Filter device with top access to filter bag

Claim 1

A multiple bag filter comprising a housing, a horizontally disposed cell plate separating the housing into an upper clean gas plenum chamber and a bag house, said housing having an inlet opening in communication with the bag house and an outlet opening in communication with the clean gas plenum chamber, a plurality of circular openings through the cell plate, a plurality of filter bags open at one end, a resilient ring member fixed in the open end portion of each filter bag, a tubular member extending downwardly from each opening having an inner wall to wall dimension corresponding to the outer wall to wall dimension of the end portion of a filter bag with the ring member, an annular lip extending inwardly from the lower end portion of each tubular member to define an opening thereby to enable a bag to be raised upwardly through the opening in the cell plate for removal from the top side of the cell plate and to be displaced downwardly through the opening in the cell plate from the top side of the cell plate until the ring member end portion is received in gripping relation within the tubular member and the lowermost portion of the ring member is at rest on the inwardly extending annular lip such that the bag is mounted to the cell plate, a wire cage for each filter bag having a retainer member in the form of a ring member secured to the top of the cage having a diameter corresponding to the inner diameter of a filter bag and an annular flange portion extending outwardly from the upper end portion for a distance greater than the openings in the cell plate whereby the wire cage and retainer member are each slideable through an opening and through the interior of a filter bag until the flange portion comes to rest on the portion of the cell plate surrounding the opening whereby the end portion of the filter bag becomes confined between the retainer member and the tubular member when in the assembled relation.