Filter device

Abstract

The present invention relates to a filter device comprising a filter element having an element material (10) received within a housing (74) and extending between two closures (12, 14), wherein one of the two closures (12, 14) has a spherical bearing (24) to which the filter element is pivotably mounted relative to the housing (74), and a cover portion (78) for opening and closing an opening within the housing (74) to allow access to the filter element, wherein the cover portion (78) engages with at least one control surface (20) on the other closure (14) of the filter element, such that as the cover portion (78) becomes increasingly fixed to the housing (74), the filter element is visually aligned by the spherical bearing (24) to a functional position where it is not a collision, starting from an installation position where the filter element would collide.

Claims

1. A filter device comprising a filter element having an element material (10) received within a housing (74) and extending between two closures (12, 14), wherein one of the two closures (12, 14) has a spherical bearing (24) to which the filter element is pivotably mounted relative to the housing (74), and has a cover portion (78) for opening and closing an opening within the housing (74) to allow access to the filter element, A filter device characterized in that, as the cover portion (78) becomes increasingly fixed to the housing (74), the cover portion (78) engages with at least one control surface (20) on the other closing portion (14) of the filter element, so that the filter element is visually aligned by the spherical bearing (24) to a functional position where it is not visually colliding, starting from an installation position where the filter element would collide.

2. The filter device according to claim 1, wherein the housing (74) comprises a housing case (76) having a threaded portion (98) at one of its free ends, the cover portion (78) having the associated threaded portion is screwable into the housing case (76), and the housing case (76) has the opening for accessing the filter element.

3. The filter device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that each of the control surfaces (20) of the other closing portion (14) of the filter element protrudes beyond the opening of the housing case (76) at each position within the housing (74).

4. The filter device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the cover portion (78) is provided with individual guide portions (104) on its inside, and the guide portions (104) come into contact with the respective control surfaces (20) of the other closing portion (14) of the filter element as the screwing depth increases.

5. The filter device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a fluid guide portion (80) is disposed at the other free end of the housing case (76), the fluid guide portion (80) having an inlet (84) for unfiltered media and an outlet (86) for filtered media, and the fluid guide portion (80) has a filter element holder (90) whose central axis (94) is inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis (22) of the housing case (76), such that the other closing portion (14) of the filter element remains in the opening of the housing case (76) in an installation position that causes its collision, without using the spherical bearing (24).

6. The filter device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, despite the presence of the inclined filter element holder (90), the filter element reaches a collision-free functional position using the cover portion (78) such that the longitudinal axis (22) of the filter element is concentrically positioned with respect to the longitudinal axis (96) of the housing case (76) along the central axis (94).

7. Each of the control surfaces (20) is part of a control body (32), the control body (32) protrudes axially into the environment above the opening of the housing case (76) by a predetermined projection across the element material (10), the control body (32) has a predetermined inclination, the inclination angle (x) is selected such that, in each case, the element material (10) is positioned by the spherical bearing (24) in a functional position free from collision when the control body (32) is operated in a self-locking manner, the filter device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The filter device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the control body (32) is an integral component of the end cap (15) and has an element holder (36) for receiving the element material (10) at its end face, and the control body (32) transitions to a cylindrical shoulder portion (42) in the direction adjacent to the upper side of the end cap (15) starting from each inclined control surface (20).

9. The filter device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the fluid passage (56) passes radially through the control body (32), and the fluid passage (56) is connected to the environment on one side and to the valve closing member (46) of the bypass valve (48) on the other opposite side.

10. The filter device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the fluid transport connection portion (18) of the one closing portion (12) has a threaded portion (16) and a contact surface (108) extending in a direction transverse to the threaded portion (16), and the further end cap (13) of the element material (10) has a further contact surface (109) that is pivoted by the spherical bearing (24) and partially supported by the one contact surface (108) in the functional position.

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