In-line modular air filtering system for ductwork |
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申请号 | US14677255 | 申请日 | 2015-04-02 | 公开(公告)号 | US09744491B2 | 公开(公告)日 | 2017-08-29 |
申请人 | Eric A. Cordova; | 发明人 | Eric A. Cordova; | ||||
摘要 | An in-line modular air filtering system for ductwork. A housing formed as a body and one or more caps has an intake opening at a first end and an outflow opening at a second end. The cap and body may attach to one another at a junction containing a seal with a stepped cross-sectional configuration. A set of retaining clamps may be used to secure the cap on the body. One or more replaceable filter assemblies may be retained in the housing for filtering air passed therethough. A filter assembly may include a seal having the stepped cross-sectional configuration for securing in the housing and sealing the cap and body junction. Filter assemblies may have differing porosities and/or different filtering mechanisms and may be stacked for applying multiple treatments. | ||||||
权利要求 | What is claimed is: |
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说明书全文 | This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/973,945, filed Apr. 2, 2014, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The present disclosure relates to air filtering systems and more specifically, to systems and apparatus for filtering air in intake ductwork. Greenhouses require airflow to maintain a healthy environment to grow plants. Typically this airflow has been provided by vents that are open to the outside environment. However, this allows exposure of the plants to airborne contaminants, which can be harmful to immature plants. Where plants are grown for shipping to a different geographic region, this could lead to the shipping of undesirable plant disease vectors. An air filtering system for a greenhouse air intake duct could reduce this problem. However, existing systems often require specialized installation and are expensive. An inexpensive in-line filtering system that could be easily installed into existing ductwork would be an improvement in the art. The present disclosure is directed to an in-line modular air filtering system for ductwork. A housing formed as a body and one or more caps has an intake opening at a first end and an outflow opening at a second end. The cap and body may attach to one another at a junction containing a seal with a stepped cross-sectional configuration. A set of retaining clamps may be used to secure the cap on the body. One or more replaceable filter assemblies may be retained in the housing for filtering air passed therethrough. A filter assembly may include a seal having the stepped cross-sectional configuration for securing in the housing and sealing the cap and body junction. Filter assemblies may have differing porosities and/or different filtering mechanisms and may be stacked for applying multiple treatments. The assembly may be placed into an existing air intake duct for a greenhouse by cutting duct and attaching the ends to the housing openings or may be placed into new ductwork during construction. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the various drawings are for illustrative purposes only. The nature of the present disclosure, as well as various embodiments, may be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description, to the appended claims, and to the several drawings. Further, while dimensions may be noted for certain parts, such dimensions are only exemplary and may be varied as the particular application requires. The present disclosure relates to apparatus, systems and methods related to a modular in-line air filtering system for ductwork. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the embodiments herein described, while illustrating certain embodiments, are not intended to so limit this disclosure or the scope of the appended claims. Those skilled in the art will also understand that various combinations or modifications of the embodiments presented herein can be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Turning to Assembly 10B is directly connected to a larger duct WD where it emerges from wall W and this may be screwed directly to the wall W using a suitable bracket 103 and fastener S, such as a screw, as shown in the enlarged inset. Due to the larger size of the duct WD, the body 100 of the system may be directly sealed thereon, without the use of a “cap” portion 102. It will be appreciated that the body 100 may similarly be sealed directly to a wall W over an opening in the wall with the seal 106 ( Turning to Each cap 102 has an opening 110 for connection to a duct work at a first end and an open second end for connection to body 100. In the depicted embodiment, each cap 102 has a generally circular cross section to allow mating with a cylindrical body 100, and tapers to a short tube for opening 110, giving the cap 102 a generally funnel shape. It will be appreciated that the shape of the cap and body may vary as desired for a particular installation. As depicted in Cap 102 and body 100 may attach to one another at a junction containing a seal 106. As shown in the enlarged inset, the seal 106 may have a “stepped” cross-sectional configuration and the cap 102 and body 100 may include flanges and channels that correspond to the seal configuration. This can provide multiple sealing points across the junction to reduce the possibility of a leak. In the depicted embodiment, the seal 106 has a generally L shaped section and a generally T-shaped section. This may provide multiple points where the junction between the cap 102 and body 100 are sealed. It will be appreciated that this depicted embodiment of a seal 106 is only illustrative and that some variation may be made as a particular installation may require. The seal 106 may be constructed from a suitable material, such as a silicone or rubber material with flexibility. Similarly, the housing components, caps 102 and body 100 may be formed of a more rigid material, such as an injected molded plastic. Turning to Turning to Filter assemblies may have differing porosities and/or different filtering mechanisms and may be stacked for applying multiple treatments. For example, housing 404 is constructed as a dust filter and may be used as a pretreatment filter to remove larger contaminants before additional filtering. The filtering element may be fiberglass strands contained in the assembly cavity at a sufficient density to trap airborne dust therein as dust passes therethrough. Assembly 402 may be for a HEPA-style filter which includes a mat of randomly arranged fibers within a frame. As depicted, the mat may be formed into a folded conical shape. The fibers may be fiberglass and may possess diameters between 0.5 and 2.0 micrometers. Assembly 403 may be a “clean room” style filter removing particles of even smaller diameters, such as a HEPA filter that complies with the Department of Energy standard, in that it removes at least 99.97% of airborne particles 0.3 micrometers (μm) in diameter with a minimal resistance to airflow or an ULPA filter that can remove at least 99.999% of dust, pollen, mold, bacteria and any airborne particles with a size of 120 nanometers (0.12 μm) or larger, passing therethrough. Such filters can comply with any of the following standards, which are incorporated by reference herein: IEST-RP-CC001: HEPA and ULPA Filters, IEST-RP-CC007: Testing ULPA Filters, IEST-RP-CC022: Testing HEPA and ULPA Filter Media, and IEST-RP-CC034: HEPA and ULPA Filter Leak Tests. It will be appreciated that a less efficient filter assembly, such as a dust filter 404 may be placed at an “upstream” end of the housing 10 for an initial air filtration and a HEPA or ULPA filter placed at the “downstream” end for additional cleaning of air. As depicted in The UV assembly/extension 504 depicted in A fan assembly/extension 550 is depicted in It will be appreciated that the examples of usage of filter systems present herein is only illustrative. For example, although discussed in connection with greenhouse air intake systems, filter systems 10 may be used on intake, exhaust, or on recirculation systems. In a greenhouse setting, such a filter system may be used on the exhaust to control pollen disbursement, or the spread of disease. In other settings it could be used to filter contaminants such as asbestos, fumes, odors, etc. from exhaust. In a recirculation air system, it could be used to filter the air of dust, mold/mildew spores, bacteria, odors, etc. Such filter systems could be useful as part of the environmental control for a clean room or in any setting where air filtration using ducting is desired. While this disclosure has been described using certain illustrative embodiments, the teachings of the present disclosure can be further modified within its spirit and scope. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of this disclosure using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practices in the art. |