JP6804579B2 - Microchannel fluid filter and how to use it - Google Patents

Description

The present technology generally relates to and more specifically (but not limited to) fluid filters to and from fluid filter substrates including microstructure channels, complex flow orifices, and cross channels. Regarding various types of filters that are used.

Summary of Current Techniques According to some embodiments, the present technique is:
(A) A plurality of dividing walls extending from the upper surface of the film, and a plurality of dividing walls forming a plurality of tapered inlet channels;
(B) With a plurality of cross channels formed along the respective lengths of the plurality of dividing walls;
(C) With an inlet channel for each of the plurality of tapered inlet channels;
(D) A filter film can be targeted that includes an outlet channel for each of the plurality of tapered inlet channels;

According to some embodiments, the present technology relates to a filter apparatus including a plurality of filter films, wherein the plurality of filter films are stacked and arranged in a mating relationship. Regarding.

According to some embodiments, the technique
(A) A first row of a plurality of inlet dividing walls extending from the top surface of the film, wherein the plurality of inlet dividing walls in a fluid communicate with a plurality of filter inlet channels, and the plurality of inlet dividing walls are formed. With a first row of inlet dividers, each of which forms a plurality of channels spaced apart from each other and includes a curved section close to the bottom of the inlet divider;
(B) A second row of a plurality of inlet dividers, the first row because the plurality of inlet dividers form a filter inlet channel that is narrower than the plurality of filter inlet channels in the first row. With a second row, which is placed closer together than the multiple entrance dividing walls of
Can be targeted for filter films, including.

According to some embodiments, the technique
A cylindrical housing for holding a filter disk, wherein the cylindrical housing includes a top cover including a plurality of radial inlet channels and a plurality of radial inlet channels, the plurality of radial inlet channels. Arranged alternating with the radial outlet channel, the top cover includes a cover inlet channel for receiving fluid, the radial outlet channel is a cylinder that collects concentrated or filtered fluid from a filter disk. Shape housing,
Can be targeted for filter films, including.

According to some embodiments, the technique
(A) Multiple panels,
It is possible to target a filter film containing. Each of the plurality of panels
(B) Filtering front surface, flat back surface,
The filtering front surface includes
(C) A first row of vertically extending protrusions that form vertical channels that are spaced apart from each other and that are close to the inlet of the filter device.
(D) A second row of vertically extending protrusions that form vertical channels that are spaced apart from each other and that are close to the outlet of the filter device.
(E) One or more rows of filtering protrusions, the first row and the second row of protrusions in which the one or more rows are arranged vertically spaced apart from each other and extend vertically. Each column of filtering projections that extends between and contains filtering projections that are spaced apart from each other to form a filter channel with a size that is configured to receive and hold objects of a given size. With one or more of the protrusions,
Including and
(F) The plurality of panels are stacked in a mating configuration, whereby the filtering front surface of one panel mates and contacts the flat back surface of an adjacent panel.

Specific embodiments of the present art are illustrated by the accompanying drawings. It will be appreciated that the drawings are not necessarily at a constant scale and details that are not necessarily necessary for understanding the technique or that make it difficult to recognize other details may be omitted. It will be appreciated that this technique is not necessarily limited to the particular embodiments presented herein.
FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a deionized panel configured according to the present technology. FIG. 2 is a front view of one embossed film of the deionized panel of FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the upper region of the deionized panel shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is an enlarged isometric view of the deionized panel shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of the deionized panel shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of the upper part of the deionized panel shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the diagram shown in FIG. 6 including an electric circuit diagram. FIG. 8 is an electronic schematic illustrating the electrical operation of the deionization system. FIG. 9 is a system diagram of a deion panel deployed in the deion system. FIG. 10 is an isometric view of alternating cross-channel configurations within the deion panel. FIG. 11 is a front view of one embossed film of the alternating embossed film shown in FIG. FIG. 12 is a back view of the alternating embossed film shown in FIG. FIG. 13 is a side view of the alternating embossed film shown in FIG. FIG. 14 is a partial cross-sectional view of the upper part of the alternating deionization panel shown in FIG. FIG. 10 also shows an electrical circuit diagram. FIG. 15 is a partial cross-sectional view of the upper part of the alternating deion panel shown in FIG. 14, which is configured without an insulating layer. FIG. 16 is an upper partial cross-sectional view of a deionized panel with a coated channel wall. FIG. 17 is a cylindrical isometric view of the deionized panel. FIG. 18 is an isometric view of the spiral shape of the deionized panel. FIG. 19 shows another alternate configuration of charged plates. FIG. 20 is a perspective view of the selective filter system of the present invention. FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the selective filter system shown in FIG. FIG. 22 is a front view of the cross section shown in FIG. FIG. 23 is a perspective view of the filter panel. FIG. 24 is a perspective view of one layer of the filter panel. FIG. 25 is a front view of the filter panel shown in FIG. 24. FIG. 26 is an enlarged view of the filter panel shown in FIG. 25. FIG. 27 is a front view of the filter layer shown in FIG. 25, which has a fluid flow lines flow path with both vertical and horizontal flows. FIG. 28 is a front view of the filter layer shown in FIG. 27 having a fluid flow line from vertical flow only (vertical flow only). FIG. 29 is a front view of the filter layer shown in FIG. 27 having a fluid flow line having only horizontal flow (cross flow only). FIG. 30 is an enlarged front view of a particle used to discuss the force acting on the particle (close-up of the force acting on the particle). FIG. 31 is a front view of a filter layer having a tapered input surface (tapered surface). FIG. 32 is an isometric view of an alternate round system with alternating Rs. FIG. 33 is a cross-sectional view of an isometric system with alternating R's. FIG. 34 is a cross-sectional view of the system with alternating Rs. FIG. 35 is a system filter panel with alternating R's. FIG. 36 shows a cross section of a round filter panel with an R. FIG. 37 is a cross-sectional view of the filter layer shown in FIG. 27, which is rotated 90 degrees with respect to gravity. FIG. 38 is a perspective view of the selective filter system of the present invention. FIG. 39 is a cross-sectional view of the selective filter system shown in FIG. 38. FIG. 40 is a front view of the cross section shown in FIG. 39. FIG. 41 is an enlarged view of FIG. 40. FIG. 42 is a close-up of the view shown in FIG. 40, which has a higher magnification than that of FIG. 41. FIG. 43 is a close-up of the view shown in FIG. 40, showing only the filter panel at a higher magnification than in FIG. 42. FIG. 44 is a top section view of the filter panel. FIG. 45 is the same close-up as shown in FIG. 44, with different configurations of cross-channel surfaces. FIG. 46 is a top section view of FIG. 45 showing a charged surface. FIG. 47 shows the same close-up as shown in FIG. 42, showing an alternate configuration. FIG. 48 is a perspective view of the filter assembly. FIG. 49 is a perspective view of only the filter panel. FIG. 50 is a perspective view of a small portion of the filter panel. FIG. 51 is a front view of a small portion of the filter panel. FIG. 52 is an enlarged view of the filter panel shown in FIG. 51. FIG. 53 is an enlarged perspective view of the filter panel shown in FIG. FIG. 54 is an enlarged view of the filter panel shown in FIG. 53, which has particles of various sizes. FIG. 55 is an enlarged view of the filter panel shown in FIG. 54 with particles of various sizes. FIG. 56 is an isometric view of a filter system with a complex flow orifice. FIG. 57 is an isometric sectional view of the filter shown in FIG. 56. FIG. 58 is a front sectional view of the filter shown in FIG. 56. FIG. 59 is a bottom view of the top cover of the filter system shown in FIG. 56. FIG. 60 is an isometric view of only the filter disk shown in FIG. 57. FIG. 61 is an enlarged view of a cross section of the filter disk shown in FIG. 60. FIG. 62 is an isometric view of the filter unit shown in FIG. 61. FIG. 63 is a close-up of FIG. 61. FIG. 64 is a front view of FIG. 63. FIG. 65 is a rear view of FIG. 62. 62nd FIG. 66 is an enlarged view of the same perspective filter as shown in FIG. 62. FIG. 67 is a top view of a part (a section) of the filter shown in the figure. FIG. 68 is an isometric view of the alternating filter system. FIG. 69 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 68. FIG. 70 is an isometric view of the filter disk only. FIG. 71 is an enlarged view of the filter unit shown in FIG. 70. FIG. 72 is another alternating filter section of the same perspective as shown in FIG. 70.

Description of Illustrative Embodiments Although this technique can be implemented in many different embodiments, it is shown in the drawings and the present disclosure is regarded as an example of the principles of the present invention, and the technique is illustrated. It should be understood that it is not intended to be limited to embodiments.

The terms used herein are for the purpose of describing only specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present technology. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural form unless the context explicitly indicates otherwise. As used herein, the terms "comprises" and / or "comprising" identify the presence of the features, integers, steps, operations, elements and / or components described. Does not preclude the existence or addition of one or more other steps, actions, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

It will be appreciated that similar or similar elements and / or components referred to herein may be identified by similar reference characters throughout the drawings. It will be further understood that some of the figures are only a schematic representation of the technique. As such, some of the components may be distorted from actual scale due to drawing clarity.

Although various configurations are described for a particular application, such as deionization, desalting, filtration, etc., those configurations may generally be applicable to multiple applications even if they are described for a particular application. Will be understood.

Figures 1-19 collectively show deion panels with microstructure channels. In some embodiments, the technique relates to the deionization of fluids with embossed microstructure channels. The embossed microstructure channels are precisely replicated on plastic film from tooling made with semiconductor processing technology. Alternatively, a wafer processed by semiconductor manufacturing technology can be used instead of the film. Channeled films are laminated on top of each other to form sealed channels with each other. Since the selected wall of the channel is electrically conductive, an electric field can be generated across the channel. By charging the selected wall with the opposite charge, the charged particles flowing through the channel are attracted to one of the charged surfaces. Many types of particles can be removed from both liquid and gaseous fluids. Removing salts and heavy metals from water is an area of great need for efficient low cost systems.

In some embodiments, the technique develops a number of film layers in which structural elements forming a series of channels are laminated together to isolate a charged molecule or compound from a fluid. The film has an inlet area with a relatively wide channel. Behind the entrance area is a series of narrow channels that form a narrow passage. The height of these channels can be very small. The surfaces of these channels are charged during operation by an external source to attract and retain the charged particles to these surfaces. An external source can be used to remove the charge to release the particles from the surface. This is done when a large number of particles are attracted to the surface and it is desirable to remove them.

Capacitive deionization (CDI) is a term used to describe the desalting process with a charged plate. The present invention can be used for CDI.

First, referring to FIG. 1, the deionized panel 1 is shown. A fluid, either liquid or gas, flows into the deionization panel 1 from the top surface 2 of the deionization panel 1. The upper end 4 of the embossed film 3 forms the upper surface 2 of the deionized panel. The number of embossed films 3 laminated together will be much larger than those shown. The number of embossed films 3 may be hundreds or thousands. The width of the embossed film 3 will also typically be much larger than that shown. The deion panel 1 is shown as a linear array. The embossed film 3 can be arranged in other geometries. Some other geometries are disclosed later herein.

With reference to FIG. 2, close-up FIGS. 3 and 4, only one embossed film 3 is shown. The inlet channels 5 are arranged at substantially equal intervals along the upper end portion 4 of the embossed film 3. The inlet channel 5 extends from the top of the embossed film 3 to near the bottom of the embossed film 3. The inlet channel 5 is 200 microns wide on the top surface 2 and tapers to a width of only 50 microns or less on the bottom surface (taper). The input channels 5 are arranged at intervals of 300 microns from center to center along the length of the film. These dimensions are given for reference only. The actual dimensions are designed for a particular application.

The thickness of the embossed film 3 may be 300 microns. The depth of the inlet channel 5 may be 150 microns. This relatively large size allows variation in the manufacturing process of the embossed film 3. This large dimension also allows for a relatively unrestricted flow of fluid below the inlet channel 5.

The embossed film 3 can be easily manufactured by embossing a film or bulk plastic material on a drum-shaped or flat tool. This tool will be the negative of the structure on the embossed film 3. The tool may be manufactured by any one or combination of processes.

Conventional machining can be used to generate features in the 100+ micron range. For smaller features, semiconductor or MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) processing equipment and methods can be introduced. These types of processes have been used to create features with widths and heights in the low nanometer range. Equally important is the ability to control feature width and height tolerances in the low nanometer range. The depth of the structure created by these methods can be controlled more precisely. The depth of the cross-channel 6 is very small and is the case when precisely controlled dimensions are required. Semiconductor and MEMS processes can be used to create very small and accurate cross-channels 6 in the nanometer range with single digits and fractions.

The cross channel 6 allows fluid to flow from the inlet channel 5 to the output channel 8. These are generally arranged orthogonally to the inlet channel 5. The cross channel 6 is separated by a cross channel dividing wall 9. The cross-channel split wall 9 is preferably much shorter than the cross-channel 6 to allow a higher area for flow. The size of the cross-channel dividing wall 9 defines the depth of the cross-channel 6.

The upper origin of the output channel 8 has the same width as the lower end of the input channel 5. These start at about 500 microns from the top 4 of the embossed film 3. The output channel 8 extends to the bottom of the embossed film 3 and tapers to a width similar to the starting width of the inlet channel 5 and a width similar to 200 microns. It is open at the bottom edge to allow the fluid to exit the embossed film 3.

With reference to FIG. 5, a cross section of the cross channel 6 is shown. The back surface 15 of the embossed film 3 mates with the front surface 7 of the adjoining embossed film 3. The back surface 15 surrounds the fourth wall of the cross channel 6 of the adjacent embossed film 3. According to the perspective view of FIG. 4, the three-dimensional aspect of the cross channel 6 can be seen. The channel must be high in relation to the bulkhead to allow maximum flow.

All channels and the front surface of the embossed film 3 are coated with a conductive coating that forms a conductive front surface layer 18 (see FIG. 5). The conductive front layer 18 may be overcoated with a protective coating to increase durability against fluids flowing through various channels. The coating can also be applied (if applicable) to electronically insulate the conductive anterior layer 18 from adjacent conductors. For electronic insulation, the coating is only needed on the front.

As described above, the front surface 7 including the cross channel 6 of the embossed film 3 is coated with the conductive layer. The back surface 15 of the embossed film 3 is also covered with an electron conductive layer forming the conductive back layer 16. The entire back surface may be coated for ease of manufacture. The entire back surface does not necessarily have to be coated. The conductive back layer 16 has been shown to be covered with an electrically insulating layer 17. This type of layer is necessary to prevent electrical contact between the conductive front layer 18 and the conductive back layer 16.

When the insulating layer is applied to the front surface 7 of the embossed film 3, the electronic insulating layer can be omitted alternately.

With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, the top sectional view of the deionized panel 1 shows the widths of the inlet and outlet channels 8 relative to the cross channel 6. Note the width of the inlet and outlet channels 8 that vary at different heights along the film. This particular view points towards the top of the deionized panel 1, where the inlet channel 5 is wider than the exit channel 8.

With particular reference to FIG. 7, the electrical state of the system is shown. The back surface 15 of the embossed film 3 is shown to be negatively charged. This is achieved by connecting the conductive back layer 16 to a voltage source. The positive side of the voltage source is connected to the conductive front layer 18 on the front surface 7 of the embossed film 3. It is also possible to connect the conductive layer to the opposite side of the voltage source.

Charges can be alternately embedded in the embossed film 3. Embedding charges in a plastic film is typically done on the film used in microphones. Those skilled in the art of charged plastics can design the charged film to meet the needs of a particular deionization system. It was noted that the charge created by an external source can be toggled on and off. The embedded charge cannot be switched off.

By applying an opposing charge to the opposing surfaces of the cross-channel 6, positively or negatively charged particles are attracted to at least one of the surfaces of the cross-channel 6. The distance between the charged surfaces is controlled by the height of the cross-channel dividing wall 9.

As mentioned above, when manufacturing was discussed, the depth dimensions and tolerances of these channels were very small when semiconductors and MEMS devices and processes were used to make tools for film manufacturing. Moreover, it can be controlled with high accuracy.

With reference to FIG. 8, the equation of force on the particle when located between two charged surfaces is shown. From the equation, it can be seen that the distance between the charged surfaces has a large effect on the force. With a potential of 1 volt and a distance of 50 microns between charged plates, the force is 3.2 x 10E-15 Newton.
3.2 x 10E-15 (Newton) = 1.6 x 10E-19 (charge coulomb) x 1 (V) / 5 x 10E-5 (meters)

Newton is applied to particles with a one-electron change. As the distance decreases to 20 microns, the force increases to 8.0 × 10E-15 Newton. From this equation it can be seen that having a small distance typically produces a larger force than desired. Small distances limit the flow of fluid. This limitation is relaxed by the fact that there are a large number of cross-channels 6 and they are taller with respect to the depth of the cross-channel partition wall 9.

Another advantage of reducing the distance between charged plates is reduced power consumption. Reducing the distance a charged particle must travel along an electric field reduces the energy required to deionize the fluid.

The distance the fluid flows along the cross-channel 6 also affects the required power. The viscosity of a fluid affects the time it takes for charged particles to travel to one surface of a charged plate. The length of the cross-channel 6 will preferably be designed to be at least the length required for the particles to be attracted to one side of the charged plate. It can take longer than the time required to allow the buildup of particles. The length of the cross-channel 6 limits the flow through the deionized panel 1. This limitation can be relaxed by incorporating a large number of channels.

With reference to FIG. 9, a system diagram of a deionization system using the deionization panel 1 is shown. When the deionization panel 1 is charged, the fluid flowing into the deionization panel 1 is deionized. A valve may be used to direct this fluid to the reservoir or another system. Over time, the ionized particles collect on the surface of the charged plate of the embossed film 3. At some point, the number of ionized particles is large enough, which is large enough to reduce the performance of the system. At some point it will be necessary to purge the particles.

In conjunction with the first valve, the second valve can be reconfigured to direct flow to the second system or reservoir. After the valve configuration is changed, the charge on the plate is removed and the ionized particles flow with the fluid into the second system or reservoir. This fluid will have a high concentration of ionized particles. The deionized panel will then be charged and the valve will be returned to its original configuration.

A fluid with a high concentration of ionized particles may be further treated to extract a particular element or compound from the fluid for use elsewhere.

With reference to FIGS. 10, 11, 12 and 13 together, an alternate configuration of the deionized panel 1 is shown. The cross channel 6 is arranged not on the front surface but on the back surface 15 of the embossed film 3. The configuration of the back surface 15 is best shown in FIG.

With reference to FIG. 14, in the case of the alternate configuration, the position of the charged surface can be seen. In this configuration, the back channel wall 22 is placed on top of the insulating layer 17.

With reference to FIG. 15, another alternating configuration of the charged surface is shown. When the cross-channel dividing walls 9 are formed on the back surface 15 of the embossed film 3, these 9s make the conductive front layer 18 (see, for example, FIG. 5 for an example of the conductive front layer) conductive. It also serves the purpose of electrically insulating from the back layer 16. In this configuration, the insulating layer 17 is not shown and is not required.

With reference to FIG. 16, the cross channel 6 is shown to be coated with additional materials 30 and 31. This material may be a porous conductive material such as carbon particles. Small carbon particles can be used to increase the surface area and collection of charged particles. Alternatively, the surface can be textured to produce more surface area. The surface may be coated with an inert material in order to reduce the deterioration of the conductive layer.

With reference to FIG. 17, an alternate configuration of the deionized panel 1 is shown. Previous figures have shown films laminated with linear layers. FIG. 17 shows a layer of film formed in a cylindrical shape. In this configuration, the flow flows from the inside to the outside of the cylinder or vice versa. The embossed film 3 can be rolled into a cylindrical shape into one long continuous piece of material. This configuration enables a roll-to-roll process for fabrication. The roll-to-roll process is the most cost-effective method of manufacturing the embossed film 3.

With reference to FIG. 18, another alternate configuration is shown. The deionized panel 1 is shown spirally wound, where one long length of film is again wound to form a disc. The roll-to-roll process also works well with this configuration.

Another alternate configuration of the deionization system is to assemble two or more deionization panels 1 in series. This may be done to add redundancy. A filter or set of filters can be added upstream of the deionization panel 1 to eliminate other types of particles that are not collected by the deionization section or clog the deionization section of the deionization system.

Another alternate configuration of the present invention is shown in FIG. Both plates on the cross channel 6 are negatively charged. In this case, only positively charged particles are attracted to the surface. The positive side of the voltage source can be used to induce a positive charge on the particles before they flow through the deionization system. With the same effect, the potential of the plate can be positively charged by the negatively charged upstream flow.

Figures 20-37 collectively show microstructure filters with cross-channels that can be used for the selection and / or cleaning purposes of particles of a particular size.

With reference to FIGS. 20, 21 and 22 together, the selective filter system 1 is shown. A fluid or gas flows into the selective filter system 1 from a fluid inlet 2 located on the upper surface of the housing 3. The housing 3 surrounds the upper plenum 4, the filter panel 6, and the lower plenum 8. It should be noted that the filter fluid can be a stream of gases, liquids, or small particles acting as a liquid. Examples of small particle flows are grains, seeds, sand or gravel. The upper plenum 4 limits the flow of fluid from the fluid inlet 2 to the upper surface 5 of the filter panel 6 of the filter panel 6. Do not allow flow to other areas of the system. The upper surface and the side surface of the housing 3 are sealed with the filter panel top surface 5 of the filter panel 6 to form the upper plenum 4. The interface between the side surface of the housing 3 and the top surface 5 of the filter panel of the filter panel 6 contains gaskets or adhesives to absorb changes in the surface topography of these components and seals them together. Can be done. Gasket is not shown. Similarly, the lower plenum 8 limits the flow of fluid exiting the filter panel bottom surface 7 of the filter panel 6. Induce the flow from the filter panel 6 to the fluid outlet 9.

The left and right sides of the filter panel 6 are mated to the cross-flow plenum. The current (current) selective filter system 1 is shown in which the upper crossflow inlet 20 supplies the crossflow fluid to the upper left side of the filter panel 6 by the method of the upper crossflow plenum 21. The lower cross-flow inlet 22 and the lower cross-flow plenum 23 supply a lower cross-flow fluid to the lower left side.

In summary, the selected fluid flow can be fed from the top surface to the filter panel 6 and to multiple locations from the sides. In the current configuration, two fluids are supplied from the left side. This can be increased in quantity or reduced to one. The number of side inputs will be an engineering decision based on the type of fluid and particles to be filtered.

With reference to FIG. 23, a portion of the filter panel 6 is shown. The filter panel 6 is made by laminating a large number of filter layers 40 together. Note that at least one layer is required for the system to function. From the viewpoint of system throughput, it is highly possible that the filter panel 6 has a large number of filter layers 40. For large systems, the number may be in the thousands.

The preferred material for the filter layer 40 is a polymer. Polymers are inexpensive materials and can typically be produced inexpensively. Other materials such as metals and ceramics may be used when the filter is used at high temperatures. The choice of filter layer material is a technical decision.

With reference to FIG. 24, only one filter layer 40 is shown. FIG. 25 and close-up FIG. 26 show details of the filter panel 6.

As described above, the input fluid flows into the filter layer 40 from the upper surface 5. The fluid flows down the filter inlet channel 41. The channels are separated by an inlet dividing wall 42. To aid in the cross-flow of the fluid, the filter inlet channel 41 and the inlet split wall 42 may be angled, or at least angled, as the fluid exits them. The actual design of the angle and shape can be a function of the fluid and particles being filtered. The illustrated channel has a curved portion at the bottom to create an angle at the bottom that exits the upper cross channel 43. All of the flow in the filter inlet channel 41 exits the upper cross channel 43. The upper cross channel 43 extends from the left side of the filter panel 6 to the right side of the filter panel 6.

The fluid in the upper cross-channel 43 can continue to flow along the channel or can flow into the second filter channel 44 located along the bottom of the upper cross-channel 43. The second filter channel 44 is smaller than the inlet filter 41. They are separated by a second dividing wall 45. The second filter channel 44 and the second dividing wall 45 also have a bottom-sloping geometry.

Only particles smaller than the fluid inlet channel 41 are found in the upper cross channel 43. If any of these particles are larger than the second filter channel 44, they are prevented from entering the upper cross channel 43. Smaller Particles The second filter channel 44 flows through the second filter channel to the lower cross channel 46.

The lower cross channel 46 has the same function as the upper cross channel 43. The fluid in the lower cross-channel 46 can continue to flow along the channel or can flow into the third filter channel 47. The third filter channel 47 is smaller than the second filter channel 44. Therefore, particles smaller than the third filter channel 47 flow through them and exit the filter layer 40. Particles larger than the third filter channel 47 are constrained by the lower cross channel 46.

By adjusting the width of the various vertical channels, particles of different sizes can be selected and / or sorted within the cross channel. Note that the cross channel is supplied by the cross flow plenum.

As the filter panel 6 is used, the particles collect in the cross-channel as the fluid flows through the filter panel 6. As the amount of particles increases, the flow through the filter panel 6 becomes more restricted. At some point, it may be desirable to reduce or limit the limit. The system in which this condition exists is the case of a wastewater treatment system.

If the selective filter system 1 is used to collect and recover particles of a particular size for use in another process or analysis, the amount of particles is a process, even before the limit is increased. Alternatively, the particles may be desired to be extracted if they are large enough for analysis. A system for classifying particles by size is used to classify blood cells by their size.

By reconstructing the flow to the filter panel 6, particles can be purged and recovered from the filter panel 6. A preferred method of removing particles is to terminate the flow from the fluid inlet while supplying the flow to the cross channel. The flow line in this state is shown in FIG. The fluid used for the cross-channel may be the same as the fluid flowing through the fluid inlet 2 or may be an alternate fluid. For wastewater treatment, the cross-flow fluid may be air.

Once the particles have been flushed from the cross-channel, the inlet fluid flow can be resumed. The vibration of the filter system or filter panel can be deployed to increase the rate of particle removal during the purging process. In addition, a small amount of backflow of fluid can be developed from the filter outlet to the filter inlet or to the cross channel to help purge the particles. Backflow is developed when the flow of fluid through the filter inlet stops.

FIG. 27 shows a flow line of a flow generated by a computational fluid dynamics or CFD flow simulation program. The simulation was configured to have flows in both the vertical and horizontal directions. This configuration is deployed when it is desirable to remove particles in a continuous process.

FIG. 28 shows a flow line flow line generated by a flow from a CFD flow simulation program. The simulation was configured to have flow only in the vertical direction. In this configuration, the particles collect in the cross-channel and continue to accumulate in the cross-channel.

FIG. 29 shows the flow line of the flow generated by the CFD flow simulation program. The simulation was configured to have flow only in the horizontal direction. In this configuration, the particles are removed via the cross channel, while there is no inlet flow.

FIG. 30 shows the force acting on the particles. The forces acting on the particles were analyzed both horizontally (Fh) and vertically (Fv). They analyzed three different flow conditions:
(1) Both vertical and cross flow, Fh = 2pN Fv = 12pN;
(2) Vertical flow only, Fh = 0.4pN Fv = 12pN, and (3) Cross flow only, Fh = 4pN Fv = 0.06pN.

The analysis of case 1 shows that there is a considerable amount of force acting on the particles to drive them to the cross-flow output along the cross-channel. Case 2 shows that when only vertical flows are present, a small amount of force acts on the particles to move them to the cross-flow output. Case 3 shows that a lot of force acts on the particles when only the cross flow is present.

With reference to FIG. 31, an alternate configuration of the second entrance split wall is shown. By applying a taper to the upper surface of the dividing wall, the horizontal force acting on the particle approaches the upper side of the particle. This geometry does not require much force to move the particles along the cross channel.

With reference to FIGS. 32 to 36 collectively, the helical shape of the filter system is shown. In this configuration, the cross flow is from the inner diameter of the filter panel to the outer diameter of the filter panel. Alternately, it can be in the opposite direction.

With particular reference to FIG. 36, only one cross-channel is shown in this configuration. Others can also be deployed. Gravity can be used to aid the movement of particles from the cross-channel, as shown in FIG. 37 with the filter oriented 90 degrees. In this configuration, the particles are denser than the fluid. If the particles are less dense than the fluid, the filter panel wants to flip from top to bottom. In some systems, the angle of rotation may be 180 degrees, or some angle between 0 and 180. The angle is designed for the particular fluid and type of particles to be filtered.

Figures 38-47 collectively show microstructured filters with two outlet paths that produce concentrated and filter streams. With reference to FIGS. 38, 39 and 40, the selective filter system 1 is shown. A fluid or gas flows into the selective filter system 1 from a fluid inlet 2 located on the upper surface of the housing 3. The housing 3 surrounds the selective filter system 1. The filtered fluid flows out of the filter fluid outlet 6 located on the bottom side of the housing 3. The concentrated fluid flows out from the concentrated fluid outlet 4 located on the front surface of the housing 3.

Note that the filter fluid can be a stream of gases, liquids, or small particles acting as a liquid. Examples of small particle flows are grains, seeds, sand, gravel or molecules.

Referring to FIG. 41, the upper plenum 7 limits the flow of fluid from the fluid inlet 2 to the filter panel 8. The selection filter system 1 does not allow flow to other areas. The top, front, rear and side surfaces 5 of the housing seal the filter panel 8 to form the upper plenum 7.

The interface between the sides, front and back of the housing 3 and the filter panel 8 can include gaskets or adhesives to absorb changes in the surface topography of these parts and seal them together. Gaskets are not displayed.

The fluid flowing into the upper surface of the filter panel 8 moves down the inlet channel 20. The inlet channel 20 can best be seen in the enlarged FIGS. 42 and 43. The inlet channel 20 faces vertically and is tapered. The taper begins at the top surface of the filter panel 8. The taper is widest on the top surface and narrow on the bottom surface of the filter panel 8.

The filter is composed of a plurality of filter layers laminated together. The filter layer, including the filter panel 8, typically has the same materials and geometry. The backside of the indicated filter layer directly covers and forms the fourth wall of the channel immediately behind. The channel of the shown filter panel 8 is covered by an inner surface (not shown) of the front wall of the housing 3 (forming a fourth wall).

The stacking of the filter layer on the filter panel 8 is performed for manufacturing reasons. The filter panel 8 may actually be made from a single object, but the filter panel 8 may not be easily formed from a single solid object. The filter layer is easy to manufacture and inexpensive. They are also easily assembled to the filter panel 8. The filter layer can be manufactured by a roll-to-roll process.

Most of the fluid entering the inlet channel 20 flows into the cross channel 21. The cross channel 21 is arranged along the tapered side of the inlet channel 20. The opening of the cross channel 21 is small and limits the passage of particles of a predetermined size. Therefore, the restricted particles are retained in the inlet channel 20. When the amount of particles in the inlet channel 20 becomes significant, it can be purged as a concentrated fluid through the bottom of the filter panel 8 where the inlet channel 20 is open. This fluid is directed to the lower plenum 9.

The lower plenum 9 limits the purged flow from exiting the selective filter system 1 through the concentrated fluid outlet 4. The lower plenum 9 is surrounded by a bottom surface, a front surface, a back surface and a side wall of the housing 3. It is further limited by the inner side plenum side wall 24 and the lateral bottom wall 25. The top edge of the side plenum side wall 24 terminates and seals to the bottom surface of the filter panel 8. The top edge of the side plenum side wall 24 is aligned with the wall forming the inlet channel 20 at the bottom of the filter panel 8.

The side plenum side wall 24 and the side plenum bottom wall 25 also form the side plenum 23. The side plenum 23 is located directly below the exit channel 22. The flow from the outlet channel 22 of the filter panel 8 is internally constrained and separated from the lower plenum 9 by the side plenum 23.

Fluids and small particles (smaller than the cross channel) flow from the cross channel 21 to the exit channel 22.

The outlet channel 22 is tapered. The edge with a small taper occurs near the top of the filter panel 8. The fluid cannot flow directly from the upper plenum 7 into the outlet channel 22. The taper increases in width as the flow progresses down the outlet channel 22. Only the flow passing through the cross channel 21 and the exit channel 22 can flow into the side plenum 23.

In summary, the flow from the cross channel is finally directed to the lateral plenum 23. This flow is further constrained to exit the selective filter system 1 through the filter fluid outlet 6 located in front of the housing 3.

The cross channel 21 is separated by a cross channel wall 26. The front edge of the cross-channel wall 26 has a chamfer 27. Chamfering helps reduce the likelihood of particles being trapped in the openings of the cross channel 21.

The trailing edge of the cross-channel wall 26 has a shallow taper. The taper for this purpose is to reduce flow restrictions and increase the strength of the wall during manufacture and use.

With reference to FIG. 44, the cross channel 21 can be seen in the upper sectional view. A preferred material for the filter layer is a polymer. Polymers are inexpensive materials and can typically be produced inexpensively. Other materials such as metals and ceramics may be used when the filter is used at high temperatures. Paper may even be used for some purposes. The choice of filter layer material is a technical decision.

Over time, the particles collect in the cross-channel and accumulate in the cross-channel. These can be purged by altering the flow of the system to the concentrated fluid outlet 4. The flow through the concentrated fluid outlet 4 can be continuous or intermittent.

If the selective filter system 1 is used to collect and recover particles of a particular size for use in another process or analysis, the quantity of particles will be in that process or even before the limit is increased. You may want to extract the particles if they are sufficient for analysis. A system for classifying particles by size is used to classify blood cells by their size.

Gravity and / or vibration of the filter panel 8 can be deployed to increase the exclusion of particles. The orientation of the filter panel 8 allows gravity to increase the elimination of particles.

Referring to FIG. 45, an alternate configuration of the present invention is shown. In this configuration, the depth of the cross-channel 21 is used to limit the particles. In a preferred disclosure, the height of the cross-channel 21 limits the particles.

An alternate configuration is developed when very small particles are filtered. Particles in the range less than 20 nanometers are considered to be very small. Tooling to make the cross-channel 21 of the preferred disclosure is limited by the manufacture of the tool. If the tooling for molding the film was made using either a precision machine tool or a semiconductor lithography process, it was not possible to make a very small cross-channel 21. Tooling made with semiconductor devices that used the depth of deposition was able to produce very small features. The depth of the deposit is replicated in the molding of the depth of the cross channel 21. Material deposition can be controlled to a depth of an order of magnitude nanometer.

See FIG. 46, a top view of an alternate system in which the surface of the film layer is coated with additional material. The back surface 30 of the coated film and the coated cross channel 31 are shown.

One or both of the film layers can be coated with a conductive layer of metal. The conductive coating may be charged with a positive or negative charge, or may be charged with the opposite charge. If they are charged with opposite charges, they need to be insulated with an insulating layer. An external voltage source is applied to the conductive surface to generate an electric charge.

One or both of the surfaces can be alternately coated with a material that has a negative charge when exposed to the electrolyte. In this case, the electrolyte becomes the fluid in the inlet channel. One example is on at least one surface coated with titanium dioxide and / or silicon dioxide, which produces a negative charge on the surface. The surface attracts cations in the electrolyte. These ions repel negative ions in the fluid. If the channel depth is small enough, positively charged ions will prevent negative ions from flowing through the cross-channel.

Another example is to coat at least one or both of the surfaces with a material that produces a positive charge in the presence of the electrolyte. The surface then attracts negative ions in the electrolyte. These ions repel cations in the fluid. If the channel depth is small enough, negative ions are blocked from flowing through the cross-channel.

Yet another approach to generate charge is to embed the charge inside or slightly below the outer surface of one or more surfaces. If the embedded charge is negative, the cations in the film are attracted. As in the previous embodiment, the oppositely charged particles or molecules are blocked from flowing through the cross-channel 21.

Referring to FIG. 47, another alternate configuration is shown. In this configuration, the lateral channels are formed by holes 32 through the base of the filter layer at the bottom of the inlet channel 20. This configuration can be configured such that all of the flow from these channels exits the selective filter system 1 from the concentrated fluid outlet 4. The lower wall 33 at the bottom of the inlet channel 20 ensures that the concentrated fluid does not enter the lower plenum 9. It should also be noted that the configuration of the pores for forming the channels can be readily applied to form the inlet and outlet channels and can be applied to both desalination and filtration applications.

48-55 collectively show various filters with tapered channels for increased particle collection capacity. The filtration structure has tapered inlet channels that collect particles of different sizes along different widths of the taper to significantly increase the filter's ability to collect particles.

With reference to FIG. 48, filter assembly 1 is shown. The fluid or gas flows into the filter assembly 1 from the upper surface 3 of the filter panel 2. The fluid flows out from the bottom surface of the filter panel 2.

Note that the filter fluid can be a stream of gases, liquids, or small particles acting as a liquid. Examples of small particle flows are grains, seeds, sand or gravel.

The filter panel is enclosed in the frame 4. The illustrated frame 4 is of the type required to fit the filter panel 2 for use in automotive air filters or cabin filters. The filter panel 2 is for use in automotive oil filters, automotive fuel filters, HVAC air filters, water treatment filters, wastewater treatment filters, industrial process filters, and other types of filter applications such as biological process or analytical filters. Can be enclosed in different enclosures. These are just a few of the types of applications where the filter panel 3 can be used. Most of these require a particular type of frame 4 for a particular application. The present invention applies to the filter panel 2 and does not apply to how the filter panel 2 is used or accommodated.

With reference to FIG. 49, the filter panel 2 is shown in a spiral configuration. A film material of a certain length is spirally wound to form a large area where the fluid enters the filter panel 2. The filter can be configured as a linear, cylindrical or conical shape.

With reference to FIGS. 50 and 51, a section of filter panel 2 is shown. As described above, the fluid flows in from the upper surface 3 of the filter panel 2. In this enlarged view, the inlet channel 10 is visible. They start at top surface 3 and extend along the surface of the film, ending slightly above the bottom edge of the film material. The complementary exit channel starts slightly below the top surface 3 of the filter panel 2 and extends to the bottom of the filter panel 2 and is open. The tapered orifice channel 12 connects the inlet channel 10 to the outlet channel 11. They are abundant and they are so small that you cannot see the details.

Details are shown with reference to FIGS. 52 and 53, an enlarged cross-sectional view of the filter panel 2. The tapered orifice channel 12 that connects the inlet channel 10 to the outlet channel 11 is easily visible. The flow flows in from the inflow channel 10 and into the tapered orifice channel 12. There are hundreds of tapered orifice channels 12 located along the input channel 10. The large tapered end is open to the inlet channel 10. The small end of the tapered orifice channel 12 is open to the outlet channel 11. The tapered orifice channel is formed by adjacent split walls that are substantially tear-shaped or winged.

With reference to FIG. 54, a tapered orifice channel 12 with trapped particles 20-25 of various sizes is shown. By constructing a channel with a taper, more particles 20-25 can be captured without significantly limiting the flow.

See FIG. 55. In FIG. 55, the relationship between the particles in the Z direction can be seen. From this point of view, it can be seen that the fluid can flow through the tapered orifice channel 12 (flow in the X direction). Only five particles 21-25 are trapped in the tapered orifice channel 12. The tapered orifice channel 12 is much wider (Z direction) than the size of the collected particles, allowing the fluid to flow around the particles 21-25 (along the Z direction). This allows more particles to be captured before the flow through the channel is significantly reduced.

56-72 collectively show fluid filters with complex flow orifices. In some embodiments, the art relates to a filter system for filtering or separating particles of different sizes from a fluid. Filtered structures can be used to separate particles from particles or fluids of a particular size. The process of separating bacteria from wastewater is one application of the present invention. Separation of blood cells of different sizes in a fluid is another biological filtration application. Desalination of water is one area where filter materials are used to separate molecules of different sizes. This work requires removing sodium chloride molecules from the water molecules. For desalination of salt water, the relative amount of sodium chloride is large in relation to water molecules. Due to this high ratio, a significant amount of sodium chloride is collected in the filter when treating a moderate amount of water. Applying an electric field to the flow of fluid can also be part of the process.

There are many other processes that can utilize this system.

First, refer to FIG. 56. FIG. 56 shows an example of a filter system 1 configured according to the present technology. The fluid to be filtered flows into the filter system 1 from the inlet pipe 2 or the "inlet" of the filter system 1. The inlet pipe 2 is fixed to the upper surface of the upper cover 3. The fluid passes through both the inlet pipe 2 and the top cover 3.

The fluid containing the high concentration particles exits the filter system 1 through the concentrated outlet tube 4. The concentrated outlet pipe 4 is also fixed to the upper surface of the top cover 3. The filtered fluid exits the filter system 1 through a filtered outlet tube 6 located on the bottom surface of the bottom cover 5. The bottom cover 5 and the top cover 3 are fixed together. Both the top cover 3 and the bottom cover 5 are circular with a circular hole penetrating the center.

See FIGS. 57 and 58, which show a cross-sectional view of the filter system. The filter disk 12 is enclosed between the top cover 3 and the bottom cover 5. The upper surface of the filter disk 12 is mated to the bottom surface of the top cover 3. In these figures, the fluid flow path in the filter system can also be seen. The fluid from the inlet pipe 2 flows into the cover inlet channel 10. The cover inlet channel 10 extends around the circular top cover 3. The fluid is sent to the radial inlet channel 11.

With reference to FIG. 59, a bottom view of the top cover 3 is shown. The cover inlet channel 10 and the radial inlet channel 11 can be seen as a whole.

There are a total of nine equidistant radial inlet channels 11 that feed fluid to the filter disk 12 (not shown) only at these positions. The actual number of channels and their size may differ from those disclosed. That number would be the result of engineering for the particular application of filter system 1. There is a radial exit channel 20 between the radial inlet channels 11. The radial outlet channel 20 collects the concentrated fluid from the filter disk 12. The radial exit channel 20 does so only at a position directly above the filter disk 12. The radial exit channel 20 and the radial inlet channel 11 are not directly connected. The radial exit channel 20 is connected to a cover outlet channel 21 located slightly outside the central hole of the top cover 3. The cover outlet channel 21 connects the concentrated fluid to the outlet tube 4 and supplies it to the outlet tube 4. The area between the radial inlet channel 11 and the radial exit channel 20 is separated by a distance of "d1". The relationship between these dimensions and the filter disc will be described later in this disclosure.

Returning to FIG. 57, the filtered outlet plenum 13 can be seen. The fluid outlet plenum 13 collects the fluid flowing out from the bottom of the filter disk 12. The filter disk 12 and the filtered outlet plenum 13 are constrained by the bottom surface 16, the outer wall 15 and the inner wall 14 of the bottom cover 5. The filtered fluid exits the outlet plenum 13 from the filtered fluid outlet 6.

In summary, the fluid being filtered is directed to a specific area on the top surface of the filter disk 12. The concentrated fluid can flow out of the top surface of the filter disk 12 only in certain areas of the top surface of the filter. The filtered fluid can flow out anywhere on the bottom surface of the filter disk 12. Many different covers, housings or pipes can be designed to perform the same function. Those skilled in the art can design many other configurations. In addition, the design is designed for the specific task of filter system 1.

With reference to FIG. 60, only the filter disk 12 is shown. The filter disc 12 is made by stacking thin strips of filter material on top of each other and rolling them many times to make a disc. The disc has a large hole in the center. The distance between the inner and outer diameters of the disc is equal to the thickness of the thin filter material multiplied by the number of times the filter material is wound.

With reference to FIGS. 61 and 62, a small section of filter material is shown. The small sections show the entire height of the film, but only a small length. The fluid from the radial inlet channel 11 enters the top surface of the filter material in the disc inlet region 50. The width of the disk inlet area 50 is identified by dimension "d2". The disc inlet channel 50 is adjacent to the disc wall 51. In some embodiments, the disk wall 51 forms a meandering fluid channel, such as the left disk flow channel 53 and the right disk flow channel 53', as described below. That is, the filter disk contains a meandering filter channel bounded by a thin filter wall (thin filter material). The filter wall will also be described below.

The disc exit area 56 is adjacent to the disc wall 51. Along the upper edge of the film material, the pattern of the disc inlet region 50, the disc wall 51 and the disc exit region 56 is repeated many times along the overall length of the roll of filter material. The disk wall 51 is identified by the dimension "w1". The disc exit region 56 has substantially the same width d1 as the disc inlet region 50. The sum of d2 and w1 is smaller than the dimension d1 identified in FIG. If the sum of w1 and d2 is less than d1, the fluid is constrained to flow into one disc inlet region 50 or one disc outlet region 56. When the filter material is rolled, the positions of the disc inlet region 50 and the disc outlet region 56 change in relation to the position of the radial inlet channel 11 in the top cover 3. In some cases, the disc inlet area 50 or the disc exit area 56 may not be aligned. In these cases, there is no flow. In the majority of cases, the fluid flows to and is restricted to only one input or one output.

The disc inlet region directs the fluid to the disc inlet channel 52. The disk channel 52 is aligned with the vertices of the fluid flow channel. The fluid flowing into the disk inlet channel 52 can take one of two paths. It can flow to the left disk flow channel 53 or the right disk flow channel 53'. The fluid can flow through any of these channels in a meandering path to the left or right. The flow finally enters the flow left disk exit channel 55 or right disk exit channel 55'. The fluid can then exit the disc exit region 56. At some point above the disc outlet region 56, a radial outlet channel 20 is placed to remove the concentrated fluid from the filter disc 12.

In other words, the filter disk can include multiple disk inlet channels, each of which cooperates with a meandering filter channel to form a left disk flow channel and a right disk flow channel.

With reference to FIGS. 63 and 64, details of the filter disk 12 can be seen in an enlarged view of a small section of the filter material described above. In this figure, the thin channel wall 60 can be seen more clearly. These walls prevent the fluid from entering the filtered region 61.

With reference to FIG. 65, the back side of a small section of thin filter material is shown. Very shallow channels are formed on the back of the thin filter material. These channels, when they are high, may be only 1/1000 of the depth. They are close together at reasonable intervals. They are shown at intervals and from center to center is about 1.2 times their height. The overall length of the thin material has these channels. They cause the fluid to effectively "jump" the channel wall. Any particles greater than the channel depth are restricted from flowing into the filtered region.

Return to FIG. The fluid entering the filtered region 61 can exit the bottom surface of the filter disc and enter the filtered outlet plenum 13.

Another configuration of a small section of filter disk 12 is shown in FIG. The thin channel wall 60 is composed of extremely shallow channels formed by the front recessed surface 76. The front concave surface 76 is recessed from the front surface 75 and separated by the front spacer 77. In this configuration, the back surface of the thin material is flat. These very shallow channels are where the particles are separated from the fluid.

With reference to FIG. 67, a top view of the minor section of the filter disk 12 is shown. In this figure, a charged surface is shown. For some applications, it is desirable to create an electric field across the flow field. The front charging layer 80 is shown to be located directly below the main structure of the filter material. The rear charged layer 81 is located just below the surface of the back surface of the filter material. These layers can be alternately placed on the surface of the filter material. The exact location is designed for a particular application.

The front and back surfaces can also be coated with other materials to improve the filtering properties of the filter system. Some examples of coatings are carbon particles, titanium dioxide, silicon dioxide, charged ions embedded in filter materials and many other types of materials.

With reference to FIGS. 68, 69, 70 and 71 together, alternating configurations of filter systems are shown. A small section of filter material is shown in each of FIGS. 68-71. The system consists of filter material laminated together rather than being wound onto a disc. The top and bottom covers are rectangular rather than circular. The inlet and outlet channels are linear rather than radial. The inlet and outlet channels fit into the disc inlet and outlet areas. This alternating configuration works the same as the circular version. The relatively equal sizes of the film inlet region 90, the film exit region 91 and the film wall region 92 require less precision in the placement of thin materials to align with the top cover channels.

With reference to FIG. 72, a section of filter materials for a two-stage filter system is shown. It has all the elements of the one-step filter system described above.

In addition, it has a second filter stage 100 configured under a one-stage system. The flow from the filtered region 61 enters the second filter stage 100 at the second stage inlet 102. The concentrated fluid exiting the second filter stage 100 is fed to the upper end of the filter material by the second stage outlet 105. The filtered fluid exits the thin channel wall 106 of the second stage and moves to the filtration region 107 of the second stage. In the second stage filtration region 107, the bottom edge of the filter material can be freely exited onto the filtered output plenum 13.

Note that a number of configurations of filter channels and filter inlets and outlets can be configured on the filter material.

The present technology relates to filters and, in more detail, to filters including, but not limited to, layers that are alternately and laterally oriented with respect to each other. It is advantageous that these filters are configured to filter fine particle-containing fluids to remove particles of various sizes.

Although various embodiments have been described above, it should be understood that these embodiments are merely exemplary and not limiting. This description is not intended to limit the scope of the technology to the particular embodiments described herein. Therefore, the width and scope of the preferred embodiments should not be limited by any of the above exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that the above description is exemplary and not limiting. On the contrary, this description is intended to include alternatives, modifications, and equivalents within the spirit and scope of the technology as defined by the appended claims and as recognized by those skilled in the art. Will be done. Therefore, the scope of the art should be determined without reference to the above description, and instead should be determined with reference to the appended claims along with the full scope of their equivalents.

The present invention also relates to the following aspects. :
1. 1. It's a filter film
(A) A plurality of dividing walls extending from the upper surface of the film, and the plurality of dividing walls forming a plurality of tapered inlet channels;
(B) With a plurality of cross channels formed along the respective lengths of the plurality of dividing walls;
(C) With an inlet channel for each of the plurality of tapered inlet channels;
(D) With an exit channel for each of the plurality of tapered inlet channels;
Including filter film.
2. 2. The filter film according to claim 1, further comprising a conductive layer covering the front surface of the filter film.
3. 3. The filter film according to claim 2, further comprising a conductive layer covering the back surface of the filter film.
4. The filter film according to claim 3, wherein the conductive layers on the front surface and the back surface are embedded with charged particles.
5. The filter film according to claim 2, further comprising an electrically insulating layer covering a conductive layer covering the front surface of the filter film.
6. The filter film of claim 1, wherein the plurality of tapered inlet channels are substantially V-shaped.
7. The filter film according to claim 6, wherein the inlet channels of the filter film have alternating widths.
8. The filter film of claim 1, further comprising a porous conductive material or texturing arranged on each of the plurality of cross-channels of the plurality of dividing walls.
9. The filter film according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of cross channels includes a tapered structure formed by adjacent dividing walls, and the adjacent dividing walls are in the shape of tears.
10. A filter device including a plurality of filter films according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of filter films are arranged in a stacking and fitting relationship.
11. The filter device according to claim 10, wherein the plurality of filter films are wound in a cylindrical shape.
12. The filter device according to claim 10, wherein the plurality of filter films are wound in a spiral structure.
13. It's a filter film
A first row of plurality of inlet partition walls extending from the top surface of the film, wherein the plurality of inlet dividers in a fluid communicate with a plurality of filter inlet channels, and the plurality of inlet dividers are spaced from each other. A plurality of channels are formed open, and each of the plurality of entrance dividing walls includes a curved section close to the bottom of the entrance dividing wall with a first row of the entrance dividing walls;
A plurality of in the first row, which is a second row of the plurality of inlet dividers, wherein the plurality of inlet dividers form a filter inlet channel that is narrower than the plurality of filter inlet channels in the first row. With a second row, which is placed closer to the entrance split wall of
Including filter film.
14. The filter film according to claim 13, wherein the first row and the second row are separated from each other in order to form a cross channel.
15. The filter film of claim 14, further comprising a third row of plurality of inlet dividing walls forming a third filter channel.
16. 13. The filter film of claim 13, wherein the second and third rows are separated from each other to form separate cross-channels.
17. A filter device including a plurality of filter films according to claim 13.
18. The filter device according to claim 17, further comprising a housing for surrounding the plurality of filter films.
19. The filter device of claim 18, further comprising an upper plenum that communicates fluid with the plurality of filter inlet channels.
20. 19. The filter device of claim 19, further comprising a lower plenum for directing fluid flowing through the filter device to the fluid outlet of the housing.
21. A filter comprising a cylindrical housing for holding a filter disk, said cylindrical housing comprising a top cover including a plurality of radial inlet channels and a plurality of radial inlet channels, said said a plurality of radial inlets. The channels are arranged in an alternating relationship with the radial outlet channel, the top cover includes a cover inlet channel for receiving fluid, and the radial outlet channel is a fluid concentrated or filtered from the filter disk. A filter to collect.
22. 21. The filter of claim 21, wherein the cylindrical housing comprises an outlet plenum that fluidly communicates with the plurality of radial outlet channels.
23. The filter disc contains a plurality of filter films.
Each of the plurality of filter films
A meandering filter channel bounded by a thin filter wall,
A plurality of disk inlet channels, each of which cooperates with a meandering filter channel to form a left disk flow channel and a right disk flow channel.
21. The filter according to claim 21.
24. A filter device that includes multiple panels
Each of the plurality of panels
The filtering front surface includes a filtering front surface and a flat back surface.
A first row of vertically extending protrusions that form vertical channels that are spaced apart from each other and that are close to the inlet of the filter device.
A second row of vertically extending protrusions that form vertical channels that are spaced apart from each other and that are close to the outlet of the filter device.
One or more rows of filtering protrusions, wherein the one or more rows are spaced vertically apart from each other and between a first row and a second row of vertically extending protrusions. One of the filtering projections, each row of filtering projections comprising filtering projections spaced apart from each other to form a filter channel having a size configured to receive and hold an object of a given size. With one or more
Including and
(F) The plurality of panels are stacked in a mating configuration, whereby the filtering front surface of one panel mates and contacts the flat back surface of an adjacent panel.
Filter device.
25. 24. The filter device of claim 24, wherein each of the one or more rows of the filtering projections comprises a filtering channel having a unique width.

1 Deion panel 1
2 Top surface 3 Embossed film 4 Top edge 5 Input channel 6 Cross channel 7 Front surface 8 Output channel 9 Cross channel split wall

Claims (8)

A deionization panel (1) comprising a plurality of filter films (3) stacked in a layered structure, each of the plurality of filter films.
A plurality of inlets on the upper surface (2) of the film and a plurality of outlets on the bottom surface of the film, wherein the plurality of inlet channels (5) extending from the upper surface of the film are directed from the inlet to the outlet. The plurality of outlet channels extending from the bottom surface of the film are tapered from the outlet to the inlet.
In the intermediate portion where the tapered inlet channel is adjacent to the tapered exit channel, and in the inlet channel extending from the upper surface of the film, the top portion where the inlet channels are adjacent to each other and the outlet channel extending from the bottom surface of the film. In the bottom part where the exit channels are adjacent to each other,
In the range from the upper surface of the film to the bottom surface of the film, there are a plurality of dividing walls (9) perpendicular to the inlet channel and the exit channel , wherein the plurality of dividing walls are formed between the channels. To be done ,
A plurality of cross channels (6) partitioned by dividing walls and channels over the entire length of the top, middle and bottom portions of the film.
The conductive layer on the front surface (7) of the filter film and the conductive layer on the back surface (15) of the filter film , wherein the filter film is the conductive layer on the front surface (7) of the filter film and the filter film. the conductive layer of the back surface (15) of the by charging with opposite charges to each other, the charged particles flowing through the channel is configured to be attracted to the front or back surface of the filter film,
Deionized panel (1). The front and the back of the conductive layer, the charged particles are embedded, deionized panel according to claim 1 (1). The deionized panel (1) according to claim 1, further comprising an electrically insulating layer covering the conductive layer covering the front surface of the filter film. The deionized panel (1) of claim 1, wherein the plurality of tapered inlet channels are substantially V-shaped. The deionization panel (1) according to claim 4 , wherein the plurality of tapered inlet channels (5) are arranged in an alternating relationship with the plurality of tapered output channels (8). The deionized panel (1) according to claim 1, further comprising a porous conductive material arranged on a plurality of cross channels of each of the plurality of dividing walls. The deionized panel (1) according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of cross channels includes a tapered structure formed by adjacent dividing walls. The deionization panel (1) according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of filter films are wound in a spiral structure.

Images