Fuel Filter Alignment Structure for Torque-Limited Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fuel filters are prone to damage during installation due to improper alignment and excessive rotational torque, which can lead to costly engine repairs and reduced engine performance.
Innovation Solution
A fuel filter design featuring a center stack with a curved surface that aligns with a sword to facilitate rotational installation, ensuring proper alignment of the pin with its channel, and includes features to accommodate manufacturing tolerances and prevent axial misalignment, thereby minimizing damage during installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a spherical ramp is used to align the pin with the channel during filter installation, then the pin can be visually aligned with the channel, but excessive rotational torque is imparted to the filter which can damage the pin or other components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the spherical ramp with a curved surface that has a controlled radius of curvature. This curved surface guides the pin into the channel during rotation while limiting the maximum rotational torque through its specific geometric profile, thus preventing damage to the pin and filter components while still achieving proper alignment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the geometric parameters of the alignment feature by using a curved surface with specific radius and angle parameters instead of a spherical ramp. This parameter optimization allows the pin to follow a controlled path into the channel, reducing the torque spike that occurs with spherical ramps while maintaining alignment functionality.
2Reliability
If the pin is made to fit snugly within the run-off channel to prevent drainage during engine use, then sealing is improved, but the pin may become bound up against the ramp or snap off during installation
Solution Approach 1:
The curved surface with controlled radius of curvature provides a gradual guidance path for the pin into the channel, preventing the pin from binding against a sharp ramp edge. This smooth curved path allows the pin to enter the snug-fitting channel without excessive force, maintaining sealing reliability while enabling easy installation.
3Ease of operation
If visual alignment of the pin with the channel is used during installation, then alignment can be achieved, but it is difficult to see or feel such alignment which may lead to improper installation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates visual indicators such as colored markings or contrasting colors on the curved surface and pin to make alignment detection easier. These visual cues allow the installer to clearly see when the pin is properly aligned with the channel, eliminating the difficulty of detecting alignment that exists with plain visual alignment methods.
Data Source
AI summary
A fuel filter assembly includes a filter housing that forms a cavity, and a center stack. The center stack is positioned within the cavity and includes an axial aperture in the top portion, the axial aperture having a circumferential surface, and a fuel filter. The fuel filter includes a filter center support. The fuel filter also includes a sword positioned along a surface of the filter center support, an end cap, a filter element attached to an undersurface of the end cap, a water separator at a filter base of the fuel filter, and a pin attached to the water separator. When the fuel filter is positioned within the filter housing, the sword engages with a slot of a center stack of the fuel filter housing and the pin aligns with a channel of the housing.