AU2006203227A1 - In-Line filter apparatus - Google Patents

Description

P/00/011 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Invention Title: "FILTER ASSEMBLY" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us: IN-LINE FILTER APPARATUS This invention relates to an in-line filter apparatus for use in dispensing systems dispensing viscous liquid materials which includes hot melt adhesives.

Conventional filter apparatus of this kind is disclosed in US Patent

IND

6,082,067 and reference is made specifically to an in-line filter apparatus as shown in FIG 6 of this reference which is located in a flow conduit of a hot melt liquid adhesive dispensing system such as that described in International Publication WO 03/037591which has a tank, a heater, a pump, a pump manifold and a controller which all combine to supplying heated liquid adhesive to one or more dispensing guns and heated hoses in fluid communication with the dispensing gun(s) and the pump manifold. The heater is usually located in a base of the tank for melting and heating adhesive material received in the tank in solid or semi-solid form. The pump manifold has an inlet connected to the tank and has multiple outlet ports adapted for connection to the heated hoses. The controller controls the power supplied to the tank heater and heated hoses to maintain the liquid adhesive at an appropriate viscosity and temperature depending on the application.

The in-line filter apparatus as shown in US Patent 3,082,067 has a perforate filter component which is integral with a cartridge of the filter. The cartridge also includes an inner cage and an outer cage and the perforate filter component is interposed between the inner cage and the outer cage.

Both the inner cage and the outer cage are integral with the cartridge and 2 usually it is necessary to replace the entire filter apparatus including the cartridge and perforate filter component for maintenance or when a new filter apparatus was required. It was also relatively difficult to clean the filter apparatus because the perforate filter component was not accessible for 0 5 cleaning purposes.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide filter apparatus which at least alleviates the problems of the prior art.

The filter apparatus of the invention includes as separate filter components an outer cage, a filter body and a cartridge body which is releasably attached to the outer cage enclosing the filter body in use.

The outer cage is suitably a cylindrical body having an end portion which may be enlarged relative to the cylindrical body and which has a screw threaded part for engagement with a mating screw threaded portion of the cartridge body. This constitutes one form of the releasable attachment between the cartridge and the outer cage although it will be appreciated that other releasable attachment means could be utilised such as a clamp or plug socket attachment.

The outer cage also has a plurality of longitudinal members and cross members interconnecting each longitudinal member so as to form the cage.

In this embodiment the cage may also have a closed end remote from the screw threaded end portion.

However it will be appreciated that any grid type or lattice type of frame or even the outer cage having a mesh body will suffice for viscous liquid to pass through the outer cage to contact the filter component.

Z The cartridge body may have an inner cage which may have a closed free end and frame or mesh structure as described above for the outer cage.

The inner cage may be welded or soldered to an adjacent flange. The N cartridge body may also include an inner screw threaded part for 0 5 engagement with the screw threaded part of the outer cage and an adjacent Sflange having a plurality of flow apertures. There also may be an outer screw threaded part for attachment to a mounting body in use and an outer section engageable by a suitable tool such as a spanner.

Reference may be made to a preferred embodiment of the invention as shown in the attached drawings wherein: FIG 1 is a schematic view of the filter assembly of the invention; FIG 2 is an exploded perspective view of the filter assembly shown in FIG 1; and FIG 3 is an assembled view of the components shown in FIG 2.

In the drawings there is shown filter apparatus 10 having a head section 11 which has a pair of hexagonal parts 12 separated by a groove 13.

There is also provided a screw threaded section 14 which engages in screw threaded relationship with a mating screw threaded bore 15 which is located in a mounting body 16 which is interposed between an inlet conduit 17 and an outlet conduit 18 which is in flow communication with a pair of nozzles 19 and 20 through conduits 21 and 22 or alternatively a single nozzle if desired.

Each nozzle 19 and 20 comprises a handgun for dispensing of liquid adhesive as may be required.

The filter apparatus 10 also includes a groove 23 having a plurality of flow apertures 24 which are in flow communication with inlet conduit 17.

There is also provided cage 25 and perforate or meshed filter body 26 in cage 25 which removes particulate material from the liquid hot melt adhesive Sas it passes through inlet conduit 17 through flow apertures 24 and O 5 subsequently through outlet conduit 18 and into conduits 21 and 22. There is

(N

also provided flange 27 of filter apparatus As explained above, the prior art filter apparatus functioned as described in FIG 1 and also as described in US Patent 6,082,627 wherein perforate filter body 26 was integral with flange 27 or other part of filter apparatus 10 and this also applied to cage 25 which was welded or soldered to flange 27 or formed part of a one piece metal body comprising flange 27 and cage 25 which was integral with groove 23.

In any event, when it was necessary to remove filter apparatus 10 for cleaning, maintenance or replacement it was necessary to remove the entire filter apparatus 10 from mounting body 16 and replace it with a new filter apparatus 10. This was not only costly but also inefficient because it was often the case that replacement was not required or that the filter apparatus only required cleaning.

In accordance with the invention as shown in FIGS 2 to 3 it is now proposed to replace the conventional filter apparatus 10 with filter apparatus 1 OA which includes outer cage 25A and integral mounting flange 27A which encloses filter body 26A which is a totally separate component from either cage 25A or cartridge body 30. Cartridge body 30 incorporates inner cage 31, flange 32, screw threaded portion 33 and flange 34 having flow apertures 24A. Cartridge body 30 also has screw threaded section 14A for incorporation into mating screw threaded bore 15 of mounting body 16. Cage also includes longitudinal frame members 25B and peripheral members enclosing flow apertures 35. There is also shown in phantom inner screw threaded part 36 for engagement with mating part 33. Also shown is

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closed end 37.

Inner cage 31 also has filter aperture 38 and longitudinal members 38A and peripheral members 39.

Thus in the preferred embodiment as shown in FIGS 2 to 3 the filter apparatus 1 OA of the invention includes outer cage 25A, filter body 26A and cartridge body 30 as separate components rather than all of these components being part of a one piece or integral filter apparatus 10 shown in FIG 1.

This invention therefore not only maintains operational longevity in relation to components 25A, 30 and 26A but also means that it is only necessary to replace filter body 26A and thus cage 25A and body part may be retained in use for relatively long periods of time.

Claims (6)

1. In line filter apparatus for use in dispensing systems for viscous liquid materials which include as separable components an outer cage, a filter Sbody and a cartridge body which is releasably attached to the outer cage t'q O 5 enclosing the filter body in use. \O (N

2. In line filter apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the cartridge body is releasably attached to the outer cage by mating screw threaded portions.

3. In line filter apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the cartridge body also has an inner cage integrally formed with the cartridge body.

4. In line filter apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein the cartridge body also has a plurality of flow apertures located above the inner cage in use.

In line filter apparatus as claimed in claim 1 substantially as herein described with reference to FIG 2 of the drawings.

6. A method of cleaning or maintaining an in-line filter apparatus in a dispensing system as claimed in claim 1 for dispensing viscous liquid materials which includes the step of separating the outer cage from the cartridge body and cleaning the filter body before replacement of the filter apparatus in the dispensing system.