Patent Application
20160003200
The present disclosure generally relates to an air filter. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a low-cost, disposable air filter that is substantially bio-degradable.
Engines are typically provided with air filters to filter air that is supplied for combustion of fuel. A conventional air filter may include a filter element and a housing besides other hardware. The filter element may be disposed within the housing and may be configured to separate dust, dirt and other particles from the inlet air. In most cases, the housing, the filter element, and/or other components of the air filter may be constructed from plastics, metals, or other non-biodegradable materials.
For reference, PCT Publication No. 1992/009766 relates to a filter that is formed from synthetic plastics or metals. However, the non-biodegradability factor, inherent with the type of material used in the construction of the air filter, may pose various environmental concerns. Moreover, a cost of manufacturing the conventional air filters may be high with use of plastics, and/or metals. With high manufacturing costs, retail cost of the conventional air filters may increase.
Hence, there exists a need for an air filter that overcomes the above mentioned drawbacks.
In one aspect of the present disclosure, a disposable filter for an engine includes a shroud and a filter element. The shroud has at least one pair of sidewalls that define an inlet and an outlet respectively therethrough. The sidewalls of the shroud include an outer ply, an inner ply, and a core comprising a honeycomb matrix of cells. The outer ply and the inner ply are disposed in a spaced-apart relation to each other. Lateral ends of the core are bonded to inner surfaces of the outer ply and the inner ply to integrally form the sidewall. The filter element is disposed within the shroud and releasably coupled to the shroud. Further, the shroud and the filter element are both formed using at least one bio-degradable material.
Other features and aspects of this disclosure will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings.
The present disclosure generally relates to an air filter. More particularly, the present disclosure relates a disposable air filter that is substantially bio-degradable and hence, may be incinerated.
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The core 112 is bonded between the inner ply 106 and the outer ply 108 to integrally form the corresponding sidewall 104. A lateral end 112A of the core 112 is bonded to an inner surface 115 of the outer ply 108 while another lateral end 112B is bonded to an inner surface 117 of the inner ply 106. The bonding of the core 112 to the inner and outer plies 106, 108 may be accomplished using suitable types of adhesives for e.g., resins based adhesives, epoxy based adhesives, or any other adhesives known in the art.
Although, one outer ply 108 and one inner ply 106 are shown bonded to the core 112, it may be contemplated to beneficially include more than two plies to increase stiffness of the corresponding sidewall 104.
Further, ends of adjacent sidewalls 104 may be coupled to each other to integrally form the shroud 102. The coupling may be accomplished by way of mechanical fastening, adhesive bonding, or other suitable methods known in the art.
In an embodiment, one or more sidewalls 104A, 104B, 104C, 104D, 104E, 104F of the shroud 102 may be coated with a hydrophilic substance for e.g., urethane. The hydrophilic substance may prevent wetting of the shroud 102, when exposed to fluids. Further, the hydrophilic substance may improve structural integrity of the shroud 102.
Referring to
Further, a first engagement member 122 may be disposed in the outlet 116. The first engagement member 122 may have a tube-like structure that defines a passage 123 for the outlet air flow 120 out of the shroud 102. Moreover, the first engagement member 122 may be sealed across the outlet 116 to prevent leakage of air between the outlet 116 and the first engagement member 122. The first engagement member 122 may be coupled to the air intake system of the engine.
Referring to
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The filter element 124 is configured to filter the first air flow 118 received from the inlet 114. The filter element 124 may have any shape such as, but not limited to, cylindrical, rectangular, elliptical, oblong, or any other asymmetrical shapes.
The filter element 124 is formed from one or more bio-degradable materials that are permeable to gaseous fluids. Thus, the filter element 124 may allow air to permeate through the filter element 124 while trapping other foreign particles such as, dirt, dust or other contaminants. In one embodiment, the filter element 124 may be formed from paper having a pleated configuration. In another embodiment, the filter element 124 and the shroud 102 may be formed from different bio-degradable materials.
In methodologies directly or indirectly set forth herein, various steps and operations are described in one possible order of operation, but those skilled in the art will recognize that steps and operations may be rearranged, replaced, or eliminated without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as set forth in the claims.
The present disclosure has applicability for implementation and use in various industrial settings such as, but not limited to, engines, pneumatics, refineries, power plants; and other applications known to one skilled in the art.
The filter 100 disclosed herein is formed entirely using one or more bio-degradable materials, thereby rendering the filter 100 to be disposable and incinerated. Further, by using low cost materials such as paper and cardboard for producing the filter 100, an overall cost of the filter 100 may be reduced. Additionally, by using the honeycomb matrix of cells 113, the shroud 102 may have improved stiffness to weight ratio thereby improving service life of the filter 100.
In operation, air enters the filter 100 through the inlet 114 to the interior volume 110 of the shroud 102. As air flows over an outer surface 132 of the filter element 124, foreign particles such as dust, dirt are trapped by the filter element 124. The air that is filtered now passes through the channel 126 to the passage 123 of the first engagement member 122 and subsequently out of the filter 100.
Further, as coupling of the filter element 124 to the shroud 102 renders the filter 100 with a unitary construction, the filter 100 may be easily and economically sold as a package or as a single-piece component. Moreover, the filter 100 may be readily implemented for quick fitment onto air inlet systems and/or air filtration systems commonly employed in various applications.
While aspects of the present disclosure have been particularly shown and described with reference to the embodiments above, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various additional embodiments may be contemplated by the modification of the disclosed machines, systems and methods without departing from the spirit and scope of what is disclosed. Such embodiments should be understood to fall within the scope of the present disclosure as determined based upon the claims and any equivalents thereof.
