Patent Application
20220266179
Vehicles use a variety of fluids to operate, such as engine oil, transmission fluid, cooling fluid, hydraulic fluid, and fuel. Typically, these fluids are operably filtered in order to remove unwanted contaminants that may hinder performance. As an example, a fluid filter can be operably mounted on a filter head that is fastened to the vehicle, such as in the engine compartment. Some larger vehicles, such as construction and agricultural vehicles (e.g., tractors) will utilize multiple filters for a vehicle fluid. In these situations, multiple filter heads may need to be mounted in the vehicle, and multiple fluid lines may need to be run through/around the vehicle to accommodate the multiple filter heads.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key factors or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. that can operably couple wit
One or more techniques and systems are described herein for a filter head that can be operably coupled with two or more filters to filter vehicle fluid. The example head can provide a variety of optional arrangements for coupling inlet and outlet hoses. That is, a plurality of inlets and outlets can be disposed on the filter head, for example, at different sides of the filter head. The respective inlets can be fluidly coupled with an intake portion of the filter headers attached to the filters. The respective outlets can be fluidly coupled with an outflow portion of the filter headers. In this way, the location of the coupling of the inlet hose and outlet hose can be determined based on the target location in the target vehicle.
In one implementation of a vehicle fluid filter head, the filter head can comprise a body. Further, two filter headers can be disposed on a first side of the body. Here, respective filter headers comprise an intake portion that is fluidly coupled with an inlet passage inside the body, and an outflow portion that is fluidly coupled with an outlet passage inside the body. The respective filter headers are sized to operably engage with a fluid filter. A first inlet is fluidly coupled with the inlet passage, and a first outlet is fluidly coupled with the outlet passage. The first inlet and first outlet are respectively disposed on a second side of the body, where the second side is orthogonal to the first side. A second inlet is fluidly coupled with the inlet passage, and a second outlet is fluidly coupled with the outlet passage. The second inlet and second outlet are respectively disposed on a third side of the body, where the third side is orthogonal to the first side.
To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the following description and annexed drawings set forth certain illustrative aspects and implementations. These are indicative of but a few of the various ways in which one or more aspects may be employed. Other aspects, advantages and novel features of the disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the annexed drawings.
The claimed subject matter is now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are generally used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the claimed subject matter. It may be evident, however, that the claimed subject matter may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate describing the claimed subject matter.
A vehicle fluid filter header can be devised that operably enables at least two filters to be attached in a more compact design, and provides for a variety of fluid inlet and outlet configurations. In this way, where a vehicle may utilize more than one filter for a particular fluid, such as engine oil, hydraulic fluid, fuel, etc., merely one filter head may be utilized. In some implementations, the use of one filter head for two or more filters can reduce the space needed to house the filter system. That is, for example, typical and existing filter heads merely hold a single filter. Housing two separate filter heads and filters in a limited space, such as in an engine compartment area, can take up more room that a single, compact head that receives two filters. Further, in some implementations, the filter head described herein can have multiple options for attaching the fluid inlet and outlets, such as at more than one side of the head. In this way, for example, options for running fluid lines are increased, which can lead to a more efficient and compact design.
With continued reference to
As illustrated in
As illustrated, the first inlet 210 can provide for fluid flow into the body 202 in the inlet passage 224. Additionally, the inlet passage 224 is fluidly coupled with the respective intake portions 220, 220′ of the filter head 200. As such, in this example, the first inlet 210 is fluidly coupled with the respective intake portions 220, 220′ of the filter head 200, for example, to provide a flow of fluid from outside the head 200 at the second side 208, to filters (not shown) attached to the filter headers 204, 204′. Further, as illustrated, the outlet passage 226 is fluidly coupled with the respective outflow portions 222, 222′ of the filter headers 204, 204′. As such, in this example, the first outlet 212 is fluidly coupled with the respective outflow portions 222, 222′ of the filter headers 204, 204′, for example, to provide a flow of fluid from outside the head 200 at the second side 208, to filters (not shown) attached to the filter headers 204, 204′.
As illustrated in
As illustrated, the second inlet 216 can provide for fluid flow into the body 202 in the inlet passage 224. Additionally, as described above, the inlet passage 224 is fluidly coupled with the respective intake portions 220, 220′ of the filter head 200. As such, in this example, the second inlet 210 is fluidly coupled with the respective intake portions 220, 220′ of the filter headers 204, 204′, for example, to provide a flow of fluid from outside the head 200 at the third side 214, to filters (not shown) attached to the filter headers 204, 204′. Further, as described above, the outlet passage 226 is fluidly coupled with the respective outflow portions 222, 222′ of the filter headers 204, 204′. As such, in this example, the second outlet 218 is fluidly coupled with the respective outflow portions 222, 222′ of the filter headers 204, 204′, for example, to provide a flow of fluid from outside the head 200 at the third side 214 to filters (not shown) attached to the filter headers 204, 204′.
As illustrated in
With continued reference to
Further, in some implementations, the example filter head 200 can comprise a fourth inlet 436 that is fluidly coupled with the inlet passage 224. Further, the filter head 200 can comprise a fourth outlet 438 that is fluidly coupled with the outlet passage 226. In this implementation, the fourth inlet 436 and the fourth outlet 438 are respectively disposed on a fifth side 434 of the body 202. As illustrated, the fifth side 434 is disposed substantially orthogonally to the first side 206; and the fifth side 434 is disposed opposing the third side 214. Because the inlet passage 224 is fluidly coupled with the intake portions 220, 220′ of the respective filter headers 204, 204′, the fourth inlet 436 is fluidly coupled with the intake portions 220, 220′ of the respective filter headers 204, 204′, for example, to operably provide fluid to an attached filter (not shown). Additionally, because the outlet passage 226 is fluidly coupled with the outflow portions 222, 222′ of the respective filter headers 204, 204′, the fourth outlet 438 is fluidly coupled with the outflow portions 222, 222′ of the respective filter headers 204, 204′, for example, to operably provide for fluid out from the attached filter.
As illustrated in
Further, in this implementation, with continued reference to
As illustrated, the inlet passage 224 and outlet passage 226 are separated from each other, except by the bypass port 440, when selectably opened. In some implementations, the outlet passage 226 is disposed in a horizontal arrangement between the first outlet 212 and the third outlet 432, at the front of the filter head 200. In this implementation, the outlet passage is parallel to the first side 206, sixth side 442, third side 214, and fifth side 434. Further, at least a portion of the inlet passage is disposed in a horizontal arrangement between the first inlet 210 and the third inlet 430, at the rear of the filter head 200. In this implementation, the inlet passage 224 is parallel to the outlet passage 226. Additionally, in this implementation, the second inlet 216 and fourth inlet 436 form a fluid passage at a top portion of the body 202, which is substantially perpendicular to, and disposed above, the inlet passage 224 and outlet passage 226.
In some implementations, as shown by these examples, an example filter head 700 can provide for at least four different options for attachment of intake and outflow fluid lines to the filter head. As an illustrative example,
In this implementation, for example, an inlet hose can be operably coupled with the inlet fitting 702, and an outlet hose can be operably coupled with the outlet fitting 718, providing a first arrangement where the hoses are disposed at the front (e.g., third side 214). Further, the remaining inlets and outlets are operably closed with an inlet/outlet plug 706 to mitigate fluid leakage. Additionally, a bypass plug 708 (e.g., or valve) is operably disposed in the bypass port 740, to mitigate fluid flow between the inlet passage 224 and outlet passage 226, and to mitigate leakage out of the filter head 700. The bypass plug 708 can be selectably removed to allow flow between the inlet passage 224 and outlet passage 226. A sample port plug 714 is operably disposed in the sample port 744 to mitigate leakage of fluid from the inlet passage 224 to the outside. In this example, the sample port plug 714 can be selectably removed to access the sample port 744.
As illustrated in
The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean serving as an example, instance or illustration. Any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as advantageous over other aspects or designs. Rather, use of the word exemplary is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion. As used in this application, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or.” That is, unless specified otherwise, or clear from context, “X employs A or B” is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both A and B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under any of the foregoing instances. Further, At least one of A and B and/or the like generally means A or B or both A and B. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” as used in this application and the appended claims may generally be construed to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singular form.
Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.
Also, although the disclosure has been shown and described with respect to one or more implementations, equivalent alterations and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art based upon a reading and understanding of this specification and the annexed drawings. The disclosure includes all such modifications and alterations and is limited only by the scope of the following claims. In particular regard to the various functions performed by the above described components (e.g., elements, resources, etc.), the terms used to describe such components are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any component which performs the specified function of the described component (e.g., that is functionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs the function in the herein illustrated exemplary implementations of the disclosure. In addition, while a particular feature of the disclosure may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “includes,” “having,” “has,” “with,” or variants thereof are used in either the detailed description or the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.”
The implementations have been described, hereinabove. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the above methods and apparatuses may incorporate changes and modifications without departing from the general scope of this invention. It is intended to include all such modifications and alterations in so far as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.
