Filter Element Torsion Lock Detent Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional liquid engine filters face challenges with complex and difficult manufacturing processes, inconvenient filter changes, and inadequate retention in harsh engine environments due to fluid pressures, vibrations, and shock loads, particularly in vehicles subjected to road or off-road conditions.
Innovation Solution
A filter cartridge design featuring a torsion lock detent member elevated above the top annular end wall, with a thread along the annular sidewall and radial seals, allowing for secure engagement with a mounting head using a lock member detent and spring, enabling easy and secure attachment while withstanding environmental stresses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional liquid engine filters use traditional threading and locking mechanisms, then the filter can be attached to the mounting head, but the manufacturing process becomes complex and difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The filter cartridge is divided into separate components including a body, a closure, and a locking mechanism with detent members. The locking mechanism is segmented into a detent on the closure and a corresponding detent member on the mounting head, allowing independent manufacturing of each component while ensuring reliable engagement when assembled.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking mechanism features a nested structure where the detent member is received within a cavity in the mounting head, and the detent on the closure engages with the detent member in a nested arrangement. This nested design compactly integrates the locking function without adding external complexity to the overall filter structure.
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional filters are designed with simple attachment mechanisms, then manufacturing is easier, but the filter becomes inconvenient to change and may not retain securely in harsh engine environments
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism incorporates a spring-loaded detent member that dynamically responds to engagement forces. During installation, the spring allows the detent member to flex and accommodate slight misalignments, then automatically locks when the detent engages. This dynamic behavior simplifies the installation operation while maintaining secure retention.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking mechanism is designed to self-lock automatically upon engagement of the closure with the mounting head. The detent and detent member engage passively when the filter is properly installed, eliminating the need for separate locking operations or complex adjustment procedures, thereby simplifying both manufacturing and operation.
3Device complexity
If filters are designed with basic retention mechanisms, then the structure remains simple, but they cannot withstand fluid pressures, vibrations, and shock loads in harsh engine environments
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism combines multiple functional elements into a composite structure: a detent on the closure, a detent member on the mounting head, and a spring providing elastic force. This composite design integrates mechanical interlocking with elastic energy storage, creating a retention system that can withstand high fluid pressures, vibrations, and shock loads while maintaining structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The detent and detent member features incorporate curved surfaces and rounded edges that facilitate smooth engagement and distribution of contact stresses. The curved geometry of the detent surfaces allows for gradual load transfer and reduces stress concentration points, enhancing the reliability of the locking mechanism under dynamic engine conditions.
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 design simplifies filter changes, enhances retention in harsh conditions, and ensures secure attachment with reduced torque requirements, improving convenience and reliability in engine filter maintenance.
Implementation Method 1
a spring member arranged to bias the lock member axially
Implementation Method 2
an outer peripheral wall including a thread ramp, the thread ramp engaging the thread of the filter cartridge
Implementation Method 3
radial seals
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid filter in the form of a filter element or a filter cartridge provides torsion locking relative to a filter head when the housing of such filter is threaded onto a filter head. Many embodiments employ a filter that includes a nipple portion at a top end with the torsion lock detent provided outboard of the nipple portion or integrated into the nipple portion. Many embodiments employ a simplified shoulder transition region at the top end of a torsion locked filter element. Valve actuation and/or filter differentiation is used in some embodiments. Different torsion locking arrangements, deformable thread profiles and other liquid filter features are disclosed.