Air intake system
AssigneeFord Motor Company
InventorsThomas Cusumano, Craig Smith
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A novel air intake system which is suitable for at least substantially reducing the inadvertent intake of water with ambient air into an air compressor or other operational component of a fuel cell or internal combustion engine is disclosed. The air intake system typically includes an elongated air flow conduit having a downwardly-angled air inlet arm that is typically fitted with multiple louver elements and a splash shield to deflect entering water downwardly into a drain or gullet chamber. The air intake system typically further includes a mechanism for gravity-mediated draining of water from the air flow conduit to prevent entering water from being drawn into the air compressor or other component.
Claims9
An air intake system comprising:
- an elongated air flow conduit;
- an air inlet arm provided in fluid communication with said air flow conduit;
- a plurality of louver elements provided in said air inlet arm and defining a plurality of air flow spaces;
- a splash shield extending into said air inlet arm for deflecting water from said air flow conduit;
- and
- a filter housing having a filter provided in fluid communication with said air flow conduit.
An air intake system comprising:
- an elongated air flow conduit having a generally vertical air intake segment;
- an air inlet arm provided in fluid communication with said air intake segment, said air inlet arm extending generally downwardly at an angle with respect to said air intake segment;
- a plurality of grille louvers provided in said air inlet arm and defining a plurality of air flow spaces;
- a splash shield extending into said air inlet arm for deflecting water from said air flow conduit;
- and
- a filter housing having a filter provided in fluid communication with said air flow conduit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.