Reverse osmosis water purifiers are generally well-known in the art for producing a purified water supply used for drinking, cooking, etc. Such purifiers commonly include a reverse osmosis unit having a reverse osmosis membrane which, in the presence of appropriate flow and pressure conditions, separates an incoming tap or feed water supply into the purified water supply and a relatively impure or reject water supply. In particular, the membrane acts to remove particulate matter and a wide range of dissolved solids and other contaminants from a portion of the tap water to produce the purified water supply, and to concentrate those contaminants within the remainder of the tap water thereby producing the reject water supply for disposal via a suitable drain.
The purified water is normally collected for storage at a convenient location within a suitable accumulator tank or reservoir, and for ready dispensing through a spigot of the like when desired. In this regard, suitable tanks have generally used either compressed air or the pressure of the tap water supply to deliver purified water from the tank. Various reverse osmosis apparatuses have been described in the literature.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,122,265 entitled "Compact Reverse Osmosis System with Cold Water Flush" which issued Jun. 16, 1992 to Mora et al. discloses a reverse osmosis system in which there is a manifold having water supplied through a line, an elbow and a union connector. Pure water leaves the R/O unit through an exit and a second line. Waste is removed through another exit and a drain line.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,885,085 entitled "Direct Acting Reverse Osmosis Water Purifier Valves" which issued Dec. 5, 1989 to Beall, Jr. provides a reverse osmosis water purification system having a valve which has a water inlet, a purified water outlet, a drain line and several other connections.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,045,197 entitled "Reverse Osmosis Purification System with Unitary Header Manifold" which issued Sep. 3, 1991 to Burrows shows a reverse osmosis purification system having a manifold which has a water supply inlet fitting, a drain fitting and two pure water fittings.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,858 entitled "Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Apparatus" which issued Jul. 28, 1992 to Walz et al. discloses a reverse osmosis water purification apparatus having a mounting bracket and a R/O unit.
Reverse osmosis water purifiers are generally positioned in cabinet space underneath sinks and the like. Connections are made between the reverse osmosis water purifier to the tap water input line, a spigot, the drain, ice maker and the like. The plethora of connections has generally required a plumber experienced in reverse osmosis systems to handle any service, filter changes and the like since locating even a simple item such as the incoming water on/off valve can be a daunting prospect for the average homeowner. Thus, there is a need for a connector system which allows easy and quick servicing of reverse osmosis water purifiers.
None of the known prior art disclose the device set forth herein.