3 is an end elevational view of the input end;
Figure 4 is an end elevational view of the outlet end thereof;
Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the cylindrical outer tube;
Figure 5A is a longitudinal sectional view of the cylindrical outer tube with
the
helical flights thereabout;
Figure 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of one of the conditioning devices;
and
Figure 7 is a perspective view of the cylindrical inner tube.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to the drawings in greater detail and by reference characters
thereto, there
is illustrated a magnetic treatment apparatus which is generally designated by
reference
numeral 10.
Magnetic treatment apparatus 10 includes an outer housing 12, an inlet end
generally
designated by reference numeral 14, and an outlet end generally designated by
reference
numeral 16. Mounted interiorly of outer housing 12 are a plurality of
conditioning
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devices 18, 118, 218, 318 and 418. In the illustrated embodiment, there are
provided five
such conditioning devices; it will be understood that more or less may be
provided.
Preferably, there are provided either three, five, seven or nine such devices
within an outer
housing 12.
Each conditioning device 18, 118, 218, 318 and 418 is substantially identical
and
thus, only one such device will be described in detail herein.
Conditioning device 18 has an inner cylindrical tube 20. Inner cylindrical
tube 20 is
preferably formed of stainless steel. Mounted interiorly of inner cylindrical
tube 20 are a
plurality of magnets 22. Each magnet 22 has a north pole 24 and a south pole
26. It will be
noted that magnets 22 are magnetically aligned with a consistent north south-
north-south
arrangement.
Surrounding inner cylindrical tube 20 is an outer cylindrical tube 28 which is
concentric therewith. Formed between outer cylindrical tube 28 and inner
cylindrical
tube 20 is a fluid path generally designated by reference numeral 30.
Mounted in fluid path 30 are helical flights 32. In this respect, helical
flights 32
comprise a single helix which extends within fluid path 30 and is preferably
secured to inner
cylindrical tube 20. It will of course be recognized that other arrangements
for helical
flights 32 may be utilized.
Helical flights 32 are arranged such that a distance between each adjacent
thereof
flights is equal to the length of magnets 22.
Outer housing 12 is provided with a pair of end caps 34 and 36 at inlet end 14
and
outlet end 16 respectively. A plenum 38 is provided at inlet end 14 and a
plenum 40 is
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provided at outlet end 16. Plenum 38 provides for the distribution of the
fluid to be treated
through conditioning devices 18, 118, 218, 318 and 418 while plenum 40
collects the output
therefrom.
It will be understood that the above described embodiment is for purposes of
illustration only and that changes and modifications may be made thereto
without departing
from the spirit and scope of the invention.
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