Patent ID: 6921424

Claim:
A pre-separator for removing contaminants from dirty air in an air intake system of an automobile engine, the pre-separator comprising: a tubular housing having a first end and a second end, the first end defining an inlet and the housing defining a central longitudinal axis; an exit tube projecting into the housing from the second end, a free end of the exit tube increasing in diameter to define an outlet; a central body located within the housing and between the inlet and outlet, the central body including a leading nose-cone portion, a middle cylindrical portion, and a trailing nose-cone portion; a plurality of vanes attached to the central body and extending radially and engaging the tubular housing, the plurality of vanes being structured and positioned to impart a swirling motion to the dirty air flowing from the inlet; the trailing nose-cone portion having a slope greater than the leading nose-cone portion to define a airflow path that gradually moves radially outwardly then quickly moves radially inwardly towards the central axis; and the outlet of the exit tube having a diameter equal to or less than a diameter of the middle cylindrical portion of the central body, the outlet being positioned proximate the end of the trailing nose-cone and within an axial distance of equal to or less than the diameter of the middle cylindrical portion of the central body to receive the quickly moving radial inward flow of air.