GB2494041A

GB2494041A - Air filter device for intake air of an internal combustion engine

Info

Publication number: GB2494041A
Application number: GB1214724.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael Wessels; Heike Ga Rner
Original assignee: Dr Ing HCF Porsche AG
Current assignee: Dr Ing HCF Porsche AG
Priority date: 2011-08-23
Filing date: 2012-08-17
Publication date: 2013-02-27
Anticipated expiration: 2032-08-17
Also published as: GB201214724D0; GB2494041B; DE102011052909B4; DE102011052909A1; ITMI20121439A1

Abstract

Disclosed is an air filter device 12 for filtering intake air of an internal combustion engine 10. The filter device comprises a filter housing 14, a filter cover 17 which is inserted into the filter housing 14 and closes off the housing and a filter part 15 which is arranged upstream of the filter cover 17 in the filter housing 14. The filter cover 17 has a duct 16 for clean air to pass out from the housing after passing through the filter. An intake tract using the filter device is also disclosed. A motor vehicle in which the air filter device 12 is arranged in an engine bay of the motor vehicle is also disclosed. An exchange of the filter part 15 is possible by removing the filter cover 17 from a vehicle compartment adjoining the engine bay, in particular from an adjoining luggage compartment, without this taking place in the engine bay and the device is therefore particularly useful in mid-engined car lay outs.

Description

Air filter device for intake air of an internal combustion engine, and intake tract and vehicle having an air filter device of said type The invention relates to an air filter device for intake air of an internal combustion engine. The invention also relates to an intake tract of an internal combustion engine which is equipped with an air filter device, and to a vehicle in which the intake tract is equipped with an air filter device.

Air filter devices for internal combustion engines of motor vehicles are normally installed in the engine bay of the motor vehicle, and the exchange of a filter part which filters the untreated air is also carried out via the engine bay. As a result, the air filter devices can only be mounted at positions in the engine bay which are easily accessible for initial installation and which also permit easy filter exchange without great effort during servicing. The filter parts, generally in the form of filter cartridges, are used in a wide variety of configurations. For example, a drawer may be provided into which the filter cartridge is inserted; furthermore, split housing halves are provided which are separated from one another in order to permit a filter exchange, Filter parts in the form of circular cartridges are plugged onto a filter housing and then closed off again. The filter cartridges themselves are also known in a wide variety of embodiments, in particular as plate filters, circular cartridges, conical cartridges or elliptical cartridges.

The accessibility of the air filter device is a problem in particular in motor vehicles with a mid-mounted engine. In such motor vehicles, there is duly a sufficient amount of space for the air filter devioe. A filter exchange, however, is possible only with a great deal of effort. As a result, it is often necessary to give up additional space in the constricted engine bay, which space thus cannot be used for other parts.

DE 10 2008 020 079 Al describes an air filter device for filtering intake air of an internal combustion engine in a motor vehicle. Said air filter device has an air filter housing to which the untreated air is conducted, a filter cover which closes off the filter housing, and a filter part, which is arranged upstream of the filter cover in the filter housing, for filtering the untreated air. The outer contours of the air filter device are adapted to an installation space which is separated from the engine bay of the motor vehicle by a body structure situated transversely in the motor vehicle in front of the internal combustion engine of the motor vehicle and which is delimited to the front in the direction of travel by a body termination part. The filter cover serves as a support for the filter part and serves at the same time as a closure cover for a mounting-support-side opening of the filter housing toward the engine bay. The air filter device is mounted from the engine bay.

From DE 101 57 897 Al, it is known, in the case of a motor vehicle equipped with a front-mounted engine, for an air filter device for filtering intake air for the internal combustion engine of the motor vehicle to be located in the luggage compartment, and thus behind the passenger compartment. Untreated air sucked in in the luggage compartment is supplied to the filter device and, from there, the filtered clean air passes through a duct into the passenger compartment and from the passenger compartment through a duct to the intake tract of the internal combustion engine in the engine bay.

Within the context of the present description of the invention, the expression "intake tract" or "intake'T is to be understood broadly not only in the sense of a naturally aspirated internal combustion engine. The internal combustion engine may also be supercharged.

The invention seeks to provide an air filter device for filtering intake air of an internal combustion engine, which air filter device, while exhibiting favorable flow conditions therein, permits simple mounting or dismounting, in particular simple exchange of the filter part which filters the intake air. It also seeks to provide a specially-designed intake tract which has said air filter device. It finally seeks to specify, using the air filter device, a particularly advantageous design of an intake tract of an internal combustion engine or of a vehicle, which design makes it possible for the filter part to be exchanged without the need to access the engine bay of the vehicle.

The invention proposes an air filter device for filtering intake air of an internal combustion engine, having a filter housing, having a filter cover which is inserted into the filter housing and which closes off the latter and having a filter part, which is arranged upstream of the filter cover and filter housing, for filtering untreated air, wherein the filter cover has a duct for clean air.

The air filter device thus serves firstly for filtering the intake air, that is to say filtering untreated air to form clean air, and secondly for conducting the untreated air through the filter housing and conducting the clean air through the duct in the filter cover and thus through the filter cover. An exchange of the filter part for filtering the untreated air can be carried out easily by removing the filter cover from the filter housing. Tf the filter part is connected to the filter cover, when the filter cover is removed from the filter housing, the filter part is jointly removed from the filter housing and can then be replaced with another, clean filter part. In the case of a filter part connected to the filter cover, to mount the filter part, it is merely the case that the filter cover is connected to the filter housing, and, in the process, the filter part is plugged into the filter housing. This form of air filter device thus permits simple exchange of the filter part. It is however basically also conceivable for the filter part and the filter housing to form separate components, with the filter part mounted in the filter housing. In this case, after the removal of the filter cover from the filter housing, the filter part is gripped and removed from the filter housing and replaced with a new filter part.

The filter housing is preferably formed so as to widen in the flow direction in the region in which it receives the arrangement of filter cover and filter part. This ensures a simple insertion of the filter cover and uncomplicated sealing of the filter cover with respect to the filter housing when the filter cover is in the inserted position. If appropriate, additional means are provided for fixing the filter cover in its inserted position.

The filter part preferably has a filter cartridge. Said filter cartridge is in particular positioned such that the intake air flows through it from radially outside to radially inside. The filter cartridge is for example in the shape of a truncated cone which tapers counter to the flow direction of the intake air.

The clean air which is conducted through the duct in the filter cover is preferably discharged with a radial component in relation to the axially extending filter housing, which is in particular in the form of a tube. In particular, the lateral duct outlet opening in the filter cover is in alignment with an opening in the wall of the filter housing, which opening is flow-connected to a connecting line for supplying the clean air to the internal combustion engine.

The air filter device according to the invention thus ensures streamlined guidance of the air, in particular through the design of the filter cover with the duct for the clean air.

Secondly, said design of the filter cover as a component which can be separated frcm the filter housing makes it possible for the filter cover to be released from the filter housing in particular directly together with the filter part, and fcr an exchange of the filter part to thus be carried nut in a simple manner. If the filter cover is furthermore arranged in the region of an opening in a wall which separates the engine bay from an adjoining vehicle interior space, it is possible for the filter cover, in particular the filter cover together with the filter element, to be removed into the adjoining vehicle interior space. This allows the filter exchange to be carried out from the adjoining vehicle ccmpartment. The motor vehicle can thus be designed, with regard to the engine bay, such that said engine bay is optimally equipped with engine-specific components and there is no need to provide unutilized space for a filter part exchange.

With regard to an intake tract for intake air of an internal combustion engine in a vehicle, wherein the intake tract is eguipped with the air filter device, it is considered to be particularly advantageous if an untreated air duct of the intake tract is formed by the filter housing upstream of the filter cover, and a clean air duct of the intake tract is formed by the duct in the filter cover and by a connecting line which adjoins said duct and which leads to the internal combustion engine. The filter housing and the filter cover thus form a constituent part of the line system of the intake tract, and accordingly a constituent part of the untreated air duct and of the clean air duct. The functionality of the filter cover is thus not restricted to merely closing off the filter housing and possibly additionally serving for mounting the filter part.

Considered to be particularly advantageous from the aspeot of the invention is the particular design of the motor vehicle which is provided with an engine bay and a vehicle compartment adjoining said engine bay and an intake tract of an internal combustion engine and in which the intake tract has at least one air filter device. In said motor vehicle, the air filter device is arranged in the engine bay and the air filter cover can be mounted in and dismounted from the air filter housing through an opening in a wall situated between the engine bay and the adjoining vehicle compartment. An exchange of the filter part is thus possible without the need to access the engine bay.

The vehicle compartment adjoining the engine bay may be any suitable vehicle compartment. It is however considered to be particularly advantageous for said adjoining vehicle compartment to be a vehicle interior space, in particular a luggage compartment or a passenger compartment of the vehicle.

A specific field of application of the present invention is a passenger motor vehicle which is equipped with a mid-mounted engine and a rear luggage compartment. In this case, the wall between the engine bay, which accommodates the mid-mounted engine, and the rear luggage compartment is provided with an opening for receiving the filter cover or for inserting the filter cover into the open end, which faces towards the opening, of the filter housing. The end of the tubular filter housing is preferably connected to the wall between the engine bay and the adjoining vehicle compartment or luggage compartment.

Further features of the invention will emerge from the subclaims, from the appended drawing and from the description of the preferred exemplary embodiment depicted in the drawing, without the invention being restricted to said exemplary embodiment. In the figures, in a simplified illustration in eaoh case: Fig. 1 shows a plan view of a body floor assembly of a passenger motor vehicte in the region of an engine bay for an internal combustion engine, which is in the form of a mid-mounted engine, and of a rear luggage compartment, having an intake tract fcr intake air of an internal combustion engine, with air filter devices arranged symmetrically with respect to the central longitudinal axis of the vehicle, Fig. 2 shows a schematic illustration of the region of the intake tract illustrated on the left in Fig. 1, with an air filter device, and Fig. 3 shows the arrangement as per Fig. 2 with the air filter cover removed and with a filter part connected to said air filter cover.

The floor assembly 1, shown in Fig. 1, of the passenger motor vehicle with mid-mounted engine and rear luggage compartment has two longitudinal beams 2 which are arranged laterally with respect to the longitudinal extent of the vehicle and which have, in the region of the body part 3 which forms the floor of the luggage compartment, portions 4 which run parallel and which are adjoined by portions 5 which diverge from one another in the forward direction.

The two longitudinal beams 2 are connected, in the region of the rear ends of the portions 4, by means of a rear transverse beam 6, and the two longitudinal beams 2 are connected, in the region of the front ends of the portions 4, by means of a central transverse beam 7. Finally, the longitudinal beams 2 are connected, in the region of the front ends of the portions 5, to a front transverse beam 8. The space, denoted by the reference numeral 9, between the two longitudinal beams 2 in the region of their portions 5 and the transverse beams 7 and 8 serves to accommodate an internal combustion engine 10 illustrated in highly simplified form, which internal combustion engine is a mid-mounted engine. The passenger compartment of the passenger motor vehiole is situated in front of the transverse beam 8 with respect to the direction of forward travel of the vehicle as indicated by the arrow A. Mounted in the transverse beam 7 on the top side thereof is a vertically extending partition wall 11 between the spaoe 9 or the internal combustion engine 10 and the luggage compartment formed above the body part 3, which partition wall is a luggage compartment bulkhead. The described mid-engine vehicle has two air filter devices 12 which are installed in a niche of the space 9 in each case adjacent to the longitudinal beam 2 in its region, which adjoins the transverse beam 7, of the portion 5 and adjacent to the transverse beam 7 on the respective side of the longitudinal beam 2. The two air filter devioes 12 which are installed in the formed niche mirror-symmetrically to the left and to the right above the respective longitudinal beam 2 are a constituent part of the intake tract 13. Untreated air is sucked into the filter device 12 arranged in the space 9, specifically a filter housing 14 of the air filter device 12, on both sides of the vehicle. Untreated air passes through the filter housing 14 to a filter part 15 of the filter device 12, said filter part being in the form of a filter cartridge. As shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3the intake air passes through the filter part 15, and clean air filtered by said filter part 15 passes through an opening 25 of a filter cover 17 of the filter device 12 into a duct 16 of the filter cover 17, passes through the duct 16, emerges from the filter oover 17 through a lateral opening 18 in said filter cover, and passes into a connecting piece 19 of the filter housing 14, which connecting piece is connected to a connecting line 20. Said connecting line opens, with the corresponding connecting line 20 of the other air filter device 12, into a line 21 which is connected to the internal combustion engine. Clean air is thus conducted by said duct through the filter cover 17 and to the passage opening 26, which forms the connecting piece 19, in the filter housing 14.

The construction of the respective filter device 12, in the present case the filter device 12 illustrated on the left in Fig. 1, is shown in more detail in Fig. 2 in its assembled and thus installed state: It is shown that the filter housing 14 is formed so as to widen in the flow direction at least in the region in which it receives the arrangement of filter cover 17 and filter part 15. Here, the filter cover 17 is formed in the manner of a plug which is adapted to the inner contour of the filter housing 14 and which has a duct 16 extending through it. The clean air indicated by the arrow C emerges from the air filter device 12 through said duct 16. The filter part 15 is a filter cartridge. Said filter part is positioned such that the intake air flows through it from radially outside to radially inside.

The filter cartridge is therefore formed so as to taper conically proceeding from the filter cover 17, such that when the filter cover 15 is inserted into the filter housing 14, an annular gap 22 remains between the filter cartridge 15 and the filter housing 14, through which annular gap the untreated air can pass to the filter cartridge 15.

The filter part 15 or the filter cartridge is connected to the filter cover 17, for example by means of a releasable plug-in connection, such that when the filter cover 17 is removed from the filter housing 14, the filter cartridge 15 which is removed together with the filter cover 17 can be exchanged for a new filter cartridge in an uncomplicated manner.

The filter part 15 or the filter cartridge is exchanged by pulling the filter housing 14 with the filter part 15 cut of the filter housing 14 through an opening 23 in the partition wall 11. Here, the filter cover 17 is released from its sealing position with respect to the filter housing 14 and is pulled out of the filter housing 14, as shown for the pulled-out position in Fig. 3. The dismounting of the filter cover 17 from the filter housing 14 and the mounting of the filter cover 17 on the filter housing 14 are thus carried out from the luggage compartment of the vehicle. In particular, when the filter cover 17 and thus also the filter part 15 are in the mounted position, the filter cover 17 is fixedly screwed to the filter housing 14, with the filter housing 14 being connected to the partition wall 11. After the release of said screw connection, the filter cover 17 can be dismounted from the filter housing 14. Owing to the design according to the invention of the air filter device 12, an exchange of the filter part 15 or of the filter cartridge can thus be carried out directly in the interior space, specifically in the luggage compartment of the vehicle, through a bodyshell opening, and not, as has hitherto been conventional, through the engine bay. The bodyshell opening may alternatively, with a modified or suitable arrangement of the filter housing 14, be arranged in the passenger compartment.

The reference numeral 24 denotes the opening of the filter housing 14 in its region facing toward the partition wall 11, through which opening the filter cover 7 together with the filter part 15 is mounted or dismounted as a unit.

List of reference symbols 1 Floor assembly 2 Longitudinal beam 3 Body part s 4 Portion Portion 6 Transverse beam 7 Transverse beam 8 Transverse beam 9 Space Internal combustion engine 11 Partition wall 12 Air filter device 13 Intake tract 14 Filter housing Filter part 16 Duct 17 Filter cover 18 Opening 19 Connecting piece Connecting line 21 Line 22 Annular gap 23 Opening 24 Opening Opening 26 Opening A Direction of forward travel B Untreated air C Clean air

Claims

<claim-text>Patent claims 1. An air filter device for filtering intake air of an internal combustion engine, having a filter housing, having a filter cover which closes off the filter housing and having a filter part, which is arranged upstream of the filter cover in the filter housing, for filtering untreated air, wherein the filter cover is inserted into the filter housing and the filter cover has a duct for clean air.</claim-text> <claim-text>2. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the filter part is mounted in the filter cover.</claim-text> <claim-text>3. The device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the duct for clean air, in the region of one end thereof, is connected to the clean air side of the filter part, and in the region of the other end thereof, opens into a passage opening in the filter housing.</claim-text> <claim-text>4. The device as claimed in one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the filter housing is formed so as to widen in the flow direction in the region in which it receives the arrangement of filter cover and filter part.</claim-text> <claim-text>5. The device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the filter cover is formed in the manner of a plug which is adapted to the inner contour of the filter housing and which has a duct extending through it.</claim-text> <claim-text>6. The device as claimed in one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the filter part has a filter cartridge which is positioned such that the intake air flows through it from radially outside to radially inside.</claim-text> <claim-text>7. The device as claimed in one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the filter cover, when in its position inserted into the filter housing, sealingly closes off an opening in the filter housing.</claim-text> <claim-text>8. An intake tract for intake air of an internal combustion engine in a motor vehicle, having an air filter device as claimed in one of claims 1 to 7, wherein an untreated air duct of the intake tract is formed by the filter housing upstream of the filter cover, and a clean air duct of the intake tract is formed by the duct in the filter cover and by a connecting line which adjoins said duct and which leads to the internal combustion engine.</claim-text> <claim-text>9. A motor vehicle having an engine bay and having a vehicle compartment which adjoins the latter and is separated by a wall and having an intake tract of an internal combustion engine, wherein the intake tract has at least one air filter device as claimed in one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the air filter device is arranged in the engine bay and the air filter cover can be mounted in and dismounted from the filter housing through an opening in the wall between the engine bay and the adjoining vehicle compartment.</claim-text> <claim-text>10. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 9, wherein the adjoining vehicle compartment is a vehicle interior space, in particular a luggage compartment or a passenger compartment of the vehicle.</claim-text> <claim-text>11. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 10, wherein the vehicle is a passenger motor vehicle with a mid-mounted engine and a rear luggage compartment.</claim-text> <claim-text>12. The motor vehicle as claimed in one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the motor vehicle has an intake tract with two intake air branches, and each intake air branch has an air filter device, and each air filter device has a filter cover which is accessible from the adjoining vehicle compartment, in particular adjcining luggage compartment.</claim-text> <claim-text>13. An air filter device, substantially as hereinbefcre described with reference to any of the accompanying drawings.</claim-text> <claim-text>14. An intake tract fcr intake air of an internal combustion engine in a motor vehicle, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any cf the accompanying drawings.</claim-text> <claim-text>15. A motor vehicle, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to any of the accompanying drawings.</claim-text>