Patent ID: 6217781
Filing Date: 2001-04-17
Classification: B01D

Abstract:
A filter device, comprising:an enclosure;a tube sheet in said enclosure for dividing said enclosure into filtered and unfiltered chambers, said tube sheet having openings therethrough;an anchor plate spaced from said tube sheet and in the unfiltered chamber;a plurality of external resilient tensioning means having a first end and a second end, each of said first ends connected to said anchor plate;a plurality of elongated flexible filter tubes each having a flexible permeable tubular filter wall and, each having a closed end and an open end, each of said closed ends connected to the second end of one of said resilient means, the open end of each of said filter tubes being connected to respective tube sheet openings, said filter tubes adapted to have coatings thereon for filtering liquid flow therethrough;resilient inner tubular support means within each of said filter tubes, the length when relaxed of said tubular support means being less than the length of said tubular filter wall;each of said external resilient tensioning means tensioning the resilient inner tubular support means within each of said filter tubes to stretch the resilient inner tubular support means and the permeable tubular filter wall to bring the tubular filter wall into supportive contact with the resilient inner tubular support means;inlet means for supplying liquid to be filtered into said unfiltered chamber;outlet means for removing filtered liquid from said filter chamber; andagitating means connected to said anchor plate to move said anchor plate to vary the tension of said external resilient tensioning means to adjust the stretch of said inner tubular support means to have said inner tubular support means contact said filter tubes in a first position to filter a liquid, and to release said tension and reduce said stretch in said filter tubes in a second position for removal of materials accumulated on said filter tubes.