REPLACEABLE AIR FILTER UNIT AND AN AIR FILTER ARRANGEMENT

Abstract

The invention relates to a replaceable air filter unit (100) for filtering air to be supplied to an internal combustion engine in a vehicle, said replaceable air filter unit (100) forming a sleeve about a central axis (X) and extending along said axis (x) between a first end (102) and a second end (103), for axial insertion into a filter housing (200) with said first end (102) leading the axial insertion, said air filter unit (100) forming an outer sleeve surface (104) bounded by an outer filter radius (Ro) for receiving unfiltered air, and an inner sleeve surface (105) bounded by an inner filter radius (Ri) for output of filtered air. An axially flexible skirt (106) is circumferentially arranged at the first end (102) of the air filter unit (100) and extending radially outside the outer filter radius (Ro), for wiping an inner surface (202) of the filter housing (200) when the air filter unit (100) is axially removed from the filter housing (200). The invention further relates to an air filter arrangement comprising a replaceable air filter unit and a filter housing.

Claims

1. A replaceable air filter unit for filtering air to be supplied to an internal combustion engine in a vehicle, the replaceable air filter unit forming a sleeve about a central axis and extending along the axis between a first end and a second end, for axial insertion into a filter housing with the first end leading the axial insertion, the air filter unit comprising: an outer sleeve surface bounded by an outer filter radius for receiving unfiltered air, and an inner sleeve surface bounded by an inner filter radius for output of filtered air: and an axially flexible skirt circumferentially arranged at the first end of the air filter unit and extending radially outside the outer filter radius, for wiping an inner surface of the filter housing when the air filter unit is axially removed from the filter housing, wherein an outer border of the flexible skirt comprises an irregular radius about the longitudinal axis.

2. The replaceable air filter of claim 1, which wherein the air filter unit is disposable.

3. The replaceable air filter of claim 1, wherein the flexible skirt extends radially outside the outer filter radius wherein a radial length from the outer filter radius is 2 mm-30 mm.

4. The replaceable air filter of claim 1, wherein the flexible skirt has a thickness in the axial direction, the thickness being less than 20 mm.

5. The replaceable air filter of claim 1, wherein the flexible skirt is formed by a continuous flexible member.

6. The replaceable air filter of claim 1, wherein the flexible skirt is formed by a plurality of flexible members.

7. The replaceable air filter of claim 1, wherein the sleeve formed by the filter is one of a cylindrical sleeve and a conical sleeve.

8. (canceled)

9. The replaceable air filter of claim 1, comprising a pleated filter member.

10. The replaceable air filter of claim 1, comprising at least one reinforcement member.

11. An air filter arrangement for filtering air to be supplied to an internal combustion engine in a vehicle, the air filter arrangement comprising a replaceable air filter unit forming a sleeve about a central axis and extending axially between a first end and a second end, the air filter unit having an outer sleeve surface for receiving unfiltered air, and an inner sleeve surface for output of filtered air, the air filter arrangement further comprising: a filter housing forming a filter cavity being adapted for axial introduction and removal of the filter unit into/from the cavity, such that the first end of the filter unit is trailing during axial removal of the filter unit from the filter housing; and a resilient skirt circumferentially arranged at the first end of the air filter unit and extending radially from the filter unit so as to contact an inner surface of the filter cavity, which inner surface circumferentially surrounds the filter unit when arranged in the cavity, the skirt and inner surface being adapted to ensure contact between the resilient skirt and the surrounding inner surface during axial removal of the air filter unit from the filter housing wherein: the filter unit is in a released condition, the skirt has an outer border about the longitudinal axis which outer border overlaps every coaxial inner circumference of the inner surface of the filter cavity along an axial length of the filter cavity, the overlap being less than 20 mm; and the outer border and the inner circumference comprise an irregular radius about the longitudinal axis, respectively.

12-14. (canceled)

15. The air filter arrangement of claim 11, wherein the resilient skirt is axially flexible.

16. The air filter arrangement of claim 11, wherein the air filter unit is a replaceable air filter unit for filtering air to be supplied to an internal combustion engine in a vehicle, the replaceable air filter unit forming a sleeve about a central axis and extending along the axis between a first end and a second end, for axial insertion into a filter housing with the first end leading the axial insertion, the air filter unit comprising: an outer sleeve surface bounded by an outer filter radius for receiving unfiltered air, and an inner sleeve surface bounded by an inner filter radius for output of filtered air: and an axially flexible skirt circumferentially arranged at the first end of the air filter unit and extending radially outside the outer filter radius, for wiping an inner surface of the filter housing when the air filter unit is axially removed from the filter housing, wherein an outer border of the flexible skirt comprises an irregular radius about the longitudinal axis.

17-18. (canceled)

19. The replaceable air filter of claim 1, wherein the flexible skirt is formed by a plurality of bristles.

20. The replaceable air filter of claim 9, wherein the pleated filter member forms a sleeve comprising an outer filter surface for receiving unfiltered air and an inner filter surface for output of filtered air.

21. The replaceable air filter of claim 10, wherein the axially flexible skirt is arranged to the reinforcement member.

22. The air filter arrangement of claim 11, wherein the skirt and the inner surface of the filter cavity are adapted such that the skirt exerts a radial pressure towards the inner surface during the axial removal of the air filter unit from the filter housing.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0051] With reference to the appended drawings, below follows a more detailed description of embodiments of the invention cited as examples.

[0052] In the drawings:

[0053] FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a vehicle;

[0054] FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an air intake system;

[0055] FIGS. 3a and 3b are perspective schematic views of an embodiment of a replaceable air filter unit;

[0056] FIG. 4 is a split view of an embodiment of an air filter arrangement including the air filter unit of FIGS. 3a and 3b;

[0057] FIG. 5 is an assembled view of the air filter arrangement of FIG. 4;

[0058] FIG. 6a is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a replaceable air filter unit;

[0059] FIG. 6b is a perspective view of a third embodiment of a replaceable air filter unit.

[0060] In FIGS. 3a to 6b, like reference numbers refer to similar features.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0061] The invention will be described below for a vehicle in the form of a truck 1 such as the truck illustrated in FIG. 1. The truck 1 should be seen as an example of a vehicle which could comprise an air supply arrangement according to the present invention and/or a separator as described herein.

[0062] However, the present invention may be implemented in a plurality of different types of vehicles. Purely by way of example, the present invention could be implemented in a truck, a tractor, a car, a bus, a work machine such as a wheel loader or an articulated hauler, or any other type of construction equipment.

[0063] The FIG. 1 vehicle 1 comprises an air intake system 10 as illustrated in FIG. 2. An air intake system 10 is generally arranged so as to supply air from the outside of a vehicle, e.g. from the outside of the cab, to an internal combustion engine of the vehicle.

[0064] The air intake system 10 of FIG. 2 will now be described as an example. However, it is to be understood that the present invention may be applied also in other variants of air intake systems.

[0065] The air intake system 10 of FIG. 2 comprises an air intake 12 in connection with outside air. The air intake is in communication with an air duct 13 for transferring air further into the vehicle. The exemplified air duct 13 has an elongated shape which is arranged in a generally vertical direction (with respect to a vertical direction of the vehicle). The air duct 13 leads the air to a bellow 14, which in turn is connected to a turn chamber 15. From the turn chamber 15 the air is fed further downstream to an air cleaner 16,17, comprising an air cleaner housing 17 and an air cleaner cover 16. Inside the air cleaner housing 17, an air filter (not visible in FIG. 2) is arranged. The air cleaner cover 16 is removable from the air cleaner housing 17 so as to enable replacement of the air filter when necessary.

[0066] The air cleaner housing 17 is in connection with an air cleaner rubber bellow 18 which is in turn connected an intermediate pipe 19. Downstream the intermediate pipe 19, there is a turbo inlet, here in the form of a turbo inlet rubber bellow 20. From the turbo inlet, the air will continue downstream towards an internal combustion engine (not shown in FIG. 2). It is to be understood that the illustrated air intake system 10 is exemplary, and that the invention may be applied to numerous variants of air intake systems. In the following, exemplary embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6.

[0067] FIGS. 3a and 3b illustrate an embodiment of a replaceable air filter unit 100 for filtering air to be supplied to an internal combustion engine in a vehicle. To this end, the air filter unit 100 will in use be arranged in a corresponding filter housing 200. For example, such a filter housing 200 may be an air cleaner housing 17 as illustrated in FIG. 2. However, it is to be understood that the air filter unit 100 and the air filter arrangement 300 as described herein may be used also in other variants of air intake systems.

[0068] The air filter unit 100 is replaceable, meaning that when the air filter unit 100 has been filled with particles from the filtered air to an extent that its efficiency is impaired, it will be removed from the air filter housing and replaced.

[0069] As seen in FIGS. 3a, 3b, the replaceable air filter unit 100 forms a sleeve about a central axis (X) and extends along said axis (x) between a first end 102 and a second end 103. The air filter unit 100 is hence adapted for axial insertion into or removal from a filter housing 200 (see FIG. 4), with said first end 102 leading the axial insertion.

[0070] The filter unit 100 forms an outer sleeve surface 104 bounded by an outer filter radius (Ro) for receiving unfiltered air, and an inner sleeve surface 105 bounded by an inner filter radius (Ri) for output of filtered air.

[0071] When the filter unit 100 is in use for filtering particles away from an air stream flowing from the outer sleeve surface 104 towards the inner sleeve surface 105, many particles will be trapped inside the air filter unit 100. However, some particles may remain outside of the air filter unit 100 or loosen from the air filter unit 100, so as to gather outside the filter unit 100 per se, that is, in the corresponding filter housing 200.

[0072] The shape and dimensions of the air filter unit 100 may be such as is generally known in the art, in particular for cleaning of air to combustion engines in vehicles. For example, the air filter unit 100 may be cylindrical or conical as described in the above. For example, the filter unit 100 diameters (at Ro and Ri) may be about 200 to 400 mm, and the axial length 35 between the first end 102 and the second end 103 be about 300 mm to 500 mm.

[0073] The filter material of the filter unit 100 may be any filter material suitable for the purpose of filtering air to an internal combustion engine. For example the filter unit 100 may comprise a pleated filter material.

[0074] Moreover, the filter unit 100 may comprise at least one reinforcement member 108. In this case, as in the embodiment of FIGS. 3a, 3b, the axially flexible skirt 106 (which will be further described in the following) may be arranged to the reinforcement member 108. As seen in FIG. 3b, in the illustrated filter unit 100, a reinforcement member 108 is present at the first end 102 and at the second end 103, where the reinforcement member 108 forms annular covers over the axial ends of the pleated filter material. Moreover, the reinforcement member 108 forms a cage structure on the inside 105 of the filter unit 100.

[0075] Preferably, the filter unit 100 is disposable, meaning that it will be used only once and then discarded. In this case, the filter unit 100 materials may be selected as disposable materials, e.g. relatively inexpensive.

[0076] The filter unit 100 of FIGS. 3a, 3b further comprises a resilient skirt 106 arranged at the first end 102 of the air filter unit 100. The skirt 106 extends radially outside the outer filter radius (Ro), for wiping an inner surface 202 of the filter housing 200 when the air filter unit 100 is axially removed from the filter housing 200. To this end, the skirt 106 may be adapted to an inner surface 202 of the filter housing.

[0077] The function of the skirt 106 may be further described with reference to FIG. 4, which illustrates an air filter arrangement 300 for filtering air to be supplied to an internal combustion engine in a vehicle, the air filter arrangement 300 comprising a replaceable air filter unit 100 and a filter housing 200 forming a filter cavity 201 being adapted for axial introduction and removal of the filter unit 100 into the cavity 201.

[0078] The filter housing 200 comprises a radial air inlet 204 for incoming air to be directed towards the outer sleeve surface 104 of the air filter 100. The filter housing 200 comprises a central air outlet 203 for outgoing air having passed through the filter unit 100. In use, the filter housing 200 will be closed by a lid attached over the opening of the filter cavity 201, opposite the central air outlet 203. The filter housing 200 and/or the filter unit 100 may further comprise sealing means, axial and/or rotational securing means etc. as is known in the art to ensure air tight connections where necessary to achieve the desired air flow through the filter unit 100.

[0079] As seen in FIG. 4, the first end 102 of the filter unit 100 will be trailing during axial removal of the filter unit 100 from the filter housing 200. The resilient skirt 106 being arranged at the first end 102 of the air filter unit 100 extends radially from the filter unit 100 so as to contact an inner surface 202 of the filter cavity 201 axially surrounding said filter unit 100 (when in the cavity 201).

[0080] The skirt 106 and inner surface 202 are adapted to ensure contact between the resilient skirt 106 and the surrounding inner surface 202 during said axial removal of the air filter unit 100 from the filter housing 200.

[0081] As mentioned in the above, when in use, some particles removed from the air stream by passage of the air through the filter unit 100, will gather inside the filter housing 200. When removing the filter unit 100 from the filter housing 200 for replacement thereof, the contact between the skirt 106 and the surrounding inner surface 202 will ensure that the skirt 106 sweeps any such particles out in an axial direction.

[0082] Hence, the inner surface 202 of the filter housing 200 is cleaned from particles while the filter unit 100 is removed from the housing, thereby omitting any need for separate cleaning procedures.

[0083] The flexible skirt 106 may extend radially outside the outer filter radius (Ro) with a radial length from the outer filter radius (Ro) being 2 mm-30 mm, preferably 5 mm-20 mm. In the illustrated embodiment, the flexible skirt 106 extends with a radial length from the outer filter radius (Ro) being a bout 10 mm.

[0084] The flexible skirt 106 may extend radially outside the outer filter radius Ro with a radial length from the central axis X being at least 100 mm, preferably between 100 and 300 mm.

[0085] The radial length of the skirt 106 need not be constant over the circumference of the filter unit 100. However, the skirt 106 and the inner surface 202 of the filter cavity 201 may be adapted to each other, such that the skirt, when the filter unit 100 is in a released condition, has an outer circumference perpendicular to the axial direction (x) which outer circumference overlaps every coaxial inner circumference 210 of the inner wall 202 of the filter cavity 201 along said axial direction (X), so as to ensure the above-mentioned continuous contact.

[0086] Such an overlap may be less than 20 mm, preferably between 5 mm and 15 mm.

[0087] Accordingly, depending on the inner surface 202 of the corresponding housing 200, the outer border 109 of the flexible skirt 106 may form an irregular or a regular contour about the longitudinal axis X. (With regular is meant herein a regular geometric figure such as a circle, an oval, a rectangle, etc)

[0088] As may be gleaned from FIGS. 3a to 5, in this embodiment the outer border of the flexible skirt 106 forms a regular contour, i.e. a circle about the longitudinal axis X.

[0089] FIG. 6a illustrates another embodiment, wherein the outer border 109 of the flexible skirt 106 forms an irregular contour about the longitudinal axis X, so as to adapt to the shape of the inner surface of a corresponding filter housing.

[0090] The skirt 106 is resilient so as to enable the skirt 106 to follow the inner walls 202 during axial removal of the filter unit 100 from the housing 200, so as to ensure continuous contact.

[0091] With resilient is meant that the skirt 106 may yield to pressure from such surrounding inner walls. Advantageously, the skirt 106 may be elastic, meaning that the skirt 106 may yield to pressure from such surrounding inner walls, but will also strive to resume its original shape after release of any such pressure. In particular, the skirt 106 may be axially flexible, meaning that the skirt may be bent in an axial direction so as to adapt to pressure from surrounding inner walls.

[0092] It is preferred that the skirt 106 and the inner surface 202 of the filter cavity 201 are adapted such that the skirt 106 exerts a radial pressure towards the inner surface 202 during the complete axial removal of the air filter unit 100 from the filter housing 200.

[0093] In the embodiment of FIGS. 3a to 6a, the skirt 106 is formed as a continuous member. In other words, the skirt 106 forms a continuous disc radiating from the outer radius of the sleeve. In this case, skirt 106 may for example be formed from a suitable elastic material such as rubber.

[0094] However, optionally the flexible skirt 106 may be formed by a plurality of flexible members. For example, a plurality of plate-shaped members may be arranged side by side along the circumference of the sleeve, so as to still ensure that the complete inner walls of the corresponding filter housing 200 will be swept by the skirt 106.

[0095] The skirt 106 may for example have a thickness in an axial direction being less than 20 mm, preferably between 5 mm and 15 mm. With such a thickness a skirt 106 being not only resilient, but also flexible in an axial direction may be realized.

[0096] In another embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 6b, the flexible skirt 106 is formed by a plurality of bristles 106′. The number, size and shape of the bristles 106′ may naturally be adapted to ensure that the complete inner walls of the corresponding filter housing 200 will be swept by the skirt 106.

[0097] Referring again to FIGS. 4 and 5 it is understood how a method for removing dust or debris from an air filter arrangement 300 may be realized, the method comprising the step of: removing said air filter unit 100 from said filter cavity 201 by axial displacement of the air filter unit 100 in relation to said filter cavity 201, while sweeping dust or debris present in the filter cavity 201 out by the resilient skirt 106 sweeping over the inner wall 202 of the filter cavity 201.

[0098] It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings; rather, the skilled person will recognize that many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims.