Self-cleaning and monitoring filtration system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10773215-B2
Application number	US-201816228943-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 21, 2018
Priority date	Dec 21, 2018
Publication date	Sep 15, 2020
Grant date	Sep 15, 2020

Abstract

A filter system of the type having a pressure vessel having an annular filter media therein with a filter wiper piston moved by an air or hydraulic piston actuator. An electrically operated drain valve purges wiped contaminants from the filter media. Pressure sensors provide a signal to a controller of vessel inlet and outlet pressure. Position detectors provide signals to the controller of the drain valve position and filter actuation position. The controller has a computer which computes from the sensor inputs parameters representative, in real time, of entry fluid condition, relative amount of filter contamination, relative amount of filter wear, and relative amount of contaminant removal, and provides signals of the representation to indicators providing visual display thereof.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A fluid filter system comprising:
(a) a vessel defining a filtering chamber having fluid filter media disposed therein and having an inlet adapted for receiving a flow of pressurized fluid communicating exclusively with an upstream side of the filter media and an outlet communicating exclusively with filtrate on a downstream side of the filter media;
(b) a cleaner operable upon selective activation to remove contaminants from the upstream side of the filter media;
(c) a controller, including a computer, operable to effect activation of the cleaner;
(d) the vessel defining a contaminant chamber for collecting contaminant removed from the filter media;
(e) a drain port with a valve connected thereto, the valve operable, upon selective opening, to drain contaminant from the contaminant chamber;
(f) a pair of sensors disposed to measure a difference ΔP between fluid pressure at the inlet and the outlet, wherein the controller effects activation of the cleaner in response to threshold values of ΔP;
(g) a first sensor operative in response to initiation of the drain valve opening to provide a first signal indicative thereof to the controller; and
(h) a second sensor operative in response to the drain valve completing opening to provide a second signal indicative thereof to the controller wherein the controller is operative to determine a ratio of ΔP at initiation of drain valve opening to ΔP at completion of the drain valve opening and operative upon the determined radio exceeding a predetermined threshold to provide a signal indicating that the containment chamber is clogged.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the cleaner includes a wiper and an actuator operable in response to a signal from the controller to effect extension and retraction movement of the wiper.

3. The system of claim 2 , further comprising an indicator operative in response to the signal indicating the containment chamber is clogged to provide a visible indication thereof.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is operative to compare ΔP at the drain valve initiating opening and ΔP at the drain valve completing opening and compute a difference and by comparison of the computed difference with values of the difference for predetermined levels of contaminants, and the controller is operative to provide a level signal indicative of the level of fill of the contaminant chamber.

5. The system of claim 4 , further comprising an indicator operative in response to the level signal to provide a visible indication thereof.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the indicator includes bands of different color for discrete ranges of the second signal and level signal.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein:
(a) the cleaner comprises a wiper disposed in the filtering chamber and operable upon the selective activation for a cycle of forward and return movement along the upstream side of the filter media for removing contaminant therefrom; and,
(b) the vessel defining a filtering chamber includes an actuator operable upon receiving a signal from the controller to effect a series of successive cleaning cycles each comprising the forward and return movement of the wiper and including a sensor detecting start of the forward movement and a sensor detecting completion of forward movement, wherein the controller records a time Δt 1,2 between two adjacent successive cleaning cycles and is operable to determine a time rate of change of ΔP, and compare the determined time rate of change with predetermined values thereof, for known conditions for a particular fluid being filtered; and, the controller is operative to generate a rate of change signal indicative of the comparison.

8. The system of claim 7 , further comprising an indicator receiving the generated rate of change signal and operative to indicate the comparison.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the indicator is operative to visibly display the comparison in discrete ranges of different colors.

10. The system of claim 7 , wherein the controller is operative in response to recorded values of ΔP at the start of the forward motion of the wiper, ΔP 5 and ΔP at the completion of the forward motion, ΔP EXTEND and determine the ratio R=ΔP 5 /ΔP EXTEND thereof for successive cleaning cycles; and, the controller is operative to compare the determined ratio with predetermined values of R for known conditions of wiper wear and provide a signal indicative of wiper present condition.

11. The system of claim 10 , further comprising an indicator receiving the comparison signal and operative in response thereto for visibly displaying the present wear condition of the wiper.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the indicator visibly displays the condition of the wiper in discrete ranges of different colors.

13. The system of claim 7 , wherein the controller is operative to accumulate and sum values of ΔP, determined for each successive actuation of the cleaner; and, in response to the accumulated sum exceeding a predetermined value, effect opening of the drain valve.

14. A fluid filtering system comprising;
(a) a pressure vessel defining a filtering chamber with an inlet and outlet and having filtering media therein and a contaminant collecting chamber having a drain/purge port;
(b) a cleaner operative upon selective actuation to remove contaminant from the filter media and effect collection thereof in the contaminant collecting chamber;
(c) a drain/purge valve operative upon selective opening to effect opening of the drain purge port for purging collected contaminant; and,
(d) an indicator operative to display in real time during flow through the filter media one of:
(i) the amount of contaminant collected relative to an amount which clogs the purge/drain port,
(ii) the amount of contamination of the fluid entering the inlet relative to an amount known to be deleterious, and
(iii) a combination of (i) and (ii).

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the indicator visibly displays discrete bands of the relative amount.

16. The system of claim 14 , wherein the indicator visibly displays colored bands indicative of the relative amount.

17. The system of claim 14 , wherein the indicator visibly displays the relative amount as a percentage.

18. The system to claim 7 , wherein the controller is operable to determine the present condition of the pressurized fluid received at the inlet from comparison with threshold values of the time rate of change of ΔP.

Assignees

• Eaton Intelligent Power Ltd

Inventors

• Kulkarni Shrinivas
• Schottler Chris W
• Dhakate Suhas
• Rout Pratyush
• Shashishekar M S

Classifications

• B01D29/6453

  with a translational movement with respect to the filtering element · CPC title

• B01D33/073

  arranged for inward flow filtration · CPC title

• B01D2313/48

  Mechanisms for switching between regular separation operations and washing · CPC title

• B01D29/606

  by pressure measuring · CPC title

• B01D65/02

  Membrane cleaning or sterilisation {; Membrane regeneration} · CPC title