Pool Filter
A pool filter for use in pool piping or other fluid conveyance system. The pool filter may include a housing defining a fluid chamber for receiving one or more filters. Multiple openings may be defined in the housing for receiving and removing fluid from the fluid chamber. The openings may be approximately the same size and may be located on the housing at similar elevations and/or radial sectors. One or more footings may be joined to the housing. Each footing may include a base portion for receiving anchor members to anchor the housing to a support surface. The footings may be designed to transfer to the support surface predetermined lateral or other forces imposed upon the pool filter by events such as earthquakes and hurricanes. The footings may be separate components joined to the housing by tabs and/or mechanical fasteners.
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This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/967,664, entitled “Pool Filter” and filed Dec. 31, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. ______, which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/896,797, entitled “Pool Filter” and filed on Mar. 23, 2007, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
FIELD OF INVENTIONThe present invention generally relates to filters, and more specifically to pool filters.
BACKGROUNDPool filters are used in pool or spa fluid circulation systems to filter water used in a pool or spa. Pool filters often include a single inlet for receiving water, a single outlet for delivering filtered water from the pool filter, and a drain outlet for draining water from the pool filter. The single inlet and outlet arrangement limits the flexibility available to a pool designer when designing the piping system for a pool or spa. This limited flexibility may be issue when the pool filter is located in a confined or limited space, or when placing the pool filter in an already plumbed pool piping system.
Yet another issue with pool filters is the drain outlet is often smaller than both the fluid inlet and the filtered fluid outlet. This size difference requires different sized fittings for the drain outlet and the fluid inlet and outlet, which increases manufacturing costs and requires different sized tools for assembling the pool filter. Still yet another issue is pool filters typically are set directly on pads or other support surfaces without anchoring the pool filter to the support surface. In areas subject to earthquakes or hurricanes, the pool filter may undesirably tip over during such an event, resulting in potential disconnection of the pool filter from the pool piping system. Such disconnection may permit chemicals or other potentially hazardous materials used in the pool circulation system to enter the surrounding environment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONOne embodiment of the present invention may take the form of a pool filter comprising a housing. The housing may define a chamber for receiving a filter. The housing may include at least four openings in fluid communication with the chamber. Each of the at least four openings may be approximately a similar size. At least one first opening of the four openings may function as a fluid inlet. At least one second opening of the four openings may function as a fluid outlet. At least one third opening of the four openings may function as a drain.
Another embodiment may take the form of a pool filter including a housing and at least one footing. The housing may define a chamber for receiving a filter, a fluid inlet in fluid communication with the chamber, and a fluid outlet in fluid communication with the chamber. The at least one footing may be joined to the housing and may be adapted to receive an anchoring member to anchor the housing to a support surface.
Described herein are various embodiments of a pool filter for use in a fluid conveyance system, such as a pool piping system. The pool filter may take the form of a housing defining a fluid chamber configured to receive one or more filters, such as filter cartridges. Multiple openings may be defined by the housing for receiving fluid into the fluid chamber, delivering filtered fluid from the fluid chamber, and draining fluid from the fluid chamber. The openings may be approximately the same size. At least some of the openings may be located on similar radial sectors or sides of the housing and/or at similar elevations on the housing. One type of fitting for joining pipes, tubes, or hoses to the pool filter may be used with each opening. At least one opening may be positioned at a lower end portion of the housing. Such a lower positioned opening may function as a drain, thus allowing gravity to assist in draining fluid from the fluid chamber for cleaning, maintaining, or replacing pool filter components.
One or more footings may be joined to the housing. Each footing may include a base portion for receiving anchor members, such as anchor bolts, to anchor the housing to a support surface. The footings may be designed to transfer and resist predetermined lateral or other forces that may be imposed upon the pool filter by events such as earthquakes and hurricanes. The footings may be separate components joined to the housing by tabs and/or mechanical fasteners to increase the ease and/or reduce the cost of manufacturing the housing for the pool filter, while providing a sufficient structural system for resisting potential earthquake or hurricane forces.
The housing 102 may include an upper housing portion 118 or lid removably joined to a lower housing 120 portion for providing access to a fluid chamber 122 (see
At their second ends, the clamp ring bands 126, 128 may be joined by a fastening system, which may take the form of a threaded rod 138 and first and second nuts 140, 142. The first nut 140 may be a “T” nut threadedly joined to the threaded rod 138 at one end. The first nut 140 may be received within a fastener slot formed in a fastener housing 144 formed on the first clamp ring band 126. The fastener slot may be sized to limit movement of the first nut 140 towards the second clamp ring band 128. The second nut 142 may be a coupling nut threadedly joined to the other end of the threaded rod 138. The second nut 142 may include a shoulder for engaging a second fastener housing 146 formed on the second clamp ring band 128. As the second nut 142 is tightened on the threaded rod 138 when received in each fastener housing 144, 146, the first and second clamp ring bands 126, 128 are drawn together around the upper and lower housing portions 118, 120, thus securing the upper housing portion 118 to the lower housing portion 120.
Referring to
With reference to
A pressure gauge assembly 116 may be joined to or mounted on the upper housing portion 118. The pressure gauge assembly 116 may include a pressure gauge 160 received within a pressure gauge housing 162. The pressure gauge 160 may monitor pressure within the pool filter 100 for assessing when one or more filters 164 contained within the fluid chamber 122 (see
The pressure gauge assembly 116 may further include an air release assembly 166. The air release assembly 166 may include a valve to selectively open and close the air release assembly 166. The valve may be used to release air contained within the pool filter 100 through the air release assembly 166. Once mostly water exits the pool filter 100 through the air release assembly 166, the valve may be closed to prevent water from leaking from the pool filter 100. When stopping the system to clean or repair the pool filter 100, the air assembly valve may be opened to release pressure built up within the pool filter 100 during operation.
The pressure gauge assembly 116 may include a tank adapter 168 to provide fluid communication between the pressure gauge housing 162 and the fluid chamber 122. The tank adapter 168 may include a threaded portion for threadedly joining the tank adapter 168 to the upper housing portion 118 using a threaded hole defined in the upper housing portion 118. Prior to joining the tank adapter 168 to the upper housing portion 118, the tank adapter 168 may be received within a pressure gauge coupler 170. The pressure gauge coupler 170 may include a radially inward extending flange or lip for engagement with an upper portion of the tank adapter 168 to maintain a connection between the pressure gauge coupler 170 and the tank adapter 168. The pressure gauge coupler 170 may further be internally threaded for threadedly joining the pressure gauge coupler 170 to the pressure gauge housing 162 in order to operably associate the pressure gauge housing 162 with the tank adapter 168. Although threaded connections are described as joining the tank adapter 168 to the housing 102 and the pressure gauge coupler 170 to the pressure gauge housing 162, any other connection method, such as press fitting, welding, and so on, or combination thereof may be used.
The pressure gauge assembly 116 may include lower and upper pressure gauge O-rings 172, 174 or other suitable fluid sealing elements. The lower pressure gauge O-ring 172 may be received on the threaded portion of the tank adapter 168 to provide a fluid seal between the upper housing portion 118 and the tank adapter 168. The upper pressure gauge O-ring 174 may be received within a groove formed on a downward facing surface of the threaded portion of the pressure gauge housing 162 to provide a fluid seal between the pressure gauge housing 162 and the tank adapter 168.
With reference to
Two or more openings may be defined on the same radial portion, sector or side of the housing 102. Such same side positioning permits inlet and outlet pipes to be connected to the same side of the pool filter 100, if desired. At least one opening may be located at approximately the same elevation as an opening on another radial portion, sector or side of the pool filter 100. Such elevation positioning permits openings on any radial portion or side to be used for a specific function, for example, as a fluid outlet, without changing the vertical or other lengths of piping components attached to the opening. At least one opening may be located proximate a bottom portion or lower end of the pool filter 100. Such a lower positioned opening may be used to drain fluid from the pool filter 100.
With reference to
With further reference to
With continued reference to
Each of the four openings depicted in
One or more footings 114 may be joined to the lower housing portion 120 to support and/or anchor the pool filter 100 on or to a support surface. Although four footings 114 are shown in the embodiment depicted in
Each footing 114 may include one or more gussets or gusset portions 186 to stiffen the main body portion 178. Such stiffening may limit the possibility of the footings 114 undesirably or prematurely failing from forces, such as tension or compression forces, formed in the footings 114. For example, compression forces formed in the footings 114 may cause buckling of the footings 114 prior one or more legs 180, 182 of the footings 114 reaching their compression capacity in the absence of one or more of the gusset portions 186. Tension or compression forces formed in the footings 114 may arise from lateral or other loads imposed on the pool filter 100 by gravity, wind, or seismic activity.
In the embodiment depicted in
The footings 114 may be used to prevent the housing 102 from overturning, or from being temporarily or permanently moved to another position relative to a support surface, during an earthquake, hurricane, or other event imposing lateral and other forces upon the housing 102. The footings 114 may be designed to resist such forces, which may overturn or undesirably move the housing 102, up to at least a minimal predetermined force level. For example, the footings may be designed to resist likely forces imposed on the pool filter 100 by a class 3 hurricane or a zone IV seismic event
Each clamp ring band 126, 128 may generally include upper and lower clamp ring band flanges 188, 190 joined by a clamp ring band web 192. Together, the clamp ring band flanges 188, 190 and web 192 may define a generally C-shaped cross-sectional area along the axial length of each clamp band 126, 128. The upper housing portion 118 may include an annular flange 194 formed proximate its lower opening for receipt between the clamp ring band flanges 188, 190. Similarly, the lower housing portion 120 may include an annular flange 196 formed proximate its upper opening for receipt between the clamp ring band flanges 188, 190. The clamp ring band flanges 188, 190 may engage these upper and lower housing flanges 194, 196 when the clamp ring bands 126,128 are joined to the upper and lower housing portions 118, 120 to limit or otherwise prevent separation of the upper housing portion 118 from the lower housing portion 120, especially separation resulting from the pressure formed within the pool filter fluid chamber 122 during operation. The flanges 194, 196 in the upper and lower housing portions 118, 120 may define an annular groove for receiving a housing O-ring 158 or other suitable sealing element to limit or prevent fluid leakage between the joint formed by the upper and lower housing portions 118, 120.
With reference to
Turning to
Each filter 164 may include a screen or mesh 210 formed into a cylinder, or other desired shape. The screen or mesh 210 may extend from an upper to a lower portion of the filter 164. Fluid, such as water, may flow through the mesh into a fluid passage 212 defined by the mesh 210. Particles and other debris larger than the mesh openings are separated from the fluid as the fluid flows though mesh 210, thus filtering the fluid. An upper end portion of the filter 164 may include a fluid outlet 214. The fluid outlet 214 may be fluidly connected to the filter fluid passage 212. Each filter fluid outlet 214 may also be fluidly connected to a fluid inlet 216 of a filter manifold 218.
The filter manifold 218 may receive fluid from each manifold inlet 216 for conveyance to a manifold fluid outlet 220. The manifold fluid outlet 220 may, in turn, be fluidly connected to an outlet tube 222. Thus, fluid flows through the filter 164 to the filter manifold 218 and then from the filter manifold 218 to the outlet tube 222. An outlet pipe O-ring 224 or other sealing element may be positioned between the filter manifold 218 and the outlet tube 222 to limit or prevent fluid leakage through the joint formed between the filter manifold 218 and the outlet tube 222. A groove 228 or other recess may be defined in the outlet tube 222 for receiving the outlet pipe O-ring 224 as shown in
The filter manifold 218 may also include a pressure gauge opening 226. The pressure gauge opening 226 may be joined to the pressure gauge 160 via the tank adapter 168 for monitoring the pressure within the filter 164. As the fluid chamber 122 fills with debris and/or the filter becomes clogged with debris, the fluid pressure within the fluid chamber 122 increases. Pressures above a predetermined threshold may cause the upper housing portion 118 to be blown off, or otherwise separated, from the lower housing portion 120. Thus, the pressure gauge 160 may provide a way to monitor the filter pressure to assess when the filters 164 require cleaning or replacement, or the fluid chamber 122 needs to be cleaned, in order to avoid build up of pressures above the threshold amount within the pool filter 100.
With continued reference to
A spacer 234 may be positioned between the filter manifold 218 and the upper housing portion 118 to maintain, in conjunction with the filter support 200 and the upper housing portion 118, the relative position of the filter manifold 218 and the filters 164 within the fluid chamber 122. The filter manifold 218 may include a spacer column 236 for removably joining the spacer 234 to the filter manifold 218. In particular, the spacer column 236 may be sized for receiving a spacer hole 236 formed in the spacer 234. In other embodiments, the spacer 234 may be removably or fixedly joined to the filter manifold by any suitable connection method, such as welding, adhering, and so on, or may be integrally formed with the manifold filter 218 by any suitable methods, such as injection molding, cast molding, and so on. A spacer wall 238 may extend from the upper housing portion 118 to removably join the spacer 234 to the upper housing portion 118 in a manner similar to the method described above for joining the spacer 235 to the filer manifold 218. Connecting the spacer 234 to the filter manifold 218 and the upper housing portion 118 helps to maintain the position of the spacer 234 between the filter manifold 218 and the upper housing portion 118.
An inlet fitting 176a may include a first threaded end 242 sized for insertion through the housing opening. The first threaded end 242 may be threaded onto threads formed on the fluid diffuser 240a to join the fitting 176a to the fluid diffuser 240a. The fitting 176a may be joined to the diffuser 240a by other methods for joining piping elements, such as press fitting, clamping, and so on. A second threaded end 244, distal to the first threaded end 242, may be used to thread a coupling nut or the other connector onto the fitting 176a for joining an inlet pipe, tube, or hose for a pool or other fluid system to the pool filter. Although the fittings 176a-b, the diffusers 240a-b, and the pool system pipes are depicted and/or described as being threadedly joined, any of these elements may be joined to other elements by other methods for joining piping elements, such as press fitting, clamping, and so on.
An inlet fitting 176a may include a body portion defining a fluid passage 246 extending between fluid openings defined by the body portion at the first and second ends 242, 244 of the fitting 176a. The body portion may define a generally cylindrical shape for the fitting 176a or any other desired shape. An interior surface of the body portion may step radially inward to decrease the size of the fluid passage 246 from the external side (second end 244) to the internal side (first end 242) of the fitting 176a. An outer surface of the body portion may extend radially outward to define a fitting flange 248 for engagement with an annular inlet wall 250 encompassing the fluid opening and extending outward from the outer surface of the lower housing portion 120. Engagement of the fitting flange 248 with the inlet wall 250 limits further insertion of the fitting 176a into the fluid chamber 122 of the pool filter. The inlet wall 250 may cooperate with the fitting flange 248 to define a groove for receiving an O-ring 252 or other seal element to limit or prevent fluid leakage between the joint formed between the fitting 176a and the lower housing portion 120.
With continued reference to
The outlet fitting 176c may be similar to the inlet fittings 176a-b described above. In a manner similar to the inlet fittings 176a-b, a portion of the outlet fitting 176c may be inserted through the outlet opening to threadedly join the outlet fitting 176c to an outlet elbow 272. Also, an O-ring 274 or other fluid sealing element may be positioned between the outlet fitting 176c and the lower housing portion 120. Additionally, the outlet fitting 176c may be joined to the outlet elbow 272 by any other method for joining piping elements, such as press fitting, clamping, and so on.
The interior surface of the lower housing portion 120 may be stepped near the bottom to define a ledge 276. The ledge 276 may generally extend around the internal perimeter of the lower housing portion 120. The ledge 276 may support the filter support 200 above the lower end of the lower housing portion 120. If desired, the ledge 276 may extend around substantially the entire, or a portion of the, internal perimeter of the lower housing portion 120. The ledge 276 may be continuous, or may be formed into one or more discrete portions. Openings or slots may be defined between the ledge 276 and the filter support 200 to allow fluid to enter the space between the filter support 200 and the bottom of the lower housing portion 120 for draining fluid through the drain outlet.
One possible operation of the pool filter will be described with reference to
Turning to
In some embodiments, the footing wall 304 may take the form of a pair of prongs that extend rearwardly from a footing 114. Each prong may end in a tab for engagement with the housing 102. The prongs may be biased slightly outward from each other to engage an inner edge of the housing 102 when inserted through the housing slots 300. The prongs may be sufficiently flexible to move towards each other as they are inserted through the housing slot 300. Once the tabs on the prongs clear the inner surface of the inner edge of the housing slot 300, the bias in the prongs moves them outward such that the tabs engage the inner edge of the housing 102 proximate the slot 300. Such engagement resists removal of the footing 114 from the housing 102.
In yet other embodiments, the footings 114 may be joined to the housing 102 using heat or sonic welding, adhesives, other joining methods, or some combination of methods. Regardless of the method, or the combination of methods, used to join the footings 114 to the housing 102, the connection between the footings 114 and the housing 102 may be designed to at least transfer minimum predetermined forces that may be imposed upon the pool filter 100 to a support surface through the footings 114 to limit or prevent overturning or other undesired movement of the housing 102 from its rest position.
The components of the pool filter described herein, including the housing, the clamp ring assembly, the footings, the O-rings, the filters, and so on, may be composed of any suitable material, including, but not limited to, plastic (e.g., PVC), metal, alloy, rubber, and so on. Any of the components may be formed from a single part, or may be formed from multiple parts joined together to create the component.
All directional references (e.g., upper, lower, upward, downward, left, right, leftward, rightward, top, bottom, above, below, inner, outer, vertical, horizontal, clockwise, and counterclockwise) are only used for identification purposes to aid the reader's understanding of the example of the invention, and do not create limitations, particularly as to the position, orientation, or use of the invention unless specifically set forth in the claims. Joinder references (e.g., attached, coupled, connected, joined, and the like) are to be construed broadly and may include intermediate members between a connection of elements and relative movement between elements. As such, joinder references do not necessarily infer that two elements are directly connected and in fixed relation to each other.
In some instances, components are described with reference to “ends” having a particular characteristic and/or being connected with another part. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention is not limited to components which terminate immediately beyond their points of connection with other parts. Thus, the term “end” should be interpreted broadly, in a manner that includes areas adjacent, rearward, forward of, or otherwise near the terminus of a particular element, link, component, part, member or the like. In methodologies directly or indirectly set forth herein, various steps and operations are described in one possible order of operation, but those skilled in the art will recognize that steps and operations may be rearranged, replaced, or eliminated without necessarily departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not limiting. Changes in detail or structure may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
Claims
1. A pool filter comprising:
- a housing defining a chamber for receiving a filter, a fluid inlet in fluid communication with the chamber, and a fluid outlet in fluid communication with the chamber;
- a filter; and
- at least one footing joined to the housing and adapted to receive an anchoring member to anchor the housing to a support surface.
2. The pool filter of claim 1, wherein the at least one footing includes a pair of legs configured to form an angle.
3. The pool filter of claim 2, wherein at least one of the pair of legs abuts the housing.
4. The pool filter of claim 2, wherein at least one of the pair of legs abuts the support surface.
5. The pool filter of claim 2, wherein at least one of the pair of legs defines a hole for receiving the anchoring member.
6. The pool filter of claim 1, wherein the anchoring member comprises an anchor bolt.
7. The pool filter of claim 1, wherein the housing includes at least one slot, and the at least one footing includes at least one tab sized for receipt within the slot.
8. The pool filter of claim 7, wherein the at least one tab engages the housing to resist removal of the at least one footing from the housing.
9. The pool filter of claim 7, wherein the at least one footing includes a member extending from the at least one footing and at least one of the at least one tab is positioned at a distal end of the member.
10. The pool filter of claim 1, wherein the at least one footing comprises at least one leg and at least one gusset connected to the at least one leg.
11. A pool filter comprising:
- a housing defining a chamber for receiving a filter, and including at least one first opening that functions as a fluid inlet in fluid communication with the chamber and at least one second opening that functions as a fluid outlet in fluid communication with the chamber;
- a filter; and
- at least one footing associated with the housing and configured to receive an anchoring member to anchor the housing to a support surface,
- wherein the at least one footing comprises a main body portion, the main body portion comprising an upright leg and a base leg.
12. The pool filter of claim 11, wherein the upright leg and the base leg are joined at first ends.
13. The pool filter of claim 11, wherein at least one gusset is joined to the main body portion of the footing.
14. The pool filter of claim 11, wherein the housing further comprises at least one third opening that functions as a drain, the third opening in fluid communication with the chamber.
15. The pool filter of claim 11, wherein the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet are positioned approximately on a same side of the housing.
16. The pool filter of claim 11, wherein the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet are approximately a same size.
17. The pool filter of claim 11, wherein the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet are positioned approximately on an opposite side of the housing.
18. The pool filter of claim 11, wherein the housing includes at least one slot, and the footing includes a pair of prongs, each prong having a tab at an end of the prong, the tab configured for receipt within the slot such that the prong engages the housing to resist removal of the at least one footing from the housing.
19. The pool filter of claim 11, wherein the at least one fitting is joined to the housing by heat or sonic welding or an adhesive or a combination thereof.
20. The pool filter of claim 11, wherein the housing further comprises an upper portion and a lower portion and the at least one footing is joined to the lower portion of the housing.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 18, 2010
Publication Date: Apr 21, 2011
Applicant: Zodiac Pool Systems, Inc. (Moorpark, CA)
Inventors: David B. Nibler (Sonoma, CA), Randy Tan (Camarillo, CA), Steve E. Gutai (Petaluma, CA)
Application Number: 12/906,843
International Classification: B01D 35/02 (20060101); E04H 4/14 (20060101);