Air filter for vehicle

Abstract

An air filter for a vehicle engine includes an outer frame having ribs and an inner frame nested within the outer frame, the inner frame having air redirecting baffles. The outer frame includes a central downwardly-depending finned support that extends between the baffles of the inner frame, and a non-inverted portion of a filter element is held between the baffles and ribs, while an inverted portion of the filter element is held taut between the finned support and the baffles. The presence of both an inverted and non-inverted portion of the filter element, as well as the multi-fluted configuration of the filter that is established by the cooperation of the ribs and baffles, optimizes the air filtration surface of the filter. The filter element is pinched between a bottom flange of the outer frame and a groove on the base of the inner frame that receives the bottom flange therein. With this structure, a filter element characterized by, e.g., high porosity and a correspondingly low resistance to air flow can be installed when relatively high prolonged engine speeds are expected during, e.g., racing, and, when lower or variable engine speeds are expected, e.g., for city driving, the frames can be easily separated and the filter element replaced with a low porosity, high resistance element that is more appropriate for such engine speeds.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.