Pleated Air Filter Element With Tab Seal for Secure Housing Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing filter elements, especially large ones, face challenges in achieving cost-effective and secure mounting to a filter housing while maintaining a reliable seal due to their weight and the weight of trapped dust, requiring a rigid and stable connection.
Innovation Solution
A filter element design featuring a pleated filter medium with a first side band made of fibrous material, including a sealing section with a projecting tab and a circumferential seal, utilizing fiber-reinforced materials like cellulose or plastics for high flexural stiffness and low production costs, and additional tabs and seals to enhance stability and sealing effectiveness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a plastic frame is injection-molded onto the pleated pack, then the filter element achieves secure mounting to the filter housing, but the production cost increases and the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the mounting function from the pleated pack itself and transfers it to a separate frame element. The frame element is designed with specific geometric features (mounting ribs, mounting surfaces) that interface with the filter housing, while the pleated pack serves only its filtration function. This separation allows the mounting mechanism to be optimized independently.
Solution Approach 2:
The frame element acts as an intermediary component between the pleated pack and the filter housing. It provides a rigid structural interface that connects the flexible pleated pack to the rigid filter housing, enabling secure mounting without requiring direct attachment of the pack to the housing.
2Reliability
If a plastic foam seal is foamed onto the plastic frame, then a reliable seal is achieved, but the production cost increases and the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing function is merged with the frame element by forming a sealing profile directly as an integral part of the frame during injection molding. This eliminates the need for separate sealing components and the complex foam application process, while maintaining reliable sealing through the geometric design of the sealing profile.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the chemical foaming process with a mechanical injection molding process. Instead of using expandable foam that requires chemical curing, a rigid sealing profile is formed through injection molding, providing equivalent or superior sealing reliability with simpler manufacturing.
3Productivity
If the filter element is made larger to increase filtration capacity, then the filtration performance improves, but the weight increases requiring more rigid mounting
Solution Approach 1:
The filter element is segmented into distinct functional components: the pleated pack (filtration function) and the frame element (structural support function). This segmentation allows the frame to be optimized for mechanical strength to support larger, heavier filter elements, while the pleated pack can be designed for maximum filtration capacity without weight constraints.
Solution Approach 2:
The frame element is constructed from composite materials or multi-layer structures that provide high strength-to-weight ratio. This allows the frame to support larger filter elements with greater filtration capacity while minimizing the overall weight increase that would require even more rigid mounting.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a filter element (12a, 12b, 12c) which has the following features: a) a filter body (26) having a folded filter medium (36); b) a first side strip (38a) composed of a fibrous material, having a sealing section (40a) which seals the filter body (26) on a front face extending transversely with respect to folding edges (44a, 44b) of the filter medium (36), and having a first tab (54a) which protrudes from the sealing section (40a) and preferably extends in the direction of the folding edges (44a, 44b); c) a peripheral seal (24) which engages around the first tab (54a). The invention furthermore relates to an air filter having such a filter element (12a, 12b, 12c) and having a filter housing which has a filter pot and a filter cover, wherein the seal (24) is held clamped between the filter pot and the filter cover.