초록 ▼

A lightweight water treatment system which can be easily distributed and employed by disaster survivors for treating locally available freshwater sources. The water treatment system includes an internal storage volume for maintaining a predetermined volume of water, a water fill port in communicatio

A lightweight water treatment system which can be easily distributed and employed by disaster survivors for treating locally available freshwater sources. The water treatment system includes an internal storage volume for maintaining a predetermined volume of water, a water fill port in communication with the internal storage volume provided at a first end of the elongated container for receiving the predetermined volume of water, a sealing member disposed at about the first end of the elongated container for maintaining the volume of water within the internal storage volume, a second end of the elongated container for receiving sediment settling out of the predetermined volume of water and a discharge port disposed superjacent to the second conically-shaped end for controllably releasing at least a portion of the water maintained within the internal storage volume of the elongated container.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A water treatment system for purifying water in a field environment comprising: an elongated container comprising; a first wall;a second wall opposite to the first wall, the first wall and the second wall being constructed from a flexible material;an internal storage volume for maintaining a pred

1. A water treatment system for purifying water in a field environment comprising: an elongated container comprising; a first wall;a second wall opposite to the first wall, the first wall and the second wall being constructed from a flexible material;an internal storage volume for maintaining a predetermined volume of water;the internal storage volume including a predetermined headspace volume within the internal storage volume when the elongated container is filled with the predetermined volume of water;at least one lateral baffle having a first end coupled to an inside surface of the first wall and a second end coupled to an inside surface of the second wall;a water fill port in communication with the internal storage volume provided at a first end of the elongated container for receiving the predetermined volume of water to be maintained within the internal storage volume of the elongated container;a sealing member disposed at the first end of the elongated container for maintaining the volume of water within the internal storage volume; a second end of the elongated container for receiving sediment settling out of the predetermined volume of water maintained within the internal storage volume; and,a discharge port disposed superjacent to the second end for controllably releasing at least a portion of the water maintained within the internal storage volume of the elongated container wherein the discharge port is configured to only discharge water above the settled sediment received in the second end. 2. The water treatment system according to claim 1 wherein the elongated container consists essentially of an elongated plastic bag having a thickness in a range of 6-40 mils, a storage volume in a range of 5-30 liters of water and a length-to-width ratio in a range of between 3:1 and 8:1. 3. The water treatment system according to claim 1 wherein the sealing member is selected from the group consisting essentially of a clamp, a pair of opposing and interlocking transverse ridges, tape, a twist-tie, a tie-wrap, hook-and-loop fasteners, a rollable section of the elongated container, a draw string and any combination thereof. 4. The water treatment system according to claim 1 wherein the predetermined headspace occupies at least 5% of the internal storage volume. 5. The water treatment system according to claim 1 further comprising: a filtration member for removing impurities from water released through the discharge port, the filtration member comprising: an inlet nozzle configured to sealingly couple with the discharge port;a filter case for maintaining a filter element in communication with water released through the discharge port;an outlet nozzle configured to sealingly couple with an end of a treated water supply conduit; and,the filter element for filtering impurities from water flowing therethrough. 6. The water treatment system according to claim 5 wherein the filtration member is disposed intermediate with the elongated container and an end of the treated water supply conduit. 7. The water treatment system according to claim 5 wherein the elongated container further comprises a receptacle for maintaining the filtration member in juxtaposition with the discharge port. 8. The water treatment system according to claim 1 wherein the at least one lateral baffle is constructed from at least one of a flexible material as used to construct the first wall and the second wall or a more rigid material. 9. The water treatment system according to claim 1 wherein the second end of the elongated container includes a conical shape for receiving the settled sediment. 10. The water treatment system according to claim 1 further comprising an effective amount of a water treatment agent for treating the predetermined volume of water maintained within the internal storage volume of the elongated contained. 11. The water treatment system according to claim 10 wherein the water treatment agent includes at one of a flocculent, a biocide, a pH buffer, an oxidizing agent, a coagulant and an adsorbent. 12. The water treatment system according to claim 1 wherein at least one of the first end or the second end of the at least one lateral baffle is coupled to the respective inside surface of the first wall or the respective inside surface of the second wall in a substantially longitudinal orientation. 13. A water treatment system for purifying water in a field environment comprising: an elongated container comprising; a first wall;a second wall opposite to the first wall, the first wall and the second wall being constructed from a flexible material;a water fill port in communication with the internal storage volume provided at a first end of the elongated container for receiving a predetermined volume of water to be maintained within an internal storage volume of the elongated container;sealing member for sealing the elongated container disposed in juxtaposition to the first end of the elongated container;at least one lateral baffle having a first end coupled to an inside surface of the first wall and a second end coupled to an inside surface of the second wall, the at least one baffle constructed from a flexible material as used to construct the first wall and the second wall of the elongated container for improving agitation of the predetermined volume of water maintained within the internal storage volume of the elongated container;a second conically-shaped end of the elongated container for receiving sediment settling out of the predetermined volume of water maintained within the internal storage volume; and,a discharge port disposed superjacent to the second conically-shaped end for controllably releasing at least a portion of the water maintained within the internal storage volume of the elongated container wherein the discharge port is configured to only discharge water above the settled sediment received in the second conically-shaped end. 14. The water treatment system according to claim 13 wherein the sealing member is selected from the group consisting of a clamp, interlocking transverse ridges, tape, a twist-tie, tie-wrap, hook-and-loop fasteners, a rollable section of the elongated container above a fill line marking and any combination thereof. 15. The water treatment system according to claim 13 further comprises at least one of a handle, strap or grip coupled to the elongated container. 16. The water treatment system according to claim 13 further including a filtration member for filtering the water released from the discharge port. 17. The water treatment system according to claim 13 further comprising an effective amount of water treatment agent for treating the predetermined volume of water maintained within the internal storage volume of an elongated container, wherein the water treatment agent at least includes: a flocculent for removing suspended matter from the predetermined volume of water maintained within the internal storage volume; and,a biocide for disinfecting the predetermined volume of water maintained within the internal storage volume. 18. The water treatment system according to claim 13 wherein a ratio of a length of the elongated container to a width of the elongated container is in a range of between 3:1 and 8:1. 19. The water treatment system according to claim 13 further comprising: a filtration member for removing impurities from water released through the discharge port, the filtration member comprising: an inlet nozzle configured to sealingly couple with the discharge port;a filter case for maintaining a filter element in communication with water released through the discharge port;an outlet nozzle configured to sealingly couple at an end of a treated water supply conduit; and,the filter element for removing impurities from water flowing therethrough. 20. The water treatment system according to claim 19 wherein the filtration member is disposed intermediate with the elongated container and an end of the treated water supply conduit. 21. The water treatment system according to claim 19 wherein the elongated container further comprises a receptacle for maintaining the filtration member in juxtaposition with the discharge port. 22. A method for purifying water in a field environment using the water treatment system according to claim 1 or 13 comprising: filling an elongated container with the predetermined volume of water, the elongated container including: a first wall;a second wall, the first wall and the second wall being constructed from a flexible material; andat least one flexible, lateral baffle having a first end coupled to an inside surface of the first wall and a second end coupled to an inside surface of the second wall;adding an effective amount of the water treatment agent for the predetermined volume of water to be treated; sealing the elongated container with the sealing member;agitating the predetermined volume of water maintained within the internal storage volume for thoroughly mixing the water treatment agent with the predetermined volume of water;allowing a sufficient amount of time for sediment to settle to the second end of the elongated container; placing the elongated container in an upright orientation; and,dispensing the treated water from the elongated container with the discharge port. 23. The method of purifying water in a field environment according to claim 22 wherein the agitating includes one of; longitudinally rocking the elongated container back and forth a sufficient amount to effectively mix the water treatment agent with the predetermined volume of water maintained within the internal storage volume;axially rotating the elongated container a sufficient amount to effectively mix the water treatment agent with predetermined volume of water maintained within the internal storage volume; and,any combination thereof.