Air Filter Housing Closing Arrangement for Dust Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional air filter replacement in vehicles exposes the internal combustion engine to unclean air and particles, leading to potential engine damage and increased pressure drop due to dust accumulation in safety filters.
Innovation Solution
An air filter housing with a controllable closing arrangement, such as an iris shutter or curtain shutter, that automatically closes the outlet during filter replacement to prevent dust entry and reopens when a new filter is correctly installed, using an actuator and control unit to manage the closure based on filter presence and correct installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a safety filter is arranged downstream of the filter element to protect the air inlet of the ICE during filter replacement, then the risk of dust entering the engine is reduced, but the pressure drop across the air cleaning arrangement increases and increases over time as dust accumulates
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful safety filter is extracted from the permanent air cleaning path and replaced by a temporary closing arrangement that is only activated when needed during filter replacement operations, eliminating continuous pressure drop while maintaining protection when required
Solution Approach 2:
The closing arrangement is made dynamically controllable between open and closed states based on operational needs, allowing the system to adapt between normal operation (open, no pressure drop) and filter replacement (closed, protection active), rather than using a fixed safety filter configuration
2Productivity
If the filter housing outlet is kept open during normal operation, then efficient air flow to the engine is maintained, but dust and unclean air can enter the engine when the air filter is removed for replacement
Solution Approach 1:
The filter housing outlet closure is made dynamic and controllable, remaining open during normal operation to maintain air flow efficiency and closing only during filter replacement operations to prevent dust entry, allowing the system to optimize for different operational states
Solution Approach 2:
The closing arrangement is activated in advance before filter removal to prevent dust entry, and deactivated after filter replacement to restore normal air flow, ensuring protection is applied proactively at the right moments without continuously restricting air flow
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to an air filter housing for use in an air cleaning arrangement for cleaning air to be provided to an air inlet of an internal combustion engine. The air filter housing comprises: a filter housing inlet for receiving air; and a filter housing outlet for providing filtered air to the air inlet of the internal combustion engine when an air filter is arranged inside the air filter housing between the filter housing inlet and the filter housing outlet. The air filter housing further comprises a closing arrangement controllable to be in each of a first state in which the filter housing outlet is closed by the closing arrangement, and a second state in which the filter housing outlet is open. The closing arrangement may comprise an iris shutter.