Filter Element Having an End-Side Stand

Abstract

A filter element for filtering a fluid is connectable to a filter head with a drainage channel. The filter element has a closure element that closes the drainage channel of the filter head when the filter element is connected to the filter head. The closure element is eccentrically arranged relative to a longitudinal axis of the filter element at an end face of the filter element. The closure element extends away from the end face of the filter element in an axial direction of the filter element. A stand is locked at the filter element and extends away from the end face of the filter element in the axial direction to a level of a free end of the closure element or past the free end of the closure element.

Claims

1. A filter element for filtering a fluid, the filter element configured to be connected to a filter head with a drainage channel; the filter element comprising: a closure element configured to close the drainage channel of the filter head, wherein the closure element is eccentrically arranged relative to a longitudinal axis of the filter element at an end face of the filter element, and wherein the closure element extends away from the end face of the filter element in an axial direction of the filter element; a stand locked at the filter element and extending away from the end face of the filter element in the axial direction to a level of a free end of the closure element or past the free end of the closure element.

2. The filter element according to claim 1, wherein the stand comprises an annular shape.

3. The filter element according to claim 1, wherein the stand is sleeve-shaped.

4. The filter element according to claim 1, wherein the stand comprises a free rim and the free rim has a step-free configuration; a corrugated configuration; or a stepped configuration.

5. The filter element according to claim 1, wherein the stand comprises two or more spike-shaped or tooth-shaped axial projections, wherein the spike-shaped or tooth-shaped axial projections are arranged spaced apart from each other in a circumferential direction of the filter element.

6. The filter element according to claim 1, wherein the closure element is arranged outside of the stand in a radial direction of the filter element.

7. The filter element according to claim 1, wherein the closure element is arranged inside the stand in a radial direction of the filter element.

8. The filter element according to claim 1, wherein the stand is configured to be rotatably adjustable about the longitudinal axis of the filter element.

9. The filter element according to claim 8, wherein the stand is configured to be rotatably adjustable about the longitudinal axis of the filter element relative to a filter insert of the filter element.

10. The filter element according to claim 9, wherein the stand is configured to be rotatably adjustable about the longitudinal axis of the filter element at a constant axial position of the stand relative to the filter insert.

11. The filter element according to claim 8, further comprising a support ring rotatably mounted at the filter element, wherein the closure element is provided on the support ring, and wherein the stand is formed integrally with the support ring.

12. The filter element according to claim 11, wherein the support ring, rotatably mounted at the filter element, is held positionally fixed in the axial direction at the filter element.

13. The filter element according to claim 11, wherein the support ring comprises at least one first positioning pin.

14. The filter element according to claim 13, wherein the at least one first positioning pin extends away from the support ring in the axial direction of the filter element.

15. The filter element according to claim 14, further comprising a second positioning pin extending away from the support ring in the axial direction of the filter element, wherein the second positioning pin, in a circumferential direction of the filter element, is arranged at a spacing from the at least one first positioning pin.

16. The filter element according to claim 15, wherein the at least one first positioning pin projects in the axial direction past the second positioning pin.

17. The filter element according to claim 1, wherein the stand is embodied as one piece.

18. The filter element according to claim 17, wherein the stand is an injection-molded plastic part.

19. The filter element according to claim 1, embodied as an exchangeable filter cartridge comprising a filter housing and a filter insert fixedly integrated in the filter housing, wherein the end face comprises a screw thread for connecting the filter element to the filter head.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] FIG. 1 shows a filter element embodied as an exchangeable filter cartridge with a closure element eccentrically arranged at an end face at a support ring and with a stand arranged at the end face and extending away from the filter element in a direction of the longitudinal axis of the filter element past the closure element, in a perspective view.

[0028] FIG. 2 shows the filter element according to FIG. 1 in a side view.

[0029] FIG. 3 shows the filter element according to FIG. 1 in a partially exploded illustration of its parts.

[0030] FIG. 4 shows a filter element similar to the filter element according to FIG. 1 with a smaller stand which is arranged in radial direction inside the support ring.

[0031] FIG. 5 shows the filter element according to FIG. 4 in a sectional perspective detail illustration.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0032] FIG. 1 shows a filter element 10 for filtering a fluid, in particular lubricant oil for the internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle, which is embodied here in the form of an exchangeable filter cartridge. Such exchangeable filter cartridges are also referred to as spin-on filter cartridges or spin-on filter elements. The filter element 10 comprises thus a filter housing 12 of metal or plastic material and a filter insert 14 with a filter medium arranged captively in the filter housing 12 which is illustrated in FIG. 1 only in a greatly simplified schematic way with dashed line. The longitudinal axis of the filter element 10 is identified by 16.

[0033] The filter element 10 comprises an end face 18 with several inlet openings 20 for the fluid to be filtered and with a single centrally arranged outlet opening 22 for the filtered fluid. The inlet openings 20 are arranged here in an exemplary fashion spaced apart from each other in a ring shape about the longitudinal axis 16. The inlet openings 20 as well as the outlet opening 22 are formed in a cover section 24 of the filter housing 12. The cover section 24 is crimped at the rim with a side wall section 26 of the filter housing 12 or is fluid-tightly connected in a different way. A screw thread 28 serves for screwing the filter element 10 into a thread of a filter head (not illustrated). A screw-in direction of the filter element 10 is identified by 30.

[0034] A support ring 32 is attached to the filter element 10 so as to be rotatable about the longitudinal axis 16 of the filter element 10. The support ring 32 is positionally fixed in axial direction at the filter element 10 and can be directly hooked, for example, at the cover section 24 of the filter housing 12. At the support ring 32 a closure element 34 is arranged that serves for closing a drainage channel of a filter head (not illustrated) to which the filter element 10 is connected in the filtering operation. The closure element 34 is advantageously comprised for the purpose of a reliable sealing action of an elastomer or comprises an elastomeric sealing element. The closure element 34 can be held in a receptacle 36 of the support ring 32. Alternatively, the closure element 34 can also be integrally formed, injection-molded at the support ring 32 or fastened in a different way at the support ring 32.

[0035] A first positioning pin 38 can extend in axial direction away from the support ring 32. The first positioning pin 38 serves to lock the support ring 32, when screwing the exchangeable filter cartridge into the thread of the filter head, with its closure element 34 in a rotational position in which the closure element 34 is axially aligned relative to the opening of the drainage channel of the filter head. The filter head comprises for this purpose a stop element (not illustrated) for the first positioning pin 38 by means of which a further rotational entrainment of the support ring 32 in the screw-in direction 30 of the filter element 10 is prevented. In order to advance the closure element 34 in a controlled fashion in axial direction toward the drainage channel of the filter head upon screwing, the support ring 32 is rotatable here relative to the filter housing 12 and relative to the filter insert 14 of the filter element 10, without its axial position changing relative to the filter housing 12 and relative to the filter insert 14.

[0036] Furthermore, a second positioning pin 40 can extend away from the support ring 32 in axial direction. The second positioning pin 40 is arranged spaced apart from the first positioning pin 38 in circumferential direction of the filter element 10. The first positioning pin 38 projects past the second positioning pin 40 in the axial direction. Upon complete screwing in of the filter element 10 into the thread of the filter head, the second positioning pin 40 permits a still further improved guiding of the closure element 34 in the axial direction in order to counteract canting of the closure element 34 at the opening rim of the drainage channel (not illustrated). Moreover, contacting of the second positioning pin 40 at the stop element of the filter head can counteract a transverse load of the closure element 34 as well as its shearing off from the support ring 32 when detaching the filter element 10 from the filter head again. An annular sealing element 42 which is attached to the end face at the filter element 10 provides for a seal-tightly contacting of the filter element 10 at the filter head. The annular sealing element 42 can be comprised of a rubbery elastic or visco-plastic deformable material.

[0037] At the end face at the filter element 10, a stand 44 is arranged which enables a stable positioning of the filter element 10 with downwardly pointing connector-side end face 18 on a support surface (not illustrated). In this way, handling of the filter element 10 during its manufacture and packaging for shipping and storage can be simplified. The stand 44 extends for this purpose away from the filter element 10 in the axial direction at least to the level of the free end 46 of the closure element 34 and, if present, of the positioning pin or pins 38, 40 and projects past the aforementioned components, as illustrated in FIG. 2. The stand 44 in this embodiment is arranged in the radial direction outside of the closure element 34 so that the closure element 34 and here in addition also the two positioning pins 38, 40 are protectively surrounded by the stand 44. In this way, the closure element 34 and also the positioning pins 38, 40 can be protected especially reliably relative to a mechanical overload or damage. This is in particular advantageous during the manufacturing and packaging process but also during transport as well as removal of the filter element 10 from its packaging or during mounting of the filter element 10 at the filter head.

[0038] The stand 44 is preferably embodied as one piece, for example, as an injection-molded plastic part. The stand 44 can be embodied in a cylinder shape, i.e., in the form of a sleeve, and in particular annularly surround the longitudinal axis 16 of the filter element 10. A free rim 48 of the stand 44 can be embodied without steps, corrugated, or, as illustrated in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, in a stepped configuration. In the latter case, the stand 44 thus has a crown-shaped configuration with at least three axial projections 50 which are spaced apart from each other in circumferential direction of the filter element 10 and are spike-shaped or tooth-shaped. Due to the stepped free rim 48 of the stand 44, the stand 44 can also be picked up more easily from a support surface in case of moisture or wet conditions in particular during manufacture. In other words, an undesirable adhesion of the stand 44 at the support surface is counteracted. Moreover, the material expenditure for the stand 44 is minimized in this embodiment.

[0039] The stand 44 according to the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3 can be arranged in the radial direction between the outwardly positioned annular seal and the support ring 32. The stand 44 comprises thus an outer diameter 52 that is greater than the diameter 54 of the support ring 32. In this way, a particularly tilt-stable positioning of the filter element 10 on the stand 44 can be achieved. Moreover, the stand 44 in this case provides for a particularly reliable protection of the annular sealing element 42 which, relative to the stand 44, is positioned radially outwardly, in particular also in case of tipping over of the filter element 10.

[0040] The stand 44 is locked at the filter element 10, here at the cover section 24. The stand 44 can be embodied in this context as a component that is separate from the support ring 32 or (as illustrated here) connected to the support ring 32 by means of connecting elements 56, in particular integrally formed thereat, in order to enable a manufacture of the filter element 10 as simple and inexpensive as possible. In the last-mentioned case, the stand 44 is thus rotatably attached together with the support ring 32 at the filter element 10. The support ring 32, in turn, can be hooked at the filter element 10 at the end face, i.e., can be secured thereat by locking, and comprises then for this purpose suitable hook elements 58 as illustrated in FIG. 3. In this case, the stand 44 is locked by means of the support ring 32, embodied as one piece together with it, at the filter element 10, here at its cover section 24. The annular sealing element 42 can be attached in particular to a seal support ring 59. It is understood that the annular sealing element 42 can also be arranged radially further inwardly than illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3.

[0041] In FIGS. 4 and 5, a further embodiment of a filter element 10 is illustrated which differs in principle from the filter element 10 above, illustrated in connection with FIGS. 1 to 3, in that the stand 44 in the radial direction is arranged inside of the support ring 32 as well as of the closure element 34. The closure element 34 is thus arranged outside of the stand 44 in the radial direction. The stand 44 comprises thus a smaller outer diameter 52 in comparison to the diameter 54 of the support ring 32. The closure element 34 can comprise an annular (radial) sealing element 60 that preferably is comprised of an elastomer.

[0042] In accordance with an embodiment that is not illustrated in detail in the drawing, the filter element 10 can also be embodied in the form of a filter insert for an openable housing part with a housing cover which is releasably connectable to the filter head.