Patent ID: 8298409

Claim:
A filter element for filtering a liquid or a gas, said filter element comprising a concentrically arranged filter medium folded in zigzag pleats and being provided with end disks at the axial end faces of the filter medium, each end disk having an inner side that is secured to the filter medium and an outer side that faces away from the filter element; wherein at least a first end disk carries a valve element which is arranged concentrically inside the filter medium, said valve element comprising a valve seat formed in the first end disk; and a valve body mounted on the first end disk in an axially movable manner inside and surrounded by the filter medium, said valve body including a valve body sealing member having a sealing surface which closes against the valve seat; an axially extending circumferentially continuous closed cylindrical or conical valve body surface without gaps or grooves, said valve body surface having a first end secured to an inner side of said valve body sealing member and extending inwardly away from said valve body sealing member into an interior of said filter element; a plurality of V-shaped members secured to said inner side of said first end disk and spaced apart radially around an exterior of said axially extending circumferentially closed valve body surface, said V-shaped members including a radially inwardly arranged leg forming resilient guide webs, each guide web contacting said circumferentially closed valve body surface, guiding axial movement of said valve body in said first in disk; a radially outwardly arranged leg forming contact pins extending axially into an interior of said filter element and toward the other end disk of said filter element, said contact pins configured to interact with a filter support tube of a housing into which said filter element installs.