Patent ID: 8313658

Claim:
A removal device for removing gas and/or dirt and/or particles of a contaminating liquid from a liquid in a liquid conduit system, the removal device comprising: a housing which defines an inner space; a supply opening and a discharge opening in the housing; a resistance zone in the inner space comprising an entrance and an exit and one or more flow resistance members, which resistance zone in use provides a hydraulic resistance to a main flow which flows from the supply opening through the resistance zone to the discharge opening; at least one quiet zone in the inner space in which in use the liquid has a substantially smaller velocity than in the resistance section, the quiet zone being configured to allow: dirt or particles of a relatively heavy contaminating liquid to settle on a bottom of the housing, and/or gas bubbles or particles of a relatively light contaminating liquid to rise to an upper end of the housing; at least one bifurcation opening in the resistance zone, the bifurcation opening being in liquid communication with the quiet zone and providing entry for a branch-off flow into the quiet zone; and at least one return opening between the quiet zone and a merge point in the main flow upstream and/or downstream from the resistance zone, the return opening allowing a return of the branch flow into the main flow, such that in use the branch-off flow enters the quiet zone through the bifurcation opening, substantially comes to rest in the quiet zone in order to allow dirt or particles of a relatively heavy contaminating liquid to settle or gas bubbles or particles of a relatively light contaminating liquid to rise and subsequently returns into the main flow at the merge point through the return opening.