Filter system and method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12453935-B2
Application number	US-202118041840-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 18, 2021
Priority date	Aug 20, 2020
Publication date	Oct 28, 2025
Grant date	Oct 28, 2025

Abstract

A filter system includes a body having an inlet and an outlet fluidly coupled with the inlet by one or more passageways. The one or more passageways are shaped to direct a fluid having particles through the body from the inlet toward the outlet. The one or more passageways may rotate the fluid in one or more cyclonic directions. A lattice component is disposed within the passageways and includes one or more openings through which the fluid passes as the fluid moves in the one or more cyclonic directions. The passageways are shaped to remove a first portion of the particles from the fluid, and the lattice component is shaped to remove a second portion of the particles from the fluid such that the fluid exiting from the body via the outlet has fewer of the particles than when the fluid entered the body via the inlet.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A filter system comprising:
a body comprising an inlet and an outlet fluidly coupled with the inlet by one or more passageways within the body, the one or more passageways shaped to direct a fluid having particles through the body from the inlet toward the outlet, the one or more passageways configured to rotate the fluid in one or more cyclonic directions between the inlet and the outlet; and
a lattice component disposed within the one or more passageways, the lattice component having one or more openings through which the fluid passes as the fluid moves in the one or more cyclonic directions within the body from the inlet to the outlet,
the one or more passageways shaped to remove a first portion of the particles from the fluid, and the lattice component shaped to remove a second portion of the particles from the fluid such that the fluid exiting from the body via the outlet has fewer of the particles than when the fluid entered the body via the inlet.

2. The filter system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more passageways are one or more circular pathways shaped to form a cyclone structure that changes non-cyclonic flow of the fluid entering the body into cyclonic flow of the fluid in the one or more cyclonic directions.

3. The filter system of claim 2 , wherein the one or more circular pathways include two or more of the circular pathways that are concentric with each other about a central axis.

4. The filter system of claim 2 , wherein the one or more circular pathways include a first circular pathway and a second circular pathway with the first circular pathway radially offset about a central axis from the second circular pathway of the one or more circular pathways.

5. The filter system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more passageways are defined by one or more walls, wherein a first portion of the one or more walls are textured to remove a third portion of the particles from the fluid.

6. The filter system of claim 5 , wherein a second portion of the one or more walls are not textured to reduce an amount of the first portion of the particles that are removed by the one or more passageways.

7. The filter system of claim 1 , wherein the lattice component comprises plural lattice walls between a first end and a second end of the lattice component, wherein the plural lattice walls are configured to direct the fluid in one or more directions through the lattice component and around the plural lattice walls.

8. The filter system of claim 7 , wherein the plural lattice walls are configured to contact the at least the second portion of particles disposed within the fluid to separate the at least the second portion of the particles from the fluid, the at least the second portion of the particles having a size smaller than 1 micron.

9. The filter system of claim 7 , wherein a first portion of the lattice component includes the plural lattice walls in a first lattice configuration, and a second portion of the lattice component includes the plural lattice walls in a second lattice configuration.

10. The filter system of claim 7 , wherein a first portion of the plural lattice walls have a first wall thickness, and a second portion of the plural lattice walls have a second wall thickness that is different than the first wall thickness.

11. The filter system of claim 7 , wherein consecutive walls of the plural lattice walls are separated from each other by the one or more openings, wherein the one or more openings have a size in at least one direction of about 20 microns.

12. The filter system of claim 11 , wherein the plural lattice walls of the lattice component are arranged in a pattern to control the size of the one or more openings between the consecutive walls of the plural lattice walls.

13. The filter system of claim 1 , wherein the body and the one or more passageways are configured to be additively manufactured as a unitary component.

14. The filter system of claim 13 , wherein the lattice component is configured to be operably coupled with the unitary component.

15. The filter system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more passageways and the lattice component are configured to remove at least 95% of the particles from the fluid such that the fluid exiting the outlet contains no more than 5% of the particles relative to the fluid entering the inlet.

16. The filter system of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the one or more passageways or the lattice component are configured to receive an electric current from a source disposed outside of the body, wherein the electric current is configured to change a charge of one or more surfaces of the one or more of the one or more passageways or the lattice component.

17. The filter system of claim 1 , wherein the filter system is configured to be transferable from a first position to a second position.

18. A method comprising:
directing a fluid having particles through a body from an inlet toward an outlet fluidly coupled with the inlet by one or more passageways within the body, the one or more passageways configured to rotate the fluid in one or more cyclonic directions between the inlet and the outlet; and
directing the fluid through a lattice component having one or more openings, the fluid configured to move through the one or more openings in the one or more cyclonic directions within the body from the inlet toward the outlet,
the one or more passageways shaped to remove a first portion of the particles from the fluid, and the lattice component shaped to remove a second portion of the particles from the fluid such that the fluid exiting from the body via the outlet has fewer of the particles than when the fluid entered the body via the inlet.

19. A filter system comprising:
a body comprising an inlet and an outlet fluidly coupled with the inlet by one or more passageways within the body, the one or more passageways shaped to direct a fluid having particles through the body from the inlet toward the outlet, the one or more passageways configured to rotate the fluid in one or more cyclonic directions between the inlet and the outlet; and
a lattice component disposed within the one or more passageways, the lattice component having plural lattice walls defining one or more openings through which the fluid passes as the fluid moves in the one or more cyclonic directions within the body from the inlet to the outlet, the plural lattice walls being shaped to control a size of the one or more openings between consecutive lattice walls of the plural lattice walls,
the one or more passageways shaped to remove a first portion of the particles from the fluid, and the lattice component shaped to remove a second portion of the particles from the fluid such that the fluid exiting from the body via the outlet has fewer of the particles than when the fluid entered the body via the inlet, wherein the one or more passageways and the lattice component are configured to remove at least 95% of the particles from the fluid such that the fluid exiting the outlet contains no more than 5% of the particles relative to the fluid entering the inlet.

20. The filter system of claim 19 , wherein the filter system is configured to be re-usable such that the lattice and the one or more passageways are configured to be washed to remove the particles removed from the fluid by the one or more passageways and the lattice component.

Assignees

• Transp Ip Holdings Llc

Inventors

• Heher Brett
• Locke Douglas Lee
• Coyne Jennifer
• Barnes John E

Classifications

• B01D50/00

  Combinations of methods or devices for separating particles from gases or vapours · CPC title

• B01D45/12

  by centrifugal forces (centrifuges B04B; cyclones B04C) · CPC title

• B03C3/15

  Centrifugal forces · CPC title

• A62B23/02 Primary

  for respirators · CPC title

• B33Y80/00

  Products made by additive manufacturing · CPC title