Emergency Sealing Collar for Axial Flow Air Filter
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Solution Overview
Problem
Compact air filters are vulnerable to dirt infiltration when the housing is damaged, allowing untreated air to reach the clean air side and potentially damaging downstream consumers like internal combustion engines.
Innovation Solution
An additional emergency sealing collar surrounds the air filter element, positioned axially from the main sealing ring, which fills the gap between the filter and housing, providing a secondary seal and reducing mechanical stress on the filter element, and can be designed with porosity matching or finer than the filter medium to ensure thorough separation of particles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If only a main sealing ring is used to seal the air filter element, then the structure is simple and cost-effective, but the housing is vulnerable to dirt infiltration when damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing structure is divided into two separate sealing rings: a main sealing ring and an emergency sealing ring. Each ring performs a specific sealing function at different locations, providing segmented protection against dirt infiltration while maintaining structural simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The emergency sealing ring is pre-positioned on the air filter element before housing installation. This preliminary placement ensures that the emergency seal is already in place and ready to function immediately if housing damage occurs, without requiring additional complex mechanisms
2Strength
If the air filter element is clamped at one end only, then the clamping structure is simple, but the mechanical load and bending moments on the filter element are high
Solution Approach 1:
The support function is segmented between two locations: the main sealing ring area provides primary support while the emergency sealing ring area provides additional support. This distributes the mechanical load across two points rather than concentrating it at one location
Solution Approach 2:
The emergency sealing ring acts as an intermediary support element between the filter element and the housing wall. It provides an additional support point that reduces bending moments without requiring complex structural modifications to the clamping mechanism
3Reliability
If the emergency sealing collar is made non-porous to prevent dirt infiltration, then protection is improved, but airflow is blocked during normal operation
Solution Approach 1:
The emergency sealing ring is designed with selective porosity: it can be made non-porous in areas where sealing is critical to prevent dirt infiltration, while maintaining porosity in other areas to allow airflow during normal operation. This local differentiation of material properties resolves the contradiction between protection and productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The emergency sealing ring is made from porous materials such as fleece or foam that can be selected with appropriate pore sizes. These materials allow controlled airflow while providing sealing functionality, enabling the ring to serve both as a seal and as an airflow passage when needed
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
The emergency sealing collar effectively prevents dirt-laden air from entering the clean air side in case of housing damage, reducing the risk of contamination and mechanical stress on the filter element, while maintaining airflow and filtration functionality during normal operation.
Implementation Method 1
an additional emergency sealing collar, which surrounds the air filter element on all sides, which is arranged at an axial distance from the main sealing ring on the outlet side and which is of such a height that it is able to completely fill the gap between the compact air filter element and an inner wall of an air filter housing
Implementation Method 2
the porosity is preferably selected in such a way that it is the same as the filter medium of the compact air filter element or even finer
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
A filter element (1) comprises flat element(s) which is wrapped into a compact filter body, and through which fluid to be filtered can flow axially between an intake end face and an outlet end face (5); continuous main sealing ring(s) (2) disposed around its outer periphery adjacent the intake end face (4); and an emergency sealing collar (3) enclosing the filter body adjacent the outlet end face. An independent claim is included for an air filter unit comprising a housing and a filter element. The emergency sealing collar is formed of a nonwoven filter web or a foam strip. The wrapped flat element comprises layer(s) of smooth filter paper and one layer of corrugated or pleated filter paper. The layers are interconnected by beads of viscous adhesive which are applied alternately to the edge regions of the layers.