Autogenous cleaning filtration method and device
AssigneeW. L. Gore & Associates, Inc.
InventorGary P. Harp
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention provides an apparatus including: a filter medium having a slack state and a ballooned state and an elastic support attached to the filter medium to define a contiguous fluid flow path through the filter medium and the support. The elastic support is adapted to displace the filter medium repeatedly between the slack state and the ballooned state; the ballooned state is out-of-plane with respect to the slack state; and the slack state of the filter medium provides for areal strain greater than about 10% of the ballooned state. A method of cleaning a filter medium in a flow path of a fluid containing a suspended component is also described.
Claims20
A method of cleaning a filter medium in a flow path of a fluid containing a suspended component, wherein said flow path of said fluid is from a high pressure side of said filter medium to a low pressure side of said filter medium, said method comprising the steps of:
- (a) obtaining an apparatus comprising a filter medium and an elastomer support and attaching said filter medium to elastomer support at several discrete points at a distended state in which the geometrical area of the support is increased under a load between 10% and 1000% so that the filter medium and the elastomer support are both configured to have a first slack state and a second ballooned state, wherein when the elastomer support is in the first slack state, the filter medium is in the first slack state, and wherein when the elastomer support is in the second ballooned state, the filter medium is in the second ballooned state;
- (b) disposing said filter medium in said flow path of said fluid to separate said suspended component from said fluid;
- (c) repeatedly displacing the elastomer support between the first slack state and the second ballooned state thereby repeatedly displacing said filter medium between said first slack state and said second ballooned state and thereby discharging said suspended component from said filter medium during the course of filtration while allowing said fluid to flow continuously through said filter medium from said high pressure side to said low pressure side.
An apparatus comprising:
- (a) a filter medium and an elastomeric support both having a first slack state and a second ballooned state;
- (b) wherein the elastomer support is attached to said medium to define a contiguous fluid flow path through said filter medium and said support,
- wherein said filter medium is attached to said elastomer support at several discrete points at a distended state in which the geometrical area of the support is increased under a load between 10% and 1000%;
- (c) wherein the elastomer support is configured to displace said filter medium repeatedly between said first slack state and said second ballooned state, such that when the elastomer support is in the first slack state, the filter medium is in the first slack state, and wherein when the elastomer support is in the second ballooned state, the filter medium is in the second ballooned state,
- wherein the repeated displacement of the elastomer support and the filter medium between the first slack state and the second balloon state is configured to discharge a suspended component from the filter medium during the course of filtration while fluid is configured to flow continuously through said filter medium from said high pressure side to said low pressure side;
- wherein said second ballooned state is out-of-plane with respect to said first slack state;
- and
- (d) wherein said first slack state of said filter medium provides for areal strain greater than about 10% of said ballooned state.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.