Filter element and methods of manufacturing the same

Abstract

To provide a filter element which is robust, cost-effective, and used to filter a fluid.SOLUTION: A filter element 100 includes: a filter medium pack 10 including an outer peripheral surface 6 extending in a longitudinal direction, and a surface 7 around a first axis intersecting with the longitudinal direction; and a molded single structure seal arrangement which includes a seal 120 and a seal carrier 140 and in which the seal includes a first material, while the seal carrier includes a second material, and the seal is coupled to the seal carrier. The seal carrier includes a side surface around the first axis, and the side surface around the first axis of the seal carrier is coupled to at least a peripheral portion of the surface around the first axis of the filter medium pack by thermal welding. The seal carrier includes a tubular extension part extending in the longitudinal direction so as to form a fluid inlet or an outlet channel of the filter medium pack. The seal surrounds an outer peripheral surface of the tubular extension part so as to form an outward-facing radial seal.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Cross - Reference to Related Applications This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 878,941, filed Jul. 26, 2019, which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a filter element for filtering a fluid, and more particularly, to a filter element that can be inserted into a housing of a filter system and removed for maintenance and repair. The present disclosure also relates to a method of manufacturing the filter element.

Background Art

[0003] Filter elements, also called filter cartridges, are used in a wide variety of filtration applications. The fluid can be a liquid or a gas, i.e., a gas such as air.

[0004] In fact, in many cases, it is desirable to use a filter element to filter contaminants from a fluid stream. For example, air streams to engines for automobiles or power generation equipment, construction equipment or other equipment, gas streams to gas turbine systems, and air streams to various combustion furnaces carry particulate contaminants therein. For such systems, it is preferred that contaminants be removed from or at least reduced in the fluid.

[0005] The filter element can be configured as an element to be removed and replaced from the housing of the filter system at regular time intervals or when the filtration performance falls below a critical threshold level.

[0006] The filter element includes a filter media pack that includes a filter media. The filter media removes contaminants when the fluid flows through the filter media. Commonly used and commercially available filter media are, for example, pleated filter media or corrugated filter media. Corrugated filter media is also called Z - type filter media.

[0007] An example of a filter media pack that includes pleated media is described in U.S. Patent No. 7,396,376. The filter media pack includes an outer peripheral surface that forms a radial boundary of the filter media pack. The outer peripheral surface extends longitudinally from a first face around an axis to a second opposing face overall.

[0008] The filter element also includes, in addition to the filter media pack, a seal arrangement for separating filtered fluid from unfiltered fluid. In fact, for proper operation of the filter element, it is necessary that the filter media pack be properly sealed to the housing into which the filter media pack is inserted.

[0009] Various types of seal arrangements have been proposed for filter elements. Generally, for example, when pleated media is used, the seal arrangement is formed by foamed polyurethane (PU) obtained by a molding technique. Advantageously, the foamed PU seal arrangement not only closes the pleats at the face around the first axis of the filter media pack, but also the peripheral face of the PU seal arrangement can be used as a radial seal or an axial seal for properly sealing to the housing. Generally, similarly, an end cap made of foamed PU is used to close the pleats at the face around the second axis of the filter media pack.

[0010] U.S. Patent No. 7,396,376 discloses a foamed polyurethane (PU) seal arrangement used in combination with a pleated filter media pack. During the manufacturing process, the filter media pack is placed in a mold together with a reinforcing frame element. Then, the mold is filled with PU, and following the rising process, a so-called overmold of foamed PU is formed. The reinforcing frame element provides strength to the seal and also compensates for the irregular shape of the filter media pack.

[0011] However, the disadvantage of the PU seal arrangement configuration is that it is not very suitable for environments where the temperature can be high, for example, temperatures exceeding about 80 °C. Furthermore, due to the foamed PU manufacturing process, the filter element does not always have an aesthetic appearance.

[0012] Alternative examples of the foamed seal arrangement configuration include seal arrangement configurations that resist higher temperatures and include mechanical gaskets such as O-rings that can be coupled to the filter media pack by, for example, a gasket carrier. These types of alternative seal arrangement configurations may also use an adhesive, such as glue, to bond the gasket carrier to the filter media pack.

[0013] The disadvantages of seal arrangement configurations that include mechanical gaskets or arrangements involving the use of adhesives are that the manufacturing process can be time-consuming and that seal arrangement configurations that include multiple components may not be very robust.

[0014] The specific form of the seal arrangement configuration used also generally depends on the type of filter media pack in use, and therefore a uniform manufacturing process is not always available for the manufacture of filter elements.

[0015] Therefore, it is desirable to provide a more robust and cost-effective filter element for filtering fluids and to improve the manufacturing process of the filter element.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0016] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a robust and cost-effective filter element for filtering fluids. A further object of the present disclosure is to provide a cost-effective manufacturing method for filter elements that can be used with various types of filter media packs.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0017] In one aspect, the present disclosure describes a filter element that includes a filter media pack and a formed single-structure seal arrangement configuration. The filter media pack includes an outer peripheral surface that extends longitudinally and a surface around a first axis that intersects the longitudinal direction. The formed single-structure seal arrangement configuration includes a seal and a seal carrier, the seal includes a first material, and the seal carrier includes a second material, and the second material is different from the first material. The seal carrier includes a side surface around the first axis, and the side surface of the seal carrier around the first axis is thermally welded to at least a peripheral portion of the surface of the filter media pack around the first axis.

[0018] In another aspect, the present disclosure describes a filter element for placement within a housing of a filter system. The filter element includes a filter media pack for filtering a fluid and a seal arrangement configuration for separating the filtered fluid from the unfiltered fluid when the filter element is operably positioned within the housing. The filter media pack includes an outer peripheral surface that extends longitudinally and a surface around a first axis that intersects the longitudinal direction. The seal arrangement configuration includes a seal made of at least a first material and a seal carrier made of at least a second material, the second material being different from the first material. The seal is coupled to the seal carrier, and the coupling of the seal to the seal carrier is obtained by manufacturing the seal arrangement configuration from the first material and the second material using a multi-component injection molding manufacturing process. The seal carrier includes a side surface around the first axis that is coupled to at least a peripheral portion of the surface of the filter media pack around the first axis by a thermal welding manufacturing process.

[0019] In a further aspect, the present disclosure describes a method of manufacturing a filter element. The method comprises: providing a filter media pack having a circumferential surface extending in a longitudinal direction and a surface about a first axis intersecting the longitudinal direction; providing a seal carrier; and subjecting to a thermo-welding manufacturing process to join a side surface of the seal carrier about the first axis to at least a circumferential portion of the surface of the filter media pack about the first axis. In some embodiments, the seal arrangement configuration comprises a formed single-structure seal arrangement configuration including the seal carrier. In some embodiments, the seal arrangement configuration comprises a formed single-structure seal arrangement configuration including a seal and a seal carrier. In some embodiments, the method further comprises joining the seal to the seal carrier by a multi-component injection molding manufacturing process. The seal may be joined to the seal carrier before or after subjecting to the thermo-welding manufacturing process.

[0020] The terms “preferred” and “preferably” refer to embodiments of the invention that may provide some benefits under certain circumstances. However, under the same or other circumstances, other embodiments may also be preferred. Further, the description of one or more preferred embodiments does not imply that other embodiments are not useful and is not intended to exclude other embodiments from the scope of the invention.

[0021] The term “comprise” and variations thereof have no limiting meaning where these terms appear in the description and claims. Such terms are understood to imply that the stated steps or elements or groups of steps or elements are included, but do not exclude any other steps or elements or groups of steps or elements.

[0022] The phrase "consisting of" means that whatever comes before the phrase "consisting of" is included and limited thereto. Therefore, the phrase "consisting of" indicates that the listed elements are required or essential and that no other elements may be present. The phrase "consisting essentially of" means that any of the elements listed before that phrase are included and limited to other elements that do not prevent or contribute to the activities or functions specified in this disclosure with respect to the listed elements. Therefore, the phrase "consisting essentially of" indicates that the listed elements are required or essential, but other elements are optional and may or may not be present depending on whether they substantially affect the activities or functions of the listed elements.

[0023] Unless otherwise specified, the terms "a", "an", "the", and "at least one" are used in the same sense and do not exclude the existence of more than one.

[0024] The term "and / or" means one or all of the listed elements, or any combination of two or more of the listed elements.

[0025] Any reference to a standard method (e.g., ASTM, TAPPI, AATCC, etc.) refers to the latest available version of that method at the time of filing of this disclosure, unless otherwise indicated.

[0026] In this specification, terms including the terms "first", "second", etc. are used to distinguish similar elements and do not necessarily describe an order in any way of time, space, ranking or any other method. Terms used in this way are replaceable under appropriate circumstances, and it is understood that the embodiments of the disclosure described in this specification can operate in an order other than those described or illustrated in this specification.

[0027] In this specification too, the description of a numerical range by endpoints includes all the numbers included within that range (for example, 1 to 5 includes 1, 1.5, 2, 2.75, 3, 3.80, 4, 5, etc.).

[0028] In this specification, the number “up to” (for example, up to 50) includes that number (for example, 50).

[0029] The terms “within a range” or “within the range” (and similar descriptions) include the endpoints of the stated range.

[0030] References to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” throughout this specification mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Therefore, the appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” “in one embodiment, in an embodiment,” or “in an embodiment, in an embodiment” at various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, but may be. Further, as will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from this disclosure, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0031] Regarding any method disclosed in this specification that includes individual steps, the steps may be performed in any feasible order. Further, where appropriate, any combination of two or more steps may be performed simultaneously.

[0032] Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities of ingredients, molecular weights, and the like used in this specification and the claims are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term "about." As used herein with respect to measured quantities, the term "about" refers to variations in the measured quantities such as would be expected by a person making the measurement with a degree of care commensurate with the purpose of the measurement and the precision of the measuring equipment used. Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in this specification and the claims are approximations that may vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by the present invention. At a minimum, and not as an attempt to limit the application of the doctrine of equivalents to the claims, each numerical parameter should at least be construed in light of the reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques.

[0033] Although the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of the invention are approximations, the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as possible. Nevertheless, each numerical value inherently contains a range necessarily resulting from the standard deviation found in its respective testing measurements.

[0034] All headings are for the convenience of the reader and are not to be used to limit the meaning of the text following the heading unless so specified.

[0035] The foregoing summary of the invention is not intended to describe each disclosed embodiment or every implementation of the present invention. The following description more particularly exemplifies illustrative embodiments that are useful. Throughout this application, guidance is provided in several places by lists of examples that may be used in various combinations. In each case, the listed lists serve only as representative groups and are not to be construed as exclusive lists. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the present disclosure is not limited particularly to what is illustrated and / or described, and that alternative or modified embodiments can be developed in light of the full teachings of the present disclosure. The drawings described are only schematic and non-limiting.

[0036] These and further aspects of the present disclosure will be described in more detail by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0037]

Figure 1

Figure 2A

Figure 2B

Figure 3

Figures 4A - 4F

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figures 9A - 9C

Figures 10A - 10E

Figures 11A - 11B

Figures 12A - 12B

Figures 13A - 13D

Figure 14

Figures 15A - 15B

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0038] The drawings are neither to scale nor in proportion. In general, like reference numerals indicate like or corresponding structures throughout the different drawings.

[0039] In one aspect, the present disclosure describes a filter element for implementation within a housing of a filter system. The filter element includes a filter media pack, and the filter media of the filter media pack captures particles and impurities present in the incoming fluid flow. The fluid can be a liquid or a gas, such as air, for example. When the filter element is implemented within the housing and the filter system is in operation, the filtered fluid needs to be separated from the incoming unfiltered fluid. Therefore, the filter element includes a seal arrangement configured to separate the filtered fluid from the unfiltered fluid when the filter element is implemented within the housing and the filter system is operable. The filter element can be configured as an element to be removed from and replaced in the housing of the filter system at regular time intervals or when the filtration performance falls below a critical threshold level.

[0040] In another aspect, the present disclosure describes a method of manufacturing a filter element. In some embodiments, the present disclosure describes a filter element manufactured by a production process involving a combination of a multi-material injection molding process and a thermal welding process. As further described herein, the multi-material injection molding process is used to form a seal arrangement configuration including both a seal carrier and a seal, and the thermal welding process is used to couple the seal carrier to the filter media pack.

[0041] In some embodiments, the multi-material injection molding process is used to form both the seal and the seal carrier before attaching the seal carrier to the filter media pack using the thermal welding process. In such embodiments, the seal, the seal carrier, and the thermal welding process each need to be designed so as not to cause damage to the seal or the filter media pack by thermal welding.

[0042] In some embodiments, the multi-material injection molding process can be used to form the seal carrier and, after attaching the seal carrier to the filter media pack, to form the seal before attaching the seal carrier to the filter media pack using the thermal welding process.

[0043] Filter element Referring now to the drawings, like reference numerals indicate like or corresponding structures throughout the different drawings, and examples of embodiments of a filter element 100 according to the present invention are shown, for example, in FIGS. 1, 2A, 2B, 5, 6, 7, and 8. As shown in these drawings, the filter element 100 includes filter media packs 10, 110 and a seal arrangement configuration. In some embodiments, the seal arrangement configuration is preferably a formed single-structure seal arrangement configuration. The seal arrangement configuration is suitable for separating filtered fluid from unfiltered fluid when the filter element 100 is operably disposed within a housing.

[0044] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 10, the seal arrangement configuration includes seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a to 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a to 1040e and seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a to 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a to 1020e. The seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a to 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a to 1040e support the seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a to 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a to 1020e, and, as further described below, the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a to 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a to 1040e form an interface between the filter media packs 10, 110 and the seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a to 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a to 1020e. In some embodiments, the seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a to 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a to 1020e can be peripheral seals. As shown in the exemplary embodiments described herein, the seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a to 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a to 1020e can be outward radial seals, inward radial seals, or axial seals.

[0045] As further described herein, seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a - 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a - 1020e are joined to seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e by a multi - material injection molding manufacturing process to form a molded single - structure seal arrangement configuration. The molded single - structure seal arrangement configuration may have a visible indicator that the seal arrangement configuration was formed by a multi - material injection molding manufacturing process, such as a visualization feed point or a visualization ejector point. In some embodiments, a seam (also known as a weld line or a knit line) may be visible between seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a - 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a - 1020e and seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e. However, the absence of a visualization feed point, an ejector point, or a seam does not necessarily indicate that the molded single - structure seal arrangement configuration was not formed by a multi - material injection molding manufacturing process.

[0046] The filter element according to the present disclosure is not limited to any particular filter medium. For example, the filter element according to the first aspect of the present disclosure may include a filter medium pack including a pleated filter medium, a corrugated filter medium, or any other filter medium suitable for filtering fluids. The corrugated filter medium may include a coiled corrugated filter medium or a stacked corrugated filter medium. Specific embodiments are shown in the drawings by pleated filter medium packs 10 (see, for example, FIGS. 1, 3, and 4) or corrugated filter medium packs 110 (see, for example, FIGS. 5 - 10), but unless specifically stated otherwise, the teachings regarding filter element 100 including pleated filter medium pack 10 are applicable to corrugated filter medium pack 110, and the teachings regarding filter element 100 including corrugated filter medium pack 110 are applicable to pleated filter medium pack 10.

[0047] Some of the drawings presented and described in this specification specifically address embodiments of filter elements for filtering gases such as air, but the filter elements described herein are not limited to filtering any particular fluid.

[0048] In some embodiments, the filter medium may include a wet medium. In some embodiments, the filter medium may include a dry formed or dry medium. The filter medium may include any suitable combination of materials selected by those skilled in the art, such as, for example, polymers, fibers, binders, and additives. In an exemplary embodiment, the filter medium may include a wet nonwoven filter medium mainly composed of cellulose fibers. In another exemplary embodiment, the filter medium may include a wet nonwoven filter medium such as cellulose fibers and synthetic fibers, and the filter medium may include up to 10% or up to 20% synthetic fibers. In yet another exemplary embodiment, the filter medium may include a dry medium such as spunbond synthetic fibers. Exemplary spunbond synthetic fibers include polyester fibers. In a further exemplary embodiment, the filter medium may include a multilayer dry medium such as synthetic fibers. Each of these media may include additional binders and / or additives as described above. Additive compounds may impart functions including, but not limited to, flame retardancy, oil repellency, and / or water repellency.

[0049] The filter medium pack 10 or 110 includes at least i) an outer peripheral surface 6 extending in the longitudinal direction Z, and ii) a surface 7 around a first axis intersecting the longitudinal direction. The longitudinal direction is schematically shown in FIGS. 1-10 by the longitudinal axis Z. Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 9A-9C, the surface 7 around the first axis may be a side surface of the filter medium pack intersecting the longitudinal direction defined by the longitudinal axis Z. This surface 7 around the first axis may be a fluid inlet side surface or an outlet side surface. In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 and 9A-9C, two arrows indicate the direction of the fluid flowing in and the fluid flowing out. In other embodiments, the fluid flow shown in these drawings may be reversed depending on how the filter element is installed within the housing of the filter system.

[0050] The filter element 100 can preferably be configured to be disposed within the housing of the filter system. When the filter element 100 is operably disposed within the housing, leakage during the separation of unfiltered fluid from filtered fluid by the filter element 100 is prevented by the interfaces and / or interactions between the seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a - 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a - 1020e of the filter element 100 and the housing.

[0051] For example, in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the outer peripheral surface 6 extends in the longitudinal direction Z from the surface 7 around the first axis to the surface 8 around the second axis opposite to the surface 7 around the first axis. In these examples, the surfaces 7, 8 around the first and second axes correspond to the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet, respectively. Depending on the specific shape of the filter media pack, and as schematically shown in FIG. 9C, the filter media pack does not always include a surface around the second axis that is parallel to the surface around the first axis. In this example, the surface 7 around the first axis is a planar outlet side surface for the filtered fluid, while the unfiltered fluid flows in via a non - planar side surface of the filter media pack 10, such as a curved side surface.

[0052] The seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a - 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a - 1020e are made of at least a first material, and the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e are made of at least a second material. Generally, the second material is different from the first material. Examples of various materials that can be used for the seals and the seal carriers are further described below.

[0053] When the filter element 100 shown in FIG. 1 is disposed within the housing of the filter system, fluid traverses the filter media in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction Z. For example, as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 3, the fluid to be filtered crosses through the outer peripheral surface 6 of the filter media pack 10 and into the interior of the hollow filter body formed by the pleated filter media, and the filtered fluid exits the filter media pack 10 through a central opening in the surface 7 about the first axis of the filter media pack. This central opening in the surface 7 about the first axis corresponds to an opening at the first end of the hollow filter body. Therefore, these types of embodiments can include both an open end cap (including or consisting of a seal arrangement configuration) and a closed end cap 70 at the first and second ends, respectively, of the hollow filter body formed by the pleated filter media.

[0054] The outer peripheral surface 6 of the filter media pack can have various shapes and the present disclosure is not limited to any particular shape; indeed, the cross-section of the outer peripheral surface 6 of the filter media pack and the shape of the plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction Z can have a circular, oval, elliptical, rounded square (such as shown in FIG. 11A), obround shape, rectangular, or any other suitable shape for the filter media pack. FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of an exemplary filter element 100 where the cross-section of the outer peripheral surface 6 in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction Z has a rounded square shape.

[0055] In some exemplary embodiments, the cross-section of the peripheral surface 6 of the filter media packs 10, 110 and the plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction Z form an outer circumferential boundary portion having one or more convex portions. Two particular shapes of the outer peripheral surface 6 of the filter media packs 10, 110 are shown in FIG. 11B, where the upper drawing shows a shape having a convex boundary portion and the lower drawing shows a peanut-shaped configuration having two convex boundary portions. FIGS. 12A and 12B show perspective views of a filter media pack having an outer peripheral surface 6 with convex portions. A corrugated filter media pack 110 is shown in FIG. 12, although a pleated filter media pack 10 can also be included in this form.

[0056] In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 5 to 8, the filter medium pack 110 also has a face 8 around a second axis that faces the face 7 around a first axis. This type of configuration may be referred to as a "linear flow configuration" or a "co-current configuration". Generally, in this context, the filter medium pack 110 of the filter element 100 includes an inlet face that allows the flow of unfiltered fluid to enter the filter medium pack 110 and an opposing outlet face that allows the filtered fluid to exit the filter medium pack 110. Therefore, the flow entering and exiting the filter medium pack is generally in the same linear direction.

[0057] For example, in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 5 to 8, the face 7 around the first axis and the face 8 around the second axis of the filter medium pack 110 correspond to the fluid inlet face and the fluid outlet face, or vice versa. Generally, the fluid inlet face and the fluid outlet face are planar and the two faces are parallel to each other. However, variations are possible hereafter, for example non-planar faces.

[0058] FIGS. 9A to 9C show cross-sectional views of an exemplary embodiment of the filter element 100, where the filter medium pack 110 includes a pleated filter medium. Two arrows indicate an exemplary flow direction of the fluid flowing into and out of the filter medium pack 110. FIG. 9C shows an example where the face 7 around the first axis is a planar side face but there is no opposing planar face 8 around the second axis.

[0059] In some embodiments, the outer surface of the outer layer of the coiled pleated filter medium may form the outer peripheral surface 6 of the filter medium pack 110. In other words, a portion of the facing sheets of the above-described pleated filter medium forms the outer peripheral surface 6.

[0060] In some embodiments, the widths of the sides 442a-442f, 1042a-1042e around the first axis of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a-440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a-1040e may preferably be kept as narrow as possible, and the peripheral edges of the surface 7 around the first axis, which is coupled to the sides 442a-442f, 1042a-1042e around the first axis, are made as small as possible. In fact, since the surface 7 around the axis is an inlet or outlet for the fluid, the covering of the inlet or outlet by the sides 442a-442f, 1042a-1042e around the first axis of the seal carrier may affect the fluid flow and / or limit the filtering performance of the filter packs 10, 110.

[0061] For example, in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 5-8, the filter element 100 includes a pleated filter medium formed by a coiled layer of pleated filter material. Each of the layers of the pleated filter material includes inlet pleats and outlet pleats that are oriented essentially parallel to the longitudinal direction Z of the filter pack. The pleat inlets of the inlet pleats or the pleat outlets of the outlet pleats of at least one outer layer of the coiled layer of pleated filter material are blocked by the sides 1042a-1042e around the first axis of the seal carriers 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a-1040e. In some embodiments, the pleat inlets of the inlet pleats or the pleat outlets of the outlet pleats of at least the two outer layers of the coiled layer of pleated filter material are blocked by the sides 1042a-1042e around the first axis of the seal carriers 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a-1040e. When the surface around the first axis is an inlet surface for receiving unfiltered fluid, the inlets of the inlet pleats are blocked by the sides 1042a-1042e around the first axis of the seal carriers 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a-1040e. On the other hand, when the surface 7 around the first axis is an outlet surface for outputting filtered fluid, the outlets of the outlet pleats are blocked by the sides 1042a-1042e around the first axis of the seal carriers 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a-1040e.

[0062] The filter element 100 is characterized by using two different manufacturing processes for manufacturing the filter element 100, more specifically, a manufacturing process for joining seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a - 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a - 1020e to seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e, and a manufacturing process for joining seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e to filter media packs 10, 110. As further described herein, a multi - material injection molding manufacturing process is used to join seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a - 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a - 1020e to seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e to provide a formed single - structure seal arrangement configuration. As further described herein, a thermal welding process is used to join seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e to filter media packs 10, 110.

[0063] In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 9B, the support frame 60 can be coupled to the surface 8 about a second axis. When the filter media packs 10, 110 are the corrugated filter media pack 110, the support frame 60 can be configured to prevent the coiled layers of the filter media pack 110 from moving in the longitudinal direction Z. Generally, the support frame 60 includes rib portions 62 that prevent the coiled layers from moving longitudinally. As further described herein, a second thermal welding process can be used to couple the support frame 60 to the filter media packs 10, 110.

[0064] In some embodiments, as shown, for example, in FIGS. 6 and 9A, the seal carriers 640, 940 may include one or more ribs 45 positioned in a plane that is essentially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction Z. When the filter media packs 10, 110 are pleated filter media packs 110, the one or more ribs 45 are disposed on and coupled to the surface 7 around the first axis and may prevent the coiled layers from moving in the longitudinal direction Z. Advantageously, in these types of embodiments, an additional support frame is not required for coupling to the surface 8 around the second axis of the filter media packs 10, 110 as in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 5 and 9B.

[0065] In embodiments such as those shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, for example, the seal carriers 540, 640 include a radially circumferential side surface 41 extending in the longitudinal direction Z. The seals 520, 620 surround this radially circumferential side surface 41 of the seal carriers 540, 640 and form an outward radial seal. In an exemplary embodiment, the seals 520, 620 may be formed around the radially circumferential side surface 41 of the seal carriers 540, 640.

[0066] In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 10E, the seals 720, 1020e are axial seals. To form an axial seal, as shown in these drawings, the seals 720, 1020e may be coupled to the opposing peripheral edge portions 44 of the seal carrier. As schematically shown in FIG. 10E, the opposing peripheral edge portions 44 of the seal carriers 740, 1040e are generally parallel edges with respect to the peripheral edge portion 1042e of the seal carrier that is generally coupled to the surface 7 around the first axis of the filter media pack 10 by heat welding. In these embodiments, as shown in FIG. 10E, the peripheral edge portion 1042e and the opposing peripheral edge portions 44 correspond to, for example, two parallel rings.

[0067] Various embodiments of the seal carriers 440a - 440f, 1040a - 1040e coupled to the filter media packs 10, 110 are schematically shown in FIGS. 4A - 4E and FIGS. 10A - 10E. In these cross-sectional views that only partially show the filter element 100, the seal carriers 440a - 440f, 1040a - 1040e are represented by the hatched areas, and the filter media packs 10, 110 are represented by the dotted areas. The seal carriers 440a - 440f, 1040a - 1040e include several sides that can vary for each embodiment. As shown in these drawings, the filter element 100 according to the first aspect of the present disclosure is characterized in that the seal carriers 440a - 440f, 1040a - 1040e include side surfaces 442a - 442f, 1042a - 1042e that are axially coupled to at least the surface 7 around the first axis of the filter media pack 10. The side surfaces 442a - 442f, 1042a - 1042e around the first axis can be coupled to at least the peripheral portion of the surface 7 around the first axis of the filter media pack by a heat welding manufacturing process. In other words, the side surfaces 442a - 442f, 1042a - 1042e around the first axis of the seal carriers 440a - 440f, 1040a - 1040e can generally be bonding surfaces that are essentially parallel to the surface 7 around the first axis of the filter media pack. The extent of the peripheral portion of the surface 7 around the axis of the filter media pack coupled to the side surfaces 442a - 442f, 1042a - 1042e around the first axis of the seal carrier can depend on the type of the filter media packs 10, 110. For example, the filter media packs 10, 110 including pleated filter media as shown, for example, in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4, and the filter media packs 110 including corrugated filter media as shown, for example, in FIGS. 5 and 8 - 10 can have different peripheral portions of the surface 7 around the first axis of the filter media packs 10, 110 that are covered by the side surfaces 442a - 442f, 1042a - 1042e around the first axis of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e.Similarly, only a portion of the side surfaces 442a - 442f, 1042a - 1042e of the seal carriers 440a - 440f, 1040a - 1040e around the first axis can be the bonding surface; that is, only a portion of the side surfaces 442a - 442f, 1042a - 1042e of the seal carriers 440a - 440f, 1040a - 1040e around the first axis can be bonded to the surface 7 of the filter pack around the first axis.

[0068] In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 10A - 10C, the seal carriers 1040a - 1040e represented by the hatched regions include a tubular extension 43 extending in the longitudinal direction Z, thereby forming an inlet channel for receiving unfiltered fluid. In these embodiments, the seals 1020a - 1020e are coupled to the outer peripheral surface of the tubular extension 43 to form an outward radial seal. The coupling of the seals 1020a - 1020e to the outer peripheral surface of the tubular extension 43 can preferably be obtained by a multi - material injection molding manufacturing process to obtain a molded single - structure seal arrangement configuration.

[0069] Example of an embodiment with a pleated filter medium In some embodiments, the filter element 100 includes a filter pack 10 that includes a pleated filter medium.

[0070] FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of an embodiment of a filter element 100 according to a first aspect of the present disclosure. The filter media pack 10 of the illustrated filter element 100 includes a pleated filter media having a plurality of pleats arranged in a closed loop, in this example a ring, and a hollow filter body is formed so as to extend in the longitudinal direction Z. Therefore, the hollow filter body has a first opening and a second opening at a first end and a second end of the hollow filter body, respectively. The pleats are formed, for example, by folding a sheet of filter paper. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the hollow filter body is a hollow cylinder. The plurality of outer tips of the plurality of pleats form a boundary portion of the outer periphery of the hollow filter body. In this embodiment, the outer peripheral surface 6 of the filter media pack 10 corresponds to this surrounding boundary portion formed by the outer tips of the pleats, and the surfaces 7 and 8 around the first axis and the second axis of the filter media pack 10 respectively correspond to the first and second ends of the hollow filter body.

[0071] In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 4A, the seal carriers 140, 440a not only provide support to the seals 120, 420a, but also the side surface 442a around the first axis of the seal carrier provides an open end cap at the first end of the hollow filter body. In fact, by joining the side surface 442a around the first axis of the seal carriers 140, 420a to the end of the hollow filter body by heat welding, the pleats of the filter media pack 10 are closed at the first end. As schematically shown in FIG. 3, a closed end cap 70 can be further coupled to the second end of the hollow filter body, thereby not only closing the pleats of the filter media pack 10 at the second end, but also completely closing the second opening at the second end of the hollow filter body so that the filtered fluid can only flow out of the filter element 100 through the first opening at the first end of the hollow filter body.

[0072] In some embodiments, such as when a pleated filter medium forms a hollow filter body, for example, as schematically shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the filter element 100 includes a closed end cap 70. The closed end cap 70 can be coupled to the surface 8 around the second axis of the filter medium pack 10 by a second heat welding manufacturing process. In addition to using heat welding to couple the seal arrangement configuration to the filter medium pack 10, by using heat welding to couple the closed end cap 70 to the filter medium pack 10, the overall manufacturing process can be accelerated. By using two heat welding manufacturing processes, additional non-heat welding manufacturing processes such as molding or adhesion that may require additional manufacturing equipment or curing time are not necessary to couple the filter medium pack 10 of the filter element 100 including the closed end cap 70.

[0073] In other embodiments where the filter medium pack 10 includes a pleated filter medium, an outer liner may be provided around the hollow filter body formed by the pleated filter medium, and in these embodiments, the outer liner forms the outer peripheral surface 6 of the filter medium pack 10.

[0074] In FIGS. 4A - 4E, cross-sectional views of examples of seal arrangement configurations used in combination with a filter medium pack 10 including a pleated filter medium are shown. The reference numeral "W" in the drawings indicates the zone where the side surfaces 442a - 442e around the first axis of the seal carriers 440a - 440e are coupled to the surface 7 around the first axis of the filter medium pack 10 by heat welding. As described above, in embodiments including a pleated filter medium pack 10, the surface 7 around the first axis may correspond to the first end of the hollow filter body formed by the pleated filter medium.

[0075] The exemplary embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 4A illustrate filter elements, where the seal carriers 140, 440a include a radial peripheral side surface 41 that surrounds or at least partially surrounds the outer peripheral surface 6 of the filter media pack 10 in addition to the side surface 442a around the first axis. In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4A, the seals 120, 420a may surround the radial peripheral side surface 41 of the seal carriers 140, 440a to form an outward radial seal; that is, the sealing surfaces of the seals 120, 420a face outward. The seals 120, 420a may preferably be joined to the radial peripheral side surface 41 of the seal carriers 140, 440a by a multi-material injection molding manufacturing process to form a molded single-structure seal arrangement configuration.

[0076] FIG. 4F shows a cross-sectional view of an embodiment in which the seal 420 surrounds the radial peripheral side surface 41 of the seal carrier 440f to form an outward radial seal. In this embodiment, as schematically shown in FIG. 4F, the cross-section of the seal carrier 440f in a plane including the longitudinal axis Z has a T-shape.

[0077] In other embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 2B and 4E, the seals 220b, 420e of the seal carriers 240, 440e form axial seals. In fact, in these embodiments, the seal carriers 240, 440e include a side surface 44 around the second axis that faces the side surface 442e around the first axis that is joined to the surface 7 around the first axis of the filter media pack 10. The seals 220b, 420e are joined to the side surface 44 around the second axis by a multi-material injection molding manufacturing process.

[0078] In some embodiments, the radial peripheral side surfaces 41 of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e entirely surround the outer peripheral surface 6 of the filter media pack 10, thereby forming a protective shell around the filter media pack 10.

[0079] FIG. 4B shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of an embodiment of the filter element 100 in which the seal carrier 440b does not include a radially circumferential side surface that circumscribes the outer peripheral surface 6 of the filter pack 10. Instead, in this embodiment, the seal carrier 440b also includes a tubular extension 43 that extends coaxially with a central opening at a first end of the hollow filter body, in addition to the side surface 442b around the first axis. Therefore, the tubular extension 43 forms an outlet channel for the filtered fluid to flow out from inside the hollow filter body. As schematically shown in FIG. 4B, in this example, the seal 420b is coupled to the inner peripheral surface of the tubular extension 43. In this way, an inward radial seal is formed. The coupling of the seal 420b to the inner peripheral surface of the tubular extension 43 can preferably be obtained by a multi-material injection molding manufacturing process so as to obtain a molded single-structure seal arrangement configuration.

[0080] FIG. 4C shows an embodiment similar to the embodiment of FIG. 4B, in which the tubular extension 43 of the seal carrier extends inside the hollow filter body instead of extending outside the hollow filter body as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4B.

[0081] In an alternative embodiment, the tubular extension 43 of the seal carriers 440a - 440f may form an inlet channel for bringing unfiltered fluid into the interior of the hollow filter body, such that the fluid can cross the pleated filter media substantially.

[0082] In a further embodiment having the seal carrier 440b as shown in FIG. 4B, the seal 420b may also be coupled to the outer peripheral surface of the tubular extension 43 to form an outward radial seal.

[0083] In FIGS. 2A and 4D, further embodiments are shown where seals 220a, 420d form inward radial seals. In this embodiment, seal carriers 240, 440d have a central opening configured to allow filtered fluid to flow out or to receive unfiltered fluid. In this embodiment, seals 220a, 420d can be joined to the inner peripheral surface of the central opening of the seal carrier by a multi-component manufacturing process, thereby forming an inward radial seal.

[0084] In some embodiments, the filter media can be embedded in seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f by at least 0.5 mm, at least 1 mm, at least 1.5 mm, or at least 2 mm and / or the material of seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f can penetrate into at least 0.5 mm, at least 1 mm, at least 1.5 mm, or at least 2 mm of the pleats of the filter media pack 10.

[0085] Example of an embodiment with a pleated filter medium In some embodiments, filter element 100 includes a filter media pack 110 that includes a pleated filter media, also known as a Z - type filter media.

[0086] Referring to the drawings, FIG. 5 shows an exploded view of an embodiment of a filter element 100 that includes a filter media pack 110 that includes a pleated filter media. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the outer surface of the pleated filter media forms the outer peripheral surface 6 of the filter media pack 110. Perspective views of various embodiments of the filter element where the filter media pack includes a coiled pleated filter media are shown in FIGS. 6 - 8.

[0087] In some embodiments, the pleated filter medium can be formed by the coiled layers of the pleated filter medium. Each of these coiled layers includes inlet pleats and outlet pleats that are essentially parallel to the longitudinal direction Z. The pleat inlet of the inlet pleats or the pleat outlet of the outlet pleats of at least one outer layer of the coiled layer is blocked at the location where the side surfaces 442a-442f, 1042a-1042e around the first axis of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a-440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a-1040e are joined to the surface 7 around the first axis of the filter medium pack 110. In some embodiments, the pleat inlet of the inlet pleats or the pleat outlet of the outlet pleats of at least two outer layers of the coiled layer can be blocked by joining the side surfaces 442a-442f, 1042a-1042e around the first axis of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a-440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a-1040e to the surface 7 around the first axis of the filter medium pack 110.

[0088] Cross-sectional views of examples of filter element configurations including the pleated filter medium are further shown in FIGS. 9A-9C. The two arrows in each of these drawings indicate exemplary fluid flow directions. The seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a-440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a-1040e can be joined to the filter medium pack 110 in any suitable configuration. Various examples of seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a-440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a-1040e joined to the pleated filter medium pack 110 are shown in FIGS. 10A-10C. In these cross-sectional views, the hatched regions and the dotted regions represent the seal carriers 1040a-1040e and the filter medium pack 110, respectively. The reference numeral "W" indicates a heat weld zone.

[0089] Exemplary pleated filter media and filter media packs that include coiled Z-shaped filter media are disclosed in U.S. Patent Nos. 6,350,291 and 7,396,376 and European Patent Publication No. 3 680 002. One configuration of the Z-shaped filter media uses two specific media components that are joined to form a media configuration. The two components are a pleated, generally corrugated, media sheet and a facing media sheet. The facing media sheet is generally non-corrugated. The pleated filter media sheet and the facing media sheet can be used to define a media having a set of parallel inlet pleats and a set of parallel outlet pleats. After securing the pleated sheet to the facing sheet, one layer of the pleated filter media is obtained, and the pleated filter media includes the set of inlet pleats and the set of outlet pleats.

[0090] By coiling the layer of pleated filter media, a filter body is formed having an outer peripheral surface formed by the outer layer of the coiled pleated filter media and an axial inlet surface for receiving unfiltered fluid and an axial outlet surface for discharging filtered fluid. The pleats in each of the coiled layers are oriented essentially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the filter media pack. As further explained in U.S. Patent Nos. 6,350,291 and 7,396,376, with respect to the Z-shaped filter media, "coiled" means referring to the filter media pack 110 formed by coiling strips of the pleated filter media to form the filter media pack 110. Such coiled media can be made in various shapes: round or cylindrical; oval, such as a racetrack; square; or rounded rectangle; and the coiled media can further be configured in a conical or similar arrangement. Examples of the selected shapes are described in U.S. Patent No. 6,350,291.

[0091] In addition to or instead of this, all or a part of the corrugated filter medium can be stacked to form a filter medium pack. Exemplary stacked corrugated filter medium arrangements are described in U.S. Patent Nos. 5,820,646 and 8,292,983. For example, the outer peripheral surface of the filter element can be rectangular, including when the filter element pack includes stacked corrugated filter media.

[0092] In some embodiments, the outer peripheral surface of the filter element forms the outer peripheral surface 6 of the filter element pack 110. In other embodiments, a protective layer can be disposed around the peripheral surface of the filter element such that the outer surface of the protective layer forms the outer peripheral surface 6 of the filter element pack 110. In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 5-8, the axial inlet and axial outlet of the filter element respectively correspond to the surface 7 around the first axis and the surface 8 around the second axis of the filter element pack 110.

[0093] Each of the layers of the coiled corrugated material includes a set of inlet corrugations and a set of outlet corrugations. The set of inlet corrugations is open at the inlet side surface around the axis of the filter element to receive unfiltered fluid, and the inlet corrugations are closed at the outlet side surface around the axis of the filter element. On the other hand, the set of outlet corrugations is closed at the inlet side surface around the axis and is open at the outlet side surface around the axis so that the filtered fluid can flow out of the filter element. In this way, the fluid is caused to create a Z-shaped trajectory so as to flow from the inlet side surface around the axis to the outlet side surface around the axis.

[0094] In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 5 and 10B, the peripheral portion of the surface 7 around the first axis of the filter media pack 110 that is joined to the side surface 1042b around the first axis of the seal carriers 540, 1040b by thermal welding corresponds to the peripheral edge portion of the surface 7 around the axis of the filter media pack 110. Generally, this peripheral edge portion includes at least the side surface around the axis of the outer layer of the corrugated filter media in a coiled shape. In other words, at least the outer layer of the coiled filter media cannot be used for filtration purposes. In some embodiments, not only the outer layer but also one or more continuous layers of the coiled filter media are sacrificed to enable a more secure axial connection between the side surface 1042b around the first axis of the seal carrier and the surface 7 around the first axis of the filter media pack.

[0095] Referring further to FIGS. 5 and 10 for description, in some embodiments, the side surfaces 1042a - 1042e around the first axis of the seal carriers 540, 1040a - 1040e can be configured as peripheral edge portions around the axis. In fact, the portion of the surface 7 around the first axis of the filter media pack 110 that is joined to the side surfaces 1042a - 1042e around the first axis of the seal carrier 540 can be made as small as possible, but provides a secure connection to limit the reduction of the fluid flowing through the surface 7 around the first axis of the filter media pack 110.

[0096] Due to the axial coupling between the seal carriers 540, 1040a - 1040e and the filter media pack 110, the inlet fold of the inlet fold or the outlet fold of the outlet fold of at least one outer layer of the coiled layers is blocked by the side surfaces 1042a - 1042e around the first axis of the seal carrier. Preferably, in order to obtain a firm coupling between the seal carriers 540, 1040a - 1040e and the filter media pack 110, the inlet fold of the inlet fold or the outlet fold of the outlet fold of at least the two outer layers of the coiled layers is blocked by the side surfaces 1042a - 1042e around the first axis of the seal carriers 540, 1040a - 1040e. On the other hand, the number of continuous layers blocked by the side surfaces 1042a - 1042e around the first axis of the seal carriers 540, 1040a - 1040e should also be limited to ensure the optimal operation of the filter element 100. The filter media pack 110 includes a coiled and pleated filter media layer, and the number of continuous layers blocked by the side surfaces 1042a - 1042e around the first axis of the seal carriers 540, 1040a - 1040e should be less than 10 layers, preferably less than 8 layers, and more preferably less than 6 layers.

[0097] For example, the embodiments shown in FIGS. 6 and 10A show a filter element 100 in which the seal carriers 640, 1040a include, in addition to the side surface 1042a around the first axis, a radial circumferential side surface 41 that circumscribes the outer peripheral surface 6 of the filter media pack 110. In these embodiments, the seals 620, 1020a surround the radial circumferential side surface 41 of the seal carriers 640, 1040a to form an outward radial seal.

[0098] In other embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 10E, seals 720, 1020e form an axial seal. Seals 720, 1020e may be joined, by a multi-material injection molding manufacturing process, to side surface 44 about a second axis that faces side surface 1042e about a first axis, as further described herein, to form a molded single-structure seal arrangement configuration. As schematically shown in FIG. 10E, side surface 44 about the second axis of the seal carrier is generally a side surface parallel to side surface 1042e about the first axis of seal carrier 1040e.

[0099] FIGS. 10B and 10C show cross-sectional views of seal arrangements in which seal carriers 1040b, 1040c include tubular extensions 43 that extend in the longitudinal Z direction, thereby forming an inlet channel for receiving unfiltered fluid. In such embodiments, seals 1020b, 1020c may be joined to the outer peripheral surface of tubular extension 43 to form an outward radial seal. The joining of seals 1020b, 1020c to the outer peripheral surface of tubular extension 43 may be obtained by a multi-material injection molding manufacturing process to obtain a seal arrangement configuration that is a molded single-structure seal arrangement configuration.

[0100] FIG. 10A shows an embodiment in which the seal carrier includes a tubular extension 43 and a radial peripheral side surface 41 that circumscribes the outer peripheral surface 6 of the filter media pack 110. This radial peripheral side surface 41 may function as a protective surface for the filter media pack 110.

[0101] FIG. 10D shows an embodiment in which seal 1020d forms an inward radial seal. In fact, in this embodiment, seal carrier 1040d has, for example, a ring shape and the seal is located on the inner peripheral surface of the ring-shaped seal carrier 1040d.

[0102] In some embodiments including a corrugated filter medium in a coil shape, as shown in FIG. 5, the filter element 100 includes a support frame 60 coupled to a surface 8 around a second axis of the filter medium pack 10. This support frame 60 can be configured to prevent the coiled layers from moving in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction Z. In fact, during operation, due to the fluid flow, a plurality of layers may start to move longitudinally. As shown in FIG. 5, the support frame 60 includes, for example, a peripheral edge portion 61 and ribs 62. The ribs 62 can be positioned so that the coiled layers are prevented from moving along the longitudinal direction of the filter medium pack.

[0103] In some embodiments, the support frame 60 can be coupled to the surface 8 around the second axis of the filter medium pack 110 by a second heat welding manufacturing process, as further described herein. By using two heat welding manufacturing processes, additional non - heat welding manufacturing processes such as molding or adhesion that may require additional manufacturing equipment or curing time are not necessary to couple the filter medium pack 110 of the filter element 100 including the support frame 60.

[0104] Referring to FIG. 6, in some embodiments, the seal carrier 640 can include one or more ribs 45. The embodiment shown in FIG. 6 includes one rib 45. When one or more ribs 45 are included, the ribs are disposed on and coupled to a surface 7 around a first axis of the filter medium pack 110 to prevent the coiled layers from moving in the longitudinal direction Z. The coupling of the one or more ribs 45 to the surface 7 around the first axis of the filter medium pack 110 can preferably be obtained by heat welding, as further described herein.

[0105] One advantage of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 compared to the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 is that no extra support frame 60 needs to be coupled to the face 8 around the second axis of the filter pack 110. Without being bound by theory, including one or more ribs 45 as an integral part of the seal carrier 640 is expected to prevent the media from telescoping. At the time of the present invention, telescoping has generally been prevented by including a support frame 60 coupled to the face 8 around the second axis. Therefore, if one or more ribs 45 prevent the media from telescoping without adding a support frame, one less plastic component can be included, making the manufacture of the filter element 10 less expensive and simpler.

[0106] Materials for Seals, Seal Carriers, and Closure End Caps The seal arrangements include seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a - 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a - 1020e, and seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e. The seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a - 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a - 1020e are made of at least a first material, and the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e are made of at least a second material. Generally, the second material is different from the first material. In some embodiments, the seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a - 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a - 1020e and / or the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e can be made of more than two materials.

[0107] While the filter element 100 is operably disposed within the housing, the seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a - 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a - 1020e prevent leakage at all times while the filtered fluid is being separated from the unfiltered fluid by the filter element 100, and since the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e support the seals and need to be coupled to the filter media packs 10, 110, the seals are generally formed of a softer material, examples of which are provided herein, and the seal carriers are generally formed of a harder material. Further examples of each of those materials are described herein.

[0108] If the filter element 100 includes a closed - end cap 70, the closed - end cap can be made of at least a third material. In some embodiments, the closed - end cap 70 can be made of more than one material. However, in some embodiments, the closed - end cap can preferably be made of the same one or more materials as the seal carrier. Using the same material for the seal carrier and the closed - end cap is expected to increase the manufacturing efficiency of the filter element 100.

[0109] In some embodiments, the transition temperature of the first material (or combination of materials) used to form seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a - 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a - 1020e may be higher than the transition temperature of the second material (or combination of materials) used to form seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e. In this way, heat is applied to the seal arrangement configuration during the thermowelding manufacturing process as further described herein, and when the processing temperature exceeds the transition temperature of the second material, the seal is less likely to be deformed. The difference in transition temperature between the material for the seal and the material for the seal carrier can be selected by those skilled in the art based on the geometric shape of the seal arrangement configuration, the heat source used, and the processing temperature.

[0110] When a material or combination of materials contains a polymer fraction as a single phase in the amorphous state (e.g., polystyrene (PS) or polycarbonate (PC)), the "transition temperature" of the material is the midpoint temperature (T mg ) determined using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) in accordance with ASTM D3418 - 99 ("Standard Test Method for Transition Temperatures of Polymers by Differential Scanning Calorimetry"). The midpoint temperature (T mg ) is used to represent the glass transition temperature (T g ) because T g is actually a temperature range. DSC can be performed using any suitable instrument; however, in an exemplary embodiment, a DSC3+ (Mettler - Toledo AG, Schwerzenbach, Switzerland) equipped with an FRS 6+ sensor may be used.

[0111] When one or more materials include a semi-crystalline polymeric material or any other material that exhibits two or more polymer phases (e.g., polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene (PE), etc.), the "transition temperature" of the material is the final temperature at which the storage modulus (G') and the loss modulus (G") intersect when G' and G" are plotted against temperature from 0 °C to the temperature at which the polymer is in a molten state. G' and G" are defined by ASTM D4092-01 ("Standard Terminology for Plastics: Dynamic Mechanical Properties"). The increase in tan δ can be used to characterize the system under transition heading towards the melt flow zone. In this specification, G' and G" are further determined using a mechanical spectrometer to measure forced constant amplitude fixed frequency shear vibrations and temperature sweep dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA: dynamic mechanical analysis) in accordance with ASTM D4440-15 ("Standard Test Method for Plastics: Dynamic Mechanical Properties Melt Rheology") as described in ASTM D4065-12 ("Standard Practice for Plastics: Dynamic Mechanical Properties: Determination and Report of Procedures"). Any suitable dynamic mechanical analyzer can be used; however, in an exemplary embodiment, a Q800 (TA Instruments, New Castle, DE) can be used.

[0112] In some embodiments, seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a - 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a - 1020e are made of a first material comprising at least any of the following non - limiting material lists: rubber including unsaturated rubber or saturated rubber; thermoplastic elastomer; thermosetting elastomer; thermoplastic vulcanizate; or mixtures or combinations thereof. Exemplary thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) include polyamide TPEs, copolyester TPEs, olefin - based TPEs, styrene - based TPEs, urethane - based TPEs, or dynamically vulcanized TPEs, or mixtures or combinations thereof.

[0113] In some embodiments, the material for forming the seal can be selected based on the desired Shore hardness of the resulting seal. In some embodiments, the Shore A value of the seal is at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, or at least 60. In some embodiments, the Shore A value of the seal is up to 40, up to 45, up to 50, up to 55, up to 60, up to 65, up to 70, up to 75, up to 80, up to 85, or up to 90. In an exemplary embodiment, the Shore A value of the seal is in the range of 30 - 90. In another exemplary embodiment, the Shore A value of the seal is in the range of 40 - 70. In yet another exemplary embodiment, the Shore A value of the seal is in the range of 50 - 70. In some embodiments, the Shore A value is determined as described in ASTM D2240 - 15e1. The Shore A value of the seal is preferably determined after the seal is fully formed - i.e., after the seal is bonded to the seal carrier and after the seal carrier is thermally welded to the filter media pack.

[0114] In contrast to U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009 / 0320424, which teaches the use of a soft urethane foam for a seal that forms an interface between a filter element and a filter housing to prevent unfiltered fluid from passing between the filter element and the fluid housing, the seals disclosed herein are formed by a multi-material injection molding manufacturing process, as further described herein. Further, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009 / 0320424 teaches that the Shore A value of the seal is less than 25. Further, advantages can be obtained in both manufacturing and use when the seal includes a thermoplastic polymer as described herein, instead of a urethane seal as described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009 / 0320424. In contrast to a urethane seal that needs to be cured, a seal formed from a thermoplastic polymer by a multi-material injection molding manufacturing process does not require curing, enhancing the efficiency of the manufacturing process. Further, a seal formed by a multi-material injection molding manufacturing process can be stable at higher temperatures (e.g., up to 140° C.) compared to a urethane seal (which is generally stable only up to about 80° C.), and may provide higher stability during multiple uses where the filter element 100 is exposed to high temperature conditions. For example, some filter elements 100 installed in an engine room can be exposed to temperatures above 80° C. (e.g., up to 90° C.) during use.

[0115] Exemplary unsaturated rubbers include, for example, natural polyisoprenes such as cis-1,4-polyisoprene natural rubber (NR) and trans-1,4-polyisoprene gutta-percha; synthetic polyisoprene (also called isoprene rubber (IR)); polybutadiene (also called butadiene rubber (BR)); chloroprene rubber (CR) including, for example, polychloroprene, Neoprene, Baypren, etc.; butyl rubber (known also as isobutylene-isoprene (IIR)); halogenated butyl rubbers including chlorobutyl rubber (CIIR) and bromobutyl rubber (BIIR); styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR); nitrile rubber (NBR, also known as Buna N or acrylonitrile butadiene rubber); and hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber (HNBR) including, for example, Therban and Zetpol, etc.

[0116] Exemplary saturated rubbers include ethylene propylene rubber (EPM) which is a copolymer of ethylene and propylene; ethylene propylene diene (EPDM) rubber which is a terpolymer of ethylene, propylene, and a diene component; epichlorohydrin rubber (ECO); polyacrylic rubber (ACM, ABR); silicone rubber (SI, Q, VMQ); fluorosilicone rubber (FVMQ); FKM family and FEPM family of fluoroelastomers including, for example, VITON, TECNOFLON, FLUOREL, AFLAS, and DAI-EL, etc.; perfluoroelastomers (FFKM) including, for example, TECNOFLON PFR, KALREZ, CHEMRAZ, PERLAST, etc.; polyether block amide (PEBA); chlorosulfonated polyethylene (CSM) including, for example, HYPALON; and ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA).

[0117] Exemplary polyamide TPEs include polyamide TPEs (TPA-EE) containing soft segments with both ether and ester linkages, polyamide TPEs (TPA-ES) containing polyester soft segments, or polyamide TPEs (TPA-ET) containing polyether soft segments, or mixtures or combinations thereof. Exemplary commercially available polyamide TPEs include PEBAX® and VESTAMID® E.

[0118] Exemplary copolyester TPEs include copolyester TPEs (TPC-EE) containing soft segments with both ether and ester linkages, copolyester TPEs (TPC-ES) containing polyester soft segments, or copolyester TPEs (TPC-ET) containing polyether soft segments, or mixtures or combinations thereof. Exemplary commercially available copolyester TPEs include ARNITEL®, HYTREL®, PIBIFLEX®, and RITEFLEX®.

[0119] Exemplary olefinic TPEs include blends of polyolefins and conventional rubbers, with little or no crosslinking in the rubber phase of the blend (TPO). Exemplary commercially available olefinic TPEs include APIGO® and ENFLEX-O®.

[0120] Exemplary styrenic TPEs include block copolymers of styrene and butadiene (TPS-SBS), polystyrene-poly(ethylene-butylene)-polystyrene (TPS-SEBS), polystyrene-poly(ethylene-propylene)-polystyrene (TPS-SEPS), or block copolymers of styrene and isoprene (TPS-SIS), or mixtures or combinations thereof. Exemplary commercially available styrenic TPEs include SOFPRENE®, ELASTRON®, KRATON™, LAPRENE®, and THERMOLAST®.

[0121] Exemplary urethane-based TPEs include urethane-based TPEs (TPU-ARES) containing aromatic hard segments and polyester soft segments, urethane-based TPEs (TPU-ARET) containing aromatic hard segments and polyether soft segments, urethane-based TPEs (TPU-AREE) containing aromatic hard segments and soft segments having ester bonds and ether bonds, urethane-based TPEs (TPU-ARCE) containing aromatic hard segments and polycarbonate soft segments, urethane-based TPEs (TPU-ARCL) containing aromatic hard segments and polycaprolactone soft segments, urethane-based TPEs (TPU-ALES) containing aliphatic hard segments and polyester soft segments, or urethane-based TPEs (TPU-ALET) containing aliphatic hard segments and polyether soft segments, or mixtures or combinations thereof. Exemplary commercially available urethane-based TPEs include DESMOPAN®, ELASTOLLAN®, and SOFPUR®.

[0122] Exemplary dynamically vulcanized TPEs include combinations of ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber and polypropylene (where the EPDM phase is highly crosslinked and finely dispersed in a continuous polypropylene phase) (TPV-EPDM+PP), combinations of acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) and polypropylene (where the NBR phase is highly crosslinked and finely dispersed in a continuous polypropylene phase) (TPV-(NBR+PP)), combinations of natural rubber (NR) and polypropylene (where the NR phase is highly crosslinked and finely dispersed in a continuous polypropylene phase), combinations of epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) and polypropylene (where the ENR phase is highly crosslinked and finely dispersed in a continuous polypropylene phase) (TPV-(ENR+PP)), or combinations of butyl rubber (also known as isobutylene-isoprene (IIR)) and polypropylene (where the butyl rubber phase is highly crosslinked and finely dispersed in a continuous polypropylene phase) (TPV-(IIR+PP)), or mixtures or combinations thereof. Exemplary commercially available dynamically vulcanized TPEs include DRYFLEX®, ELASTRON®, SANTOPRENE®, SARLINK®, FORPRENE®, and THERMOLAST®. In an exemplary embodiment, the seal may include SARLINK® TPV 4155B03 from Teknor Apex Company (Pawtucket, Rhode Island), which is a dynamically vulcanized TPE.

[0123] Other commercially available TPEs that may be suitable in some embodiments include BERGAFLEX®.

[0124] In some embodiments, the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e or a portion thereof are made of at least a second material. The second material may preferably be a thermoplastic resin. In some embodiments, the second material may include any of the following non - limiting list of materials: acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polypropylene (PP), polyamide (PA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polylactic acid (PLA), polyethylene (PE), polycarbonate (PC), polystyrene (PS), or polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or mixtures and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, including when the second material includes PP, the seal carrier may further include glass fiber or mineral or a combination thereof. Exemplary polyamides include polyamide 6 (PA6), polyamide 66 (PA66), etc. In addition to or instead of that, the second material may include any other material suitable for thermal welding and multi - material injection molding.

[0125] In some embodiments, the entire seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e contain a second material; in other embodiments, only a portion of the seal carrier contains the second material. For example, in some embodiments, the sides 442a - 442f, 1042a - 1042e of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e around the first axis may contain the second material, while other portions of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e may contain one or more other injection - molded materials. In another example, in some embodiments, the portions of the sides 442a - 442f, 1042a - 1042e of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e intended to be attached to the filter packs 10, 110 may contain the second material, while other portions of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e may contain one or more other injection - molded materials.

[0126] In embodiments where the seal carrier contains polypropylene, the seal carrier may contain a polypropylene random copolymer, such as DuPure® QR 50 AV (DUCOR Petrochemicals, the Netherlands) or DuPure® QR 76 AV (DUCOR Petrochemicals, the Netherlands); a random polypropylene containing a heterophasic copolymer additive, such as CAPILENE® CL 50 E (Carmel Olefins, Ltd., Israel); or Polystone® P Homopolymer (Roechling Engineering Plastics, Germany).

[0127] In some embodiments, the one or combination of materials for forming the seal carrier can be selected based on the desired Shore hardness of the resulting seal carrier.

[0128] In some embodiments, the Shore A value of the seal carrier is at least 50, at least 60, at least 70, at least 80, or at least 90. In some embodiments, the Shore A value of the seal carrier is up to 80, up to 90, up to 95, or up to 100. In an exemplary embodiment, the Shore A value of the seal carrier is in the range of 60 to 100. In another exemplary embodiment, the Shore A value of the seal carrier is in the range of 70 to 100. In yet another exemplary embodiment, the Shore A value of the seal carrier is in the range of 80 to 100. In some embodiments, the Shore A value is determined as described in ASTM D2240-15e1 ("Standard Test Method For Rubber Property-Durometer Hardness"). The Shore A value of the seal carrier is preferably determined in a fully formed filter element - i.e., after bonding the seal to the seal carrier and after heat welding the seal carrier to the filter media pack.

[0129] In some embodiments, the Shore D value of the seal carrier is at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, or at least 30. In some embodiments, the Shore D value of the seal carrier is up to 80, up to 90, up to 95, or up to 100. In an exemplary embodiment, the Shore D value of the seal carrier is in the range of 15 to 100. In another exemplary embodiment, the Shore D value of the seal carrier is in the range of 30 to 100. In some embodiments, the Shore D value of the seal carrier is determined as described in ASTM D2240-15e1 (“Standard Test Method For Rubber Property-Durometer Hardness”). The Shore D value of the seal carrier is preferably determined after the filter element is fully formed - i.e., after the seal is bonded to the seal carrier and the seal carrier is heat welded to the filter media pack.

[0130] In some embodiments, as described above, the seal carrier may include one or more ribs 45. The one or more ribs 45, if included, may be formed of the same material or combination of materials as at least a portion of the seal carrier.

[0131] During the manufacture of the filter element, the side surfaces 442a - 442f, 1042a - 1042e about the first axis of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e are heated and cooled twice - first as part of the multi - material injection molding manufacturing process and then during the heat welding manufacturing process. One of ordinary skill in the art can select the material or combination of materials for the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e, and more precisely, the material used for the side surfaces 442a - 442f, 1042a - 1042e about the first axis of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e, due to its ability to withstand heating and cooling without degradation.

[0132] In some embodiments, the closure end cap 70 or the support frame 60 located on the surface 8 around the second axis of the filter media packs 10, 110 is made of at least a third material. The third material may preferably be a thermoplastic resin. As described above, in some embodiments, the third material may preferably be the same as the second material and / or the material used for the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e or the portion containing their second material. When the material for the closure end cap 70 or the support frame 60 is the same as the material used for the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e or the portion thereof attached to the filter media packs 10, 110, a similar thermo - welding manufacturing process may be used to attach both the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e or the portion thereof, and the closure end cap 70 or the support frame 60.

[0133] In some embodiments, the third material may include any of the following non - limiting list of materials: acrylonitrile - butadiene - styrene (ABS), polypropylene (PP), polyamide (PA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polylactic acid (PLA), polyethylene (PE), polycarbonate (PC), polystyrene (PS), or polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or mixtures and combinations thereof. In some embodiments when the second material includes PP, the seal carrier may further include glass fiber or mineral or a combination thereof. Exemplary polyamides include polyamide 6 (PA6), polyamide 66 (PA66), etc. In addition to or instead of this, the second material may include any other material suitable for thermo - welding and multi - material injection molding.

[0134] In an exemplary embodiment, the closed end cap 70 or the support frame 60 may include polypropylene. Exemplary polypropylenes containing polymers include, for example, DuPure® QR 50 AV (DUCOR Petrochemicals, the Netherlands) or DuPure® QR 76 AV (DUCOR Petrochemicals, the Netherlands), CAPILENE® CL 50 E (Carmel Olefins, Ltd., Israel), and Polystone® P Homopolymer (Roechling Engineering Plastics, Germany).

[0135] In some embodiments, the material for forming the closed end cap 70 or the support frame 60 is selected based on the desired shore hardness of the resulting closed end cap 70 or support frame 60.

[0136] In some embodiments, the Shore A value of the closed end cap 70 or the support frame 60 is at least 50, at least 60, at least 70, at least 80, or at least 90. In some embodiments, the Shore A value of the closed end cap 70 or the support frame 60 is up to 80, up to 90, up to 95, or up to 100. In an exemplary embodiment, the Shore A value of the closed end cap 70 or the support frame 60 is in the range of 60 to 100. In another exemplary embodiment, the Shore A value of the closed end cap 70 or the support frame 60 is in the range of 70 to 100. In yet another exemplary embodiment, the Shore A value of the closed end cap 70 or the support frame 60 is in the range of 80 to 100. In some embodiments, the Shore A value is determined as described in ASTM D2240-15e1 ("Standard Test Method For Rubber Property-Durometer Hardness"). The Shore A value of the closed end cap 70 or the support frame 60 is preferably determined after the closed end cap has been coupled to the fully formed filter element - i.e., after the closure end cap has been coupled to the filter media pack.

[0137] In some embodiments, the Shore D value of the closed end cap 70 or the support frame 60 is at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, or at least 30. In some embodiments, the Shore D value of the closed end cap 70 or the support frame 60 is up to 80, up to 90, up to 95, or up to 100. In an exemplary embodiment, the Shore D value of the closed end cap 70 or the support frame 60 is in the range of 15 to 100. In another exemplary embodiment, the Shore D value of the closed end cap 70 or the support frame 60 is in the range of 30 to 100. In some embodiments, the Shore D value is determined as described in ASTM D2240-15e1 ("Standard Test Method For Rubber Property-Durometer Hardness"). The Shore D value of the closed end cap 70 or the support frame 60 is preferably determined after the closed end cap is coupled to the filter media pack - i.e., in the fully formed filter element.

[0138] Method for manufacturing a filter element The present disclosure also describes a method for manufacturing the filter element 100 described herein.

[0139] In one aspect, the method includes the attachment of seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a - 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a - 1020e to seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e. In another aspect, the method includes the simultaneous formation of seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a - 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a - 1020e and seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e to form a seal arrangement configuration.

[0140] In yet another aspect, the method includes heat welding a seal arrangement configuration (including the seal and seal carrier) to the filter media pack 10.

[0141] In a further aspect, the method includes heat welding a closed end cap 70 to the filter media pack 10.

[0142] Formation and / or bonding of the seal and seal carrier In some embodiments, the seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a - 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a - 1020e can be bonded to the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e by manufacturing the seal arrangement configuration using a multi - material injection molding manufacturing process.

[0143] In some embodiments, the seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a - 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a - 1020e and the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e can be formed simultaneously by a multi - material injection molding manufacturing process. In some embodiments, such formation can be prior to bonding the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e to the filter media packs 10, 110.

[0144] In some embodiments, some of the seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a - 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a - 1020e and the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e can be formed simultaneously by a multi - material injection molding manufacturing process. In some embodiments, such formation can be after the joining of different portions of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e to the filter packs 10, 110.

[0145] Alternatively, in some embodiments, the seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a - 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a - 1020e and the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e can each be formed by an injection molding manufacturing process, but the seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a - 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a - 1020e can be formed, for example, by overmolding using an injection molding manufacturing process, after the joining of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e to the filter packs 10, 110.

[0146] Multi - material injection molding is a process for molding two or more different materials into a single, unitary structural part. Multi - material injection molding can include, for example, co - injection molding; multi - shot injection molding, and multi - component injection molding, also known as overmolding. In a multi - material injection molding process, at least a first material and a second material are used. Here, seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a - 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a - 1020e include at least the first material, and seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e include at least the second material. In some embodiments, the multi - material injection molding manufacturing process may include molding only two materials, but in other embodiments, three or more materials may also be used.

[0147] A variety of different variations of using a multi - material injection molding manufacturing process to form a molded, single - structure seal arrangement configuration can be envisioned. For example, when the multi - material injection molding manufacturing process includes two materials, the two different materials can be injected into a single mold to form a molded, single - structure seal arrangement configuration. In this way, the molded, single - structure seal arrangement configuration is obtained with two different material regions. The two different materials can be injected into the single mold either simultaneously (generally also called multi - component injection molding or co - injection molding) or sequentially (generally called multi - shot injection molding). In an exemplary embodiment, two different types of polymers can be used as the two components, where one polymer forms seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a - 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a - 1020e, and the other polymer forms seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e or portions thereof. Additional examples of the various materials and combinations of materials that can be used for the seals and seal carriers are further described herein.

[0148] In addition to or instead of, the overmold may be used to form a molded single - structure seal arrangement configuration, where one material is overlaid on another material. When the overmold is used to form seal 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a - 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a - 1020e or a portion thereof or seal carrier 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e or a portion thereof, the overmold is implemented using an injection - molding manufacturing process. The overmold may also be implemented using polyurethane or a thixotropic seal, but such embodiments are not overmolds implemented using an injection - molding manufacturing process.

[0149] In some embodiments, the seal arrangement configuration may include a third element that includes a third material different from the first and second materials. The third element may be included in the seal arrangement configuration in addition to the seal and the seal carrier, or the third element may form only a portion of the seal carrier (e.g., the portion of the seal carrier not thermally welded to the filter packs 10, 110). In such embodiments, a three - component injection - molding manufacturing process may be used to form the seal arrangement configuration. Alternatively, a two - component injection - molding manufacturing process may be used to form a portion of the seal arrangement configuration, and an overmold may be used to form the remaining portion of the seal arrangement configuration.

[0150] By using multi-material injection molding, without using a curable adhesive, the formation and / or bonding of seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a - 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a - 1020e and seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e is enabled. The use of a curable adhesive requires a curing time, thereby lengthening the manufacturing time. Therefore, by using multi-material injection molding, the filter element 10 can be produced more quickly. Further, the use of multi-material injection molding instead of a curable adhesive such as polyurethane provides a more stable and dimensionally stable seal, with less risk of leakage during use, and increases the possibilities of form and geometry with respect to the location and orientation of the seal.

[0151] The filter packs 10, 110 may be damaged and their efficiency may decrease when exposed to the high temperatures required for multi-material injection molding. Therefore, in some embodiments, the seal may preferably be coupled to the seal carrier and / or the seal arrangement configuration may be formed by multi-material injection molding prior to the thermal welding of the seal arrangement configuration to the filter packs 10, 110.

[0152] Thermal welding manufacturing process The thermal welding manufacturing process uses thermal welding to join the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e and the filter packs 10, 110. In some embodiments, as described above, the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e may preferably already be part of the seal arrangement configuration during the thermal welding manufacturing process. Thermal welding is also called plastic welding, heat melting, crimping, or direct bonding. In some embodiments, when the method of making the filter element 100 includes two thermal welding manufacturing processes, the thermal welding manufacturing process may be the first thermal welding manufacturing process.

[0153] The hot welding manufacturing process includes at least three steps as further described below.

[0154] The first step includes providing filter media packs 10, 110 having an outer peripheral surface 6 extending in the longitudinal direction Z and a surface 7 around a first axis intersecting the longitudinal direction Z. As described above, the filter media packs 10, 110 may include pleated filter media, or corrugated filter media, or any other filter media suitable for filtering fluids.

[0155] The second step includes providing a seal carrier. The seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e may be provided in relation to a seal arrangement configuration including seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a - 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a - 1020e, where the seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a - 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a - 1020e are present on the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e. In some embodiments, as further described herein, the seal arrangement configuration is a formed single - structure seal arrangement configuration formed by a multi - material injection molding manufacturing process. The seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e include side surfaces 442a - 442f, 1042a - 1042e around the first axis.

[0156] The third step includes performing a hot welding manufacturing process to join the side surfaces 442a - 442f, 1042a - 1042e around the first axis of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e to at least the peripheral portion of the surface 7 around the first axis of the filter media packs 10, 110.

[0157] Any suitable thermal welding manufacturing process may be used. Exemplary thermal welding processes include contact heating; hot air welding; hot gas welding; induction heating (i.e., heating by high-frequency electromagnetic waves); laser welding; mirror welding; vibration welding; spin welding; infrared welding; and friction welding, such as ultrasonic welding and the like. In some embodiments, combinations of different thermal welding processes may be used. In the exemplary embodiments described in the examples, a hot plate is used to heat the seal carrier.

[0158] In some embodiments, the thermal welding manufacturing process utilizes a heat source or a thermal welding process to locally heat only the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e. More specifically, the thermal welding manufacturing process preferably heats only the side surfaces 442a - 442f, 1042a - 1042e around the first axis of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e or a portion of the side surfaces 442a - 442f, 1042a - 1042e around the first axis, so that other elements or other side surfaces of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e are not deformed or do not start to melt. The seals 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a - 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, 1020a - 1020e, if present, are particularly preferably not deformed while the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e are being heated.

[0159] In some embodiments, the side surfaces 442a-442f, 1042a-1042e around the first axis can be heated until the thickness of a given layer of the side surface around the first axis, a portion of the side surface around the first axis, or the specific volume of the side surface around the first axis is deformable. In some embodiments, a thickness of at least 0.5 mm of the side surface around the first axis, at least 1 mm of the side surface around the first axis, at least 1.5 mm of the side surface around the first axis, or at least 2 mm of the side surface around the first axis is deformable. In some embodiments, a thickness up to 2 mm of the side surface around the first axis, a thickness up to 3 mm of the side surface around the first axis, a thickness up to 4 mm of the side surface around the first axis, or at least 5 mm of the side surface around the first axis is deformable. In this way, when at least the peripheral portion of the first-axis-facing surface 7 of the filter packs 10, 110 is press-fitted into the side surfaces 442a-442f, 1042a-1042e around the first axis, at least the peripheral portion of the first-axis-facing surface 7 of the filter packs 10, 110 enters the side surfaces 442a-442f, 1042a-1042e around the first axis of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a-440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a-1040e by at least 0.5 mm, at least 1 mm, at least 1.5 mm, or at least 2 mm.

[0160] In some embodiments, performing a thermo-welding manufacturing process may include sub-steps: First, heating at least a portion of the side surfaces 442a - 442f, 1042a - 1042e around the first axis of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e until at least a portion of the side surfaces 442a - 442f, 1042a - 1042e around the first axis of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e become deformable. Second, combining the filter media packs 10, 110 and the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e such that at least the peripheral portion of the surface 7 around the first axis of the filter media packs 10, 110 is press-fitted into the side surfaces 442a - 442f, 1042a - 1042e around the first axis of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e. And third, enabling the side surfaces 442a - 442f, 1042a - 1042e around the first axis of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e to be cooled such that the side surfaces 442a - 442f, 1042a - 1042e around the first axis of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e are firmly joined to at least the peripheral portion of the surface 7 around the first axis of the filter media pack.

[0161] The processing temperature required for heat welding depends on the specific material selected for the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e or the portion of the seal carrier attached to the filter packs 10, 110. The "processing temperature" is the temperature at which portions of the side surfaces 442a - 442f, 1042a - 1042e around the first axis of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e, which are intended to be attached to the filter packs 10, 110, become deformable. When the seal carrier is formed of the same material or combination of materials throughout its volume, the "processing temperature" is the temperature at which the side surfaces 442a - 442f, 1042a - 1042e around the first axis of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e become deformable. The processing temperature is measured by measuring the temperature of a portion of the surface of the side surfaces 442a - 442f, 1042a - 1042e around the first axis of the heated seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e.

[0162] The processing temperature preferably exceeds the transition temperature of the material forming the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e or forming the portions of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e intended to be attached to the filter packs 10, 110.

[0163] As further described herein, when the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e or portions thereof contain a polymer fraction as a single phase in an amorphous state (e.g., including polystyrene (PS) or polycarbonate (PC)), the "transition temperature" of the material is the midpoint temperature (T mg ) determined using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) in accordance with ASTM D3418 - 99 ("Standard Test Method for Transition Temperatures of Polymers by Differential Scanning Calorimetry"). The midpoint temperature (T mg ) is used as the indication of the glass transition temperature (T g ) because T g is actually a temperature range. Any suitable instrument may be used to perform the DSC; however, in an exemplary embodiment, a DSC3+ (Mettler - Toledo AG, Schwerzenbach, Switzerland) equipped with an FRS 6+ sensor may be used.

[0164] When the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e or a portion thereof comprise a semi-crystalline polymer material or any other material exhibiting two or more polymeric phases (e.g., including polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene (PE)), the "transition temperature" of the material is the final temperature at which G' (the elastic modulus measured in shear) and G" (the loss elastic modulus measured in shear) intersect when plotted against temperature from 0 °C to the temperature at which the polymer is in a molten state. The rise in tan δ can be used to characterize the system under transition towards the melt flow zone. G', G", and tan δ are defined by ASTM D4092-01 ("Standard Terminology for Plastics: Dynamic Mechanical Properties"). In this document, G' and G" are determined using temperature sweep dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) in accordance with ASTM D4440-15 ("Standard Test Method for Plastics: Dynamic Mechanical Properties Melt Rheology") using a mechanical spectrometer to measure forced constant amplitude fixed frequency shear vibrations. Any suitable dynamic mechanical analyzer may be used; however, in an exemplary embodiment, a Q800 (TA Instruments, New Castle, DE) may be used.

[0165] A preferred processing temperature can be selected by one of ordinary skill in the art with reference to the transition temperature of the seal, the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e, or the transition temperature of the material forming the portion of the seal carrier attached to the filter packs 10, 110, the heat welding method being used, and the form of the seal arrangement configuration. In some embodiments, the processing temperature can be at least 5°C, at least 10°C, at least 15°C, at least 20°C, at least 25°C, at least 30°C, at least 35°C, at least 40°C, at least 45°C, or at least 50°C higher than the transition temperature of the second material. In some embodiments, the processing temperature can be up to 50°C, up to 75°C, up to 100°C, up to 125°C, up to 150°C, up to 175°C, or up to 200°C higher than the transition temperature of the second material.

[0166] In some embodiments, the processing temperature can be at least 100°C, at least 125°C, at least 150°C, at least 175°C, or at least 200°C. In some embodiments, the processing temperature can be up to 200°C, up to 225°C, up to 250°C, up to 300°C, up to 325°C, or up to 350°C. In an exemplary embodiment, the processing temperature can be in the range of 100°C to 300°C. In another exemplary embodiment, the processing temperature can be in the range of 150°C to 300°C. In yet another exemplary embodiment, the processing temperature can be in the range of 200°C to 300°C.

[0167] In some embodiments, while the joint is preventing leakage while the fluid filtered by the filter element 100 is being separated from the unfiltered fluid, the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e are firmly joined to at least the peripheral portion of the surface 7 around the first axis of the filter pack.

[0168] In some embodiments, including when the filter media packs 10, 110 are pleated filter media packs 10, the filter media packs 10 can be firmly joined when the filter media is embedded in the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f by at least 0.5 mm, at least 1 mm, at least 1.5 mm, or at least 2 mm, and / or when the material of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f penetrates at least 0.5 mm, at least 1 mm, at least 1.5 mm, or at least 2 mm into the pleats of the filter media packs 10. That is, the end portions of the pleats are closed by incorporating the material of the side surfaces 442a - 442f, 1042a - 1042e around the first axis of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e that penetrate into the filter media.

[0169] In some embodiments, including when the filter media packs 10, 110 are the pleated filter media packs 110 in a coiled shape, at least one layer of the pleats is fully embedded in the seal carriers 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e, and / or when the material of the seal carriers 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e penetrates into at least one layer of the pleats, the filter media pack 110 can be firmly joined. Without being bound by theory, embedding at least one layer of the pleats in the seal carriers 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e is considered sufficient to prevent leakage during the separation of the fluid filtered by the filter element 100 from the unfiltered fluid. However, in some embodiments, to increase the bonding strength between the filter media pack 110 and the seal carriers 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e, it may be desirable to embed additional layers of the pleats in the seal carriers 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e, or embed partial layers of the pleats in the seal carriers 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e, or both. In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the bonding strength between the filter media pack 110 and the seal carrier 640 can be increased by including ribs 45 press - fitted into the surface 7 around the first axis of the filter media pack 110. Additional embodiments can also be envisioned where the ribs 45 do not extend across the width of the surface 7 around the first axis of the filter media pack 110. For example, a plurality of ribs 45, whether extending or not extending across the width of the surface 7 around the first axis, can be arranged around the perimeter of the surface 7 around the first axis. When the ribs 45 do not extend across the width of the surface around the first axis, the ribs can form a pattern similar to the markings on an analog clock face.

[0170] When the filter element 100 includes one or more ribs 45, heating the side surfaces 442a - 442f, 1042a - 1042e of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040 about the first axis may further include heating one or more ribs 45 until they become deformable. Further, during the second step of aligning the peripheral edge of the surface 7 of the filter packs 10, 110 about the first axis with the side surfaces 442a - 442f, 1042a - 1042e of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040 about the first axis, the ribs 45 may be press - fitted simultaneously onto the surface 7 about the first axis.

[0171] In some embodiments, the thermo-welding manufacturing process may further include heating at least a portion of the filter packs 10, 110 prior to combining the filter packs 10, 110 with the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e. Without wishing to be bound by theory, heating at least a portion of the filter packs 10, 110 prior to combining the filter packs 10, 110 with the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e may improve bonding and make the joint between the two materials stronger because it does not dramatically or rapidly reduce the temperature - and thus the deformability - of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e upon contact with the filter packs 10, 110. In an exemplary embodiment, the filter packs 10, 110 may be heated to the same temperature as the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e prior to combining the filter packs 10, 110 with the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e. Whether at least a portion of the filter packs 10, 110 needs to be heated and to what extent it needs to be heated may be determined by one of ordinary skill in the art, at least in part, based on the composition of the filter packs 10, 110. For example, some media containing filter materials that include synthetic components may deform when heated, for example, prior to being contacted with the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e or when heated above a certain temperature.

[0172] In practice, when the filter media packs 10, 110 and the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040 are combined such that at least the peripheral portion of the surface 7 around the first axis of the filter media packs 10, 110 is press - fitted into the side surfaces 442a - 442f, 1042a - 1042e around the first axis of the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040, relative movement occurs between the filter media packs 10, 110 and the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040. To effect this relative movement, various options exist. For example, the filter media packs 10, 110 can be kept in a stationary position while the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040 are moved. The seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040 can preferably be moved in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis Z of the filter media packs 10, 110. In an alternative embodiment, the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040 can be kept in a stationary position and the filter media packs 10, 110 can be moved. Further, it can be envisioned that both the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040 and the filter media packs 10, 110 can be moved. The component kept in the stationary position can be held in the stationary position by any suitable means including, for example, vacuum, clamps, etc.

[0173] Although not wanting to be bound by theory, using a thermal welding manufacturing process to join the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e and the filter media pack 10 is thought to provide several advantages over, for example, the use of adhesive materials such as glue, hot melt, Sikaflex® (Sika, AG), and / or polyurethane (PU). First, using a thermoplastic resin for the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e can provide better temperature resistance than adhesive materials such as PU. Second, using a thermal welding manufacturing process can improve the manufacturing speed because no curing time is required. Finally, using a thermoplastic resin for the seal carriers can enhance the ability to recycle the filter element; for example, by reheating, the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e can be removed from the filter media pack 10 and the components can be recycled separately.

[0174] Second thermal welding manufacturing process When the filter element 100 includes the support frame 60, the joining of the support frame 60 to the surface 8 about the second axis can be obtained by a second thermal welding manufacturing process.

[0175] The second thermal welding manufacturing process is a process similar to the first thermal welding manufacturing process, but instead for the support frame 60 for the seal carriers 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e.

[0176] The second thermal welding manufacturing process includes heating the support frame 60 or a portion thereof until it reaches a temperature at which the support frame 60 or a portion thereof becomes deformable; aligning the filter packs 10, 110 with the support frame 60 such that the surface 8 around the second axis of the filter packs 10, 110 is press-fitted onto the support frame 60 or a portion thereof; and allowing the support frame 60 or a portion thereof to be cooled such that the support frame 60 is firmly joined to the surface 8 around the second axis of the filter packs 10, 110.

[0177] The present invention is illustrated by the following examples. It is understood that the specific examples, materials, amounts, and procedures are to be broadly construed in accordance with the scope and spirit of the present invention as described herein.

[0178] Exemplary Configuration Aspects Aspect 1. A filter element comprising: a filter pack including an outer peripheral surface extending in a longitudinal direction and a surface around a first axis intersecting the longitudinal direction; and a sealed and single-structured seal arrangement including a seal and a seal carrier, the seal including a first material, the seal carrier including a second material, and the second material being different from the first material, the sealed and single-structured seal arrangement including, the seal carrier including a side surface around the first axis, and the side surface around the first axis of the seal carrier being thermally welded to at least a peripheral portion of the surface around the first axis of the filter pack, the filter element.

[0179] Aspect 2. The filter element according to aspect 1, configured to be disposed within a housing of a filter system.

[0180] Aspect 3. The filter element according to aspect 2, wherein the sealed and single-structured seal arrangement is configured to separate unfiltered fluid from filtered fluid when the filter element is operably disposed within the housing.

[0181] Aspect 4. The filter element according to any one of the above aspects, wherein the transition temperature of the first material exceeds the transition temperature of the second material.

[0182] Aspect 5. The first material includes rubber, thermoplastic elastomer, thermosetting elastomer, thermoplastic vulcanizate, or a mixture or combination thereof; and / or The second material includes a thermoplastic resin, the filter element according to any one of the above aspects.

[0183] Aspect 6. The first material includes a thermoplastic elastomer, and the thermoplastic elastomer includes a polyamide thermoplastic elastomer, a copolyester thermoplastic elastomer, an olefinic thermoplastic elastomer, a styrenic thermoplastic elastomer, a urethane thermoplastic elastomer, or a dynamically vulcanized thermoplastic elastomer, or a mixture or combination thereof, the filter element according to any one of the above aspects.

[0184] Aspect 7. The Shore A value of the seal is at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, or at least 60; and / or The Shore A value of the seal is up to 40, up to 45, up to 50, up to 55, up to 60, up to 65, up to 70, up to 75, up to 80, up to 85, or up to 90, the filter element according to any one of the above aspects.

[0185] Aspect 8. The Shore A value of the seal is in the range of 30 to 90, in the range of 40 to 70, or in the range of 50 to 70, the filter element according to any one of the above aspects.

[0186] Aspect 9. The Shore A value of the seal carrier is at least 50, at least 60, at least 70, at least 80, or at least 90; and / or The Shore A value of the seal carrier is up to 80, up to 90, up to 95, or up to 100, the filter element according to any one of the above aspects.

[0187] Aspect 10. The Shore A value of the seal carrier is within the range of 60 to 100, within the range of 70 to 100, or within the range of 80 to 100, and the filter element according to any one of the above aspects.

[0188] Aspect 11. The second material includes a thermoplastic resin, and the thermoplastic resin includes acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), polypropylene (PP), polyamide (PA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polylactic acid (PLA), polyethylene (PE), polycarbonate (PC), polystyrene (PS), or polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or a mixture and combination thereof, and the filter element according to any one of the above aspects.

[0189] Aspect 12. The Shore A value of the seal carrier is at least 50, at least 60, at least 70, at least 80, or at least 90; and / or The Shore A value of the seal carrier is up to 80, up to 90, up to 95, or up to 100, and the filter element according to any one of the above aspects.

[0190] Aspect 13. The Shore A value of the seal carrier is within the range of 60 to 100, within the range of 70 to 100, or within the range of 80 to 100, and the filter element according to any one of the above aspects.

[0191] Aspect 14. The Shore D value of the seal carrier is at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, or at least 30; and / or The Shore D value of the seal carrier is up to 80, up to 90, up to 95, or up to 100, and the filter element according to any one of the above aspects.

[0192] Aspect 15. The Shore D value of the seal carrier is within the range of 15 to 100, or within the range of 30 to 100, and the filter element according to any one of the above aspects.

[0193] Aspect 16. The seal carrier includes a radially circumferential side surface that extends in the longitudinal direction and at least partially surrounds the outer peripheral surface of the filter media pack, and the seal surrounds the radially circumferential side surface to form an outward radial seal, the filter element according to any one of Aspects 1 to 15.

[0194] Aspect 17. The seal carrier includes a tubular extension that extends in the longitudinal direction so as to form a fluid inlet channel or a fluid outlet channel for the filter media pack, and the seal surrounds the outer peripheral surface of the tubular extension so as to form an outward radial seal, or the seal is located around the inner peripheral surface of the tubular extension so as to form an inward radial seal, the filter element according to any one of Aspects 1 to 15.

[0195] Aspect 18. The seal carrier includes a central opening configured to allow filtered fluid to flow out or receive unfiltered fluid, and the seal is coupled to the inner peripheral surface of the central opening so as to form an inward radial seal, the filter element according to any one of Aspects 1 to 15.

[0196] Aspect 19. The seal carrier includes a side surface around a second axis facing a side surface around a first axis, and the seal is coupled to the side surface around the second axis so as to form an axial seal, the filter element according to any one of Aspects 1 to 15.

[0197] Aspect 20. The filter media pack includes a pleated filter media or a filter media with pleats, the filter element according to any one of the above aspects.

[0198] Aspect 21. The filter media pack includes a surface around a second axis facing a surface around a first axis, and the filter element further includes a closed end cap coupled to the surface around the second axis of the filter media pack, the filter element according to any one of the above aspects.

[0199] Aspect 22. The filter element according to aspect 21, wherein the closed-end cap is heat-welded to the surface around the second axis of the filter media pack.

[0200] Aspect 23. The filter element according to any one of aspects 16 to 22, wherein the filter media pack includes a pleated filter media, and the pleated filter media is embedded in the seal carrier by at least 0.5 mm, at least 1 mm, at least 1.5 mm, or at least 2 mm.

[0201] Aspect 24. The filter element according to aspect 20, wherein the filter media pack includes a corrugated filter media including a coiled layer of the corrugated filter material.

[0202] Aspect 25. Each of the coiled layers of the corrugated filter material includes an inlet fold and an outlet fold oriented essentially parallel to the longitudinal direction, and the fold inlet of the inlet fold or the fold outlet of the outlet fold of at least one outer layer of the coiled layer is blocked by the side surface around the first axis of the seal carrier. The filter element according to aspect 24.

[0203] Aspect 26. The filter media pack includes a corrugated filter media including a coiled layer of the corrugated filter material, the number of continuous corrugated filter material layers blocked by the side surface around the first axis of the seal carrier is less than 10 layers, less than 8 layers, or less than 6 layers; and / or the number of continuous corrugated filter material layers blocked by the side surface around the first axis of the seal carrier is at least 1 layer or at least 2 layers. The filter element according to aspect 20, 24, or 25.

[0204] Aspect 27. The filter element according to aspect 20 or any one of aspects 24 to 26, further including a support frame coupled to the surface around the second axis of the filter media pack, and the surface around the second axis faces the surface around the first axis.

[0205] Aspect 28. The filter pack includes a pleated filter medium including a pleated filter medium layer in a coiled shape, and the support frame is configured to prevent the pleated filter medium layer in the coiled shape from moving in the longitudinal direction, the filter element according to Aspect 27.

[0206] Aspect 29. The seal carrier includes one or more ribs disposed in a plane essentially parallel to the plane around the first axis, and the one or more ribs are coupled to the plane around the first axis of the filter pack, the filter element according to any one of Aspect 20 or Aspects 24 to 28.

[0207] Aspect 30. The filter pack includes a pleated filter medium including a pleated filter medium layer in a coiled shape, and the one or more ribs are configured to prevent the pleated filter medium layer in the coiled shape from moving in the longitudinal direction, the filter element according to Aspect 29.

[0208] Aspect 31. The formed single - structure seal arrangement configuration is formed by a multi - material injection molding manufacturing process, the filter element according to any one of the above - mentioned aspects.

[0209] Aspect 32. The formed single - structure seal arrangement configuration includes a feed point, an ejector point, or a seam, the filter element according to any one of the above - mentioned aspects.

[0210] Aspect 33. The shape of the outer peripheral surface is circular, oval, elliptical, rounded square, oblong, or rectangular, the filter element according to any one of the above - mentioned aspects.

[0211] Aspects of products characterized by exemplary processes Aspect 1. A filter element for placement within a housing of a filter system, comprising: A filter pack including an outer peripheral surface extending in a longitudinal direction and a surface around a first axis intersecting the longitudinal direction; and A sealed arrangement configuration of a single molded structure for separating filtered fluid from unfiltered fluid when the filter element is operably disposed within the housing comprising, and the sealed arrangement configuration of a single molded structure includes a seal and a seal carrier, the seal includes a first material, and the seal carrier includes a second material, and the second material is different from the first material; the seal is coupled to the seal carrier, and the coupling of the seal to the seal carrier is obtained by manufacturing the seal arrangement configuration from the first material and the second material by a multi-component injection molding manufacturing process; and the seal carrier includes a side surface around a first axis that is coupled to at least a peripheral portion of a surface around the first axis of the filter media pack by a thermal welding manufacturing process, a filter element.

[0212] Aspect 2. The filter element according to aspect 1, wherein the transition temperature of the first material exceeds the transition temperature of the second material.

[0213] Aspect 3. The first material includes rubber, thermoplastic elastomer, thermosetting elastomer, thermoplastic vulcanizate, or a mixture or combination thereof; and / or The second material includes a thermoplastic resin, the filter element according to any one of the above aspects.

[0214] Aspect 4. The filter element according to any one of the above aspects, wherein the filter media pack includes a pleated filter medium or a pleated filter medium.

[0215] Aspect 5. The seal carrier includes a radially peripheral side surface that extends in the longitudinal direction and at least partially surrounds the outer peripheral surface of the filter media pack, and the seal surrounds the radially peripheral side surface to form an outward radial seal, the filter element according to any one of aspects 1 to 4.

[0216] Aspect 6. The seal carrier includes a tubular extension extending in the longitudinal direction so as to form a fluid inlet channel or a fluid outlet channel for the filter media pack, and The seal either surrounds the outer peripheral surface of the tubular extension so as to form an outward radial seal, or The seal is located around the inner peripheral surface of the tubular extension so as to form an inward radial seal, the filter element according to any one of Aspects 1 to 4.

[0217] Aspect 7. The seal carrier includes a central opening configured to allow filtered fluid to flow out or to receive unfiltered fluid, and The seal is coupled to the inner peripheral surface of the central opening so as to form an inward radial seal, the filter element according to any one of Aspects 1 to 4.

[0218] Aspect 8. The seal carrier includes a side surface around a second axis facing a side surface around a first axis, and The seal is coupled to the side surface around the second axis so as to form an axial seal, the filter element according to any one of Aspects 1 to 4.

[0219] Aspect 9. The filter media pack includes a surface around a second axis facing a surface around a first axis, and The filter element further includes a closed-end cap coupled to the surface around the second axis of the filter media pack by a second heat welding manufacturing process, the filter element according to any one of the above aspects.

[0220] Aspect 10. The filter media pack includes a pleated filter media, and the pleated filter media is embedded in the seal carrier by at least 0.5 mm, at least 1 mm, at least 1.5 mm, or at least 2 mm, the filter element according to any one of Aspects 4 to 9.

[0221] Aspect 11. The filter media pack includes a pleated filter media including a coiled layer of pleated filter material, and The peripheral portion of the surface around the first axis of the filter media pack coupled to the side surface around the first axis of the seal carrier is the filter element according to any one of Aspects 1 to 6 corresponding to the peripheral edge of the surface around the first axis of the filter media pack.

[0222] Aspect 12. Each of the coiled layers of the pleated filter material includes an inlet pleat and an outlet pleat oriented essentially parallel to the longitudinal direction, and the pleat inlet of the inlet pleat or the pleat outlet of the outlet pleat of at least one outer layer of the coiled layer is blocked by the side surface around the first axis of the seal carrier, the filter element according to Aspect 11.

[0223] Aspect 13. For a given number of consecutive layers of the coiled layer of the pleated filter material, the side surface around the first axis of the seal carrier blocks the inlet of the inlet pleat or the outlet of the outlet pleat; and The number of consecutive pleated filter media layers blocked by the side surface around the first axis of the seal carrier is less than 10 layers, less than 8 layers, or less than 6 layers; and / or The number of consecutive pleated filter media layers blocked by the side surface around the first axis of the seal carrier is at least one layer or at least two layers, the filter element according to Aspect 11 or 12.

[0224] Aspect 14. The filter element further includes a support frame coupled to the surface around the second axis of the filter media pack, and the surface around the second axis faces the surface around the first axis, the filter element according to any one of Aspects 11 to 13.

[0225] Aspect 15. The support frame is configured to prevent the coiled layer from moving in the longitudinal direction, the filter element according to Aspect 14.

[0226] Aspect 16. The coupling of the support frame to the surface around the second axis of the filter media pack is obtained by a second heat welding manufacturing process, the filter element according to Aspect 14 or 15.

[0227] Aspect 17. The seal carrier includes one or more ribs disposed in a plane substantially parallel to the surface around the first axis, and the one or more ribs are coupled to the surface around the first axis of the filter media pack, the filter element according to any one of aspects 11 to 16.

[0228] Aspect 18. The one or more ribs are configured to prevent the coiled layer from moving in the longitudinal direction, the filter element according to aspect 17.

[0229] Aspect 19. The coupling of the one or more ribs to the surface around the first axis of the filter media pack is obtained as part of a heat welding manufacturing process, the filter element according to aspect 17 or 18.

[0230] Aspect 20. The heat welding manufacturing process is: heating the side surface around the first axis of the seal carrier until at least a portion of the side surface around the first axis becomes deformable; combining the filter media pack and the seal carrier such that at least the peripheral portion of the surface around the first axis of the filter media pack is press-fitted onto the side surface around the first axis of the seal carrier; and cooling the side surface around the first axis of the seal carrier such that the side surface around the first axis is firmly joined to at least the peripheral portion of the surface around the first axis of the filter media pack including, the filter element according to any one of the above aspects.

[0231] Aspect 21. The Shore A value of the seal is at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, or at least 60; and / or the Shore A value of the seal is up to 40, up to 45, up to 50, up to 55, up to 60, up to 65, up to 70, up to 75, up to 80, up to 85, or up to 90, the filter element according to any one of the above aspects.

[0232] Aspect 22. The Shore A value of the seal is within the range of 30 to 90, within the range of 40 to 70, or within the range of 50 to 70, for the filter element according to any one of the above aspects.

[0233] Aspect 23. The Shore A value of the seal carrier is at least 50, at least 60, at least 70, at least 80, or at least 90; and / or The Shore A value of the seal carrier is up to 80, up to 90, up to 95, or up to 100, for the filter element according to any one of the above aspects.

[0234] Aspect 24. The Shore A value of the seal carrier is within the range of 60 to 100, within the range of 70 to 100, or within the range of 80 to 100, for the filter element according to any one of the above aspects.

[0235] Aspect 25. The Shore D value of the seal carrier is at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, or at least 30; and / or The Shore D value of the seal carrier is up to 80, up to 90, up to 95, or up to 100, for the filter element according to any one of the above aspects.

[0236] Aspect 26. The Shore D value of the seal carrier is within the range of 15 to 100, or within the range of 30 to 100, for the filter element according to any one of the above aspects.

[0237] Aspect 27. The first material includes a thermoplastic elastomer, and the thermoplastic elastomer includes a polyamide thermoplastic elastomer, a copolyester thermoplastic elastomer, an olefinic thermoplastic elastomer, a styrenic thermoplastic elastomer, a urethane thermoplastic elastomer, or a dynamically vulcanized thermoplastic elastomer, or a mixture or combination thereof, for the filter element according to any one of the above aspects.

[0238] Aspect 28. The second material includes a thermoplastic resin, and the thermoplastic resin is acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polypropylene (PP), polyamide (PA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polylactic acid (PLA), polyethylene (PE), polycarbonate (PC), polystyrene (PS), or polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or a mixture and combination thereof, and the filter element according to any one of the above aspects.

[0239] Aspect 29. The shape of the outer peripheral surface is circular, oval, elliptical, rounded square, oblong, or rectangular, and the filter element according to any one of the above aspects.

[0240] Aspects of exemplary manufacturing methods Aspect 1. A method for manufacturing a filter element, comprising: providing a filter media pack having a circumferential surface extending in a longitudinal direction and a surface around a first axis intersecting the longitudinal direction; providing a seal carrier; and performing a heat welding manufacturing process to join a side surface around the first axis of the seal carrier to at least a peripheral portion of the surface around the first axis of the filter media pack. A method comprising the above.

[0241] Aspect 2. The heat welding manufacturing process is heating a side surface around the first axis of the seal carrier until at least a portion of the side surface around the first axis becomes deformable; combining the filter media pack and the seal carrier such that at least a peripheral portion of the surface around the first axis of the filter media pack is press-fitted onto the side surface around the first axis of the seal carrier; and enabling the side surface around the first axis of the seal carrier to be cooled so that the side surface around the first axis of the seal carrier is firmly joined to at least a peripheral portion of the surface around the first axis of the filter media pack. The method according to Aspect 1, comprising the above.

[0242] Aspect 3. The seal arrangement configuration includes a formed single - structure seal arrangement configuration including a seal carrier, and the method according to any one of the preceding aspects.

[0243] Aspect 4. The seal arrangement configuration includes a formed single - structure seal arrangement configuration including a seal and a seal carrier, and the method according to any one of the preceding aspects.

[0244] Aspect 5. The method according to aspect 3 or 4, further including bonding the seal to the seal carrier by a multi - component injection - molding manufacturing process.

[0245] Aspect 6. The method according to aspect 5, wherein the seal is bonded to the seal carrier before a heat - welding manufacturing process is performed.

[0246] Aspect 7. The method according to aspect 5, wherein the seal is bonded to the seal carrier after a heat - welding manufacturing process is performed.

[0247] Aspect 8. The seal arrangement configuration is suitable for separating filtered fluid from unfiltered fluid when a filter element is operably arranged within a housing, and the method according to any one of aspects 3 - 7.

[0248] Aspect 9. The processing temperature of the heat - welding process exceeds the transition temperature of a portion of the side surface around the first axis of the heated seal carrier, and the method according to any one of the preceding aspects.

[0249] Aspect 10. The filter media pack includes a pleated filter media pack, and the method includes embedding at least 0.5 mm, at least 1 mm, at least 1.5 mm, or at least 2 mm of the surface around the first axis of the filter media pack into the side surface around the first axis of the seal carrier, and the method according to any one of aspects 1 - 9.

[0250] Aspect 11. The filter media pack includes a corrugated filter media pack including coiled folds; and The method includes introducing a material of a side surface around a first axis of a seal carrier into at least one layer of the pleats; and / or The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 9, comprising introducing a material of a side surface around a first axis of a seal carrier into at least 6 layers, up to 8 layers, or up to 10 layers of the pleats.

[0251] Aspect 12. The method according to any one of the preceding aspects, further comprising embedding ribs in a side surface around a first axis of a seal carrier.

[0252] Aspect 13. Before combining the filter media pack and the seal carrier, heating a surface around a first axis of the filter media pack so that at least a peripheral portion of the surface around a first axis of the filter media pack is press-fitted into a side surface around a first axis of the seal carrier. The method according to any one of aspects 2 to 12.

[0253] Aspect 14. The method according to any one of the preceding aspects, including a second thermo-welding manufacturing process, the second thermo-welding manufacturing process further including coupling a support frame to a surface around a second axis of the filter media pack.

[0254] Aspect 15. A filter element obtained by the method according to any one of the preceding aspects.

Examples

[0255] Examples All reagents, starting materials, and solvents used in the following examples were purchased from commercial suppliers (e.g., Sigma Aldrich, St. Louis, MO) and used without further purification unless otherwise indicated.

[0256] Thermo-welding method Sealed or unsealed end caps (also referred to herein as seal carriers) are positioned within a fixture and held in place by vacuum. The filter media pack is positioned within another fixture.

[0257] The heat source (hot plate) is set at 350 °C and positioned between the end cap and the filter media pack (Figure 13A).

[0258] The end cap is pressed against the hot plate for 20 seconds (Figure 13B). Optionally, depending on the distance between the filter media pack and the hot plate, the hot plate also heats the filter media pack.

[0259] The end cap is lifted away from the hot plate and the hot plate is removed.

[0260] The end cap is moved towards the filter media pack at a set speed (1 mm / s and 3 mm / s were tested) and at a set distance (e.g., 1.5 mm), as indicated by the arrow in Figure 13C. Once the set distance is achieved, the end plate is held in place for 15 seconds (Figure 13D).

[0261] The resulting joined portion is removed from the fixture.

[0262] Example 1 This example describes the fusion of a filter media with cellulose pleats to a seal carrier.

[0263] Using the method as described above and shown in Figure 13, the pleated filter media pack was fused to a seal carrier made of Polystone® P Homopolymer (Roechling Engineering Plastics, Germany). The filter media pack was also heated by a hot plate to a temperature within the range of 100 °C to 200 °C (more preferably 100 °C to 150 °C). Exemplary results are shown in Figure 14. The filter media is embedded approximately 1 mm into the seal carrier.

[0264] Example 2 This example describes the fusion of a synthetic corrugated filter media to a seal carrier.

[0265] Using the method described above, the pleated filter pack was fused to a seal carrier made of Polystone® P Homopolymer (Roechling Engineering Plastics, Germany). The filter pack was not heated or very gently heated by a hot plate prior to fusing. Exemplary results are shown in FIG. 15. Approximately two layers of pleats are embedded in the seal carrier at the location indicated by the arrow in FIG. 15A.

Explanation of Signs

[0266] 6 Outer peripheral surface of the filter pack 7 Surface of the filter pack around the first axis 8 Surface of the filter pack around the second axis 10 Filter pack with pleats 110 Pleated filter pack 120, 220a, 220b, 320, 420a - 420f, 520, 620, 720, 820, 920, and 1020a - 1020e Seals 140, 240, 340, 440a - 440f, 540, 640, 740, 840, 940, 1040a - 1040e Seal carriers 41 Radial peripheral side surface of the seal carrier 442a - 442f, 1042a - 1042e Side surfaces of the seal carrier around the first axis 43 Tubular extension of the seal carrier 44 Side surface of the seal carrier around the second axis, second peripheral edge portion of the seal carrier 45 Rib of the seal carrier 60 Support frame 61 Edge of the support frame 62 Rib of the support frame 70 Closed end cap 100 Filter element

Claims

1. A filter media pack including an outer peripheral surface extending in a longitudinal direction and a surface around a first axis intersecting the longitudinal direction; and A formed single - structure seal arrangement including a seal and a seal carrier, wherein the seal includes a first material, and the seal carrier includes a second material, and the second material is different from the first material, the formed single - structure seal arrangement A filter element comprising The seal carrier includes a side surface around a first axis, and the side surface of the seal carrier around the first axis is thermally welded to at least a peripheral portion of the surface around the first axis of the filter media pack. The filter element.

2. A filter element configured to be disposed within a housing of a filter system, The formed single - structure seal arrangement separates filtered fluid from unfiltered fluid when the filter element is operably disposed within the housing; The seal is coupled to the seal carrier, and the coupling of the seal to the seal carrier is obtained by manufacturing the seal arrangement from the first material and the second material using a multi - component injection molding manufacturing process; and The side surface of the seal carrier around the first axis is thermally welded to at least a peripheral portion of the surface around the first axis of the filter media pack by a thermal welding manufacturing process. The filter element according to claim 1.

3. The filter element according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the transition temperature of the first material exceeds the transition temperature of the second material.

4. The first material includes rubber, thermoplastic elastomer, thermosetting elastomer, thermoplastic vulcanizate, or a mixture or combination thereof; and / or The filter element according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second material includes a thermoplastic resin.

5. The first material includes a thermoplastic elastomer, and the thermoplastic elastomer includes a polyamide thermoplastic elastomer, a copolyester thermoplastic elastomer, an olefin - based thermoplastic elastomer, a styrene - based thermoplastic elastomer, a urethane thermoplastic elastomer, or a dynamically vulcanized thermoplastic elastomer, or a mixture or combination thereof. The filter element according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The Shore A value of the seal is at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, at least 50, at least 55, or at least 60; and / or The Shore A value of the seal is up to 40, up to 45, up to 50, up to 55, up to 60, up to 65, up to 70, up to 75, up to 80, up to 85, or up to 90. The filter element according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The Shore A value of the seal carrier is at least 50, at least 60, at least 70, at least 80, or at least 90; and / or The Shore A value of the seal carrier is up to 80, up to 90, up to 95, or up to 100. The filter element according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The second material includes a thermoplastic resin, and the thermoplastic resin includes acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polypropylene (PP), polyamide (PA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polylactic acid (PLA), polyethylene (PE), polycarbonate (PC), polystyrene (PS), or polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or a mixture and combination thereof. The filter element according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. The Shore A value of the seal carrier is at least 50, at least 60, at least 70, at least 80, or at least 90; and / or The Shore A value of the seal carrier is up to 80, up to 90, up to 95, or up to 100. The filter element according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. The Shore D value of the seal carrier is at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, or at least 30; and / or The Shore D value of the seal carrier is up to 80, up to 90, up to 95, or up to 100. The filter element according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. The filter media pack includes a pleated filter media or a filter media with folds. The filter element according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. The seal carrier includes a radially circumferential side surface that extends in the longitudinal direction and at least partially surrounds the outer peripheral surface of the filter media pack, and The filter element according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the seal surrounds the radial circumferential side surface to form an outward radial seal.

13. The seal carrier includes a tubular extension extending in the longitudinal direction so as to form a fluid inlet channel or a fluid outlet channel for the filter medium pack, and the seal surrounds the outer peripheral surface of the tubular extension so as to form an outward radial seal, or the seal is located around the inner peripheral surface of the tubular extension so as to form an inward radial seal, the filter element according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

14. The seal carrier includes a central opening configured to allow filtered fluid to flow out or to receive unfiltered fluid, and the seal is coupled to the inner peripheral surface of the central opening so as to form an inward radial seal, the filter element according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

15. The seal carrier includes a side surface around a second axis facing a side surface around a first axis, and the seal is coupled to the side surface around the second axis so as to form an axial seal, the filter element according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

16. The filter medium pack includes a surface around a second axis facing a surface around the first axis, and the filter element further includes a closed end cap coupled to the surface around the second axis of the filter medium pack, the filter element according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

17. The closed end cap is heat welded to the surface around the second axis of the filter medium pack by a second heat welding manufacturing process, the filter element according to claim 16.

18. The filter medium pack includes a pleated filter medium, and the pleated filter medium is embedded in the seal carrier by at least 0.5 mm, at least 1 mm, at least 1.5 mm, or at least 2 mm, the filter element according to any one of claims 11 to 17.

19. The filter medium pack includes a pleated filter medium including a coiled layer of a pleated filter material, the filter element according to claim 11.

20. Each of the coiled layers of the pleated filter medium includes inlet pleats and outlet pleats that are oriented essentially parallel to the longitudinal direction, and the pleat inlet of the inlet pleats or the pleat outlet of the outlet pleats of at least one outer layer of the coiled layer is blocked by the side surface around the first axis of the seal carrier. The filter element according to claim 19.

21. The filter medium pack includes a pleated filter medium including a coiled pleated filter medium layer. The number of continuous pleated filter medium layers blocked by the side surface around the first axis of the seal carrier is less than 10 layers, less than 8 layers, or less than 6 layers; and / or The number of continuous pleated filter medium layers blocked by the side surface around the first axis of the seal carrier is at least one layer or at least two layers. The filter element according to claim 11, 19, or 20.

22. The filter element further includes a support frame coupled to a surface around a second axis of the filter medium pack, and the surface around the second axis faces the surface around the first axis. The filter element according to any one of claims 11 or 19 to 21.

23. The filter medium pack includes a pleated filter medium including a coiled pleated filter medium layer, and the support frame is configured to prevent the coiled pleated filter medium layer from moving in the longitudinal direction. The filter element according to claim 22.

24. The coupling of the support frame to the surface around the second axis of the filter medium pack is obtained by a second heat welding manufacturing process. The filter element according to claim 22 or 23.

25. The seal carrier includes one or more ribs disposed in a plane essentially parallel to the surface around the first axis, and the one or more ribs are coupled to the surface around the first axis of the filter medium pack. The filter element according to any one of claims 11 or 19 to 24.

26. The filter medium pack includes a pleated filter medium including a coiled pleated filter medium layer, and the one or more ribs are configured to prevent the coiled pleated filter medium layer from moving in the longitudinal direction. The filter element according to claim 25.

27. The connection of the one or more ribs with the surface around the first axis of the filter media pack is obtained by a hot welding manufacturing process that welds the side surface around the first axis of the seal carrier to at least the peripheral portion of the surface around the first axis of the filter media pack, the filter element according to claim 25 or 26.

28. The formed single-structure seal arrangement configuration is formed by a multi-material injection molding manufacturing process, the filter element according to any one of claims 1 to 27.

29. The shape of the outer peripheral surface is circular, oval, elliptical, rounded square, oblong, or rectangular, the filter element according to any one of claims 1 to 28.

30. The hot welding manufacturing process is heating the side surface around the first axis of the seal carrier until at least a part of the side surface around the first axis becomes deformable; combining the filter media pack and the seal carrier so that at least the peripheral portion of the surface around the first axis of the filter media pack is press-fitted into the side surface around the first axis of the seal carrier; and enabling the side surface around the first axis of the seal carrier to be cooled so that the side surface around the first axis is firmly joined to at least the peripheral portion of the surface around the first axis of the filter media pack The filter element according to any one of claims 2 to 29, comprising.

31. A method for manufacturing a filter element, comprising: providing a filter media pack having a circumferential surface extending in the longitudinal direction and a surface around a first axis intersecting the longitudinal direction; providing a seal carrier; and performing a hot welding manufacturing process to join the side surface around the first axis of the seal carrier to at least the peripheral portion of the surface around the first axis of the filter media pack Including, method.

32. The hot welding manufacturing process is heating the side surface around the first axis of the seal carrier until at least a part of the side surface around the first axis becomes deformable; combining the filter media pack and the seal carrier so that at least the peripheral portion of the surface around the first axis of the filter media pack is press-fitted into the side surface around the first axis of the seal carrier; and Making the side surface of the seal carrier around the first axis be coolable such that the side surface of the seal carrier around the first axis is firmly joined to at least the peripheral portion of the surface of the filter medium pack around the first axis The method according to claim 31, comprising this.

33. The method according to claim 31 or 32, wherein the seal arrangement configuration includes a formed single-structure seal arrangement configuration including a seal carrier.

34. The method according to any one of claims 31 to 33, wherein the seal arrangement configuration includes a formed single-structure seal arrangement configuration including a seal and a seal carrier.

35. The method according to claim 33 or 34, further comprising joining the seal to the seal carrier by a multi-component injection molding manufacturing process.

36. The method according to claim 35, wherein the seal is joined to the seal carrier before performing the hot welding manufacturing process.

37. The method according to claim 35, wherein the seal is joined to the seal carrier after performing the hot welding manufacturing process.

38. The method according to any one of claims 31 to 37, wherein the seal arrangement configuration is suitable for separating the filtered fluid from the unfiltered fluid when the filter element is operably arranged in the housing.

39. The method according to any one of claims 31 to 38, wherein the processing temperature of the hot welding process exceeds the transition temperature of the portion of the side surface of the heated seal carrier around the first axis.

40. The filter medium pack includes a pleated filter medium pack, and the method includes embedding at least 0.5 mm, at least 1 mm, at least 1.5 mm, or at least 2 mm of the surface of the filter medium pack around the first axis into the side surface of the seal carrier around the first axis. The method according to any one of claims 31 to 39.

41. The filter medium pack includes a corrugated filter medium pack including coiled folds; and The method includes causing the material of the side surface of the seal carrier around the first axis to enter at least one layer of the folds; and / or The method includes causing the material of the side surface of the seal carrier around the first axis to enter up to at least 6 layers, up to 8 layers, or up to 10 layers of the folds. The method according to any one of claims 31 to 39.

42. The method according to any one of claims 31 to 41, further comprising embedding ribs in a side surface of the seal carrier around the first axis.

43. The method according to any one of claims 31 to 42, further comprising heating a surface of the filter pack around the first axis before combining the filter pack and the seal carrier so that at least a peripheral portion of the surface of the filter pack around the first axis is press-fitted into a side surface of the seal carrier around the first axis.

44. The method according to any one of claims 31 to 43, including a second thermowelding manufacturing process, the second thermowelding manufacturing process further comprising coupling a support frame to a surface of the filter pack around a second axis.

45. A filter element obtained by the method according to any one of claims 31 to 44.

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