Storm water drainage filter system

Claim 1

A storm runoff filter system for placement in a substantially downwardly directed flow of fluid in a storm runoff structure, comprising: a housing having an upper fluid inlet and a bottom fluid outlet, said inlet and outlet being connected by sidewall portions which form a conduit between said inlet and said outlet; at least one filter cartridge having a surrounding frame member and upper and lower spaced apart filter media retaining means for containing a selected filter media therebetween, said filter cartridge is removably mounted within said conduit and oriented to intercept fluid passing from said inlet to said outlet such that fluid passes through said upper and lower filter media retaining means and through said filter media; and, an inlet fluid guide mounted within said conduit for directing fluid to said filter cartridge and away from inner surfaces of said conduit, said inlet fluid guide comprising a shaped guide element entirely lining said inner surfaces of said conduit and interposed between said upper fluid inlet and said at least one filter cartridge, said sloped inlet fluid guide having an inlet substantially matching in size said conduit and an outlet sized smaller than said conduit thereby directing said flow of fluid entirely towards said filter cartridge filter media.