Patent Publication Number: US-2023158437-A1

Title: Removable filter system

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     Field of the Disclosure 
     The present disclosure relates to a removable filter system, and more particularly, to a removable filter system for detachably coupling a filter unit to an air supply unit provided in a boiler. 
     Related Art 
     In general, a gas boiler uses a gas as fuel and water as a heating medium for heating, and in the case of a hot water and heating boiler, it is a combustor that circulates heating water inside the boiler through a three-way valve and heats feed water in a form of indirect heat exchange to make hot water available. The gas boiler is installed in various buildings such as a house, an office, a factory and the like, and is configured to supply hot water or heating water. The gas boiler may be classified into a general boiler and a condensing boiler depending on whether condensate is generated, and classified into an instantaneous type boiler and a hot water storage type boiler depending on a hot water supply method. 
     Referring to a basic structure of such a gas boiler, a combustion device and a heat exchanger are provided inside a housing. In the combustion device, a flame by fuel, i.e., gas, is combusted in a form of a free flame having an appropriate length. Then, the combustion gas from the combustion device is discharged through a pipe after exchanging heat with a heating medium in the heat exchanger. 
     Meanwhile, in order to keep the combustion efficiency of the combustion device constant, the ratio of air and fuel flow rate needs to be kept constant. To this end, air needs to be constantly supplied from the outside to an air inlet of the housing, and the air needs to be free of various contaminants such as fine dust. That is, when various contaminants contained in the air supplied to the air inlet are supplied to the combustion device as they are, the ratio of air and fuel flow rate varies arbitrarily. As a result, the mixing ratio of gas and air is not properly controlled or combustion does not proceed properly, which decreases heat exchange efficiency. 
     To solve the above problem, referring to Korean Patent No. 10-1902455, a filter unit is installed around an air inlet of a boiler casing so that the outside air is filtered and then introduced into the casing, and then introduced into the casing. Accordingly, the filter installed at the air inlet of the boiler filters foreign materials contained in the air flowing into the casing through the air inlet and quantitatively supplies the air required for combustion of the boiler. 
     However, in the conventional filter for the air inlet of the boiler, when the filter unit filters out foreign materials above an allowable amount, the filter unit is completely clogged over time, so that essential amount of air necessary for combustion cannot not be provided to the combustion device, which causes incomplete combustion or a flashback phenomenon in the combustion device. 
     SUMMARY 
     In view of the above, the present disclosure provides a removable filter system that allows a filter unit to be easily replaced by detachably coupling the filter unit to an air supply unit provided in a boiler. 
     In an aspect, the present disclosure provides a removable filter system including: a penetrating part formed through one side of an air supply unit provided in a boiler; and a filter unit including a support portion formed to cover an inside of the air supply unit and having a guide hole formed in a central portion, a handle portion integrally connected to one side of the support portion and formed to cover the penetrating part, and a filter for covering the guide hole, wherein the filter unit is detachably coupled to the air supply unit. 
     In addition, a guide protrusion may be formed on an outer surface of the handle portion to be gripped by a user. 
     Further, the filter may be formed concave downward. 
     Furthermore, the filter may include a flat portion positioned to be spaced apart from the guide hole downward and formed to be flat, and a connecting portion formed to extend from an outer periphery of the flat portion to an inner periphery of the guide hole to connect the outer periphery of the flat portion and the inner periphery of the guide hole, and an accommodation space may be provided between the flat portion and the connecting portion. 
     In addition, the filter may be formed in a mesh shape. 
     Further, the removable filter system may further include a protrusion part formed to protrude outward from an edge of the penetrating portion, the protrusion part having an empty space formed therein, wherein one side of the protrusion part is formed integrally with the penetrating portion to communicate with the penetrating portion, and an insertion hole is formed at the other side of the protrusion part, the support portion is guided into the protrusion part through the insertion hole, and then the support portion passes through the penetrating portion to be inserted into the air supply unit, and when the support portion is inserted into the air supply unit, the handle portion is detachably coupled to the insertion hole. 
     Further, a first bolt coupling portion may be formed on each of both sides of the insertion hole, a second bolt coupling portion may be formed to cover the first bolt coupling portion on each of both sides of the handle portion, and a bolt may be detachably coupled to the second bolt coupling portion and the first bolt coupling portion. 
     Further, the protrusion part may be formed at one side of an outer periphery of the air supply unit, a guide groove may be formed on one side of an inner periphery of the air supply unit opposite to the protrusion part, and when the support portion is inserted into the air supply unit, the support portion may move to one side of the air supply unit while being guided along the protrusion part, and then move to the other side of the air supply unit while being guided along the guide groove, and both end portions of the guide groove may be formed to extend toward of the protrusion part. 
     According to the present disclosure, since the filter unit is detachably coupled to the air supply unit, after removing the contaminated filter unit coupled to the air supply unit, a new filter unit is coupled to the air supply unit or the existing filter unit is reused after removing contaminants remaining in the filter. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a view showing a state in which a removable filter system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is mounted on a boiler. 
         FIG.  2    is a view schematically showing a state in which the removable filter system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is separated. 
         FIG.  3    is a cross-sectional view showing an air supply unit of the removable filter system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG.  4    is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the filter of the removable filter system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is inserted into the air supply unit along the protrusion part. 
         FIG.  5    is a view schematically showing a state in which the filter of the removable filter system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is coupled to the air supply unit. 
         FIG.  6    is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the filter of the removable filter system according to one embodiment of the present invention is coupled to the air supply unit. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 
       100 : removable filter system 
       110 : air supply unit 
       110   a : penetrating portion 
       112 : guide groove 
       120 : protrusion part 
       120   a : insertion hole 
       122 : first bolt coupling portion 
       130 : filter unit 
       132 : support part 
       132   a : guide hole 
       134 : handle portion 
       134   a : guide protrusion 
       134   b : second bolt coupling part 
       136 : filter 
       136   a : flat portion 
       136   b : connecting portion 
       136   c : accommodation space 
       140 : packing part 
     DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, a removable filter system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIG.  1    is a view showing a state in which a removable filter system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is mounted on a boiler, and  FIG.  2    is a view schematically showing a state in which the removable filter system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is separated.  FIG.  3    is a cross-sectional view showing an air supply unit of the removable filter system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIGS.  1  to  3   , the removable filter system  100  according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a penetrating portion  110   a , a protrusion part  120 , a filter unit  130 , and a packing part  140 , wherein the filter unit  130  is detachably coupled to the air supply unit  110  provided in a boiler  50 , so that the filter unit  130  can be easily replaced. 
     The boiler  50  has a typical configuration in which various parts such as a combustion device (not shown) and a heat exchanger (not shown) are provided inside a housing  52  formed in a substantially hexahedral shape. 
     The air supply unit  110  and an exhaust unit (not shown) are provided above the housing  52  so that air is supplied into a casing through the air supply unit  110  and the air inside the casing is exhausted to the outside through the exhaust unit. 
     The air supply unit  110  is formed in a cylindrical shape, for example, and the penetrating portion  110   a  is formed through along one side of an outer periphery of the air supply unit  110 . 
     The protrusion part  120  is formed to protrude from one side of the outer periphery of the air supply unit  110 . Specifically, the protrusion part  120  is integrally formed to protrude outward from an edge of the penetrating portion  110   a.    
     An empty space is formed inside the protrusion part  120 , one side of the protrusion part  120  is formed integrally with the penetrating portion  110   a  to communicate with the penetrating portion  110   a , and the other side of the protrusion part  120  has an insertion hole  120   a  that is formed therethough. . 
     Further, a guide groove  112  may be formed on one side of an inner periphery of the air supply unit  110  opposite to the protrusion part  120 . The guide groove  112  is formed along one side of the inner periphery of the air supply unit  110 . Both end portions of the guide groove  112  in the longitudinal direction are formed to extend toward the protrusion part  120 , and both ends of the guide groove  112  are positioned to face the protrusion part  120 . 
     The filter unit  130  is detachably coupled to the air supply unit  110 , and includes a support portion  132 , a handle portion  134 , and a filter  136 . One side of the support portion  132  is formed in a circular shape to cover the inside of the air supply unit  110 , and the other side is formed to be seated inside the protrusion part  120 . Further, a guide hole  132   a  is formed in a central portion of one side of the support part  132 . The handle portion  134  is integrally connected to an outer side of the support portion  132  and is formed in a plate shape to cover the guide hole  132   a . When the handle portion  134  is positioned to cover the guide hole  132   a , the handle portion  134  can also cover the penetrating portion  110   a  positioned to face the guide hole  132   a . In addition, a pair of guide protrusions  134   a  are protruded from both sides of an outer surface of the handle portion  134  positioned opposite to the support portion  132 . The guide protrusions  134   a  are formed to protrude outward of the guide hole  132   a , so that a user can easily grip the guide protrusions  134   a  by hand. 
     The filter  136  may be formed in a mesh shape which allows air to pass therethrough and blocks foreign substances, for example. The filter  136  is configured to be concave downward, and specifically may include a flat portion  136   a  that is positioned to be spaced apart from a lower side of the guide hole  132   a  and is formed flat, and a connecting portion  136   b  formed to extend from an outer periphery of the flat portion  136   a  to an inner periphery of the guide hole  132   a  to connect the outer periphery of the flat portion  136   a  and the inner periphery of the guide hole  132   a . Further, an accommodation space  136   c  is provided between the flat portion  136   a  and the connecting portion  136   b.    
     The packing part  140  has a common configuration that it is positioned between the handle portion  134  and the insertion hole  120   a , and makes the handle portion  134  and the insertion hole  120   a  watertight when the handle portion  134  is positioned to cover the insertion hole  120   a.    
       FIG.  4    is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the filter of the removable filter system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is inserted into the air supply unit along the protrusion part, and  FIG.  5    is a view schematically showing a state in which the filter of the removable filter system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is coupled to the air supply unit, and  FIG.  6    is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the filter of the removable filter system according to one embodiment of the present invention is coupled to the air supply unit. 
     Referring to  FIGS.  4  to  6   , in the process in which the filter unit  130  is coupled to the air supply unit  110 , first, the support unit  132  is inserted into the protrusion part  120  through the insertion hole  120   a . At this time, since the support portion  132  is guided along an inner bottom surface of the protrusion part  120 , the support portion  132  can slide safely toward the air supply unit  110  along the inner bottom surface of the protrusion part  120  without shaking inside the protrusion part  120 . Then, the support portion  132  is inserted into the air supply unit  110  through the penetrating portion  110   a . In this case, the outer periphery of the support portion  132  can safely slide toward the air supply unit  110  along the guide groove  112  in a state that it is inserted into the guide groove  112 . As such, when the support portion  132  of the filter unit  130  is inserted into the air supply unit  110 , the support portion  132  can be safely inserted into the air supply unit  110  while being guided by the protrusion part  120  and the guide groove  112 . 
     Further, in a state in which the support portion  132  is inserted into the air supply unit  110 , the filter unit  136  positioned on the support portion  132  filters various contaminants in the air supplied through the air supply unit  110 . And, in the process of filtering the contaminants in the air, various contaminants accumulate in a receiving space  136   c  of the filter  136 . Since the filter  136  provides a space for contaminants to accumulate, when the filter unit  130  is removed from the air supply unit  110 , the contaminants filtered by the filter  136  do not remain in the air supply unit  110  and can be easily moved to the outside. 
     In addition, when the support portion  132  is inserted into the air supply unit  110 , the handle portion  134  is positioned to cover the insertion hole  120   a . At this time, a first bolt coupling portion  122  is formed on each of both sides of the insertion hole  120   a , and a second bolt coupling portion  134   b  is formed to cover the first bolt coupling portion  122  on each of both sides of the handle portion  134 . And, a bolt B is detachably coupled to the second bolt coupling portion  134   b  and the first bolt coupling portion  122 . In this way, since the insertion part is detachably located in the insertion hole  120   a , when a lot of contaminants are accumulated in the filter  136 , after releasing the coupling of the bolt B, the handle portion  134  is removed to the outside. Then, the support portion  132  is removed from the air supply unit  110 , and the entire filter unit  130  is removed from the air supply unit  110 . Thereafter, a new filter unit  130  may be coupled to the air supply unit  110 , or the existing filter unit  130  may be reused after removing contaminants remaining in the filter  136 . 
     Although the present disclosure has been described in detail in the above embodiments, it goes without saying that the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and it is apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the technical spirit of the present disclosure, and these variations and modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims, the technical idea should also be regarded as belonging to the present disclosure.