Manual winding device for an air filter in a ventilation opening

Abstract

To provide a manual winding device for a filter after using a cloth air filter in a ventilation opening part which is practical and versatile.SOLUTION: A manual winding device for a filter after use of a fabric air filter on a ventilation opening present on a casing of a machine or electrical apparatus requiring filtration of suction air, comprising: A winding reel whose ends are supported by a guide pin 21 and a drive pin 22 for the filter during winding; the pins are supported on special sides joined to the coupling base; the side pressers 7 slide in the grooves between a rest position 19 and a working position; the coupling base 8 has a support on the back side for housing a permanent magnet; guide ears for said fabric filter during winding are applied to the coupling base; each pin has a bayonet-shaped serration 23 suitable for being optionally inserted in a pin seat at a specific pin seat 24 allowing the insertion of a support and guide or drive pin.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a manual winding device for a fabric air filter after its use in a ventilation opening, i.e., a device for winding up a used air filter, generally made of filter fabric, in which the filter is unwound from a filter housing and a filter support of a known type, where the used filter is wound into a roll after its use in the opening arranged inside the opening for filtering the air drawn in by the opening. The configuration of the winding device must be versatile for the size of the roll filter used. The manual winding device for used filters moves the filter fabric so that a new filter fabric is placed over the air suction opening, and collects the used filter containing the dust filtered from the air. [Background technology]

[0002] The current state of the art includes filters for air intake and ventilation openings, in which a roll of filter fabric is housed within a rectangular casing sized to accommodate the wound roll of filter fabric for unwinding. These filter fabric filters are known for use in intake openings of electrical cabinets, electronic equipment, and similar containers where it is necessary to remove atmospheric dust from the incoming cooling air. The filter fabric is unwound from the casing located near the air opening, thus covering the opening itself and filtering the cooling air being drawn into the equipment. Furthermore, such roll filters are used continuously or over time, depending on the use of the equipment to which they are attached. However, to replace the filter fabric that becomes soiled with dust captured from the intake air during use, it is necessary to provide a new cloth covering the air opening.

[0003] The use of rolled filter cloth therefore involves continuous maintenance and control of the air filtering capacity of the portion of the filter cloth covering the suction opening, i.e., maintenance personnel must periodically check the filtering capacity of the filter cloth and position new filter cloths to cover the air openings, and collect used filters.

[0004] The prior art includes devices for rewinding filter cloth from a filter cloth dispenser wound into a roll, as described in JP2015213898A. The device includes a filter and various attachment options, allowing the filter to be retrieved under electrical control. Devices are also known that simply drive the filter cloth to form an air filter, with a bottom outlet for the used filter, which is contaminated with particles taken in from the air. These mechanized devices consist of a simple drive of the filter cloth from a roll, as in WO2021014477, which describes various dimensions and drive structures; or, as known from IT102021000001205, the used filter cloth is rewound by electrical actuation, commanded and controlled by an operator's settings.

[0005] These known devices, given the use of a motor-driven or winding-up control of the filter when the filter is wound up by winding, represent considerable costs in relation to the cost of the filter itself and possibly the cost of the casing that houses it, which is replaced when the fabric filter is used and worn out with dust. In fact, although the adoption of a filter drive device occurs automatically in a limited number of applications in filtering the intake air, the majority of applications require occasional, i.e., non-continuous, maintenance intervention by a maintenance technician, which makes the higher cost of the automatic device uneconomical for the user.

[0006] Thus, devices are also known in the art that allow manual winding of used filter cloth by hand, making collection of used filter cloth in a container below the point of application more practical, and providing an improvement over simple forms of easily tearing or manually driving the soiled filter to a convenient location on the floor.

[0007] Additionally, commercially available manual rewinders for used filter fabric are known, in which used filters are wound onto a take-up reel with their ends supported by a spring-loaded pin on the left side of the reel and a fixed drive pin on the right; the drive pin is connected to a knob for manual rotation control by an operator. Each of the pins is supported on a specific side of the device, and the two sides are connected to a metal base that provides a gap between them to allow the fabric filter to pass through for winding onto the reel. An upper telescopic foot is housed in a shaped groove formed in the two sides; the telescopic foot is spring-loaded and slides within the groove between a rest position away from the reeled filter and an operating position that determines the point at which the filter faces the air opening it covers, which occurs by snapping the end of the spring-loaded telescopic foot into the side. The metal base has a support on its back side that houses a permanent magnet, allowing the device to grip the surface of a casing where the air opening is typically ferromagnetic. A small sheet is connected to the metal base to guide the fabric filter during winding.

[0008] As shown, the main limitation of the described manual feeding solution lies in the combination of the reel components: the reel can only be positioned based on the positioning of the reel drive pin and spring-loaded reel guide pin during reeling; i.e., whether the reel can be operated from the right or left is determined during manufacturing, and the pins cannot be reversed later; furthermore, the use of metal material for the base that spaces the sides makes it expensive to assemble and manufacture manual cloth filter reelers in various sizes to accommodate changing requirements for the shapes of the suction air openings for which the filters may be intended. Furthermore, the connection of the sides to the metal base, the connection of an appropriate number of permanent magnets to the base for accurate support, and the adaptation of the device to the specific size of the filter being reeled are important. This is impractical and therefore very expensive when it comes to niche manufacturing, where a large number of manual reelers must be able to be manufactured in the required sizes of cloth filters for different vent dimensions, and where it is necessary to manufacture them at an obviously low cost.

[0009] This current state of the art allows for advantageous improvement in the possibility of a manual winding device for fabric air filters after their use in ventilation openings, which would overcome the limitations of the prior art discussed above and allow for previously unavailable versatility and cost savings for the recovery of used and dust-soiled fabric belt filters recovered from the filtered air.

[0010] The technical problem underlying the present invention is therefore to create a manual winding device for fabric air filters after their use in ventilation openings that is more practical and versatile than those known in the art.

[0011] One objective underlying the previous technical challenges is to make a manual filter winding device that is not only practical and versatile, but also has low manufacturing costs, thus enabling mass production of the manual winding device.

[0012] A further and not inconsiderable object of the present invention is to create a manual winding device that is practical and versatile, as well as economical to manufacture, and that can meet the dimensional requirements of a user for filtering air at the specific size air opening required by the fabric filter being wound.

[0013] A further aspect of the technical problem addressed relates to the versatility of possible high or low speed operation of the manual winding device. Summary of the Invention

[0014] According to the invention, this problem is solved by a manual winding device for a fabric air filter after use on a ventilation opening present on the casing of a machine or electrical device which requires the filtration of intake air, the device comprising a winding reel whose ends are supported by guide pins and drive pins for the filter when wound up; the pins are each supported on a special side connected to a connecting base; side presses slide in grooves between a rest position and an operating position; the connecting base has a support on its rear side for accommodating a permanent magnet which enables the device to grip the surface of the casing on which the ventilation opening is present, which is generally ferromagnetic; guide lugs for the fabric filter when wound up are applied to the connecting base; and each pin, i.e. the support and guide pin and the drive pin, has a bayonet-shaped serration suitable for optional insertion into a pin seat present on each of the two sides, i.e. the right molded side and the left molded side, optionally on one or the other molded side, in a specific pin seat which allows the insertion of the pin, i.e. the support and guide or drive pin,

[0015] In a further embodiment, the manual reel device comprises a sawtooth protrusion formed on the drive pin (22) that cannot be removed after insertion into the pin seat selected by the user during initial installation.

[0016] In a further improved embodiment, the side pressers have their ends inserted into hollow cams on the sides that are shaped on both the right and left sides to form the grooves.

[0017] In yet a further embodiment variation, the side pressers are held in the operative position by presser positioning tabs disposed on the hollow cams.

[0018] Furthermore, in a specific improved embodiment, the positioning tabs of the side presser are accessible from the outside of the respective molded side, i.e., the right or left, through tab release slits when removing the fabric filter wound on the take-up reel.

[0019] Furthermore, in a further advantageous embodiment, the right and / or left aforementioned molded sides are glued or otherwise connected by a possibly detachable connection.

[0020] Furthermore, in certain embodiments, the connecting base is made of a plastic material as a unitary member.

[0021] Furthermore, in an improved embodiment, the connecting base is made to have magnet insertion seats distributed on its rear surface facing the casing.

[0022] Finally, the manual reel in the plastic embodiment described above includes a connecting base formed from a single modular mold that allows for the use of a specific width of fabric filter to be reeled in the manual reel made therewith.

[0023] Further features and advantages of the present invention in creating a manual winding device for a fabric air filter after its use in a ventilation opening will emerge from the following description of its construction and embodiments, given by way of guidance and not limitation, with reference to the four accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0024] [Figure 1] 1 shows a perspective view and a schematic diagram of a manual winding device for a fabric air filter prepared to be applied to a wall of a casing having ventilation openings that need to be filtered. [Figure 2] 1 shows a schematic and perspective front view of a manual winding device shown in exploded form to show the components and their assembly position; [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a front schematic view of a winding device for collecting used filters onto a reel, but here the view does not include the central part and highlights the end parts for supporting and driving the reel for collecting soiled cloth filters; the view shows the overall dimensions of the filter and the support and drive pins of the reel, shown in longitudinal section at the support and drive points. [Figure 4] 1 shows a schematic view from above of the support, guide and drive pins of the winding device and reel, but here the central section is missing as in the previous figure to highlight the shape and positioning of the ends for supporting and driving the reel and the side pressures in the sides of the winding device in limited longitudinal section. [Figure 5] 5 shows a schematic front perspective view of a wall with a ventilation opening above which a fabric filter dispenser is positioned, with the winding device ready to receive a fabric filter. FIG. [Figure 6] 6 shows a front perspective schematic view of a wall with a ventilation opening above which a fabric filter dispenser is located, and in FIG. 6 a fabric filter is being pulled out of the dispenser and wound onto a collection reel of a winding device located below the ventilation opening. [Figure 7] 2, a schematic and perspective rear view of the manual winding device in exploded form to show the components and their assembly positions. [Figure 8] 8 shows a schematic cross section of the winding device taken along line VIII-VIII of FIG. 3, showing the function and insertion of the support and guide pins, the path of the fabric filter during winding, and the position of the side pressure members. [Figure 9] 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line IX-IX of FIG. 3, showing the function and insertion of the drive pin of the collection reel winding device when winding up the used filter, and the position where the side presser takes up. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0025] The figure shows a manual winding device 1 for a fabric filter 2 on the ventilation opening 3, applied to a universal casing 4 having the air opening 3 through which the suction air A passes; the fabric filter 2 is drawn out from a dispenser 5 of known type and, after passing in front of the air opening, is wound onto a winding reel 6, which is arranged on top of the manual winding device 1 and has side pressers 7 which hold the fabric filter 2 in a precise position over the ventilation opening 3, as shown in Figure 6.

[0026] The manual reel 1 includes a connecting base 8 sized to accommodate the width of the fabric filter 2 and provided with two molded sides, one of which is a right side 10 and one of which is a left side 11, connected by a locating slot 13 and a releasable connection 14; the side holds 7 are housed in hollow cams 15 present within each molded side 10 and 11 to accommodate ends 16 of the side holds; the hollow cams 15 each have a tab 17 for positioning the side holds 7, which can be released from by slits 18 present in the outer portions of each molded side 10 and 11; this allows the side holds 7 to be repositioned to a rear position 19 ( FIG. 5 ) as needed, allowing the wound filter to be removed and a new reel to be positioned on the manual reel 1 to wind a new fabric filter 2, thereby replacing the previous one in the dispenser 5. Known dispensers typically include take-up reels standardized for the specific width of the fabric filter housed therein.

[0027] The figure further shows the support and drive pins of said take-up reel 6; each pin, i.e. both the support and drive pin 21 housed in the visible left molded side 11 and the support and drive pin 22 housed in the visible right molded side 10, has a bayonet-shaped sawtooth portion 23 for insertion into the right molded side 10 or the left molded side 11 itself; each pin is therefore assembled by insertion into a pin seat 24 which houses the pin itself and is shaped to engage with said bayonet-shaped sawtooth portion 23 of the respective pin; the sawtooth projections 23 and the pin seat 24 are symmetrical, making it possible to insert the support and guide pin 21 or even the drive pin 22 either into the right molded side 10 or, conversely, into the left molded side 11, as desired; it is therefore possible to leave the decision of whether to drive on the right or left side of the manual take-up device 1 to the user.

[0028] The figure finally shows the end 26 of the support and guide pin 21 engaging with a corresponding end 27 of the take-up reel 6. The reel thus has teeth 28 on its opposite side, which engage with corresponding drive teeth 29 of the drive pin 22, which in turn is actuated by a knob 30 at the opposite end of the drive pin 22; on said knob 30 there is a crank button 31 to allow high-speed take-up when required. There are also guide ears 32 for the fabric filter 2 during take-up; in the figure, the guide ears are an integral part of the connecting base 8. On the rear side of the connecting base there are also various seats 33 for the insertion of permanent magnets 34, which can be positioned during manufacture or at the user's choice in the width of the fabric filter 2 to be used, or even to achieve a more magnetically advantageous gripping position on the casing 4. If the surface of the receiving part 4 is not ferromagnetic, there are fastening holes 35 in the usual way using screws.

[0029] After use of the fabric air filter 1 in the ventilation opening 3, use of the manual winding device for said filter begins by inserting the reel 6 into the end 27 of the winding reel 6 between the support and guide ends 26 of the support and guide pin 21; the opposite end of the reel with the teeth 28 is first inserted into the drive teeth 29 of the drive pin 22, and then the support and guide pin 21 is inserted into the respective seat 24 of the pin with the serrated projection 23 to properly support and hold the winding reel 6, thus introducing the support and guide end 26 into the end 27 of the reel with the pin receptacle. Since the manual winding device 1 is already positioned in the correct position in the wall of the casing 4 to receive the fabric filter 2, FIG. 5, the side presser 7 is therefore positioned in the rear position 19 to allow the fabric filter 2 to pass towards the winding reel 6. Once the fabric filter 2 is wound onto the take-up reel, the side presser foot 7 is positioned in the forward operating position, with the end of the presser foot 16 held by the positioning tab 17 of the presser foot in the operating position. The user can then drive the desired amount of fabric filter 2 and position it to cover the ventilation opening 3, FIG. 6. The user can decrease the winding speed by directly operating the knob 30, or increase it by operating the crank button 31.

[0030] The aforementioned slow or fast drive is operated by the user as needed when using the fabric filter 2 to filter air A drawn through the ventilation opening 3. The right or left position of the drive pin 22 is determined by the initial assembly of the manual reel 1; in fact, the bayonet-shaped serrations 23 and the pin 24 seat of each right or left molded side 10 or 11 can be made similar, but the drive pin 22 has the bayonet-shaped serrations 23 that make release more difficult, precisely to prevent the drive pin from disengaging from the pin seat 24 during filter reeling. However, even the drive pin 22, if made to be disassembled after initial installation, can include a more secure shape for the serrations 23, making unintentional removal difficult but not difficult for the user to voluntarily remove by selecting a different ventilation opening for placement of the manual reel 1.

[0031] The manual rewinding device 1 is assembled starting from the connecting base 8, which is advantageously manufactured by molding plastic into a single piece in the size expected for the width of the fabric filters 2 to be rewound by the rewinding device. Different widths of the connecting base 8 can be advantageously obtained in a modular manner by inserting more or fewer permanent magnet insert seats into the mold of the back part of the connecting base, thus varying the distance between the filter guide ears 32, to obtain predetermined dimensions for accommodating and rewinding fabric filters 2 of different widths onto the respective rewinding reels 6, as shown in Figure 7. Variations in the distance between the filter guide ears 32, and therefore also the distance between the right and left molded sides, can also be obtained in a simpler manner by manufacturing the connecting base 8 without the presence of the insert seats 33 for permanent magnets 34, but always checking the actual distance between the guide ears 32 of the fabric filters 2.

[0032] The production of the connecting base 8 in the width envisaged for a particular fabric filter 2 can advantageously be carried out by creating a modular plastic connecting base mould, i.e. it can be configured from a minimum width to a maximum width as required, so that different widths envisaged for use can be produced and fabric filters 2 of the corresponding widths can be wound up.

[0033] In production assembly, the right molding 10 and left molding 11 sides are joined by inserting slots 13 into the surfaces in combination with the connecting base 8 and the respective molding sides; in the illustration, the joining is performed by clamping the releasable connecting parts 14 so as to position the pin seats 24 in the correct mutual position and at the correct distance from the connecting base. In addition to the illustrated method, the joining operation can also be performed with a strong adhesive so that the connection between the connecting base and the respective molding side cannot be released.

[0034] The advantages of using a manual winding device on a fabric air filter after use of the filter on a ventilation opening can be summarized as follows:

[0035] The manufacture of the parts is limited to a connecting base 8 of a width appropriate to the width of the fabric filter 2 to be wound up; the two shaped sides, in their different right 10 or left 11 configuration, are manufactured identically for all widths of fabric filters 2 to be collected by the winding device, the support and guide pins 21 and drive pins 22 are manufactured and supplied to the user without being inserted into their respective pin seats 24, and the side presses are simple tubes manufactured to the width required for insertion of their ends 16 into the hollow cams 15 of the shaped sides and to the specific width of the fabric filter 2 to be wound up.

[0036] During assembly, the user selects the side on which the drive is desired and inserts the corresponding pin 22 into the seat 24 by rotating the sawtooth projection 23, ensuring that said drive pin rotates in the selected receptacle, so that the guide and support pin 21 on the opposite side is also free when the take-up reel 6 is assembled. To put the reeling device 1 into operation, the user places the connecting base 8, equipped with an appropriate number of permanent magnets 34, in a position below the ventilation opening 3 to be protected.

[0037] For use, the user assembles the take-up reel 6, first introducing the end with the teeth 28 into engagement with the teeth 29 of the drive pin 22, and then introducing the support and guide pin 21 into the end 27 of the reel, taking care to position it through the seat 24 of the molded side to which it is attached, which holds it in place after rotation of the sawtooth projection 23.

[0038] This provides the user with a manual winding device for the fabric filter 2 that is easy to install and versatile in terms of the possible choices of placement and control location. Thus, and the shape of the knob 30 with the crank button 31 allows further ease for the user by being able to operate the fabric filter 2 by advancing it over the ventilation opening 3 at a slow or even fast speed.

[0039] Furthermore, a considerable advantage in defining the overall cost of the manual winding device 1 is determined by the modular construction of the connecting base 8, which, when made of plastic material, also allows reducing the cost of the molding equipment, realizing a modular mold with modules that, when assembled, define the specific width of the connecting base and therefore the width of the fabric filter 2 to be wound on the manual winding device 1 when installed.

[0040] A further advantage can be identified in that it is made entirely of plastic parts, with the exception of the magnet fixing screws and possibly the elements of the releasable connection 14 between the connection base and the respective molded side.

[0041] Naturally, those skilled in the art may realize numerous modifications to the above-mentioned manual winding device for the fabric air filter after its use on the ventilation opening in order to meet specific and unexpected needs, all of which fall within the scope of protection of the present invention as defined by the following claims. In fact, in addition to the possible adhesion of the sides to the already mentioned connecting base, which is less convenient, in fact may even be glued on only one side and the other fixed by a possibly detachable connecting part 14, the guide ears 32 of the filter can also be made separately and applied to the connecting base during installation; the connecting base can also be made of metal and be an integral part with said guide ears or even be attached separately.

Claims

1. 1. A manual winding device for a fabric air filter after use on a ventilation opening present on the casing of a machine or electrical equipment that requires filtration of intake air, the device comprising: a winding reel supported at its ends by guide pins and drive pins for the filter when wound up; the guide pins and drive pins are each supported on a specific side connected to a connecting base; side pressers slide in grooves between a rest position and an operating position; the connecting base has a support on its rear side for accommodating a permanent magnet to enable the device to grip the surface of the casing on which the ventilation opening is present, which is generally ferromagnetic; guide lugs for the filter when wound up are applied to the connecting base; and each pin, i.e., the support and guide pin and the drive pin, has a bayonet-shaped serration suitable for optional insertion into a pin seat present on each of the two sides, i.e., the right molded side and the left molded side, at a specific pin seat that allows insertion of the pin, i.e., the support and guide or drive pin, optionally on one or the other molded side.

2. 2. The manual winding device for a fabric air filter of claim 1, wherein the bayonet-shaped serrations formed on the drive pin cannot be removed after insertion into the pin seat selected by a user during initial installation.

3. 3. The manual winding device for a fabric air filter according to claim 1, wherein the ends of the side pressers are inserted into hollow cams on the sides shaped on both the right and left sides to form the grooves.

4. 3. A manual winding device for fabric air filters as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the side pressers are held in the operative position by presser positioning tabs disposed on hollow cams.

5. 5. The manual winding device for a fabric air filter according to claim 4, wherein the positioning tabs of the side pressers are accessible from the outside of the respective molded side, i.e., the right or left, through tab release slits when removing the filter wound on the take-up reel.

6. 3. The manual winding device for a fabric air filter according to claim 1, wherein the side pressers are made of simple tubes.

7. 3. A manual winding device for a fabric air filter according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the right and / or left shaped sides are glued or otherwise connected with optionally detachable connections.

8. 3. A manual winding device for fabric air filters according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the connecting base is made of a plastic material as a single unit.

9. 9. The manual winding device for fabric air filters according to claim 8, wherein the connecting base is made with magnet insert seats distributed on its back surface facing the casing.

10. 9. The manual rewinder for a fabric air filter of claim 8, wherein the connecting base is formed from a single modular mold and allows for the use of a particular width of filter to be rewound on the manual rewinder made therewith.

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