Apparatus for Treating Flowing Liquid With Electromagnetic Flux

This invention concerns an apparatus for treating flowing water or other liquids, such as metal working fluids, crude oil, petroleum derivatives, and any liquids containing microorganisms and/or dissolved solids with electromagnetic flux for the purpose of conditioning the liquid to reduce or eliminate its tendency to deposit scale onto the surfaces of pipes, equipment, appliances and other apparatus to which it subsequently becomes exposed, to reduce or eliminate microorganisms which may be included in the liquid and/or for other purposes; and deals more particularly with such an apparatus including at least one electrical coil surrounding a pipe through which the liquid flows with the coil being intended to be powered by an alternating current source and being connected in circuit with other circuit components such that during successive portions of its operating time the coil and a given capacitance become part of a series resonant circuit having a high resonant frequency, many times greater than the frequency of the power source, so that the frequency of the electromagnetic flux passing through the center of the coil, and, therefore, through the liquid flowing through the pipe, is of an equally high frequency.

In the past, various different devices and methods have been proposed for treating liquid with electromagnetic flux for the purpose of reducing the scaling propensity of the liquid, for reducing the number of living microorganisms contained in the liquid or for other purposes. Some of these devices have used either stationary or movable permanent magnets for producing a magnetic flux, and others have used electrical coils arranged in various different ways with respect to pipes conducting the liquid, with the coils being energized by either a direct current power source or an alternating current power source to create an electromagnetic flux used as the liquid treatment factor. In the case of devices using electromagnetic flux, it is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,600 to provide an apparatus including a plurality of electrical coils surrounding different separate longitudinal sections of a liquid conducting pipe, with two of the coils being wound on top of one another, a diode being so connected in circuit with the coils and with the power source that current from the power source is conducted through the coils only during alternate half cycles of one voltage polarity, with some current of a ringing nature apparently flowing through each coil following the end of each half cycle of diode conduction. However, the ringing current, and the electromagnetic flux produced appears to be weak and of very short duration so as to be of small effectiveness.

The object of the invention is, therefore, to provide an apparatus for treating flowing liquid with electromagnetic flux whereby the flux generated and passed through the flowing liquid includes successive periods of ringing flux with the flux oscillations during the ringing periods being of greater amplitude, with the periods themselves being of longer duration, and with the periods possibly occurring more frequently than in prior apparatuses so as to have a greater effect on the treated liquid than has heretofore been the case.

The invention resides in an apparatus for treating flowing liquid with electromagnetic flux wherein successive periods of ringing flux are produced by a circuit including one or more electrical coils surrounding a pipe through which the liquid flows with the coil or coils being connected to a source of alternating current power and to a given capacitance and a triode switching circuit in such a way that during at least every half cycle of the power source of the same polarity current is applied to the coil or coils and through the triode switch during an initial portion of each such half cycle due to power derived from the power source and so that a substantial time in advance of the completion of the half cycle the triode switch is opened to produce a ringing current in the coil or coils, and a consequent ringing electromagnetic flux in the liquid, due to the coil or coils then becoming part of a series resonant circuit including a given capacitance which may totally or in part be provided by a winding capacitance of the coils or by a separate tuning capacitor.

The invention also resides in the apparatus including a number of coils surrounding the pipe with the coils being so connected with one another and to other components of the apparatus that when currents flow through the coils the flux generated by at least one of the coils and passing through the liquid has a direction opposite to the direction of the flux produced by another one of the coils and passing through the liquid.

The invention also resides in other details of the construction of the apparatus as set out in the appended claims, and these details will be apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, from the accompanying drawings and from the claims themselves.

The invention is described hereinafter by way of exemplary and preferred embodiments of the invention illustrated by the accompanying drawings. These drawings are:

FIG. 1 A perspective view of an apparatus embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 An exploded view of the pipe unit of the apparatus of FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 A longitudinal cross sectional view taken through the pipe unit of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 A simplified schematic circuit diagram of the pipe unit of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 A detailed schematic diagram of the electrical circuit of the pipe unit of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 A diagram showing certain wave shapes produced by the pipe unit of FIG. 1 during operation.

FIG. 7 A circuit diagram similar to FIG. 4 but showing a modified embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 A view similar to FIG. 3 but showing a modified embodiment of the invention in which the pipe unit has only one coil surrounding the liquid flow pipe.

FIG. 9 A detailed circuit diagram similar to FIG. 5 but showing an electrical circuit for use with the pipe unit of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 A chart specifying presently preferred values of certain parameters of the apparatus of FIGS. 1 to 6.

Turning first to FIG. 1, an apparatus embodying the invention is indicated generally at 10 and comprises basically a pipe unit 12 and an alternating current electrical power supply 14. The pipe unit 12 includes a pipe 16 through which liquid to be treated passes with the direction of flow of liquid being indicated by the arrows A. The pipe 16 may be made of various materials, but as the treatment of the liquid effected by the pipe unit 12 involves the passage of electromagnetic flux through the walls of the pipe and into the liquid passing through the pipe, the pipe is preferably made of a non-electrical conducting material to avoid diminution of the amount of flux reaching the liquid due to some of the flux being consumed in setting up eddy currents in the pipe material. Other parts of the pipe unit 12 are contained in or mounted on a generally cylindrical housing 18 surrounding the pipe 16.

The pipe unit 12 is preferably, and as hereinafter described, one designed for operation by a relatively low voltage power source, for example, a power source having a voltage of 11 V(rms) to 37 V(rms) and a frequency of 60 Hz and, therefore, the illustrated power supply 14 is a voltage step down transformer having a primary side connected to an input cord 20 adapted by a plug 22 for connection to a standard mains, such as one supplying electric power at 120 V 60 Hz or 240 V 60 Hz, and having an output cord 24 connected to the secondary side of the transformer and supplying the lower voltage power to the pipe unit 12. The pipe unit 12 may be designed for use with pipes 16 of different diameter and the particular output voltage provided by the power source 14 is one selected to best suit the diameter of the pipe and the size and design of the related components of the pipe unit.

The pipe unit 12, in addition to the housing 18 and pipe 16, consists essentially of an electrical coil means surrounding the pipe and a switching circuit for controlling the flow of current through the coil means in such a way as to produce successive periods of ringing current through the coil means and resultant successive ringing periods of electromagnetic flux passing through the liquid in the pipe 16. The number, design and arrangement of the coils making up the coil means may vary, and by way of example in FIGS. 2 and 3 the coil means is shown to consist of four coils, L.sub.1, L.sub.2 -outer, L.sub.2 -inner and L.sub.3 arranged in a fashion similar to that of U.S. Pat. No. 5,702,600. The coils, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, are associated with three different longitudinal sections 26, 28 and 30 of the pipe 16. That is, the coil L.sub.1 is wound onto and along a bobbin 32 in turn extending along the pipe section 26, the coil L.sub.3 is wound on and along a bobbin 34 itself extending along the pipe section 30, and the two coils L.sub.2 -inner and L.sub.2 -outer are wound on a bobbin 36 itself extending along the pipe section 28, with the coil L.sub.2 -outer being wound on top of the coil L.sub.2 -inner. The winding of the two coils L.sub.2 -inner and L.sub.2 -outer on top of one another, or otherwise in close association with one another, produces a winding capacitance between those two coils which forms all or part of the capacitance of a series resonant circuit as hereinafter described.

Referring to FIG. 2, the housing 18 of the pipe unit 12 is made up of a cylindrical shell 38 and two annular end pieces 40 and 42. The components making up the switching circuit are carried by the end piece 40 with at least some of them being mounted on a heat sink 44 fastened to the end piece 40 by screws 46. In the assembly of the pipe unit 12, the end piece 40 is first slid onto the pipe 16, from the right end of the pipe as seen in FIG. 2, to a position spaced some distance from the right end of the pipe, and is then fastened to the pipe by set screws 48. The three coil bobbins 32, 36 and 34, with their coils, are then moved in succession onto the pipe 16 from the left end of the pipe until they abut one another and the end piece 40, with adhesive applied between the bobbins and the pipe to adhesively bond the bobbins to the pipe. An annular collar 50 is then slid onto the pipe from the left end of the pipe into abutting relationship with the coil L.sub.3 and is fastened to the pipe by set screws 60, 60. The shell 38 is then slid over the pipe and fastened at its right end to the end piece 40 by screws 62, 62. Finally, the end piece 42 is slid over the pipe 16, from the left end of the pipe, and then fastened to the shell 38 by screws 64 and to the pipe by set screws 66.

The basic wiring diagram for the pipe unit 12 is shown in FIG. 4. The input terminals connected to the power source 14 are indicated at 68 and 70. A connecting means including the illustrated conductors connects these input terminals 68 and 70 to the coils and to the switching circuit 72 in the manner shown with the connecting means including a thermal overload switch 74. The arrow B indicates the clockwise direction of coil winding, and in keeping with this reference the coil L.sub.3 and the coil L.sub.2 -outer are wound around the pipe 16 in the clockwise direction and the coils L.sub.1 and L.sub.2 -inner are wound around the pipe in the counterclockwise direction. Taking these winding directions and the illustrated electrical connections into account, it will be understood that when a current i.sub.c flows through the coils in the direction indicated by the arrows C, the directions of the magnetic fluxes passing through the centers of each of the coils, and therefore through the liquid in the pipe, are as shown by the arrows E, F, G and H in FIG. 4. That is, the fluxes passing through the centers of the coils L.sub.1, L.sub.2 -inner and L.sub.3 move in one direction longitudinally of the pipe and the flux passing through the center of the coil L.sub.2 -outer moves in the opposite direction. Depending on the design of the switching circuit 72, it may be necessary or desirable to provide a local ground for the switch circuit 72 and when this is the case, the switching circuit may be connected with the input terminals 68 and 70 through an isolation transformer 76, as shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 5 is a wiring diagram showing in greater detail the connecting means and switching circuit 72 of FIG. 4. Referring to FIG. 5, the switching circuit 72 includes a 12 V power supply subcircuit 76, a comparator subcircuit 78, a timer subcircuit 80, a switch 82 and an indicator subcircuit 84.

The components D2, R5, C5, R6 and Z1 comprise the 12 V DC power supply subcircuit 76 which powers the other components of the trigger circuit. Resistors R1 and R2 and the operational amplifier U1 form the comparator subcircuit 78. The resistors R1 and R2 form a voltage divider that sends a signal proportional to the applied AC voltage to the operational amplifier U1. The capacitor C1 serves to filter out any "noise" voltage that might be present in the AC input voltage to prevent the amplifier U1 from dithering. The amplifier U1 is connected to produce a "low" (zero) output voltage on the line 86 whenever the applied AC voltage is positive and to produce a "high" (+12 V) output when the AC voltage is negative.

When the AC supply voltage crosses zero and starts to become positive, the amplifier U1 switches to a low output. This triggers the 555 timer chip U2 to produce a high output on its pin 3. The capacitor C2 and R3 act as a high-pass filter to make the trigger pulse momentary rather than steady. The voltage at pin 2 of U2 is held low for about one-half millisecond. This momentary low trigger voltage causes U2 to hold a sustained high (+12 V) on pin 3.

The switch 82 may take various different forms and may be a sub-circuit consisting of a number of individual components, and in all events it is a three-terminal or triode switch having first, second and third terminals 88, 90 and 92, respectively, with the third terminal 92 being a gate terminal and with the switch being such that by the application of electrical signals to the gate terminal 92 the switch can be switched between an ON condition at which the first and second terminals are closed relative to one another and an OFF condition at which the first and second terminals are open relative to one another. In the preferred and illustrated case of FIG. 5, the switch 82 is a single MOSFET (Q1). The MOSFET (Q1) conducts, that is sets the terminals 88 and 90 to a closed condition relative to one another, as soon as the voltage applied to the gate terminal 92 becomes positive as a result of the input AC voltage appearing across the input terminals 68 and 70 becoming positive. This in turn allows current to build up in the coils L.sub.1, L.sub.2 -inner, L.sub.2 -outer, and L.sub.3. When the time constant formed by the product of the resistor R4 and the capacitor C3 has elapsed, the 555 chip U2 reverts to a low output at pin 3 turning the MOSFET (Q1) to its OFF condition. When this turning off of (Q1) occurs, any current still flowing in the coils is diverted to the capacitance which appears across the terminals 88 and 90 of (Q1). As shown in FIG. 5, this capacitance is made up of the wiring capacitance C.sub.c arising principally from the close association of the two coils L.sub.2 -inner and L.sub.2 -outer. This winding capacitance may of itself be sufficient for the purpose of creating a useful series resonant circuit with the coils, but if additional capacitance is needed, it can be supplied by a separate further tuning capacitor (C.sub.t).

When the switch (Q1) turns to the OFF or open condition, any current still flowing in the coils is diverted to the capacitance (C.sub.c and/or C.sub.t) and this capacitance in conjunction with the coils and with the power source form a series resonant circuit causing the current through the coils to take on a ringing wave form and to thereby produce a ringing electromagnetic flux through the liquid in the pipe 16. By adjusting the variable resistor R4, the timing of the opening of the switch (Q1) can be adjusted to occur earlier or later in each operative half cycle of the AC input voltage. Preferably, the circuit is adjusted by starting with R4 at its maximum value of resistance and then slowly adjusting it toward lower resistance until the LED indicator 94 of the indicator subcircuit 84 illuminates. This occurs when the peak voltage developed across the capacitance (C.sub.c and/or C.sub.t) exceeds 150 V at which voltage the two Zener diodes Z2 can conduct. The Zener diodes charge capacitor 62 and the resulting voltage turns on the LED 94. When this indicator LED lights, the adjustment of the resistor R4 is then turned in the opposite direction until the LED just extinguishes, and this accordingly sets the switch (Q1) to generate a 150 V ringing signal.

FIG. 6 illustrates the function of the circuit of FIG. 5 by way of wave forms which occur during the operation of the circuit. Referring to this figure, the wave form 96 is that of the AC supply voltage applied across the input terminals 68 and 70, the voltage being an alternating one having a first set of half cycles 98 of positive voltage alternating with a second set of half cycles 100 of negative voltage. The circuit of FIG. 5 is one which operates in a half wave mode with periods of ringing current being produced in the coils of the pipe unit only in response to each of the positive half cycles 98. The wave form 102 represents the open and closed durations of the switch (Q1), and from this it will be noted that during each positive half cycle 98 of the supply voltage the switch (Q1) is closed during an initial portion of the half cycle and is opened at a time well in advance of the end of that half cycle (with the exact timing of this occurrence being adjustable by the adjustable resistor R4).

The opening and closing of the switch (Q1) produces the current wave form indicated at 104 in FIG. 6 which for each positive half cycle of the supply voltage is such that the current through the coils increases from zero during the initial portion of the half cycle, during which the switch (Q1) is closed, and then upon the opening of the switch (Q1) the current rings for a given period of time. The voltage appearing across the coils of the pipe unit is such as shown by the wave form 106 of FIG. 6, with the voltage upon the opening of the switch (Q1) taking on a ringing shape having a maximum voltage many times greater than the voltage provided by the power supply 14.

The frequency of the ringing currents produced in the coils and of the ringing voltages produced across the coils can be varied by varying the capacitance (C.sub.c and/or C.sub.t) appearing across the switch (Q1) and is preferably set to be a frequency within the range of 10 kHz to 80 kHz.

Parameters of the apparatus of FIGS. 1-6, including nominal pipe size, arrangement of coils in terms of number of turns, gage and length, tuning capacitor capacitance and associated nominal power supply voltage are given in the form of a chart in FIG. 10.

As mentioned above, the switching circuit illustrated and described in connection with FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 is one which is operable to produce one period of ringing current and ringing voltage for each alternate half cycle of the applied supply voltage. However, if wanted, the switching circuit can also be designed to operate in a full wave mode wherein a period of ringing current and of ringing voltage is produced for each half cycle of the supply voltage. As shown in FIG. 7, this can be accomplished by modifying the circuit of FIG. 4 to add a second switching circuit 108 which is identical to the first switching circuit 72 except for facing currentwise and voltagewise in the opposite direction to the first circuit 72. That is, in FIG. 7 the first circuit 72 operates as described above during each positive half cycle of the applied voltage and the second circuit 108 operates in the same way during the negative half cycles of the applied voltage, and as a result, the number of periods of current and voltage ringing over a given period of time is doubled in comparison to the number of periods produced in the same period of time by the circuit of FIG. 4.

Also, as mentioned above, the number of coils used in the pipe unit 12 may be varied and if wanted, the pipe unit 12 may be made with only one coil without departing from the invention. FIGS. 8 and 9 relate to such a construction with FIG. 8 showing the pipe unit to have a single coil 110 wound on a bobbin 112 and surrounding the pipe 16. The switching circuit used with the single coil pipe unit of FIG. 8 is illustrated in FIG. 9 and is generally similar to that of FIG. 5 except, that because of the single coil 110 producing no significant wiring capacitance, it is necessary to provide the tuning capacitor (C.sub.t) across the first and second terminals 88 and 90 of the switch (Q1). Further, since the coil means is made up of the single coil 110 and located entirely on one side of the switch (Q1), it is unnecessary to provide the isolation transformer 76 of FIG. 5 to establish a local ground for the components of the switching circuit.