ITRE20120007A1 - FILTERING CARTRIDGE - Google Patents

Description

DESCRIPTION

of the Italian Patent for Industrial Invention entitled:

â € œFILTER CARTRIDGEâ €

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention generally relates to the filtration of fluids, especially the filtration of motor fluids, including in particular the filtration of the air that is sucked in by an internal combustion engine.

PRE-EXISTING TECHNIQUE

As is known, the air (or in general any gas) that is sucked in by an internal combustion engine must commonly undergo a filtration phase aimed at purifying it from suspended solid particles, typically dust of various nature or humidity, so that the latter cannot reach the combustion chambers of the engine. This filtration phase is typically performed by means of a special filtering group, which is located along the intake duct of the internal combustion engine, upstream of the intake manifold and of the turbocharger if present.

The filtering unit schematically comprises an external casing, usually called the filter box, which is provided with an inlet for the air to be filtered and an outlet for the filtered air, and a filtering cartridge housed inside said filter box to filter the air that flows from the inlet to the outlet.

On board a vehicle, the filter box is normally located inside the engine compartment, where it is associated with a first duct to connect the air inlet with an air intake in the bonnet or in the front part of the vehicle, and to a second duct to connect the air outlet with the engine intake manifold.

The filtering cartridge comprises at least one filtering septum, or an element of filtering material, for example based on cellulose or polymeric material, and at least one support flange for said element of filtering material. The support flange is hooked to the filter box so that the filter material element is able to divide the internal volume into two distinct chambers, of which a first chamber communicating with the entrance and a second chamber communicating with the ™ exit. In this way, the air flowing from the inlet to the outlet of the filter box is forced to pass through the element of filtering material, which retains the solid particles to be separated from the air in the first chamber , leaving clean the second chamber where the purified air flows. Since these solid particles progressively obstruct the filter material element, it is commonly expected that the filter cartridge can be removed from the filter box, in order to replace it when the filter material element is excessively clogged.

One of the main needs connected with this type of filtering groups consists in ensuring that the second chamber, that is the chamber located downstream of the filtering septum, as well as the ducts connected to it, are never contaminated by the particulate that is removed from the filter septum itself, so as to be able to supply only filtered and clean air to the internal combustion engine.

A drawback that is generally encountered in known filtering groups is that even if the filtration phase presents a high efficiency and that, in use, the first chamber and the second chamber are in fact separated from the filtering septum, this separation is in fact non-existent, albeit for a limited period of time, whenever it is necessary to remove the filtering septum to carry out its periodic replacement.

It is found, in fact, that the excess particulate, which enters the first chamber of the casing, is deposited not only on the surface of the filtering septum facing the first chamber but also on the internal walls of the first chamber itself.

The personnel assigned to the periodic replacement of the filter cartridge, therefore, are forced to carry out these replacement operations with great caution in order to avoid that this particulate, once the cartridge has been removed, does not fall into the second chamber and is therefore downstream of the new filter septum which is installed inside the casing and flows into the engine intake manifold.

An object of the present invention is to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks of the known art, within the ambit of a simple, rational and low cost solution.

These objects are achieved by the characteristics of the invention reported in the independent claim. The dependent claims outline preferred and / or particularly advantageous aspects of the invention.

<EXHIBITION OF THE> â € ™ <INVENTION>

The invention, in particular, makes available a filter cartridge, suitable to be contained inside an external casing provided with an inlet and an outlet in order to filter the fluid flowing from the inlet towards the outlet, which filter cartridge includes at least a filtering septum and a support flange fixed to said filtering septum and able to divide the internal volume of the casing into a first chamber communicating with the inlet and a second chamber communicating with the ™ communicating with each other through the filtering septum.

According to the invention, the filtering cartridge comprises at least one collection body associated with said support flange and able to define a collection volume communicating with said first chamber to collect the particulate separating from the fluid to be filtered, and retain it inside.

Thanks to this solution, the contaminant separated from the air to be filtered remains contained inside the collection body avoiding contamination of the area of the envelope located downstream of the filtering septum.

An aspect of the invention provides that the collection body is made in a single piece with the support flange.

In this way, the collection body is easy to make and safe to use, allowing the replacement of the entire filter cartridge and the collection body in a single operation.

Another aspect of the invention is that the collection body is substantially shaped like a basin and is equipped with an open wall able to put the first chamber in communication with the internal volume of the collection body, said support flange defining at least one wall of the collection body itself.

Thanks to this solution, the collection body defines a concave area, formed by the walls of the collection body itself and the filtering septum, which is able to collect on its walls the contaminant to be separated from the air to be filtered, allowing a Effective collection of the same and preventing it from dirtying the walls of the casing.

Still advantageously, at least one of the support flange and the collection body comprises at least a perimeter edge to which a gasket is fixed which is suitable to be associated with said casing for the seal separation between the first chamber and the second chamber.

Thanks to this solution, the cartridge is replaced simultaneously with the replacement of the gasket and through a single operation by the maintenance personnel, thus preventing the deterioration of the sealing performance due to the aging of the gasket itself.

A further aspect of the invention provides that the cartridge comprises separation fins associated with said collection body and suitable for conveying the fluid to be filtered towards the filtering septum. Thanks to these separation fins, the air to be filtered is conveyed towards the filtering septum allowing at the same time a pre-separation of the coarser contaminant present in the air to be filtered, which collides with the fins themselves and settles in the bottom of the body. collection, thus allowing to extend the life time of the filter septum.

A further aspect of the invention makes available a filtering unit for an internal combustion engine, characterized in that it comprises an external casing provided with an inlet and an outlet and a filtering cartridge, according to any one of the preceding claims, placed at Inside of said casing in order to filter the fluid that flows from the inlet to the outlet. Advantageously, the casing of the group comprises a first body in which the inlet is defined and a second body in which the outlet is defined, said gasket being able to be interposed between the first body and the second body of the casing for the airtight separation between the first chamber and the second chamber.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become evident by reading the following description provided by way of non-limiting example, with the aid of the figures illustrated in the attached tables.

Figure 1 is a front view of a filtering group according to the invention.

Figure 2 is a side view of Figure 1.

Figure 3 section III-III of figure 1 with inside a filtering cartridge according to a first embodiment of the invention.

Figure 4 Section IV-IV of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a side view of a filter cartridge according to a first embodiment.

Figure 6 is an isometric view of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is section VII-VII of Figure 5.

Figure 8 is a front view of Figure 5.

Figure 9 is a view according to the section plane IV-IV of Figure 1 with inside a filter cartridge according to a second embodiment of the invention.

Figure 10 is an isometric view of a filter cartridge according to the second embodiment.

Figure 11 is a view from XI of Figure 10.

Figure 12 is the section XII-XII of figure 11.

Figure 13 is the section XIII-XIII of figure 11.

<BEST WAY TO IMPLEMENT THE> â € ™ <INVENTION>

With particular reference to these figures, the reference numeral 1 generally indicates a filtering unit, which is suitable for purifying an air flow of any solid particles present in suspension. More specifically, the filtering unit 1 is intended to be placed along an intake duct of an internal combustion engine, in order to filter the combustion air that is fed into the combustion chambers of the engine itself.

The filtering group 1 comprises an external casing 10, conventionally called the filter box, which can be made as a whole in plastic or in metal. The casing 10 delimits an internal volume and is provided with an inlet 11 for the air to be filtered and an outlet 12 for the filtered air, both communicating with said internal volume. Inlet 11 is designed to be in communication with the external environment, while outlet 12 is designed to be in communication with the combustion chambers of the engine, normally through an intake manifold.

The envelope 10 has the overall shape of a polyhedron, in this case an elongated polyhedron with longitudinal axis A.

In this case, the casing 10 comprises a first substantially cup-shaped body 13 on the bottom 130 (at the bottom in Figures 1 and 2) a conduit 131 is made with a substantially curved central axis and defining the inlet 11.

The top of the first body 13 comprises a folded edge 132 defining a surface substantially orthogonal to the side walls of the first body itself.

The casing 10, then, comprises a second body 14 also substantially cup-shaped on the bottom 140 (at the top in Figures 1 and 2) a conduit 141 is made with a central axis substantially inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis A and defining the exit 12.

The top of the second body 14 comprises a folded edge 142 defining a surface substantially orthogonal to the side walls of the first body itself.

The edge 142 of the second body 14 is able to face the edge 132 of the first body 13 for the substantially hermetic closure of the external casing 10, for example by means of known fixing means such as clamps or the like, not shown as of a known type.

The external casing 10 has a substantially quadrangular cross section (rectangular in the example), however, it is not excluded that the section may be any, as well as the arrangement and inclination of the ducts 132 and 142 in their respective bodies, depending on the construction needs.

The filtering unit 1 comprises a filtering cartridge, globally indicated with 20 and 30, respectively in figures 3-8 and in figures 9-13, suitable for being mounted inside the casing 10 so as to divide the internal volume of the itself in two separate rooms, the first bedroom 15 communicating with the entrance 11 and a second bedroom 16 communicating with the exit 12.

In the first embodiment shown in Figures 3 - 8, the filtering cartridge 20 comprises a collection body 21 shaped like a tank, adapted to be arranged inside the casing 10 with the concavity facing the inlet 11.

In this case, the collection body 21 has a truncated pyramid shape with a rectangular base, the base of which (at the bottom in Figures 5, 7 and 8) is defined by an open wall 210 suitable for connecting the first chamber 15 with the internal volume of the collection body 21 itself.

The open wall 210 comprises a perimeter edge 211 protruding from the collection body 21 of a shape conjugated to the cross section (with respect to the longitudinal axis A) of the external casing 10, which is adapted to be clamped between the edge 132 of the first body 13 and the edge 142 of the second body 14, for example by interposition of a sealing gasket 212 of annular shape and C-shaped cross section able to be fastened frontally to the perimeter edge itself, so that the gasket 212 is squeezed between the edge 132 and the edge 142, guaranteeing both the hermetic closure of the casing 10 and the hermetic separation between the first chamber 15 of the air to be filtered and the second chamber 16 of the filtered air.

The collection body 21 then comprises side walls 213a and 213b (in the example four in number) which rise from the open wall 210 and a bottom wall 214.

Two of the side walls 213a, facing each other in the example shown, define two respective support flanges and each have a respective through opening 215 of rectangular shape.

The cartridge 20 therefore comprises two filtering septa 22, in this case two pleated filtering septa of the flat type, which are adapted to intercept the two passage openings 215 respectively.

The perimeter edge of each filter media 22 is fixed, for example by gluing, to a respective side wall 213a in correspondence with the internal perimeter edge of the passage opening 215, which is suitable for accommodating the filter media to size .

The collection body 21 is therefore closed laterally by the side walls 213b, by the side walls 213a and by the filtering septa 22 and in the axial direction by the bottom wall 214, remaining open only in correspondence with the open wall 210. In practice, the internal volume of the collection body 21, enclosed by the aforesaid structural elements of the cartridge 20, defines together with the internal volume of the first body 13 of the casing 10 the first chamber 15, when the cartridge 20 is in a configuration mounted in the casing itself.

However, it is not excluded that the arrangement of the filtering septa 22 in the collection body 21 may be different from that shown, or that the shape of the collection body is any according to the construction requirements.

The cartridge 20 also comprises a plurality of separation fins 216 fixed to the side walls 213b of the collection body 21, which extend into the central area of the collection body itself, for example for the entire depth of the collection body. 21 and are configured in such a way as to divert the flow of air to be filtered from the axial direction towards the two filtering septa 22. In the example shown, the separation fins 216 are substantially arranged in a herringbone pattern, as shown in figure 7.

The operation of the filtering group 1, according to this first embodiment shown in Figures 3-8, is as follows.

Once the cartridge 20 has been installed as described above in the casing 10 and hermetically closed the latter, the air to be filtered that enters from the inlet 11 into the first chamber 15 is conveyed axially inside the internal volume of the collection body 21.

The separation fins 216 divert the air flow in a transversal direction towards the filter media 22 helping to separate the particulate and any water molecules present in the air to be filtered from the air itself.

The air to be filtered then passes through the filtering septa 22 from the inside of the collection body 21 towards the outside of it, depositing the particulate on the internal wall (with respect to the collection body 21) of the same.

The filtered air then passes into the second chamber 16 and from this to the outlet 12 from which it is fed to the internal combustion engine.

Should it be necessary to replace the cartridge 20, proceed with the opening of the casing 10 and the removal of the cartridge itself. It should be noted that during this phase any detachment of particulate from the internal surface of the filtering septa 22, as well as from the internal walls of the surrounding collection chamber 21, is not such as to affect the second chamber 16, as everything however, the particulate remains safely contained inside the collection body 21.

In the second embodiment shown in figures 10 - 13, the filtering cartridge 30 comprises a collection body 31 shaped like a tank, adapted to be arranged inside the casing 10 with the concavity facing the inlet 11.

In this case, the collection body 31 has a parallelepiped shape with a rectangular base, the base of which (at the bottom in figure 12) is defined by an open wall 310 able to put the first chamber 15 in communication with the internal volume of the body. collection 31 itself.

The open wall 310 comprises a perimeter edge 311, protruding from the collection body 31 and having a shape conjugated to the transverse section (with respect to the longitudinal axis A) of the external casing 10, which is adapted to be clamped between the edge 132 of the first body 13 and the edge 142 of the second body 14, for example through the interposition of a sealing gasket 312 of annular shape and C-shaped cross section able to be fastened frontally to the perimeter edge itself, so that the gasket 312 is flattened between edge 132 and edge 142, ensuring both the hermetic closure of the casing 10 and the hermetic separation between the first chamber 15 of the air to be filtered and the second chamber 16 of the filtered air.

The collection body 31 then comprises side walls 313 (in the example four in number) which rise from the open wall 310 and a bottom wall 314 which closes the collection body 31 at the top (with reference to the figure).

The bottom wall 314 defines a support flange and has a plurality of through openings 315 through circular shapes.

The cartridge 30 then comprises a plurality of filtering septa 32 (in the example 11 in number), of tubular shape, each of which has a closed end and an opposite open end which is fixed to the support flange , or to the bottom wall 314, for example by gluing.

In correspondence with each filtering septum 32, the bottom wall 314 is provided with a said passage opening 315 which flows into the internal cavity of the filtering septum 32.

Said opening 315, for example, could be delimited by a protruding tang (not shown) facing towards the inside of the collection body 31 which fits to size inside the relative filtering septum 32, so as to improve fastening of the latter.

The collection body 31 is therefore closed laterally by the side walls 313 and in an axial direction by the bottom wall 314 and by the filtering baffles 32, remaining open only in correspondence with the open wall 310.

In practice, the internal volume of the collection body 31, enclosed by the aforementioned structural elements of the cartridge 30, together with the internal volume of the first body 13 of the casing 10 defines the first chamber 15, when the cartridge 30 is in a configuration mounted in the € ™ casing itself.

However, it is not excluded that the arrangement of the filtering septa 32 in the collection body 31 may be different from that shown, or that the shape of the collection body is any according to the construction requirements.

The cartridge 30 also comprises a plurality of separation fins 316 fixed to the side walls 313 of the collection body 31, for example in correspondence with the open wall 310 and are configured in such a way as to divert the flow of air to be filtered from the axial direction towards the filter media 32.

In the example shown, the separation fins are arranged on two side walls 313 opposite each other so as to converge the air towards the center of the collection body 31, as shown in figures 10 and 13, and let the solid particulate fall towards a wall side 313 of the collection body 31.

The operation of the filtering group 1, according to this second embodiment shown in Figures 9-13, is as follows.

Once the cartridge 30 has been installed as described above in the casing 10 and hermetically closed the latter, the air to be filtered that enters from the inlet 11 into the first chamber 15 is conveyed axially inside the internal volume of the collection body 31.

The separation fins 316 divert the air flow in a transversal direction towards the filter media 32 helping at the same time to separate the particulate and any water molecules present in the air to be filtered from the air itself.

The air to be filtered then passes through the filtering septa 32 from the outside towards the inside, depositing the particulate on the external wall of the same.

The filtered air crosses axially (as shown in figure 12) the internal cavity of the filtering septa 32 and enters the second chamber 16, through the passage openings 315, then passing from this to the outlet 12 from which it is conveyed towards the internal combustion engine.

Should it be necessary to replace the cartridge 30, proceed with the opening of the casing 10 and the removal of the cartridge itself. It should be noted that during this phase the possible detachment of particulate from the external surface of the filtering septa 32, as well as from the internal walls of the collection chamber 31 that surrounds them, is not such as to affect the second chamber 16, as everything however, the particulate remains safely contained inside the collection body 31.

The invention thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the inventive concept.

For example, it is not excluded that the filtering septa 22 and 32, which in the embodiments shown above are more than one and are crossed in parallel by the air to be filtered, may in different configurations of the filtering group 1 be one in number for each embodiment or be multiple and and be crossed in series (or in a combined form in parallel and series) by the air to be filtered according to the construction requirements and the required degree of filtration.

Furthermore, all the details can be replaced by other technically equivalent elements.

In practice, the materials used, as well as the contingent shapes and dimensions, may be any according to requirements without thereby abandoning the scope of the protection of the following claims.

Claims (10)

CLAIMS 1. Filter cartridge (20,30), suitable to be contained inside an external casing (10) provided with an inlet (11) and an outlet (12) in order to filter the fluid flowing from the Inlet (11) towards the outlet (12), which filter cartridge (20,30) includes at least a filtering septum (22,32) and a support flange (213a, 314) fixed to said filtering septum (22 , 32) and designed to divide the internal volume of the envelope (10) into a first chamber (15) communicating with the entrance (11) and a second chamber (16) communicating with the exit (12) between communicating with them by means of the filtering septum (22,32), characterized in that it comprises at least one collection body (21,31) associated with said support flange (213a, 314) and able to define a collection volume communicating with said first chamber (15) to collect the particulate separating from the fluid to be filtered. Cartridge (20,30) according to claim 1, wherein said collection body (21,31) is made in a single piece with said support flange (213a, 314). 3. Cartridge (20,30) according to claim 1 or 2, in which said collection body (21,31) is substantially tub-shaped and is equipped with an open wall (210,310) suitable to put the first chamber in communication (15) with the internal volume of the collection body (21,31), said support flange (213a, 314) defining at least one wall of the collection body itself. 4. Cartridge (20,30) according to claim 1, wherein said support flange (213a, 314) defines a passage opening (215,315) suitable for putting the first chamber (15) in communication with the second chamber ( 16) and intercepted by said filtering septum (22,32). 5. Cartridge (20,30) according to claim 1 wherein at least one of said support flange (213a, 314) and said collection body (21,31) comprises at least one perimeter edge (211,311) to which a gasket is fixed (212,312) adapted to be associated with said casing (10) for the seal separation between the first chamber (15) and the second chamber (16). 6. Cartridge (20,30) according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises separation fins (216,316) associated with said collection body (21,31) and suitable for conveying the fluid to be filtered towards the filtering septum (22, 32). Cartridge (20,30) according to claim 1 wherein said filter septum (32) is a tubular septum. Cartridge (20,30) according to claim 1 wherein said filter septum (22) is a pleated septum. 9. Filtering group (1) for an internal combustion engine, characterized in that it comprises an external casing (10) provided with an inlet (11) and an outlet (12) and a filter cartridge (20,30), according to any one of the preceding claims, placed inside said casing (10) so as to filter the fluid flowing from the inlet (11) to the outlet (12). 10. Group (1) according to claim 9, wherein the casing (10) comprises a first body (13) in which said inlet (11) is defined and a second body (14) in which the € ™ outlet (12), said gasket (212,312) being able to be interposed between the first body (14) and the second body (14) of the casing (10) for the seal separation between the first chamber (15) and the second chamber (16).