FILTER

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a filter for filtering dirty water with an inlet opening for the dirty water provided on the top when the filter is used as intended and a filter element through which the water flowing through the filter is filtered.

[0002] Many of the textiles and clothing items sold today, especially outdoor clothing or other functional clothing made of synthetic fibers, contain a significant proportion of synthetic fibers. These textiles have the disadvantage that, particularly during washing, plastic fibers or plastic fiber fragments are washed out or released, which then enter the environment with wastewater. Since such plastic fibers are generally very small and short, conventional washing machine wastewater filters or other filters previously used in households to filter wastewater are unable to retain these fibers to any significant extent.While wastewater treatment plants can retain a certain proportion of the plastic fibers found in wastewater, they still allow a large proportion of these fibers to pass through, thus contributing significantly to the pollution of rivers and oceans, where they ultimately end up back in the food chain through animal ingestion. It is certainly desirable that washing machines, wastewater treatment plants, etc., be equipped with suitable microplastic filters, but this is apparently not yet possible across the board.

[0003] In this context, WO 2017 / 121862 A1 already discloses a laundry bag for use in the washing of textiles containing plastic fibers, which serves as a retention means for plastic fibers or fiber fragments washed out of the textiles and can thus contribute to environmental protection.

[0004] However, it is assumed that even when textiles containing plastic fibers are used, fibers or fiber fragments are released from them. This is also why an extremely high number of plastic particles and fibers float around in the ambient air, settling on all types of surfaces, where they are wiped away during cleaning and ultimately disposed of in wastewater. Other sources of environmental pollution are plastic particles released by tire and sole wear, which can also enter the environment with dirty water.

[0005] US Pat. No. 244,877 A already discloses a bucket with a spout, to which a filter can be attached or suspended. The filter has a holding structure with which it can be attached to the upper edge of a bucket of corresponding dimensions in the area of ​​the spout. The filter, suspended from the outside of the bucket, can serve as a pouring filter for filtering the dirty water that flows out of the bucket when the bucket is tipped. However, this state of the art still leaves room for improvement.

[0006] Against this background, the present invention is intended to provide a further aid for environmental protection that is as practical and universally applicable as possible.

[0007] To this end, the present invention relates to a filter according to claim 1.

[0008] Because the filter according to the invention is very simply constructed and has a holding structure with which it can be fastened or supported on a bucket corresponding in its dimensions to the filter, it proves to be a particularly easy-to-use aid - especially in the home - in which the contaminated water is filtered as it passes (by gravity) through the filter element contained in the filter.

[0009] The particles that collect in the filter can be easily removed after use and then disposed of properly.

[0010] According to the invention, it is further provided that the holding structure of the filter is formed by at least one (flexible) fastening strap, with which the filter can be fastened in the region of the upper edge of the bucket, in particular by the at least one fastening strap being guided around the upper edge of the bucket and suitably fixed there. Such a filter with at least one (flexible, optionally also elastic) fastening strap as the holding structure is particularly easy to manufacture and can be easily fastened to the bucket. Advantageously, two fastening straps (e.g. attached to different sides of the actual filter) can be provided, which can be connected to one another in a suitable manner in the region of their free ends to fasten the filter to the upper edge of the bucket.

[0011] Furthermore, it can preferably be provided that the at least one fastening strap comprises a hook-and-loop fastener. When using two fastening straps (which can be wrapped around the upper edge of the liner on the left and right sides), a portion of the hook-and-loop fastener can be provided on each of the two fastening straps.

[0012] It is also particularly advantageous if the at least one fastening strap and / or the Velcro fastener are arranged and / or dimensioned in such a way that the filter is suitable, within predetermined limits, for attachment to buckets of different sizes (i.e., for example, to buckets with different circumferences in the region of their upper edge) and / or to buckets with different cross-sectional geometries (e.g., oval or rectangular buckets).

[0013] The filter according to the invention further comprises a filter bag provided with an inlet opening for the water to be filtered. This filter design is particularly suitable for filters that can be attached to the upper edge of the bucket by means of a fastening strap serving as a holding structure, as described above.

[0014] Such a filter bag can advantageously be made from two layers (of any material, possibly even multi-layered) which are connected to one another at the edges and are sewn together, in particular with the aid of reinforcing bands, of which at least a first layer functions as a filter element, at least in part.

[0015] Furthermore, as will be explained in more detail below using an exemplary embodiment of the invention, it is advantageous that the filter bag according to the invention has a V-shaped or V-shaped expandable incision on two opposite sides in the area of ​​the inlet opening, into which the edge of the bucket can penetrate when the filter is properly attached to a bucket. The edge section of the filter bag, which in this case lies below the bucket rim, can then lie closely against the outer surface of the bucket when the filter is properly attached, while an opposite edge section of the filter bag projects beyond the bucket rim, so that the dirty water in the bucket can penetrate into the filter bag through the inlet opening without loss when the bucket is tilted and can leave the filtered bag again under the effect of gravity.The dirt particles retained in the filter bag, including microplastic contaminants, can then be removed from the filter bag and disposed of properly.

[0016] All edge areas of the filter bag can advantageously be reinforced with reinforcing bands.

[0017] For a filter with a filter bag and V-shaped (or V-shaped expandable) notches in the area of ​​the inlet opening, it is particularly useful to provide two fastening straps, each branching into a first and second fastening strap section, with the two fastening strap sections of each fastening strap being attached to different limbs of the V-shaped notch in the filter bag. The fastening straps thus ensure that both the edge section of the filter bag that lies on the outside of the bucket below the bucket rim and the edge section of the filter bag that protrudes upwards above the bucket rim are firmly held on both sides and can be securely attached to the bucket.

[0018] In this case, the two branched fastening strap sections of each fastening strap can or should advantageously have a different length so that the inlet opening of the filter bag can widen appropriately when the bucket is tilted (due to the water pressure exerted by the water).

[0019] Particularly advantageously, the entire filter, including the filter element and support structure (as well as any reinforcing bands or walls, the thread used for sewing, and any hook-and-loop fastener), can be made of a single material, in particular a polyamide, in particular polyamide 6.6. In this case, the entire filter can be easily recycled in an environmentally friendly manner at the end of its service life.

[0020] In all of the filter variants discussed above, the filter element can be formed by a filter fabric, in particular a plastic mesh, with an average mesh size of 5 µm - 200 µm, preferably 20 - 100 µm or 20 - 80 µm. A filter bag, as described above, can advantageously be made of such a filter fabric over a large area, optionally with edge reinforcement bands made of the same or a different material.

[0021] A heat-set polyamide, especially polyamide 6.6 (PA 6.6), is preferably used for the plastic screen mesh. This allows for a continuous temperature resistance of 100°C (wet), which is ideally suited for the present purpose. Of course, other materials can also be used within the scope of the present invention, provided they are sufficiently stable under normal ambient conditions.

[0022] Furthermore, the use of a monofilament fabric is advantageous, which can also be used in a single layer. A single-layer, monofilament screen fabric made of PA 6.6 with a fabric thickness of approximately 80 μm, a (average) warp and weft mesh size of 50 μm each with a tolerance of only + / - 10%, and an open screen area of ​​27% has proven particularly suitable for the present invention.

[0023] Finally, the present invention also relates to a set comprising a bucket and a filter of the type according to the invention that can be attached thereto.

[0024] The present invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 - 6 a first embodiment of a filter with a holding structure, not according to the invention, which can be fastened to a bucket as a pouring filter and Fig. 7 - 10 a second embodiment of a filter according to the invention, partly in a set with a bucket, in a photorealistic and schematic representation.

[0025] The Fig. 1 - 6 show, in different perspectives and in different orientations, a first embodiment of a filter 1 (not according to the invention) with an inlet opening 2 provided on the top of the filter 1 for dirty water to be filtered, which filter has a holding structure 4 (preferably) having two holding claws 3, with which the filter 1 can be fastened or supported on the upper edge 5 of a (suitably dimensioned) bucket 6. In this filter 1, which serves as a pouring filter for dirty water to be emptied from the bucket 6, the inlet opening 2 is rectangular. The water poured out of the tilted bucket 6 according to arrow P from Fig. 2 Leaking water enters the filter 1 through the upper inlet opening 2 and exits the filter again through the filter element 8 provided in a side surface 7 extending to the lower edge of the filter 1.

[0026] The filter 1 can be made of a thin-walled material—e.g., plastic—with the filter element 8, consisting of a filter fabric with a suitably small mesh size, being provided in a recess on the side 7 of the filter 1 facing away from the bucket 6. In this case, the filter element 8 is formed by a large-area filter fabric made of a heat-set plastic (sieve) fabric made of polyamide 6.6 with an average mesh size of, for example, 50 µm.

[0027] Fig. 3-6, which shows a side view of the bucket 6 with the filter 1 suspended from its upper edge 5, illustrates that the given holding structure 4 is designed such that the filter 1 is attached to the bucket 6 in a pendulum manner such that the filter 1 assumes a substantially constant spatial orientation regardless of the respective tilted position of the bucket 6. The stops 9 provided on the filter 1 below the holding claws 3 reliably prevent the filter 1 from slipping off the bucket 6 by striking the protruding edge 5 of the bucket 6 when the bucket 6 is tilted sharply.

[0028] Two wing sections 10, 11 made of a flexible material, provided on the left and right sides of the filter 1, which rest against the bucket 6 under pretension when the bucket 6 is in an upright position and on which the stop elements 9 are also formed, ensure that the free distance between the holding claws 3 and the stop elements 9 decreases when the filter 1 pivots due to its pendulum suspension when the bucket 6 is tilted. As a result, the filter 1 is always reliably held on the bucket 6. By pulling the wing sections 10, 11 apart laterally, the distance between these and the holding claws 15 increases, whereby the filter 12 can be easily removed from the bucket 14.

[0029] The Fig. 7 - 10 Finally, in a schematic representation, illustrate an embodiment of a filter 1 according to the invention, which can be suspended or fastened to the upper edge 5 of a bucket 6 corresponding in its dimensions in such a way that it hangs on the outside of the bucket 6 (cf. Fig. 8 and 10 ) in the sense of the invention serves as a pouring filter for filtering the dirty water flowing out of the bucket 5 when the bucket 6 is tilted.

[0030] This filter 1 has two fastening straps 12, 13 as a holding structure 4, which can be guided around the bucket 6 in the upper or uppermost edge area of ​​the bucket 6 on the left and right sides (typically directly below an edge 5 protruding from the outside of the bucket 6) for fastening the filter 1 to the bucket 6 and can be connected to one another in the region of their free ends by means of a hook-and-loop fastener 14 on the bucket side opposite the filter 1. By connecting the two fastening straps 12, 13 under slight tension, a sufficiently stable attachment of the filter 1 to the bucket 6 for the desired purpose can be achieved.

[0031] Furthermore, the Fig. 7 - 10 The filter 1 shown has a filter bag 15 into which the water to be filtered can flow through an inlet opening 2. In the given example, the filter bag 15 is made of two layers 16a, 16b of a filter fabric serving as a large-area filter element 8, wherein the two layers 16a, 16b bordering the filter bag 15 on different sides are each reinforced in their edge region with a reinforcing band 17.

[0032] The two layers 16a, 16b of filter fabric are suitable in the sense of the invention for retaining microplastic particles or fibers with lengths / diameters of approximately 200 pm, for this purpose they can be made, for example, from the materials already mentioned above and are connected or sewn together at the edges in the area of ​​the (respective) reinforcing band 17.

[0033] The sewing thread, the reinforcing bands 17, the fastening bands 12, 13 - in the given example designed as a one-piece continuation of the reinforcing bands 17 - as well as the Velcro fastener 14 can be made of the same material as the filter fabric.

[0034] In the Fig. 7 and 9 It can be clearly seen that the filter bag 15 has a V-shaped or V-shaped expandable incision 18 on two opposite sides in the area of ​​the inlet opening 2, so that the upper edge 5 of the bucket 6, when the filter 1 is properly attached to the bucket 6, can penetrate at least partially between the two layers 16a, 16b (or between the opposite edge regions) of the filter bag 15 in the area of ​​the incisions 18. As a result, the layer 16a of the filter bag 15 directly facing the outside of the bucket is arranged (up to its uppermost edge region) below the bucket edge 5, while the upper edge section 19 (cf. Fig. 8 ) of the opposite layer 16b of the filter bag 15 can extend beyond the edge of the bucket, so that the dirty water in the bucket 6 can flow into the filter 1 from above through the inlet opening 2 located between the two layers 167a, 16b when the bucket 6 is tilted, largely without loss.

[0035] Dirt particles and in particular microplastic particles and fibers are reliably retained in the filter bag 15 as the water passes through the filter bag 15, provided their diameter or length is larger than the mesh size of the filter fabric used.

[0036] In the Fig. 7 - 10 Finally, it is clearly visible that each fastening band 12, 13 branches from its free end (in the area of ​​the Velcro fastener) towards the filter bag 15 into two fastening band sections 12a, 12b and 13a, 13b, respectively, whereby the two fastening band sections 12a, 12b and 13a, 13b of each fastening band 12, 13 are attached to a different leg of a V-shaped notch in the filter bag 15 or are continued from there as a reinforcing band 17 for the two layers 16a, 16b of the filter fabric forming the filter bag 15. Fig. 9 It can be clearly seen that the two branched fastening band sections 12a, 12b and 13a, 13b of each fastening band (12, 13) have a different length.

[0037] Fig. 8 finally shows the filtered water W emerging from the bottom of the filter bag 15 when the bucket 6 is tilted.

Claims

1. A filter (1) for filtering dirty water, with an inlet opening (2) for the dirty water, provided on the upper side for use of the filter (1) as intended, and with a filter element (8), by which the water passing through the filter (1) is filtered, wherein: the filter element (8) is designed for holding back microplastic particles or fibers having diameters or lengths of 200 µm and wherein the filter (1) has a holding structure (4), with which the filter (1) can be fastened on the upper rim (5) of a bucket (6) having dimensions corresponding to it, in such a way that the filter (1), hanging on the outside of the bucket (6), is able to function as a pouring filter for filtering the dirty water running out of the bucket (6) when the bucket (6) is tipped, wherein the holding structure (4) of the filter (1) is formed by at least one fastening tape (12, 13), with which the filter (1) can be fastened in the region of the upper rim (5) of the bucket (6), wherein the filter (1) has a filter bag (15) equipped with the inlet opening (2) for the water to be filtered, and wherein the filter bag (15) has a notch (18) that is V-shaped or can be spread apart in V-shaped manner in the region of the inlet opening (2) on two opposite sides, in which notch the rim (5) of the bucket (6) is able to penetrate at least partly when the filter (1) is fastened as intended on a bucket (6).

2. The filter (1) of claim 1, characterized in that the filter (1) can be fastened in the region of the upper rim (5) of the bucket (6) with the at least one fastening tape (12, 13), the at least one fastening tape (12, 13) encircling the upper rim (5) of the bucket (6) and being suitably fixed there.

3. The filter (1) of claims 1 or 2 characterized in that the at least one fastening tape (12, 13) has a hook-and-loop fastener (14).

4. The filter (1) of one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the at least one fastening tape (23, 13) and / or the hook- and-loop fastener (14) are dimensioned and / or disposed in such a way that the filter (1) is suitable, within given limits, for fastening on buckets (6) of various sizes and / or on buckets (6) with different cross-sectional geometry.

5. The filter (1) of claim 1, characterized in that the filter bag (1) is made from two layers (16a, 16b) joined to one another peripherally, especially stitched to one another by means of reinforcing tapes (17), of which at least one first layer (16a, 16b) functions at least in some regions as a filter element (8).

6. The filter (1) of claim 1 or claim 5, characterized in that all rim regions of the filter bag (15) are reinforced with reinforcing tapes (17).

7. The filter (1) of claim 1, characterized in that two fastening tapes (12, 13) are provided, each of which is branched into a first and second fastening tape portion (12a, 12b; 13a, 13b), wherein the two fastening tape portions (12a, 12b; 13a, 13b) of each fastening tape (12, 13) are positioned on different limbs of the V-shaped notch (18) of the filter bag (15).

8. The filter (1) of claim 7, characterized in that the two branched fastening tape portions (12a, 12b; 13a, 13b) of each fastening tape (12, 13) have different lengths.

9. The filter (1) of one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the entire filter (1) including filter element (8) and holding structure (4) is made from a single material, especially from a polyamide.

10. The filter (1) of one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the filter element (9) is formed by a filter fabric, especially a thermoset plastic screen fabric, having a mean mesh width of 5 µm - 200 µm, preferably of 20 - 100 µm.

11. A kit comprising a bucket (6) and a filter (1) fastened thereon according to one of the preceding claims.