Disposable filter with an accessory port

Abstract

A disposable filter for filtering a working fluid including a housing having an inlet to be disposed in fluid communication with a working fluid and an outlet to be disposed in fluid communication with a machine. A filter media is disposed within the housing for filtering the working fluid passing through the disposable filter between the inlet and outlet. At least one accessory port is positioned adjacent to and fluidly connected to at least one of the inlet and the outlet for receiving an accessory for monitoring a characteristic of the working fluid passing through the inlet or the outlet of the disposable filter and/or an operational condition of the disposable filter or associated machinery.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The subject application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62 / 560,979 filed on Sep. 20, 2017 entitled “Filter System Including Integrated Diagnostics”, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62 / 560,854 filed on Sep. 20, 2017 entitled a “Disposable Filter Including an Integrated Sensor Assembly”, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62 / 560,919 filed on Sep. 20, 2017 entitled a “Disposable Filter Including an Accessory Port”, the entire disclosures of these provisional patent applications are incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE[0002]The present disclosure relates generally to a filter for filtering a working fluid passing therethrough. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a disposable filter with an accessory port for receiving an accessory which is configured to provide information related to various characteristics of the filtered working fluid or an op...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0004]It is known in the art for various types of machinery, e.g., automobiles, construction equipment, and manufacturing devices, to include filters for removing impurities from working fluids such as fuel, oil, gas and coolant. Cartridges of the filters are known to clog with impurities and thus must periodically be replaced. Additionally, it has been found that significant information about the working fluid and other parts of the machinery can be obtained based on characteristics of the working fluid as it passes through the filter. For example, when filtering bulk fuel delivered to a storage site, a filter system can identify contamination in the fuel and therefore identify supply chain problems. As another example, when filtering working fluid to an engine or hydraulic system, the filter system can identify abnormal chemical or physical properties of the lubricant or hydraulic fluid. Accordingly, it is known to manually conduct working fluid sampling and analysis to detect problems associated with the working fluid and other parts of the machinery for ensuring product or process fluid quality. In some cases, the filter cartridges and working fluid are manually inspected based on predetermined, static inspection schedules. It is also known for condition-based monitoring systems to be built into machines to actively monitor their working fluids. However, such condition-based monitoring systems are not readily serviceable and replaceable, and can add significant expense to the machine. Accordingly, there remains a need for improvements to such monitoring systems to reduce maintenance costs and improve machine performance, machine useful lifetime and fluid quality.

[0005]The subject invention is generally directed to a disposable filter which includes an accessory port for being coupled with an accessory which is configured to monitor a characteristic of the working fluid passing through the filter and / or an operational condition of the disposable filter or associated machinery. The accessory port provides a simple and inexpensive means for connecting and disconnecting accessories to the disposable filter. Accordingly, maintenance costs may be minimized because accessories may be easily be disconnected from an old filter and reused on a new filter, thus allowing the accessories to be reused many times. Furthermore, the invention provides an easy to integrate means of implementing accessories in circumstances where integration is often difficult, such as typical engine applications where there is no space for adding plumbing and sensors. Additionally, the invention offers condition-based maintenance without the cost of an expensive retrofit.

Problems solved by technology

Cartridges of the filters are known to clog with impurities and thus must periodically be replaced.

However, such condition-based monitoring systems are not readily serviceable and replaceable, and can add significant expense to the machine.

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