GB2348153A

GB2348153A - Easily removable air filter for internal combustion engine air intake.

Info

Publication number: GB2348153A
Application number: GB9906947A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jerome Begue
Original assignee: Draftex Industries Ltd
Current assignee: Laird Holdings Ltd
Priority date: 1999-03-25
Filing date: 1999-03-25
Publication date: 2000-09-27
Also published as: GB9906947D0

Abstract

An air filter arrangement, particularly for use in the air intake of an internal combustion engine, comprises a housing 5 and an air filter element 12 which is removably insertable through one wall of the housing 5, to form a sealing engagement therewith. The element 12 may carry parallel sealing members 14 to engage with respective channels 16 inside the housing 5. The housing 5 may incorporate a resonator (24, Figure 4) comprising a wall portion (26) with an aperture (28). The volume of the resonator (24) may be selected to coincide with the vibration frequency of the engine. The housing 5 is preferably comprised of two shallow box members 5a, 5b sealingly joined together. The element 12 may also carry a handle 19 and an enlarged cover 18 for sealing around the aperture in the wall of the housing 5.

Description

The invention relates to air filter arrangements. The embodiments of the invention to be described in more detail below, by way of example only, are for filtering the input air of an internal combustion engine, such as in a vehicle.

According to the invention, there is provided an air filter arrangement, comprising a housing having a hollow interior and an air inlet and an air outlet, and an air filter element which is removably insertable from externally of the housing through a wall of the housing so as to be sealingly positioned within the housing between the air inlet and the air outlet.

Air filter arrangements embodying the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of one of the arrangements; Figure 2 is a view of the filter arrangement of Figure 1 but with one semi-box portion thereof removed; Figure 3 is a perspective view corresponding to Figure 1 but showing removal of an air filter element; Figure 4 corresponds to Figure 2 but shows the air filter element removed.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a filter element for use in the filter arrangement shown in Figures 1 to 4; Figure 6 is a plan view of the filter element of Figure 5 ; Figure 7 corresponds to Figure 6 but shows a modification; Figure 8 shows the filter element of Figure 7 and the guide channels of the filter arrangement ready to receive the filter element; and Figure 9 shows the filter element of Figures 7 and 8 in position in the guide channels.

The air filter arrangement (Figure 1) comprises a housing 5 which is made from two shallow open-topped box portions 5A and 5B which are matching mirror-images of each other, preferably made of thermoplastic or similar material and which are sealingly joined together along a seam 6. They may be joined together along the seam such as by ultrasonic welding or by the use of adhesive for example, but any other suitable method may be used instead. The thermoplastic material may be reinforced with fibres.

Each box portion 5A, 5B is provided with an opening 8A, 8B in one of its side walls so that these two openings define a rectangular aperture 10 (see Figure 3) when the box portions are brought together. The aperture 10 is for receiving an air filter element or cartridge 12 which, in this example, is of rectangular cross-section sized to be able freely to enter and exit through the aperture 10.

The filter element 12 may have the form shown in Figure 5 comprising folded paper 13 supported on a frame 14. The side members 14A and 14B of the frame are in the form of seals which slide in corresponding channels 16A, 16B, the channels being respectively formed in the material of the box portions SA, 5B to extend along the flat surfaces thereof away from the aperture 10. The seal member 14A, which is shown in Figures 5 and 6 but not visible in Figures 1 to 4 slides in the channel 16A carried by box portion SA (e. g. see Figures 3 and 4), while the seal member 14B slides in the corresponding channel 16B (not visible in Figures 1 to 4) carried by box portion 5B.

The filter element 12 carries an enlarged substantially rigid cover 18, the cover 18 having a larger area than the aperture 10 and including a handle 19.

The air filter arrangement has a pipe stub 20 (Figures 1 and 3) forming an air inlet and a similar pipe stub 22 forming an air outlet. Air inlet 20 is preferably formed integrally with the material of the box portion 5B and air outlet 22 is preferably formed integrally with the box portion 5A.

The air inlet 20 and the air outlet 22 are respectively connected to an air intake pipe (e. g. at the front of the engine compartment of the vehice) and to an air outlet pipe leading to the vehicle's engine manifold or turbo. When the filter element 12 is inserted into the aperture 10, so that the seal members 14A, 14B engage the channels 16A, 16B, and is then pushed into a fully-inserted position (see Figure 2), the underside of the cover 18 seals around the periphery of the aperture 10.

The channels 16A, 16B may be joined at their ends furthermost from the aperture 10 by a channel 16C into which a seal member 14C (see Figure 5) seats.

In use, air enters through the air inlet 20 and flows to the air outlet 22 through the filter element 12. The seal members 14A, 14B, 14C form a substantially air-tight seal with the channels 16A, 16B, 16C so that air cannot pass from the air inlet 20 to the air outlet 22 except by passing through and being filtered by the filter element 12.

When the filter element 12 needs cleaning or replacement, it can be removed from the filter arrangement by a simple manual pulling action exerted on the handle 19. A new filter element 12 (or the same one, after cleaning) can then easily be inserted by engaging its seal members 14A, 14B with the channels 16A, 16B and then applying a simple manual pushing action.

In this way, the disadvantages of known air filter arrangements are overcome-where, for example, it is necessary to disconnect or unclip a cover of a housing in which the filter element is mounted. It may then be necessary to disconnect or unclip the filter element either from the base of the housing or from the underside of the cover. These disconnecting or unclipping actions then have to be reversed in order to mount a new or cleaned filter element in the housing. Multiple two-handed operations may therefore be required which will be time-consuming, labour-intensive (and therefore relatively costly), and difficult to carry out in the relatively small space available within an engine compartment. In the air filter arrangement described and illustrated, however, the filter element can be removed and replaced by a single one-handed pulling and pushing operation.

In some applications, it is advantageous to incorporate a resonator to minimise acoustic noise which may be generated at a certain frequency by pulsing of the input air caused by the pumping action of the engine. Such a resonator can easily be incorporated in the housing 5 as shown at 24, for example, in Figure 2. The resonator 24 is formed by a wall part 26A preferably integrally formed with the material of the box portion 5A, and a similar wall portion (not shown) integrally formed with the material of the box portion 5B. The two wall portions come sealingly together when the two box portions are sealingly connected. Each wall portion defines a groove 28, and the two grooves come together to provide a hole of the required diameter which, in combination with the size of the interior of the resonator 24, provides the necessary resonant frequency for acoustic damping.

Various modifications may be made.

The channels 16A, 16B can be integrally formed with the thermoplastic portion of the box portions or formed separately and suitably attached.

The width across the frame 14 of the filter cartridge 12 at its end 12A opposite the cover 18 can be narrower than at its end 12B immediately adjacent the cover 18, the width progressively changing between the end 12A and the end 12B, as shown in Figure 7. As shown in Figure 8, this ensures that the friction between the seal members 14A, 14B and the channels 16A, 16B is relatively low when the cartridge 12 is first inserted through the aperture 10 but then progressively increases to lock the cartridge in position.

The cover 18 of the cartridge 12 can be part of the cartridge, so as to be replaced when the cartridge itself is replaced, or it can be removable so that it can be clipped to a new cartridge. Instead, it can be formed integrally with the material of the box 5 and hingably connected thereto.

The air inlet 20 and the air outlet 22 can be mounted on the same side of the housing 5 or could be formed in the wall of the housing at suitable positions alongside the seam 6-or partly in each box portion 5A, 5B so as to be intersected by the seam 6.

The shape of the housing 5 can have any suitable form.

Claims

1. An air filter arrangement, comprising a housing having a hollow interior and an air inlet and an air outlet, and an air filter element which is removably insertable from externally of the housing through a wall of the housing so as to be sealingly positioned within the housing between the air inlet and the air outlet.

2. An arrangement according to claim 1, in which the air filter element carries first longitudinally extending formation means for slidably and sealingly inter-engaging second longitudinally extending formation means mounted within the housing.

3. An arrangement according to claim 1 or 2, in which the housing defines an aperture in its wall through which the air filter element is removably insertable.

4. An arrangement according to claim 2, in which the housing defines an aperture in its wall through which the air filter element is removably insertable, the second longitudinally extending formation means extending into the interior of the housing from the aperture.

5. An arrangement according to claim 3 or 4, in which the first longitudinally extending formation means comprises a pair of parallel first formations on the air filter element and the second longitudinally extending formation means comprises a pair of parallel second formations mounted within the housing.

6. An arrangement according to claim 5, in which one pair of formations comprises a pair of seal members and the other pair of formations comprises a pair of channels for respectively receiving the seal members.

7. An arrangement according to any one of claims 3 to 6, in which the air filter element carries an enlarged cover for sealing around the outside of the aperture when the element is sealingly positioned within the housing.

8. An arrangement according to any preceding claim, in which the housing comprises two shallow open-topped box portions which are sealingly joined together along their open tops to form the housing.

9. An arrangement according to claim 8, in which the air inlet is formed in one box portion and the air outlet is formed in the other box portion.

10. An arrangement according to claim 8, in which the air inlet and the air outlet are formed in the same box portion.

11. An arrangement according to any preceding claim, including a resonator incorporated within the housing for acoustically damping the flow of air between the air inlet and the air outlet at a predetermined frequency.

12. An arrangement according to claim 11, in which the resonator comprises a predetermined volume defined within the interior of the enclosure and open to the enclosure through an opening of predetermined size.

13. An arrangement according to any one of claims 8 to 10, including a resonator incorporated within the housing for acoustically damping the flow of air between the air inlet and the air outlet at a predetermined frequency, the resonator comprising a predetermined volume defined within the interior of the enclosure and open to the enclosure through an opening of predetermined size, the predetermined volume being defined by respective wall means formed within each of the two box portions, the wall portions together defining the predetermined volume when the box portions are sealingly connected together.

14. An arrangement according to preceding, in which the housing is made of thermoplastic material.

15. An arrangement according to claim 14, in which the thermoplastic material is charged with fibres.

16. An air filter arrangement, substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.