Patent Publication Number: US-2002011435-A1

Title: Oil cleaning filter

Description:
FIELD OF THE ART  
       [0001] The claimed invention relates to automobile industry and more particularly to the production of devices for filtering oils. The proposed structure of an oil cleaning filter may find application in automobile, tractor and aircraft internal combustion engines.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002] A one-piece filter for cleaning oil in internal combustion engines is known in the art, this filter comprising a body and a cover joined by beading. The body with the cover accommodates a spring-loaded filtering element provided with an anti-drain valve and a bypass valve (“Catalog of Parts for VAZ Passenger Car”, Moscow, Mashinostroenie Publishers, 1984).  
       [0003] Such filters are compact and easily replaceable. The body of the filter is thin-walled and made by press molding. However, the filter having such a structure is not reusable. As a rule, after the car has run 10 thousand km, the filtering element fails and the filter is subject to replacement and utilization, though the body and other parts and units of the filter are not worn out and are fit for further operation. This involves annual losses of high-quality metal amounting to many million tons.  
       [0004] Practice has also shown that in one-piece filters it is difficult to provide tightness of the joint between the body and the cover, and leakages are developed rather often in such filters.  
       [0005] Furthermore, filters in which the body and cover are joined by beading practically are not liable to utilization, whereas at present their annual production amounts to about 4.5 milliard pieces. As a result, the pollution of the environment is catastrophic.  
       [0006] Also known in the art is an oil cleaning filter (UA, A 1413). This design, as the most close in terms the technical solution and functional purpose, is adopted as the prototype. This filter comprises a body connected with a cover, a filtering element (the main filtering element) with a bypass valve and an anti-drain valve and a filtering element of the bypass valve and a spring arranged coaxially in the filter body.  
       [0007] In the structure of the filter the connection of the body and cover with the help of a spline coupling and the packing are very complicated and require large expenditures in their embodiment, this leading to a sharp rise in prices for the filter even if it is mass produced. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0008] It is an object of the invention to provide an oil cleaning filter which features such connection of the body with the cover and such arrangement of parts and units for both a knock-down and one-piece filter, which will provide the possibility of easy assembling and disassembling the filter for ensuring rapid and high-quality utilization of spent filters, filtering elements, oil and other parts and units, as well as the possibility of reusing the filter.  
       [0009] Another object of the invention is to raise the quality of oil cleaning and to enhance the reliability of the filter operation.  
       [0010] Said objects are accomplished by that the proposed oil cleaning filter comprising a body connected with a cover and a filtering element with a bypass valve and an anti-drain valve, a filtering element of the bypass valve and a spring arranged coaxially inside the body, according to the invention comprises a split locking ring arranged in an annular groove of the body at the end edge thereof, and the cover on the external cylindrical surface comprises at least one annular groove in which a sealing gasket and a projection are disposed, the projection interacting with the split locking ring. Such structure of the body and cover provides the possibility for their releasable connection.  
       [0011] The filter of the above-said design can be embodied without the split locking ring and projection, the filter body at the end edge thereof comprising a beading directed toward the interior of the body, and the cover on the external cylindrical surface comprising at least one annular groove with a sealing gasket and an external end surface interacting with the beading of the body. Such structure provides the one-piece embodiment of the filter body.  
       [0012] Both embodiments of the filter can be provided, in addition to the main filtering element, with an additional parallel-flow filtering element whose filtering fineness amounts to 39-50% of the rated filtering fineness of the main filtering element, and can also comprise a safety valve with the pressure differential of 2-2.2 (MPa) atmospheres, ensuring oil supply to friction pairs in the case all the filtering elements are fouled.  
       [0013] The proposed filter having a knock-down or one-piece structure provides a reliable tight connection between the body and cover, as well as maximum simple assembling and disassembling, so that utilization processes of spent filters can be automated. Mounting a safety valve on the filtering element of the bypass valve with the pressure differential of 2-2.2 (MPa) atmospheres, e.g., with a gauze filtering element in the form of a membrane or a small cylinder disposed in front of or after the safety valve or after the bypass valve, makes it possible to provide reliable operation of the engine, especially under the conditions of rural areas or desert.  
       [0014] The provision of the parallel-flow filtering element whose filtering fineness amounts to 39-50% of the rated filtering fineness of the main filtering element makes it possible to additionally clean oil from fine fractions, whereby the service life of the engine is increased markedly. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
     [0015] The invention will be better understood when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:  
     [0016]FIG. 1 shows a knock-down filter in section (general view);  
     [0017]FIG. 2 shows the structure of the body and the cover of a knock-down filter, providing their connection and sealing;  
     [0018]FIG. 3 shows a one-piece filter in section (general view);  
     [0019]FIG. 4 shows the structure of the body and the cover of a knock-down filter, providing their connection and sealing;  
     [0020]FIG. 5 shows the structure of a knock-down filter with a safety valve and a parallel-flow filtering element. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
     [0021] The oil cleaning filter of the invention comprises a body  1  (FIGS. 1, 2) with an annular groove  2  at the end edge thereof, a cover  3  on the external cylindrical surface of which an annular groove  4  with a sealing gasket  5  and a projection  6  is disposed, the projection  6  interacting with a split locking ring  7  disposed in the annular groove  2  of the body  1 . If required, one, two and more annular grooves can be provided in the cover, with the corresponding number of sealing gaskets. The body  1  accommodates main filtering element  8  with a bypass valve  9 , an anti-drain valve  10 , a filtering element  11  of the bypass valve and a spring  12 . The filtering element  11  of the bypass valve can be provided with a safety valve  13  with a gauze filter  14 . The main filtering element  8  can be made with an additional parallel-flow filtering element  15 .  
     [0022] The end edge of the body  1  of the filter, where the annular groove is disposed, can be reinforced with a beading  16 .  
     [0023] In the cover  3  on the external end surface thereof there are disposed a gasket  17  for sealing the filter with the engine block, a central threaded opening  19  and openings  19  for the passage of oil.  
     [0024] The cross-sectional configuration of the split locking ring  7  can be round, rectangular, or represent any other combinations of solids of revolution and planes, with one tab, two tabs or no tabs bent away at their ends, with rifflings of different kind and without them.  
     [0025] Given hereinbelow is an example of assembling a knock-down structure of the filter.  
     [0026] The main filtering element  8  with a parallel-flow filtering element  15 , a bypass valve  9  with a gauze filter  14 , a filtering element of the bypass valve with a safety valve  13  and a spring  12  are arranged in the body  1  so that the spring  12  should thrust against the bottom of the body  1 ; a cover  3  having an annular groove  4 , a projection  6 , a central threaded opening  18  and openings  19  for the passage of oil, with an anti-drain valve  10 , sealing gaskets  5  and  17  are installed inside the body so that the split locking ring could be arranged in the annular groove  2  of the body  1  having an end edge reinforced with a beading  16 . Then the cover is arranged in such a manner that it should thrust with its projection  6  against the split ring  7  and become fixed.  
     [0027] The oil cleaning filter operates in the following manner.  
     [0028] Oil from the pump of the engine through the openings  19  in the cover  3  having the sealing gasket  17  for sealing the connection of the cover to the engine block, having forced down the anti-drain valve  10 , enters the filter between the internal wall of the body  1  and the external surface of the filtering element  8  and the filtering element  11  of the bypass valve interacting with the spring  12 . Passing through the main filtering element  8 , oil becomes cleaned and comes to the main line of the engine trough a central connecting opening  18  provided in place where the filter is secured to the engine. If the additional filtering element  15  is provided, a parallel oil flow is subjected simultaneously to additional cleaning with filtering fineness amounting to 39-50% of the rated filtering fineness of the main filtering element. If the engine is cold and the main filtering element  8  is fouled, the bypass valve comes into play and bypasses the oil preliminarily cleaned by the filtering element  11  of the bypass valve to the main line of the engine. With the cover  3  is installed in the body  1 , the projection  6  interacting with the split locking ring  7  thrusts against it and simultaneously locks it in the annular groove  2  of the body  1 , providing thereby reliable connection of the cover  3  with the body  1  whose end edge is reinforced with the beading  16 . The sealing gasket  5  disposed in the annular groove of the cover  3 , interacting with the internal surface of the body  1 , provides reliable tightening of the filter.  
     [0029] The split locking ring  7  can have a riffled surface and bent away tabs at the ends, which prevent turning of the body  1  with respect to the cover  3  of the filter.  
     [0030] When the main filtering element  8  and the filtering element  11  of the bypass valve are clogged, the safety valve  13  opens and passes non-cleaned oil through the interior of the filtering element of the bypass valve, the oil then going through the bypass valve  9  and the gauze filter  14  to the main line of the engine.  
     [0031] The proposed filter having a knock-down or a one-piece structure is noted for extreme simplicity of dismantling thereof: it will suffice to bring the cover down into the body to the height of the projection, to remove the split locking ring from the annular groove of the body, to remove the cover from the body, to take out all the component parts from the body, to sort out the parts into those made of metal, paper, rubber, to separate and gather oil. This provides the possibility of rapid and adequate utilization of the spent parts of the filter and makes the filter ecologically safe, enables reuse of the filter body, cover and other parts and units which are not worn out and fit for further functioning.  
     [0032] In the one-piece variant of the filter structure, it will suffice to bring the cover down into the body, while expanding its end edge, so that the cover could be freely removed from the body.  
     [0033] Filters having such a structure are simple to manufacture and can be rapidly assembled and dismantled. This enables automation of the process of utilization, gathering spent oil and spent filtering elements, selecting parts and units fit for further use. The filter structures wherein an additional parallel-flow filtering element is installed provide additional cleaning of oil, which adds materially to the service life of the engine.  
     [0034] The proposed structures of the filter can be manufactured under industrial conditions.