Filter arrangement for liquids

Details Filter arrangement for liquids Filter arrangement for liquids

2000-01-11

2001-02-13

Lithgow, Thomas M. (Department: 1724)

Liquid purification or separation

Structural installation

Closed circulating system

C210S172300, C210S299000, C210S305000, C210S474000, C184S006240

Reexamination Certificate

active

06187185

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a filter arrangement for liquids, and more particularly, the present invention is directed to a filter arrangement for filtering liquids, such as but not limited to, transmission oil and engine lubricating oil in which oil is collected in an oil pan prior to recirculation.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In automatic transmissions, oil is circulated by a pump and used as a medium through which power is transmitted from an engine to driven components, such as vehicle wheels. Internal combustion engines use lubricating oil to provide a film of oil between opposing surfaces of components which have relative motion. In both cases, the oil entrains particulates which can damage the surfaces of the components. In both cases, it is necessary to remove the particulates in order to prolong the life of the transmission or engine. This is generally accomplished by a filter media which is porous in order to let liquid pass through but traps particulates on a “dirty side” of the filter media. One way to increase the useful life of a filter is to increase the dirt holding capacity of the filter by reducing the amount of dirt which must be trapped by the filter media.
One arrangement for a filter element which includes a filter media is to provide a panel having an opening therethrough in which the filter media is mounted. The panel is mounted in an oil pan between the bottom of the oil pan and the transmission case when the oil being filtered is transmission oil, or between an engine block and lubricating oil pan when the oil being filtered is lubricating oil. A primary interest is filtering transmission oil. In currently known arrangements, substantially all particulate matter is removed by the filter media itself, thus loading the filter media with all of the particulates removed from the oil. This, of course, limits the holding capacity of the entire filter to the amount of particulate matter which can be retained by the filter media itself.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the aforementioned considerations, it is a feature of the present invention to provide a filter, having a filter media wherein the dirt holding capacity of the filter is not limited only by the dirt holding capacity of the filter media.
In view of this feature and other features, the present invention is directed to an arrangement for removing contaminants from oil which is collected and recirculated from a sump pan, wherein the arrangement includes a panel adapted to be mounted in the pan in spaced relation to the floor of the pan to define an oil collection chamber between the panel and floor. The panel has an upper surface and a lower surface with an opening therethrough which has a filter media therein. The upper surface of the panel has at least one baffle arrangement thereon which inhibits oil from flowing laterally over the panel toward the filter media thereby defining at least one area in which particulate matter which has settled out of the oil from becoming resuspended in the oil and carried toward the filter media so as to become trapped on the dirty side of the filter media.
In more specific aspects of the invention, the baffle arrangement is provided by a plurality of indentations in the panel; by raised walls on the panel which define at least one chamber; or by at least one downwardly sloping surface sloping away from the filter media toward a peripheral gutter. In each case, these baffle arrangements provide areas where particulate matter may settle onto the panel and be discouraged from being resuspended by turbulence and then swept onto the dirty side of the filter media while the fluid is being pumped.
In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the pan is a transmission oil pan and in accordance with another specific embodiment of the invention, the pan is a lubricating oil pan.


REFERENCES:
patent: 1230478 (1917-06-01), Greer
patent: 1623728 (1927-04-01), Hooton
patent: 1662963 (1928-03-01), Eastman
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patent: 2767736 (1956-10-01), Lackinger
patent: 3168468 (1965-02-01), Jagdmann
patent: 3480149 (1969-11-01), Houser
patent: 3784011 (1974-01-01), Ward
patent: 4348864 (1982-09-01), Ichimura
patent: 4402827 (1983-09-01), Joseph
patent: 5766472 (1998-06-01), Tzakis

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