Collapsible Pleated Air Filter for Low-Volume HVAC Shipping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional disposable HVAC air filters are bulky, leading to unnecessary waste and high shipping costs due to their rigid frames, which cannot be easily collapsed for space-saving storage and transportation.
Innovation Solution
An expandable pleated air filter media assembly packaged in a collapsed state with separable side frame members that can be recycled or used to retain the shape in an expanded state, allowing for easy expansion to fit HVAC system dimensions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a rigid frame is used to support the filter media, then the filter maintains its shape and structural integrity, but the filter becomes bulky and occupies large storage and shipping volume
Solution Approach 1:
The frame transitions from a static rigid structure to a dynamic collapsible structure that can change its volume. The frame includes collapsible sides that can be compressed during shipping to reduce volume, then expanded at the installation location to provide full structural support and maintain the filter's shape.
Solution Approach 2:
The filter media is nested within the frame structure during shipping, with the collapsible sides allowing the entire assembly to be compressed into a compact form. At installation, the sides are expanded outward, creating the full operational structure with the filter media properly positioned and supported.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a rigid frame is used to define the perimeter size and shape of the air filter, then the filter fits standard HVAC systems, but shipping and handling costs increase due to bulky dimensions
Solution Approach 1:
The frame's collapsible design allows it to adapt between two states: a compact configuration for shipping that maximizes productivity by reducing shipping volume, and an expanded configuration at installation that ensures adaptability to standard HVAC system dimensions and shapes.
3Ease of manufacture
If the entire air filter including the frame is discarded after use, then replacement is simple, but unnecessary waste is generated since only the filter media becomes dirty or clogged
Solution Approach 1:
The air filter system is segmented into two distinct components: the filter media that becomes contaminated and requires replacement, and the frame that remains clean and reusable. This segmentation allows the frame to be separated from the used filter media, enabling the frame to be reused multiple times while only the filter media is discarded, thereby reducing material waste.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of discarding the entire filter assembly, the frame is recovered and reused while only the contaminated filter media is discarded. The frame can be cleaned and prepared for receiving new filter media, extending its service life and reducing the overall waste generated from filter replacement.
4Ease of operation
If individual filters are shipped directly to consumers instead of multi-count shippers to retail locations, then online fulfillment is enabled, but shipping costs and packaging waste increase due to lack of economies of scale
Solution Approach 1:
The collapsible frame enables individual filters to be shipped in a compact state directly to consumers, maintaining the convenience of direct-to-consumer fulfillment while improving shipping cost efficiency by reducing the volume each filter occupies during transit.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure generally relates to air filters expandable from a collapsed arrangement to an expanded, end-use arrangement and to methods of making, using, and installing such air filters. Some embodiments relate to an air filter having an expanded state and a collapsed state. The air filter includes a filter media assembly including (1) filter media including a plurality of pleats, (2) first and second opposing sides, and (3) first and second opposing ends. The air filter also includes a shape retention structure capable of being connected to at least a portion of the filter media assembly and capable of retention the filter media assembly in the expanded state. A spacing distance between adjacent pleats in the filter media is greater in the expanded state of the air filter than in the collapsed state of the air filter. In some embodiments, the air filter is an HVAC air filter.