EP0541857B1 - Vorabscheider für eine Brennkraftmaschine - Google Patents

Vorabscheider für eine Brennkraftmaschine Download PDF

Info

Publication number
EP0541857B1
EP0541857B1 EP19910202918 EP91202918A EP0541857B1 EP 0541857 B1 EP0541857 B1 EP 0541857B1 EP 19910202918 EP19910202918 EP 19910202918 EP 91202918 A EP91202918 A EP 91202918A EP 0541857 B1 EP0541857 B1 EP 0541857B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
air
cleaner
body portion
cleaning arrangement
air cleaning
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP19910202918
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0541857A1 (de
Inventor
Geert R.J. Vergote
Daniel C. Witdoek
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
CNH Industrial Belgium NV
Original Assignee
New Holland Belgium NV
Ford New Holland NV
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by New Holland Belgium NV, Ford New Holland NV filed Critical New Holland Belgium NV
Priority to EP19910202918 priority Critical patent/EP0541857B1/de
Priority to DE1991611240 priority patent/DE69111240T2/de
Publication of EP0541857A1 publication Critical patent/EP0541857A1/de
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0541857B1 publication Critical patent/EP0541857B1/de
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F02—COMBUSTION ENGINES; HOT-GAS OR COMBUSTION-PRODUCT ENGINE PLANTS
    • F02M—SUPPLYING COMBUSTION ENGINES IN GENERAL WITH COMBUSTIBLE MIXTURES OR CONSTITUENTS THEREOF
    • F02M35/00—Combustion-air cleaners, air intakes, intake silencers, or induction systems specially adapted for, or arranged on, internal-combustion engines
    • F02M35/10—Air intakes; Induction systems
    • F02M35/10006—Air intakes; Induction systems characterised by the position of elements of the air intake system in direction of the air intake flow, i.e. between ambient air inlet and supply to the combustion chamber
    • F02M35/10013—Means upstream of the air filter; Connection to the ambient air
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F02—COMBUSTION ENGINES; HOT-GAS OR COMBUSTION-PRODUCT ENGINE PLANTS
    • F02M—SUPPLYING COMBUSTION ENGINES IN GENERAL WITH COMBUSTIBLE MIXTURES OR CONSTITUENTS THEREOF
    • F02M35/00—Combustion-air cleaners, air intakes, intake silencers, or induction systems specially adapted for, or arranged on, internal-combustion engines
    • F02M35/02—Air cleaners
    • F02M35/024—Air cleaners using filters, e.g. moistened
    • F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
    • F02—COMBUSTION ENGINES; HOT-GAS OR COMBUSTION-PRODUCT ENGINE PLANTS
    • F02M—SUPPLYING COMBUSTION ENGINES IN GENERAL WITH COMBUSTIBLE MIXTURES OR CONSTITUENTS THEREOF
    • F02M35/00—Combustion-air cleaners, air intakes, intake silencers, or induction systems specially adapted for, or arranged on, internal-combustion engines
    • F02M35/16—Combustion-air cleaners, air intakes, intake silencers, or induction systems specially adapted for, or arranged on, internal-combustion engines characterised by use in vehicles
    • F02M35/164—Heavy duty vehicles, e.g. trucks, trains, agricultural or construction machines

Definitions

  • the present invention generally is directed to an air cleaning arrangement for use on an internal-combustion engine of an agricultural machine which is used in surroundings which are contaminated with airborne impurities. More specifically, although not exclusively, the present invention is particularly useful on combine harvesters which, by their nature, normally are operated in an atmosphere which is loaded with impurities such as chaff, straw particles, dust, leaves etc.
  • the air cleaning arrangement In environments polluted solely with small dust particles, the air cleaning arrangement commonly takes the form of a single dry-type filter element which is capable of removing said dust particles from the intake air before it enters the engine.
  • the life of a fine-meshed air filter if used alone, is impractically short, whereby it has become common practice under such conditions to install an additional cleaning element upstream of the conventional primary filter, which is operable to remove the largest particles from the intake air before it can reach the primary filter. Due to its specific location and function, said additional cleaning element is generally referred to as a pre-cleaner.
  • a pre-cleaner usually comprises an upright, hollow cylindrical body closed at its top by a solid cover and provided with a bottom closure including an outlet conduit which operatively communicates with the primary filter.
  • the cylindrical body consists of a perforated screen which allows ambient air to enter the body meanwhile performing a first, coarse filtering.
  • the pre-cleaner advantageously is mounted in the immediate vicinity of the engine to which air is provided in order to keep air conduits as short as possible.
  • this location on the harvester may be expected to be best suited with regard to air contamination as the engine normally is positioned on top of the harvester at a considerable height above the ground and therefore relatively remote from the crop treating operations which are an important source of contamination of the environment in which the harvester has to operate.
  • the latter is made reentrant for a considerable distance into the pre-cleaner body so that, together with the outer screen, an annular channel is defined which is solid at the inner side but perforated at the outer side, thereby allowing captured water to leave the pre-cleaner the same way as it entered.
  • the top portion of the outlet conduit thus considerably surmounts the bottom closure of the pre-cleaner and extends towards the top cover thereof. Consequently, instead of entering the outlet conduit in the region of the pre-cleaner's lowermost part, aspirated air now is received more centrally between the top and bottom closures.
  • the top portion of the outlet conduit is oriented upwardly, most of the intake air is received through only a small portion of the filter screen, more specifically the upper portion thereof ranging from the horizontal level of the outlet conduit towards the top of the pre-cleaner, whereas the bottom portion of the screen is barely used.
  • the high concentration of impurities in the aspirated air gradually tends to clog the upper part of the filter screen, the more that large impurities no longer may fall loose from the screen by gravity due to the high air velocities encountered.
  • the air pattern around the filter screen gradually is changed and more and more air becomes aspirated through a lower portion of the screen which so far was not yet affected by impurities.
  • this area starts to build up and the whole process of clogging continues until finally the complete screen becomes blocked.
  • the free flow of intake air through the screen little by little is hampered whereby the harvester engine has to spend more and more energy to get the required air, but nevertheless becomes choked and ultimately stalls by lack of air.
  • the air flow through the outer, perforated body of the pre-cleaner can be more evenly distributed over the total height of the filter screen, by installing therein an inner screen which extends between the top and the bottom closures of the pre-cleaner and registers with the outlet conduit, as shown in US-A-2.062.548. which is considered as the closest prior art.
  • the air preferably enters into the pre-cleaner through the lower portion of the outer screen, as the underpressure near the outlet conduit is far more important than near the top closure.
  • the air flow and hence the afflux of air-borne impurities will still be concentrated in one area of the outer, perforated body, such that these impurities tend to clog this area.
  • air will be drawn in through the remaining upper portion of the outer screen, but as the available intake surface has diminished, the concentration of air and the impurities carried therein, is increased accordingly and gradually, the upper portion will be clogged also. It may take a longer time than with the foregoing type of pre-cleaner before the perforations in the outer screen of this type get obstructed, but the still uneven pattern of air intake, makes it vulnerable to complete blocking of the screen.
  • pre-cleaner shown in US-A-3.791.112, comprises a plain collector tube, which is covered by a dome-shaped top closure.
  • a funnel-shaped inlet screen extends between the lower edge of the top closure and the top of the collector tube.
  • Air directing vanes are installed in the top closure for guiding the air along a vortex into the tube. Any airborne particles are thrown outwardly towards the inner tube wall and may slide in an annular recipient constituted between said inner tube wall and the outer wall of an outlet tube which extends partially into the collector tube.
  • This configuration may be well suited for the elimination of moisture particles from further uncontaminated inlet air, but cannot cope with an important afflux of solid particles as contained in chaff: the effective screen surface is much smaller than in the cylinder-type pre-cleaners, so that the contaminated air flow is very concentrated at the entry of the pre-cleaner and the screen gets clogged very quickly.
  • Increasing the intake area by using a larger top closure would be very space-consuming and would have only a limited effect, as the underpressure is the lowest near the inlet of the collector tube so that the air flow remains concentrated near the centre of the screen.
  • This type of pre-cleaner is equally not fit for use in dust-loaded environments, because the recipient between the collector tube and the outlet tube, would be very quickly filled with dust particles, as it only has a small outlet which was designed for the evacuation of liquids.
  • an air cleaning arrangement for use on an agricultural harvesting machine provided with an internal-combustion engine and comprising :
  • the air cleaning arrangement is characterized in that the inner body portion is formed by an open-ended body, which registers with the outlet conduit and extends upwardly therefrom towards said upper cover, stopping short thereof, in a manner such that the intake air is generally uniformly aspirated over the total perforated surface of said outer body portion.
  • the outer as the inner body portions are cylindrically shaped and extend upwardly and coaxially with respect to each other.
  • a combine harvester generally indicated at 1, comprises a main chassis or frame 2 supported on a front pair of drive wheels 3 and a rear pair of steerable wheels 4. Supported on the main chassis 2 are an operator's platform 5, with operator's cab 6, a grain tank 7, a threshing and separating mechanism 8, a grain cleaning mechanism 9 and a power plant or engine 10.
  • a conventional header 11 and straw elevator 12 extend forwardly of the main chassis 2 and the header 11 is pivotally secured to the chassis 2 for generally vertical movement which is controlled by extensible hydraulic cylinders 13.
  • the combine harvested 1 As the combine harvested 1 is propelled forwardly over a field with standing crop, the latter is severed from the stubble by a sickle bar on the header 11, whereafter the header 11 and straw elevator 12 supply the cut crop to the threshing and separating mechanism 8.
  • the crop received therein is threshed and separated, that is to say, the crop is rubbed and beaten, whereby the grain, seed or the like, is loosened and separated from the straw, coils or other discardable part of the crop.
  • the combine harvester illustrated in Figure 1 comprises a conventional threshing mechanism including a threshing cylinder 14, a straw beater 16 and a separator rotor 18.
  • Conventional straw walkers 20 are operable, in use, to discharge a mat of remaining crop material (i.e. mainly straw as the grain is separated therefrom) through the straw hood 21.
  • grain which has been separated from the straw falls onto the grain cleaning mechanism 9 which comprises means to separate chaff and other impurities from the grain, and means to separate unthreshed parts, known as tailings. Cleaned grain is then elevated into the grain tank 7 and the tailings are reprocessed in separate tailings rethreshers (not shown) and returned to the cleaning mechanism 9 for repeated cleaning action.
  • the grain cleaning mechanism 9 comprises means to separate chaff and other impurities from the grain, and means to separate unthreshed parts, known as tailings.
  • Chaff and other impurities thus separated from the grain in the cleaning mechanism 9 are made airborne and discharged from the machine at the rear thereof. It again will be appreciated that this equally forms an important source of contamination of the environment in which the combine harvester has to operate.
  • header 11 Another major source of contamination is the header 11, the operation of which also causes lots of dust, chaff and other impurities to become airborne around the harvester.
  • an air cleaning device which is operable to filter all impurities out of the intake air.
  • the cleaning device 22 is composed of two major components being a primary cleaner element 24 on the one hand and a pre-cleaning element 26 on the other hand, which are disposed relative to each other in such a manner that air aspirated by the engine 10 is first drawn through the pre-cleaning element 26 before being filtered by the primary cleaner 24, whereafter the clean air is conducted through a conduit 28 towards the entrance of the engine 10.
  • a turbocharger 30 is provided for speeding up and propelling the intake air into the engine 10.
  • An ejector unit (not shown), incorporated in the engine exhaust 32, is operable to create an underpressure in a hose 34 which leads towards the primary cleaner 24 for extracting any foreign particles which may accumulate therein.
  • the turbocharger 30 and the ejector unit arrangement are conventional in the art and form no part of the present invention, they will not be described in any further details.
  • the primary cleaner 24 comprises a cylindrical, horizontally oriented body 36, at the inside of which a dry-type air filter 38 is provided; said filter 38 partially being extracted from the body 36 for ease of reference.
  • a solid cover 40 seals the body 36 at one end whereas the other end thereof receives the clean air conduit 28 already mentioned.
  • the dry-type filter 38 is cylindrical in shape and is composed of fine-meshed material which is able to filter out small-sized particles, such as dust for example, from the intake air.
  • the pre-cleaning element 26 is mounted upright on top of the primary cleaner 24 and equally comprises a cylindrical outer body 42. However, unlike the body 36 of the primary cleaner 24, said outer body 42 is perforated over its complete cylindrical surface, as such building a screen-like filter, of which the perforations have a diameter of about 1,8 mm.
  • the pre-cleaner 26 further comprises a solid top closure 44 and a bottom closure (not shown) including an outlet conduit 46, which is provided with a fixation brace 48 for removably securing the pre-cleaner 26 onto an inlet flange 50 of the primary cleaner 24. So far, all mentioned components of the pre-cleaner 26 are well known and conventional in the art.
  • part of the solid top closure 44 and the outer body or screen 42 is cut away in Figure 2, revealing the interior of the pre-cleaner 26.
  • An inner, cylindrically shaped body 52 is seen which extends coaxially with the outer screen 42 from the bottom closure of the pre-cleaner 26 towards the solid cover 44, stopping short thereof.
  • the inner body 52 is an open-ended tube, registering with the outlet conduit 46 and having an upper circumferential portion which is provided with perforations.
  • the upper three quarters of the tube 52 has perforations with a diameter of approximately 3,5 mm, whereas the lowermost quarter of the tube 52 is kept solid in order to prevent that any water, unintentionally passed through the screen 42, could enter the outlet conduit 46.
  • the disposition of the perforations has been chosen such that the totalled surface thereof amounts to around 50% of the total circumferential surface of the upper three quarters of the tube 52.
  • intake air successively is drawn through the screen 42, through the perforated part of the tube 52, via the outlet conduit 46, through the filter element 38 and via the conduit 28 towards the engine 10.
  • the underpressure created in the outlet conduit 46 is felt over the total perforated area of the tube 52 resulting in an evenly distributed supply of intake air therethrough.
  • the flow of intake air through the screen 42 is generally uniformly distributed over the total height and circumference of the pre-cleaner 26.
  • the air speed exterially of the screen 42 is kept below an acceptable level, so that, on the one hand, large-sized impurities are less prone of being carried towards the pre-cleaner 26 and, on the other hand, particles which are filtered-out by the screen 42 more easily fall loose therefrom under influence of gravity forces. All this makes the pre-cleaner 26 carefree even during a full-day operation of the combine harvester 1 in a heavy contaminated atmosphere. In addition, energy is saved as an unobstructed flow of intake air is ensured.
  • a further compelling reason why clogging of the pre-cleaner 26 at all costs should be avoided is related to the existence of the connection 34 between the primary cleaner 24 and the exhaust 32, in which, under normal operating conditions, air flows from the former towards the latter.
  • the engine 10 tends to aspirate air from the exhaust 32 via the hose 34 into the air filter 38 in order to compensate for the reduced air flow through the pre-cleaner 26.
  • a very dangerous situation is created in that hot exhaust gasses are urged through the dry-type air filter 38 which is not resistant to high temperatures and thus easily may ignite, resulting eventually in the engine 10 or even the complete machine catching fire. It readily will be appreciated that running such a risk is unacceptable and therefore should be prevented by safeguarding a free flow of air through the pre-cleaner 26.
  • the inner tube 52 stops short of the solid upper cover 44 in order to allow any foreign matter, which possibly, after considerable time, might accumulate on the lower cover inbetween the outer and inner bodies 42, 52, to be removed in a convenient manner.
  • the pre-cleaner 26 is detached from its seat 50 and turned upside down whereby any accumulated foreign matter collects on a central portion of the upper cover 44.
  • the upper cover 44 immovably may be secured (such as by spot welding for example) to the screen 42, as it is not required to remove the former for cleaning purposes.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Combines (AREA)
  • Cooling, Air Intake And Gas Exhaust, And Fuel Tank Arrangements In Propulsion Units (AREA)

Claims (7)

  1. Luftfilteranordnung (22) zur Verwendung auf einer landwirtschaftlichen Erntemaschine (1), die mit einer Brennkraftmaschine (10) versehen ist, wobei die Luftfilteranordnung folgende Teile umfaßt:
    - ein primäres Filterelement (24), das zum Ausfiltern von eine geringe Größe aufweisenden Verunreinigungen (beispielsweise Staubteilchen) aus der Ansaugluft betreibbar ist, und
       ein Vorabscheiderelement (26), das strömungsaufwärts von dem primären Filterelement (24) angeordnet ist und folgende Teile aufweist:
    . einen perforierten äußeren Körperteil (42), der zum Entfernen von größeren Verunreinigungen (beispielsweise Spreu, Strohteilchen, Blätter und so weiter) aus der Ansaugluft betreibbar ist, wenn diese Ansaugluft durch diesen Körperteil hindurchströmt,
    . einen geschlossenen oberes Abdeckteil (44),
    . eine Auslaßleitung (26), die in Betriebsverbindung mit dem primären Filterelement (24) steht, und
    . einen perforierten inneren Körperteil (52), durch den die Ansaugluft gesaugt wird, wenn sie von dem äußeren Körperteil (42) in Richtung auf die Auslaßleitung (46) strömt,
    dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß der innere Körperteil (52) durch einen ein offenes Ende aufweisenden Körper gebildet ist, der mit der Auslaßleitung (46) ausgerichtet ist und sich von dieser aus nach oben in Richtung auf den oberen Abdeckteil (44) erstreckt und kurz vor diesem endet, derart, daß die Ansaugluft allgemein gleichförmig über die gesamte perforierte Oberfläche des äußeren Körperteils (42) angesaugt wird.
  2. Luftfilteranordnung (22) nach Anspruch 1,
    dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß die äußeren und inneren Körperteile (42, 52) beide zylindrisch geformt sind und sich koaxial zueinander erstrecken.
  3. Luftfilteranordnung (22) nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche,
    dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß der innere Körperteil (52) lediglich über einen Teil seiner Länge perforiert ist.
  4. Luftfilteransordnung (22) nach Anspruch 3,
    dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß der innere Körperteil (52) in Umfangsrichtung über ungefähr drei Viertel seiner Länge perforiert ist.
  5. Luftfilteransordnung (22) nach Anspruch 3 oder 4,
    dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß die Perforationen einen Durchmesser von ungefähr 3,5 mm aufweisen und in dem oberen Abschnitt des Körpers (52) vorgesehen sind.
  6. Luftfilteranordnung (22) nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche,
    dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß der unterste Abschnitt des inneren Körperteils (52) vollfächig ausgebildet ist, um zu verhindern, daß irgedwelches Wasser in die Auslaßleitung (46) fließt.
  7. Luftfilteranordnung (22) nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche,
    dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß die landwirtschaftliche Erntemaschine ein Mähdrescher (1) ist.
EP19910202918 1991-11-11 1991-11-11 Vorabscheider für eine Brennkraftmaschine Expired - Lifetime EP0541857B1 (de)

Priority Applications (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP19910202918 EP0541857B1 (de) 1991-11-11 1991-11-11 Vorabscheider für eine Brennkraftmaschine
DE1991611240 DE69111240T2 (de) 1991-11-11 1991-11-11 Vorabscheider für eine Brennkraftmaschine.

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP19910202918 EP0541857B1 (de) 1991-11-11 1991-11-11 Vorabscheider für eine Brennkraftmaschine

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0541857A1 EP0541857A1 (de) 1993-05-19
EP0541857B1 true EP0541857B1 (de) 1995-07-12

Family

ID=8207996

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP19910202918 Expired - Lifetime EP0541857B1 (de) 1991-11-11 1991-11-11 Vorabscheider für eine Brennkraftmaschine

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0541857B1 (de)
DE (1) DE69111240T2 (de)

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US10746141B2 (en) 2017-03-14 2020-08-18 Kohler Co. Engine air cleaner
DE102019003209A1 (de) 2019-05-07 2020-11-12 Deere & Company Zentrifugalluftfilter für ein Fahrzeugsystem

Family Cites Families (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3123456A (en) * 1964-03-03 Air pre-cleaning apparatus
US1875427A (en) * 1932-09-06 Aib cleaneb
US2062548A (en) * 1934-12-29 1936-12-01 Int Harvester Co Air cleaner
FR1526460A (fr) * 1966-06-03 1968-05-24 Farr Co Groupe filtrant à air
US3791112A (en) * 1971-09-23 1974-02-12 Donaldson Co Inc Moisture removing stack cap for engine air intakes
US3972700A (en) * 1975-07-30 1976-08-03 Gleockler Frederick M Air cleaner for tractor engine

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0541857A1 (de) 1993-05-19
DE69111240T2 (de) 1995-11-23
DE69111240D1 (de) 1995-08-17

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
EP0701772B1 (de) Reinigungsvorrichtung für Erntemaschine
EP1918009A1 (de) Luftvorreinigungsanordnung für einen Verbrennungsmotor mit zwei Zyklonfiltern
US4443236A (en) Self-cleaning screen for the cooling air inlet of an engine enclosure
US7507270B2 (en) Agricultural working vehicle with air scoop for air intake system
US5129124A (en) Cleaning machine
CA2090150C (en) Trash handling apparatus for a self-cleaning rotary screen
AU605444B2 (en) Air filtering arrangement
IL114957A (en) Air filter device in cotton velvet
CA1222920A (en) Straw discharge deflectors for combine harvesters
CA1222918A (en) Offset grain loss sensor for combine harvesters
US6029430A (en) Device for extracting foreign objects from forager harvesters
US4510948A (en) Discharge assist means for combine harvesters
RU2044445C1 (ru) Самоходная уборочная машина
EP0443210B1 (de) Feuerschutzeinrichtung für eine landwirtschaftliche Maschine
EP0541857B1 (de) Vorabscheider für eine Brennkraftmaschine
AU643119B2 (en) Air blast for cleaning axial separator
EP3530897B1 (de) Absaugsystem für ein nutzfahrzeug
US5895319A (en) Air intake system for an off-highway machine
CA1222919A (en) Combine harvester straw hood
JP4758232B2 (ja) プレクリーナ
EP1744026B1 (de) Landwirtschaftliches Fahrzeug mit einem Luftschaufel für den Lufteinlass
EP0595382B1 (de) Leitblech für Strohhäcksler
JPH082170Y2 (ja) 清掃機
JPH0746117Y2 (ja) ハ−ベスタ等の吸気装置
JPH0338998Y2 (de)

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PUAI Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009012

AK Designated contracting states

Kind code of ref document: A1

Designated state(s): DE FR GB

17P Request for examination filed

Effective date: 19931111

17Q First examination report despatched

Effective date: 19940603

GRAA (expected) grant

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009210

AK Designated contracting states

Kind code of ref document: B1

Designated state(s): DE FR GB

REF Corresponds to:

Ref document number: 69111240

Country of ref document: DE

Date of ref document: 19950817

ET Fr: translation filed
PLBE No opposition filed within time limit

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009261

STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

Free format text: STATUS: NO OPPOSITION FILED WITHIN TIME LIMIT

26N No opposition filed
REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: GB

Ref legal event code: IF02

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: FR

Ref legal event code: CD

PGFP Annual fee paid to national office [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: GB

Payment date: 20040924

Year of fee payment: 14

PGFP Annual fee paid to national office [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: FR

Payment date: 20041006

Year of fee payment: 14

PGFP Annual fee paid to national office [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: DE

Payment date: 20041013

Year of fee payment: 14

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: GB

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES

Effective date: 20051111

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: DE

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES

Effective date: 20060601

GBPC Gb: european patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee

Effective date: 20051111

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: FR

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES

Effective date: 20060731

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: FR

Ref legal event code: ST

Effective date: 20060731