Patent ID: 8241385

Claim:
An air cleaner unit for an internal combustion engine of a vehicle, the air cleaner unit comprising: a filter element for filtering air to be introduced into the internal combustion engine, the filter element including an element body and a peripheral portion on a periphery of the element body; and a casing including a first case member and a second case member being coupled to each other in a front and rear direction of the vehicle, the first case member having a first opening and a first sealing surface on a periphery of the first opening, the second case member having a second opening and a second sealing surface on a periphery of the second opening, the first case member being disposed such that the first opening faces in a rearward direction of the vehicle, the filter element is disposed in an element housing portion defined by the first opening, the second case member being coupled to the first case member such that the second opening is opposed to the first opening and the peripheral portion of the filter element is disposed between the first sealing surface and the second sealing surface, wherein the first case member includes a hinge receiving portion at a lower end thereof, the second case member includes a hinge inserting portion at a lower end thereof, the hinge receiving portion includes an engagement opening, and the hinge inserting portion is received in the engagement opening such that the hinge receiving portion and the hinge inserting portion are connected to each other in a hinge manner, the engagement opening is located at a position overlapping with the element body with respect to the front and rear direction of the vehicle, and a rear end of the engagement opening is located more to front side of the vehicle than a rear end of the element body, the hinge receiving portion further includes a hinge receiving surface that extends from the rear end of the engagement opening in a horizontal and rearward direction of the vehicle up to a position without overlapping with the element body to receive the hinge inserting portion once before the hinge inserting portion is dropped in the engagement opening when the second case member is coupled to the first case member.