Patent ID: 8142537

Claim:
An improved air filter assembly comprising: an air filter element including: at least one filter media; a peripheral seal frame extending circumferentially about and secured to periphery edges of said filter media; and an anti-crown support grid provided at a clean side of said filter media, said support grid including: at least one side rail provided along periphery portions of said support grid; at least one support rib spanning between and secured to said side rails; a plurality of frame attachment members spaced along, secured to and extending outwardly from said support rails, said attachment members configured and adapted to be embedded into said seal frame to secure said support grid to said seal frame; and at least one alignment feature provided along at least one of said side rails, wherein said alignment feature is sized, configured and positioned to be receivable into a complimentary feature of a housing; wherein said at least one support rib is a plurality of support ribs with a portion of said support ribs in a first rib group and a different portion of said support ribs in a second rib group, wherein support ribs in said first rib group are aligned in a first direction and positioned in a spaced parallel fashion relative to each other to extend across outer and central interior portions of a clean side face of said filter media; wherein support ribs in said second rib group are aligned in a second direction and position in a spaced parallel fashion relative to each other; to extend across outer and central interior portions of a clean side face of said filter media, wherein support ribs in said first rib group intersect support ribs in said second rib group; wherein said first and said second directions are chosen such that an angle between said first and second directions is between 10and 90 degrees, said alignment feature comprises an elongated alignment rib spanning across an interior of said support grid and secured at opposing ends to said side rails, said elongated alignment rib projecting outwards in at least one portion from a plane in which said support grid generally lies and projecting outwards away from said plane beyond said at least one side rail and said filter element, and wherein said elongated alignment rib has a substantially larger cross section relative to said at least one support ribs so as to provide resistance to bending or flexing of the support grid under load to resist flexure of said filter media.