US3915679A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Vortex air cleaner array
Assignee: Pall Corp
•
Filing: 1973-04-16
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Granted: 1975-10-28
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Expires: 1993-04-16
Abstract
Abstract An array of closely spaced vortex air cleaners is provided for efficiently removing contaminant particles from relatively high velocity air with a low pressure drop. The array comprises a housing defining a scavenge chamber for reception of contaminant particles with provision for feed of contaminant-laden air to be cleaned to the inlets of the vortex air cleaners, and for recovery of clean air from the outlets of the vortex air cleaners. The vortex air cleaners of the array have a tubular body, with an inlet at one end, an outlet at the opposite end, and a central passage therebetween; a deflector coaxially mounted in the passage adjacent the inlet creating a vortex stream of influent air in the passage with a generally coaxially tubular outlet member positioned within the outlet end of the tubular body, separating the contaminant particles at the periphery from relatively clean air at the core of the turbulent flow of air through the passage; the tubular outlet member defining an annular passage between it and the tubular body for reception of the contaminant particles in the peripheral flow through the central passage, and discharge of such particles in the scavenge chamber; and a flow restrictor at the entry to the annular passage from the central passage and spaced downstream from the inlet end of the tubular outlet member; the inlet end of the tubular outlet member terminating in a thin annulus cutting out and separating a core of clean air entering the tubular outlet member from a peripheral flow of contaminant-laden air entering the annular passage; and the flow restrictor defining an annular orifice at the entry of the annular passage to maintain a higher pressure within the central passage than downstream of the annular passage, such as in the scavenge chamber, or the ambient atmosphere.
Inventors
- 👤 Charles J Roach
- 👤 Conrad A Mitchell
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 06:54
CPC Classifications
B; B04; B04C; B04C3/00; B04C3/06; B04C3/04; F; F02; F02M; F02M35/00; F02M35/02; F02M35/022; F02M35/0223
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 18
Claim 1
Independent Claim
327 words
AN ARRAY OF CLOSELY SPACED VORTEX AIR CLEANERS FOR EFFICIENTLY REMOVING CONTAMINANT PARTICLES FROM RELATIVELY HIGH VELOCITY AIR WITH LOW PRESSURE DROP COMPRISING A HOUSING DEFINING A SCAVENGE CHAMBER THEREWITHIN, A PLURALITY OF VORTEX AIR CLEANERS IN THE HOUSING ARRANGED TO RECEIVE CONTAMINANTLADEN AIR AND DISCHARGE CLEAN AIR THEREFROM: THE VORTEX AIR CLEANERS COMPRISING A TUBULAR BODY HAVING AN INLET AND AN OUTLET, AN ANGULARLY VANED DEFLECTOR DISPOSED AT THE INLET, THE DEFLECTOR BEIGN ADAPTED TO CREATE A VORTEX STREAM IN THE INFLUENT AIR TO CONCENTRATE ANY CONTAMINANT PARTICLES IN THE AIR AT THE PERIPHERY OF THE TUBULAR BODY , AND PROVIDE A CORE OF CLEAN AIR AT THE CENTER OF THE TUBULAR BODY, A GENERALLY TUBULAR OUTLET MEMBER COAXIALLY DISPOSED IN THE OUTLET OF THE TUBULAR BODY AND HAVING AN END OF SMALLER DIAMETER THAN THE TUBULAR BODY, DEFINING A GENERALLY ANNULAR SPACE THEREBETWEEN THROUGH WHICH PASS CONTAMINANT PARTICLES AT THE PERIPHERY OF THE TUBULAR BODY, WHILE RELATIVELY CLEAN AIR AT THE CENTER OF THE TUBULAR BODY PASSES THROUGH THE CENTRAL PASSAGE OF THE OUTLET MEMBER, THE TUBULAR OUTLET MEMBER DEFINING AN ANULAR PASSAGE BETWEEN IT AND THE TUBULAR BODY FOR RECEPTION OF THE CONTAMINANT PARTICLES IN THE PERIPHERAL FLOW THROUGH THE CENTRAL PASSAGE AND DISCHARGE OF SUCH PARTICLES IN THE SCAVENGE CHAMBER, AND A FLOW RESTRICTOR AT THE ENTRY TO THE ANNULAR PASSAGE FROM THE CENTRAL PASSAGE AND SPACED DOWNSTREAM FROM THE INLET END OF THE TUBULAR OUTLET MEMBER A DISTANCE THAT IS AT LEAST ABOUT 10% OF THE AIR INLET DIAMETER OF THE TUBULAR OUTLET MEMBER, THE INLET END OF THE TUBULAR OUTLET MEMBER TERMINATING IN A THIN ANNULUS CUTTING OUT AND SEPARATING A CORE OF CLEAN AIR ENTERING THE TUBULAR OUTLET MEMBER FROM A PERIPHERAL FLOW OF CONTANINANTLADEN AIR ENTERING THE ANNULAR PASSAGE, AND THE FLOW RESTRICTOR DEFINING AN ANNULAR ORIFICE AT THE ENTRY TO THE ANNULAR PASSAGE MAINTAINING A HIGHER AIR PRESSURE WITHIN THE CENTRAL PASSAGE THAN DOWNSTREAM IN THE SAVENGE CHAMBER.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
327 words
AN ARRAY OF CLOSELY SPACED VORTEX AIR CLEANERS FOR EFFICIENTLY REMOVING CONTAMINANT PARTICLES FROM RELATIVELY HIGH VELOCITY AIR WITH LOW PRESSURE DROP COMPRISING A HOUSING DEFINING A SCAVENGE CHAMBER THEREWITHIN, A PLURALITY OF VORTEX AIR CLEANERS IN THE HOUSING ARRANGED TO RECEIVE CONTAMINANTLADEN AIR AND DISCHARGE CLEAN AIR THEREFROM: THE VORTEX AIR CLEANERS COMPRISING A TUBULAR BODY HAVING AN INLET AND AN OUTLET, AN ANGULARLY VANED DEFLECTOR DISPOSED AT THE INLET, THE DEFLECTOR BEIGN ADAPTED TO CREATE A VORTEX STREAM IN THE INFLUENT AIR TO CONCENTRATE ANY CONTAMINANT PARTICLES IN THE AIR AT THE PERIPHERY OF THE TUBULAR BODY , AND PROVIDE A CORE OF CLEAN AIR AT THE CENTER OF THE TUBULAR BODY, A GENERALLY TUBULAR OUTLET MEMBER COAXIALLY DISPOSED IN THE OUTLET OF THE TUBULAR BODY AND HAVING AN END OF SMALLER DIAMETER THAN THE TUBULAR BODY, DEFINING A GENERALLY ANNULAR SPACE THEREBETWEEN THROUGH WHICH PASS CONTAMINANT PARTICLES AT THE PERIPHERY OF THE TUBULAR BODY, WHILE RELATIVELY CLEAN AIR AT THE CENTER OF THE TUBULAR BODY PASSES THROUGH THE CENTRAL PASSAGE OF THE OUTLET MEMBER, THE TUBULAR OUTLET MEMBER DEFINING AN ANULAR PASSAGE BETWEEN IT AND THE TUBULAR BODY FOR RECEPTION OF THE CONTAMINANT PARTICLES IN THE PERIPHERAL FLOW THROUGH THE CENTRAL PASSAGE AND DISCHARGE OF SUCH PARTICLES IN THE SCAVENGE CHAMBER, AND A FLOW RESTRICTOR AT THE ENTRY TO THE ANNULAR PASSAGE FROM THE CENTRAL PASSAGE AND SPACED DOWNSTREAM FROM THE INLET END OF THE TUBULAR OUTLET MEMBER A DISTANCE THAT IS AT LEAST ABOUT 10% OF THE AIR INLET DIAMETER OF THE TUBULAR OUTLET MEMBER, THE INLET END OF THE TUBULAR OUTLET MEMBER TERMINATING IN A THIN ANNULUS CUTTING OUT AND SEPARATING A CORE OF CLEAN AIR ENTERING THE TUBULAR OUTLET MEMBER FROM A PERIPHERAL FLOW OF CONTANINANTLADEN AIR ENTERING THE ANNULAR PASSAGE, AND THE FLOW RESTRICTOR DEFINING AN ANNULAR ORIFICE AT THE ENTRY TO THE ANNULAR PASSAGE MAINTAINING A HIGHER AIR PRESSURE WITHIN THE CENTRAL PASSAGE THAN DOWNSTREAM IN THE SAVENGE CHAMBER.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
50 words
An array of vortex air cleaners in accordance with claim 1, in which the ratio of the length of the central passage of the tubular body to the diameter of the central passage of the tubular body, measured in inches, is within the range from about 2.5 to about 3.5.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
34 words
An array of vortex air cleaners in accordance with claim 1, in which the diameter of the central passage of the tubular body is within the range from about 0.5 to about 1.75 inches.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
33 words
An array of vortex air cleaners in accordance with claim 1, in which the vaned deflector has four vanes supported on a central hub having a blunt tip extending upstream of the vanes.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
26 words
An array of vortex air cleaners in accordance with claim 1, in which the deflector, the outlet member and the body are made of plastic material.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
32 words
An array of vortex air cleaners in accordance with claim 1, in which the central passage of the tubular body is cylindrical and of uniform diameter from the inlet to the outlet.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
33 words
An array of vortex air cleaners in accordance with claim 1, in which at least a portion of the central passage of the tubular body is tapered from the outlet to the inlet.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
66 words
An array of vortex air cleaners in accordance with claim 1, in which the pitch length Pl, in inches, of the vanes of the deflector, measured from end to end of the deflector, and the inside diameter d, in inches, of the central passage of the tubular body, gives K values within the range from about 2.2 to about 3.2 according to the equation Pl Kd0.68.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
26 words
An array of vortex air cleaners in accordance with claim 1, in which the overall length of the tubular body is less than about 6 inches.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
47 words
An array of vortex air cleaners in accordance with claim 1, in which the outlet member extends into the outlet end of the central passage of the tubular body for a distance that is from about 0.10 to about 0.25 times the diameter of the central pAssage.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
50 words
An array of vortex air cleaners in accordance with claim 1, in which the flow restrictor defines an annular orifice having a width from about 2 to about 10% of the inside diameter of the central passage of the tubular body at the inlet end of the tubular outlet member.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
31 words
An array of vortex air cleaners in accordance with claim 1, in which the flow restrictor is a circumferential flange or rib about the external periphery of the tubular outlet member.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
30 words
An array of vortex air cleaners in accordance with claim 1, in which the flow restrictor is a circumferential flange or rib about the internal periphery of the tubular body.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
24 words
An array of vortex air cleaners in accordance with claim 1, in which the flow restrictor extends the full length of the annular passage.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
46 words
An array of vortex air cleaners in accordance with claim 1, in which the flow restrictor is placed partially on the tubular body and partially on the tubular outlet member, each portion projecting towards the other across the annular passage, and defining the annular orifice therebetween.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
18 words
An array of vortex air cleaners in accordance with claim 15, in which the resulting orifice is straight-sided.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
24 words
An array of vortex air cleaners in accordance with claim 15, in which the resulting orifice is in the form of a curved passage.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-10-27 | 1979-04-28 | 1979-10-28 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-10-27 | 1983-04-28 | 1983-10-28 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-10-27 | 1987-04-28 | 1987-10-28 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |