Patent Application
20120145620
This invention generally relates to coolant filters, and more specifically to coolant filters that incorporate an additive for the treatment of coolant.
Coolant filters containing additives for the treatment of coolant are generally known in the art. An example of such a filter can be found at U.S. Pat. No. 5,948,248 to Brown and assigned to the instant assignee, the entire disclosure of which is hereinafter incorporated by reference thereto. As described therein, an additive is contained within the filter, and introduced to the coolant during the filtration process. The invention generally relates to improvements over these designs. These and other advantages of the invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention provided herein.
In one aspect, the invention provides a filter incorporating an additive and a seal preventing inadvertent leakage of the additive prior to installation of the filter. A filter according to this aspect includes a filter element having filter media and defining a flow path through the filter media. A dissolvable seal is positioned to close the flow path through the media.
The filter element defines an additive chamber that carries the additive. The additive chamber extends between an open end cap and a closed end cap of the filter element. The dissolvable seal is disposed within the additive chamber.
In another aspect, the flow path extends through the additive chamber. The dissolvable seal closes the flow path from within the additive chamber. The end cap includes an outlet extending therethrough and in fluid communication with the additive chamber. The outlet is disposed along the flow path with the dissolvable seal sealing the outlet.
The outlet extends through inner and outer surfaces of the open end cap. The inner surface defines a boundary of the additive chamber with the dissolvable seal sealingly engaging the inner surface of the open end cap.
In another aspect, the dissolvable seal is configured to dissolve upon exposure to engine coolant. In one embodiment the dissolvable seal is configured to dissolve upon exposure to engine coolant in less than or equal to about five minutes.
Other aspects, objectives and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. In the drawings:
While the invention will be described in connection with certain preferred embodiments, there is no intent to limit it to those embodiments. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
Turning now to the drawings, there is illustrated in
Turning now to
The filter element 14 is contained within a canister shaped body 28 of the housing 12. The filter element is sealed within the body 28 using a lid 30 that is mounted to the body 28 using a roll seam. The lid 30 also carries a seal 44 to seal the filter cartridge 10 against a sealing surface.
A base plate 32 is affixed to an underside of the lid 30. The base plate 32 has a threaded connection 34 to facilitate the connection of the filter cartridge 10 to an internal combustion engine or other similar system. As illustrated in
A biasing member 36 is positioned within the chamber 16 of the housing 12 to bias the filter element 14 into sealing engagement with the base plate 32. The biasing member 36 is seated within a cup shaped seat 38 and contacts a closed end cap 40 of the filter element 14 to bias an open end cap 42 of the filter element 14 into the base plate 32 as illustrated.
Referring now to
The center tube 46 is generally cylindrical, and the end caps 40, 42 and center tube 46 together define the additive chamber 20. It is recognized, however, that in other embodiments, the center tube 46 can be omitted entirely, and the filter media 50 and end caps 40, 42 will define an additive chamber 20 for receipt of the additive 18.
The seal element 26 is also disposed within the additive chamber 20 and seals the outlet 24 from within the additive chamber 20 (see also
The seal element 26 is dissolvable such that when the filter cartridge 10 is installed and coolant filtered therethrough the seal element 26 will dissolve to allow coolant to pass through the filter cartridge 10. In one embodiment, the dissolvable seal is disc shaped with a diameter of about ⅜ inch. The outlet 24 is also circular shaped and has a diameter of about 5/32 inch. As such, there is a sufficient amount of overlap of the dissolvable seal element 26 over the outlet 24 to ensure that the dissolvable seal element 26 remains in place until it is dissolved. However, in other embodiments, the seal and/or the outlet 24 may have different dimensions and the invention is not limited to those described above.
In one embodiment, the seal element 26 is water soluble, and capable of dissolving in engine coolant in approximately less than about 5 minutes. Once dissolved, the seal material will disperse throughout the engine coolant and not affect the performance thereof. It will be recognized, however, that other seals can be utilized that dissolve in less or more time. As one example, the seal 26 may be formulated to immediately dissolve under the introduction of engine coolant.
Another advantage of the above configuration is achieved by way of containing the additive 18 directly within the additive chamber 20 of the filter element 14 as opposed to an additional chamber. Such a configuration presents the advantages of enhanced engine coolant filtration and treatment in a relatively compact design. Further, the seal element 26 advantageously prevents the undesirable leakage of additive 18 through the outlet 24 of the filter cartridge 10 prior to installation and operation of the filter cartridge 10.
All references, including publications, patent applications, and patents cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein.
The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) is to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.
Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention. Variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend for the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.
