This application claims the benefit of and priority to pending EP patent application serial number 22179703.8, filed Jun. 17, 2022, and entitled “OIL FILTER ARRANGEMENT FOR FILTERING OIL OF A VEHICLE,” the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
The present disclosure relates to an oil filter arrangement for filtering oil of a vehicle, an oil pump and oil filter arrangement for pumping and filtering oil of a vehicle, and a vehicle with such an arrangement.
Oil filter arrangements, filter arrangements, oil filter units, or filter units are configured to be attached to a housing of an engine, transmission, and/or, in particular, an electrical drive axle, whereby the oil filter arrangements, filter arrangements, oil filer units, or filter units are connected to the respective housing from the outside of the housing. The oil filter arrangement, filter arrangement, oil filter units, or filter unit is thereby connected to the respective housing by means of fixture features, fastening elements and/or threaded joints. Further, some oil filter units or filter units are integrated in the respective housing, whereby these oil filter units or filter units are not considered to be replaced, for example during a service.
It is found that a further need exists to provide an improved oil filter arrangement for filtering oil of a vehicle.
In the view of the above, it is an object of the present disclosure to provide an improved oil filter arrangement for filtering oil of a vehicle.
The problem is at least partially solved or alleviated by the subject matter of the independent claims of the present disclosure, wherein further examples are incorporated in the dependent claims.
According to a first aspect, an oil filter arrangement for filtering oil of a vehicle is disclosed, comprising:
The at least one filter unit may be configured an oil filter unit which may for example be configured as a spin-on oil filter type or a cartridge oil filter type.
In other words, the oil filter arrangement may be housed in an existing housing and/or a special housing of the vehicle. Thereby, it may no longer be necessary to provide a special housing for a filter unit or to use a filter unit with an extra housing. This means that, for example, replacement of a housing for a filter unit may be avoided or saved, so that the disclosed oil filter arrangement may save consumption materials in the use and/or replacement of an oil filter arrangement.
In an implementation, the at least one connection unit may comprise at least one contact element configured to get in contact with at least one contact element of the separate oil pump unit.
In other words, the at least one connection unit may have dedicated contact pads, similarly to an oil pump may have dedicated contact pads, which may be configured to mate together during assembly to prevent the filter from moving out of position.
In an implementation, the at least one connection unit may comprise at least one guiding element configured to be housed in a recess of the vehicle corresponding to the at least one guiding element.
In other words, the at least one filter unit may be guided with a cylindrical portion, which may be arrangement at the bottom of the at least one filter unit and may be inserted into a corresponding hole of the oil filter arrangement housing.
Further, the guiding element may also be described as a notch that may be mated with a slot in the oil filter arrangement housing.
Furthermore, the guiding element may also be described as a protruding feature that may be located at the bottom of the at least one filter unit and center the at least one filter unit to a corresponding small hole at the bottom of the oil filter arrangement housing.
In an implementation, the at least one connection unit may comprise at least one rotational orientation element configured to be connected to at least one rotational orientation element of the vehicle to restrict a rotation of the oil filter arrangement about a longitudinal axis thereof.
In an implementation, the at least one connection unit may comprise at least one radial groove and at least one radial hole configured to transfer the oil from the at least one filter unit to the vehicle.
In other words, the at least one radial groove and the at least one radial hole may be configured to provide for outlet of oil from the at least one filter unit in a radial direction rather than an axial direction.
For example, one radial groove and two radial holes, preferably four radial holes, may be used to transmit the oil.
In an implementation, the at least one connection unit may comprise at least two or more sealing elements configured to seal a connection between the at least one connection unit and the oil filter arrangement housing of the vehicle.
In other words, the oil filter arrangement may be sealed against the oil filter arrangement housing by two sealing elements, and the oil filter arrangement may be located inside a wet environment and therefore leakage would not be critical.
Furthermore, at least two sealing elements may be utilized on the at least one connector assembly to seal the at least one connector assembly against the housing of the filter assembly to ensure a desired and/or optimal oil flow between the oil filter arrangement and the vehicle.
Further, the oil filter arrangement may be centered with the at least two sealing units inside the oil filter arrangement housing.
The sealing element may be an annular sealing element, for example, the annular sealing element may be an O-ring or a similar annular sealing element.
In an implementation, the oil of the vehicle may be pumped and/or pressed by the separate oil pump unit from the outlet pipe into the inlet pipe so that it may be transferred from the outside of the at least one filter unit to the inside of the at least one filter unit and from the inside of the at least one filter unit via the at least one radial hole sideways out of the at least one connection unit into the at least one radial groove and the oil filter arrangement housing.
In other words, the oil may be led out of a center tube of the at least one filter unit towards the oil filter arrangement housing.
In an implementation, the oil filter arrangement may be configured to be fixed in the oil filter arrangement housing by means of a force-locking connection with the separate oil pump.
In other words, the at least one oil filter may be held without any joints, such as screw joints.
In an implementation, the connection unit and the filter unit may be detachably connected with each other.
In addition, the oil filter arrangement may be configured to separately replace the at least one connection unit and/or the at least one filter unit with respect to each other.
A further aspect of the present disclosure relates to an oil pump and oil filter arrangement for pumping and filtering oil of a vehicle, comprising:
Therefore, the advantage may be that the oil pump and oil filter arrangement may be configured to be housed in the oil filter arrangement housing of the vehicle which may improve the installation of the oil pump and the oil filter arrangement, especially the installation of the oil filter arrangement in such a way that it may be installed without fasteners and without a sealing interface to the outside environment. In this case, the oil pump unit may provide the sealing to the outer environment, while the oil filter arrangement is sealed with at least two sealing elements against the oil filter arrangement housing, so that even a leak from the oil filter arrangement may not be critical since it is in the oil filter arrangement housing, where a wet or humid environment may be.
In an implementation, the oil pump and oil filter arrangement may comprise an oil strainer unit be configured to filter the oil transferred between the vehicle and the oil pump unit.
In an implementation, the oil filter arrangement and the oil pump unit may be arranged coaxially to each other.
In other words, the oil filter arrangement and the oil pump unit may be positioned coaxially to each other.
In an implementation, the oil pump unit may comprise at least one contact element which may be configured to be in contact with at least one contact element of the at least one connection unit.
In other words, to lock the oil filter arrangement, the oil pump unit will get in touch with the oil filter arrangement when the oil pump unit being assembled. The oil filter arrangement and the oil pump may be contacted with each other by means of respective contact pads.
Further, after insertion into the oil filter arrangement housing, the oil filter arrangement may have only one degree of freedom of movement in the axial direction, and the degree of freedom of movement may be restricted by the oil pump unit.
A further aspect of the present disclosure relates to a vehicle with an oil pump and/or an oil filter arrangement, whereby at least the oil filter of the arrangement is housed in an oil filter arrangement housing of the vehicle. The oil pump and oil filter arrangement may be housed in a housing of the vehicle.
This may provide the advantage that the oil filter arrangement does not have to be held in place by a fixing feature, but rather by the oil pump unit. This also allows that some oil channels in the housing of the vehicle may be skipped.
Therefore, the oil pump unit may be installed after the oil filter arrangement. Thereby, the oil filter arrangement may be in a centered and/or in a fixed rotational position in the oil filter arrangement housing. In this case, the position of the oil filter arrangement may be correctly held in position by, for example, holes and projections.
In an implementation, the oil filter arrangement housing may be provided in at least one axle, at least one engine housing and/or at least one transmission housing of the vehicle.
The at least one axle may be an electric axle of the vehicle, preferably the at least one axle may be an electric drive axle of the vehicle. The electric axle and/or the electric drive axle of the vehicle may comprise at least some components for electrically driving the vehicle, whereby the electric drive axle may comprise all components for electrically driving the vehicle.
Further, the at least one engine housing and/or the at least one transmission housing may comprise a flange for connecting the oil pump to the at least one engine housing, the at least one transmission housing and/or the at least one axle of the vehicle.
The oil filter arrangement housing may be in an oil sump.
In the following, the disclosure is described exemplarily with reference to the enclosed figures, in which:
Notably, the figures are merely schematic representations and serve only to illustrate examples of the present disclosure. Identical or equivalent elements are in principle provided with the same reference signs.
The connection unit 11 can further comprise a contact element 14 contacted with a contact element 24 of the oil pump unit 21.
The filter unit 12 can further comprise a guiding element 16 configured to be housed in a recess 31 of the housing 30 of the vehicle corresponding to the guiding element 16.
The connection unit 11 can further comprise one radial groove 19 and, for example, two radial holes 18, preferably four radial holes may be used in other implementations, configured to transfer the oil from the filter unit 12 to the oil filter arrangement housing of the housing 30 of the vehicle.
The connection unit 11 can further comprise two sealing elements 13 configured to seal a connection between the connection unit 11 and the oil filter arrangement housing of the housing 30 of the vehicle.
The oil pump and oil filter arrangement can further comprise an oil strainer unit 23 configured to filter the oil transferred between the vehicle and the oil pump unit 21.
Further, the oil filter arrangement and the oil pump unit 21 are arranged coaxially to each other.
The connection unit 11 can further comprise a contact element 14 contacted with a contact element 24 of the oil pump unit 21.
The filter unit 12 can further comprise a guiding element 16 configured to be housed in a recess of the housing of the vehicle corresponding to the guiding element 16.
The connection unit 11 can comprise a rotational orientation element 17 configured to be connected to at least one rotational orientation element of a housing of the vehicle to restrict a rotation of the oil filter arrangement 10 about a longitudinal axis thereof.
The connection unit 11 can further comprise two sealing elements 13 configured to seal a connection between the connection unit 11 and the oil filter arrangement housing of the housing of the vehicle.
The oil pump and oil filter arrangement can further comprise an oil strainer unit 23 configured to filter the oil transferred between the vehicle and the oil pump unit 21.
Further, the oil filter arrangement 10 and the oil pump unit 21 are arranged coaxially to each other.
The connection unit 11 can further comprise a contact element 14 configured to be contacted with a contact element of the separate oil pump unit.
The connection unit 11 can comprise a rotational orientation element 17 configured to be connected to at least one rotational orientation element of a housing of the vehicle to restrict a rotation of the oil filter arrangement 10 about a longitudinal axis thereof.
The connection unit 11 can further comprise two sealing elements 13 configured to seal a connection between the connection unit 11 and the oil filter arrangement housing of the housing of the vehicle.
The connection unit 11 can further comprise one radial groove 19 and radial holes 18 configured to transfer the oil from a filter unit 12 to the housing of the vehicle.
In other words, the oil is pumped and/or pressed out from the outlet pipe 22 of the oil pump unit 21. The outlet pipe 22 of the oil pump unit is inserted into the inlet pipe 15 of the connection unit 11 where both may be sealed by an O-ring. When oil fills up the volume, it is forced to penetrate through the filtering elements of the filter unit 12 and enter the center tube of the filter unit 12. From the center tube, oil flows via the radial holes 18 positioned at the front end of the center tube. The radial holes are in connection with a radial groove 19 provided on the outer surface of the connection unit 11. When oil fills up the radial groove 19, it continues to flow up through a drilled oil channel in the motor housing. The radial groove 19 is sealed towards the motor housing by means of two O-rings.
In other words, the oil filter arrangement is configured to be housed in a hole of a motor housing. The hole in the motor housing can be made at the side where subsequently the transmission housing is supposed to be attached. So, the oil filter arrangement is radially guided in the hole by proper clearance between oil filter arrangement and hole at the area around O-rings and radial grooves. Additionally, the filter is guided at the bottom of the hole in motor housing via a recess made in the motor housing.
Other variations to the disclosed examples can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed subject matter, from the study of the figures, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In particular, respective parts/functions of the respective example described above may also be combined with each other. In particular, the present disclosure is not limited to specific modules, vehicle functions, user interfaces, user interface areas/fields and/or communication methods. In the claims, the word “comprising” does not exclude other elements or steps and the indefinite article “a” or “an” does not exclude a plurality. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
22179703 | Jun 2022 | EP | regional |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
4370957 | Skatsche | Feb 1983 | A |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
102020112646 | Mar 2021 | DE |
102020203449 | Sep 2021 | DE |
102020203459 | Sep 2021 | DE |
WO-9612093 | Apr 1996 | WO |
Entry |
---|
Extended European Search Report received for European Patent Application No. 22179703.8 dated Dec. 12, 2022, 7 pages. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20230407774 A1 | Dec 2023 | US |