Water separator

[0001] The present invention relates to a water separator for continuous separation of water, air and particles.

[0002] The separators of the above type are used by dentists in dental surgery as well as in areas such as water absorption, where the purpose is to separate air from water and particles that are sucked into the piping system.

[0003] The device is well known and is used by dentists to suck out the oral cavity of patients while working in the oral cavity.

[0004] Some problems of the prior art include the fact that such devices require frequent shutting down due to the necessity of emptying the "waste water" tank of the separator due to its filling, regardless of the state of the operation, often large and complicated, which also complicates maintenance. related to cleaning.

[0005] To overcome these problems, a new construction has been proposed in patent application WO 2006/043817 filed by Fridthjof Moe. In this application, a single waste water separator tank, divided into two chambers, was used to solve the above problem. However, new features have created new problems. The vacuum pump at the top of the wastewater separator tank tends to be defective or continuously damaged. The reason for this is the very high water content, in the form of dense fog. The mist creates drops of water in the engine / vacuum pump, which eventually leads to a fault in the vacuum pump motor. Another problem is that the hose / drain valve in the attached chamber becomes clogged and the waste water separator tank can not empty. In the most favorable situation, the vacuum pump will stop and will not start again before someone else empties the tank or, in a worse case, will start by sucking waste water directly into the engine / vacuum pump. For the maintenance of the waste water tank, the inlet pipe enters through the tank wall, which makes it cumbersome and time-consuming to dismantle.

[0006] Further examples of the prior art can be found in US 4 564 374 A, US 4 293 300 A, US 4 684 345 A and EP 0387774 A2.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a device that reduces the possibility of a motor / vacuum pump malfunction and which simultaneously provides a reservoir that is easy to maintain and thus offers a reliable and safe tool for separating waste water. Above all, the goal is to develop a device that can work continuously without having to turn off the device to empty the tank.

[0008] The above objects are obtained by means of a waste water separator tank according to the invention, described by the features mentioned in the claim.

[0009] The drawing schematically shows a vertical section of the device according to the invention.

[0010] The apparatus comprises two waste water separator tanks, namely the main tank 1 and the safety tank 10.

The main tank 1 comprises a lid 10, a top chamber 2 and a bottom chamber 3. The upper chamber 2 is formed by inserting a smaller container into the main tank 1. The upper edge of the smaller container has a lip that rests on the upper edge of the main tank 1 or on the protrusion (not shown) formed on the wall inside the main tank 1. Between the outer wall of the smaller tank and the inner wall of the main tank 1 there is at least one sealing element 9. The upper chamber 2 comprises a coarse filter 4 and a hole and the bottom / bottom end with a valve 17 The coarse filter 4 rests either on some protrusions in the wall of the chamber or be fixed, permanently or in a removable way.The filter 4 has a hole in the middle where a loose or removable coarse filter bowl is placed. The bottom chamber 3 comprises at least one level switch 6, 7 a fluid flow check valve 8 from the lower chamber 3 and an outlet to the air connection pipe 20. Through the lid 10 comprise two tubes, one inlet tube 18 and a connecting tube 19.

The safety container 11 with an opening at the bottom / bottom end comprises a cover 21, at least one chamber 12 which is partially separated by a wall 13, at least one level switch 14, a backflow valve 15 at the bottom / bottom end, controlling the flow of liquids from the safety container 11 and the outlet to the air connection tube 20. The cover 21 comprises two tubes, a connection tube 19 and an outlet tube 22.

[0013] The separation mixture is led to the inlet tube 18 and may contain water, air, dust, blood as well as residual tissue from the mouth. The inlet pipe 18 guides a mixture of water and air into the cylindrical wall of the upper chamber 2, where water, dust, blood and the like can fall, while the air escapes up through the connecting tube 19 through the lid of the main tank 1.

[0014] A mixture of water, dust, blood, etc. passes through a coarse filter 4, which can catch larger particles and allows the passage of smaller particles and liquids. Smaller particles and liquid are collected at the bottom of the upper chamber and pass through the opening and valve 8 in the bottom of the upper chamber 2 to the lower chamber 3.

[0015] In one embodiment, the filter 4 has a conical shape with a narrow end directed downwardly with an opening in the center. The opening is covered by the filter bowl 5, which rests on the opening in the filter 4. Then, the particles after stopping in the filter 4 are discharged down into the filter bowl where they remain. Thus, when it is necessary to clean the filter 4, it can only be sufficient to empty the filter pan, and not to dismantle the entire filter.

[0016] The suction motor / pump 23 is connected to the outlet tube 22 on top of the safety tank 11. The suction motor / pump 23 creates a negative pressure in the safety container 11 and thus also via the connection tube 19 in the upper chamber 2.

Between the main tank 1 and the safety tank 11 there is a connecting pipe for air 20 with a three-way valve 24. It connects the lower chamber 3 with the safety tank 11 in the normal position and thus the upper chamber 2 via the connecting pipe 19. This results in the same vacuum being maintained in the upper chamber 2 as well as in the lower chamber 3.

The bottom chamber 3 is normally closed from the bottom by the check valve 8, which allows the lower chamber 3 to be filled with water and smaller particles passing through the coarse air filter 4 and the valve 17. [0019] When the lower chamber 3 is filled to a predetermined level, the level switch 6 actuates the three-way valve 24 to close the connection between the safety container 11 and the lower chamber 3, This introduces air into the lower chamber 3 and produces a pressure differential across the valve 17. The valve 17 then closes automatically in a vacuum in the upper chamber 2. The chamber pressure bottom 2 then returns to atmospheric pressure or higher and releases the valve 8, which opens and drains the contents from the lower chamber 3 until the level in the lower chamber 3 reaches the lower level switch 7.This then triggers the activation of the three-way valve 24 and its return to the normal position, thereby closing the air supply to the lower chamber 3 and connecting the negative pressure of the safety container 11 to the lower chamber 3.

[0020] When the same pressure is reached in the upper chambers 2 and lower 3, the valve 17 opens and the waste water, which in the meantime has accumulated in the upper chamber 2, is drained into the lower chamber 3. Then the normal operation is restored, when the safety container 11 is connected to the lower chamber 3 via the three-way valve 24 and the air connection tube 20. Due to the negative pressure, the check valve 8 is closed at the bottom of the bottom chamber 3.

[0021] This process is continued automatically, allowing the bottom chamber 3 to be emptied during a continuous supply of water and mixture through the inlet pipe 18.

[0022] In the safety container 3 there is a level switch 14. If the content surface in the upper chamber 2 rises to an undesirable level during emptying of the lower chamber 3, the connection pipe can start sucking water from the upper chamber 2 and supplying the safety tank with waste water, not wet air. Then, the level switch 14 deactivates the suction motor 13 and triggers an audible and / or visual alarm to indicate that the device needs attention. The purpose of the level switch 14 is to avoid suction of the water 23 of the engine or of highly humid air by the engine and thus a malfunction or permanent damage. The non-return valve 15 at the bottom of the safety container operates in the same way as the non-return valve at the bottom of the main tank. When the suction motor 23 turns off,