Patent ID: 8435338

Claim:
An intake air filter filtering air flow into an internal combustion engines, comprising: a housing enclosing a chamber therein, said housing openable to access said chamber, said housing including an airflow inlet; and an airflow outlet; a filter element arranged with said chamber, said filter element seal-tightly arranged between the inlet and the outlet such that airflow through said inlet must flow through said filter element to reach said outlet, wherein the filter said filter element includes a filter medium of an annularly closed shape, wherein a filter element identification device includes components provided on at least one of said filter element and said housing, said filter element identification device operable to provide an indication of a presence of a correct filter element correctly mounted within said chamber of said housing, said indication discernable from exterior of said housing when closed, wherein the filter element identification device includes an additional opening extending through a wall of said housing from said chamber to an exterior outside surface of said housing, wherein said filter element includes an end disk arranged at and secured onto an axial end face of said annular filter medium, wherein said filter identification device is embodied as a pin that projects outwardly away from said end disk and into said additional opening in the housing, said pin extending through said additional opening to said housing exterior, said pin visible outside of said housing at said housing exterior, wherein a position of said pin within said additional opening is determined by said presence of said correct filter element correctly mounted within said chamber of said housing.