FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT 1970 [39 OF 1970]
AND
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10; Rule 13)
TITLE OF THE INVENTION
“A SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CLEARING OUTLET PASSAGE OF A DUST EJECTOR VALVE IN AUTOMOBILE”
APPLICANT(S)
TATA MOTORS LIMITED
an Indian company having its registered office at
Bombay House, 24 Homi Mody Street,
Hutatma Chowk, Mumbai 400 001,
Maharashtra, India
PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION
The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present disclosure relates in general to air filtering for automobiles. Particularly the present disclosure relates to a system and method for clearing outlet passage of a dust ejector valve in automobile.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Air filtering is often required for smooth and proper operation of internal combustion engines. The ambient air consists solid particulate matters comprising, but not limited to dust, pollen grain, abrasives and the like. The function of the air intake system is to clean the ambient air prior to the entrance into the internal combustion engine as the ambient air aids in combustion of fuel. If the ambient air is allowed to pass unfiltered to the internal combustion engine, it may lead to serious and permanent damage to the piston linings and cylinder surfaces. An air filtering unit comprising a filter element, a housing and dust ejector valve is installed for the provision of a filtered ambient air to the internal combustion engine.
[0003] When the ambient air enters into the air cleaner housing, air tends to take a helical pattern and swirls inside the housing. During the swirling motion, the heavy dust particles settle at the bottom of the air cleaner housing due to its inertia. Furthermore, due to vibrations of engine and jerking of vehicle, the dust accumulated on the filter element falls and settles at the bottom of the air cleaner housing. The dust ejector valve assembled at the bottom of the air cleaner housing is enabled to eject the accumulated dust particles. The accumulated dust is ejected from the dust ejector valve during the intermediate pressure pulses which are generated due to the engine. The pressure pulses enable the dust ejector valve to open and close the outlet passage with respect to the generated pressure pulsations. The opening and closing of the dust ejector valve leads to the ejection of dust from the air cleaner housing.

[0004] The convention process of ejection of dust from the dust ejector valve is not effective in conditions when the dust ejector valve is exposed to fluids which cause mixing of the fluids with the dust, which hardens further. Such situation may occur in rainy seasons or in humid conditions. In addition to rainy season, water or any fluid can splash over the air intake system when the vehicle passes over muddy surfaces. During the monsoons or rainy season, the atmospheric air containing some moisture may enter in the air intake system. Some amount of this moisture may agglomerate with the fine dust at the bottom of the air cleaner housing. Such agglomeration may lead to the accumulation of fine dust paste which may settles at the dust ejector valve. The fine paste may get hardened after as time progresses. When the engine produces the fluctuating pressure pulses, the hardened dust may restrict the flow of the upstream dust out of the air cleaner system. The restriction of the flow may result in improper functioning of the dust ejector valve.
[0005] The information disclosed in this background of the disclosure section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] Disclosed is a system for clearing an outlet passage of a dust ejector valve connected to a housing of an air cleaner unit which is enabled to supply filtered air to an internal combustion engine by filtering dust from ambient air wherein the dust accumulated within the air cleaner unit is expelled through the outlet passage of the dust ejector valve. The system comprises an air jet nozzle assembled within the dust ejector valve and enabled to expel pressurized air towards the outlet passage of the dust ejector valve. The system further comprises an electromechanical valve connected between a pressurized air source and the air jet nozzle. The system further comprises an engine ignition switch, processing unit in communication with the engine ignition switch and the electro-mechanical valve wherein the processing

unit, based on the operation signals received from the engine ignition switch, selectively operates the electromechanical valve to allow a jet of pressurized air towards the outlet passage of the dust ejector valve thereby clearing the outlet passage by removal of accumulated dust present in the outlet passage by the pressurized air.
[0007] Disclosed is a method of clearing an outlet passage of a dust ejector valve of a vehicle. The method comprises the step of receiving, by a processing unit, a first signal corresponding to switching off of the operation of an internal combustion engine of the vehicle. The method further comprises the step of sending, by the processing unit, a second signal to the electromechanical valve to open and transfer pressurized air towards the outlet passage of the dust ejector valve through an air jet thereby clearing the outlet passage by removal of accumulated dust present in the outlet passage by the pressurized air.
[0008] The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
[0009] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate exemplary embodiments and, together with the description, explain the disclosed principles. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the figures to reference like features and components. Some embodiments of system and/or methods in accordance with embodiments of the present subject matter are now described, by way of example only, and regarding the accompanying figures, in which:

[0010] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary arrangement of an air intake system, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0011] FIG. 2 illustrates a side view of the air intake system, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0012] FIG. 3 illustrates a close view of the dust ejector valve 109 with an air jet nozzle, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0013] FIG. 4 shows a block diagram illustrating the connections between components of the air cleaning system, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0014] FIG. 5 shows a method of cleaning the outlet passage of the dust ejector valve with some embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0015] It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any block diagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrative systems embodying the principles of the present subject matter. Similarly, it will be appreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams, state transition diagrams, pseudo code, and the like represent various processes which may be substantially represented in computer readable medium and executed by a computer or processor, whether such computer or processor is explicitly shown.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE IVENTION
[0016] In the present document, the word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment or implementation of the present subject matter described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.

[0017] While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiment thereof has been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail below. It should be understood, however that it is not intended to limit the disclosure to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternative falling within the scope of the disclosure.
[0018] The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “includes”, or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a setup, device, or method that comprises a list of components or steps does not include only those components or steps but may include other components or steps not expressly listed or inherent to such setup or device or method. In other words, one or more elements in a system or apparatus proceeded by “comprises… a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the system or method.
[0019] Referring to Figure 1, an arrangement of an air intake system 100 for an automobile is illustrated, in accordance to some embodiments of the present subject matter.
[0020] The air Intake System 100 comprises a snorkel 101, a rubber grommets 102 a bellow 103 and an air cleaner unit 104. The snorkel 101 is enabled to feed ambient air to the air cleaner unit 104 via the bellow 103. The snorkel 101 is attached to the body or the frame of the automobile via fasteners or any temporary or permanent joining elements. The bellow 103 enabled to absorb vibrations and shocks during the vehicle ride and also to compensate the misalignment between snorkel 101 and the air cleaner unit 104. The air cleaner unit 104 may further comprise a housing 105, a filter element 106, an air cleaner inlet 107, an air cleaner inlet 108 (not shown in the figures) and a dust ejector valve 109. The housing 105 is a hollow container enabled to receive the ambient air at the air cleaner inlet 107 from the bellow 103. The housing 105 is enabled to accommodate the filter element 106 wherein the filter

captures the dust from the ambient air thereby cleaning the ambient air to provide a filtered air towards an internal combustion engine 110 (not shown in the figures) through the air cleaner outlet 108.
[0021] In an embodiment, the three functional design parameters of a filter element 106 comprise low air flow resistance, high efficiency and high dust holding capacity. Full life efficiency is the ability of air cleaner unit to remove the contaminants. Dust holding capacity is the total increase in the mass of the element when the maximum allowable pressure drop is reached. Basic structure of an air cleaner unit is determined on the constraints of available space as well as internal combustion engine 110 performance parameters.
[0022] Referring to Fig. 2, a side view of the air Intake System 100 is disclosed, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Fig. 2 further discloses the Air Intake System 100 from the air cleaner outlet 108 side of the air cleaner unit 104 with the attachments for the transfer of filtered air from the air cleaner unit 104 to the turbo charger. The dust ejector valve 109 is connected on the bottom of the housing 105.
[0023] The ambient air comprising dust in the form of particulate matter may pass through the snorkel 101 and enters into air cleaner unit 104 via the bellow 103. The dust may comprise sea salt, dust (airborne soil, also referred as crustal material), secondary sulphate, pollen, black carbon from wild fires, and volcanic ash. While entering the air cleaner unit 104 through the air cleaner inlet 107, the ambient air travels through a helical path around the filter element 106 element resulting in centrifugal pre-cleaning wherein the heavy dust particles separate due to centrifugal action. The pre-cleaned air is further passed through the filter element 106 where the foreign particles are separated to form filtered air. The filtered air is further passed through the air cleaner outlet 108 from the clean side pipe 111 towards turbo charger via a turbo connector hose 113. Fig. 2 discloses the connection of air cleaner outlet 108 towards a turbo charger is an embodiment, however, the connection of

the air cleaner outlet 108 is not limited to turbo charger and air cleaner outlet 108 may be connected towards internal combustion engine 110. The clean side pipe 111 is supported by the mounting bracket 112. The filtered air then enters into the turbocharger via turbo connector hose 113.
[0024] Referring to Fig. 3, a close view of the dust ejector valve 109 with an air jet nozzle 303 is illustrated, in accordance to various embodiments of the present disclosure. The dust separated due to the spinning action of air settles at the bottom of the housing 105 where the dust is collected in dust ejector valve 109. Dust ejector valve 109 is a small wedge rubber molded part, with cut out at one end forming lips 301. There will be a very small clearance between the two lips 301 of dust ejector valve 109 forming an outlet passage of the dust ejector valve 109. When the internal combustion engine 110 is in running condition, there will be a vacuum in the Air Intake System 100. The negative pressure in the air cleaner unit causes the lips 301 of dust ejector valve 109 to close the outlet passage 302. In an alternative embodiment, the internal combustion engine 110 also has a cyclic effect of pressure pulsation, which causes the lips 301 of the dust ejector valve 109 to open and close the outlet passage 302 as per the pressure pulses. The pressure pulsations lead to the opening of the outlet passage 302 of the dust ejector valve 109. The outlet passage 302 of the dust ejector valve 109 is opened when lips 301 move apart from each other further creating a clearance through which the dust is expelled out of the air cleaner unit.
[0025] The air jet nozzle 303 is enabled to receive pressurized air from a high pressure line 304. The air jet nozzle 303 may be aligned in the dust ejector valve 109 such that the jet of pressurized air is expelled towards the outlet passage 302 of the dust ejector valve 109. In an embodiment, due to the jet of pressurized air, a clearance is made through the outlet passage 302 by forcing the dust present in any form to get expelled through the outlet passage 302. The force generated by jet of pressurized air causes the removal of the dust in the housing 105 before the hardening of dust on dust ejector valve 109.

[0026] Referring to Fig. 4, a block diagram illustrating the connections between components of the air cleaning system is disclosed, in accordance to the various embodiments of the present subject matter.
[0027] The operation of the internal combustion engine 110 is governed by an engine ignition switch 401, which is enabled to send a first signal to a processing unit 402. In an embodiment, when the internal combustion engine 110 is started through the engine ignition switch 401, a Switch – ON signal is received by the processing unit 402. Furthermore, when the internal combustion engine 110 is switched off through the engine ignition switch 401, a switch – OFF signal is received by the processing unit 402.
[0028] On receiving the Switch – OFF signal, the processing unit 402 is further enabled to send a second signal to the electromechanical valve 305 to actuate and open the connection between a brake booster tank 403 and the air jet nozzle 303 present in the dust ejector valve 109. Once the electromechanical valve 305 is actuated, compressed air is sent to the air jet nozzle 303 from the brake booster tank 403 through the high pressure line 304. The air jet nozzle 303 may clear the outlet passage 302 of the dust ejector valve 109 by discharging the pressurized air.
[0029] In an embodiment, the electromechanical valve 305 is actuated for a predefined time by the processing unit 402. The predefined time limit may be stored in a memory 404 linked to the processing unit 402 wherein the predefined time limit may be changed by a user as per the need.
[0030] Referring to Fig. 5, a method 500 of cleaning the outlet passage 302 of the dust ejector valve 109 is disclosed, in accordance to various embodiments of the present subject matter.
[0031] At step 501, the internal combustion engine 110 is in operation condition wherein the user may switch on the operation of the internal combustion engine 110

via the engine ignition switch 401. In an embodiment, the internal combustion engine 110 may be operated for locomotion or travelling from one point to another.
[0032] At step 502, when the user stops the operation of the internal combustion engine 110 via the engine ignition switch 401 when the operation of internal combustion engine 110 is not required. In an embodiment, the internal combustion engine 110 may be switched off when the journey or the travelling of the user is completed and the user requires to park automobile. When the internal combustion engine 110 is switched off via the engine ignition switch 401, a first signal received by the processing unit 402 wherein the signal related to the state of the operation of internal combustion engine 110 in switch – OFF state.
[0033] At step 503, on receiving the first signal, the processing unit 402 is configured to send the second signal to the electromechanical valve 305 for actuation. The second signal may actuate the electromechanical valve for a predefined time period. The actuation of the electromechanical valve 305 may open the link between the brake booster tank 403 and the air jet nozzle 303.
[0034] At step 504, when the link between the brake booster tank 403 and the air jet nozzle 303 is opened by the actuation of the electromechanical valve 305, high pressure air is transferred via the high pressure line 304 from the brake booster tank 403 to the air jet nozzle 303.
[0035] At step 505, a jet of pressurized air is expelled by the air jet nozzle 303 towards the outlet passage 302 thereby clearing the dust accumulated in and over the outlet passage.
[0036] Finally, the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and it may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by

any claims that issue on an application based here on. Accordingly, the embodiments of the present invention are intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims.
[0037] While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.

Referral Numerals:

Reference Number Description
100 Air Intake System
101 Snorkel
102 Rubber grommets
103 Bellow
104 Air cleaner unit
105 Housing
106 Filter element
107 Air cleaner inlet
108 Air cleaner outlet
109 Dust Ejector Valve
110 Internal combustion engine
111 Clean side pipe
112 Mounting bracket
113 Turbo connector hose
301 Lips
302 Outlet Passage
303 Air jet nozzle
304 High pressure line
305 Electromechanical valve
401 Engine ignition switch
402 Processing unit
403 Brake booster tank
404 Memory

WE CLAIM:
1. A system 100 for clearing an outlet passage 302 of a dust ejector valve 109
connected to a housing 105 of an air cleaner unit 104 which is enabled to
supply filtered air to an internal combustion engine 110 by filtering dust
from ambient air wherein the dust accumulated within the air cleaner unit
104 is expelled through the outlet passage 302 of the dust ejector valve 109,
the system 100 comprising:
an air jet nozzle 303 assembled within the dust ejector valve 109 and enabled to expel pressurized air towards the outlet passage 302 of the dust ejector valve 109;
an electromechanical valve 305 connected between a pressurized air source and the air jet nozzle 303;
an engine ignition switch 401 send the status of the operation of the internal combustion engine 110,
a processing unit 402 in communication with the engine ignition switch 401 and the electro-mechanical valve wherein the processing unit 402, based on the operation signals received from the engine ignition switch 401, selectively operates the electromechanical valve 305 to allow a jet of pressurized air towards the outlet passage 302 of the dust ejector valve 109 thereby clearing the outlet passage 302 by removal of accumulated dust present in the outlet passage 302 by the pressurized air.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the outlet passage 302 of the dust ejector valve 109 is opened corresponding to a positive pressure pulsation development within the air cleaning unit and is closed corresponding to a negative pressure pulsation developed within the air cleaning unit.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the engine ignition switch 401 sends the status of the internal combustion engine 110 in a switch - ON state and in an switch - OFF state to processing unit 402.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the electromechanical valve 305 is operated for the actuation of the air jet when the status of the internal combustion engine 110 is detected in an OFF state from an ON state.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the electro-mechanical valve 305 is opened for a pre-determined time interval.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the pressurized air source is a brake booster tank.
7. A method of clearing an outlet passage 302 of a dust ejector valve 109 of a vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
receiving, by a processing unit 402, a first signal corresponding to switching off of engine ignition switch of the vehicle;
sending, by the processing unit 402, a second signal to the electromechanical valve 305 to open and transfer pressurized air towards the outlet passage 302 of the dust ejector valve 109 through an air jet thereby clearing the outlet passage 302 by removal of accumulated dust present in the outlet passage 302 by the pressurized air.
8. The method of claim 6, further comprising the transfer of pressurized air
from a brake booster tank 403 to the air jet nozzle through the
electromechanical valve 305.