Patent ID: 8043502

Claim:
In a water pitcher having a feed water reservoir, a removable filter assembly for filtering water from said feed water reservoir and a filtered water reservoir, wherein said removable filter assembly is positioned in a filter assembly holder between said filtered water reservoir and said feed water reservoir; the removable filter assembly comprising: a through-flow cartridge comprising a cup having apertures in a lower portion thereof and defining a cavity, and a lid having apertures therein, wherein the lid is removably, rotatably securable to the cup such that the through-flow cartridge is openable to access the cavity, and the through-flow cartridge comprises at least one seating surface extending from the cup around an outer portion of the cavity, and the lid has an engagement surface that is positioned above the seating surface when the lid is in a closed position; and a water-permeable enclosure that is removably receivable in said cavity and contains granular filtration media therein, the water-permeable enclosure having a water impermeable longitudinally extending sidewall, an upper water inlet and a lower water outlet, wherein the water-permeable enclosure is a replaceable sealed unit other than the upper water inlet and the lower water outlet; and, the water-permeable enclosure comprising a flange extending from an upper portion of the water-permeable enclosure, the flange securable between the cup and the lid and forming a water-tight seal, said water-permeable enclosure being secured between said lid and said cup in such a way that water entering the filter assembly cannot bypass the filtration media contained in said water-permeable enclosure water, but must pass through said upper inlet, then said filtration media and out through said lower water outlet; wherein, water flows by gravity from said feed water reservoir, through said filter assembly, and into said filtered water reservoir, wherein, once the filtration media becomes spent, the water-permeable enclosure may be removed from the cartridge and replaced, without requiring the replacement of the entire cartridge.