Gas separation – Combined or convertible – In motor vehicle
Reexamination Certificate
2002-12-13
2004-07-13
Pham, Minh-Chau T. (Department: 1724)
Gas separation
Combined or convertible
In motor vehicle
C055SDIG002, C055SDIG003, C096S133000, C096S147000, C096S380000, C096S383000, C123S19800E, C123S519000, C180S068300, C248S311200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06761748
ABSTRACT:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of international patent application no. PCT/EP01/03298, filed Mar. 23, 2001, designating the United States of America and published in German as WO 01/96729, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Priority is claimed based on Federal Republic of Germany patent application no. DE 100 28 956.8, filed Jun. 16, 2000.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an air filtration system comprising a system plate, a filter chamber having an air intake and an air outlet, and a filter element sealingly arranged in the filter chamber between the air intake and the air outlet so that air entering through the intake must pass through the filter element to reach the air outlet, in which the filter element divides an unfiltered air zone from a filtered air zone.
An intake module for an internal combustion engine, which comprises a plurality of integrated components, such as an unfiltered air intake opening, an unfiltered air intake passage, an air filter, a filtered air passage, and a filtered air connecting piece, is known from German patent application no. DE 198 02 074. The intake module is dimensioned in such a way that it completely covers the internal combustion engine. For this purpose, a flat plate is provided, which has shaped connection contours on its bottom side. A bottom part is attached to the bottom side of the plate, which is set on the connection contours and connected to the plate using multiple screws. To provide a sealed connection between the plate and the bottom part, a seal is inserted between the plate and the bottom part. However, screwing the top part onto the bottom part, and the insertion of the seal, results in high costs for materials and for assembly. Furthermore, the plate is a very complicated component, which is therefore difficult to manufacture due to the shaped connection contours.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is therefore to provide an improved air filtration system for an internal combustion engine.
Another object of the invention is to provide an air filtration system which can be produced easily with low expenditures for materials and for assembly.
These and other objects are achieved in accordance with the present invention by providing an air filtration system comprising a system plate, a filter chamber having an air intake and an air outlet, and a filter element sealingly arranged in the filter chamber between the air intake and the air outlet so that air entering through the intake must pass through the filter element to reach the air outlet, the filter element dividing an unfiltered air zone from a filtered air zone; the system plate having upper and lower sides and at least partially covering a device; wherein the unfiltered air zone is formed by a first half shell permanently and sealingly attached to the system plate; and the filter chamber is formed by a filter housing attached to the system plate.
The air filtration system according to the present invention comprises a system plate having a top side and a bottom side, which at least partially, and preferably completely, covers a device such as an internal combustion engine. Furthermore, the air filtration system includes an unfiltered air intake and an unfiltered air zone, which discharges into a filter chamber. Positioned in the filter chamber is a filter element, which sealingly separates the unfiltered air zone from a filtered air zone having a filtered air outlet. The filter element has a peripheral seal and may be formed, for example, by a filter paper, preferably folded in a zigzag shape, or by a nonwoven filter web. In certain embodiments, the top side of the system plate may be designed as a visually appealing cover plate, and the bottom side of the system plate as function-oriented.
The unfiltered air intake discharges into the unfiltered air zone, which is formed by a first half shell in combination with the system plate. The first half shell is connected in a sealed manner to the bottom side of the system plate, thereby defining the unfiltered air zone. In some regions, particularly in the region of the unfiltered air intake, the first half shell may form a closed channel, so that the unfiltered air intake may, for example, be raised above the system plate. The connection of the first half shell to the bottom side of the system plate is a permanent bond which may be produced thermally or chemically, for example, by bonding with an adhesive. In this case, the use of an additional seal is not necessary, since the bond itself forms a seal. The sealing is performed, for example, by the adhesive applied. Mechanical attachment devices and seals thus may be omitted as a result of the permanent bonding of the system plate to the first half shell.
The filter chamber is formed by a filter housing which is attached to the system plate. In this case, for example, the filter housing may be a closed filter housing having openings which allow unfiltered air to enter the filter chamber and filtered air to exit. One side of the housing is then rigidly connected to the system plate. The opening in the filter housing for admitting the unfiltered air may be connected either detachably or permanently to the first half shell, which encloses the unfiltered air zone.
The filtered air zone is connected on the downstream side of the filter element to the filter chamber. It may be connected, for example, exclusively to the filter housing and not have any contact to the system plate. In this case, the filtered air zone may be designed, for example, as a connecting piece, having any desired cross-section, which extends directly from the filter housing.
According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the filtered air zone is formed by a second half shell in combination with the system plate. In this case, the second half shell may be attached to the filter housing or constructed in one piece therewith and may adjoin the opening for the filtered air in the filter housing or correspond to the downstream filter chamber through exclusive contact to the system plate, so that the filtered air flows through an opening in the system plate to the filtered air outlet. In this embodiment, the opening for the filtered air is positioned on the filter housing in such a way that it is located on the side connected to the system plate and covers the passage in the system plate. The second half shell may be positioned on the top side of the system plate, so that the filtered air may be conducted along the top side of the system plate. Through this design, diverse types of air guide variants are possible, which may be constructed in a very tight space.
If the second half shell adjoins both the filter housing and the bottom side of the system plate, the opening for the filtered air in the filter housing must be positioned in such a way that it discharges into the second half shell. Various types of air guidance possibilities may thus be constructed, in which both the unfiltered air inlet and the filtered air outlet are arranged on the bottom side of the system plate.
It is advantageous to permanently affix the filter housing to the system plate. For this purpose, thermal or chemical bonding methods may be used for the permanent attachment between the filter housing and the system plate. The bond between the system plate and the filter housing may be produced using the same bonding method as the bond between the first half shell and the system plate. Therefore, the first half shell and the filter housing may be bonded to the system plate in one work step, which saves time during assembly of the air filtration system.
In one specific embodiment of the present invention, the permanent bond is a weld seam. This weld seam may be produced, for example, using vibration welding methods or ultrasound welding methods. During such welding of the components to one another, material is melted, which forms a weld seam. Tolerances may thus be compensated, so that a sealed joint m
Aisa Manuel
Reinhold Thomas
Schenk Herbert
Crowell & Moring LLP
Filterwerk Mann & Hummel GmbH
Pham Minh-Chau T.
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