Pleated air filter with bridging filaments and continuous-contact filaments
Assignee3M Innovative Properties Company
InventorsZhiqun Zhang, Nhat Ha Thi Nguyen, Jimmy M. Le, Glen O. Gregerson, Bryan L. Gerhardt, Philip D. Eitzman
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Abstract
A pleated air filter media is provided. The pleated air filter media comprises a plurality of upstream linear bridging filaments that are extrusion-bonded to at least some of a plurality of upstream pleat tips of a fibrous web, and a plurality of downstream continuous-contact filaments that are extrusion-bonded to a downstream face of the fibrous web. Methods of making and using the same are also provided.
Claims20
A pleated air filter media comprising an upstream face and a downstream face and a plurality of oppositely-facing pleats with a pleat direction and with a plurality of upstream pleat tips and upstream pleat valleys and downstream pleat tips and downstream pleat valleys,
- wherein the pleated air filter media comprises a plurality of upstream linear bridging filaments that are extrusion-bonded to at least some of the upstream pleat tips of the pleated air filter media,
- and,
- wherein the pleated air filter media comprises a plurality of downstream continuous-contact filaments that are extrusion-bonded to the downstream face of the pleated air filter media.
A method of making a pleated air filter media comprising upstream linear bridging filaments and downstream continuous-contact filaments, the method comprising:
- extruding a first plurality of molten streams of organic polymeric material and partially solidifying the molten streams into a plurality of first parallel, spaced-apart, elongate, partially-solidified filaments;
- bringing the first partially-solidified filaments into contact with a downstream face of a moving, flat, fibrous air-filtration web so that the first partially-solidified filaments are in continuous contact with the downstream face of the fibrous air-filtration web;
- allowing the first partially-solidified filaments to solidify into downstream continuous-contact filaments that are bonded to the downstream face of the fibrous air-filtration web;
- then,
- folding the fibrous air-filtration web into a pleated configuration;
- extruding a second plurality of molten streams of organic polymeric material and partially solidifying the molten streams into a plurality of second parallel, spaced-apart, elongate, partially-solidified filaments;
- bringing the second partially-solidified filaments into contact with upstream pleat tips of the pleated fibrous air-filtration web so that the second partially-solidified filaments are in discontinuous contact with the upstream face of the fibrous air-filtration web;
- and,
- allowing the second partially-solidified filaments to solidify into upstream linear bridging filaments that are bonded to the upstream pleat tips of the fibrous air-filtration web.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.