US1723428A - Air cleaner - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 6, 1929. H. G. KAMRATH AIR CLEANER File M y 1 1927 2 $heets$heet 6, 1929- H. G. KAMRATH 1,723,428

A IR CLEANER Patented Aug. 6, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HERBERT G. KAMRATH, OF FLINT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO A C SPARK PLUG GOM- IPANY, OF FLINT, MICHIGAN, A COMPANY OF MICHIGAN.

AIR CLEANER.

Application filed May 18,

This invention relates to air cleaners of the type commonly employed on automobile engines and in which separation of dust particles is effected by taking advantage of their greater inertia as compared with that of the airl In this type of cleaner, means is usually employed for efiecting a sharp change 1n direction of the stream in its passage through the. cleaner so that the dust par ticles are projected out of the cleaning chamber while the air continues its course to the apparatus to which it is supplied. While the change in direction may be effected in various Ways, in the form'herein disclosed, it is accomplished by imparting to the air a whirling motion which has the effect of throwing the dust particles outwardly so that they hug the wall of the cleaner, the wall being pro- Videdwith a suitable orifice through which the dust is discharged.

In cleaners of this type it has previously been common practice to provide a dust receptacle for receiving the particles discharged through the orifice, the receptacle constituting a dead air space in which the dust particles freely fall. In some constructions, however, the dust box is omitted, the dust passing directly into the atmosphere.

My invention has to do with a cleaner of the latter type and particularly to a shield for the dust orifice to prevent the entrance of stray air currents. In order that one design of cleaner may serve for both vertlcal and horizontal installations, I have arranged the shield at an angle. While the shield may be constituted by a separately formed battle member, for manufacturing convenience it is preferable to form the orifice and bafile at one operation by suitably severing the metal oil the casing and pressing portions thereof outwardly.

My invention is likewise concerned'withcertain details of construction whereby both the manufacture of the elements and the assembly of parts is facilitated. Thus, as in my prior application, Serial N 0. 75,071 filed December 12th, 1925, the cleaner is designed for construction from sheet metal. To simplify the design and reduce costs, without impairing the operation of the cleaner I have found it desirable to mount the air straightener wholly within the clean air discharge conduit. I have also preferred to form the clean air discharge conduit of sheet metal rolled into shape and held in place by 1927. Serial No. 192,288.

an encircling annular member which custo-marily is provided with integral blades arranged to give the air a whirling motion. The ends of this strip of metal are preferably interlocked. I have also made use of a simple and inexpensive expedient to securely anchor the conduit within the annular member. Various other details of construction will be set out in the specification and covered by the appended claims.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an automobile engine of conventional type, having my improved air cleaner fitted thereto in vertical position;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view similar to Fig. 1, showing the cleaner in horizontal position;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the cleaner;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view showing the manner of assembly of the air straightener and air outlet tube;

Fig. 5 is an end view of my cleaner with parts broken away to show the construction of the dust outlet;

Fig. 6 is a section on line 6-76 of Fig. 5, but with the air straightener omitted;

Fig. 7 and 8 are detail views showing the manner of locking the discharge conduit in position;

Fig. 9 is a side elevation of a modified. form of cleaner;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary View on line 10-10 of Fig. 9, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Figs. 11 and 12 are fragmentary views showing modified forms of dust outlet.

In Fig. 1, my improved air cleaner is indicated by the reference numeral 2 and is mounted in vertical position on air' intake pipe 4 of carbureter 6, which in turn supplies combustible to an internal combustion engine of conventional type.

The construction of the cleaner is shown in detail in Figs. 3 to 8. It consists of a casing 12 having at one end a closure 14 secured to the body of the cleaner by any suitable means such as a. rolled seam, or if pre ferred, by welding, soldering or the like. A

threaded stud 16 is centrally mounted in the end closure and is adapted to be secured t o any suitable supporting member in mounting the cleaner on an engine. In the other end of the casing 12, is secured an annular member 18, provided with a hub 20, and a 4 in Fig. 5.

2 maaaee peripheral flange including a portion 22 adapted to telescope within the open end of the casing, and a portion 24 adapted to abut against an outwardly turned flange 26 formed on the casing 12. In assembling the cleaner, the extremity of the flange 24 is adapted to be rolled over the fiange 26, as clearly shown in Fig. 6. Member 18 is provided with integrally formed vanes 30. These vanes are produced by subjecting the member 18 to a series of radial cuts such as indicated at 32 and a series of circumferential cuts such as indicated at 34: and pressing the severed metal outwardly, preferably in the manner described and claimed in my prior application, Serial No. 157,761, filed December 29, 1926.

Within the hub 20 of the annulus 18 is secured conduit 36. This conduit may, if desired be simply a suitable length of seamless tubing, but I have found it possible to get a more accurate fit by forming the conduit of a strip of metal having its ends interlocked as shown at 38 in Fig. 4. The conduit 36 is secured within the hub 20 by means of the interlocking arrangement indicated in Figs. 7 and 8. Overlying portions of the conduit 36 and the hub 26 are subjected to a cutting and deforming operation, producing straps such as indicated at 40 and a2, the strap 40 being distorted out of alinement with the member 36, into a socket produced in the member 20 by similar distortion of the strap 42. By this simple operation the conduit is securely held within the annular member without possibility of separation. However, if preferred, welding, riveting or the like may be employed to join these parts together.

Within the conduit 36 l have provided an air straightener 44: having outwardly extending lugs 46, adapted to engage in slots 18 formed in the conduit. The lugs are preferably of such size as to fit tightly within the slots, and are driven or staked therein.

in the preferred form of my invention the dust discharge orifice is in the form of a slot produced by lancing the metal of the casing 12 and pressing outwardly the metal at one edge of the slotas indicated at 51 The orifice is preferably located at the extreme end of the casing so that the end of the slot comes flush with the inside surface of the end closure 14:. As best shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the slot is arranged at an angle. In both the vertical position shown in Fig. 1 and the horizontal position shown in Fig. 2 the side of the slot which is pressed outwardly serves to shield the dust orifice from stray air currents," such currents usually reaching the cleaner thru the radiator. @bviously, the shielding effect will be obtained in whichever of a number of positions the cleaner be turned, so long as the slot does not directly face the currents of air. For example, in Fig. 1 the cleaner may be turned so that the slot 50 is toward the rear of the engine and in Fig. 2 so that the slot is at the bottom of the cleaner. In both cases, the desired protection will be obtained. In the operation of m cleaner, the entering air upon striking t e' blades 30 is given a whirling motion which continues until the air stream approaches the closed end 14 0f the casing where sufiicient back pressure is soon built up to cause the stream to turn back upon itself and pass outwardly through the clean air discharge conduit 86. The air straightener i4 serves its usual function of assisting in the outward passage of the air. Theefiect of the whirling action of the air stream as it enters the casing 12 is to cause dust particles to hug the Walls of the casing and upon the reversal in movement of the air stream the dust particles continue along the walls of the casing, owing to their greater inertia, and are discharged through dust orifice 50. As the orifice is shielded, stray air currents cannot interfere with this flow.

Figs. 9 and 10 show a cleaner substantially the same as that shown in Fig. 3, but in which a baffle in the form of a separate stamping is secured over the dust outlet 62.

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary detail showing an arrangement of bafiie where the cleaner is mounted in horizontal position. This bafile is indicated by the reference character 64 and is in the form of a stamping secured over the dust discharge orifice.

Fig. 12 shows a further modification of dust orifice. In this case, the metal of the casing 12 is cut along three sides and the resulting tongue indicated at is pressed outwardly. In this form of baffle, as well as that shown in Fig. 11, it will be noted that the extreme outer edge of the bafiie is turned outwardly as indicated at 72. iihis has the effect of causing dust particles which may be' driven against the bafie to be projected outwardly into the air currents so that there is no possibility of such dust entering the dust discharge orifice.

What 1 claim is:

1. An air cleaner comprising a casing having an open end, an annular member provided with air directing blades secured in said end, an air outlet conduit fixedly secured in said annular member and an air straightener secured in said conduit and wholly supported thereby.

2. An air cleaner comprising a cylindrical casing provided at one end with an airinlet arranged to impart a whirling motion to the entering air stream, the other end of the casing being closed and the side wall of the casing adjacent said closed end being pro vided with a dust discharge. orifice open to the atmosphere, said orifice being in the tit) form of a slot extending longitudinally of the casing and terminating at the closed end thereof, one of the edges of said slot being offset radially with respect to the other to form a shield to shield the orifice from passing air currents, the portion of the shield furthest removed from the air inlet being oflset outwardly a greater distance than the remaining portion to facilitate the discharge of dust.

3. An air cleaner comprising a cylindrical casing having one end open and the other end closed, said open end being provided with an axial clean air outlet tube and an annular series of helical blades extending from the outlet tube tothe casing wall to impart to the entering air a whirling motion, the opposite end of the casing beinghprovided with an aperture arranged to disc arge dust into the atmosphere, said aperture being in the form of a short longitudinally extending slot in the side Wall of the casing, one of the edges of the slot being ofi'set radially with respect to the other.

4. An air cleaner comprising a cylindrical casing provided with an air inlet arranged to impart a whirling motion to the enterlng air stream, said casing being'provided with a peripheral dust discharge orifice open'to the atmosphere, said ori ce being in t e form of a short longitudinally extending slot in the side wall of the casing, one of the edges of the slot being offset radially with respect to the other, said casing being provided with an axial clean air outlet, and an air straightener associated with said outlet for removing the whirl from the outgoing air.

5. An air cleaner comprising a cylindrical casing having one end open and theother end closed, said open end being provided with an axial clean air outlet tube and an annular series of helical blades extending from the outlet tube to the casing wall to impart to the entering air a whirlin motion, the opposite end of the casing being provided with an aperture arranged to discharge dust into the atmosphere, said aperture being in the form of a short longitudinally extending slot in the side wall of the casing, one of the edges of the slot being ofi'set radially with respect to the other to form a shield to shield the orifice from pass ing air currents, and an air straightener associated with the clean air outlet for removing the whirl from the outgoing air.

6. An air cleaner comprising a cylindrical casing having an axial clean air outlet and bein provided with means for imparting a whirling motion to the entering air, said casing being provided with a short dust discharge orifice in its side wall open to the atmosphere,'and a shield for said orifice extending radially outward beyond the cyiindricai surface at the cleaner casing, said forme either vertical or horizontal installations.

7. An air cleaner comprising a cylindrical casing having an axial clean air outlet and being provided at one end with an annular series of helical blades for imparting a whirling motion to the entering air, said blades being inclined longitudinally of the casing and having their inner ends spaced from the axis of the cleaner by an amount substantially equal to the radius of said clean air outlet, said casing being provided at the other end with a dust discharge orifice in its side wall and a shield for said orifice positioned radiallyoutward of the orifice and extending at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the casing to adapt the cleaner for either vertical or horizontal installation.

.8. An air cleaner comprising a cylindrical casing having an axial clean air outlet and being provided at one end with an annular series of helical blades fon imparting a whirling motion to the entering air, said blades being inclined longitudinally of the casing and having their inner ends spaced from the axis of the cleanerby an amount substantially equal to the radius of said clean air outlet, said casing being pro vided at the other end with a pe ripheral dust discharge orifice open to the atmosphere and. being otherwise imper forate, said orifice being in the form of a short longitudinally extending slot in the outermost portion of the casin wall, one

of the edges of the slot being 0 set radially with respect to the other, and an air straightener associated with said clean air outlet for removing the whirl from the outgoing air.

9. An air cleaner comprising a cylindrical casing havin an axial clean air outlet and being provided at one end with a sheet metal'plate extending across the casing and being formed to rovide an annular series of substantially helical blades for imparting a whirling motion to the entering air, said blades being inclined longitudinally of the casing and having their inner ends spaced from the axis of the casin by an amount substantially equal to the ins of said clean air outlet, said casing being provided at the other end with a peripheral dust discharge orifice open to the atmosphere, said orifice being in the form of. a slngle short longitudinally extending incision in the side wall of the casing,the metal on one side of the incision being offset radially with respect to the metal on the other sideof the incision.

10. An air cleaner comprising a cylindrical casing having an axial clean air outlet and being provided at one end with a sheet metal late extending across the casin and to rovide an annular series 0 substantially elical blades for imparting a whirling motion to the entering air, said wall and the end Wall, said dust outlet being blades being inclined longitudinally of the casing and having their inner ends spaced from the axis of the cleaner by an amount substantially equal to the radius of said clean air outlet, said casing being provided at the other end with an end Wall, and with a peripheral dust outlet open to the atmosphere extending to the juncture of the side in the form of a short slot in the casing wall having one of its edges 'ofiset with respect to the other, an air straightener associated with said axial clean air outlet for removing the whirl from the outgoin air.

in testimony whereef I afix my signature.

HERBERT G. KAMRATH.

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