Self-cleaning filter with motor incorporated therewith

Claim 1

A filter apparatus comprising a housing, first and second separate filtering zones provided in said housing, means isolating said filtering zones from each other, each of said filtering zones containing a stack of filtering elements, each of said stacks of filtering elements being coaxial to each other, tubular means defining an elongated bore extending through both of said filtering zones, at least one admission orifice in said housing for receiving fluid to be filtered, an elongated rotary fluid distributor having a first end in communication with fluid received from said admission orifice and also having a second end; said rotary fluid distributor matingly extending coaxially through said tubular means and said stacks of filtering elements, flow passageways provided in said rotary distributor for directing fluid through and receiving fluid from at least one of said filtering zones, a driving motor coupled to said distributor for rotating the distributor about its axis and wherein the second end of the distributor is not connected to the filter body and is guided for rotation solely by said bore in said tubular member and wherein the second end of the distributor is contained in the second filtering zone and wherein the fluid flows from the outer periphery of the filtering elements contained in the second filtering zone radially inward into said bore and then into one of said passageways comprising a chamber provided in the periphery of the distributor and said passageways further including an internal conduit in the distributor connecting said chamber with the first end of the distributor.