FLOW GUIDE MESH, MEMBRANE ELEMENT, AND FILTER ASSEMBLY

Abstract

A flow guide mesh has a water inlet side and a water outlet side opposite to each other, wherein a first water isolating material is provided on the water inlet side of the flow guide mesh to seal a part of the water inlet side, and an effective water inlet width is defined on the water inlet side, a second water isolating material is provided on the water outlet side of the flow guide mesh to seal a part of the water outlet side, and an effective water outlet width is defined on the water outlet side. In addition, the flow guide mesh has a comb-like structure comprising at least one comb tooth within the effective water outlet width of the water outlet side. Also disclosed are a membrane element and a filter assembly.

Claims

1. A flow guide mesh, comprising a water inlet side and a water outlet side opposite to each other, wherein the flow guide mesh has a first water isolating material disposed on the water inlet side to seal a part of the water inlet side and define an effective water inlet width; the flow guide mesh has a second water isolating material disposed on the water outlet side to seal a part of the water outlet side and define an effective water outlet width; and the flow guide mesh has a comb structure including at least one comb tooth within the effective water outlet width of the water outlet side; the effective water inlet width is 110%˜140% of a vertical distance between the water inlet side and the water outlet side, the effective water outlet width is 60%˜90% of the vertical distance between the water inlet side and the water outlet side, and a projection of the effective water inlet width of the water inlet side on the water outlet side is out of a range of the effective water outlet width.

2. The flow guide mesh as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first water isolating material disposed on the water inlet side has at least one opening to form multiple water inlet channels on the part of the water inlet side sealed by the first water isolating material.

3. The flow guide mesh as claimed in claim 1, wherein the comb tooth is equidistantly arranged or non-equidistantly arranged.

4. The flow guide mesh as claimed in claim 2, wherein the opening is equidistantly arranged or non-equidistantly arranged.

5. The flow guide mesh as claimed in claim 1, wherein the comb tooth has a width W1 and a length L1, a range of W1 is 18-22 mm, and a range of L1 is 80-100 mm.

6. The flow guide mesh as claimed in claim 5, wherein a distance between two adjacent comb teeth ranges from 8-12 mm.

7. The flow guide mesh as claimed in claim 2, wherein a width of the opening ranges from 3-8 mm, and a distance between two adjacent openings ranges from 60-80 mm.

8. The flow guide mesh as claimed in claim 1, wherein the water isolating material is polyurethane glue.

9. A membrane element comprising a lamination of a layer of water production diversion net, at least one layer of separation membrane, and a layer of the flow guide mesh as claimed in claim 1.

10. The membrane element as claimed in claim 9, wherein the flow guide mesh is in contact with a water inlet surface of the separation membrane, and the water production diversion net is in contact with a water outlet surface of the separation membrane.

11. The membrane element as claimed in claim 10, wherein the separation membrane is folded, and the water production diversion net is sandwiched in the folded separation membrane.

12. The membrane element as claimed in claim 11, wherein the separation membrane is a reverse osmosis membrane or a nano filtration membrane.

13. The membrane element as claimed in claim 11, wherein sides of the water production diversion net, sides of the separation membrane, and sides of the flow guide mesh are aligned with each other, and the sides are adhered to each other by an adhesive; the water inlet side of the flow guide mesh does not adhere to the separation membrane and the water production diversion net at the effective water inlet width; and the water outlet side of the flow guide mesh does not adhere to the separation membrane and the water production diversion net at the effective water outlet width.

14. The membrane element as claimed in claim 13, wherein the adhesive is polyurethane glue

15. A filter assembly comprising a central water collection pipe and at least one layer of the flow guide mesh as claimed in claim 1.

16. The filter assembly as claimed in claim 15, wherein the filter assembly has multiple membrane elements, and the multiple membrane elements surround the central water collection pipe after stacked in sequence.

17. The filter assembly as claimed in claim 15, wherein the filter assembly is a cross flow filter assembly.

18. The flow guide mesh as claimed in claim 2, wherein the water isolating material is polyurethane glue.

19. The flow guide mesh as claimed in claim 3, wherein the water isolating material is polyurethane glue.

20. The flow guide mesh as claimed in claim 4, wherein the water isolating material is polyurethane glue.

21. A filter assembly comprising a central water collection pipe and at least one layer of the membrane element as claimed in claim 10.

22. The filter assembly as claimed in claim 21, wherein the filter assembly has multiple membrane elements, and the multiple membrane elements surround the central water collection pipe after stacked in sequence.

23. The filter assembly as claimed in claim 21, wherein the filter assembly is a cross flow filter assembly.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] In order to more clearly describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the following will briefly introduce the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the accompanying drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those persons skilled in the art, without creative work, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings.

[0037] FIG. 1 is a principle diagram of a cross-flow filtration;

[0038] FIG. 2A is a structural diagram of a conventional RO membrane and/or NF membrane filter assembly;

[0039] FIG. 2B is an expanded view of the conventional RO membrane and/or NF membrane filter assembly in FIG. 2A;

[0040] FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of an embodiment of a flow guide mesh in accordance with the present invention;

[0041] FIG. 4 is an enlarged side view of the flow guide mesh in FIG. 3;

[0042] FIGS. 5A to 5C are structural diagrams of different embodiments of comb teeth;

[0043] FIGS. 6A to 6C are structural diagrams of different embodiments of membrane elements in the present invention;

[0044] FIG. 7 is a structural diagram of a filter assembly of the present invention, wherein a membrane element of the filter assembly is in an unfolded state; and

[0045] FIGS. 8A to 8C are experimental verification data of the filter assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0046] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work belong to the scope of protection of this invention.

[0047] The terms “first”, “second”, “third”, etc. (if any) in the specification and claims of this invention and the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that the objects described in this way are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances. In addition, the terms “including” and “having” and any variations of them are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions.

[0048] In this patent document, the drawings discussed below and various embodiments used to describe the principles disclosed in this invention are only for illustration, and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure of this invention. Those persons skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present invention can be implemented in any suitably arranged system. Exemplary embodiments will be described in detail, and examples of these embodiments are shown in the drawings. In addition, a terminal according to an exemplary embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals in the drawings refer to the same elements.

[0049] The terms used in the specification of this invention are only used to describe specific implementations, and are not intended to show the concept of this invention. Unless there is a clearly different meaning in the context, the expression used in the singular form encompasses the expression in the plural form. In the specification of this invention, it should be understood that terms such as “including”, “having” and “containing” are intended to indicate the possibility of the features, numbers, steps, actions or combinations thereof disclosed in the specification of this invention, but not intended to indicate the possibility that one or more other features, numbers, steps, actions or combinations thereof may exist or may be added is excluded. The same reference numerals in the drawings refer to the same parts.

[0050] The present embodiment provides a flow guide mesh. Detailed description will be given below in conjunction with FIG. 3 and FIG. 4.

[0051] With reference to FIG. 3, FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of an embodiment of a flow guide mesh 1 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the flow guide mesh 1 has a water inlet side 11 and a water outlet side 12 opposite to each other. With reference to FIG. 3, a first water isolating material 111 is provided on the water inlet side 11 of the flow guide mesh 1 to seal a part of the water inlet side 11 and define an effective water inlet width EW1. A second water isolating material 121 is provided on the water outlet side 12 of the flow guide mesh 1 to seal a part of the water outlet side 12 and define an effective water outlet width EW2 on the water outlet side 12.

[0052] With further reference to FIG. 3, the flow guide mesh 1 has a comb structure including at least one comb tooth 122 within the effective water outlet width EW2 of the water outlet side 12. At least one opening 112 is formed on the first water isolating material 111 arranged on the water inlet side 11 to form multiple water inlet channels on the part of the water inlet side 11 sealed by the first water isolating material 111.

[0053] With reference to FIG. 3, the projection of the effective water inlet width EW1 of the water inlet side 11 on the water outlet side 12 does not fall within the range of the effective water outlet width EW2. Those persons skilled in the art can understand that the positional relationship between the effective water inlet width EW1 and the effective water outlet width EW2 may not be limited to the example shown in FIG. 3. It may also have other positional relationships, as long as it is satisfied that the projection of the effective water inlet width EW1 on the water outlet side 12 does not fall within the range of the effective water outlet width EW2.

[0054] With reference to FIG. 3, the effective water inlet width EW1 is 110%˜140% of a vertical distance D between the water inlet side 11 and the water outlet side 12. The effective water outlet width EW2 is 60%˜90% of the vertical distance D between the water inlet side 11 and the water outlet side 12.

[0055] In the present embodiment, the water isolating material 111, 121 is polyurethane glue, which is a commercial product.

[0056] Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 4, the comb structure including at least one comb tooth 122 and the opening 112 on the first water isolating material 111 will be described in detail.

[0057] With reference to FIG. 4, definition: a width of the comb tooth 122 is W1, a length of the comb tooth is L1, and a distance between the comb tooth 122 and an adjacent comb tooth 122 is S1. The range of the width W1 of the comb tooth 122 is 18-22 mm, and the range of the length L1 of the comb tooth 122 is 80-100 mm, and the distance S1 between the adjacent comb teeth 122 ranges from 8-12 mm. As shown in FIG. 3, it is defined: a width of the opening 112 is W2, and a distance between the opening 112 and an adjacent opening 112 is S2. The width W2 of the openings 112 ranges from 3-8 mm, and the distance S2 between the adjacent openings 112 ranges from 60-80 mm.

[0058] Those persons skilled in the art may know that the comb teeth 122 may be equidistantly arranged as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, or may be non-equidistantly arranged. The opening 112 may be equidistantly arranged as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and can also be non-equidistantly arranged. In addition, those persons skilled in the art may know that the comb tooth 122 may also have other shapes, and is not limited to the structure shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 4. For example, the comb tooth 122 may also have a structure as shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C.

[0059] Additionally, the invention also provides a membrane element 2. As shown in FIG. 6A, the membrane element 2 includes a lamination of a layer of water production diversion net 21, at least one layer of separation membrane 22, and a layer of flow guide mesh 1. The flow guide mesh 1 is in contact with a water inlet surface 221 of the separation membrane 22, and the water production diversion net 21 is in contact with a water outlet surface 222 of the separation membrane 22.

[0060] In the present invention, the separation membrane 22 may be a reverse osmosis membrane or a nano filtration membrane.

[0061] For the purpose of clarity, without showing the specific structure of an adhesive in FIG. 6A, those persons skilled in the art can understand that the water production diversion net 21, the separation membrane 22, and the flow guide mesh 1 are adhered to each other by the adhesive. This kind of the adhesive is a product known in the art. For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, sides of the water production diversion net 21, sides of the separation membrane 22, and sides of the flow guide mesh 1 are aligned with each other, and the adhesive is coated on at least three sides of the water production diversion net 21, the separation membrane 22, and the flow guide mesh 1. So the water production diversion net 21, the separation membrane 22, and the flow guide mesh 1 are shown in FIG. 6A, for example, but not limited to, an upper edge, a right edge, and a lower edge are glued together. Additionally, the water inlet side 11 of the flow guide mesh 1 does not adhere to the separation membrane 22 and the water production diversion net 21 at the effective water inlet width EW1, and the water outlet side 12 of the flow guide mesh 1 does not adhere to the separation membrane 22 and the water production diversion net 21 at the effective water outlet width EW2. That is to say, in an embodiment, in addition to the effective water inlet width EW1 and the effective water outlet width EW2, the remaining sides of the flow guide mesh 1, the separation membrane 22, and the water production diversion net 21 are adhered to each other.

[0062] Further, in another embodiment of the present invention, the membrane element 2 in FIG. 6A may also have a structure as shown in FIG. 6B. The difference from the structure in FIG. 6A is that the separation membrane 22 is folded. Therefore, in the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6B, the water production diversion net 21 is sandwiched on the folded surface of the separation membrane 22. That is to say, in the membrane element 2 shown in FIG. 6B, since the separation membrane 22 is folded, both sides of the water production diversion net 21 are in contact with the water outlet surface 222 of the separation membrane 22.

[0063] Furthermore, in another embodiment of the present invention, the membrane element 2 in FIG. 6A can also be arranged in layers to serve as a part of a filter assembly. The laminated structure of the membrane element 2 is shown in FIG. 6C. As shown in FIG. 6C, the membrane element 2′ has the same structure as the membrane element 2, and the membrane element 2′ and the membrane element 2 are laminated. In this way, because the separation membrane 22 of the membrane element 2 of the first layer is folded and the water production diversion net 21 is sandwiched between the separation membranes 22, the water inlet surface 221 of the separation membrane 22 of the membrane element 2 of the first layer is in contact with the flow guide mesh 1′ of the membrane element 2′ of the second layer. Of course, in the case of three or more layers, the water inlet surface of the separation membrane of an upper layer of membrane element is in contact with the flow guide mesh of the next layer of membrane element, so that the water inlet surface of each layer of separation membrane can enter the water through a corresponding flow guide mesh.

[0064] Additionally, the present invention also provides a filter assembly 3, and as shown in FIG. 7, the filter assembly 3 includes a central water collection pipe 31 and at least one layer of the membrane element 2 as shown in FIG. 6A or FIG. 6B surrounding the central water collection pipe 31. Of course, when the filter assembly 3 includes a multilayer membrane element, the laminated structure of the membrane element is as shown in FIG. 6C. In the expanded view of FIG. 7, since the membrane element 2 is a laminated structure, only the flow guide mesh 1 can be shown in FIG. 7. For the purpose of clarity, the detailed structure of the central water collection pipe 31 is not shown in FIG. 7. Those persons skilled in the art may know that the central water collection pipe 31 is a conventional component in the art and has any structure known in the art. In the filter assembly 3 shown in FIG. 7, the directions of arrows represent a flow direction of water.

[0065] With reference to FIG. 7, when water flows through the water inlet side 11 of the flow guide mesh 1 into the flow guide mesh 1 and enters the filter assembly 3, since the first water isolating material 111 is provided on the water inlet side 11, raw water can only enter from the effective water inlet width EW1. Moreover, since the water outlet side 12 corresponding to the effective water inlet width EW1 is the second water isolating material 121, the water can only flow along the width direction of the flow guide mesh 1 (that is, a direction perpendicular to the vertical distance D between the water inlet side 11 and the water outlet side 12). Then the water flows out via the effective water outlet width EW2 of the water outlet side 12. Different from the flow direction of water in the conventional RO membrane and/or NF membrane filter assembly in FIG. 2B, the flow direction of the raw water of the flow guide mesh 1 described in this invention is changed from a conventional axial direction along the central tube 300 to a radial direction of the central water collection pipe 31, and this effectively increases the length of filtering process of the raw water. At the same time, through the comb shaped structure within the effective water outlet width EW2 of the water outlet side 12 of the flow guide mesh 1, the space of filtering flow channel of the raw water is further increased (make the raw water more contact with the separation membrane 222 under the flow guide mesh 1), so as to further slow down the precipitation and fouling of pollutants on the surface of the membrane element 2. In addition, by forming multiple openings 112 on the first water isolating material 111 on the water inlet side 11 of the flow guide mesh 1 to increase the effective water inlet of the raw water, the dead zone of the membrane element 2 can be eliminated and the end flow rate can be increased and at the same time an effect of flushing and diluting pollutants is produced, thereby further slowing down the precipitation and fouling of pollutants on the surface of the membrane element 2.

[0066] The applicant further verified the filtration effects of the conventional RO membrane filter assembly shown in FIG. 2A and the filter assembly 3 described in this invention. In the experimental verification, the conventional RO membrane filter assembly shown in FIG. 2A and the filter assembly 3 described in this invention were installed in a reverse osmosis water purifier, according to GB 34914-2017 “Minimum allowable value of water efficiency and water efficiency grades for reverse osmosis drinking water treatment” and the flow-life, flow loss, and salt rejection rate of the conventional RO membrane filter assembly shown in FIG. 2A and the filter assembly 3 described in this invention were separately detected, and the test results are obtained and shown in FIGS. 8A to 8C.

[0067] As shown in FIGS. 8A to 8C, the filter assembly 3 of the present invention can significantly reduce the flow loss during the filtering process (about 30% reduction), and significantly increase the salt rejection rate.

[0068] In the invention, the flow direction of the raw water in the membrane element 2, 2′ is changed by the structural design of the flow guide mesh 1, 1′, so the flow direction of the raw water is changed from the axial flow to the radial flow, thereby lengthening the length of the filtering flow channel. Therefore, the filter assembly 3 of the flow guide mesh 1, 1′ described in the present invention, especially the cross flow filter assembly, can realize the flushing of contaminants on the surface of the separation membrane 22, 22′ and reduce the precipitation and fouling of contaminants, so as to slow down the fouling speed on the water outlet side 12 of the membrane element 2, 2′, improve the fouling problem, and greatly increase the service life of the membrane element 2, 2′ and even the filter assembly 3.

[0069] The above are only the preferred embodiments of this invention. It should be pointed out that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the principles of this invention, several improvements and modifications can be made, and these improvements and modifications should also be considered the scope of protection of this invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0070] The subject matter of this invention can be manufactured and used in the industry, and has industrial applicability.