Method of and system for fluid purification

• US 20040140271A1
• Filed: 11/14/2003
• Published: 07/22/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oil Purification Systems, Inc. (Pittsburgh Power, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Oil Purification Systems, Inc. (Pittsburgh Power, Inc.)
• Inventors: Whitmore, C. Barclay, Gutierrez, Jose G., Gutierrez, Javier G.
• Granted Patent: US 7,244,353 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 210/774
• CPC Class Codes: B01B 1/005 Evaporation for physical or chemical purposes; Evaporation apparatus therefor, e.g. evaporation of liquids for gas phase reactions
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 1/0082 Regulation; Control
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 29/00 Filters with filtering elements stationary during filtration, e.g. pressure or suction filters, not covered by groups B01D24/00 - B01D27/00; Filtering elements therefor

Abstract

A method of and system for purifying fluid of an internal combustion engine or hydraulic system utilizes an evaporation chamber separate from a filtering chamber. A metering valve may be oriented between the filtering chamber and the evaporation chamber to control the flow of fluid to the evaporation chamber.

Claims

1. A system for purifying fluid, said system comprising:

a filtration canister for filtering particulates from the fluid; and

a separate evaporation canister for removing liquid contaminants by evaporation.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said fluid comprises oil.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said fluid comprises hydraulic fluid.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said filtration canister comprises:

a filter element for filtering the particulates from the fluid; and

a head for providing an upper seal to the filtration canister and a means for mounting the filtration canister.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the head comprises:

a compression ring for pressing against a portion of the filter element;

a first orifice for receiving oil from an engine;

a second orifice for receiving filtered oil; and

a gasket for sealing the head against the filtration canister.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein said filtration canister further comprises:

a threaded stud for securing the filtration canister and the head; and

a sampling valve for sampling fluid from the filtration canister.

7. The system of claim 1 further comprising a shut-off valve for preventing flow of fluid into the filtration canister.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the evaporation canister comprises:

a head for sealing an upper portion of the evaporation canister;

an evaporator for receiving filtered fluid from the filtration canister; and

a heating wand for heating the fluid to release liquid contaminants.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the evaporator is manufactured as a cup with exterior ridges for impeding the flow of the fluid.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the evaporation canister comprises:

a visual indicator for alerting a user as to whether electrical power is supplied to the heating wand; and

a conduit for receiving and removing vaporized liquid contaminants from the evaporationcanister.

11. The system of claim 1 further comprising a metering valve located between the filtration canister and the evaporation canister.

12. A filtration canister for filtering particulates from a fluid, said filtration canister comprising:

a filter element for removing the particulates from the fluid;

a container for receiving the filter element and the fluid;

a head for sealing an upper portion of the container;

a threaded stud for securing the head and the container; and

a centering spring for securing the filter element around the threaded stud.

13. The filtration canister of claim 12, further comprising:

a sampling valve for allowing a sample of the fluid to be removed from the container;

a fluid impervious washer for preventing fluid from bypassing the filter element;

a sealing gasket for providing support to the fluid impervious washer;

a resistance spring for providing pressure to the sealing gasket, fluid impervious washer, and a lower portion of the filter element.

14. The filtration canister of claim 13, wherein the sealing gasket is formed of stainless steel and the fluid impervious washer is formed of nitrile material.

15. The filtration canister of claim 12, wherein the container is formed of Aluminum Kone Drawing Quality cold rolled steel and wherein the container is plated with Commercial Bright Nickel Plating.

16. The filtration canister of claim 12, wherein the head is formed of 319 Cast Aluminum Alloy.

17. The filtration canister of claim 12, wherein the head comprises:

a compression ring for pressing against an upper portion of the filter element;

a first orifice for receiving oil from an engine;

a second orifice for receiving filtered oil; and

a gasket for sealing the head against the filtration canister.

18. The filtration canister of claim 12, wherein the head is secured to the threaded stud via a head cap, and wherein the head cap is secured to the head via an E-ring.

19. An evaporation canister for separating liquid contaminants from fluid, said evaporation canister comprising:

an evaporator cup for receiving fluid, the evaporator cup including a large substantially flat lower surface for increasing the surface area of the fluid;

a container for receiving fluid and housing the evaporator;

a head for sealing an upper portion of the container;

a heating wand for heating the fluid in the evaporator cup; and

wherein the fluid flows underneath the heating wand and spreads to increase the surface area of the fluid, thereby facilitating evaporation of the liquid contaminants.

20. The evaporation canister of claim 19, wherein the container is formed of Aluminum Kone Drawing Quality cold rolled steel and plated with Commercial Bright Nickel Plating, and wherein the head is formed of 319 Cast Aluminum Alloy.

21. The evaporation canister of claim 19, wherein the head comprises an orifice for receiving wires that supply electrical power to the heating wand, and wherein the wires also supply electrical power to a visual indicator for alerting a user as to whether the heating wand is receiving electrical power.

22. A method for purifying fluid, said method comprising the steps of:

providing fluid to a filtration canister;

filtering particulates from the fluid via a filter element;

transmitting the filtered fluid from the filtration canister to a separate evaporation canister;

heating the filtered fluid to remove liquid contaminants; and

removing the vaporized liquid contaminants from the evaporation canister.

23. The method of claim 22 further comprising the step of lowering the flow in the evaporation canister to reduce the amount of heat necessary to remove the liquid contaminants.

24. The method of claim 23 further comprising the step of utilizing a metering valve to reduce the flow in the evaporation canister.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein the filtering comprises the steps of:

entering an outer portion of the filtration canister;

flowing through the filter element to remove the particulates from the fluid; and

accumulating in a central portion of the filtration canister for transmission to the evaporation canister.