Intake air pre-cleaner with aspirator port chamber for collecting and holding particles for later aspiration

Abstract

A pre-cleaner for an air induction system of an internal combustion engine including a housing enclosing an upper chamber and an aspirator port chamber, the upper chamber containing a plurality of particulate separator tubes for removing particles from air flowing through the tubes en route to the engine. The aspirator port chamber is located beneath and is upwardly open to the particulate outlets such that discharged particles can fall or flow from the tubes into the aspirator port chamber, the aspirator port chamber containing a large capacity upwardly facing particle collecting surface or trough for receiving the particles, and the housing including a generally horizontally facing aspirator port connecting to the aspirator port chamber adjacent to the particle collecting surface or trough, the aspirator port having a predetermined vertical extent and the particle collecting surface or trough having a horizontal extent in a direction substantially directly facing or aligned with the aspirator port sufficiently greater than the vertical extent of the aspirator port such that during periods when the particles are not aspirated into the aspirator port the particles can collect and settle on the particle collecting surface or trough for later aspiration when conditions improve.