CA2076911A1 - Expandable multi-ply obliquely oriented honeycomb filter media - Google Patents

Abstract

TITLE

EXPANDABLE MULTI-PLY OBLIQUELY ORIENTED
HONEYCOMB FILTER MEDIA
APPLICANT
HONEYCOMB CONSTRUCTION SERVICES LTD.
INVENTORS
Victor Vernon SPENCER (deceased) c/o his executrix Mary Spencer - and -Leonid Andreevich BAGRIN
ABSTRACT
A multi-ply expandable filter media formed of obliquely oriented honeycomb organized into a ply or run having expandable honeycomb cells with one run oriented at, preferably an acute angle, of 30° to 60° relative to the cells of an adjacent run. Preferably, the respective plys or runs are arranged in relative parallel planes defining a planar space therebetween. There is provided means for collapsing the filter media into a closed compressed, transportable state, and when ready for use as a filter media, to allow the same to be expanded and pulled open and to be constrained in an preselected, open, expanded position so that the cross sectional area of each cell is thereby substantially increased. In this manner, the juxtaposed, open plys allow directional change for airflow flowing through the filter media, encouraging deposits of air-borne material to become attached to the wall surfaces of the family of cells of each run or ply. To enhance adhesion, an adhesive may be sprayed over the cell walls.

Description

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EXPANDA13LE MULTI- PLY OBLI52UELY ORIENT~ED
HONEYCOMB FILTER MEDIA

This in~ention relakes to an expandable multi-ply o~liquely oriented honeycomb filter media, particular]y suitable as a paint arrestor. Each of the cells within a ply is expandable so that the cross-sectional area of the cell may be small whereupon the cell density is grea~er, or large, as may be d~sired.
It is known in the ar~ to use expandable paper products such as honeycomb as an inexpansive and effective paint ov~rspray control media or paint arrestor. Each paint arrestor is placed in th exhaust airflow o~ a paint booth and the like. Paint spray residuals that do not adher~ to the painted ar~icle are entrained in the air flow o~ the exhaust porting from the paint booth, through the paint ; arrestor. For an insxp~nsive paint arresting media, expandable pap~r prod~lcts have been used, but such prior art arrestors are fabricated into a rigid frame and sold as a rigid frame filter pad for inclusion in the downstream air~low emanating ~rom the paint boo-th or painting station within a manufacturing facility. The prior art arrestors wi~h fixed frames snap into a holding grid within the palnt.
~': booth and thus can be easily installed, r~mo~e~ so as to be .~ 25 replaced by a non-contaminated arreskorO
The shipping of such prio.r ~rt arrestors is expensive because the bulk of the shipping volume consi~ts of a.ir spaces formed by the cellular structure of the paint arrestor as it is the cellular str~lcture of the paint arrestor that assis~s greatly in the capture of the entrained paint.
It is an object of the invention to construct ,~ multi-ply, preferably two-plyr or more expandable Pilter i media which, after ~abrication~ may be collapsed into a compact shipping ~orm t.heraby reducing the volumetric ,: 35 shipping space required while, at the same time, allowing simple expansion of th~ filter media when ready or use as ' the replacement filter for existing filter panels or paint J arrestor~ in paint ~iltering stations or the like O
l Inherent to such novel construction is the fact that on ~ .

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expansion, the filter ply or run cross-sectional area o- each open or partially open cell may be adjus~ed so as to be small.
and hence provide for greater cellu:L~r wall capture area for given volume of air10w and when in such small state, the filter m~dia is susceptible to capturing, more efficiently, very small particles entrained in the airflow which passes therethrough. When particle size is larger, or when the volume of air to be pass~d through the media is to b2 increased, the filter media may be expanded whereupon the cross sectional area of each cell of each ply is increased, thereby reducing the resistance to airflow.
It is a further object of the invention to pro~id~ a plurality of plys, each parallel to the other, with the axis of the cells of one ply oriented at an oblique angle 0 relative to the medial axis of the filter ply or run housing or defining the cell and preferably 0 is in the range of 15 and 30 Thus cells in adjacent plys have the cell longitudinal axis oriented relative to ~ach other at an angle 20 which is less than 90 and preferably in the range of 30 to 60. This offset construction causes air passing through the filter media to change direction on leaving the family of cells o~ one ply and entering the adjacent family o~ cells of the next ply and encourages, thereby, the deposition of entrained air-borne materials onto the surfaces of the cells.

The invention will now be described ~y way of example with re~erence to the accompanying drawin~s in which:
Figure 1 is a front elevational view of an embodiment of the invention in its expanded near oparative position;

Figure 2 i5 a persplsctive view of the filter azcording ~ 30 to ~igure 1 in its near fl~lly collapsed on shipping state;
i Figure 3 is a p2rspective view of an alternative embodiment of the in~ention of figures 1 and 2 and an alternative means of holding the filter media open.
Figure 4 is cro~s-sectional view through the two plys o~ the ~ilter of figures 1 through 3.
Figure 5 is a front elevational view Of an embodiment ~, in its collapsed position similar to that of figure 2 whil~
<l figure 5A is a section along lines 5A--5A of figure 5 2 ~

illustrating a multi-ply embodiment.
Figure 6 is a cross-secti.onal v:iew of an embodiment of the filter partially expanded and fi~ure sA is a cross sectional view along lines 6A--6A of figure 6 being a ~wc-ply filter.
Figure 7 is a front elevational view ~f the two-ply filter of ~igure 1 and 3 while ~igure 7A is a ~ross sectional view of figure 7 along lines ~A--7A omitting ~he wi~e frame S.
Figure 8 is a perspective view of a compound filter, a three ply filter juxtaposed to a two-ply iltér.
Figure 9 is a perspective view illustratively of a number of three-ply filters b~ing attached end to end so as to provide a filter of longer length.
Referring to ~igure 1, a paint arrestor 10, according to the invention contemplates a first ~amily of obliquely oriented honeycomb cells plied as run 11 composed of juxtaposed individual honeycomb cells llC, the run 11 being spaced at a predetermined distance 12 ~rom a second family o~
similarly obliquely oriented honeycomb cells or as a run 13 hou~ing honeycomb cells 13C, the relative longitudinal axis orientation of each of the family o~ cells llC and 13C heing , no greater than orthogonal to each other and preferably J' relatively intersecting at an acute angle 20, as seen in figure 4, wherein 0 is the angle between the longitudinal axis between each cell, llC or 13C, and the median plane o~
the run 11 or 13 housing or defining such cells, ie. llC or ~' 13C re~pectively. Thus, t he longitudinal axie, nok showrl, of each cell is parallel to t:he cell walls. Each o~ the ~f~ 30 obliquely oriented honeycc~mb call runs can be fabricated according to the method of manufacturing l'Filter Medial', as ~ disclosed by one o~ th~ ce inventors herein in his U.S.~.
-~I Patent No. 3,949,651 issued 13 April, 1976 (Canadian Patent No~ 993,375)~
The interceding space 12 defined by the honayco~b runs .- 11 and 13, preferably varies between 0.6cm and 2cm. A~er fabrication o~ each run 11 and 13, their respectiv~ ends are ~, glued to corrugated paperboard o~ approximately 1/8'~ thick 'J

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(1.2mm) or paperboard of approx.imately 1/l~" thick (6mm), the latter beinq fabricated from overlaying a plurality of 20 lb.
craft paper sheets to the extent of seven or more layers and gluing each to ~orm such paperboard, multi-ply sides 14 and 16. The inside margin of each side 1~ and 16 is glued to each laterally expanded margin o~ the two runs 11 and 13.
In the embodiment of f igures 1 and 2, the multi ply side 14 prefex ably ext~nds at i ts upper and lower ends through respective bands B to form an upper movable upper flap 14T and a movable lower :lap l~B. Similarly, side 16 has upper flap 16T and lower flap 16B. The longitudinal dimension of each flap of the top or bottom flap~ 14T and : 16T, and 14B and 16B, are the summation of the predetermined distance between the sides 14 and 16 when in the expanded and 1~ locked position of figure 1; ~hus, ~ha resp~c~ive ~is~al ends o~ the top flaps la~T and 16T and the bottom flaps 14B and 16B
abut.
In order to firmly hold the fil-ter media 10 of figures 1 and 2 in the fully open position, the top flaps l~T and 16T
are folded toward each other over the top, as seen, to abut against each other; in a similar ~ashion, as shown, for the bottom flaps 14B and 16B. It is the abutment of the flaps "T" and "B" that hold the media in its expanded position for use.
Referring to the alternative embodimen~ of figure 3, flap~ ~'T" and "B" are not needed and are dispensed with.
Instead, in order to hold the same filter media 10 in the ` fully open position similar to figure 1, a closed loop wire ,~ rod ~rame F is sized so t,l.lat its lateral sides S have ~
leng~h of approximately the height of the filter me~ia a.nd the upper and lower xuns, a length being approximately tXle width o~ the internal dimension of the ~ilter 10. The wi.re sides S therefore urg~ against ths inner margin of the ply sheet sides 14 and 16 and constrain the filter into the open po~i~ion.
~, Referring to figures 1, 4, 7 and 7A, the same depict the embodiment of figure 1 in the open position with the l cross-sectional figures 4 and 7A being th~ same. The angle i ;.

~ 7~ ~ 1 3 0~ is the largest of the range of angles 0, namely, 00 ~hrough 03 and in the embodimen~ o~ figures 1, 7 and 7A, 0~ is 30O
If the filter of figure l ls not extended to its full extent, but partially, the cells llC6 and l3C6 each have the angle 0 which is approximately 22, while in the figure 5~, 0O lS
approximately 15.
The filter lO, .in the embodim~nk of figures l, 2, 5, 6, and 7 may be constrained in any of the three positions therefore, or in any intermediate or other position by, and referring to figures 2 and l by cutting the length of the mova~le tabs 14T and 14~, and 16T and 16B respectively; or, alternatively, as to the embodiment of figure 2, changing the ; dimensional size of the frame F.
Other means of cons~raining the filter to display a preferred cross-sectional ar~a for the cells C, or for the angle 0 will now be apparent to those skilled in the artO If the filter 10, as constructed; is not sufficiently longl and now re~errin~ to figure 9, several may be raspectively glued along the side margins l4 and 16 against each other so as to provide a multi length filter lO as shown in figure 9; that filter illustrated being a three-ply rather than two-ply filter.
In yet another embodiment, and referring to figure 8, ply bank~ may be placed against each other so that, for instance, a three ply filter and consisting of plys P~l, P"
and P~, may be appropriately af~'ixed to a ply bank consisting of a two-ply filter compo~ed o~ P'1 and P'2.
Because each oP the cell walls, or axis o~ each cell, ; is at an acute angle 0 relative to the medial plane of its 3~ run, and each run is parallel to each other and with the ~ planar space 12 therebetween, in the pre~erred embodiment, ',: when airflow passes through ~he ~ilter 10~ it goes throu~h a change o~ direction at the boundary layer with the planar ! spac~ 12 encouraging deposition of air entrained particle~
, 35 onto the cell C walls. Deposition is additionally enhanced f either by changing o~ the crcss-sectional area o~ each cell by reducing the width o~ the ~ilter media 10l or expanding it to its ~ullest extent as seen in ~igures 1 and 7; inherently ., .

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with such change of cellular cross-sec~tional a:rea is ~hat ~he acute angle 0 changes. It is be pre~erred that the change he constrained within the rang~ o~ 15~ ~o 30 so that 20 is in the range of 30 to 60. This offers optimal depo~ition o~
air entrained particles in mos-t instances onto the cell walls. Additional efficiency may be obtained by putting an adhesive A, not clearly shown on the drawings, onto the surfaces each cell C of all the runs or ply5 P in any convenient manner.

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Claims (4)

1. A multi-ply expandable filter media formed of obliquely oriented juxtaposed honeycomb cells defined by a ply or run of expandable material, the run defining each of its juxtaposed cells with the longitudinal axis oriented at an acute angle relative to the median of the run while adjacent, respective runs are arranged to define a relatively inter-planar space between said runs and to orient the longitudinal cell axis of the family of cells of each run at a relatively acute angle and means for clasping the filter media into a closed, compressed, transportable state, and when ready for use as a filter media, to allow the same to be expanded and pulled out and constrained into a predetermined open, expanded position.

2. A multi-ply expandable filter media comprising:
(a) at least two adjacently disposed runs of honeycomb cells, each cell having its longitudinal axis oriented at an acute angle relative to the incremental median of the run;
(b) means for holding the incremental loci of points of each run relatively substantially parallel; and, (c) means for constraining, each cell of each run into a predetermined cross-sectional area.

3. The multi-ply expandable filter media as claimed in claim 2 wherein said means (c) includes means for orienting, the family cells of each adjacent run, at a relatively acute angle.

4. The multi-ply expandable filter media as claimed in claim 3, wherein the acute angle is within the preferred range of 30° to 60°.