GB2364001A

GB2364001A - Air filter device for vehicle ventilating system

Info

Publication number: GB2364001A
Application number: GB0016006A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Dirk Paschwitz
Original assignee: Valeo Climate Control Ltd
Current assignee: Valeo Climate Control Ltd
Priority date: 2000-06-29
Filing date: 2000-06-29
Publication date: 2002-01-16
Anticipated expiration: 2020-06-29
Also published as: FR2810901B1; DE10131383A1; GB0016006D0; FR2810901A1; DE10131383B4; GB2364001B

Abstract

In an air filter device for a vehicle ventilating system comprising an enclosure and an elongate flexible filter member, the enclosure has a pair of spaced opposing wall portions 10, Fig 1, and a plurality of perimeter wall portions 20 to 28 extending between perimetral portions of the opposing wall portions, and the flexible filter member extends along a path between a first perimeter wall portion 23 and a second perimeter wall portion 28 and is retained on said path by engagement with a support 220, Fig 4, of a removable cover member 24 forming a third perimeter wall portion. As described the filter member has end faces 301, 302 abutting the wall portions 23, 28 and side tooth portions 310 which support a zig-zag filter and provide flexibility. The edges of the filter member not supported by the support 220 are retained in grooves defined by beads 31, 40 Fig 1, formed on the opposing wall portions.

Description

2364001 AIR FILTER The present invention relates to an air filter device

for a vehicle ventilating system.

It is now becoming common practice to provide air conditioning systems in passenger vehicles, which air conditioning systems include an air filter for treating incoming air Such filter devices are also found in vehicles having conventional ventilating systems.

Such air filter devices conventionally include a filter member which must be changed before it becomes clogged In some prior art air filter devices changing the filter member is difficult.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to at least partially mitigate difficulties in the prior art.

According to the present invention there is provided an air filter device for a vehicle ventilating system, the device comprising an enclosure and an elongate flexible filter member, said enclosure having a pair of spaced opposing wall portions, each having a respective perimeter, the enclosure further having plural perimeter wall portions extending between said opposing wall portions, wherein said flexible filter member extends along a path between a first and a second of said perimeter wall portions, said plural perimeter wall portions further comprising a removable third perimeter wall portion contiguous with said first perimeter wall portion, said third perimeter wall portion being formed as a cover member, the cover member having a support for engaging said filter member to retain said filter member on said path.

Preferably said filter member has first and second end faces which respectively abut said first and second wall portions.

Conveniently said support comprises an upstanding portion having a face defining a part of said path.

Preferably each of said opposing wall portions defines a respective guide member, said guide member defining a part of said path.

Conveniently said elongate flexible filter member has a portion engaging said guide members.

Advantageously said elongate flexible filter member comprises a frame member having first-fourth frame wall portions depending from a perimetric web, and defining a substantially rectangular aperture housing a filter, said first and third wall portions having outer faces forming said first and second end faces, said second and fourth wall portions being discontinuous to afford flexibility.

Conveniently said second and fourth wall portions comprise a series of tooth portions, each having a width which tapers from a base disposed proximal said web to a distal end portion, wherein the base of each said tooth portion is contiguous with the base of an adjacent tooth portion, and the distal end portions are spaced apart.

Preferably said tooth portions are alike and correspondingly disposed along said second and fourth wall portions and said filter follows a zig-zag path generally corresponding to said tooth portions.

Preferably said path is curved.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- Figure 1 shows an elevation of one half of an enclosure of an air filter device in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 shows an isometric view of a cover member for an air filter device in accordance with the present invention; Figure 3 shows an isometric view of an elongate flexible filter member for an air filter device in accordance with the present invention; and Figure 4 shows a partial cut-away view of the filter device with the filter member and cover in position.

In the various figures, like reference numerals refer to like parts.

In the described embodiment, an air filter enclosure is formed of two moulded plastic half shells, of which an elevation of one is shown in Figure 1 The shell of Figure 1 has a first wall portion 10 having a perimeter and disposed generally in the plane of the page as shown, and plural contiguous perimeter wall portions extending out of the page as shown, around the perimeter of the wall portion 10 The wall portion 10 itself defines a first aperture 11 which in use forms an air inlet opening.

Immediately above (as shown) the air inlet opening 11 a first perimeter wall portion 20 is generally straight and runs parallel to a straight upper (as shown) edge of the opening 11 At the right hand (as shown) extremity, the first perimeter wall portion extends through about 900 to a second straight perimeter wall portion 21 which extends parallel to a downwardly-extending edge 13 of the area at opening 11.

The second wall portion 21 curves anti-clockwise to a third straight wall portion 22 whose extremity turns to a fourth straight wall portion 23 From the end of the fourth straight wall portion 23 a fifth straight wall portion 24 extends in a direction close to parallel to the first wall portion 20, the fifth straight wall portion being a detachable cover member At the left hand extremity of the fifth straight wall portion 24 the perimeter has an inwardly curving wall portion 25 which extends into a seventh straight wall portion 26 substantially parallel to the first wall portion 20 At the left hand, as shown, extremity of the first wall portion 20 there is an outwardly tapering eighth wall portion 27 which extends to a ninth straight wall portion 28 which is parallel to the first wall portion 20 and to the seventh straight wall portion 26 Both the seventh and ninth straight wall portions 26 and 28 curve at their left hand extremities towards one another to define a half circular aperture 30 which in use constitutes an air outlet opening.

The right hand extremity of the sixth wall 25 and the lower extremity of the fourth straight wall 23 define an aperture for insertion of a filter member, the aperture being closable by the cover member 24.

The wall portion 10 has a first upstanding bead 30 which has a first generally straight portion 31 extending at close to 900 from the ninth wall portion 28, a second straight portion 31 which extends at generally 900 from a position near to the lower extremity of the fourth straight wall 23 and a long curving portion 33 which joins the first and second straight portions 31 and 32 Thus, the bead 30 defines a generally curved path between the fourth straight wall and the ninth straight wall.

Further reference to Figure 1 shows that there is provided a second upstanding bead 40 The second upstanding bead 40 has a first straight portion 41 which runs parallel to the first straight portion 31 of the first bead 30 and which extends into a curved portion 42 parallel to a part of the curved portion 33 of the first bead 30 and a second straight portion 43 which extends to the right hand extremity of the sixth straight wall portion 25, by the mouth of the aperture closed by the cover wall 24.

The spacing between the generally parallel portions of the first and second beads 30 and 40 forms a guide for insertion of an elongate flexible filter member, as will later be described herein.

As will be understood by those skilled in the art, there is a second shell portion counterpart to that shown in Figure 1 which engages with the upstanding edges of the perimeter walls 20-23 and 25-28 to form an enclosure having two opposed inlet apertures 11, a lower filter insertion aperture closed by the cover member 24 and a circular air outlet 30.

The cover member 24 will now be further described with respect to Figure 2.

The cover member 24 consists of a generally rectangular plate portion 200 with an upstanding perimeter flange 201 The cover member is generally elongate having a first short side 210 which is intended to use to abut the fourth straight wall portion 23 of the enclosure At the first short end, disposed parallel to and spaced from the perimetric flange 201 is a second upstanding flange 202 The second upstanding flange 202 in use is disposed within the enclosure, the end of the fourth straight wall portion 23 engaging between the perimetric flange 201 and the second flange portion 202 The second flange 202 extends along the opposing long sides 211, 212 of the cover member 24 to form filter member support portions 220, 221 The filter member support portions 220, 221 have first straight portions 223, 224 which correspond in inward extent to the inward extent of the second flange portion 202 before extending into curved portions 225, 226.

The filter member support portion 220,221, when the cover member 24 is installed in the aperture of the disclosure, are generally parallel to the second straight portion 32 and the first part of the curved portion 33 of the bead 30.

Further reference to Figure 2 shows that there are two upstanding external flange portions 230, 231 which are resilient and are shaped to engage the outside of the enclosure to retain the cover in position At both ends, external fingers 240 are provided for securing the cover in position.

Turning now to Figure 3, an embodiment of the filter member in accordance with the present invention will now be described.

The filter member 300 comprises a generally elongate rectangular frame made up of two continuous short straight wall portions 301, 302 and two long discontinuous wall portions 303, 304 All of the wall portions depend from a perimetric web 305 which forms an outwardly-extending flange.

The opposing long wall portions comprise a series, here 29, of tooth portions 310 The tooth portions are all identical in this embodiment Each tooth portion 310 has a width which is such that at the base proximal to the web, each tooth portion is contiguous with an adjacent tooth portion without spacing therebetween, the width tapering from the base to a distal end portion spaced from the base by height equal to substantially the height of the short wall portions 301, 302 The tapering is such that the distal end portions are spaced apart but permitting flexibility of the filter member A filter is disposed within the frame and follows a generally zig-zag path corresponding to the peaks and troughs of the tooth portion.

To insert the filter member 300 into the enclosure, first the cover member 24 is removed and then the end corresponding to wall 302 is introduced between the guide beads, 40, 30 and urged longitudinally until the end corresponding to wall 302 engages the ninth wall portion 28 Then the remainder of the filter is urged transverse to its axis until the flange 305 engages the full length of the bead 30 and the first end 301 engages the fourth straight wall portion 23 At that time, the cover is fitted back into place with the filter support portions 220, 221 co-operating with the remainder of the bead 30 to retain the filter in position.

The sketch in Figure 4 shows the filter member in position in the enclosure with the cover 24 attached.

It will be seen that the length of the elongate filter member is greater than could be achieved by a straight filter member passing from the wall portion 28 to an opposite wall This means that the area available for passage of air is considerably larger which means that the filter need be changed less frequently.

Because the filter member is flexible it can be easily inserted and the use of the cover 24 with its support means that the filter is readily secured in position.

Because the support 220 maintains the filter spaced from any sidewalls along its whole length, the whole of the length of the filter is available for passage of air which in turn means that the maximum area is available for passage of air.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1 An air filter device for a vehicle ventilating system, the device comprising an enclosure and an elongate flexible filter member, said enclosure having a pair of spaced opposing wall portions, each having a respective perimeter, the enclosure further having plural perimeter wall portions extending between said opposing wall portions, wherein said flexible filter member extends along a path between a first and a second of said perimeter wall portions, said plural perimeter wall portions further comprising a removable third perimeter wall portion contiguous with said first perimeter wall portion, said third perimeter wall portion being formed as a cover member, the cover member having a support for engaging said filter member to retain said filter member on said path.

2 The air filter device of claim 1, wherein said filter member has first and second end faces which respectively abut said first and second wall portions.

3 The air filter device of claim 2, wherein said support comprises an upstanding portion having a face defining a part of said path.

4 The air filter device of claim 3, wherein each of said opposing wall portions defines a respective guide member, said guide member defining a part of said path.

The air filter device of claim 4, wherein each of said opposing wall portions defines a respective guide member, said guide member defining a part of said curved path.

6 The air filter device of any preceding claim, wherein said elongate flexible filter member comprises a frame member having first-fourth frame wall portions depending from a perimetric web, and defining a substantially rectangular aperture housing a filter, said first and third wall portions having outer faces forming said first and second end faces, said second and fourth wall portions being discontinuous to afford flexibility.

7 The air filter device of claim 6, wherein said second and fourth wall portions comprise a series of tooth portions, each having a width which tapers from a base disposed proximal said web to a distal end portion, wherein the base of each said tooth portion is contiguous with the base of an adjacent tooth portion, and the distal end portions are spaced apart.

8 The air filter device of claim 7, wherein said tooth portions are alike and correspondingly disposed along said second and fourth wall portions and said filter follows a zig-zag path generally corresponding to said tooth portions.

9 The air filter device of any preceding claim wherein said path is curved.

An air filter device constructed and arranged substantially as herein described with reference to or as shown in the accompanying drawings.