Patent ID: 7329342

Claim:
A metallic particle trap bypass filter, comprising: a housing having at least one inlet port, at least one outlet port, and an interior surface; a filter element disposed in said housing, said filter element having an exterior surface and defining a central axis; an inflow chamber comprising the space between the interior surface of said housing and the exterior surface of said filter element; an outflow chamber comprising the space inside said filter element; and a bypass valve assembly enclosed within said housing to be positioned against an end of said filter element and connecting said inflow chamber to said outflow chamber; said bypass valve assembly comprising a cap; a baseplate removably coupled to said cap, said baseplate having an outer wall with a cavity therein, said baseplate and said cap defining a bypass chamber therebetween; and a magnetic rod having a first end removably disposed in the cavity of the outer wall of said baseplate and a second end extending into said outflow chamber; wherein said cap has at least one aperture through which oil enters said bypass chamber; a pressure responsive valve residing within said bypass chamber and biased to close said at least one aperture; wherein said baseplate has a plurality of apertures surrounding the first end of said magnetic rod through which oil exits the bypass chamber and flows over said magnetic rod; wherein oil flows through said at least one aperture and said plurality apertures in an axial direction; wherein, the at least one inlet port is in fluid communication with said inflow chamber to introduce oil into said inflow chamber; and wherein the at least one outlet port is in fluid communication with said outflow chamber to expel oil from said outflow chamber.