Patent ID: 8557030

Claim:
An air dryer desiccant cartridge assembly comprising: a) a body having an inlet in a first end and an outlet in an opposite second end; b) a filtering portion in the body adjacent to the inlet comprising: i) a rigid porous layer adjacent to the inlet; ii) a fibrous material layer adjacent to the rigid porous layer; iii) a first permeable material for separating the fibrous material layer from the rigid porous layer; iv) a rigid diffusing layer adjacent to the fibrous material layer; v) a second permeable material for separating the rigid diffusing layer from the fibrous material layer; vi) a third permeable material for separating the rigid diffusing layer from a desiccant; wherein the rigid porous layer, the first permeable material, the fibrous material layer, the second permeable material, the rigid diffusing layer and the third permeable material are held together as a single assembly by at least two staples, the prongs of the at least two staples generally radially inserted into the rigid porous layer and the rigid diffusing layer; and c) the desiccant in the body between the rigid diffusing layer and the outlet, wherein during a charging cycle compressed air enters the body through the inlet and passes sequentially through the rigid porous layer, the fibrous material layer, the rigid diffusing layer and the desiccant before exiting through the outlet; and wherein the filtering portion and the desiccant are under compression.