Diffusion and/or filtration device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11426698-B2
Application number	US-201716326449-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 30, 2017
Priority date	Aug 31, 2016
Publication date	Aug 30, 2022
Grant date	Aug 30, 2022

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to diffusion and/or filtration devices comprising hollow fiber membranes, e.g., ultrafilters for water purification, plasma filters, or capillary dialyzers for blood purification; housings and end caps for the devices; and methods for the production of the devices.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A diffusion and/or filtration device comprising a housing comprising a tubular midsection; and header sections at both ends of the tubular midsection having a diameter larger than the diameter of the tubular midsection; characterized in that the wall strength of the header sections is greater than the wall strength of the tubular midsection; and a plurality of elongated noses is arranged on the inside surface of each the header sections, the noses running parallel to the longitudinal axis of the housing and parallel to each other, and one or more end caps having an inner surface which is axially symmetrical with regard to the longitudinal axis of the end cap and has an inner surface having the form of a funnel and comprising, in the direction of increasing diameter, a first section (I) taking the form of a cylinder or a truncated cone, a middle section (II) taking the form of a torus segment, and a third section (III) taking the form of a truncated cone, characterized in that the end cap comprises a circumferential planar sealing face sloping at an angle in the range of from about 5° to about 10° in a radial direction.

2. The diffusion and/or filtration device of claim 1 , comprising:
a) the housing, defining a longitudinally extending internal chamber including a first end and a second end;
b) a bundle of semi-permeable hollow fiber membranes disposed within the internal chamber and extending longitudinally from the first end of the internal chamber to the second end of the internal chamber, the hollow fiber membranes each having an outer surface, and a first end and a second end corresponding to the first end and the second end of the internal chamber; c) end wall means supporting the first and second ends of the hollow fiber membranes within the internal chamber so as to sealingly separate the first ends and second ends of the hollow fiber membranes from the outer surfaces of the hollow fiber membranes between the first ends and second ends thereof; d) end caps sealing the mouths of the housing, wherein each end cap has an inner surface which is axially symmetrical with regard to the longitudinal axis of the end cap and has an inner surface having the form of a funnel and comprising, in the direction of increasing diameter, a first section (I) taking the form of a cylinder or a truncated cone, a middle section (II) taking the form of a torus segment, and a third section (III) taking the form of a truncated cone, characterized in that the end cap comprises a circumferential planar sealing face sloping at an angle in the range of from about 5° to about 10° in a radial direction.

3. The diffusion and/or filtration device of claim 2 , wherein an upper rim of the header section of the housing slopes at the same angle as the circumferential planar sealing face of the end cap, the upper rim of the header section of the housing and the circumferential planar sealing face of the end cap contacting each other and forming a first tight seal; and an outer rim of the end cap being fused to the housing and providing a second tight seal.

4. The diffusion and/or filtration device of claim 3 , wherein the outer rim of the end cap is fused to the upper rim of the collar of the housing to provide the second tight seal.

5. The diffusion and/or filtration device of claim 1 , wherein the header sections each comprise a collar having a diameter which is larger than the diameter of the header section, an upper rim of the collar defining a gap to the outside surface of the header section, and being positioned below the upper rim of the header section.

6. A process for producing a diffusion and/or filtration device, comprising:
a) providing a housing according to claim 1 , the housing defining a longitudinally extending internal chamber including a first end and a second end;
b) introducing a bundle of semi-permeable hollow fiber membranes each having an outer surface, a first end and a second end into internal chamber of the housing so that the bundle extends longitudinally from the first end of the internal chamber to the second end of the internal chamber; and the first ends and second ends of the hollow fiber membranes correspond to the first end and the second end of the internal chamber, respectively; c) providing end wall means supporting the first and second ends of the hollow fiber membranes within the internal chamber so as to sealingly separate the first ends and second ends of the hollow fiber membranes from the outer surface of the hollow fiber membranes between the first ends and second ends thereof, by introducing a potting material into the header sections of the housing and allowing the potting material to cure;
d) opening the first and second ends of the hollow fiber membranes by cutting through the end wall means perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the housing;
e) providing an end cap for each header section, wherein the end cap has an inner surface which is axially symmetrical with regard to the longitudinal axis of the end cap and has an inner surface having the form of a funnel and comprising, in the direction of increasing diameter, a first section (I) taking the form of a cylinder or a truncated cone, a middle section (II) taking the form of a torus segment, and a third section (III) taking the form of a truncated cone, characterized in that the end cap comprises a circumferential planar sealing face sloping at an angle in the range of from about 5° to about 10° in a radial direction;
f) circumferentially beveling the wall of a rim of each header section to produce a rim of the header section sloping at an angle matching the slope of the circumferential planar sealing face of the end cap;
gl) closing each header section with an end cap, thereby causing an upper rim of the header section of the housing and the circumferential planar sealing face of the end cap to contact each other and form a first tight seal;
g2) fusing each end cap to the housing, thereby providing a second tight seal.

7. The process of claim 6 , wherein the second tight seal is provided by fusing an outer rim of the end cap to the upper rim of the collar of the housing.

8. The process of claim 6 , wherein a contact force is applied to the upper side of the end cap in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the housing, after the header section has been closed with the end cap, thereby pressing the circumferential planar sealing face of the end cap onto the upper rim of the header section of the housing; and the contact force is maintained until the end cap has been fused to the housing.

9. The process of claim 8 , wherein the contact force is applied to an annular plane running along the circumference of the end cap on its upper side, the annular plane being perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the end cap.

10. The process of claim 8 , wherein the contact force is in the range of from about 3,000 to about 5,000 N.

11. The process of claim 7 , wherein a contact force is applied to the upper side of the end cap in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the housing, after the header section has been closed with the end cap, thereby pressing the circumferential planar sealing face of the end cap onto the upper rim of the header section of the housing; and the contact force is maintained until the end cap has been fused to the housing.

12. The process of claim 9 , wherein the contact force is in the range of from about 3,000 to about 5,000 N.

Assignees

• Gambro Lundia Ab

Inventors

• Beck Christof
• Wagner Steffen
• Hertzler Bernd
• Blickle Rainer
• Ermantraut Stefan

Classifications

• B01D2313/21

  Specific headers, end caps · CPC title

• B01D2313/44

  Cartridge types · CPC title

• B01D61/28

  Apparatus therefor · CPC title

• B01D61/14

  Ultrafiltration; Microfiltration · CPC title

• B01D63/021 Primary

  Manufacturing thereof · CPC title