Abstract:
The invention provides a filter cleaning apparatus having a driving force generating module, a driving force delivering module, and a cleaning module. The driving force generating module is for generating a driving force, the cleaning module is for cleaning a filter, and the driving force delivering module is coupled to the driving force generating module and the cleaning module for delivering the driving force from the driving force generating module to the cleaning module. In this way, the cleaning module is capable of moving on a surface of the filter to achieve the objective of cleaning the filter without dismantling the filter.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a filter cleaning apparatus, and more particularly, to a filter cleaning apparatus capable of cleaning a filter without dismantling the filter. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Prior Art 
         [0004]    Dust co-exists with us in our everyday environment. The surfaces of most objects will be covered with dust if the objects remain still or are used for a period of time without cleaning-the blades of an electrical fan, for example, become covered with dust. This can result in decreasing the operational efficiency of the object or damage to the components if the dust enters the machine. Taking a printer for example, the print quality may be degraded if the mechanism of the printer does not operate well due to dust, so a filter is often installed for preventing the dust from entering into the machine. But if the filter is not cleaned for a long period of time it will also become covered with dust, degrading the heat dissipation effect of the print machine and affecting the normal operation of the printer mechanism. Therefore, the filter is required to be cleaned regularly. 
         [0005]    However, opening the external housing of the machine directly then dismantling or cleaning the filter will result in not only external dust invading the machine but also dust from the filter falling into the machine; therefore, dismantling and/or changing the filter is very inconvenient. Conventional filter cleaning methods include collecting the dust on the filter using a means similar to that of a vacuum cleaner, and rolling out the original filter and replacing it with a clean filter. For a user, the above-mentioned conventional filter cleaning methods, however, are inconvenient and costly. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]    It is therefore one of the objectives of the present invention to provide a filter cleaning apparatus to keep the filter clean and prevent the dust from easily falling from the filter into the machine when changing the filter, to solve the above-mentioned problem. 
         [0007]    According to one aspect of the present invention, a filter cleaning apparatus is disclosed. The filter cleaning apparatus comprises: a driving force generating module, for generating a driving force; a cleaning module, for cleaning a filter; and a driving force delivering module, coupled to the driving force generating module and the cleaning module, for delivering the driving force from the driving force generating module to the cleaning module. 
         [0008]    Moreover, according to another aspect of the present invention, a filter cleaning apparatus is also disclosed. The filter cleaning apparatus comprises: a cleaning roller, for cleaning a filter; and a driving force delivering module, coupled to the cleaning roller, for driving the cleaning roller to move on a surface of the filter for cleaning the filter. 
         [0009]    These and other objectives of the present invention will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment that is illustrated in the various figures and drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0010]      FIG. 1  is a simplified block diagram of a filter cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a perspective diagram illustrating the filter cleaning apparatus shown in  FIG. 1  according to a first visual angle. 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a perspective diagram illustrating the filter cleaning apparatus shown in  FIG. 1  according to a second visual angle. 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is a front view of the filter cleaning apparatus shown in  FIG. 2 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0014]    Please refer to  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 1  is a simplified block diagram of a filter cleaning apparatus  100  according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the filter cleaning apparatus  100  has a driving force generating module  120 , for generating a driving force; and a driving force delivering module  140 , coupled to the driving force generating module  120  and a cleaning module  160 , for delivering the driving force from the driving force generating module  120  to the cleaning module  160  to drive the cleaning module  160  to move on a surface of a filter. The cleaning module  160  is for cleaning the filter. The filter cleaning apparatus  100  further has a controller  106 , a first detector  108   a  and a second detector  108   b  in this embodiment, wherein the first detector  108   a  and the second detector  108   b  are for detecting if the cleaning module  160  moves to a particular position, and the cleaning module  160  controls an on/off status of the driving force generating module  120  according to the detection results of the first detector  108   a  and the second detector  108   b.  The detailed structure and the operation of the filter cleaning apparatus  100  are as follows. 
         [0015]    Please refer to  FIG. 2 ,  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4  together.  FIG. 2  is a perspective diagram illustrating the filter cleaning apparatus  100  shown in  FIG. 1  according to a first visual angle,  FIG. 3  is a perspective diagram illustrating the filter cleaning apparatus  100  shown in  FIG. 1  according to a second visual angle, and  FIG. 4  is a front view of the filter cleaning apparatus shown  100  shown in  FIG. 2 . In this embodiment, the driving force generating module  120  is implemented by a motor, and the cleaning module  160  is implemented by a cleaning roller; however, these examples are for illustrative purposes only, and are not meant to be a limitation of the present invention. The driving force delivering module  140  comprises: at least a gear  142  coupled to the driving force generating module  120 , a slide component set  146  and a belt  144  coupled to the gear  142  and the slide component set  146 , wherein the slide component set  146  comprises a first slider  146   a  coupled to the belt  144  and a second slider  146   b  fixed onto the first slider  146   a  and further coupled to the cleaning module  160 . Because the driving force generating module  120  is a motor, the rotation of the motor generates a driving force for driving the gear  142  to rotate, then the gear  142  drives the belt  144  to rotate. Because the first slider  146   a  of the slide component set  146  has a groove  147 , the belt is embedded in the first slider  146   a,  and the second slider  146   b  of the slide component set  146  covers at least a part of the groove  147  for preventing the belt  144  from falling off the groove  147  of the first slider  146   a.  Therefore, the slide component set  146  can move with the movement of the belt  144  and drive the cleaning module  160  to move on the surface of the filter  20  accordingly, meaning that the driving force delivering module  140  delivers the driving force from the driving force generating module  120  (i.e. the motor) to the cleaning module  160  successfully. 
         [0016]    The filter cleaning apparatus  100  further comprises a frame  104  on which the driving force generating module  120  and the driving force delivering module  140  can be fixed. Additionally, the cleaning module  160  is movably positioned on the frame  104 . In other words, the cleaning module  160  moves along a direction defined by the frame  104 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , both the first detector  108   a  and the second detector  108   b  are fixed on the frame  104  and disposed at a first predetermined position A and a second predetermined position B respectively for detecting the movement of the slide component set  146 . In other words, the first detector  108   a  and the second detector  108   b  can detect the movement of the cleaning module  160 . If the slide component set  146  moves to the first predetermined position A, the slide component set  146  will trigger the first detector  108   a  and then the controller  106  will stop (pause) the operation of the driving force generating module  120  (i.e. the motor). On the other hand, if the slide component set  146  moves to the second predetermined position B, the slide component set  146  will trigger the second detector  108   b  and then the controller  106  will control the operation of the driving force generating module  120  for returning the slide component set  146  to the first predetermined position A. That is to say, in this embodiment, the cleaning module  160  will move from the first predetermined position A to the second predetermined position B, and then move from the second predetermined position B back to the first predetermined position A in order to accomplish a filter cleaning cycle. However, this is not meant to be a limitation of the present invention. For example, in other embodiments of the present invention, when starting the operation of cleaning a filter, the cleaning module  160  only moves from the first predetermined position A to the second predetermined position B, or moves from the second predetermined position B to the first predetermined position A, which also achieves the goal of cleaning the filter  20 . 
         [0017]    In addition, in order to improve the efficiency of cleaning a filter, the filter cleaning apparatus  100  of the present invention further has an elastic component  102  having two sides respectively coupled to the second slider  146   b  and the cleaning module  160  for supplying the cleaning module  160  with an elastic force. This ensures that when the cleaning module  160  moves on the surface of the filter  20 , the cleaning module  160  contacts with the surface of the filter  20 . In this embodiment, the elastic component  102  is implemented by a spring. However, this is not meant to be a limitation of the present invention. 
         [0018]    Please note that, in this embodiment, the filter cleaning apparatus  100  is located in a printer for cleaning the embedded filter  20 . However, the filter cleaning apparatus  100  of the present invention can be applied to any apparatus having a filter installed thereon for cleaning the filter without dismantling the filter. 
         [0019]    Compared with the prior art, when cleaning a filter, the filter cleaning apparatus of the present invention can allow the filter to recover its clean state by making use of the driving force delivering module and the cleaning module without requiring dismantling of the filter. In other words, the filter cleaning apparatus of the present invention can prevent the dust from dropping into the printer device when the filter is dismantled. As a result, the internal components will not be affected nor the print quality degraded due to dust. 
         [0020]    Regarding the cleaning of the cleaning module  160  itself, a cleaning paper is further located under the cleaning module  160 . For example, the cleaning paper can be located on one side or both sides of the plane where the filter lies for contacting with the cleaning module  160 , wherein the stickiness of the cleaning paper is greater than that of the cleaning module  160 , but the cleaning paper will have no glue remaining on the cleaning module  160  after cleaning is completed. Therefore, when the cleaning module  160  moves on the surface of the cleaning paper similar to the means of cleaning the filter, the dust on the cleaning module  160  will be transferred onto the cleaning paper due to the stickiness of the clean paper being greater than that of the cleaning module  160 , thereby achieving the goal of cleaning the cleaning module  160 . Please note that the position of the cleaning paper is for illustrative purposes only, and is not meant to be a limitation of the present invention. That is, by merely placing the cleaning paper at an appropriate position to contact with the cleaning module  160 , the above-mentioned operational principle of cleaning the filter  20  by using the cleaning module  160  can be applied to accomplish the goal of cleaning. 
         [0021]    Those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device and method may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.