Liquid purification or separation – Magnetic – With additional separator
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-26
2001-03-27
Reifsnyder, David A. (Department: 1723)
Liquid purification or separation
Magnetic
With additional separator
C210S222000, C210S335000, C210S338000, C210S440000, C210SDIG009, C184S006250
Reexamination Certificate
active
06207050
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to oil filters for internal combustion engines and, in particular, to an oil filter having a magnetic core to remove ferrous metal particles.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Oil is necessary for lubrication and cooling of an internal combustion engine. Because lubricating oil flows to all parts of the engine, it is desirable that it does not carry abrasive or corrosive material. Such material may come from the combustion process, dirt in inducted air, or from parts of the engine itself. Therefore, it is common practice to filter oil or parts of the oil as it flows through the system to reduce wear of an oil filter.
Ideally, oil filters remove all abrasive materials and particles in the oil, even microscopic metal particles which are abraded from the moving surfaces of the engine during normal engine operation. However, for a filter to remove all of this material, the filter would have to be designed and constructed of a material suitable to remove these microscopic particles. As a result, such a filter would either severely impede the flow of oil to a degree where insufficient oil would flow or excessively high oil pressures would be required to force oil through this filter.
Currently, one proposed solution to filter out ferrous particles includes modifying oil filters after manufacture with a reusable magnetic core insert, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,990, issued to Chiang. Such inserts are intended to be inserted into the core of an oil filter before the oil filter is attached to an engine. In particular, the metallic insert is a cylindrical-shaped structure that includes a plurality of alternating layers of washers, cylindrical sieves and magnets. The layers are stacked one upon each other to form the cylindrical core. The core is sealed at both ends by caps. The core also includes a centrally located cylindrical sieve extending between the end caps. During operation of the motor, oil is circulated through the oil filter, such that any ferrous particles are drawn from the oil by the magnets of the core insert. Although such core inserts are effective at filtering out ferrous materials, they are not without their problems.
First, because such core inserts are manufactured from repeating layers of metal and magnets, they are expensive. Also, because only a small portion of the length of the insert is magnetized, the effectiveness of the inserts to filter out ferrous particles is limited.
Thus, there exists a need for an improved oil filter having a metallic filter that not only captures a large percentage of ferrous particles, but also is economical to manufacture and meets the performance expectations of the operator of the vehicle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, a filter for a vehicle is provided. The filter includes a casing having an inlet, an outlet and a passage extending between the inlet and outlet. The inlet and outlet are adapted to be in fluid communication with a fluid system of the vehicle. The filter further includes first and second filters disposed within the passage. The second filter is adapted to be in fluid communication with the fluid system, wherein at least a portion of the second filter is magnetized such that fluid passing through the fluid system passes through the second filter and ferrous particles within the fluid are magnetically captured by the second filter.
In accordance with other aspects of this invention, the first and second filters are cylindrical and the second filter is sized to be received within the first filter.
In accordance with additional aspects of this invention, the filter further includes a first layer of magnetic material bonded to an outwardly facing side of the second filter.
In accordance with yet other aspects of this invention, the filter further includes a first layer of magnetic material bonded to an inwardly facing side of the second filter. In yet another aspect of the present invention, a second layer of magnetic material is bonded to an outwardly facing side of the second filter, such that first and second layers of magnetic material are bonded to the inwardly and outwardly facings of the second filter.
In accordance with still yet other aspects of this invention, the second filter is a substantially unitary component of magnetic material.
A filter for a vehicle formed in accordance with the present invention has several advantages over currently available magnetic filters. First, because the filter includes a second filter that is a substantially unitary component of magnetic material, it is more economical than repeating layers of magnets. Also, because the second filter is a substantially unitary component, it has greater reliability due to a greater surface area of magnetic attraction to draw out ferrous particles within the fluid. Finally, such a filter is easier to use because the magnetic second filter is designed to be disposable with the oil filter after use. Thus, a filter formed in accordance with the present invention is economical, reliable, and easier to use than currently available filters.
REFERENCES:
patent: D. 307461 (1990-04-01), Kim
patent: 3035703 (1962-05-01), Pall
patent: 4629558 (1986-12-01), Garritty
patent: 4705626 (1987-11-01), Morelli
patent: 5078871 (1992-01-01), McCready
patent: 5228990 (1993-07-01), Chiang
patent: 5462662 (1995-10-01), Chen
Christensen O'Connor Johnson & Kindness PLLC
Reifsnyder David A.
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