Filtering apparatus with a pleated filtering element embedded in a

Abstract

A filtering apparatus comprises a housing having a blood inlet and a blood outlet as well as a vent which are formed protrudingly from the housing. A filtering element is provided inside the housing to partition the inside of the housing into a first space and a second space. The filtering element is made from a porous material folded to have a plurality of pleats, the pleated material being arranged to form a hollow truncated cone with the pleats radiating outward. The opening at the top portion of the filtering element is sealed with a filling material. The filling material has a bottom surface that includes a central portion which protrudes into the second space, and this allows a pleat intersecting portion at the outer circumference of the bottom surface to have an inclined surface with respect to the horizontal. Preferably, the outermost diameter of the filtering element gradually increases in the direction from the top portion of the filtering element to the bottom portion thereof, so as to form the shape of a hollow truncated cone. More preferably, a vertical cross section of this conical shaped filtering element reveals a trapezoid with the top and bottom portions thereof forming flat horizontal surfaces.