Abstract:
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.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     Applicant claims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 60/602,123 filed Aug. 18, 2004. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     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.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0005]     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.  
         [0006]     Applicant&#39;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.  
       OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     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.  
         [0008]     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.  
         [0009]     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.  
         [0010]     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.  
         [0011]     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.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0012]     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.  
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]     These and other advantages and improvements will be evident, especially when taken in light of the following illustrations wherein:  
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a front view of a radiator assembly for an internal combustion engine and a first embodiment of the filter assembly of the present invention;  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  is a top view of a radiator assembly and the filter assembly of the first embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  is a top view of one embodiment of the filter media of the present invention; and  
         [0017]      FIG. 4  is a top view of a radiator assembly and a second embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0018]     The primary application of Applicant&#39;s vehicle mounted filter assembly for the entrapment of pollutants would be on a vehicle which has a forward mounted engine and radiator assembly.  FIG. 1  is a front view of such an assembly and  FIG. 2  is a top view of such an assembly. The engine  10  is mounted forwardly of the passenger compartment and is a water cooled engine. As such, mounted forwardly of the engine is a radiator  12  for controlling temperature of the coolant used to maintain the proper engine temperature. Radiator  12  normally has associated with it a cowling  14  on its rearward face  16  which cowling  14  partially encapsulates the outer circumference of a fan member  18 , fan member  18  being driven off of the crank shaft of the engine  10  by means of a pulley and belt system or electrically powered (not shown).  
         [0019]     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.  
         [0020]     In Applicant&#39;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  FIGS. 1 and 2 , this bracket assembly would consist of two vertical C-shaped channels  22  and  24 , the C-shaped channels  22  and  24  being open at their upper ends  26  and  28  and having a end wall at the lower ends  30  and  32 . The brackets would be positioned several inches in front of the front face  20  of the radiator  12  and be spaced apart a sufficient distance to allow for the slidable insertion therein of a filter medium as described in detail hereafter. In the embodiment illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the bracket assembly is positioned such that it is not coextensive with the front face  20  of the radiator  12 .  
         [0021]     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.  
         [0022]     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  FIG. 1  by similar filter assemblies installed on all other vehicles on the road at a particular time and one can realize that while the internal combustion engine associated with an automobile is one of the most serious polluters of the atmosphere, a configuration as illustrated would have a significant impact on removing particulate pollutants. The design and construction of the filter medium  36  would be such that its life expectancy would coextensive with the regular servicing of the vehicle. For example, the filter medium  36  could have a life expectancy of 5,000 miles and therefore coincide with a normal and regular oil change for the vehicle and could thus be removed, disposed of and replaced at the same servicing or depending upon the filter medium, regenerated.  
         [0023]     The effective surface area of the filter medium  36  could be increased over that which is shown in  FIG. 1  by producing the filter medium with a corrugated or honeycombed frame  40  design as illustrated in  FIG. 3  in which the filter medium  36  and bracket assembly would take up slightly more front to back space in front of the radiator member  12  but would provide for an increased surface area for the collection of particular pollutants. The frame  42  of the corrugated design of  FIG. 3  may also incorporate vertical internal stiffeners (not shown) so as to provide further structural integrity.  
         [0024]      FIG. 4  is a top view of a radiator assembly of the present invention with a second embodiment of Applicant&#39;s vehicle mounted filter assembly. In this embodiment, the filter and bracket assembly would be positioned rearwardly of the radiator  12 , cowling  14 , and fan member  18 . In one particular design it would consist of two bracket members  50  comprised of two vertical C-shaped channels  22 B and  24 B, each being opened at their upper ends, and having an end wall at their lower ends for the slidable receipt of a filter medium positioned behind the radiator, but on both sides of the drive shaft which operates the fan. Each bracket member would have a separate filter medium associated therewith, the filter medium being of any of the type previously described with respect to the first embodiment of Applicant&#39;s filter assembly.  
         [0025]     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.