Filter assembly having a precompacted filter medium

Claim 1

A FILTER ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A FILTER HOUSING MEANS A PLURALITY OF FLAT FILTER ELEMENTS EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY ACROSS ONE DIMENSION OF SAID FILTER HOUSING MEANS SAID ELEMENTS COMPRISING CONFINEMENT MEANS INCLUDING POROUS SHEET MATERIAL ARRANGED ALONG LATERIAL SURFACES OF THE ELEMENTS TO DEFINE A CLOSED STRUCTURE OF SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM THICKNESS HAVING A MAXIMUM OF APPROXIMATELY 0.5 INCHES A PARTICULATE FILTER MEDIUM HAVING A MAXIMUM EFFECTIVE PARTICLE SIZE OF APPROXIMATELY 0.25 MILLIMETERS AND A UNIFORMLY COEFFICIENT IN THE APPROXIMATE RANGE OF 1.0 TO 2.0 AND BEING PRECOMPACTED BY AT LEAST APPROXIMATELY 10% RELATIVE TO ITS NORMAL BULK DENSITY, SAID MEDIUM BEING DISPOSED WITHIN AND FULLY OCCYPYING SAID CONFINEMENT MEANS AND BEING UNIFORMLY PRECOMPACTED TO PROVIDE FOR SUBSTANTIAL FILTRATION AT THE SURFACES OF SAID CONFINED MEDIUM SPACER MEANS INCLUDING SPACED MEANS DISPOSED ADJACENT TO SAID CONFINEMENT MEANS AND IN CONTACT WITH NTIGUOUS PORTIONS OF SAID POROUS SHEET MATERIAL THROUGHOUT THE EXTENT THEREOF SAID SPACED MEANS COACTING WITH SAID POROUS SHEET MATERIAL TO CONTINUOUSLY AND RIGIDLY CONFINE SAID FILTER MEDIUM IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN ITS PRECOMPACTED CONDITION DURING FILTER AND BACKWASH OPERATIONS SAID SPACER MEANS FURTHER MAINTAINING ADJACENT FILTER ELEMENTS IN SPACED APART RELATION WITHIN THE FILTER HOUSING TO PROVIDE INFLUENT AND EFFLUENT PASSAGES ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF EACH FILTER ELEMENT MEANS FOR SUPPORTING THE FILTER ELEMENTS AND THE SPACER ELEMENTS WITHIN SAID FILTER HOUSING MEANS, AN INFLUENT MANIFOLD FOR COMMUNICATING THE INFLUENT PASSAGES WITH A FLUIDD INLET AN OUTLET MANIFOLD FOR COMMUNICATING THE EFFLUENT PASSAGES WITH A FLUID OUTLET, SAID FLAT FILTER ELEMENTS AND THE SPACER MEANS COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF FRAME MEMBERS ARRANGED IN CONTIGUOUS PARALLEL RELATIONSHIP TO FORM AT LEAST A PORTION OF SAID HOUSING MEANS SELECTED ONES OF SAID FRAME MEMBERS COMPRISING SAID FILTER ELEMENTS AND BEING U-SHAPED SUPPPORTS VERTICALLY ARRANGED AND HAVING SAID POROUS SHEET MATERIAL DISPOSED OVER THE EXTENT OF EACH LATERAL SIDE THEREOF AND CLOSING THE OPEN END OF THE U-SHAPED SUPPORTS SAID SPACER MEANS COMPRISING OTHER FRAME MEMBERS INTERPOSED BETWEEN SAID SELECTED FRAME MEMBERS AND ALSO COMPRISING U-SHAPED SUPPORTS SAID SPACED MEANS COMPRISING RIGID FLAT OPEN GRIDS SAID OTHER FRAME MEMBERS DEFINING ONE OF SAID INFLUENT AND EFFLUENT PASSAGES AND BEING DISPOSED IN INVERTED U-SHAPED DISPOSITION WITH RESPECT TO THE OTHER FRAME MEMBERS DEFINING THE OTHER OF SAID INFLUENT AND EFFLUENT PASSAGES SAID FRAME MEMBERS INCLUDING RISERS EXTENDING ALONG THE VERTICAL HEIGHT OF THE FILTER ELEMENTS AND BEING SPACED APART RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER AND THE LEGS OF THE U-SHAPED SUPPORTS THE SPACER MEANS BEING ARRANGED IN VERTICALLY EXTENDING SPACES FORMED BY THE RISERS AND THE LAGS OF THE U-SHAPED SUPPORTS IN THE OTHER FRAME MEMBERS EACH SPACER MEANS COMPRISING FLAT OPEN GRIDS RESPECTIVELY ABUTTING THE TWO ADJACENT POROUS SHEETS AND RIBS ARRANGED BETWEEN THE GRIDS TO ESTABLISH APPROPRIATE SPACING AND PERMIT SUBSTANTIALLY UNIMPEDED FLUID FLOW THROUGH THE INFLUENT AND EFFLUENT PASSAGES AND PLATES ARRANGED ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF AND PARALLEL WITH THE FRAME MEMBERS THE PLATES THE U-SHAPED MEMBERS AND THE RISERS FORMING ALIGNED OPENINGS FOR RECEIVING TIE RODS TO SECURE THE FRAME MEMBERS TOGETHER AS A STRUCTURAL UNIT AND TO ASSIST IN MAINTAINING OROPER COMPACTION AND CONFINEMENT OF THE FILTER ELEMENTS DURING FILTER OPERATIONS THE PLATES AND THE FRAME MEMBERS FORMING AT LEAST A PORTION OF A HOUSING FOR CONTAINING THE FILTER UNIT.