Method of making a cartridge filter
AssigneeA. O. Smith Corporation
InventorYizhi Hou
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A cartridge filter includes a feedwater inlet, a first outlet and a second outlet, a tube arranged at the center of the cartridge filter, an interior volume of the tube being in fluid communication with the first outlet, and a spiral wound filter assembly extending radially outward from the central tube and including a prefilter, a reverse osmosis filter, and a postfilter. The prefilter is located radially outward from the reverse osmosis filter and the postfilter.
Claims13
A method of making a cartridge filter containing a prefilter, a reverse osmosis filter, and a postfilter, the method comprising:
- constructing a continuous sheet having a first portion, a second portion joined to the first portion, and a third portion joined to the second portion;
- disposing a plurality of carbon fiber cloth strips over the first portion;
- providing at least one folded membrane assembly having a feedwater net arranged within a folded-over reverse osmosis membrane;
- disposing the at least one folded membrane assembly over the second portion;
- joining a free end of the first portion to a tube;
- spirally winding around the tube the first portion and the plurality of carbon fiber cloth strips to form the postfilter;
- spirally winding around the postfilter the second portion and the at least one folded membrane assembly to form the reverse osmosis filter;
- and
- spirally winding around the reverse osmosis filter the third portion to at least partially form the prefilter.
A method of making a cartridge filter containing a prefilter, a reverse osmosis filter, and a postfilter, the method comprising:
- providing a plurality of activated carbon fiber cloth strips, each having a first edge, a second edge parallel to and spaced apart from the first edge, a third edge extending between ends of the first and second edges, and a fourth edge parallel to and spaced apart from the third edge and extending between the first and second edges;
- joining the first edges of the plurality of activated carbon fiber cloth strips to a tube;
- providing a plurality of folded membrane assemblies, each folded membrane assembly having a feedwater net arranged within a folded-over reverse osmosis membrane;
- interleaving the plurality of folded membrane assemblies with the plurality of activated carbon fiber cloth strips such that folded ends of the folded membrane assemblies are located adjacent to the tube and open ends of the folded membrane assemblies opposite the folded ends are located between the folded ends and the second edges;
- sealing the third and fourth edges of the activated carbon fiber cloth strips to adjacent ones of the plurality of folded membrane assemblies between the folded ends and the open ends of the folded membrane assemblies;
- sealing the activated carbon fiber cloth strips to adjacent ones of the plurality of folded membrane assemblies along the open ends of the folded membrane assemblies;
- spirally winding around the tube the plurality of folded membrane assemblies and those portions of the plurality of activated carbon fiber cloth strips located between the first edges and the open ends to form an integrated reverse osmosis filter and postfilter;
- and
- spirally winding those portions of the plurality of activated carbon fiber cloth strips located between the open ends and the second edges around the integrated reverse osmosis filter and carbon postfilter to form a prefilter.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.