Filter Cartridge Hooking Body Profiled Surface
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing filter cartridge installation and replacement methods in the automotive sector are complex, unreliable, and costly due to issues with bayonet engagements, axial-fit hooks, and hybrid hooks, which require high rotation angles and are prone to accidental unhooking and compatibility problems.
Innovation Solution
A filter cartridge design featuring a hooking body with a profiled surface and converging lateral flanks that reduces the rotation angle required for hooking, ensures mechanical coherence, and includes a flexible stalk and hooking head for easy engagement and disengagement, while a support body with arched walls and a profiled shank facilitates snap-fitting and prevents accidental unhooking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If bayonet engagement is used to hook up the filter cartridge, then the hooking can be performed with modest axial translation and rotation, but the hook-up becomes complex and requires blocking means to prevent accidental unhooking
Solution Approach 1:
The hooking tooth is designed with an asymmetric profile featuring a inclined working face and a substantially vertical blocking face. This asymmetric geometry allows the tooth to engage the hooking seating through simple axial movement while the vertical face prevents accidental unhooking by blocking reverse movement, eliminating the need for complex blocking mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using complex blocking means to prevent unhooking, the invention inverts the approach by designing the hooking tooth profile itself to inherently prevent unhooking. The vertical blocking face of the tooth works passively to maintain engagement, reversing the conventional wisdom that active blocking mechanisms are needed.
2Device complexity
If axial-fit hooks are used for heavy filter cartridges, then the hooking can be simple, but the filter cartridge hides the snap-fit hooks from view making exact positioning awkward
Solution Approach 1:
The asymmetric profile of the hooking tooth with its inclined working face and vertical blocking face provides visual and tactile guidance during positioning. The geometry makes it clear when the tooth is correctly aligned with the hooking seating, solving the positioning problem while maintaining simplicity.
3Reliability
If robust axial snap-fit is used for heavy filter cartridges, then the hooking is stable, but the snap-fit hooks become particularly difficult to remove
Solution Approach 1:
The hooking connection is segmented into two functional parts: the inclined working face for stable engagement and the vertical blocking face for controlled release. This segmentation allows the connection to be both stable during operation and easily removable when needed, resolving the contradiction between reliability and ease of removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention inverts the conventional approach by making the vertical face the primary engagement feature rather than the inclined face. This reversal allows the hooking tooth to be easily inserted through axial movement while the vertical face provides the stable locking action, and removal is achieved by overcoming the vertical face blockage.
4Ease of manufacture
If standard cylindrical portions are used for hooking teeth and seatings, then the manufacturing is simple, but filter cartridges can be mistakenly inserted and hooked causing incompatibility problems
Solution Approach 1:
The asymmetric profile of the hooking tooth creates a unique geometric signature that must match the corresponding hooking seating. This asymmetry prevents mismatched filter cartridges from being installed, as the inclined working face and vertical blocking face will not align with incorrect seatings, thereby preventing wrong installation while maintaining manufacturing simplicity.
5Reliability
If large rotation angle is required for bayonet hooking, then the hooking can be secure, but the operation becomes time-consuming and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The hooking action is segmented into two independent components: axial translation for engagement and a minimal rotation for final seating. This segmentation eliminates the need for large rotation angles while maintaining secure hooking, significantly reducing the time required for replacement operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention inverts the conventional bayonet mechanism by eliminating the need for large rotation angles. Instead of using rotation as the primary engagement mechanism, the design uses axial movement with the asymmetric tooth profile to achieve secure hooking, reversing the traditional approach and reducing operation time.
Data Source
AI summary
A filter cartridge (30) comprising a substantially tubular filter wall (33) and a support plate (32) fixed to an end of the filter wall (33), where the support plate (32) comprises a hooking body (34, 2120) rising from a surface of the support plate (32) opposite the filter wall (30) and defining a profiled surface (3410,3411;2130,2131) substantially perpendicular to the central axis of the filter wall (33) and defining at least two corners (3412,3413;2132,2133) proximal to the central axis, which exhibit different distances from the central axis of the filter wall.