Filter System and Filter Element Having a Glass Fiber Filter Medium and a Sintered Body

Abstract

A filter system for filtering a fluid is provided with a filter housing and a filter element arranged in the filter housing. The filter element has a glass fiber filter medium. A sintered body is arranged fluidically downstream of the glass fiber filter medium for retaining constituents of the glass fiber filter medium entrained in a fluid to be filtered. A pore size of the sintered body is greater than a cross-section of the constituents of the glass fiber filter medium.

Claims

1. A filter system for filtering a fluid, the filter system comprising: a filter housing; a filter element arranged in the filter housing and comprising a glass fiber filter medium; a sintered body arranged fluidically downstream of the glass fiber filter medium for retaining constituents of the glass fiber filter medium entrained in a fluid to be filtered.

2. The filter system according to claim 1, wherein a pore size of the sintered body is greater than a cross-section of the constituents of the glass fiber filter medium.

3. The filter system according to claim 1, wherein the sintered body is flowed through in a direction of a longitudinal axis of the sintered body and/or transverse to the longitudinal axis.

4. The filter system according to claim 1, wherein the sintered body is comprised of a plastic material or a plastic material mix.

5. The filter system according to claim 1, wherein the sintered body comprises sintering beads.

6. The filter system according to claim 5, wherein the sintered body has a thickness measured in a flow direction of the fluid to be filtered through the sintered body and wherein the thickness is greater than three times an average diameter of the sintering beads.

7. The filter system according to claim 6, wherein the thickness is greater than four times the average diameter of the sintering beads.

8. The filter system according to claim 7, wherein the thickness is greater than five times the average diameter of the sintering beads.

9. The filter system according to claim 8, wherein the thickness is greater than six times the average diameter of the sintering beads.

10. The filter system according to claim 1, wherein the sintered body is integrated into the filter housing.

11. The filter system according to claim 1, wherein the sintered body is integrated into the filter element.

12. The filter system according to claim 11, wherein the filter element comprises an end disk and wherein the sintered body is integrated into the end disk.

13. A filter element for filtering a fluid to be filtered, the filter element comprising a glass fiber filter medium and a sintered body arranged fluidically downstream of the glass fiber filter medium for retaining constituents of the glass fiber filter medium entrained in the fluid to be filtered.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Further features and advantages of the invention can be taken from the following detailed description of several embodiments of the invention, from the Figures of the drawing showing important details of the invention, as well as from the claims.

[0028] The features illustrated in the drawing are illustrated such that the particularities of the invention can be made clearly visible. The different features can be realized individually by themselves or several combined in any combination in variants of the invention.

[0029] FIG. 1 shows a schematic side view of a filter system with a first filter element.

[0030] FIG. 2 shows a schematic side view of a second filter element.

[0031] FIG. 3 shows a schematic, greatly enlarged detail in perspective illustration of the sintered body according to FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0032] FIG. 1 shows a filter system 10 according to the invention. The filter system 10 comprises a filter housing 12. In the filter housing 12, an exchangeable first filter element 14 is arranged.

[0033] The filter housing 12 comprises an inlet 16 and an outlet 18 for a fluid to be filtered, in particular for fuel. The filter housing 12 can thus be flowed through, as indicated by arrows 20, 22, wherein the filtering action is substantially realized in the first filter element 14.

[0034] The first filter element 14 comprises a filter medium 24. The filter medium 24 is arranged between a first end plate 26 and a second end plate 28 of the filter element 14 and is designed as a glass fiber filter medium 24. Individual glass fibers can break out of the glass fiber filter medium 24 and can contaminate the fluid. The constituent 32 of the glass fiber filter medium 24 is illustrated particularly large in FIG. 1 for illustration purposes. Realistic constituents 32 of the glass fiber filter medium 24 have in longitudinal direction a length of up to several millimeters and an (average) thickness, measured transverse to the longitudinal direction, of a multiple of 10 m.

[0035] In order to prevent that the constituent 32 of the glass fiber filter medium 24 can escape from the outlet 18 of the filter system 10, the filter housing 12 comprises a sintered body 34. The sintered body 34 is arranged fluidically downstream of the first filter element 14. In the present case, the sintered body 34 is integrated into the filter housing 12. The sintered body 34 is substantially embodied rotation-symmetrical to its longitudinal axis and can be flowed through in the direction of its longitudinal axis.

[0036] FIG. 2 shows a second filter element 36 according to the invention. The second filter element 36 comprises a first end plate 38 in which a glass fiber filter medium 40 is embedded. The second filter element 36 has moreover a second end plate 42. The sintered body 44 is integrated into the second end plate 42. The sintered body 44 is substantially identical to the sintered body 34 (see FIG. 1). The sintered body 44 can be flowed through in the direction of its longitudinal axis.

[0037] FIG. 3 shows a strongly enlarged detail 46 of the sintered body 34 of FIG. 1. From FIG. 3 it is evident that the sintered body 34 comprises a plurality of sintering beads; for reasons of clarity, of the sintering beads only a first sintering bead 48, a second sintering bead 50, and a third sintering bead 42 are provided with reference characters. During manufacture of the sintered body 34, the sintering beads have been partially compressed and/or fused with each other.

[0038] The first sintering bead 48 is part of a first layer of sintering beads which is illustrated as the uppermost layer in FIG. 3.

[0039] The second sintering bead 50 is part of a second layer of sintering beads which is illustrated in FIG. 3 as a layer underneath the first layer. The third sintering bead 52 is part of a third layer of sintering beads which is located under the second layer. The second layer of sintering beads is thus located on the third layer of sintering beads and the first layer of sintering beads on the second layer of sintering beads. The layers are arranged on top of each other relative to the direction of flow of the sintered body 34. The layers in this context are staggered relative to each other transverse to the flow direction, i.e., the sintering beads of two layers that are adjoining each other are arranged offset to each other, respectively. The pores of the sintered body 34 are therefore staggered relative to each other transverse to the flow direction. Even though the pores, relative to the average diameter of the glass fiber particles to be retained, are relatively large, a rigid constituent 32 (see FIG. 1) of the glass fiber filter medium 24 cannot pass through the sintered body 34. The rigid constituent 32 due to its inherent bending stiffness, even at high flow rate of the fluid to be filtered, cannot be deformed in such a way that it can pass the staggered pores of the individual sintered body layers.

[0040] In summarizing, the invention concerns a filter system with a filter element and a glass fiber filter medium. Moreover, the filter system comprises a sintered body that prevents that accidentally detached constituents of the glass fiber filter medium escape from the filter system. For this purpose, the sintered body comprises passages, i.e., pores, that are preferably staggered relative to each other transverse to the flow direction of the sintered body so that the constituents of the glass fiber filter medium become wedged in the pores of the sintered body. The passage openings can have an average clearance of more than 10 m, in particular of more than 20 m, preferably of more than 30 m, and particularly preferred of more than 40 m in order to keep the flow resistance of the sintered body minimal. A sintered body can be arranged in the filter element and/or outside of the filter element in the filter system. The invention concerns moreover a filter element with a glass fiber filter medium and a sintered body arranged fluidically downstream of the glass fiber filter medium.

[0041] While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the inventive principles, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.