EP-4739422-A1 - A FILTRATION SYSTEM

EP4739422A1EP 4739422 A1EP4739422 A1EP 4739422A1EP-4739422-A1

Abstract

A filtration system comprising: a hub comprising: a gas inlet port for receiving dirty gas; at least one filter cartridge active inlet port, wherein the at least one filter cartridge active inlet port is for communicating a gas to a filter cartridge; and an inlet manifold, wherein the gas inlet port and each of the filter cartridge active inlet ports open into the inlet manifold. A filter cartridge support accommodates at least three filter cartridges at respective filter cartridge locations. An actuator moves the filter cartridge support relative to the hub such that a filter cartridge located in each filter cartridge location cycles between: a first filtering position; a last filtering position; and a cartridge replacement position, at which a used filter cartridge can be removed from the filter cartridge support and a new filter cartridge can be attached to the filter cartridge support.

Inventors

Bedford, Nigel Joseph
Peach, Aaron Stephen
Buczak, David

Assignees

Donaldson Company, Inc.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20240705

Claims (12)

1. A filtration system comprising: a hub comprising: a gas inlet port for receiving dirty gas; at least one filter cartridge active inlet port, wherein the at least one filter cartridge active inlet port is for communicating a gas to a filter cartridge; and an inlet manifold, wherein the gas inlet port and each of the filter cartridge active inlet ports open into the inlet manifold; a filter cartridge support to accommodate at least three filter cartridges at respective filter cartridge locations; an actuator configured to move the filter cartridge support relative to the hub such that a filter cartridge located in each filter cartridge location cycles between : a first filtering position, at which the filter cartridge is fluidly connected to at least one of the at least one filter cartridge active inlet ports of the hub; a last filtering position, at which the filter cartridge is fluidly connected to at least one of the at least one filter cartridge active inlet ports of the hub; and a cartridge replacement position, at which a used filter cartridge can be removed from the filter cartridge support and a new filter cartridge can be attached to the filter cartridge support.
2. The filtration system of claim 1, further comprising a cartridge locating mechanism that is configured to: move the used filter cartridge away from the filter cartridge support to a filter cartridge processing position in order to remove the used filter cartridge from the filter cartridge support; and move the new filter cartridge from the filter cartridge processing position towards the hub, in order to attach the new filter cartridge to the filter cartridge support.
3. The filtration system of claim 2, wherein the filtration system further comprises a movable barrier that is configured to selectively isolate: i) a filter cartridge processing chamber, which houses the filter cartridge processing position; from ii) a main chamber, which houses the cartridge replacement position.
4. The filtration system of claim 3, further comprising a controller that is configured to: move the movable barrier such that the filter cartridge processing chamber is not isolated from the main chamber; activate the cartridge locating mechanism in order to move the used filter cartridge away from the filter cartridge support to the filter cartridge processing position; move the movable barrier such that the filter cartridge processing chamber is isolated from the main chamber; and initiate a passivation process to passivate the used filter cartridge in the filter cartridge processing position.
5. The filtration system of claim 4, wherein, the controller is configured to: move the movable barrier such that the filter cartridge processing chamber is isolated from the main chamber; upon receipt of a new filter cartridge in the filter cartridge processing position, initiate a purge process to purge the new filter cartridge in the filter cartridge processing position; move the movable barrier such that the filter cartridge processing chamber is not isolated from the main chamber; and activate the cartridge locating mechanism in order to move the new filter cartridge away from the filter cartridge processing position towards the filter cartridge support, in order to attach the new filter cartridge to the filter cartridge support.
6. The filtration system of any preceding claim, wherein: the hub comprises a single filter cartridge active inlet port, wherein the single filter cartridge active inlet port extends continuously between the first filtering position and the last filtering position.
7. The filtration system of any preceding claim, wherein the inlet manifold is configured such that the rate of gas flow through the filter cartridge when it is in the last filtering position is greater than the rate of gas flow through the filter cartridge when it is in the first filtering position.
8. The filtration system of claim 7, wherein the inlet manifold is tapered such that it has a cross-sectional area in the vicinity of the first filtering position that is greater than the cross-sectional area in the vicinity of the last filtering position.
9. The filtration system of claim 7 or claim 8, wherein: the gas inlet port opens into the inlet manifold at a position that is closer to the last filtering position than the first filtering position.
10. The filtration system of any preceding claim, wherein the actuator is configured to move the filter cartridge support relative to the hub in order to advance the position of a filter cartridge located in each filter cartridge location periodically, and optionally in a stepwise fashion, such that it moves the filter cartridge support relative to the hub in discrete steps.
11. The filtration system of any preceding claim, further comprising: a sensor that is configured to sense the performance of the filtration system in order to provide sensed signalling; and a controller that is configured process the sensed signalling in order to determine an effectiveness of the filtration system, and if it drops below a threshold value, then cause the actuator to advance the position of the filter cartridge support such that each filter cartridge that is located in a filter cartridge location is advanced to the next position.
12. A method of operating a filtration system, the filtration system comprising: a hub comprising: a gas inlet port for receiving dirty gas; at least one filter cartridge active inlet port, wherein the at least one filter cartridge active inlet port is for communicating a gas to a filter cartridge; and an inlet manifold, wherein the gas inlet port and each of the filter cartridge active inlet ports open into the inlet manifold; and a filter cartridge support to accommodate at least three filter cartridges at respective filter cartridge locations; the method comprising: moving the filter cartridge support relative to the hub such that a filter cartridge located in each filter cartridge location cycles between the following positions: a first filtering position, at which the filter cartridge is fluidly connected to at least one of the at least one filter cartridge active inlet ports of the hub; a last filtering position, at which the filter cartridge is fluidly connected to at least one of the at least one filter cartridge active inlet ports of the hub; and a cartridge replacement position, at which a used filter cartridge can be removed from the filter cartridge support and a new filter cartridge can be attached to the filter cartridge support.

Description

A FILTRATION SYSTEM The present disclosure relates to a filtration system and, in particular although not exclusively, to a filtration system for an additive manufacturing apparatus. According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a filtration system comprising: a hub comprising: a gas inlet port for receiving dirty gas; at least one filter cartridge active inlet port, wherein the at least one filter cartridge active inlet port is for communicating a gas to a filter cartridge; and an inlet manifold, wherein the gas inlet port and each of the filter cartridge active inlet ports open into the inlet manifold; a filter cartridge support to accommodate at least three filter cartridges at respective filter cartridge locations; an actuator configured to move the filter cartridge support relative to the hub such that a filter cartridge located in each filter cartridge location cycles between : a first filtering position, at which the filter cartridge is fluidly connected to at least one of the at least one filter cartridge active inlet ports of the hub; a last filtering position, at which the filter cartridge is fluidly connected to at least one of the at least one filter cartridge active inlet ports of the hub; and a cartridge replacement position, at which a used filter cartridge can be removed from the filter cartridge support and a new filter cartridge can be attached to the filter cartridge support. The filtration system may further comprise a cartridge locating mechanism that is configured to: move the used filter cartridge away from the filter cartridge support to a filter cartridge processing position in order to remove the used filter cartridge from the filter cartridge support; and move the new filter cartridge from the filter cartridge processing position towards the hub, in order to attach the new filter cartridge to the filter cartridge support. The filtration system may further comprise a movable barrier that is configured to selectively isolate: i) a filter cartridge processing chamber, which houses the filter cartridge processing position; from ii) a main chamber, which houses the cartridge replacement position. The filtration system may further comprise a controller that is configured to: move the movable barrier such that the filter cartridge processing chamber is not isolated from the main chamber; activate the cartridge locating mechanism in order to move the used filter cartridge away from the filter cartridge support to the filter cartridge processing position; move the movable barrier such that the filter cartridge processing chamber is isolated from the main chamber; and initiate a passivation process to passivate the used filter cartridge in the filter cartridge processing position. The controller may be configured to: move the movable barrier such that the filter cartridge processing chamber is isolated from the main chamber; upon receipt of a new filter cartridge in the filter cartridge processing position, initiate a purge process to purge the new filter cartridge in the filter cartridge processing position; move the movable barrier such that the filter cartridge processing chamber is not isolated from the main chamber; and activate the cartridge locating mechanism in order to move the new filter cartridge away from the filter cartridge processing position towards the filter cartridge support, in order to attach the new filter cartridge to the filter cartridge support. The hub may comprise a single filter cartridge active inlet port, wherein the single filter cartridge active inlet port extends continuously between the first filtering position and the last filtering position. The inlet manifold may be configured such that the rate of gas flow through the filter cartridge when it is in the last filtering position is greater than the rate of gas flow through the filter cartridge when it is in the first filtering position. The inlet manifold may be tapered such that it has a cross-sectional area in the vicinity of the first filtering position that is greater than the cross-sectional area in the vicinity of the last filtering position. The gas inlet port may open into the inlet manifold at a position that is closer to the last filtering position than the first filtering position. The actuator may be configured to move the filter cartridge support relative to the hub in order to advance the position of a filter cartridge located in each filter cartridge location periodically, and optionally in a stepwise fashion, such that it moves the filter cartridge support relative to the hub in discrete steps in response to process demand. The filtration system may further comprise: a sensor that is configured to sense the performance of the filtration system in order to provide sensed signalling; and a controller that is configured process the sensed signalling in order to determine an effectiveness of the filtration system, and if it drops below a threshold value, then caus