Patent ID: 6209541
Filing Date: 2001-04-03
Classification: A61M,A62B,B01D

Abstract:
A hydrophobic electrostatic breathing filter comprising a housing having a patient side portion and a machine side portion, a hydrophobic membrane extending across the interior of said patient side portion, said membrane having an outer periphery, and an electrostatic filter element extending across said machine side portion of said housing adjacent a side of said hydrophobic membrane that faces said machine side portion, said electrostatic filter element being independent of said hydrophobic membrane wherein said hydrophobic membrane and said electrostatic filter element are retained with the housing in different manners, said hydrophobic membrane being retained first by a sealing bond around said outer periphery of said membrane between said membrane and the interior of said housing to isolate said patient side portion of said housing from said machine side portion of said housing, and said electrostatic filter subsequently being held in place adjacent said hydrophobic membrane solely by a mechanical clamp force exerted on said electrostatic filter element by an interior portion of said housing so that said patient side portion of said housing is isolated from said machine side portion by said hydrophobic membrane during assembly of said electrostatic filter.