Apparatus and method for treatment of water oligodynamically

Claim 1

A method of treating water comprising the steps of: placing said water in a first chamber, passing said water in said first chamber into contact with a first set of electrodes, at least the surfaces of which are silver; supplying direct current to said silver surfaced electrodes so that said current passes in a direction from one of said silver surfaced electrodes to another of said silver surfaced electrodes, whereby silver ions are introduced into said water at a concentration sufficient to reduce the amount of bacteria in said water to a level which would be acceptable for contact with humans or animals; reversing the direction of said current at intervals of between one-half and two minutes whereby the effective lifetime of said silver surfaced electrodes is maximized; transferring said water into a second chamber, passing said water in said second chamber into contact with a second set of electrodes, at least the surfaces of which are zinc, supplying direct current to said zinc surfaced electrode so that said current passes in a direction from one of said zinc surfaced electrodes to another of said zinc surfaced electrodes, whereby said concentration of silver ions is reduced to a level acceptable for contact with humans and animals; removing said water from said second chamber and from contact with said second set of electrodes for utilization.

Claim 2

A method of treating water comprising the steps of: placing said water in a first chamber, passing said water in said first chamber into contact with a first set of electrodes, at least the surfaces of which are silver; supplying direct current to said silver surfaced electrodes so that said current passes in a direction from one of said silver surfaced electrodes to another of said silver surfaced electrodes, whereby silver ions are introduced into said water at a concentration sufficient to reduce the amount of bacteria in said water to a level which would be acceptable for contact with humans or animals; reversing the direction of said current at intervals of between one-half and two minutes whereby the effective lifetime of said silver surfaced electrodes is maximized; transferring said water into a second chamber, passing said water in said second chamber into contact with a second set of electrodes, at least the surfaces of which are zinc, supplying direct current to said zinc surfaced electrode so that said current passes in a direction from one of said zinc surfaced electrodes to another of said zinc surfaced electrodes, whereby said concentration of silver ions is reduced to a level acceptable for contact with humans and animals; removing said water from said second chamber and from contact with said second set of electrodes for utilization.

Claim 4

An apparatus for treating water, comprising: a first fluid chamber, means to introduce water into said first fluid chamber, a first set of elongate electrodes, at least the surfaces of which are silver, within said first fluid chamber; a second fluid chamber, a second set of elongate electrodes, at least the surface of which are zinc, within said second fluid chamber; said first and second fluid chambers comprising cylindrically shaped side walls, first and second spaced, insulated end plates within each chamber lying transverse to and integral with the long axes of the side walls of said chambers, said insulated end plates supporting the ends of oppositely chargeable elongate electrodes, and electrical terminal means for coupling said electrodes to suitable circuit means; means for fluid commumication between said first and second fluid chambers, means to remove water from said second fluid chamber, circuit means to energize said silver-surfaced set of electrodes and said zinc-surfaced set of electrodes whereby silver ions are introduced into said water in said first fluid chamber to provide a predetermined concentration thereof, said concentration being subsequently reduced in said second fluid chamber; said circuit means including means to pass direct current from one of said silver-surfaced electrodes to another of said silver-surfaced electrodes and means to pass direct current from one of said zinc-surfaced electrodes to another of said zinc-surfaced electrodes; and, timer means included in said circuit means for periodically reversing the direction of said current passing between said silver-surfaced electrodes at intervals of between one-half and two minutes.

Claim 5

An apparatus for treating water, comprising: a first fluid chamber, means to introduce water into said first fluid chamber, a first set of elongate electrodes, at least the surfaces of which are silver, within said first fluid chamber; a second fluid chamber, a second set of elongate electrodes, at least the surface of which are zinc, within said second fluid chamber; said first and second fluid chambers comprising cylindrically shaped side walls, first and second spaced, insulated end plates within each chamber lying transverse to and integral with the long axes of the side walls of said chambers, said insulated end plates supporting the ends of oppositely chargeable elongate electrodes, and electrical terminal means for coupling said electrodes to suitable circuit means; means for fluid commumication between said first and second fluid chambers, means to remove water from said second fluid chamber, circuit means to energize said silver-surfaced set of electrodes and said zinc-surfaced set of electrodes whereby silver ions are introduced into said water in said first fluid chamber to provide a predetermined concentration thereof, said concentration being subsequently reduced in said second fluid chamber; said circuit means including means to pass direct current from one of said silver-surfaced electrodes to another of said silver-surfaced electrodes and means to pass direct current from one of said zinc-surfaced electrodes to another of said zinc-surfaced electrodes; and, timer means included in said circuit means for periodically reversing the direction of said current passing between said silver-surfaced electrodes at intervals of between one-half and two minutes.