Patent ID: 7407594

Claim:
A method of removing bubbles from a fluid passing through a filter device, comprising: providing a filter device comprising a housing, the housing comprising a bowl, a cap, and a cover, the bowl defining an opening that receives a filter medium, the cap substantially covering the opening of the bowl and the filter medium, the cover being fitted to the cap and the bowl, the cover including a fluid inlet, a fluid outlet, and a vent, a first fluid channel being defined in a first volume between the cover and the cap, the inlet and vent being positioned at the same end of the housing; directing the fluid from the first fluid channel to sweep an undersurface of the cap through a second fluid channel, the second fluid channel being defined in a second volume between an undersurface of the cap and the filter medium, the second fluid channel accumulating bubbles from the fluid that collect or form near the undersurface of the cap; and further directing the fluid from the second fluid channel back to the first fluid channel through an aperture defined in the cap that couples the second fluid channel with the first fluid channel, the first fluid channel accumulating bubbles recovered in the second fluid channel near the vent.