Filter elements and methods of manufacturing filter elements
AssigneeDonaldson Company, Inc.
InventorsMathijs Verstraete, Gert Proost
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A filter element, for placement in a housing of a filter system, includes a filter medium pack and a seal arrangement having a seal and a seal carrier. The filter medium pack includes, for example, a pleated filter medium or a fluted filter medium. The seal carrier includes an axial side coupled to at least a portion of an axial face of the filter medium pack by a thermal welding manufacturing process. The coupling of the seal to the seal carrier is obtainable by manufacturing the seal arrangement with a multi-material injection molding manufacturing process. The present disclosure further relates to a method for manufacturing a filter element, the method including steps of thermal welding and multi-material injection molding.
Claims19
A filter element comprising:
- a filter medium pack, wherein the filter medium pack comprises an outer circumferential face extending in a longitudinal direction and a first axial face transverse to said longitudinal direction;
- and
- a molded single-structure seal arrangement comprising a seal and a seal carrier, wherein the seal comprises a first material and the seal carrier comprises a second material, wherein a transition temperature of the first material is greater than a transition temperature of the second material, and wherein the second material is different from the first material;
- wherein the seal carrier comprises a first axial side, and wherein the first axial side of the seal carrier is thermally welded to at least a circumferential portion of the first axial face of the filter medium pack.
A method of manufacturing a filter element, the method comprising:
- providing a filter medium pack having a circumferential face extending in a longitudinal direction, and a first axial face transverse to said longitudinal direction;
- providing a seal carrier, wherein a seal arrangement comprises a molded single-structure seal arrangement comprising a seal and the seal carrier, wherein the seal comprises a first material and the seal carrier comprises a second material, wherein a transition temperature of the first material is greater than a transition temperature of the second material;
- and
- applying a thermal welding manufacturing process to couple a first axial side of the seal carrier to at least a circumferential portion of the first axial face of the filter medium pack.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.