JP7553133B2 - Dust-proof filter automatic dust removal mechanism and dust-proof filter automatic dust removal method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an automatic dust removal mechanism and method for a dust filter that is applied to heat-generating devices such as computers and servers in network systems, and that prevents dirt, dust, etc. from entering the device.

As techniques for preventing clogging of this type of dust filter, the following are known: Patent Documents 1 to 3.
The automatic filter cleaning device disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a belt-shaped dust collecting filter that is wound around a pair of rotating rollers and is disposed in an air flow path through which air drawn in from inside the room passes.
At the end of this dust collecting filter, at a location that does not affect the air suction capacity of the air conditioner, a brush serving as a dust remover is provided, along with a dust box for storing the dust removed by the brush.

The projection type image display device shown in Patent Document 2 comprises a filter material that filters the outside air that is taken into the housing, a drive mechanism that rotates a loop-shaped filter frame to which the filter material is attached in the direction of the loop shape, and a dust removal brush that rotates at a predetermined position and comes into contact with the filter material.
The dust removed by the dust brush is stored in a dust box.

In the filter cleaning mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 3, a filter frame, which is a loop-shaped belt-like mesh body to which an air filter for filtering air is attached, is held by a drive shaft and a guide shaft.
The brush unit, which is a dust remover, is disposed so as to sandwich the filter frame together with the drive shaft, and by driving the filter frame, dust adhering to the air filter is scraped off and removed.

JP 2011-153761 A JP 2011-180335 A JP 2011-245460 A

However, in the dust removal devices shown in Patent Documents 1 to 3, when the air flow passing through the air filter is strong, simply removing the dust with a brush has the problem that the dust that was once removed ends up being re-adsorbed onto the filter, and no specific configuration for solving this problem is shown.

This invention was made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and provides an automatic dust filter removal mechanism and an automatic dust filter removal method that enable reliable dust removal without being affected by suction air.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention proposes the following means.
The dust filter automatic dust removal mechanism shown in the first aspect of the present invention is characterized by having a belt conveyor-like dust filter that is arranged to intersect with the air intake path inside the front bezel and circulates at a constant interval starting from upper and lower rollers positioned on either side of the air intake path, a dust box that is installed in a position at the bottom of the front bezel that is not affected by the air intake and that houses the lower end of the dust filter, and a dust removal brush that is installed in the dust box and removes dust adhering to the dust filter.

The second aspect of the present invention relates to an automatic dust filter removal method, which is characterized in that, in a belt conveyor-like dust filter that circulates at a constant cycle starting from two rotating rollers that intersect with the air intake path inside the front bezel and are positioned so as to sandwich the air intake path, a dust box that contains the lower end of the dust filter is installed at the lower position of the front bezel, and dust adhering to the dust filter in the dust box is removed by a dust removal brush.

According to the present invention, by installing a dust brush that removes dust from the dust filter in a windless dust box that is not affected by intake air, dust can be removed from the dust filter and dust re-adherence can be prevented, making it unnecessary to replace the dust filter and enabling long-term server operation.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a minimum configuration of an automatic dust removal mechanism for a dustproof filter according to the present invention. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a tower server and a front bezel applied to the first embodiment. 1 is a diagram showing a dust-proof filter device and an automatic dust-proof filter dust removal mechanism installed in a tower server shown as a first embodiment. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the antidust filter device and the antidust filter automatic dust removal mechanism shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of a dust-proof filter device and an automatic dust-proof filter removal mechanism shown as a second embodiment.

The minimum configuration of an automatic dust removal mechanism 100 for a dust prevention filter according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
In the dust-proof filter automatic dust-removal mechanism 100 shown in FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a dust-proof filter, reference numeral 2 denotes a dust box, and reference numeral 3 denotes a dust-removal brush.

The dust filter 1 is arranged so as to intersect with the air intake path 5 inside the front bezel 4, and is a belt conveyor-like filter that circulates at a constant cycle starting from an upper roller 6 and a lower roller 7 positioned on either side of the air intake path 5.
The dust box 2 is disposed at a position below the front bezel 4 where it is not affected by intake air (indicated by the symbol A), and accommodates the lower end of the anti-dust filter 1 .
The dust brush 3 is disposed in the dust box 2 and serves to remove dust (indicated by the symbol G) adhering to the dust filter 1 .

The dust filter automatic dust removal mechanism 100 configured as described above has a dust box 2 installed at the lower position of the front bezel 4, and a dust removal brush 3 is provided in the dust box 2 together with the lower end of the dust filter 1 to remove dust adhering to the dust filter 1, so that dust removal can be reliably performed by the dust removal brush 3 without being affected by suction air.

Furthermore, according to the above-mentioned dust filter automatic dust removal mechanism 100, a dust removal brush 3 that removes dust adhering to the dust filter 1 is installed together with the lower end of the dust filter 1 inside the windless dust box 2 that is not affected by suction air, so it is possible to prevent dust that was once removed from being adsorbed again by the dust filter 1.
Therefore, the automatic dust removal mechanism 100 removes dust from the dust filter 1 and reliably prevents dust from re-adhering, making it unnecessary to replace the dust filter 1 and enabling long-term server operation.

First Embodiment
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In Figures 2 and 3, the symbol 10 denotes a tower server, into which a front fan 11 on the front side takes in outside air for cooling, and a rear fan 12 on the rear side expels internal air containing exhaust heat to the outside.
The air (airflow indicated by symbol A) taken into the tower server 10 by these fans 11 and 12 flows through the air duct 13 and, during its movement, absorbs and releases heat generated by the motherboard 14, which serves as the control device C.
In FIG. 3, reference numeral 15 denotes a power connector on the motherboard 14 for supplying power to the outside.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a rectangular front bezel 17 is detachably attached to the air intake 16 located on the front side of the tower server 10.
The front bezel 17 includes a dust filter device 20 that removes dust from the air, as well as an automatic dust filter removal mechanism 101 (described later) that removes dust adhering to the dust filter 21 of the dust filter device 20.

In this embodiment, three antidust filter devices 20 are arranged adjacent to each other in the vertical direction within the front bezel 17 as shown in FIG. 3, but the number of devices is not limited thereto.
In addition, this dust filter device 20 has a belt conveyor-like dust filter 21 that is arranged so as to intersect/be perpendicular to the air intake path 17A inside the front bezel 17, and circulates at a constant cycle starting from an upper roller 22 and a lower roller 23 that are positioned on either side of the air intake path 17A.
Further, the anti-dust filter 21 shown in this embodiment is disposed in the space inside the front bezel 17 at a position close to the tower server 10 .

The dust-proof filter 21 shown in this embodiment is rotated in a clockwise direction in the figure by a drive motor (not shown) via an upper roller 22 and a lower roller 23 .
The upper roller 22 and the lower roller 23 are rotated by a drive motor that receives power through a power connector 15 on the motherboard 14 .

Next, the automatic dust-removing mechanism 101 for the dust-proof filter according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
This dust-proof filter automatic dust removal mechanism 101 is installed in the dust-proof filter device 20, and its main components are a dust box 30 and a dust-removal brush 31.
The dust box 30 is disposed in a position below the front bezel 17 that is not affected by intake air, and accommodates the lower end of the anti-dust filter 21 .
The dust removal brush 31 is configured as a rotating brush that is installed inside the dust box 30 and removes dust adhering to the dust prevention filter 21 .
The dust removal brush 31 is rotated by a drive motor (not shown) that receives power through a power connector 15 on the motherboard 14 .

Next, the operation according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, as shown in FIG. 2, the front bezel 17 is attached to the front side of the tower server 10.
The tower server 10 draws in air from the front side using the front fan 11. At this time, the outside air (indicated by symbol A1) taken in by the front fan 11 passes through an intake path 17A in the front bezel 17, and during this passage, passes through a dust filter 21, whereby dust (indicated by symbol G) contained in the outside air is removed.

The outside air taken into the tower server 10 then passes through the flow path indicated by airflow A to absorb the heat from the motherboard 14, and is then exhausted to the rear side of the device by the rear fan 12 (exhaust air is indicated by symbol A2).
On the other hand, the dust G removed by passing through the dust filter 21 is temporarily accumulated on the dust filter 21, and then when the dust filter 21 moves to the inside of the dust box 30 which is not affected by the intake air of the front fan 11, the dust G is scraped off by the dust removal brush 31 consisting of a rotating brush, and is discharged and accumulated in the lower dust box 30 while preventing re-adsorption thereafter.

The dust filter automatic dust removal mechanism 101 configured as described above has a dust box 30 installed at the lower position of the front bezel 17, and a dust removal brush 31 that removes dust adhering to the dust filter 21 is provided inside the dust box 30 together with the lower end of the dust filter 21, so that dust removal can be reliably performed by the dust removal brush 31 without being affected by intake air.

Furthermore, according to the above-mentioned dust filter automatic dust removal mechanism 101, the dust removal brush 31 is installed together with the lower end of the dust filter 21 inside the windless dust box 30 that is not affected by suction air, so that it is possible to prevent dust that has once been removed from being attracted to the dust filter 21 again.
Therefore, the automatic dust-proof filter removal mechanism 101 reliably removes dust from the dust-proof filter 21 and prevents dust from re-adhering, making it unnecessary to replace the dust-proof filter 21 and enabling long-term server operation.

In addition, the dust filter automatic removal mechanism 101 eliminates the need to replace the dust filter 21, eliminating the need for workers to visit the site to perform maintenance work, making it possible to automate server operations from remote locations, and further eliminating the need to shut down the server for dust removal.

Second Embodiment
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The dust filter automatic dust removal mechanism 102 of the second embodiment differs in configuration from the dust filter automatic dust removal mechanism 101 of the first embodiment in that a windless box 40 is provided at the upper end of the dust filter 21, and belt reversal mechanisms 50, 51 are provided in the dust box 30 and the windless box 40, respectively, which reverse the front and back of the dust filter 21 by 180 degrees.

The windless box 40 is installed at the upper position of the front bezel 17, and by accommodating the upper end of the dust filter 21, the upper end of the dust filter 21 is kept in a windless state. The windless box 40, which is not affected by the air flow A, and the dust box 30 described above each have belt reversal mechanisms 50, 51 installed therein, which turn the dust filter 180 degrees from front to back.

The belt reversing mechanism 50 located on the upper side includes an upper auxiliary roller 52 arranged at a distance from the upper roller 22, and an upper rotating guide 53 arranged between the upper roller 22 and the upper auxiliary roller 52 to twist the belt surface of the dust filter 21 twice by 90° each (i.e., a total of 180°).
The belt reversing mechanism 51 located on the lower side includes a lower auxiliary roller 54 arranged at a distance from the lower roller 23, and a lower rotating guide 55 arranged between the lower roller 23 and the lower auxiliary roller 54 to twist the belt surface of the dust filter 21 by 90° twice (i.e., a total of 180°).
Further, the lower auxiliary roller 54 of the belt reversing mechanism 51 is disposed in the dust box 30 at a position slightly below the dust removal brush 31 .

In the dust filter automatic dust removal mechanism 102 configured as described above, first, the accumulated dust G is removed by the dust removal brush 31, and then the dust filter 21 is twisted 90 degrees between the lower auxiliary roller 54 and the lower rotating guide 55, and then twisted a further 90 degrees between the lower rotating guide 55 and the lower roller 23 to invert the face of the dust filter 21.
As a result, the dust filter 21 sent out from the dust box 30 has its dust accumulation surface (the surface on which dust accumulates, indicated by reference symbol 21A) facing upstream of the air flow A, and its non-accumulation surface (indicated by reference symbol 21B) facing downstream of the air flow A.

Next, when the dust filter 21 reaches the upper windless box 40 which is not affected by the air flow A, the dust filter 21 is twisted 90 degrees between the upper roller 22 and the upper rotating guide 53 inside the windless box 40, and then twisted another 90 degrees between the upper rotating guide 53 and the upper auxiliary roller 52 to invert the face of the dust filter 21.
As a result, the dust filter 21 sent out from the windless box 40 faces the dust accumulation surface (indicated by reference symbol 21A) upstream of the air flow A and the non-accumulation surface (indicated by reference symbol 21B) downstream of the air flow A.

As a result, in the dust filter automatic dust removal mechanism 102, the dust accumulation surface (indicated by symbol 21A) of the dust filter 21 can be always positioned upstream of the air flow A, thereby preventing a situation in which some of the dust is sucked into the tower server 10, as shown by symbol G' in Figure 4, for example.
In addition, the dust filter automatic dust removal mechanism 102 makes it possible to selectively use the dust accumulation surface and non-accumulation surface of the dust filter 21, thereby making it possible to prevent dust G' that has not been completely removed from leaking into the server.

(Modification)
In the above embodiment, the dust filter 21 and the dust brush 31 are operated by driving a drive motor (not shown) that rotates the upper roller 22 and the lower roller 23 and a drive motor that rotates the dust brush 31 constantly or at predetermined intervals.
However, without being limited to this, the above-mentioned dust filter automatic dust removal mechanism 101/102 may perform control to rotate the dust filter 21 and the dust removal brush 31 only when the dust sensor detects clogging of the dust filter 21 based on a detection signal from the dust sensor.

At this time, the automatic dust filter removal mechanism 101/102 may control the rotation speed of the dust filter 21 and the dust removal brush 31 by taking into account the degree of clogging of the dust filter 21 obtained from the detection value of the dust sensor, as well as the detection value detected by an air flow sensor/temperature sensor installed on the motherboard 14.

The above describes an embodiment of the present invention in detail with reference to the drawings, but the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and design changes and the like that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention are also included.

The present invention relates to an automatic dust removal mechanism and method for a dust filter that is applied to heat-generating devices such as computers and servers in network systems, and that prevents dirt, dust, etc. from entering the device.

LIST OF SYMBOLS 1 Dust filter 2 Dust box 3 Dust brush 4 Front bezel 5 Air intake path 6 Upper roller 7 Lower roller 10 Tower server 11 Front fan 12 Rear fan 13 Air duct 14 Motherboard 15 Power connector 16 Air intake 17 Front bezel 17A Air intake path 20 Dust filter device 21A Dust accumulation surface 21B Non-accumulation surface 21 Dust filter 22 Upper roller 23 Lower roller 30 Dust box 31 Dust brush 40 Windless box 50 Belt reversing mechanism 51 Belt reversing mechanism 52 Upper auxiliary roller 53 Upper rotating guide 51 Belt reversing mechanism 54 Lower auxiliary roller 55 Lower rotating guide A Air flow G Dust

Claims (6)

A belt-conveyor-like dust filter is disposed so as to intersect with an intake path in a front bezel and circulates at a constant cycle starting from an upper roller and a lower roller positioned on either side of the intake path,
a dust box disposed at a lower portion of the front bezel and configured to accommodate a lower end of the dust filter;
a dust-removing brush that is installed in the dust box and removes dust adhering to the dust-proof filter;
a windless box for accommodating an upper end of the dust filter is provided at an upper position of the front bezel;
A dust filter automatic dust removal mechanism, characterized in that a belt reversing mechanism for reversing the front and back of the dust filter by 180 degrees is installed in each of the dust box and the windless box . The dust filter automatic dust removal mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the dust removal brush is composed of a rotating brush. The automatic dust filter removal mechanism according to claim 2, further comprising a dust sensor for detecting clogging of the dust filter, and a control means for rotating the dust filter and the rotating brush only when the dust sensor detects clogging of the dust filter. The dust filter automatic dust removal mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that the front bezel is installed in a direction perpendicular to the intake path for cooling the electronic device. The belt reversing mechanism includes:
an upper auxiliary roller disposed at a distance from the upper roller; and an upper rotation guide disposed between the upper roller and the upper auxiliary roller for turning the belt surface of the dust filter over;
The automatic dust-proof filter removal mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising: a lower auxiliary roller disposed at a distance from the lower roller; and a lower rotating guide disposed between the lower roller and the lower auxiliary roller for inverting the belt surface of the dust-proof filter. The present invention is characterized in that the dust filter is a belt conveyor type dust filter which circulates at a constant cycle starting from two rotating rollers which intersect with an intake path in a front bezel and are positioned on either side of the intake path, and in a state where a dust box for accommodating a lower end of the dust filter is installed at a lower position of the front bezel, dust adhering to the dust filter is removed in the dust box by a dust removal brush ,
The upper end of the dust filter is accommodated in a windless box at the upper position of the front bezel,
The front and back of the dustproof filter are inverted 180 degrees in each of the dust box and the windless box by a belt inversion mechanism.
1. A method for automatically removing dust from a dust filter comprising the steps of:

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