Gas separation – With means securing or retaining separating media – Unit or cohesive sheet-like media in flow line or frame
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-09
2001-09-25
Smith, Duane (Department: 1724)
Gas separation
With means securing or retaining separating media
Unit or cohesive sheet-like media in flow line or frame
C055S502000, C055S503000, C055S511000, C055S521000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06293984
ABSTRACT:
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. HEI 10-235934 filed on Aug. 21, 1998 including the specification, drawings and abstract is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air filter usable as a component part of an air cleaner that is disposed in an intake system of an internal combustion engine.
2. Description of the Related Art
In normally employed air cleaners, an air filter is firmly retained at a housing position by a construction in which a collar portion of a pleated filter body is clamped by a case and a cap that are detachable from each other. Such air filters are desired to be simply constructed and low-cost. U.S. Pat. No. 5,674,302 discloses a filter in which a pleated filter body and a collar portion (i.e., a portion to be clamped by a case and a cap) are formed from the same material. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. HEI 8-243334 discloses a filter in which a collar portion of a pleated filter body (i.e., a portion to be clamped by a case and a cap) is formed by a hard portion and a soft portion, and the collar portion is clamped in such a manner that the position of the collar portion can be set by using a clamping portion of the case and a clamping portion of the cap. Toyota Technical Report No. 6865, published on May 30, 1997, discloses an air cleaner element mounting construction in which a filter element is mounted between a case and a cap in such a manner that a protrusion formed in a flange (clamping portion) of the cap that faces a clamping portion of the case is fitted to a corrugated portion formed inwardly of a seal portion of the element (i.e., a portion of the element that is clamped by the clamping portion of the case and the flange (clamping portion) of the cap). JIII Journal of Technical Disclosure No. 96-9626, published on Aug. 1, 1996, discloses a construction in which the positioning and sealing of a non-woven fabric-integrated air filter is improved by fitting a protrusion formed in a clamped portion of the air filter into a recess formed in a clamping portion of a case that faces a clamping portion of a cap.
However, the aforementioned air filters have not received consideration regarding prevention of a mounting error that where a filter element is to be mounted at such a position as to divide a space defined by the case and the cap into a dusty side and a clean side, that is, a before-filtration side and an after-filtration side, the filter element is falsely placed in a 180°-reversed orientation so that the dusty and clean sides of the filter element are in the opposite positions (reversed positions). Therefore, the conventional air filters need an improvement in this respect.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an air filter that has a mounting error preventing function as well as a sealing function and a positioning function.
In accordance with the invention, an air filter includes a filter element having a pleated filtering portion and a collar portion that extends on an outer periphery of the filtering portion and that has a sealing function, the filtering portion and the collar portion being integrally formed from the same material, a cap and a case each of which has a flange for clamping the collar portion of the filter element, a protruded portion formed in one of the flange of the cap and the flange of the case, the protruded portion having an inclined portion, and a recess portion formed in the collar portion of the filter element, the recess portion fitting to the protruded portion at a predetermined position so as to become set in position. One of an inside surface of the recess portion and an outside surface of the recess portion contacts the inclined portion of the protruded portion and is guided by the inclined portion. The other one of the inside surface and the outside surface is pressed by the protruded portion so as to seal a gap between the protruded portion and the recess portion.
The air filter is mounted so that the air filter is housed between the case and the cap.
In a mounting procedure, the collar portion of the filter element is pressed from above by the flange of the cap while a lower surface side of the collar portion is placed on the flange of the case.
As a result, the recess portion of the collar portion of the filter element moves along the inclined portion of the protruded portion of the flange of the case, and is guided to a predetermined position, where the recess portion fits to the protruded portion. Thus, the filter element can be quickly set in position.
That is, the air filter is designed so that the filter element cannot be mounted unless the recess portion of the collar portion of the filter element is guided by the inclined portion of the protruded portion formed in one of the flange of the case and the flange of the cap. Therefore, this design prevents a mounting error that where the filter element is to be mounted at such a position as to divide a space defined by the case and the cap into a dusty side and a clean side, that is, a before-filtration side and an after-filtration side, the filter element is falsely placed in a 180°-reversed orientation so that the dusty and clean sides of the filter element are in the opposite positions (reversed positions).
After the filter element is set at the predetermined position, the collar portion of the filter element is clamped by the flange of the cap and the flange of the case, and thereby fixed and retained.
In the air filter of the invention, the filtering portion and the collar portion, formed from the same material, may contain a low-melting point resin fiber.
If the collar portion containing the low-melting point resin fiber is thermally pressed, the distortion in the collar portion can be reduced, and the contact surfaces where the collar portion is clamped by the flange of the cap and the flange of the case can be flattened, and the sealing can be improved.
The aforementioned one of the inside surface and the outside surface of the recess portion may have, in a region where the one contacts the inclined portion, a hard portion formed by thermally compressing a low-melting point resin fiber.
In this construction, the hard portion in the recess portion of the collar portion of the filter element more readily slides along the inclined portion of the protruded portion, so that the air filter can be more quickly set in position. Furthermore, after the recess portion of the collar portion of the filter element is guided to the predetermined position by the inclined portion of the protruded portion of the flange of the case, a non-hard portion (soft portion) formed in the recess portion is pressed by the protruded portion, thereby establishing a sealed condition. Since the sealed condition can be maintained, good sealing can also be maintained.
The other one of the inside surface and the outside surface of the recess portion may have, in a region where the other one is pressed by the protruded portion, a soft portion that is thicker than the hard portion.
When the soft portion is clamped by the flange of the cap and the flange of the case, the margin for compression increases because the soft portion is thicker than the hard portion. Therefore, the amount of elastic deformation increases and, therefore, the elastic reaction or restoration force increases, so that the sealing further improves.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1890499 (1932-12-01), Davids
patent: 3017698 (1962-01-01), Hambrecht et al.
patent: 3834134 (1974-09-01), McAllister
patent: 4929263 (1990-05-01), Kasugai
patent: 5605554 (1997-02-01), Kennedy
patent: 5674302 (1997-10-01), Nakayama et al.
patent: 5720790 (1998-02-01), Kometani et al.
patent: 5725624 (1998-03-01), Ernst et al.
patent: 5853577 (1998-12-01), Gizowski et al.
patent: 5888442 (1999-03-01), Kometani et al.
patent: 6045600 (2000-04-01), Michaelis et al.
patent: 196 54 188 A1 (1997-07-01), None
patent: 0 490 169 A1 (1992-06-01), None
pate
Hashioka Jin
Honda Minoru
Morota Kenjiro
Nishimoto Takashi
Oda Kouichi
Greene Jason M.
Oliff & Berridg,e PLC
Smith Duane
Toyoda Boshoku Corporation
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