Patent ID: 8202423

Claim:
A melt filter for cleaning a plastic melt issuing from an extruder, the filter comprising: a wheel rotatable about an axis and having an outer rim and a plurality of spokes forming an annular array of axially open spaces; a pair of housing plates axially sandwiching and completely covering the wheel and forming offset from the axis a melt passage extending axially through the wheel at the spaces; removable filter elements braced axially against the wheel at the spaces between the spokes and angularly movable with the wheel with the melt flowing through the filter elements when same are aligned with the passage, one of the plates being formed with an edge cutout of a dimension greater than an angular width of one of the filter elements and smaller or equal to twice this angular width, whereby filter elements can be removed from the wheel at the cutout, an angular spacing between where the melt flows through the wheel and the cutout being at least equal to the angular filter-element width plus an angular dimension of one of the spokes and at most equal to twice the angular filter-element width plus an angular dimension of one of the spokes; a part on the one housing plate that can cover and close the cutout during normal operation of the melt filter and that can open and uncover the cutout for changing the filter element aligned axially with the cutout; and a ratchet drive engaging the rim and operable to angularly move the wheel about the axis in steps.