US3347390A - Filter - Google Patents

Description

410i i7, 1967 LA VERN R. TlETz ETAL 3,347,390

FILTER Filed July 20, 1964 United States Patent 3,347,390 FILTER La Vern R. Tietz, Plymouth, Mich., and Louis F. Niebergall, Racine, `Wis., assignors to Walker Manufacturing Company, a corporation of Delaware Filed lIuly 20, 1964, Ser. No. 383,856 1 Claim. (Cl. 210-448) This invention relates generally to fluid filters, and more particularly, to a disposable or throwaway gasoline filter for use in automotive and similar type internal combustion engines.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide an extremely simple and compact gasoline filter which is adapted to effectively remove particulate contamination and suspended matter from the fuel thatis transmitted from the gasoline tank to the carburetion system of an automotive engine.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a gasoline filter of the above character that may be used either as an in-line gasoline filter or as a replacement for conventional bowl type gasoline lters.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a gasoline filter whose filtering media comprises a m-olded resin impregnated fibrous material.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a gasoline filter of the above character which is of a simple design and is therefore extremely economical to commercially produce.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a preferred embodiment of the gasoline filter of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an end elevational View, partially broken away, of the gasoline lter illustrated in FIGURE l, taken in the direction of the arrow 2 thereof; and

FIGURE 3'is a longitudinal cross-sectional View of an alternate embodiment of the gasoline filter of the present invention.

Referring now toFIGURE 1 of the drawing, a disposable or throwaway gasoline filter 10, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, includes a cup-shaped lter housing 12 that is formed with a cylindrical side wall section 14 which is open on one (right) end and terminates at the opposite (left) end in a fiat end wall section 16. The end of the filter housings side wall section 14 circumjacent the open (right) end of the housing 12 is formed with a radially outwardly extending flange section 18 that is crimped around the outer periphery of a fiat annular end cover plate 20 which is disposed within and closes the open end of the housing 12. Preferably a non-hardening sealing agent is provided between the -outer periphery of the plate 20 and the filter housings fiange section 18 to prevent gasoline from leaking out of the housing 12 at the juncture of these members.

The cover plate Ztl and the filter'housings end wall section 16 are formed with substantially coaxial openings 24 and 26, respectively, within which are nested annular shoulder sections 28 and 30 that are formed on the inner ends of a pair of inlet and outlet fittings 32 and 34, respectively. The fittings 32 and 34 are preferably secured to the plate 2f) and end wall section 16 'as by brazing and are formed with axially extending bores 36 and 38 which function to communicate gasoline to and from the interior of the filter housing 12. The outer end of the bore 36 and of the fitting 34 are threaded and are thus adapted to threadably receive suitable fittings provided on the automotive fuel line, thereby communicating the fuel line with the interior of the housing 12. As seen in FIGURES 1 ICC and 2, the fittings 32 and 34 are formed with hexagonal cross-sectioned portions which define a plurality of wrench-engaging surfaces or facets, generally designated 4l), to facilitate threadably connecting the fittings 32 and g4 with their associated fittings on the automotive fuel The gasoline filtering media of the filter 10 is in the form of a hollow cylindrical filter element 42 that is supported at its right end by being nested within a radially inwardly extending necked-down or swaged section 44 that is formedin the end of the housing 12 adjacent the end wall section 16 thereof. The opposite (left) end of the filter element 42 is supported within the housing 12 by being nested between a central concave section 46 and a plurality of circumferentially spaced peripheral crimped sections 48 of a flat annular end cap 50. As seen in FIG- URE 2, a plurality of circumferentially spaced gasoline flow paths, generally designated 52, are defined between the outer periphery of the end cap 50 and the inner periphery of the filter housings side wall section 14. Preferably, the outer diameter of the end caps crimped sections 48 is slightly larger than the inner diameter of the housing 12 so that upon assembly of these members, a slight interference fit is provided therebetween. Also, the opposite ends of the filter element 42 are secured to the end wall section 16 of the housing 12, and to the end cap 50, by a suitable adhesive material to prevent possible relative movement of these members during engine operation, and also to prevent unfiltered gasoline from bypassing the filter element 42 by flowing around the opposite ends thereof. A plurality of inwardly projecting embossments or indentations, generally designated 53, are formed in the cover plate 20 and are adapted to prevent the end cap 50 from possibly sliding or otherwise moving into engagement with the inner face of the plate 20 and thereby prevent gasoline from freely flowing into the interior of housing 12 through the bore 36 of the inlet fitting 32.

The filter element 42 preferably consists of a resin impregnated fibrous material which is molded into the annular body illustrated in FIGURE 1. More particularly, the filter element 42 consists of a mass yof viscous rayon fibers of approximately 40 denier diameter, disposed in maximum random orientation and resin `coated by means of a suitable phenolic resin, for example, phenolformaldehyde resin, and compressed to a density of `approximately 7.0 grams per cubic inch. Tests have shown that this composition functions to remove approximately 97 percent of the particulate contamination and suspended matter of 60 microns in diameter or greater, and imposes a maximum flow restriction of 4 inches of H2O, at a gasoline iiow rate of 20 g.p.h. at 80 F.

It will be apparent, of course, that the denier diameter of the rayon fibers and the flow path through the filter element 42 (i.e., the configuration of the filter element 42), may be varied to provide various desired filtering characteristics. Also, it will be evident that the resistance to fiow through the filter element 42 and particle retaining characteristics thereof may be varied by increasing or decreasing the density to which the filtering media comprising the filter element 42 is compressed.

Referring now to FIGURE 3, a gasoline filter 54, in accordance with an alternate construction of the present invention, includes a cylindrical filter housing comprising a pair of annular, cup-shaped shells 55 and 56 which are connected at their respective open ends in a Huid-tight roll seam or joint 57. The outer ends of the shells 55 and 56 are formed with coaxial, reduced diameter tubular portions which form inlet and outlet sections 58 and 60, respectively. The outer ends of the sections 58 and 60 are formed with slightly enlarged diameter shoulder portions 62 and 64 which serve as slip-on type fittings for remov- D ably receiving and effectively sealing the ends of an associated gasoline-conduit (not shown) communicating gasoline to and from the filter 54.

Disposed within the shells 55 and 56 is a filter element 66 that is preferably fabricated of the 'same filtering media as the aforediscussed filter element 42 and is molded into the annular dome-shaped body illustrated in FIG- URE 3 so that a maximum filtering area is exposed to the gasoline to be filtered. The filter element 66 is slightly smaller in diameter than the inner diameter of the shells 55 and 56 and is supported therewithin by having its Open (left) end nested within a radially inwardly extending necked-down section 63 that is formed around the outer (left) end of the shell 56. As in the aforediscussed gasoline filter 10, a suitable adhesive material is provided between the end of the filter element 66 and the end of the shell 56 in which it is supported to preclude possible relative movement between these members and to prevent unfiltered gasoline from bypassing the filtered element 66 by flowing around the left end thereof.

Because each of the aforediscussed embodiments of he gasoline filter of the present invention functions in cssentially the same manner, the operation of these devices will be described with particular reference being made t only gasoline filter 10. In operation, the inlet and outlet fittings 32 and 34 are connected to their associated fittings on the automotive fuel line to communicate gasoline to and from the interior of the filter housing 12. Gasoline entering the filter housing 12 through the bore 36 of the fitting 32 passes into an inlet chamber 70 defined by the end cover plate 20 and the filter element end cap 50. The gasoline within the chamber 70 then passes through the plurality of the circumferentially spaced gasoline flow paths 52 and into an annular chamber 72 which is defined by the outer periphery of the filter element 42 and the side wall section 14 of the housing 12. The gasoline thereafter passes radially inwardly through the filter element 42 and into a central annular chamber 74 defined thereby. The gasoline within the chamber 74 then passes out of the filter housing 12 through the bore 38 in the outlet fitting 34, land is thereafter communicated through the automotive fuel line to the engine carburetion system.

While it will be apparent that the embodiments herein illustrated are well calculated to fulfill the objects above stated, it will be appreciated that the construction of the gasoline filters and 54 are susceptible to modification, variation and change without departing from the proper scope or fair meaning of the subjoined claim.

What is claimed is:

A throw away filter for gasoline or the like comprising a two part housing defining a generally cylindrical filtering Vchamber closed at opposite ends by first and second end walls, fluid inlet passage means formed in said first end wall, fluid outlet passage means formed in said second end wall, an annular depth type filter body consisting essentially of resin coated rayon fibers molded to a predetermined shape and density, said filter body defining radially spaced generally cylindrical inner and outer surfaces over a substantial portion of its length, said inner surface forming a fluid passage opening through one end of said filter body, means bonded to the other end-of said filter for forming a closure for the other end of said fluid passage, said outer surface of said filter body being disposed radially inwardly of a major portion of the length of said housing for fluid communication between said filtering chamber and said outer surface of said filter body for radial fluid flow through said filter body between said inner and outer surfaces, said means for forming a closure for said other end of said fluid passage being spaced from one of said housing end walls and having circumferentially spaced peripheral means engaging said housing for centering said filter body within said housing, and means for bonding said one end of said filter body to the other of said housing end walls around the respective fluid passage means therein for a fluid communication between said filter body fluid passage and said end wall fluid passage means, said housing having a radially inwardly extending portion adjacent said end wall in engagement with the adjacent portion rof said filter body outer surface for radially locating said filter body within said cylindrical filtering chamber.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,357,392 9/ 1944 Francis.

2,644,586 7/1953 Cutter 210-448 X 2,804,211 8/1957 Kennedy 210-444 X 2,834,730 5/1958 Painter et al. 210--508 X 2,932,398 4/1960 Korte 210-448 X 2,979,208 4/ 1961 Humbert. 3,202,287 8/ 1965 Szwargulski 210-448 X 3,237,776 3/1966 Painter et al 210-508 X 3,253,715 5/1966 Painter et al. 2l0-508 X REUBEN FRIEDMAN, Primary Examiner'.

F. W. MEDLEY, Assistant Examiner.

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