Patent ID: 7208088

Claim:
A spiral wound apparatus installable into a solid housing to thereby enable filtering of a fluid to produce a permeate and a retentate, the spiral wound apparatus comprising: a separation cartridge having at least one membrane, a plurality of porous feed screens and a pluraity of porous permeate screens spirally wound about a central tube having a hollow interior, said separation cartridge having an outer fluid permeate wrap; a rigid nonporous solid outer tube housing said separation cartridge, said solid outer tube housable within a said solid housing such that said solid housing is spaced apart from said outer tube to form a space, said solid outer tube having a slot provided onto an outer surface of said solid outer tube at an inlet or an outlet for said tube; and a chevron-shaped seal having holes, said chevron-shaped seal located when installed in said space between said solid housing and said outer tube and secured to said outer tube at said slot by a flexible ring in contact with said seal about the periphery of said seal, said ring-secured chevron-shaped seal capable of controlling the flow of fluid in said space by preventing flow thereinto other than through said holes; wherein said solid outer tube further comprises a second slot provided on the outer surface of said tube, and wherein a portion of said flexible ring is positioned in said second slot.