Patent ID: 8425641

Claim:
An apparatus for filtering an airstream entering a machine, the apparatus comprising an inertial filter comprising: a tube configured for directing the airstream into the machine, wherein the tube comprises an inlet located adjacent an upstream end and an outlet located adjacent a downstream end; a swirler configured for generating a vortex on the airstream entering the tube, wherein the swirler is positioned within the tube and downstream of the inlet; a separation region located downstream of the swirler, wherein the separation region allows components of the airstream to concentrate toward an outer periphery region of the tube, and wherein action of the swirler creates swirl in the airstream which separates particles from the airstream; a central region located downstream of the swirler and near a center portion of the tube, wherein the central region is in fluid communication with the separation region and receives less dense components of the airstream, as the separation region receives the more dense components of the airstream; a reducer configured for increasing angular momentum associated with the airstream, wherein the reducer is integrated with the tube; and an expander configured for recovering a pressure loss, wherein an upstream end of the expander is concentrically integrated with a downstream end of the reducer, such that the outlet is located in an annular region formed between an outer diameter of the upstream end of the expander and an inner diameter of the downstream end of the reducer; wherein as the airstream flows through the tube, the particles from the airstream separate from the airstream and then flow through the separation region and exit the tube via the outlet.