Patent ID: 7435344

Claim:
A device for separating impurities from liquids, the device comprising: at least one separating container for separating impurities from a liquid/impurities mixture flowing in a flow direction through the at least one separating container; a partition dividing an interior of the at least one separating container; at least two essentially cylindrical separating elements arranged sequentially in the flow direction within the separating container, wherein the at least two separating elements have different diameters parallel to the partition, respectively, wherein the partition divides the interior into an upper separating chamber and a lower separating chamber, wherein a first of the at least two separating elements that is arranged in the upper separating chamber has an outer diameter that is greater than an outer diameter of the second of the at least two separating elements arranged within the lower separating chamber, wherein the partition supports the separating elements such that the first separating element is arranged in the lower separating chamber and the second separating element is arranged in the upper separating chamber, further comprising a seal arranged in a transition area from the first separating element to the second separating element, and wherein the second separating element arranged in an area of the upper separating chamber and the second separating element arranged in an area of the upper separating chamber has an outer diameter which is greater than the outer diameter of the first separating element arranged in an area of the lower separating chamber and wherein the flow direction of the liquid containing the impurities is from the lower separating chamber, then through both the second and first separating elements and up into the upper separating chamber.