Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Structurally defined web or sheet – Nonplanar uniform thickness material
Reexamination Certificate
1997-04-11
2001-03-27
Cole, Elizabeth M. (Department: 1771)
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Structurally defined web or sheet
Nonplanar uniform thickness material
C442S044000, C442S059000, C442S187000, C442S164000, C442S149000, C442S076000, C442S203000, C442S205000, C442S208000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06207255
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an adsorbent article or adsorptive product for mainly eliminating a slight amount of malodorous components contained in air or other gases with the advantage of high adsorption rate as well as convenient handling. Particularly this invention relates to a sheet form adsorbent woven fabric with air cleaning and dust collecting function. Main application thereof is a filter element of an air-conditioner or air-cleaner for household or car use, wherein featured are low pressure loss, long use life, and high cleaning performance by one passage with high air velocity.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
Heretofore activated carbon has been widely used as adsorbent for effecting a slight amount of undesirable components in air or other gases, wherein powder or particle form activated carbon is not always convenient to handle. Then, attempts have been made to carry such activated carbon particles firmly onto a porous base material, such as foamed plastics or non-woven fabric. Such carried articles are convenient for the lack of troublesome dusting from powder particles and have the advantage of lower pressure loss due to better permeability of air through voids inside the porous base material.
However, a conventional adsorbent of this type has disadvantage that surfaces of activated carbon particles are covered with a binder layer applied on the base material. For that cause, adsorptive capability exhibits only a fraction. It is a result from preparative process wherein activated carbon powder particles are pre-mixed with a binder and then applied to the base material, thereby the majority of particle surfaces is unavoidably covered under the binder layer, useless to expected function.
Another attempt has been known of mixing the powder particles with polyurethane prepolymer in the process of producing polyurethane foam, wherein with an adequate amount of the powder particles mixed, foaming capability of the polyurethane is inhibited and likewise the majority of particle surfaces is covered or micropores of activated carbon particles are plugged, thus the result is a large decrease in the adsorptive capability from as expected.
Then, the art of having the activated carbon particles carried by coarse knitted article has been proposed, but in the case of planar or two dimensional structure, a coarse structure of such base material provides a low pressure loss, but does not attain sufficient adsorption, and to the contrary, a fine structure of such base article improves the adsorption. but increases the pressure loss excessively, and results in unapplicable case for uses wherein dust collection is also needed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention utilizes a woven sheet with steric or three dimensional structure and activated carbon particles adhered to such woven sheet with particle surfaces partially exposed or uncovered more than before. Thereby an adsorbent article exhibits lower pressure loss and in turn, higher adsorptive performance as dust collecting filter.
The inventors herein noticed that, when much turbulent air (or gas) flow passes through a adsorbent having a lower packing density, the contact efficiency between air and adsorbent is so remarkably promoted that it would realize a structure with low pressure loss and suitability for treating with a high rate air wind. In view of such findings, we have experimented in pursuit of such structures based on sheet material having coarse three dimensional structure wherein adsorbent particles are kept to be like afloat in internal space so as to be suitable to treat with higher air passage rate with a minimum hindrance to permeability. Consequently, we have found it advantageous of adhereing activated carbon particles pointwise by means of a binder to coarse three dimensional woven sheet and thereby it is found that the activated carbon particles are successfully kept at an adequate void ratio in internal structure. Therein, turbulent wind flow is further promoted by providing ridge and recess configuration or wavy section with the woven fabric and thus the present invention is attained.
In summary, the present invention provides an adsorbent
article with a dust collecting function, performed by a woven sheet having a coarse three dimensional structure and a ridge and recess configuration, which is prepared by:
dipping a woven sheet into a bath containing a latex, an emulsion or a non-solvent adhesive, thereby infiltrating and impregnating the woven structure with a binder material;
squeezing the binder impregnated sheet through rollers and blowing air therethrough in order to break or remove films of binder between the intertwined internal fibers of the sheet;
passing the binder impregnated, woven sheet laterally through a fluidized bed of activated carbon particles kept in the fluidized state by an upward flow of air slightly over the minimum necessary to maintain the fluidized state, wherein the force of upwardly flowing air forces the carbon particles uniformly into the internal structure of the woven sheet; and then
pressing the sheet containing the carbon particles between rollers thereby firmly adhering the particles within the sheet and leaving individual particles partially exposed in the internal fiber structure of the sheet.
The present invention also provides
an adsorbent article wherein the surface of the adsorbent article is subsequently re-coated with binder material. Then, the inventive adsorbent partially includes aniline, phosphoric acid, maleic acid, ferric or ferrous salts carried by the carbon particles.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4296166 (1981-10-01), Ogino
patent: 4904288 (1990-02-01), D'augereau
Fukuura Masaki
Nishimura Shushi
Okada Teruhiro
Takamoto Shohichi
Cole Elizabeth M.
Kuraray Chemical Co., Ltd.
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
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