Tractor Cab Air Filter Housing with Pivoted Access Door
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tractor cab air filter housings lack easy accessibility for maintenance, are costly to manufacture, and require complex shapes to integrate with ducting, which complicates their production and functionality.
Innovation Solution
A rectangular air filter housing with interconnected hollow side portions formed as a single piece plastics moulding, featuring a pivoted door for access and a filter mounting surface that allows the filter element to be clamped securely, enabling easy maintenance and cost-effective production through blow or rotational moulding techniques.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the housing is formed as a single piece hollow plastics moulding with interconnected hollow side portions, then manufacturing cost is reduced and structural rigidity is improved, but the shape complexity increases to integrate with ducting
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple housing sections into a single integrated hollow plastics moulding. The main body portion and side portions are structurally interconnected to form one unified component that can be manufactured as a single piece, eliminating the need for separate parts and assembly operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing is segmented into functional zones including a main body portion and side portions, with inlet zones positioned at each end. This segmentation allows the complex shape to be organized into manageable sections while still being produced as a single moulding.
2Reliability
If the filter element is clamped against the filter mounting surface, then filtration effectiveness is improved, but accessibility for maintenance becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The access door is designed to pivot between a closed position (when the filter is installed and secured) and an open position (for filter maintenance). This dynamic element allows the housing to transition between providing secure filter retention and enabling easy filter access, resolving the contradiction between reliable filtration and ease of maintenance.
3Productivity
If inlet zones are formed as separate chambers, then air distribution is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple inlet zones are incorporated into a single integrated housing structure. The hollow side portions connect the main body portion to form chambers that accommodate multiple inlet zones, allowing efficient air distribution from multiple locations while maintaining a unified manufacturing approach.
Data Source
AI summary
A generally rectangular tractor cab air filter housing arrangement (20) has a main body portion with inlet zones (20a) at each end through which air enters the housing, a first outlet aperture (20c) in the housing over which a filter element (18) is supported, and a second aperture in the housing in which a door (21) is pivoted to provide access to the filter for maintenance. The inlet zones (20a) are formed as chambers which are structurally interconnected by side portions (20d) of the housing so that the housing can be formed as a single piece hollow plastics molding. The door (21) may also be a hollow single piece plastics molding. Both the housing and/or the door may be formed by blow molding or rotational molding.