Patent ID: 6932900

Claim:
A filter device, comprising: a filter housing having first and second filter chambers in a direction of flow of fluid to be filtered through said housing; first and second filter elements being located in said housing downstrenm of said first and second filter chambers, respectively, being connected in parallel relative to one another, having first and second filter materials, respectively of different filtering grades and having inside ends facing one another, said first filter material having a coarser filtering grade than said second filter material; a separating plate contacting said inside ends and separating said first and second filter elements; a first passage in said separating plate providing fluid communication between said first and second fluid chambers; and a second passage in said separating plate providing fluid communication between inner chambers of said filter element and receiving a fluid valve for closing said second passage to form a throttling point, said fluid valve having a pre-settable closing pressure to increase pressure in said inner chamber of said first filter element.