Air Filter Element Swivel-Lock Assembly for Simplified Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing air filter devices for motor vehicles face challenges in securely and easily mounting filter elements within closed housing sections, leading to potential leaks and difficult assembly processes due to projections that are hard to see and require complex maneuvers.
Innovation Solution
The air filter device and filter element design features projections on the side walls that can be elastically deformed to fit into corresponding links in the housing, allowing for simple assembly by swiveling and securing the element in place without the need for additional locking mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the filter element is mounted using inward-projecting projections on housing walls, then the filter element can be secured in the housing, but the assembly process becomes complex and leakage may occur due to misalignment
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of having fixed projections on the housing that the filter frame must fit over, the patent inverts the approach by providing guide elements on the filter frame that actively engage with and guide the filter element onto the housing projections. This reversal makes the filter element self-aligning during assembly, eliminating the need for complex manual alignment procedures while ensuring reliable sealing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces guide elements as intermediary components on the filter frame that mediate between the filter element and the housing projections. These guide elements facilitate the engagement process by providing a controlled interface that ensures proper alignment and positioning, preventing misalignment and leakage while simplifying the assembly operation.
2Reliability
If the housing cross-section is closed all round, then the filter element is securely enclosed, but the filter element cannot be easily inserted or removed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the enclosure structure by providing a removable cover that separates the closed housing into an accessible opening and the enclosed filter chamber. This segmentation allows the filter element to be easily inserted and removed through the opening while maintaining the enclosed, secure structure during operation, resolving the contradiction between secure enclosure and ease of access.
3Reliability
If additional locking mechanisms are added to secure the filter element, then the mounting becomes more reliable, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service mounting by designing the filter element with integrated guide elements that automatically engage with the housing structure during insertion. The filter element's own weight and the guide elements work together to secure the element in place without requiring additional locking mechanisms, buttons, or complex fastening systems, thus maintaining high mounting reliability while keeping the structure simple.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Ensures reliable, leak-proof mounting of the filter element with a straightforward assembly process, reducing the risk of misalignment and simplifying the installation and removal procedures.
Implementation Method 1
the side walls are elastically deformable, so that a distance of the two projections arranged on the same side wall from one another can be reduced, in order to bring the second projections during insertion past inwards-directed link guide flanks into the second end region assigned to them in each case
Data Source
AI summary
An air filter device for a motor vehicle includes a housing with a receiving space for a filter element where the filter element has a respective first projection that projects from each side wall near one of two transverse walls. The housing has two opposite housing side walls, both of which have at least one link each in which the first projection of the respective side wall of the filter element is insertable in a first link end region directed in a first direction. A respective second projection projects from the side walls near the other one of the two transverse walls and the housing side walls each have a second link end region directed opposite to the first direction into which the second projections are insertable such that the filter element is located in an operating position in the receiving space of the housing.