Filter Element Seals With Variable Direction for Housing Obstacles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fluid filter arrangements face challenges in designing seals that can effectively separate clean and dirty areas within filter housings, especially when the housings have reinforcement structures or flow guiding features that reduce design freedom for the filter element seals.
Innovation Solution
The filter element features a seal that extends along a closed loop trajectory with a non-constant predetermined sealing direction, allowing for a more flexible design that can accommodate various obstacles within the filter housing, such as reinforcement ribs or flow guiding means.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If reinforcement structures or flow guiding features are added to filter housing inner sidewall, then housing strength and flow control are improved, but seal design freedom is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The seal is designed with variable sealing direction along its closed loop trajectory, allowing different sections of the seal to adapt to different surface orientations created by reinforcement structures and flow guiding features. This dynamic adaptation of sealing direction enables the seal to effectively seal against complex housing geometries while maintaining design flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The seal's sealing direction parameter is intentionally varied along its trajectory rather than being constant. This parameter change allows the seal to conform to the complex inner sidewall geometry of the housing, accommodating reinforcement structures and flow guiding features while maintaining effective sealing.
2Adaptability or versatility
If complex seal trajectories are used to accommodate housing obstacles, then seal adaptability is improved, but seal structure complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The closed loop seal trajectory is effectively segmented into different sections, each with its own predominant sealing direction. This segmentation allows the seal to adapt to different geometric features of the housing while maintaining a unified continuous structure, balancing adaptability with structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The seal design moves from considering only linear sealing paths to utilizing closed loop trajectories in multiple dimensions. By incorporating variable sealing directions along the loop, the seal can accommodate three-dimensional housing geometries and obstacles more effectively without proportionally increasing complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A filter element comprising a media pack and a seal, the seal being directly or indirectly connected to the media pack in a sealing manner, the filter element comprising a longitudinal axis, wherein the seal extends along a closed loop trajectory; and wherein the seal defines a predetermined sealing direction with respect to the longitudinal axis along the closed loop trajectory; wherein the predetermined sealing direction is not constant along the loop trajectory; and wherein, in at least one seal portion, the seal direction is not parallel with a sidewall, upper wall or lower wall of the filter element or media pack; and a filter assembly comprising the filter element.