1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a filter assembly and more particularly to a filter assembly which could be mounted on a vehicle in the air flow path through the front radiator and serve to entrap air pollutants, the filter assembly being discardable upon exhaustion and replaceable.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Environmental awareness has educated people to the need for eliminating or severely reducing pollution of our atmosphere. Depletion of the ozone layer is a serious concern as well as the particularly pollution of the atmosphere. One of the most prevalent polluters is the internal combustion engine which is utilized in vehicles in every country of the world. Some countries have taken steps to reduce the pollutants emanating from an internal combustion engine, such as the use of catalytic converters mandated in the United States. Nevertheless, the internal combustion engine continues to be a primary source of pollution of the atmosphere.
Applicant's assembly would be utilized to decrease the amount of particulate pollution in the atmosphere by having a vehicle fitted with an internal combustion engine which produces much of the pollutant, also serve as a mobile filter means to at least partially remove particulate pollutants from the atmosphere.
An object of the present invention is to provide for a novel filter assembly which would be mounted on a vehicle and which would collect pollutants in the atmosphere during operation of the vehicle.
A further object of the present invention is to provide for a novel filter assembly to be mounted on a vehicle forward of the radiator assembly or behind the radiator fan which filter assembly would collect air born pollutants during operation of the vehicle.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide for a novel filter assembly which would be removably secured proximate the front of an internal combustion engine vehicle which filter assembly would be of low cost and could be removed and discarded and replaced on a regular basis.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide for a novel filter assembly mounted on a vehicle which would serve to collect air born pollutants and small particulate matter whenever the vehicle was operating.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a novel filter assembly mounted on a vehicle to serve to collect air born pollutants and particulate matter which would not inhibit the cooling efficacy of the radiator.
A vehicle mounted filter assembly for entrapment of air pollutants, the filter assembly including a bracket mounted to the vehicle forward of the radiator assembly, or behind the radiator, the bracket having two opposed vertical channels for the slidable receipt of a filter assembly having a filter medium of charcoal, gauze or ionic attraction, the filter being slidably removable from the bracket for discard and a new filter inserted, this interchange occurring on a regular service basis.
These and other advantages and improvements will be evident, especially when taken in light of the following illustrations wherein:
The primary application of Applicant's vehicle mounted filter assembly for the entrapment of pollutants would be on a vehicle which has a forward mounted engine and radiator assembly.
In operation, with the vehicle in motion, the fan member 18 serves to draw air through the radiator in order to maintain the proper temperature of the coolant circulating through the radiator and the engine block. The ambient air enters the front face 20 of the radiator 12 at ambient temperature and exits the fan at a higher temperature having been heated through the heat exchange aspects of the radiator by the hot coolant circulating therein. In some modes of operation, such as high speed, the speed of the vehicle is sufficient to draw sufficient air through the radiator to effectuate such cooling. However, many times the vehicle finds itself operating at low speeds or at a stop in which case the fan provides the impetus for the air flow. Indeed some vehicles are equipped with multi-speed fans and sensors to sense when fan operation is necessary and when it is not.
In Applicant's invention a bracket assembly would be secured to the frame of the vehicle forward of the front face 20 of the radiator 12. In the embodiment illustrated in
The filter medium slidably receivable within the bracket assembly between vertical C-shaped brackets 22 and 24 and would consist of a rigid or semi-rigid frame member 34 defining a periphery within which a filter medium 36 would be positioned. The filter medium could consist of a front outer mesh 38 and a rear outer mesh 40 of a mesh size sufficient to allow the passage of air there being disposed there between, the filter medium 36 would be comprised of a suitable filter composition including either granulated charcoal, gauze, fabric or the like, or a mixture of both. The filter medium could also include a grid of metallic filaments in communication with the electrical system of the vehicle in order to achieve ionic deposition of charged particulate matter.
In this configuration, as the vehicle operates in a forward motion, the air being utilized to cool the radiator coolant first encounters the filter medium 36 which is of such a density so as to not interfere with the normal air flow to the radiator but is of a density sufficient to remove small harmful particulate pollutant matter in the ambient air which passes there through. In this configuration, the vehicle on which the filter assembly is installed would serve to clean the air by entrapping particulate pollutants when the vehicle engine was in operation. If one were to multiply the effective surface area of the filter assembly as illustrated in
The effective surface area of the filter medium 36 could be increased over that which is shown in
While the present invention has been described with respect to the exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art that many modifications or changes can be achieved without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore it is manifestly intended that the invention be limited only by the scope of the claims and the equivalence thereof.
Applicant claims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 60/602,123 filed Aug. 18, 2004.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60602123 | Aug 2004 | US |