Liquid bath air filter

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12576358-B2
Application number	US-202218271083-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 6, 2022
Priority date	Jan 6, 2021
Publication date	Mar 17, 2026
Grant date	Mar 17, 2026

Abstract

A liquid bath air filter ( 100 ), including: an air inlet tube ( 102 ) that defines an air inlet passage ( 108 ); a filtrate chamber body ( 120 ) that defines a filtrate chamber ( 142 ) configured to hold a liquid in a bottom thereof; and a flow laminator ( 150 ) configured to: receive air from the air inlet passage; be submerged in the liquid present in the filtrate chamber when the apparatus is in an upright position; reduce a Reynold's number of a flow of the air therethrough; and eject the flow into the liquid in the filtrate chamber.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . An apparatus, comprising:
an air inlet tube that defines an air inlet passage; a filtrate chamber body that defines a filtrate chamber configured to hold a liquid in a lower portion thereof; and a flow laminator configured to: receive air from the air inlet passage; be submerged in the liquid present in the filtrate chamber when the apparatus is in an upright position; reduce a Reynold's number of a flow of the air therethrough; and eject the flow into the liquid in the filtrate chamber, wherein the filtrate chamber body comprises a lower portion, a middle portion, and an upper portion, the upper portion comprising a volume at least as large as a volume of the lower portion, wherein the filtrate chamber body comprises a drain-stopping conduit comprising an inlet in the middle portion and an outlet through a top of the filtrate chamber body, wherein when inverted the liquid flows from the lower portion to the upper portion where the liquid is trapped because the inlet in the middle portion is disposed above the liquid that is trapped in the upper portion.

2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the flow laminator comprises a nozzle which accelerates the flow being directed from the air inlet passage into the liquid in the filtrate chamber.

3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the flow laminator comprises cooperating walls that define an annular flow path, wherein a radially inner edge of the annular flow path receives the air from the air inlet passage, and wherein a radially outer edge of the annular flow path ejects the air into the liquid in the filtrate chamber.

4 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the cooperating walls are configured to maintain a constant distance from each other from the radially inner edge to the radially outer edge.

5 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the constant distance is not greater than one millimeter.

6 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the flow laminator further comprises flow separators between the cooperating walls that divide the annular flow path into an array of annular flow paths.

7 . The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the flow separators extend radially and circumferentially with respect to a center of the annular flow path and are thereby configured to eject flows from the annular array of flow paths both radially and circumferentially into the liquid in the filtrate chamber.

8 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the filtrate chamber is configured to redirect the flow ejected from the flow laminator, thereby enhancing a mixing of the air and the liquid in the filtrate chamber.

9 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein air ejected into the liquid in the lower portion exits the liquid, travels through the drain-stopping conduit, and exits the filtrate chamber body via the outlet through the top of the filtrate chamber body.

10 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a buffer assembly disposed in the middle portion and configured to filter air exiting the liquid and enroute to the inlet of the drain-stopping conduit.

11 . The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein air ejected into the liquid in the lower portion exits the liquid, travels through the buffer assembly into the upper portion, then toward the drain-stopping conduit.

12 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the air inlet tube extends from the flow laminator, through the drain-stopping conduit, and out of the filter chamber body via the outlet through the top of the filtrate chamber body.

13 . The apparatus of claim 12 , further comprising a lid that comprises a lid outlet, wherein the lid fluidically isolates the outlet through the top of the filtrate chamber body from an inlet of the air inlet passage and delivers the air from the outlet through the top of the filtrate chamber body to the lid outlet.

14 . The apparatus of claim 13 , further comprising a check valve connected to the lid outlet and configured to prevent the air from entering the apparatus through the lid outlet.

15 . An apparatus, comprising:
a filtrate chamber body that defines a filtrate chamber comprising: an upper portion; a middle portion; a lower portion configured to hold a liquid; and a drain-stopping conduit comprising an inlet in the middle portion and an outlet through a top of the filtrate chamber body; an air inlet tube; a flow laminator configured to: receive air from the air inlet tube; be disposed in the lower portion; and reduce a Reynold's number of a flow of the air therethrough; and a flow circuit in which air flows into the air inlet tube, then through the flow laminator, then into the lower portion, then into the middle portion, then through the drain-stopping conduit, then through the outlet through the top of the filtrate chamber body; wherein when the apparatus is in an upright position and the liquid is disposed in the lower portion an outlet of the flow laminator is submerged in the liquid, and wherein in an upside-down position the liquid is retained in the upper portion and the flow circuit remains open.

16 . The apparatus of claim 15 , further comprising a buffer assembly disposed in the middle portion, wherein in the flow circuit the air flows through the buffer assembly when flowing through the middle portion.

17 . The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein when the apparatus transitions from the upright position to the upside-down position the liquid flows through the buffer assembly enroute to the upper portion, thereby wetting the buffer assembly where the air flows through the buffer assembly.

18 . The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the flow laminator comprises a nozzle.

19 . The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the nozzle comprises cooperating walls that define an annular flow path, wherein a radially inner edge of the annular flow path receives the air from the air inlet passage, and wherein a radially outer edge of the annular flow path is the outlet of the flow laminator and ejects the air into the filtrate chamber.

Assignees

• Univ Florida

Inventors

• Dominguez-Gutierrez Paul R
• Quesada Tania

Classifications

• F02M35/026 Primary

  acting by guiding the air over or through an oil or other liquid bath, e.g. combined with filters · CPC title

• B01D47/021 Primary

  by bubbling the gas through a liquid bath · CPC title