Claims:1. An air cleaner device (200) for an off-road vehicle, said air cleaner device (200) comprising:
an air cleaner housing (201), said air cleaner housing (201) having an air inlet (205) for receiving air and an air outlet (207) connected to an engine of said off-road vehicle;
a liquid sump (203) attached to a lower end (201A) of said air cleaner housing (201);
said air inlet (205) having first end (205A) in communication with atmosphere and a second end (205B) in communication with said liquid sump (203);
a non-linear pathway (209) is defined inside said air cleaner housing (201) above said liquid sump (203);
a plurality of filter membrane (211) disposed inside said air cleaner housing (201) above said non-linear pathway (209);
a dry filter element (213) disposed inside said air cleaner housing (201) between said filter membrane (111) and said air outlet (207);
wherein,
said non-linear pathway (209), said plurality of filter membrane (211) and said dry filter element (213) are disposed inside said air cleaner housing (201) to reduce/prevent a liquid pull-over of the air from said liquid sump (203).
2. The air cleaner device (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said liquid sump (203) is detachably attached to said lower end (201A) of said air cleaner housing (201) for changing a liquid in said liquid sump (203).
3. The air cleaner device (200) as claimed in claim 2, wherein said liquid sump (203) is filled with lubricant oil, said second end (205B) of said air inlet (205) opens above a surface of said lubricant oil, said liquid sump (203) is co-axial to said air inlet (205).
4. The air cleaner device (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said air cleaner device (200) includes a conical shaped splash guard (215) extending above and away from said liquid sump (203), said conical shaped splash guard (215) configured to reduce the liquid splash when said air flows from said air inlet (205) to contact the liquid in said liquid sump (203).
5. The air cleaner device (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said non-linear pathway (209) defines a serpentine path configuration, wherein one end of said non-linear pathway (209) is in fluid communication with an air inlet section (209A) and another end of said non-linear pathway (209B) is in communication with an air outlet section (209B) and said non-linear pathway (209) is defined between said filter membrane (211) and said liquid sump (203) inside said air cleaner housing (201) to remove the oil particles present in the air flow.
6. The air cleaner device (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said filter membrane (211) is disposed between said non-linear pathway (209) and said dry filter element (213) inside said air cleaner housing (201) to separate the tiny oil particulates and water vapors present in the air flow and said filter membrane (211) pore size is between 0.2 μm and 0.5 μm.
7. The air cleaner device (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said filter membrane (211) is one of a Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane filter, a Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane filter, a Nylon membrane filter and a Polypropylene membrane filter.
8. The air cleaner device (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said dry filter element (213) is one of a paper filter, a wire mesh screen, a wire wool, a glass wool and a fabric, said dry filter element (213) is disposed between said filter membrane (211) and said air outlet (207) to remove dust particulates present in the air flow.
9. A method (300) of cleaning intake air to an engine of an off-road vehicle, said method (300) comprising the steps of:
defining an air inlet (205) and an air outlet (207) by an air cleaner housing (201);
attaching a liquid sump (203) to a lower end (201A) of said air cleaner housing (201);
allowing a first end (205A) of said air inlet (205) in communication with atmosphere and a second end (205B) of said air inlet (205) in communication with said liquid sump (203);
connecting said air outlet (207) to said engine of said off-road vehicle;
defining a non-linear pathway (209) inside said air cleaner housing (201) above said liquid sump (203);
disposing a plurality of filter membrane (111) inside said air cleaner housing (101) above said non-linear pathway (209); and
disposing a dry filter element (113) inside said air cleaner housing (101) between said filter membrane (211) and said air outlet (207).
10. The method (300) of cleaning the intake air to the engine of the off-road vehicle as claimed in claim 9, wherein,
said non-linear pathway (109) is defined between said filter membrane (111) and said liquid sump (103) inside said air cleaner housing (101);
said filter membrane (111) is disposed between said non-linear pathway (109) and said dry filter element (113) inside said air cleaner housing (101);
said filter membrane (111) is one of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane filter, Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane filter, Nylon membrane filter and Polypropylene membrane filter;
said dry filter element (113) is one of a paper filter, a wire mesh screen, a wire wool, a glass wool and a fabric, said dry filter element (113) is disposed between said filter membrane (111) and said air outlet (107); and
said non-linear pathway (209), said plurality of filter membrane (211) and said dry filter element (213) are disposed inside said air cleaner housing (201) to reduce/prevent a liquid pull-over of the air from said liquid sump (203).
, Description:TECHNICAL FIELD
[001] The present disclosure relates to an air cleaner device for an off-road vehicle including tractors or an agricultural vehicle. In particular, the present disclosure relates to an oil bath type air cleaner for agricultural vehicles such as tractors which exhibit reduced oil-pull over during the engine operations thereof.
BACKGROUND
[002] Vehicles used in an agricultural and constructional environment include tractor, bulldozer, excavator, harvester, cultivator, cargo vehicle, utility vehicle, multifunctional vehicle, multipurpose vehicle, leisure vehicle, pickup vehicle, transport vehicle, agricultural vehicle, farm vehicle, skid loader, industry vehicle, load vehicle and the like are specially designed for off-road applications. Generally, these off-road vehicles often operate in a dusty environment and require a highly efficient air cleaner to remove any particulate matter from the air which is entering into the vehicle engine intake system. The air cleaner are adapted to filter the atmospheric air before it is passed to the engine to prevent dust, dirt, grit, and other debris from causing any damage to the engine which prolongs engine life.
[003] Air cleaners used in the vehicles are classified on the basis of principles of filtration and nature of filtering material. The type of filter adopted for a particular vehicle engine depends upon the atmosphere in which the engine has to operate. The air cleaners generally used are liquid bath type air cleaner, dry-type air cleaner, oil wetted type air cleaner, paper pleated type air cleaner and centrifugal type air cleaner. The liquid-bath type air cleaners widely used in off-road vehicles because these off-road vehicles often operate in a dusty environment. This liquid bath type air cleaner consists of a separate oil sump at the bottom of the air cleaner that helps to remove the large, heavy particles present in the intake air flow. Since the oil sump helps to remove the heavy dust particles in the air flow, the lifetime or the service interval of a filter element which is present in the liquid-bath type air cleaner is increased. The liquid-bath type air cleaner is a heavy-duty air cleaner and removes 92 to 96% of the dirt, which is present in the intake air flow, thus, these air cleaners are widely used in off-road vehicles. The other type of air cleaners such as dry-type air cleaner, oil wetted type air cleaner, paper pleated type does not have the oil sump and the filter element is the only source to clean the intake air flow. Thus, if the other types of air cleaners are used in the heavy duty dusty environments, the lifetime of the filter element which is present in the other types of air cleaner is reduced. In that case, the user need to replace or clean the filter element frequently when compared to the liquid bath type air cleaner. The off-road vehicles often operated in the dusty environment the liquid bath type air cleaner is preferred for better performance and extended service life of the filter element.
[004] The operation of air cleaning is carried out in two stages in the conventional liquid bath type air cleaner. In the first stage, during engine operation, due to engine suction, a vacuum is created in the air-cleaner body and fresh air entering through an air-intake pipe is forced down vertically into the oil reservoir and then reversed upward into the filter element. The dust particles impinge the oil surface and get absorbed by the oil bath. In the second stage, the partly cleaned air passes through the filter element in which the remaining dust particles are retained. Finally, the cleaned air passes to the engine through the engine intake pipe.
[005] However, there is a disadvantage associated with such liquid-bath type air-cleaners, is that the cleaned air passed from oil bath carries a substantial quantity of oil with it from the oil reservoir into the engine. This oil carried by cleaned air sucked into the engine is called ‘oil pull over’ or ‘liquid pull over’.
[006] This ‘liquid pull-over’ phenomenon leads to increased oil residue and contamination on the engine combustion chamber, pistons, intake and exhaust manifolds, fuel injectors and valves, and thus results in increased emissions. Normally, this liquid pull-over is more than 1% by weight of the oil present in the oil reservoir of the air-filter in the given time interval. However, with the continuous environment degradation and challenges posed thereon due to the ever-rising greenhouse effects by continuously increasing pollution, such oil pull-over in air cleaners for off-road vehicle engines needs to be limited as low as possible.
[007] Therefore, felt a need for developing a simple, efficient liquid bath type air cleaner for the off-road vehicle, which obviates the aforementioned drawbacks. Further, there exists a need for a method of cleaning intake air to the engine of the off-road vehicle, which obviates the aforementioned drawbacks.
OBJECTS
[008] Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfies, are as follows:
[009] An object of the present disclosure is to provide an oil bath type air cleaner for agricultural vehicles such as tractors which exhibit reduced oil-pull over during the engine operations thereof.
[0010] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a method of cleaning intake air to an engine of the off-road vehicle for effectively filtering the intake air along with reduced oil pull over.
[0011] Still another object of the present disclosure is to provide the air cleaner device and method suitable for the agricultural or other work vehicle working in contaminated or dusty conditions.
[0012] Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide the air cleaner device which is cost effective.
[0013] Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide the air cleaner device which is easy to maintain.
[0014] Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide the air cleaner device which is prolongs the life of the engine.
[0015] Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide the air cleaner device which increases the change interval time of an air filter element.
[0016] Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide the air cleaner device with a plurality of removable filter elements to reduce/prevent a liquid pull-over of the air from a liquid sump.
[0017] These and other objects of the embodiments herein will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following descriptions, while indicating embodiments and numerous specific details thereof, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the embodiments herein without departing from the spirit thereof, and the embodiments herein include all such modifications.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
[0018] The embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:
[0019] Figure 1 depicts a front cross-sectional view of a conventional air-cleaner device for an off-road vehicle, such as an agricultural tractor;
[0020] Figure 2 depicts front cross-sectional of an air cleaner device for the off-road vehicle, according to the embodiment as disclosed herein;
[0021] Figure 3 depicts a flowchart indicating a method for cleaning intake air to an engine of an off-road vehicle, according to the embodiment as disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0022] The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying figures and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein. Referring now to the figures where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures, there are shown embodiments.
[0023] For the purpose of this description and ease of understanding, an air cleaner device for an off-road vehicle and method thereof is explained herein below in conjunction with the agricultural vehicle such as tractor. However, it is also within the scope of the invention to use the air cleaner device and method in any other vehicle without otherwise deterring the intended function as can be deduced from the description and corresponding drawings.
[0024] As discussed hereinbefore, liquid-bath type air cleaner consists of the separate oil sump at the bottom of the air cleaner that helps to remove the large, heavy particles present in the intake air flow. During engine operation, a vacuum is created in the air-cleaner body and fresh air entering through an air-intake pipe is forced down vertically into the oil reservoir and then reversed upward into the filter element. The dust particles impinge to the oil surface and get absorbed in oil bath. In the second stage, the partly cleaned air passes through the filter element in which the remaining dust particles are retained. Finally, the cleaned air passes to the engine through the engine intake pipe.
[0025] Figure 1 depicts a front cross-sectional view of a conventional air-cleaner device (100) for an off-road vehicle (not shown). The conventional air cleaner device (100) comprises a housing (101) mounted on an oil sump (103). The oil sump (103) reserves a lubricating oil. An air intake pipe (105) is configured with two open ends namely a first open end (105A) and a second open end (105B). The first open end (105A) of the air intake pipe (105) allows the entry of fresh intake air (A) into the housing (101). The second open end (105B) of the air intake pipe (105) is disposed slightly above the oil level in the oil sump (103). An air output pipe (107) is provided near the upper portion of the housing (101) laterally to supply substantially cleaned filtered air to an internal combustion engine (E) of the vehicle, e.g., agricultural tractor engine. A plurality of wire mesh filter (109) are disposed in the middle portion of the housing (101). During engine operation, due to engine suction, the intake air (A) from atmosphere passes through the air intake pipe (105), strikes the oil in oil sump (103) and returns towards the plurality of wire mesh filters (109) which is supplied to the internal combustion engine (E). The oil sump (103) is attached with the housing (101), preferably by means of welding in the conventional air cleaner device (100). The atmosphere air (A), which is often excessively contaminated in dusty operating conditions of the vehicle, e.g., agricultural tractor, entering through first open end (105A) of the air intake pipe (105) is released at the second open end (105B) of the air intake pipe (105) thereof, whereby the air impinges on the oil surface, whereby the dust particles stick to the oil surface. Further the direction of the air is reversed due to suction of the engine, whereby the air turns back upward towards the wire mesh filters (109) to filter any particulate matter, e.g., small dust particles contained in this atmosphere air A for cleaning thereof. Subsequently, the clean filtered air is supplied to the engine E. However, the problem associated with this conventional air cleaner device (100) is that while the air stream strikes the oil surface, a substantial amount of oil particles is also transported along with the air into the engine, which is called as liquid pull-over. This “liquid pull-over” phenomenon causes increased oil residue and contamination on the pistons, intake and exhaust manifolds, fuel injectors and valves, and thus results in increased emissions. Usually, this liquid pull-over is observed to be more than 1% by weight of the lubricant oil present in the oil sump (103) of the conventional air cleaner (100) in a predetermined period. Moreover, the high-pressure drop observed in conventional air cleaner (100) also leads to choking thereof, thereby reducing the service life of the wire mesh filter (109).
[0026] Figure 2 depicts front cross-sectional view of an air cleaner device (200) for the off-road vehicle (not shown), according to the embodiment as disclosed herein. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the air cleaner device (200) for an off-road vehicle includes an air cleaner housing (201), a liquid sump (203), an air inlet (205) and an air outlet (207). Generally, the air cleaner device (200) is mounted vertically in front of the off-road vehicle engine. The air cleaner housing (201) is made of metal or plastic, such as high-impact polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, high-density polyethylene, or polypropylene. The air cleaner housing (201) includes the air inlet (205) for receiving atmosphere air and the air outlet (207) connected to the engine (E) of the off-road vehicle. The air inlet (205) includes a first end (205A) provided in communication with atmosphere i.e., for receiving atmosphere air and a second end (205B) provided in communication with the liquid sump (203). The liquid sump (203) is attached to a lower end (201A) of the air cleaner housing (201). In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the liquid sump (203) is detachably attached to the lower end (201A) of the air cleaner housing (201) for changing a liquid such as lubricant oil. However, it is also within the scope of the invention, the liquid sump (203) is welded to the air cleaner housing (201) and having a separate opening for refilling the liquid in the sump (203). The liquid sump (203) is attached to the air cleaner housing (201) in such a way that the second end (205B) of the air inlet (205) opens above a surface of the lubricant oil and the liquid sump (203) is co-axial to the air inlet (205).
[0027] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the air cleaner device (200) includes a conical shaped splash guard (215) extending above and away from the liquid sump (203). The conical shaped splash guard (215) configured to reduce the liquid splash when the air flows from the air inlet (205) to contact the liquid in the liquid sump (203). In the embodiment of the present disclosure, a nonlinear pathway (209) defined inside the air cleaner housing (201) extend from a corresponding air inlet section (209A) to an air outlet section (209B). The number of non-linear pathway (209) is considered to be one in the present embodiment of the disclosure. However, it is also within the scope of the invention to provide more than one non-linear pathways (209) inside the air cleaner housing (201) around the air inlet (205). The non-linear pathway (209) allows the air flow from the air inlet section (209A) to the fluid outlet section (209B). The non-linear pathway (209) defines a serpentine path configuration, where one end of non-linear pathway (209) is in fluid communication with the corresponding air inlet section (209A) and another end of the non-linear pathway (209B) is in communication with the air outlet section (209B). Accordingly, the air flows to the air outlet section (120) through the non-linear pathway (209) whereby the air flowing through the non-linear pathway (209) converges into the air outlet section (120) which causes the air to flow out at a high discharge rate at low operating pressure. Also, the non-linear pathway (209) used to remove the oil particles present in the air flow. The air flow continuously hits the walls of the air cleaner housing (201) while travelling in the non-linear pathway (209). The oil particles present in the air flow is separated and drops down in the oil sump (203) due to gravity.
[0028] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, a plurality of filter membrane (211) is disposed inside the air cleaner housing (201) above the non-linear pathway (209). In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the filter membrane (211) is one of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane filter, Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane filter, Nylon membrane filter and Polypropylene membrane filter. However, it is also within the scope of the invention, to consider the filter membrane (211) is made of any other similar material. The filter membrane (211) is further used to separate the tiny oil particulates present in the air flow. During winter and raining seasons, the atmospheric air may contain the water vapor. These water vapor are harmful to the engine and whereby reduces the fuel economy. The filter membrane (211) is hydrophobic and used to filter the oil along with the water vapors present in the air flow. In the present embodiment, the filter membrane (211) pore size is between 0.2 μm and 0.5 μm.
[0029] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, a dry filter element (213) is disposed inside the air cleaner housing (201). The dry filter element (213) is at least a paper filter, the dry filter element (213) is disposed between the filter membrane (211) and the air outlet (207). However, it is also within the scope of the invention, the dry filter element (213) is a wire mesh screen, wire wool, glass wool and fabric. This dry filter element (213) further cleans and removes the fine dust particulates present in the air flow coming from the filter membrane (211). In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the nonlinear pathway (209) is defined between the filter membrane (211) and the liquid sump (203) inside the air cleaner housing (201) to increase a travelling time of air flow to the engine. The filter membrane (211) is disposed between the non-linear pathway (209) and the dry filter element (213) inside the air cleaner housing (201) to control/prevent the liquid pull-over of the air from the liquid sump (203).
[0030] In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the atmosphere air (A), which is mostly contaminated due to dusty operating conditions of the off-road vehicle, e.g., agricultural tractor, entering through the first end (205A) of the air inlet (205) and released at second end (205B) of the air inlet (205) thereof, whereby it hits the lubricant oil surface, the dust particles stick to the oil surface and absorbed by the oil bath. Further the direction of the air is reversed due to suction of engine and turns back upward towards the non-linear pathway (209) to increase a travelling time of air flow to the engine. The major portion of the oil particles present in the air flow is separated out and drops down in the oil sump (203) while the air travelling in the non-linear pathway (209). Further the air is passed to the filter membrane (211). The filter membrane (211) is used to separate the tiny oil particulates along with the water vapor present in the air flow. The filtered air is passed to the dry filter element (213) for further cleaning and removing the fine dust particulates present in the air flow. Subsequently, this clean filtered air is supplied to the engine E through the air outlet (207) without any liquid pull over.
[0031] Figure 3 depicts a flowchart indicating a method (300) for cleaning intake air to an engine of an off-road vehicle, according to the embodiment as disclosed herein. For the purpose of this description and ease of understanding, the method (300) is explained herein below with reference to cleaning intake air to an engine of an off-road vehicle. However, it is also within the scope of this invention to practice/implement the entire steps of the method (300) in a same manner or in a different manner or with omission of at least one step to the method (300) or with any addition of at least one step to the method (300) for cleaning intake air to an engine of an any other vehicle, without otherwise deterring the intended function of the method (300) as can be deduced from the description and corresponding drawings. In an embodiment, at step 301, the method (300) includes, defining an air inlet (105) and an air outlet (207) by an air cleaner housing (101). At step 303, the method (300) includes attaching a liquid sump (103) to a lower end (101A) of the air cleaner housing (101). At step 305, the method (300) includes allowing a first end (105A) of the air inlet (105) in communication with atmosphere and a second end (105B) of the air inlet (105) in communication with the liquid sump (103). At step 307, the method (300) includes connecting the air outlet (207) to the engine of the off-road vehicle. At step 309, the method (300) includes disposing a non-linear pathway (209) inside the air cleaner housing (201) above the liquid sump (203). At step 311, the method (300) includes disposing a plurality of filter membrane (111) inside the air cleaner housing (101) above the non-linear pathway (209). At step 313, the method (300) includes disposing a dry filter element (113) inside the air cleaner housing (101) between the filter membrane (211) and the air outlet (207).
[0032] Further, the method (300) includes, the non-linear pathway (209) is disposed between the filter membrane (211) and the liquid sump (203) inside the air cleaner housing (201), the filter membrane (211) is disposed between the non-linear pathway (209) and the dry filter element (213) inside the air cleaner housing (201), the filter membrane (211) is one of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane filter, Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane filter, Nylon membrane filter and Polypropylene membrane filter, the dry filter element (113) is one of a paper filter, a wire mesh screen, a wire wool, a glass wool and a fabric, the dry filter element (113) is disposed between the filter membrane (111) and the air outlet (107), the non-linear pathway (209), the plurality of filter membrane (211) and the dry filter element (213) are disposed inside the air cleaner housing (201) to reduce/prevent a liquid pull-over of the air from the liquid sump (203).
[0033] Advantageously, the air cleaner device (200) of the present disclosure provides efficient liquid bath type air cleaner for the off-road vehicle. Also, this air cleaner device (200) filters the oil particle and other dust particles present in the air up to 96 to 99%. The outlet air is not having any liquid pull over or have a liquid pull over less than 0.2 to 1% by weight of the oil present in the oil reservoir of the air-filter in the given time interval. Due to the less liquid pull over in the engine intake air, oil contamination on the engine combustion chambers, pistons, intake and exhaust manifolds, fuel injectors and valves are reduced thereby emission got reduced and engine service life is increased. Since the major portion of the oil particles are filtered out in the non-linear pathway (209), the service life of the filter elements, filter membrane (211) and dry filter element (213) is increased.
[0034] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the invention and not as a limitation. The exemplary embodiments described in this specification are intended merely to provide an understanding of various manners in which this embodiment may be used and to further enable the skilled person in the relevant art to practice this invention.
[0035] Although, the embodiments presented in this disclosure have been described in terms of its preferred embodiments, the skilled person in the art would readily recognize that these embodiments can be applied with modifications possible within the spirit and scope of the present invention as described in this specification by making innumerable changes, variations, modifications, alterations and/or integrations in terms of materials and method used to configure, manufacture and assemble various constituents, components, subassemblies and assemblies, in terms of their size, shapes, orientations and interrelationships without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.
[0036] The numerical values given of various physical parameters, dimensions and quantities are only approximate values and it is envisaged that the values higher or lower than the numerical value assigned to the physical parameters, dimensions and quantities fall within the scope of the disclosure unless there is a statement in the specification to the contrary. Throughout this specification, the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, shall be understood to imply including a described element, integer or method step, or group of elements, integers or method steps, however, does not imply excluding any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or method steps.
[0037] The use of the expression “a”, “at least” or “at least one” shall imply using one or more elements or ingredients or quantities, as used in the embodiment of the disclosure in order to achieve one or more of the intended objects or results of the present invention. The description of the exemplary embodiments is intended to be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entire written description. In the description, relative terms such as “lower”, “upper”, “horizontal”, “vertical”, “above”, “below”, “up”, “down”, “top”, and “bottom” as well as derivatives thereof (e.g., “horizontally”, “downwardly”, “upwardly” etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawing under discussion.
[0038] These relative terms are for convenience of description and do not require that the corresponding apparatus or device be constructed or operated in a particular orientation. Terms concerning attachments, coupling and the like, such as “connected” and “interconnected”, refer to a relationship, wherein structures are secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectly through intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigid attachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
100 – Conventional air cleaner device
101 – Housing
103 – Oil sump
105 – Air intake pipe
105A – First open end
105B – Second open end
107 – Air output pipe
109 – Wire mesh filter
200 – Air cleaner device
201 – Air cleaner housing
201A – Lower end of the air cleaner housing
203 – Liquid pump
205 – Air inlet
205A – First end of air inlet
205B – Second end of air inlet
207 – Air outlet
209 – Non-linear pathway
211 - Filter membrane
213 - Dry filter element
215 – Splash Guard