Nelson Industries, Inc.

Daniel R Cady

Barry Mark Verdegan

Brian W Schwandt

Kent Jeffrey Kallsen

Jeffrey S Morgan

Stephen L Fallon

Tadeusz Jaroszczyk

Jon S Wake

Gene A Mullins, Jr

W Lee Currier

A filter is composed of filter media having the following characteristics in combination: a) the filter media has a greater affinity for the filtered fluid than for contaminants in the fluid, and wherein the work of adhesion between the filter media and the contaminants is less than the work of adhesion between the filter media and fluid, and wherein the filter media is preferentially wetted by the fluid relative to the contaminants; b) the filter media is composed of fibers having a defined surface area ratio facilitating fewer attachment sites for contaminants, and, in the case of cleanable reusable filters, facilitating cleansing backwash of the cleanable reusable filter by cleansing fluid along a reverse flow backflush path; c) the filter media has a thickness of 0.025 to 0.075 inch, 0.7 to 2.0 millimeters; d) the face area of the filter media is maximized by pleating the filter media and forming the pleated filter media into an annulus having an inner circumference and an outer circumference and having at least five pleats per inch along the inner circumference; e) the filter media is optionally provided with both upstream and downstream support layers preventing collapse of the thin surface filter media during both filtration and backwash, the support layers being pleated annular screens sandwiching the pleated filter media therebetween, the inner portions of the pleats of the downstream support layer screen adjacent the inner circumference preventing blinding.

Filter with preferential fluid affinity

Enhanced performance fibrous media ( ) is provided by orienting filter media fibers ( ) dominantly parallel to the fluid flow direction ( ). Filter media construction is provided by a sheet ( ) having an internal pleated subsheet ( ) with pleats ( ) engaging and packed against each other sufficiently tightly and bonded ( ) such that fluid flows along the flow direction through the pleats in parallel therewith, rather than between the pleats and then transversely therethrough. An extended life two-stage fluid filter assembly includes first and second filter elements ( and ), wherein the pleats ( ) of a main downstream filter element ( ) are spaced from each other along a spacing direction ( ) transverse to the flow direction ( ) and defining a transverse gap ( ) therebetween through which fluid flows, and wherein the pleats ( ) of an upstream prefilter element ( ) are packed against each other without such transverse gap and blocking fluid flow therebetween.

Enhanced performance fibrous filter media and extended life fluid filter assembly

A filter housing ( ) has a first inlet ( ) for receiving a first fluid such as oil from a machine such as an internal combustion engine ( ), a first outlet ( ) returning the first fluid to the machine, a second inlet ( ) selectively receiving a second fluid from a source of cleaning fluid ( ), and a second outlet ( ) exhausting the second fluid. The filter housing has a first flow path therethrough from the first inlet through a filter element ( ) in one direction to the first outlet, and a second flow path therethrough from the second inlet then through the filter element in the opposite direction then to the second outlet. The first and second inlets and the first and second outlets are all provided at the same axial end of the housing, for modularity. First and second common flow channels ( and ) in the housing each carry the first and second fluids in opposite directions. First and second valves ( and ) in the housing enable switching between filtration and cleaning modes.

In-situ modular cleanable filter

Growing community of inventors

Madison, WI, United States of America

Daniel R Cady