FR2773723A1 - Filter containing multiple cartridges held in a support plate by removable means - Google Patents

Abstract

Many filter cartridges (13) are mounted on a cartridge support plate (3) with holes (18) which has removable means (30) of holding the cartridges on the plate. The cartridges are arranged in threes, in triangles, and the means of holding is formed of a rod and an element with three arms or lobes which rotates to hold or release the three cartridges. Filter (1) containing several tubular cartridges (13) extending along a longitudinal axis (19) perpendicular to the plate. Each means of holding comprises an elongated first element (30) such as a rod, tube or bar, extending parallel to the cartridges with one end fixed to the support plate, a second element with three arms extending with rotational symmetry about the longitudinal axis, such as three coplanar arms at 120 deg., and an organ (39) connecting these two elements. The arms of the second element are deformable or articulated and have ovoid or spheroidal faces to press on one end of the cartridges. The second element pivots or articulates on the first element, with the organ connecting them being a screw, nut, excentric or rotating wedge. The support plate is made of plastic with the means of holding the cartridges molded on, and includes means of sealing the cartridges to the plate around each hole. Filter formed in an envelope with two symmetrical cylindrical parts, gas inlets and outlets and with a plate as described held between the flanges of the two cylindrical parts so the axes of the cartridges are aligned with the axis of the envelope. The parts of the filter are metal and the filter is lined with insulation. The number of cartridges is between 10 and 500, each with a height of between 100 and 500 mm and the ratio of spacing of the cartridges to their diameter is between 1.05 and 1.5. The cartridges contain a filter medium made of active carbon threads or fibres.

Description

Improvements to tubular cartridge filters
The present invention relates to improvements made to a filter comprising a plurality of cartridges, in particular tubular cartridges with a fibrous structure essentially constituted by a tube of filter medium based on active carbon fibers.

 The technical sector of the invention is the field of manufacturing active carbon filters usable for the filtration of water and air in particular.

 It is known to use active carbon filters for the filtration of water or air to trap particles present in a fluid; it is known in particular from patent application FR 2,664,624, an activated carbon fabric and its manufacturing process; this document describes an activated carbon fabric consisting of threads comprising a core formed of high modulus carbon fibers, covered with an active carbon coating; the core of the composite yarn consists of fibers made of a material chosen from preoxidized polyacrylonitrile, viscose and pitch, and the coating of the core of the composite yarn is chosen from viscose and phenolic resins.

 A difficulty linked to the use of tubular cartridges with a fibrous structure, in particular cartridges based on activated carbon fibers, results from the disparity in the length of the cartridges.

 The object of the present invention is to provide a very simple interchangeable cartridge filter which overcomes this difficulty.

 An objective pursued by the invention is to provide a filter provided with a plurality of tubular cartridges with a fibrous structure, which comprises removable cartridge fixing means which are very simple.

 Another objective pursued by the invention is to propose a filter whose structure is very simple and inexpensive to manufacture and which is easily adaptable to receive a very variable and high number of cartridges.

The solution to the problem posed consists, in accordance with the invention, in proposing a filter comprising several tubular cartridges, in particular cartridges or filter elements with a fibrous structure, which comprises
- a cartridge support plate pierced with orifices,
- deformable means for connecting (or retaining or holding) removable cartridges on the plate
for this purpose, the deformable connecting means comprise at least one deformable part and / or at least two displaceable parts (movable) relative to one another, so as to adapt to geometric disparities of the cartridges (deemed identical), and in particular to allow by simple means a reliable and removable fixing of the cartridges, the height (or length) of which varies; this in particular makes it easier to assemble and disassemble the filter cartridges.

According to preferred embodiments of the invention:
- The filter comprises several identical deformable means of connection which each secure to the plate a number of cartridges multiple of three; the orifices provided in the plate and allowing the passage of the fluid through the latter, are arranged in a regular or equilateral triangular pitch, which makes it possible to obtain a filter of compact circular section and which makes it possible to use a single type of deformable connection means
- the cartridges are arranged substantially parallel to each other on a layer (or level) or else stacked coaxially to form stacks of two to six cartridges, on at least one face of the plate
- the cartridges extend along a longitudinal axis substantially perpendicular to the median plane of the plate
each of the deformable connecting means comprises a first elongate connecting element such as a
rod, tube or bar, extending parallel to the
cartridges or stacks of cartridges, one end of which is
fixed to the cartridge support plate,
b a second connecting element provided with three arms (or lobes
or projections) extending substantially in a symmetry of
revolution along the longitudinal axis of the first connecting element,
such as three coplanar arms arranged at 1200,
*
a manual position and / or linkage adjustment member
and / or locking in position of said first and second elements
of connection with each other,
which makes it possible to easily adapt the deformable connecting means to the height of a cartridge or a stack of cartridges using a first connecting element of suitable length and a second connecting element (as well as an adjusting member or of connection) whose dimensions are determined according to the triangular pitch of spacing of the cartridges
- The arms of the second connecting element are deformable or articulated, and / or said arms are provided with bearing faces on one end of the cartridges, which is of ovoid or spheroid shape
- Said second connecting element (deformable connecting means) is pivotally or articulated on the first element, which allows the deformable connecting means to be produced simply
- The adjustable connecting or blocking member of said first and second elements is essentially constituted by a screw, a nut, an eccentric or a rotating wedge actuated by a lever
- Said plate is made of plastic, is fitted with molded inserts or inserts for anchoring or fixing one end of the deformable connecting means; alternatively, the plate can be metallic, for example made of aluminum alloy; said filter further comprises sealing means between said plate and said cartridges around each orifice provided in the plate
the filter comprises an envelope essentially composed of two parts, of cylindrical symmetry, each part being provided with a transit orifice, that is to say inlet or outlet for fluid, and being closed at one end by a curved bottom and provided at its second end with a flange; the plate can be mounted pinched at its periphery between said flanges; said parts are preferably aligned along the longitudinal axis of the filter; this allows simple and inexpensive manufacture of the casing and the filter
- Said filter envelope parts are preferably metallic and internally coated with a thermally insulating coating, and the longitudinal axes of the cartridges and of the envelope are vertical
- Said plate is substantially symmetrical with respect to a median plane, which makes it possible to fix cartridges on either side of the plate
- the filter is equipped with a number of cartridges between 10 and 500, each cartridge having a height of the order of 100 to 500 millimeters
the ratio of the triangular pitch of the orifices provided in the plate to the diameter of the cartridges is between 1.05 and 1.5, preferably between 1.1 and 1.25
- Said cartridges comprise a filter medium essentially consisting of son or fibers woven or not, activated carbon or carbon.

 The filters according to the invention are particularly suitable for purifying polluted air loaded with volatile organic components, such as those resulting from the use of solvents.

 The advantages provided by the invention will be better understood through the following description which refers to the appended drawings, which illustrate without any limiting nature the preferred embodiments of the invention.

 In the drawings, identical or similar elements, unless otherwise indicated, have the same references from one figure to another.

 Figure 1 is a side view of a filter with a vertical axis, of generally cylindrical shape and equipped with curved bottoms.

 Figure 2 is a partial sectional half-view of the envelope of a filter such as that shown in Figure 1, and illustrates the arrangement of batteries of two cartridges on either side of the cartridge support plate, making part of a filter according to the invention.

 Figure 3, which is a view along III of Figure 2 illustrates a top view of the implantation on the support plate of 54 cartridges or 54 stacks of cartridges and also illustrates a preferred embodiment of deformable connecting means of the cartridges the plaque.

 Figures 4 to 6 illustrate three variants of detail II of Figure 2, that is to say three alternative embodiments of the connection of a rod 30 (forming part of the deformable means for fixing cartridges) to the plate of the filter, schematically in section view on an enlarged scale.

 Figures 7 and 8 illustrate two alternative embodiments (also in schematic sectional view on an enlarged scale) of the sealed connection between the base of a cartridge and the cartridge support plate.

 FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate in partial cross-section view two alternative embodiments of the deformable means for connecting cartridges to the support plate and are views according to B / B of FIG. 3.

 Figure 12 is a view along XII of Figure 11 and illustrates a top view of a particular embodiment of the locking means forming part of the deformable connecting means.

 FIG. 13 illustrates another alternative embodiment of a connection element forming part of the deformable connection means and equipped with ball joints.

 With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the filter 1 which extends along a vertical axis 2, comprises a substantially flat plate 3 mounted clamped between two flanges 4, 5 equipping respectively the upper part 6 and the lower part 7 of the envelope. the filter; the flanges 4 and 5 and the plate 3 are assembled by bolts 10, seals 11 ensure a tight assembly of the parts 3, 6, 7.

 Each part 6, 7 of the envelope has a cylindrical central part of axis 2, terminated by a respective bottom 8, 9, and is open at its second end comprising said flange; the two envelope parts delimit a closed space 12 containing a plurality of identical filter cartridges 13 which are fixed to the plate 3, which plate divides the space 12 into two chambers: an inlet chamber (upper) and a chamber outlet (lower).

 With reference to FIG. 1 in particular, an inlet pipe 14 and an outlet pipe 15 are respectively fixed to the parts 6 and 7 of the casing to allow the fluid (gas) to be filtered to enter then leave the filtration space 12 of filter 1; the filter 1 rests on the ground by feet 16 extending parallel to the axis 2.

 The metal envelope 6, 7 is coated internally with a layer of a thermally insulating coating 21, which makes it possible to accelerate the heating of the cartridges for the desorption and elimination of the trapped particles (such as volatile organic compounds). by the cartridge, during a cartridge cleaning cycle.

 With reference to FIGS. 2, 3, 7 and 8 in particular, the plate 3 extends along a plane 17 perpendicular to the axis 2 and is pierced with a plurality of orifices 18 with an axis 19 parallel to the axis 2; the orifices 18 and the axes 19 are arranged (FIG. 3) according to a regular and constant pitch 20, that is to say according to a triangular pitch: the traces of the axes 19 in the plane of the figure, form the vertices of triangles adjacent equilateral.

 Each cartridge 13 is essentially constituted by a filter medium 22 such as a roll or a tube of fabric of activated carbon fibers, which extends along the longitudinal axis 19 of the cartridge; the medium defines a central channel 23 of longitudinal axis 19 which, when the cartridge is fixed to the plate 3, is in the extension of an orifice 18; the circulation 24 of the fluid to be filtered is carried out by passing (substantially radially with reference to the axis 19) through the medium 22, from the outside of the cartridge to the channel 23, in the upper part of the filter 1 (FIG. 2), then inversely from the channel 23 towards the outside 12 of the cartridge in the lower part of the filter 1, after having passed through the orifice 18 through which the channels of the cartridges disposed on either side of the plate 3 communicate.

 In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, a stack of two cartridges 13 is provided on either side of the plate 3; in alternative embodiments not shown, it is possible to provide, for each orifice 18 of the plate, a single cartridge on either side of it, or else a single or more cartridge (s) disposed (s) on one side of the plate, depending on the flow rate of the fluid to be treated and the authorized pressure drops.

 The medium tube 22 is provided at each longitudinal end with a cap or end piece 25 in the form of a disc or plug pierced with an orifice extending the channel 23; the seal between the end piece and the plate is obtained by a flat seal 26 (FIG. 7) or by an O-ring 27 (FIG. 8) in the latter case, a groove 28 is provided in the plate 3, centered on the axis 19 and / or surrounding each orifice 18.

 The fixing of the cartridges or stacks of cartridges to the plate is ensured by deformable means of removable connection described below with reference to Figures 2 to 6 and 10 to 14 in particular.

 These means comprise a rod 30, for example metallic or plastic, which extends along a longitudinal axis 29 and is fixed by its threaded lower end 32, by screwing in a tapped hole provided in the metal plate 3 (FIG. 6), or by screwing into an insert 31 (Figures 4 and 5) provided (for example overmolded) in the plate 3 when the latter is made of plastic; the insert 31 (Figure 4) is symmetrical relative to the median plane 17 of the plate 3 and allows the attachment of two rods 30 arranged on either side of the plate; the length of the rod 30 in Figure 2 is substantially greater than twice the height or length 33 of the cartridges 13; in order to compensate for the fact that the length 33 of the cartridges is liable to vary in relatively large proportions, that is to say by several millimeters, the connection means are deformable and preferably make it possible to immobilize three cartridges or three batteries of adjacent cartridges (FIG. 3) thanks to their deformable characteristics and to their structure comprising three arms each pressing on the end 34 (opposite the plate) of the cartridge or stack of cartridges.

 The axes 29 of the rods 30 are arranged in a regular triangular (equilateral) pitch 35 which is double the pitch 20 of triangular spacing of the cartridges and their respective longitudinal axes 19.

 The connecting means further comprise a support piece 36 of three-headed or three-lobed shape, that is to say comprising three arms 37 extending for example radially with respect to the axis 29 of the rod, and whose l free end 38 presses on the end 34 of the cartridge or stack of cartridges which is provided with an element sealing the end of the channel 23 which it delimits, in order to ensure the circulation of the fluid to be filtered through the medium filtering.

 Preferably, each arm 37 is supported on the part 34 by an ovoid or spheroidal face or surface capable of ensuring a bearing contact on this part 34 in slightly different relative positions of the parts 37 and 34; this ensures good support contact when the three arms 37 of the same piece 36 are inclined at different angles relative to the longitudinal axes of cartridges and / or relative to the contact faces of the ends 34 of cartridges, which differences in inclination result from a difference in dimension (measured with reference to the plate) resulting from a difference in height between the three cartridges or stacks of cartridges concerned.

 The support piece 36 can be slidably mounted along the upper end of the rod 30, thanks to a central bore with which it is provided; the locking in position of the support piece 36 relative to the rod 30 can be obtained by a nut 39 (Figure 2) screwed to the upper end of the rod 30; locking can also be obtained by a lever mechanism 40 (Figures 10 to 12); this lever is used (Figure 10) to actuate an eccentric 41 pivotally mounted along an axis 42 at the upper end of the rod 30 to press by its lower face on the part 36 during rotation of the lever according to arrow 45; in the alternative embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12, the rotation 46 of the lever 40 along the axis 29 causes the application of a downward vertical bearing force on the part 36, which is exerted by the underside of a rotary corner 43 whose inclined upper face bears on the inclined lower face of a second corner 44 fixed to the end of the rod.

 These simple means make it possible to simply lock and unlock groups of three cartridges or three stacks of cartridges by manual action on the lever or the nut.

The deformability of the connection means of the plate cartridges can result in particular
- the flexibility of the arms 37, and / or
- the flexibility of the rod 30, and / or
- elastic return means integrated into the latch or the rod or the arm, such as a spring (not shown), and / or
- A pivot or ball joint provided between the rod 30 and the part 36 or else integrated into one of the arms 37, and / or
- The presence of the ovoid or spheroidal contact surface for supporting the end 38 of the arms on the upper face 34 of the cartridges.

 In cartridge layout configurations such as that shown in FIG. 3, it is possible to fix an additional cartridge (not shown) in the center of the plate or in free spaces; this cartridge could be fixed by a device consisting of two vertical rods connected by a bar resting on the cartridge.

Claims (10)

 1. Filter (1) comprising several tubular cartridges (13), characterized in that it comprises  - a cartridge support plate (3) pierced with orifices (18),  - Deformable means (30, 36) for removable connection of the cartridges on the plate.  2. Filter according to claim 1, which comprises several identical deformable connecting means, which each secure to the plate a number of cartridges multiple of three, and in which orifices (18) are arranged in a regular triangular pitch (20).  3. Filter according to any one of claims 1 or 2, wherein the cartridges extend along a longitudinal axis (19) perpendicular to the median plane (17) of the plate (3), and wherein each of the deformable means of binding involves  - a first elongate connecting element (30) such as a rod, a tube or a bar, extending parallel to the cartridges or stacks of cartridges, a first end of which is fixed to the cartridge support plate,  a second connecting element (36) provided with three arms extending substantially in a symmetry of revolution along the longitudinal axis of the first connecting element, such as three coplanar arms (37) arranged at 1200,  - A member (39 to 44) for connecting said first and second connecting elements.  4. Filter according to claim 3, in which the arms (37) of the second connecting element (36) are deformable or articulated, or in which said arms are provided with bearing faces on one end (34) of the cartridges, ovoid or spheroid.  5. Filter according to any one of claims 3 or 4, wherein said second connecting element (36) is pivotally or articulated on the first element (30).  6. Filter according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the connecting member of said first and second elements consists essentially of a screw, a nut (39), an eccentric (41) or a rotating wedge (43 ).  7. Filter according to any one of claims 1 to 6, in which said plate is made of plastic and is provided with overmolded members for fixing one end of the deformable connecting means, and said filter further comprises means ( 26, 27) sealing between said plate (3) and said cartridges (13) around each orifice (18).  8. Filter according to any one of claims 1 to 7, which comprises an envelope composed of two parts (6, 7) of cylindrical symmetry, each part being provided with a gas inlet or outlet, and being closed at one end by a curved bottom and provided at its second end with a flange (4, 5), and in which the plate (3) is pinched at its periphery between said flanges (4, 5) and in which said parts (6, 7) are aligned along the longitudinal axis (2) of the filter.  9. Filter according to claim 8, wherein said parts (6, 7) of the filter are metallic and coated internally with a thermally insulating coating (21).  10. Filter according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein said plate (3) is substantially symmetrical with respect to a median plane (17), which allows to fix cartridges (13) on one side or on either side of the plate, which filter is equipped with a number of cartridges between 10 and 500, each cartridge having a height of the order of 100 to 500 millimeters, and in which the ratio of the triangular pitch ( 20) orifices (18) provided in the plate with the diameter of the cartridges, is between 1.05 and 1.5, and in which said cartridges comprise a filter medium essentially consisting of son or fibers of activated carbon.