The subject matter disclosed herein relates to air filtration systems. More specifically, filters for electrostatic air filtration systems and installation thereof.
In air filtration systems, for example, electrically enhanced air filtration systems, electrostatic filters installed in the systems collect impurities in an airflow through the system before the airflow is circulated through a space such as a home or other building. Such filters are periodically removed and replaced as their effectiveness diminishes. In some systems, improper filter installation, or installation of an incorrect filter as a replacement can result in reduced effectiveness of the filter and the filtration system, and in some cases safety issues.
According to one aspect of the invention, a media filter for an air filtration system includes a filtration element and one or more alignment features. The one or more alignment features are interactive with one or more sealing elements of the air filtration system to prevent incorrect installation of the media filter into the air filtration system.
According to another aspect of the invention, an air filtration system includes a frame directing an airflow through the air filtration system and a media filter located in the frame including one or more filtration elements. The system further includes one or more alignment features and one or more sealing elements that are interactive with the one or more alignment features to prevent incorrect installation of the media filter into the frame.
According to yet another aspect of the invention, a method of installing a media filter in an air filtration system includes aligning an alignment feature of the media filter with an opening in a frame of the air filtration system and inserting the media filter into the frame. The alignment feature ensures that the media filter is inserted in the frame in a correct orientation.
These and other advantages and features will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings.
The subject matter, which is regarded as the invention, is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features, and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
The detailed description explains embodiments of the invention, together with advantages and features, by way of example with reference to the drawings.
Shown in
The air filtration system 10 includes a filter enhancement module (FEM) 12, shown in
Referring now to
The media filter 28 comprises the plurality of media fibers 34 arranged in a plurality of pleats 36. One or more combs 38 are inserted in the media filter 28 from a downstream side 40 of the media filter 28 to separate the pleats 36 and to keep the pleats 36 from collapsing. As shown in
In some embodiments, the media filter 28 must be placed in close proximity to the field-generating array 24 so the desired electrical field is generated in the media fibers 34. The media filter 28 thus contacts or has a small gap to the field generating array 24. Further, the media filter 28 is configured to have a grounded downstream side 40. In some embodiments, the downstream side 40 of the media filter 28 includes a carbon paint on tips 46 of the plurality of pleats 36 to create a grounding plane 48 at the downstream side 40. During the operational life of the filtration system 10, the media filter 28 is often replaced with a replacement media filter 28. Because of the unique features of an upstream side and the downstream side 40 of the media filter 28, it is imperative that the replacement media filter 28 is installed in the correct orientation. Such correct orientation of the media filter 28 is critical to the operation and function of the electrically-enhanced air filtration system 10.
Referring to
In some embodiments, further sealing elements may be included which are located substantially perpendicular to the insertion direction of the media filter 28. In the embodiment described above, the additional sealing elements are located either on the ends of the media filter 28 or on the downstream side 40 of the media filter 28 to ensure creation of the downstream filter gap 60 by the sealing elements 56.
The sealing elements 56 described herein may be of any suitable cross-sectional shape including, for example, fin seals or bulb seals. It is to be appreciation that these configurations are merely exemplary and other cross-sectional shapes are within the scope of the present disclosure.
In other embodiments, the configuration may be substantially reversed. In such embodiments, the protruding or raised sealing element 56 is located at the media filter 28 and the tabs 62 or other alignment features are located at the frame 14. Similar to the embodiment described above, attempting to install a media filter 28 incorrectly will result in interference between the media filter 28 and the tabs 62, thus not allowing the installation to be completed. Further, additional sealing elements perpendicular to the insertion direction of the media filter 28 may be included and located on the frame 14.
While the invention has been described in detail in connection with only a limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood that the invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, the invention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, while various embodiments of the invention have been described, it is to be understood that aspects of the invention may include only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, the invention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.
This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/119,045 filed Nov. 20, 2013, which claims the benefit of an earlier filing date from PCT Patent Application Number PCT/US12/37759, filed May 14, 2012, which claims the benefit of an earlier filing date of U.S. Patent Application No. 61/489,526, filed May 24, 2011 the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2058669 | Dollinger | Oct 1936 | A |
2502560 | Dahlman | Apr 1950 | A |
2908348 | Rivers | Oct 1959 | A |
2990912 | Cole | Jul 1961 | A |
3177637 | Davis | Apr 1965 | A |
3271932 | Newell | Sep 1966 | A |
3438180 | Klouda | Apr 1969 | A |
3494113 | Kinney | Feb 1970 | A |
3626668 | Cardiff | Dec 1971 | A |
3733793 | Young | May 1973 | A |
4290788 | Pittman | Sep 1981 | A |
4465499 | Wawro et al. | Aug 1984 | A |
4509958 | Masuda | Apr 1985 | A |
4595401 | Witchell | Jun 1986 | A |
4685944 | Allan | Aug 1987 | A |
4781736 | Cheney et al. | Nov 1988 | A |
4792344 | Belcher | Dec 1988 | A |
4853005 | Jaisinghani | Aug 1989 | A |
4878149 | Stiehl et al. | Oct 1989 | A |
4940470 | Jaisinghani et al. | Jul 1990 | A |
5330559 | Cheney et al. | Jul 1994 | A |
5378254 | Maly | Jan 1995 | A |
5403383 | Jaisinghani | Apr 1995 | A |
5549735 | Coppom | Aug 1996 | A |
5551172 | Yu | Sep 1996 | A |
5620505 | Koch | Apr 1997 | A |
5735918 | Barradas | Apr 1998 | A |
5840094 | Osendorf | Nov 1998 | A |
5846302 | Putro | Dec 1998 | A |
5935281 | Rotheiser et al. | Aug 1999 | A |
5944860 | Mack | Aug 1999 | A |
6099612 | Bartos | Aug 2000 | A |
6126708 | Mack et al. | Oct 2000 | A |
6251171 | Marra et al. | Jun 2001 | B1 |
6263713 | Fantl | Jul 2001 | B1 |
6264713 | Lewis, II | Jul 2001 | B1 |
6425932 | Huehn | Jul 2002 | B1 |
6494940 | Hak | Dec 2002 | B1 |
6610118 | Bryce | Aug 2003 | B2 |
6679940 | Oda | Jan 2004 | B1 |
6814660 | Cavett | Nov 2004 | B1 |
6849107 | Huffman | Feb 2005 | B1 |
6860916 | Kubokawa et al. | Mar 2005 | B2 |
6890366 | Bugli | May 2005 | B2 |
7067939 | Hartmann et al. | Jun 2006 | B2 |
7141198 | Stankowski et al. | Nov 2006 | B2 |
7156898 | Jaisinghani et al. | Jan 2007 | B2 |
7160363 | Kulmala et al. | Jan 2007 | B2 |
7212393 | Gefter et al. | May 2007 | B2 |
7247183 | Connor | Jul 2007 | B2 |
7261757 | Duffy | Aug 2007 | B2 |
7351274 | Helt et al. | Apr 2008 | B2 |
7521012 | Stankowski et al. | Apr 2009 | B2 |
7524362 | Wu | Apr 2009 | B2 |
7531028 | Mello | May 2009 | B2 |
7594958 | Krichtafovitch et al. | Sep 2009 | B2 |
7608135 | Mello | Oct 2009 | B2 |
7785403 | Ouyang | Aug 2010 | B2 |
7815719 | McKinney et al. | Oct 2010 | B2 |
7815720 | McKinney | Oct 2010 | B2 |
7914604 | Mello | Mar 2011 | B2 |
7959700 | Kidman | Jun 2011 | B2 |
7972401 | Stock | Jul 2011 | B2 |
8080094 | Vanderginst | Dec 2011 | B2 |
8142537 | Braithwaite | Mar 2012 | B2 |
8182571 | Kailani | May 2012 | B2 |
8404115 | Myers | Mar 2013 | B2 |
8613785 | Davis | Dec 2013 | B1 |
9034068 | Ball | May 2015 | B2 |
9370741 | Horey | Jun 2016 | B2 |
9764266 | Carter | Sep 2017 | B1 |
20020152890 | Leiser | Oct 2002 | A1 |
20030071521 | Hartmann et al. | Apr 2003 | A1 |
20040004797 | Krichtafovitch et al. | Jan 2004 | A1 |
20040074387 | Jaisinghani | Apr 2004 | A1 |
20040163370 | Haute | Aug 2004 | A1 |
20050109204 | Coppom | May 2005 | A1 |
20050284116 | Duffy | Dec 2005 | A1 |
20060108278 | Scholl | May 2006 | A1 |
20060150816 | Jaisinghani | Jul 2006 | A1 |
20060180023 | Coppom et al. | Aug 2006 | A1 |
20060236667 | Terlson | Oct 2006 | A1 |
20070039472 | Bias et al. | Feb 2007 | A1 |
20080034974 | Uemura | Feb 2008 | A1 |
20080156186 | Mckinney | Jul 2008 | A1 |
20090025402 | Mello | Jan 2009 | A1 |
20090025559 | Mello | Jan 2009 | A1 |
20090183474 | Workman | Jul 2009 | A1 |
20090183477 | Workman | Jul 2009 | A1 |
20090183636 | Levine | Jul 2009 | A1 |
20100000190 | Kidman | Jan 2010 | A1 |
20100236205 | Braithwaite | Sep 2010 | A1 |
20100251895 | Vanderginst | Oct 2010 | A1 |
20110006216 | Searle | Jan 2011 | A1 |
20110030322 | Gillispie | Feb 2011 | A1 |
20110219954 | Mckinney | Sep 2011 | A1 |
20110308213 | Gillispie | Dec 2011 | A1 |
20130318936 | Ball | Dec 2013 | A1 |
20140096680 | Ackley et al. | Apr 2014 | A1 |
20140109768 | Bowman | Apr 2014 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
102011077715 | Dec 2012 | DE |
2940918 | Jul 2010 | FR |
464192 | Apr 1937 | GB |
2010085253 | Jul 2010 | WO |
WO-2010085253 | Jul 2010 | WO |
Entry |
---|
International Preliminary Report on Patentability; PCT/US2012/037759; dated Nov. 26, 2013; 8 Pages. |
International Preliminary Report on Patentability; PCT/US2012/037763; dated Nov. 26, 2013; 8 Pages. |
International Search Report for International Application No. PCT/US2012/037759; International Filing Date May 14, 2012; dated Sep. 25, 2012; 4 Pages. |
International Search Report for International Application No. PCT/US2012/037763; International Filing Date May 14, 2012; dated Sep. 28, 2012; 4 Pages. |
Written Opinion for International Application No. PCT/US2012/037759; International Filing Date May 14, 2012; dated Sep. 25, 2012; 8 Pages. |
Written Opinion for International Application No. PCT/US2012/037763; International Filing Date May 14, 2012; dated Sep. 28, 2012; 8 Pages. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20180290090 A1 | Oct 2018 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
61489526 | May 2011 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 14119045 | US | |
Child | 16003940 | US |