GB2493578A

GB2493578A - Filter basket with a concave portion

Info

Publication number: GB2493578A
Application number: GB201200620A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Deryck Stevenson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2011-07-30
Filing date: 2012-01-16
Publication date: 2013-02-13
Also published as: GB201114884D0; GB2493421B; GB201200620D0; GB2493577A; GB201113156D0; GB2493421A; GB201200052D0; GB2493569A; GB201212124D0

Abstract

A filter/strainer basket for use with a fluid pump has a base and side wall; a portion of the side wall is concaved and traverses the full height of the basket such that in use the filter basket is stepped away from the outlet pipe and such that in use a concaved portion extends upward from the bottom of outlet pipe side of the basket and terminates at the top of the outlet pipe side of the filter/strainer basket at the rim. The basket may be of unitary non-metallic (e.g. plastic) construction; it may comprise a biocide material to combat algae, fungal and biomaterial build-up. For example, a device comprises inlet pipe 4, outlet pipe 5, filter basket 2, filter basket holder 1 and convex/concave tube filter/strainer 3. The device may be used as an inline filter / strainer for fluid pumps; it may be less prone to blockages due to the enhanced surface area of the convex filter portion.

Description

STRAINER/FILTER BASKET.

DESCRIPTION OF A HLTERISTRAINER BASKET FUNCTION

A Alter basket funcfion is to protect the pump and to stop contaminants larger than 2mm such as dead fhes, beetles, eaves and other objects going into the pump impeer and clogging up the pump possibly stopping the pump or causing damage to same.

Filter/Strainer [0001].The invention relates to a filter/strainer basket for use in conduits or fluid systems.

Optionally the invention relates to a unitary. non-metallic or (could be if a specific job requires it a metallic stainless steel or other none ferocious metal strainer basket). Optionally the invention relates to a non-metallic strainer basket strainer basket in which a bio stabilizer is or can be added on to into or disposed onto the material to combat algae, fungal. and bio-material build up along the inner surface of the basket and/or in the opening of the basket.

[0002] In order to provide for regular and intended flow of fluid through conduits and fluid systems, it is necessary to remove certain materials from the fluid (including clumps or coagulations of the fluid itself) that lend to prevent or restrict the flow of the fluid through the conduit or system. One way to accomplish this is to couple a strainer to the conduit or system.

[0003] The strainer comprises of a housing and a removable perforated basket that allows fluid to flow through the perforations (and thus through the conduit or system), while preventing material or build up that is larger than the diameter of the perforations from continuing through the conduit or fluid system. The material that is prevented from continuing through the conduit or system builds up in the fHter/strainer basket and must be removed or it would prevent or restrict flow through the strainer. Because the strainer basket is removable, it can be readily emptied of this build up and placed back into the strainer basket container.

[0004]ln many applications a strainer is used in conjunction with a filter usually a sand filter or an inline fine filters. By installing a strainer basket directly upstream of the filter, then larger materials that would quickly clog the filter are removed. The sand or inline filter is then able to remove the finer particles and does not have to be cleaned as frequently and stops the impeller of the pumps from being damaged. Filter/Strainer baskets are also often used in industry to protect pumps, nozzles, valves, heat exchangers, and other expensive equipment from harmful flow contamination by trapping dirt and foreign matter.

[0005] All older style strainer baskets, however, suffer from many deficiencies.

Firstly, many of the filter strainer baskets are made of separate pieces that are bonded or welded together, usually stainless steel or galvanized steel, these are normally quite rough and can cut or harm the user. In many instances, the body of the basket is bonded or welded to the bottom of the basket. Such baskets are prone to breaking at the bond point or weld point.

Secondly, the multi-piece strainer basket also normally has a handle which is prone to break off.

Thirdly, the perforations in the baskets tend to collect algae, fungus, or other bio-material which effectively reduces the diameter of the perforations and limits the amount of fluid that can flow through the perforations.

(0006) This invention overcomes the deficiencies of the older designs, in many ways, mainly allowing a much longer time of filtration before becoming clogged with debris and still being an efficient working filter/strainer basket for the pump. A pump needs a good flow of fluid to keep it lubricated and because of my invention the pump does not get clogged up so quickly this means that there is a greater flow of fluid so does not cause as much wear on the pump. (The filter will still need to be maintained and checked for debris at regular intervals) [0007]. All filter/strainer baskets on the market at the moment differ from my invention due to the fact all the other filter/strainer baskets are of a close fitting design to the basket holder, this current design leaves no room for the fluid to go in between the filter/strainer basket and the filter/strainer basket holder so once the small area just over the outlet pipe gets blocked it reduces the pressure and the fluid flow significantly, my Concave/Convex tube invention steps the basket away from the outlet pipe allowing a much larger area of the basket to act as a filter/strainer and a far greater flow of fluid to keep the pump cool and better lubricated.

[0008].The invention herein solves the deficiencies of all the older styles and designs.

STATEMENT OF INVENTION:

A filter/strainer basket for use with a fluid pump, the basket having a base and side wall, it has a portion of the side wall that is concaved and traverses up the side and the full height of the filter/basket such that in use the filter basket is stepped away from the outlet pipe, such as in use a concaved portion extends upward from bottom of outlet pipe side of the basket and terminates at the top of the outlet pipe side of the filter/strainer basket at the rim.

[0009].The invention filters the full height of the filter/strainer basket due to having a due to having an inversion this cause a Concave/Convex tube running the full height of the filter basket on the outlet pipe side of the filter/strainer basket thus creating a much larger surface filter area the Concave/Convex tube then being further away from the outlet pipe on the internal wall of the basket holder will allow a lot more debris into the filter/strainer basket meaning it can go longer between cleaning out the filter/strainer basket but without reducing pressure or performance of the pump, not as most of this type of filters are normally a close fit or touching all around the shape of the filter strainer basket to the filter strainer basket holder, this means just a few leaves or dead insects getting sucked in and stuck over the filter covering the area over the outlet pipe will cause it to become blocked (usually the size of the effective area of the filter is no more than 22 to 30mm the diameter of the outlet pipe) this invention at the moment does not have to have a handle but it can be incorporated if required.

[001 0].The invention maybe moulded as a single non-metallic unit; there maybe no seams to create a weak point, the filter strainer basket may fit snuggly into the strainer holder so even though virtually all filter/strainer baskets on the market are of an open net basket style all-round the way the 22mm to 30mm of the filter/strainer basket allows fluid to pass through it and acts as a filter, the rest of the basket is touching the holder so very little fluid passes between the filter/strainer basket and the filter/strainer basket holder the fluid has to pass from the inlet pipe directly to the outlet pipe.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more detailed description of the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings: FIGURE 1 Side view of 1 being strainer basket holder also fluid reservoir to make sure there is always fluid in the pump so the pump does not get air locks which would cause the pump to iun dry, overheat and not work efficiently, shortening the working life of the pump. Also in figure 1 showing the Internal Filter/strainer Basket 2, the dotted line being 3 is the internal Concave/Convex Filter tube filtering the fluid before going onto the outlet pipe 5, also showing the inlet pipe 4 the directional flow of fluid is from 4 to 5, there is also a removable lid 8 normally transparent to the filter/strainer Basket holder 1, which allows for the maintenance and cleaning of the filter/strainer basket, the lid also acts as a locking seal between the 1 and 8 using a commercially available rubber 0' ring between 1 and 8 the lid of the filter/strainer basket holder and the Filter/strainer basket to create a fluid tight seal that, 6 (see FIGURE 3) fits very snuggly between 1 and 8 that holds the filter/strainer basket in place; FIGURE 2.

A top view showing the close fitting internal Filter/strainer basket 2 and the darker circle being Filter/strainer basket holder 1. With 2 and 1 being so close this will only allow a very small amount of fluid to pass through the filter/strainer wall 2 virtually all the fluid has to pass from the inlet Pipe being 4 through the internal Concave/Convex filter tube 3, then out through 5 being the outlet pipe, the Concave/Convex tube filter/strainer 3 running the whole height and being stepped away from the filter/strainer basket holder it will filter all the debris out of the fluid for a much longer period and far more efficiently: FIGURE 3 Is a side view showing the filter/strainer basket 2, the Concave/Convex tube strainer 3 leading onto the outlet pipe 5 (see FIGURE 2), the top seating rim 6 which holds the Filter/strainer basket between Basket holder I (see FIGURE 1) and the filter/strainer basket holder lid 8 (see FIGURE 1) and also showing the fluid inlet 4 where the inlet pipe allows the fluid to enter the Filter/strainer basket 2 and then through the filter/strainer basket to the Concave/Convex filter 3, this tube needs to be at least 22mm diameter to function at its optimum efficiency it can be made much larger or even smaller but the unit will always function much better than all similar current filter/strainer designs, this is the embodiment of the invention.

FIGURE 4 showing the side view of the invention looking directly at 3 the filter/strainer Concave/Convex tube as a part of the filter/strainer basket 2, the filter/strainer basket shown is of a complete open net/filter style, but this can be a solid style body as the filter/strainer is close fit to the filter/strainer holder 1 (see FIGURE 1) and fluid will not pass anywhere except from the entry pipe 4 (see FIGURE 2) and on through the Concave/Convex filter/strainer 3 and then on to 5 (see FIGURE 2) the outlet pipe, the image also shows quite clearly the top sealing rim 6, the bottom or base of the filter/strainer 7 is enclosed and is all part of the same single moulding and can be a net/filter style to help keep down the cost or of solid construction same as the body it is generally cheaper to make them out of net/filter style as it uses less material. 9 the top of the Concave/Convex tube is enclosed to cover the filter/strainer to stop debris going over the top of the Concave/Convex tube and getting into the pump, this should be a solid top and a part of the top moulding of the filter/strainer basket.

FIGURE 5 Shows the difference between the old style filter figures 3 strainer/basket where there is only a very small area that needs to become blocked before the unit has to be cleaned And then the new filter strainer basket. It is clearly seen that the newly designed unit can collect much more solids before becoming blocked or less efficient at its intended job of work KEY TO NUMBERS: 1= FILTER/STRAINER BASKET HOLDER 5=OUTLET PIPE 2= FILTER/STRAINER BASKET 6=TOP SEATING RIM 3=CONCAVE/ CONVEX TUBE FILTER/STRAINER 7=ENCLOSED BASE NET WORK OR SOLID 4=INLET PIPE 8=NORMALLY TRANSPERENT LID 9=COVER FOR CONCAVE/CONVEX TUBE FILTER/STRAINER Argument and Comparison between filter numbers WO 00/18487 and this design Both these filters have completely different applications the WO 00/18487 filter is fed through a pipe from the bottom of the filter to the top (Figure 1/1 item 14) then through the conical filter and out through the bottom of the conical filter (Figure 1/1 item 20) the filter housing unit is bolted together (Figure 1/1 items 34 & 34). It has been suggested that if this unit was turned on its side it would work in a similar manner to this design. This is not possible because if turning the filter housing 9Q9, when opening the unit to inspect or clean the filter, all the fluid would drain out, because of this, each time the filter basket was cleaned and or serviced the pump would have to be charged and primed with fluid. During that time the pump would be running dry and cause severe overheating and wear to the pump reducing the working life and efficiency of the pump.

This is a completely different unit. The basket filter housing is on a vertical plane thus making sure the filter basket housing always remains full of fluid (Figure 1 item 1). It is fed from an inlet tube (Figure 1 item 4) just above centre height to the side of the basket housing and exits from an outlet tube (Figure 1 item 5) just above centre height on the opposing side of the basket housing, thus not allowing air into the impellor of the pump. The top of the filter housing (Figure 1 item 8) which is not my design it is a twist to lock & unlock system normally with a transparent window allowing easy access into the unit to remove the filter basket for cleaning.

Not only is there a vast difference in the working of the pump but the actual filtration method is different. The WO 00/18487 filter basket is a CONICAL design with the fluid flowing in through the top of the cone area and out through the base of the unit.

(O.E.D. Conical/Cone a solid or hollow object which tapers from a circular or roughly circular base to a point: Origin: late Middle English (denoting an apex or vertex): from French cone, via Latin from Greek konos) This design is a CONCAVE/CONVEX design taking up the full height of the filter basket (figure 1 item 3) and wider than the outlet pipe, giving maximum filtration and allowing maximum flow of fluid, through the side outlet pipe (Figure 1 item 5) of the basket housing this gives a much larger filter surface area and means there are less working hours lost as it takes longer for the solids to block up this filter basket, over other standard baskets of this type currently on the market.

(O.E.D. concave having an outline or surface that curves inwards like the interior of a circle or sphere: i.e. concave lenses Concave = Origin: late Middle English: from Latin concavus, from con-together' + cavus hollow' concave) As you can see, both of these units have completely different applications and bear no resemblance to each other in a working environment. They both stand on their own doing a completely different job of work.

A commercially available bio stabilizer can be used that is capable of killing the algae, fungal And or bio-material build up in the filter/strainer basket's openings and along the basket's surfaces.

The bio stabilizer can be mixed with or let into the non-metallic material as the unit is being moulded, or it can be disposed on the inner and or outer surfaces of the basket just after the moulding of the unit.

BIOCIDES

I have designed this to use commercially available Biocides, these also sometimes called bio stabilizers, fungicides, bactericides, and micro biocides, are added to plastics materials to resist the biological corrosions of the plasticizer additive. Plastic materials are resistant to biological attack from microorganisms; however, the many plasticizers used in PVC are highly susceptible to attack so it is highly recommended that a biocide is used on this moulding stopping any form of attack. The attack can be from fungi, bacteria, or other microorganisms which use the plasticizer as a nutrient. The plasticizers known to be the most susceptible are adipates, azeleates, sebacates, polyesters, epoxidized oils, and lubricants. Biocides are added to the plastic in small amounts ranging from 0.1% to 5%. Biocides are toxic chemicals; however, the amount used is so small that it does not normally represent a toxic danger. However, biocides should not be used when the plastic product is to be in permanent contact with human skin, drinking fluid, or food. The same is true for plastics that are to be used in articles used by children or infants.

The result of a biological attack affects appearance with pink staining, loss of mechanical and electrical properties, and the development of mildew and odour. Plasticized PVC products most often requiring protection include: shower curtains, bath mats, fluid beds, awnings, tents, lawn furniture, marine upholstery, auto seat covers, ground cloths, wall covering, floor coverings, coated fabrics, and electrical insulation. These biological attacks are accelerated in hot and humid environments with temperatures of 80 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, 26.6 to 37.7 Celsius and relative humidity between 63% to 99%. Most plasticized PVC that exist in this type of environment and exhibit rapid growth of mildew and odour fluid pumps quite often have this temperature of fluid passing through them so need an antifungal treatment.