Air conditioning and filtration systems

Abstract

An air conditioning and filtering system 10 is provided that includes a pre-treatment system 12 for initially filtering air drawn from an external environment, a pressurizing means 50 for pressurizing the air filtered by the pre-treatment system 12 to a positive pressure, and at least one circulation means 106. Each circulation means 106 draws air from the external environment through the pre-treatment system 12 and the pressurizing means 50, and air from at least one enclosed area 1, to combine into an air flow. The air flow is then directed to at least one set of a filtering means 94 and an air conditioning means 96 before being conveyed to at least one of the at least one enclosed area 1.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a climate control and filtration system for at least one enclosed area. In particular, the present invention is suitable for use in situations where the enclosed area is the cab of a heavy vehicle such as a construction machine and a mining machine, and these heavy vehicles are exposed to asbestos fibers or other airborne pollutants as part of the normal operating environment.

Background Art

[0002] The following discussion of the background art of the present invention is intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention. However, it should be understood that this discussion does not confirm or admit that any of the documents cited were publicly available, known, or part of common general knowledge in any jurisdiction as of the priority date of the present application.

[0003] [[ID=1�]]Air conditioning / heating systems, such as those found in many mobile devices, are based on creating a vacuum to draw air through the core of an evaporator / heater. However, creating this vacuum inherently leads to the ingress of airborne pollutants such as dust.

[0004] To minimize this phenomenon, such systems also use extensive sealing structures. These sealing structures have been found to be difficult to maintain adequately.

[0005] As a partial solution to this problem, filtration systems have been introduced to more selectively capture contaminants that have entered the system. A further problem associated with the use of prior filtration systems is that they operate on the premise that airborne pollutants enter the system only via the air drawn in from the external environment. Therefore, filtration is concentrated at the external air intake and the system as a whole is not considered.

[0006] Furthermore, concentrating filtration at the external air intake makes the filter used there more prone to clogging. This means that when used in mobile equipment that operates almost continuously, the filter will clog quickly, requiring longer downtime for the mobile equipment to facilitate filter replacement.

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a system that overcomes or at least partially improves one or more of the above-mentioned problems. [Overview of the project] [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] Throughout this specification, unless otherwise indicated, terms such as “comprising” and “consisting of” are non-exclusive and should be interpreted as “including, but not limited to.”

[0009] According to a first aspect of the present invention, an air conditioning and filtration system is A pretreatment system for initial filtration of air drawn in from the external environment, A pressurizing means for pressurizing the air filtered by the pretreatment system to positive pressure, Each circulation means comprises at least one circulation means operable to draw in air from the external environment through a pretreatment system and a pressurizing means, as well as air from at least one sealed area, and combine them into a single airflow, the airflow being guided to at least one filtration means and an air conditioning means before being transported to at least one of the at least one sealed area.

[0010] The air conditioning and filtration system may include at least one additional filtration means, which is operable to filter the positively pressurized air before it reaches at least one circulation means. The at least one additional filtration means may take the form of one or more filtration cartridges, each filtration cartridge operable to filter and remove specific contaminants such as sulfur dioxide, ammonia, methane, or diesel particulate matter. In a preferred embodiment, each filtration cartridge can be removed from its installation position in the third chamber.

[0011] In an alternative configuration, at least one additional filtration means includes at least one downstream filter, each downstream filter operable to further filter positively pressurized air after it has been filtered by one or more filtration cartridges. The downstream filters may be high-performance filters, activated carbon filters, ultra-low permeability filters, or coarse liner filters. In a preferred embodiment, all downstream filters are drum filters.

[0012] The filtration and air conditioning units may be housed in a stackable housing, and when stacked, the stackable units are in fluid communication with the head housing via a common air conduit, and the head housing is operable to accommodate at least the pretreatment system and pressurizing means.

[0013] Next, the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings for illustrative purposes only. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0014] [Figure 1] This is a rear view of an air conditioning and filtration system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] Figure 1 is a front view of the air conditioning and filtration system. [Figure 3] Figure 1 is a side view of the air conditioning and filtration system. [Figure 4]Figure 1 is a rear cross-sectional view of the air conditioning and filtration system shown. [Figure 5] Figure 1 is a front view of the air conditioning and filtration system. [Figure 6] This is an isometric view of a portion of an additional filtration means that forms part of the head housing shown in Figure 1, illustrating a removable filtration cartridge system. [Figure 7] Figures 1 to 5 are illustrative exploded views of the downstream filter means that form part of the head housing. [Figure 8] Figures 1 to 5 are exploded views of the filtration means that form part of the stackable housing shown. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0015] definition In this specification, axes x, y, and z refer to the directions indicated by the reference axes illustrated in Figure 1. Accordingly, references to length refer to dimensions along the x-axis, references to width refer to dimensions along the y-axis, and references to height refer to dimensions along the z-axis.

[0016] According to a first embodiment of the present invention, there is an air conditioning and filtration system 10 for at least one enclosed area 1. In this embodiment, the enclosed area 1 is (a) the cabin of a heavy machinery vehicle (not shown) and (b) the equipment housing of the heavy machinery vehicle.

[0017] As shown in Figure 1, the air conditioning and filtration system 10 comprises a pretreatment device 12, a first housing 14, and a plurality of second housings 16. The plurality of second housings 16 are designed to be stacked on top of each other. The first housing 14 is designed to be mounted on top of the stack of second housings 16.

[0018] The pretreatment system 12 includes an air inlet 18, a cyclone filtration system 20, and a flexible conduit 22. The air inlet 18 is in fluid communication with the cyclone filtration system 20 at a first end 24. Similarly, the flexible conduit 22 is in fluid communication with the cyclone filtration system 20 at a second end 26.

[0019] The cyclone filtration system 20 includes a plurality of small cyclone particle separators 28 and a nozzle 30. The cyclone particle separators 28 are arranged such that the air received through the air inlet 18 is distributed to one of the cyclone particle separators 28. Since the cyclone particle separators 28 are of a standard configuration that would be known to those skilled in the art, they will not be described in more detail here.

[0020] The air processed by the cyclone particle separators exits into the flexible conduit 22. The contaminants removed by the centrifugal force of the cyclone particle separators 28 are directed to the nozzle 30.

[0021] The first housing 14 has an internal region 34. The first housing 14 has a prefiltered air inlet 36 and a recirculated air inlet 38. The prefiltered air inlet 36 allows the air moving through the flexible conduit 22 to enter the internal region 34 at a first side surface 40. The recirculated air inlet 38 allows the air drawn from the sealed region 1 to enter the internal region 34 at a second side surface 42.

[0022] The internal region 34 is divided into a plurality of chambers 44. Specifically, the prefiltered air inlet 36 provides access to a first chamber 46. Similarly, the recirculated air inlet 38 provides access to a second chamber 48.

[0023] The first chamber 46 has a pressurizing fan 50. The pressurizing fan 50 is arranged such that the air passing through the prefiltered air inlet 36 necessarily passes through the pressurizing fan 50. The air pressurized by the pressurizing fan 50 is discharged into the first chamber 46 by the generated centrifugal force.

[0024] The third chamber 52 has a plurality of ledges 54 located inside. Each ledge 54 extends across three of the inner surfaces of the third chamber 52. In this way, each ledge 54 is substantially U-shaped. The ledges 54 are parallel to each other with respect to the z-axis.

[0025] In this embodiment shown in Figure 5, there are four ledges 54. Furthermore, the side 56 of the third chamber 52 is the side where part of the ledge 54 is not attached, and it takes the form of a removable plate 58.

[0026] The ledges 54 are spaced equally apart along the Z-axis within the third chamber 52. In this way, a filtration cartridge (not shown) can be installed in the third chamber 52 in a replaceable manner, as will be detailed below.

[0027] Each filtration cartridge has a width and length slightly shorter than the length and width of the third chamber 52. In this way, each filtration cartridge effectively occupies the entire xy plane within the third chamber 52. This also allows each filtration cartridge to be held in place by its respective ledge 54.

[0028] In this embodiment, a single filtration cartridge is used. The single filtration cartridge is a honeycomb filter designed to filter out sulfur dioxide (SO2).

[0029] Diagonally opposite the pressurized inlet 60 is the filtration inlet 62. The air that has passed through the filtration cartridge exits the third chamber 52 through the filtration inlet 62. The filtration inlet 62 also functions as an inlet to the fourth chamber 64.

[0030] The fourth chamber 64 has a cut surface 66. The cut surface 66 is adjacent to the side surface 56. The cut surface 66 has a substantially circular opening 67 provided therein. A removable plate 68 is removablely attached to the cut surface 66.

[0031] The removable plate 68 has an inner surface 70. The inner surface 70 has a first circular projection 72 extending thereto toward the center.

[0032] An opening 74 is provided on the side 76 of the fourth chamber 64. The opening 74 connects the fourth chamber 64 to the second chamber 48.

[0033] The second circular projection 78 surrounds the opening 74. The first circular projection 72 and the second circular projection 78 have equal diameters and are aligned with each other in the vertical and horizontal directions.

[0034] The first filtering means 80 is enclosed within the fourth chamber 64. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 5, the first filtering means 80 takes the form of a filter drum 82. The filter drum 82 has a width substantially equal to the inner width of the fourth chamber 64. Furthermore, the diameter of the filter drum 82 is substantially equal to the diameter of the substantially circular opening 67.

[0035] The filter drum 82 has an internal hole 84. The internal hole 84 has a diameter slightly larger than the diameters of the first circular projection 72 and the second circular projection 78. When properly installed, the first circular projection 72 and the second circular projection 78 are received within the internal hole 84.

[0036] It should be noted that the first chamber 46, the third chamber 52, and the fourth chamber 64 are arranged in series along the y-axis. However, the second chamber 48 is located parallel to the fourth chamber 64 and a portion of the third chamber 52. The second chamber 48 has an open floor section 86.

[0037] Each of the second housings 16 has substantially the same structure. Therefore, the common structure will be described below, and after thoroughly explaining the common components, variations will be mentioned.

[0038] Furthermore, each of the second housings 16 is divided into an air conduit 88 and a plurality of chambers 90. The air conduits 88 have the same length and width as the second chambers 48. Each air conduit 88 has an open ceiling section 92. The open ceiling section 92 has the same length and width as the open floor section 86.

[0039] Chamber 90 includes a filtration chamber 94 and an air conditioning chamber 96. Each chamber 90 extends across the entire height of the second housing 16.

[0040] The filtration chamber 94 has an inner surface 98 and an outer surface 100. The inner surface 98 is provided with three openings 102. A third circular projection 104 surrounds each of the openings 102a and 102b. Opening 102c is sealed by a circulation fan 106 contained within the filtration chamber 94.

[0041] The outer surface 100 has a cutout portion 108. The cutout portion 108 is shaped like two connected circles. The center point of each connected circle is aligned with either the opening 102a or the opening 102b.

[0042] The cover 110 is fitted to cover the cut-out portion 108. The cover 110 has a hexagonal shape that is tilted, as shown in Figure 2.

[0043] A pair of fourth circular projections 112 extend from one side of the cover 110. The fourth circular projections 112 have the same diameter as the third circular projection 104. Furthermore, the third circular projection 104 and the fourth circular projection 112 are arranged to form a pair of projections 104, 112 that are aligned vertically and horizontally.

[0044] A second filter means 114 is located within the filtration chamber 94. The second filter means 114 takes the form of a filter drum 116. The filter drum 116 has a width substantially equal to the inner width of the filtration chamber 94.

[0045] Each filter drum 116 has an internal hole 118. Each internal hole 118 has a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the third circular projection 104 and its paired fourth circular projection 112. When properly installed, the third circular projection 104 and its paired fourth circular projection 112 are received within the internal holes 118.

[0046] Each opening 102 allows air to flow from the filtration chamber 94 to the air conditioning chamber 96.

[0047] The air conditioning chamber 96 includes an air conditioning core 120. The specific arrangement and operation method of the air conditioning core 120 are not necessary for the core principle of the present invention and will not be described in further detail here.

[0048] Each air conditioning chamber 96 has an exhaust port 122. The position of the exhaust port 122 varies according to the duct (not shown) required to deliver air to a desired sealed area 1.

[0049] When stacked on top of each other, the second housings 16 form a continuous air conduit 88. For this purpose, the base second housing 16 has a rigid floor portion 124, while each intermediate second housing 16 has an open floor portion 126.

[0050] Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in the context of their intended use.

[0051] The air conditioning and filtration system 10 is installed at a desired location in a heavy vehicle (not shown). This includes connecting a first conduit (not shown) from at least one air conditioning outlet (not shown) in a desired enclosed area 1 of the heavy vehicle to an exhaust port 122. It also includes connecting a second conduit (not shown) from at least one return vent (not shown) in a desired enclosed area 1 of the heavy vehicle to a recirculating air inlet 38. Ideally, the second conduit operates to direct air from each of the enclosed areas 1 to the recirculating air inlet 38.

[0052] Part of the installation of the air conditioning and filtration system 10 is to configure the pre-treatment system 12 so that the air intake 18 can draw in air from the external environment.

[0053] Furthermore, the air conditioning and filtration system 10 is connected to receive power from the power unit of the heavy vehicle.

[0054] When power is supplied to the air conditioning and filtration system 10, each circulation fan 106 operates to draw in air. In this situation, air is drawn in through the recirculation air inlet 38 and the atmospheric air inlet 18.

[0055] Air drawn in through the air inlet 18 is first received by the cyclone filtration system 20. The received air is then guided to one of the cyclone particle separators 28. The centrifugal force generated by the cyclone particle separator 28 guides heavier pollutant particles to the inner surface (not shown) of the cyclone particle separator, and eventually exits the cyclone particle separator 28 and accumulates in the nozzle 30. The pre-treated air, i.e., air from which heavier pollutant particles have been removed, is then guided out of the cyclone particle separator 28 through the exhaust port (not shown) as pre-treated air. Heavier pollutant particles can then be removed from the nozzle 30 as needed.

[0056] Next, the pre-treated air is drawn into the first chamber 46 from the exhaust port via the flexible conduit 22.

[0057] The pre-treated air enters the first chamber 46 via the central axis (not shown) of the pressurizing fan 50. The centrifugal force generated by the pressurizing fan 50 creates a positive pressure difference in the pre-treated air as it is discharged to the rest of the first chamber 46.

[0058] The pressurized pre-treated air then moves from the first chamber 46 to the third chamber 52 via the pressurized inlet 60.

[0059] The position of the pressurized inlet 60 means that the pressurized pre-treated air enters the third chamber 52 at its uppermost position. The only outlet of the third chamber 52 is the filtration inlet 62, which means that the pressurized treated air must flow through all of the filtration cartridges installed in the third chamber 52.

[0060] It should be noted that the purpose of each filtration cartridge is to filter and remove one or more contaminants that may be present in the external environment. These contaminants may vary depending on the environment in which the heavy vehicle operates, and the contaminants may be caustic. As mentioned above, in this embodiment, the filtration cartridge is designed to filter and remove sulfur dioxide (SO2). This makes the pressurized pre-treated air further treated air.

[0061] The further processed air that enters the fourth chamber 64 is guided to the filter drum 82. As the circulation fan 106 continues to draw the processed air towards itself, the processed air must pass through the filter drum 82 to exit the fourth chamber 64 through the opening 74.

[0062] The further treated air exiting the fourth chamber 64 through the opening 74 can then merge and mix with the recirculated air in the second chamber 48. The recirculated air enters the second chamber 48 through the recirculated air inlet 38. The combination of the recirculated air and the further treated air will be referred to as the airflow below.

[0063] The airflow is drawn towards and along the air conduit 88 via the circulation fan 106. As the airflow moves along the air conduit 88, a portion of the airflow is drawn towards each of the circulation fans 106 through the opening 102c. Ideally, this distributes the airflow substantially uniformly among the multiple circulation fans 106.

[0064] A portion of the airflow drawn towards the circulation fan 106 is discharged more generally into the filtration chamber 94. The air discharged into the filtration chamber 94 must pass through the filter drum 116 again in order to exit the filtration chamber 94 through either opening 102a or 102b.

[0065] Air exiting the filtration chamber 94 through either opening 102a or 102b enters the air conditioning chamber 96. The air conditioning core 120 then operates to heat or cool the air in the air conditioning chamber 96 as desired by the air conditioning settings (not shown) of the heavy vehicle. The air conditioning core 120 then discharges the conditioned air from the air conditioning chamber 96 through the exhaust port 122.

[0066] The conditioned air exiting through the exhaust port 122 is then delivered to the target sealed area 1 via the first conduit and the air conditioning outlet. The air within the sealed area 1 is then recirculated via the return vent and the second conduit for additional filtration, in which case it is treated as described above.

[0067] As mentioned above, the contaminants to be filtered and removed by the filtration cartridge may be caustic. Therefore, the filtration cartridge itself may be damaged during normal operation, and as a result, components of the filtration cartridge itself may form contaminants. Thus, the position of the filter drums 82 and 116 behind the filtration cartridge is advantageous because the filter drums 82 and 116 can filter and remove particles released by a damaged filtration cartridge.

[0068] Note that the filtration cartridge (not shown) and the filter drums 82 and 116 can be replaced as needed. In the case of the filtration cartridge, removal is achieved by removing the removable plate 58 to gain access to the third chamber 52. The filtration cartridge that needs to be replaced can be slid along its respective ledge 54. After being replaced or completely removed, the filtration cartridge can be re-secured in place by attaching the removable plate 58. This also serves to seal the third chamber 52.

[0069] For filter drums 82 and 116, the process involves slightly more steps. Depending on the filter drum 82 or 116 to be replaced, either the removable plate 68 or the cover 110 is removed to expose either the circular opening 67 of the cut surface 66 or the cut portion 108 of the outer surface 100.

[0070] Regardless of whether the circular opening 67 or the cutout portion 108 is exposed, access to either of the filter drums 82, 116 is then possible, allowing the filter drum 82, 116 to be removed axially. Since the diameter of the corresponding portion of the circular opening 67 or cutout portion 108 is substantially equal to the diameter of the filter drum 82, 116, the axial alignment with the first circular projection 72 or the third circular projection 104 is maintained throughout the removal and insertion process.

[0071] After the new filter drums 82, 116 are inserted, the removable plate 66 or cover 110 is repositioned so that either (a) the second circular projection 78 is aligned with the internal hole 84, or (b) the fourth circular projection 112 is aligned with the internal hole 118. This ensures that the filter drums 82, 116 are appropriately positioned within either the fourth chamber 64 or the filtration chamber 94.

[0072] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that the above invention is not limited to the embodiments described. Specifically, the following modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0073] Although the present invention has been described as being suitable for use in a sealed area 1 in the form of a vehicle cabin, the present invention is equally suitable for use in a sealed area 1 forming part of any other form of fixed equipment, or in other forms of housing. Furthermore, the described present invention may be used in both heavy vehicle equipment and light vehicle equipment.

[0074] Although the present invention has been described in the context of a circulating fan 106 that facilitates air movement, other systems may be employed to facilitate such movement without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0075] Similarly, although the present invention has been described primarily in the context of using filter drums 82 and 116, other types of filters may be used instead of or in combination with filter drums 82 and 116. For example, sheet filters may be used.

[0076] Similarly, the filter drums 82, 116 may be HEPA filters. In an alternative configuration, the filter drums 82, 116 may be activated carbon filters and / or ULPA filters. In a simpler version of the present invention, where the removal of submicron-level contaminants is not required and dust is the primary contaminant of concern, the drum filters 82, 116 may take the form of coarse filters.

[0077] The number and size of the circulation fans 106 may differ from those described above.

[0078] The number of filter drums required (82,116) is determined by the flow requirements of System 10, and this may be more or less than the number described.

[0079] The pressurizing fan 50 may be replaced with other pressurizing devices such as a pressurizing filter.

[0080] By replacing the pressurizing fan 50 with another form of pressurizing device, it may be necessary to include a fan or similar device for drawing air through the pressurizing device. Alternatively, the power of an existing fan structure may be increased to achieve this purpose.

[0081] • The filtration cartridge may be designed to filter and remove contaminants other than sulfur dioxide, or sulfur dioxide and additional contaminants. For example, additional filtration cartridges may be installed to filter and remove contaminants such as ammonia, methane, or diesel particulate matter.

[0082] The circular opening 66 and / or cutout 108 may be modified to include a lever slot (not shown). In this case, the lever slot can be used to assist in the removal of one or more filter drums 82, 116. This is particularly useful in situations where a vacuum is formed in the fourth chamber 64 or filtration chamber 94, which would hinder the easy removal of the appropriate filter drums 82, 116.

[0083] The pretreatment system 12 does not need to be located outside the first housing 14. In the implementation of the air conditioning and filtration system 10 in other vehicles such as light vehicles, the pretreatment system 12 can be made to form a separate chamber 44 of the first housing 14.

[0084] Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that the above-described modifications and variations are not mutually exclusive and can be combined to form other further embodiments that fall within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An air conditioning and filtration system, A pretreatment system for initial filtration of air drawn in from the external environment, A pressurizing means for pressurizing the air filtered by the aforementioned pretreatment system to a positive pressure, Each circulation means is operated to draw in air from the external environment through the pretreatment system and the pressurizing means, as well as air from at least one sealed area, and combine them into a single airflow, Each element of the air treatment set is equipped with a filtration means and an air conditioning means, and the set comprises an air treatment set, The airflow is guided to the air treatment set before being transported to at least one of the at least one sealed region after coupling. Air conditioning and filtration systems.

2. The air conditioning and filtration system according to claim 1, further comprising at least one additional filtration means capable of filtering the positively pressurized air before it reaches the at least one circulation means.

3. The air conditioning and filtration system according to claim 2, wherein the at least one additional filtration means includes one or more filtration cartridges, each filtration cartridge being operable to filter and remove specific contaminants.

4. The air conditioning and filtration system according to claim 3, wherein the filtration cartridge is operable to filter and remove one of the following contaminants: sulfur dioxide, ammonia, methane, and diesel particulate matter.

5. The air conditioning and filtration system according to claim 3 or 4, wherein each filtration cartridge is removably installed in a third chamber.

6. The air conditioning and filtration system according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the at least one additional filtration means includes at least one downstream filter, each downstream filter operable to further filter the positively pressurized air after it has been filtered by one or more filtration cartridges.

7. The air conditioning and filtration system according to claim 6, wherein each downstream filter is one of a high-performance filter, an activated carbon filter, an ULPA filter, or a coarse liner filter.

8. The air conditioning and filtration system according to claim 6 or 7, wherein each downstream filter is a drum filter.

9. An air conditioning and filtration system according to claims 1 to 8, wherein the filtration means in the set of filtration means and air conditioning means includes a drum filter.

10. The air conditioning and filtration system according to claim 8 or 9, further incorporating at least one levering means for facilitating the removal of the drum filter.

11. The air conditioning and filtration system according to claim 10, wherein the lever means is a lever slot.

12. The air conditioning and filtration system according to claims 1 to 11, wherein the pretreatment system includes at least one cyclone particle separator.

13. The air conditioning and filtration system according to claims 1 to 12, wherein the pressurizing means is either a pressurizing fan alone or an integrated item combining a pressurizing fan and a filter.

14. The air conditioning and filtration system according to claims 1 to 13, wherein the circulation means includes at least one circulation fan.

15. The air conditioning and filtration system according to claims 1 to 14, wherein the set of filtration means and air conditioning means is housed in a stackable housing, and when stacked, the stackable units are in fluid communication with a head housing via a common air conduit, and the head housing is operable to house at least the pretreatment system and the pressurizing means.

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