Liquid purification or separation – Magnetic – With additional separator
Reexamination Certificate
2002-10-09
2004-07-06
Reifsnyder, David A. (Department: 1723)
Liquid purification or separation
Magnetic
With additional separator
C210S130000, C210S186000, C210S438000, C210S440000, C210S497010, C210SDIG009
Reexamination Certificate
active
06758969
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to oil filter devices and, more particularly, to oil filter devices mounted on motor vehicles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of oil filtering devices for motor vehicles is known in the prior art. In my prior patent U.S. Pat. No. 5,510,024 there is disclosed a magnet assembly or attachment for magnetically collecting metallic particles within an oil filter cartridge. That inventive device includes a pair of magnets supported in a spaced relationship by a carrier which latter is positionable along an exterior of a filter cartridge. The carrier serves an additional function of a heat sink. A shunt couples opposite poles of the magnets together to increase the magnetic flux directed into the filter cartridge to separate and retain metallic particles from the filtered fluid.
An oil lubrication circuit of a motor vehicle includes a variety of components, and such components generally include a cartridge mounting stem for an oil filter cartridge, an oil output channel in the cartridge mounting stem for allowing filtered oil to exit from the oil filter cartridge and circulate in the oil lubrication circuit, and one or more oil input channels, present in the engine for channelling oil from the engine into the oil filter cartridge.
The interior of a conventional oil filter cartridge generally includes a centrally located filtered oil flow space and an array of filter material arrayed circumferentially around the centrally located filtered oil flow space. Inside the conventional oil filter cartridge, oil flows in a diffuse pattern radially from circumferential positions outside the filter material, through the filter material, and into the centrally located filtered oil flow space. It is noted that when the magnet attachment is used for a conventional oil filter cartridge, as disclosed in the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,510,024, only a relatively small portion of the oil flowing through the conventional oil filter cartridge is exposed to strong magnetic fields as the oil flows through the conventional oil filter cartridge. To increase the efficiency of a magnet attachment for an oil filter cartridge for trapping ferro-magnetic particles and thereby separating the ferro-magnetic particles from the flowing oil, it would be desirable if an oil filter cartridge were provided which directs a concentrated flow of oil inside the oil filter cartridge in the vicinity of a magnet attachment.
Other related patents of the present inventor include U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,549 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,426,000. In this respect, all of U.S. Pat. No. 5,510,024, U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,549, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,426,000 are incorporated herein by this reference.
In accordance with the teachings of the present inventor's patents, one or more magnet units are attached to the outside of a cartridge housing, and a hollow cylindrical filter element is housed inside the cartridge housing. In this respect, to optimize the effects of the magnetic fields provided by magnet units on the oil flowing inside the cartridge housing, it would be desirable if substantially all of the oil flowing inside the cartridge housing came under the influence of a magnetic field of at least one of the magnet units.
When oil flows through an oil filter cartridge, the oil follows a circuit in which the oil flows up to, through, and away from a hollow cylindrical filter element. To further optimize the effects of magnetic fields of magnet units on the oil flowing inside the oil filter cartridge, it would be desirable if the oil passed through a pre-filtration magnetic treatment zone, prior to passing through the hollow cylindrical filter element, and then passed through a post-filtration magnetic treatment zone, after passing through the hollow cylindrical filter element.
In certain oil filter cartridges, the internal use of bypass valves is known. More specifically, certain high performance engines are sensitive to filter pressure in the filter element. Oil pressure can build up to excessive levels if the filter element is clogged. If the pressure inside the oil filter cartridge reaches an undesirable high level, the valves allow bypass of filter element to return oil under bypassed pressure to the engine. In this respect, it would be desirable if a magnetically enhanced oil filter apparatus were provided that also includes bypass valve units for bypassing a hollow cylindrical filter element in the event that excessive oil pressure builds up inside the oil filter cartridge.
To help prevent the build up of excessive oil pressure inside the oil filter cartridge, and to provide for efficient oil flow inside the oil filter cartridge, it would be desirable if oil flow orifices inside the oil filter cartridge have sufficiently large size to be equal to the size of the orifice from which oil flows out from the oil filter cartridge.
Thus, while the foregoing indicates it to be well known to use magnet units in conjunction with oil filter cartridges, the foregoing does not teach or suggest a magnetically enhanced oil filter apparatus which has the following combination of desirable features: (1) directs a concentrated flow of oil inside the oil filter cartridge in the vicinity of a magnet attachment; (2) provides that substantially all of the oil flowing inside the cartridge housing comes under the influence of a magnetic field of at least one magnet unit; (3) provides that oil passes through a pre-filtration magnetic treatment zone, prior to passing through a hollow cylindrical filter element, and then passes through a post-filtration magnetic treatment zone, after passing through the filter element; (4) can include bypass valve units for bypassing a filter element in the event that excessive oil pressure builds up inside the oil filter cartridge; and (5) provides oil flow orifices inside the oil filter cartridge which have sufficiently large size to be equal to the size of an orifice from which oil flows out from the oil filter cartridge. The foregoing desired characteristics are provided by the unique magnetically enhanced oil filter apparatus of the present invention as will be made apparent from the following description thereof. Other advantages of the present invention over the prior art also will be rendered evident.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To achieve the foregoing and other advantages, the present invention, briefly described, generally provides a magnetically enhanced oil filter apparatus which includes a cartridge housing which includes a cartridge oil input channel and an outlet channel. The cartridge housing defines a cartridge interior space. A magnet unit is affixed to an outside portion of the cartridge housing, whereby a magnetic field from the magnet unit extends into the cartridge interior space providing an interior magnetic field zone. A hollow cylindrical filter element is employed, and filter positioning means, housed in the cartridge interior space, are provided for supporting and positioning the hollow cylindrical filter element. Oil flow control means are housed in the cartridge interior space and enter the interior magnetic field zone, for directing oil flow to and from the hollow cylindrical filter element. The oil flow control means are positioned with respect to the hollow cylindrical filter element and the interior magnetic field zone such that the interior magnetic field zone is divided into a pre-filtration magnetic treatment zone and a post-filtration magnetic treatment zone.
The filter positioning means include a filter-element-reception well. The outlet channel is internally threaded for attachment to an externally threaded cartridge mounting stem.
With one embodiment, the magnet unit includes a disk-shaped magnet placed on the top of the cartridge housing, and the disk-shaped magnet is coextensive with the entire top surface of the cartridge housing. A magnetic flux concentrator plate is placed on top of the disk-shaped magnet. Retention-rod-reception brackets extend upward from the flux concentrator plate. Re
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