Patent ID: 7364664

Claim:
A foreign substance removing mechanism for removing foreign substances from a liquid used in a liquid flow process, which involves inflow and outflow of the liquid, the foreign substance removing mechanism comprising: a first partition plate, whose lower end is in contact with a lower surface of a flow path of the liquid, and whose upper end is at a position lower than a liquid surface, a second partition plate, provided on a downstream side of the first partition plate, whose upper end is higher than the liquid surface, and whose lower end is lower than the liquid surface and is provided so as not to be in contact with the bottom of the flow path, said first and second partition plates being provided in the flow path of the liquid, wherein the upper end of the first partition plate is provided so as to be inclined toward an upstream side, and the lower end of the second partition plate is at a position lower than the upper end of the first partition plate, and the second partition plate is parallel to the first partition plate, an inflow nozzle positioned upstream of said first partition plate, an outlet positioned downstream of said second partition plate, wherein the inflow nozzle being provided so as to squirt the liquid into such a position in a first region that is lower than the liquid surface and at a position lower than the upper end of the first partition plate, the first region being between a side surface and the first partition plate, the inflow nozzle squirting the liquid so as to avoid disbursement of the foreign substances deposited at the bottom of the first region, the inflow nozzle having a cylindrical shape; and the inflow nozzle having, at a side surface thereof, a plurality of openings for squirting the liquid.