Patent ID: 7153424

Claim:
An apparatus for purifying water, comprising: a frame; a primary space arranged within the frame and operative to receive unfiltered water; a secondary space arranged within the frame and operative to receive filtered water; filtering means operative to filter the unfiltered water driven by gravity from the primary space to the secondary space, the filtering means comprising a thin plastic filtering film having a thickness of 7–25 μm and including substantially cylindrical pores extending therethrough, the pores having a size of 0.1–0.6 μm and a pore density of 1.5×10 9 –5×10 7 holes/cm 2 , the filtering film having a uniform and even surface; a filter support comprising a planar or cylindrical support surface operative to support the uniform and even surface of the filtering film; an accessory space arranged underneath and in connection with the primary space, the accessory space having a smaller cross-section than the primary space, the accessory space being operative to receive the filtering means and maintain the filtering means surrounded by unfiltered water, the accessory space being isolated and totally separate from the secondary space; and a flow way operative to lead the filtered water from the accessory space to the secondary space.