Air cleaner for removing air pollutants from an air stream

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9566504-B2
Application number	US-201414190852-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 26, 2014
Priority date	Nov 12, 2009
Publication date	Feb 14, 2017
Grant date	Feb 14, 2017

Abstract

The present invention relates to an air cleaner for removing air pollutants from an air stream, for instance such as the cleaning exhaust/intake gas of an amusement machine, said air cleaner comprising a filter device including at least one filter layer ( 4 a, 4 b ) held by a filter holder ( 5 ) in said airflow substantially perpendicular to a main flow direction thereof and including a plurality of preferably stick-shaped filter elements ( 6 ) neighbouring each other. In accordance with the present invention, the filter device has no closed surrounding along the circumference of the filter layers, but provides for an open side along at least a portion of the periphery of the filter layer. At least one circumferential side section ( 7, 8 ) of the filter layer parallel to or tangential to the longitudinal axis of an outermost filter element is formed as an open side free of flow control elements surrounding the filter layer. Contrary to the prior art where the filter layer is usually enclosed in a tubular flow channel, the present invention avoids such flow-control-elements for guiding the air stream through the filter layer and/or preventing the airflow from diverging away from the filter layer, wherein in particular the filter layer, at its open side, is dispensed with flow-control-elements such as flow guiding surfaces, flow channel walls, fences or housing walls surrounding the filter layer.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An air cleaner for removing air-polluting materials from an airflow, comprising
a filter device ( 1 ) which includes at least one filter layer ( 4 ) held by a filter holder ( 5 ) in said airflow ( 3 ) substantially perpendicular to a main flow direction thereof, said at least one filter layer formed by a plurality of stick-shaped filter elements ( 6 ) for absorbing or adsorbing the air-polluting materials on a surface of the stick-shaped filter elements ( 6 ),
wherein said at least one filter layer ( 4 ) has a periphery going along an outermost one of said plurality of stick-shaped filter elements ( 6 e ) and/or end portions of said plurality of stick-shaped filter elements ( 6 ),
wherein the air cleaner further comprises a mounting frame ( 26 ) surrounding said at least one filter layer ( 4 ) at the periphery thereof
wherein said mounting frame ( 26 ) is provided with an insertion recess ( 27 ), an inside surface of the insertion recess ( 27 ) fully overlapping the at least one filter layer ( 4 ) when viewed in an airflow ( 3 ) direction, wherein the filter holder of the at least one filter layer ( 4 ) is in contact with the inside surface of the insertion recess ( 27 ), thus enabling insertion and removal of the at least one filter layer ( 4 ) into and from the mounting frame ( 26 ) in a direction perpendicular to a plane defined by the at least one filter layer ( 4 ),
wherein said plurality of stick-shaped filter elements ( 6 ) are held with each other by a holding element ( 9 ),
wherein the insertion recess holds the at least one filter layer along at least the periphery formed by the end portions of the plurality of stick-shaped filter elements, and
wherein opposite ends of the plurality of stick-shaped filter elements ( 6 ) and/or the holding element ( 9 ) are press-fitted into the insertion recess ( 27 ).

2. The air cleaner of claim 1 , wherein said plurality of stick-shaped filter elements ( 6 ) are held in parallel with each other by means of a pair of holding elements ( 9 ) formed integrally with said plurality of stick-shaped filter elements ( 6 ) at opposite ends thereof in one piece of a same material, wherein the opposite ends of the plurality of stick-shaped filter elements ( 6 ) and the holding elements ( 9 ) provided at these ends of the plurality of stick-shaped filter elements are press-fitted into the insertion recess ( 27 ), thereby using the plurality of stick-shaped filter elements ( 6 ) as compression columns subjected to buckling strain only, whereas two sections ( 7 , 8 ) of the periphery of the at least one filter layer ( 4 ) parallel to the longitudinal axis of the plurality of stick-shaped filter elements ( 6 ) are spaced apart from a surrounding of the insertion recess ( 27 ).

3. The air cleaner of claim 1 wherein the filter holder ( 5 ) includes a mounting surface ( 11 ) having hermaphrodite connecting means ( 12 ) for connecting at least two filter holders ( 5 ) to each other to provide at least two filter layers of the at least one filter layer ( 4 ) adjacent to each other.

4. The air cleaner of claim 3 wherein the plurality of stick-shaped filter elements ( 6 ) are positioned offset to the hermaphrodite connecting means ( 12 ) such that the elements ( 6 ) in a first layer of the at least one filter layer ( 4 ) is positioned where a second layer of the at least one filter layer ( 4 ) shows spacing between its plurality of stick-shaped filter elements.

5. The air cleaner of claim 1 , wherein said filter holder ( 5 ) extends along less than ½, of the periphery of said at least one filter layer ( 4 ), or only in a central section of said at least one filter layer ( 4 ) leaving an entire portion of the periphery free.

6. The air cleaner of claim 5 wherein the holding element ( 9 ) extends transverse to the longitudinal axis of the plurality of stick-shaped filter elements ( 6 ) and extends parallel or perpendicular to the at least one filter layer plane defined by said plurality of stick-shaped filter elements ( 6 ).

7. The air cleaner of claim 1 , wherein said filter holder ( 5 ) includes a support surface ( 10 ) into which a support section ( 6 d ) of the plurality of stick-shaped filter elements ( 6 ) is embedded with a partial sector of ½π to 3/2π of a circumference of the supported section ( 6 d ) of the plurality of stick-shaped filter elements ( 6 ) is embedded.

8. The air cleaner of claim 1 wherein the holding element ( 9 ) is arcuate and fabricated from elastic material and is subject to elastic deformation when joined to another holding element ( 9 ).

9. In combination with the air cleaner of claim 1 , ventilating means ( 2 ) for urging the airflow ( 3 ) through said filter device ( 1 ), said ventilating means including ventilator blades ( 15 ) driven by a driving unit ( 16 ), wherein the said filter device ( 1 ) is mounted to said driving unit ( 16 ) and/or a driving unit support by means of the said filter holder ( 5 ) at a side of the said driving unit ( 16 ) opposite to the said ventilator blades ( 15 ) or at a side of the ventilator blades ( 15 ) opposite to the driving unit ( 16 ).

10. An amusement and/or gaming machine for gambling, betting and/or entertaining, including a cabinet provided with at least one display means for displaying gaming information, a control panel for entering control commands, an electronic control unit for controlling the display means, said electronic control unit being provided inside said cabinet, and an air cleaner in accordance with claim 1 being provided inside said cabinet.

11. An air cleaner for removing air-polluting materials from an airflow, comprising:
a filter device ( 1 ) which includes at least one filter layer ( 4 ) held by a filter holder ( 5 ) in said airflow ( 3 ) substantially perpendicular to a main flow direction thereof, said at least one filter layer formed by a plurality of stick-shaped filter elements ( 6 ) for absorbing or adsorbing the air-polluting materials on a surface of the stick-shaped filter elements ( 6 ),
wherein said at least one filter layer ( 4 ) has an outer periphery going along an outermost one of said plurality of stick-shaped filter elements ( 6 e ) and/or end portions of said plurality of stick-shaped filter elements ( 6 ),
wherein the air cleaner further comprises a mounting frame ( 26 ) surrounding said at least one filter layer ( 4 ) at the outer periphery thereof,
wherein said mounting frame ( 26 ) is provided with an insertion recess ( 27 ), a surface area of the insertion recess ( 27 ) fully overlapping the at least one filter layer ( 4 ) when viewed in an airflow ( 3 ) direction, thus enabling insertion and removal of the at least one filter layer ( 4 ) into and from the mounting frame ( 26 ) in a direction perpendicular to the plane defined by the at least one filter layer ( 4 ),
wherein said plurality of stick-shaped filter elements ( 6 ) are held with each other by means of a holding element ( 9 ),
wherein the insertion recess holds the at least one filter layer, along at least the outer periphery formed by the end portions of the plurality of stick-shaped filter elements, and
wherein said filter holder ( 5 ) includes a preferably bar-shaped holding element ( 9 ) extending across the at least one filter layer ( 4 ) and having a support surface ( 10 ) into which a support section ( 6 d ) of the plurality of stick-shaped filter elements ( 6 ) is embedded with a partial sector of a circumference of the support section ( 6 d ) only, or wherein the holding element is formed integrally with the plurality of stick-shaped filter elements in one part from a same material.

12. The air cleaner of claim 11 , wherein sai

Assignees

• Novomatic Ag
• Dexwet Usa Llc

Inventors

• Bichl Christoph
• Winkler Heinz
• Homer Alois
• Petein Erich
• Vojta Maximillian

Classifications

• A63F13/25 Primary

  Output arrangements for video game devices · CPC title

• B01D45/10 Primary

  which are wetted · CPC title

• B01D47/028

  by directing the gas through a wetted wire mesh or a perforated plate (B01D47/14 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B01D2279/50

  for air conditioning · CPC title

• B01D46/0002

  Casings; Housings; Frame constructions · CPC title