Description:TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present subject matter relates generally to an air filtration assembly. The present subject matter also relates to an air filtration assembly for a fuel powered engine. The present subject matter also relates to an air filtration assembly for a vehicle having a fuel powered engine.

BACKGROUND
[0002] Generally, in a vehicle having fuel powered engine, an air filtration assembly is placed that filters out and prevents the introduction of unwanted foreign particles in intake passage and consequently the engine. This air filtration assembly can also include a liquid collection unit that is used to collect the potential liquid impurities and unwanted moisture. This is especially true for vehicles frequenting areas with water bodies, high moisture. Some non-limiting examples include off road personal vehicles, commercial vehicles, earth moving vehicles, excavators etc. These potential liquid impurities when introduced inside the engine assembly can cause damage and impact the overall performance of the engine.
[0003] Conventionally, the liquid collection unit is placed in a concealed manner, either below the load deck or under the hood or below the fuel tank in some cases. In case of some vehicles, it is installed substantially at the center of the vehicle. Also, in one of the variants of a gas powered vehicle for example a three wheeled or four wheeled commercial vehicles, storage box is specially provided because conventional storage space may be occupied by a gas tank. In such case, a bracket is provided at the top surface of the storage box for installing said air filtration assembly with a liquid collection unit.
[0004] However, the challenges emerge in certain vehicles operating on gasoline or diesel where the storage box is not required and therefore not installed on the vehicle. Since the dedicated storage box is eliminated, it becomes a challenge to safely and securely mount the air filtration assembly with the liquid collection unit. Further, the position of the liquid collection unit cannot be changed as this will change the whole layout of the air filtration assembly and thus require redesigning of the entire air filtration assembly. The challenge, therefore, is to mount and develop an air filtration assembly with a liquid collection unit that works for both type of variants i.e., with or without storage box. Furthermore, in case of a vehicle with a chassis, mounting the air filtration assembly with the help of support from the long member or cross member of the chassis or frame becomes complex as it would lead to introduction of various new parts and complexities. This will increase the overall cost and the weight of the vehicle.
[0005] Further, in some cases, the distance of the long members or cross member may be too high from a desired point of installation for the air filtration assembly which is preferred to be substantially in the center across a vehicle’s longitudinal plane. Any possible support in the form of a cantilever may lead to more vibration or failure arising from experiencing acceleration or load from all the directions.
[0006] In the light of the same, it is to be noted that there is a need to develop an air filtration assembly comprising the liquid collection unit in such a manner that it can use same platforms meant for types of variants of a given vehicle without changing the layout of the vehicle. Therefore, there is a need for a cost effective and reliable assembly for liquid collection unit that is accessible and easily manufacturable without interfering with other sub systems of the filtration assembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] The details are described with reference to an embodiment of the air filtration assembly along with the accompanying figures. The same numbers are used throughout the drawings to reference similar features and components.
[0008] Figure 1 illustrates the top-perspective view of one embodiment of the present air filtration assembly installed on a vehicle frame member.
[0009] Figure 2 illustrates the top view of an embodiment of the air filtration assembly mounted on a vehicle frame member.
[00010] Figure 3 illustrates perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention with an expanded figure of the liquid collection unit in the air filtration assembly without the inlet and outlet units.
[00011] Figure 4 illustrates the perspective [Fig. 4(a)] and exploded perspective [Fig. 4(b)] view of an embodiment of the present invention showing the supporting member along with its first and second portion in the air filtration assembly without the inlet and outlet portions units.
[00012] Figure 5 illustrates the top perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention showing the second portion of the supporting member in the air filtration assembly in an expanded view.
[00013] Figure 6 illustrates a rear view of an embodiment of the present invention showing the air filtration assembly installed in.
[00014] Figure 7 illustrates the exemplary views in perspective [Fig. 7(a)], top [Fig. 7(b)] and side view [Fig. 7(c)] of the second portion of the support member in the air filtration assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[00016] In order to achieve one or more of the above-mentioned objectives and other related objectives, the present invention provides an air filtration assembly for a prime mover in a vehicle. In one embodiment, said vehicle is a commercial vehicle. The prime mover can be an internal combustion engine or an electric motor or a combination of internal combustion engine and a motor. The air filtration assembly comprises an air filter, an inlet unit for receiving air from the atmosphere and having the air filter placed inside it, an air outlet unit for supplying filtered air to prime mover, a liquid collection unit being connected downstream of the inlet unit and connected upstream of outlet unit, a supporting member upon which at least one of the air filter, inlet unit, outlet unit and liquid collection unit are being mounted. The supporting member is detachably attached to a frame of the vehicle. The said assembly ensures easy installation of components particularly the liquid collection unit on the air filtration assembly. In one embodiment, a bend is provided in the support member to avoid interference between the body of the support member and the other components like the liquid collection unit of the air filtration assembly. The bend given in the supporting member also makes the liquid collection unit resistant to vibrations and helps avoiding vibrational failures at dynamic conditions.
[00017] In another aspect of the present invention, in the air filtration assembly, the supporting member is selected from the group consisting of a tube, rod, channel, conduit, bar, shaft and pipe.
[00018] In another aspect of the present subject matter, in the air filtration assembly, the supporting member includes two portions. A first portion is configured to mount the air filter, inlet unit, outlet unit and the liquid collection unit. The second portion is being detachably attached to the first portion and the frame of the vehicle.
[00019] In another aspect of the present subject matter, in the air filtration assembly, the first portion includes a crimped portion. The crimped portion is being offset from the remaining non-crimped first portion and said crimped portion is configured to mount the air filter, inlet unit and the outlet unit.
[00020] In another aspect of the present air filtration assembly, the crimped portion is configured to have one or more fasteners, wherein said fasteners are configured to enable the mounting of at least one of said air filter, said inlet unit, said outlet unit.
[00021] In another aspect of the present air filtration assembly, the height of the liquid collection unit being mounted on the supporting member from the ground is higher than the height of the frame of the vehicle from the ground.
[00022] In another aspect of the present subject matter, the liquid collection unit of the air filter assembly comprises openings wherein the inlet unit and the outlet unit are connected to the liquid collection unit on two out of three openings. The other remaining opening is used to collect and drain liquid from the air filtered by the air filtration assembly.
[00023] In another aspect of the present air filtration assembly, the liquid collection unit is mounted at an offset from said second portion using said one or more fasteners on one side of said first portion of said supporting member (such that there is a pre-determined gap between said third opening and said supporting member at an offset from the second portion using a plurality of mounting points on one side of the first portion of the supporting member such that there is a pre-determined gap between the third opening for collection and the supporting member.
[00024] In another aspect of the present subject matter, in the air filtration assembly, the second portion is defined by a bracket. The bracket is configured to have a polyhedron structure with at least three surfaces and the bracket is open from at least three sides. One of the three surfaces is configured to receive at least one attachment means for detachably attaching said second portion of said supporting member to said frame of said vehicle.
[00025] In another aspect of the present subject matter, in the air filtration assembly, the second portion is configured to have a higher section modulus than the section modulus of the first portion.
[00026] In another aspect of the present subject matter, in the air filtration assembly, the bracket is configured to have a base portion and a side wall which is provided on either side of the base portion.
[00027] In another aspect of the present subject matter, in the air filtration assembly, the base portion includes an opening to receive said attachment means for detachably attaching said second portion of the supporting member to said frame of said vehicle.
[00028] In another aspect of the present subject matter, in the air filtration assembly, the base portion is configured to have an arc shaped portion. The arc shaped portion substantially surrounds the opening when viewed from a vehicle top-bottom direction.
[00029] In another aspect of the present subject matter, in the air filtration assembly, the side walls are configured to have a substantially triangular shape when viewed from a vehicle side ward direction.
[00030] In another aspect of the present subject matter, in the air filtration assembly, the supporting member is detachably attached to a portion of the frame corresponding to a floor of the vehicle.
[00031] In another aspect of the present subject matter, in the air filtration assembly, the prime mover includes an internal combustion engine, or an electric machine or any other propelling means the vehicle.
[00032] In another aspect of the present subject matter, a multi wheeled vehicle comprises a prime mover, a chassis frame structure having a pair of long members and a pair of cross members, an air filtration assembly being operatively connected to the prime mover. The air filtration assembly comprises an air filter, an inlet unit for receiving air from the atmosphere, an air outlet for supplying filtered air to the prime mover, one or more hoses, a liquid collection unit being connected downstream of inlet unit and connected upstream of the outlet unit and a supporting member. Further, at least one of the said air filters, inlet unit, outlet unit and liquid collection unit are mounted on the supporting member. Lastly, the supporting member is detachably attached to the frame of the vehicle.
[00033] The embodiments of the disclosed invention will now be described in detail with reference to one embodiment in a light commercial electric vehicle along with the accompanying drawings. The light commercial vehicle in these drawings can be a three-wheeler for carrying passengers or for carrying loads for commercial purposes. However, the disclosed invention is not limited to the present embodiments.
[00034] Figure 1 illustrates the perspective view of the air filtration assembly 100 according to the present invention. The air filtration assembly 100 is located near the frame 105 inside the vehicle (not shown). The air filtration assembly 100 has an inlet unit 101 located at one end which receives the atmospheric air during the engine running and idling condition and an air outlet unit (102) located at another end that supplies the filtered air to a prime mover (not shown) of the vehicle. The prime mover can be an internal combustion engine or a motor or a combination thereof. The air filter (not shown) is disposed adjacently to the inlet unit 101 inside the tubular structure for filtering the air. The air filtration assembly 100 has a liquid collection unit 103 which is connected downstream of the inlet unit 101. The liquid collection unit 103 is also connected upstream of the outlet unit 102. A supporting member 104 is disposed in the air filtration assembly 100 to support the liquid collection unit 103 from accelerating vibrations and shocks when the vehicle is running. This is because of the curved bend given in the support member 104 that makes the liquid collection unit 103 resistant. The said configuration also allows easy access to the other components attached to the frame for easy assembling, manufacturing and servicing and hence leading to customer delight. This reduction in efforts and time consumed will result into reduced cost of the vehicle. The supporting member 104 is attached to the frame 105 of the vehicle.
[00035] Figure 2 illustrates the top view of the air filtration assembly 100 having the inlet unit and the outlet unit. A second portion 106b (shown in Fig. 3) of the supporting member 104 is offset to the liquid collection unit 103. This enables the workmen to assemble and service air filtration assembly 100 with ease. This is because the liquid collection unit 103 would not interfere with the support member 104, particularly the second portion 106b, while installing. For example, while using a tool like mechanical or electric wrench to attach the second portion 106b of the supporting member 104 to the frame 105, the tool does not interfere with the said liquid collection unit 103.
[00036] Figure 3 illustrates expanded perspective view of the liquid collection unit 103 in the air filtration assembly 100. The liquid collection unit 103 is connected downstream of the inlet unit 101 and upstream of the outlet unit 102. The liquid collection unit 103 is mounted on the supporting member 104 (shown in Fig. 4(a)) such that it is higher than height of the frame 105 of the vehicle from the ground. The liquid collection unit comprises three openings 107 of which two of them connects the inlet unit 101 and the other opening connects the outlet unit 102. The third opening is used to collect and drain liquid from the air filtered by the air filtration assembly 100. The connection of the liquid collection unit 103 to the inlet unit 101 and the outlet unit 102 is such that it arrests the rotation of the liquid collection unit 103. The height of the liquid collection unit 103 is higher compared to the frame 105 of the vehicle.
[00037] Figure 4 illustrates the perspective [Fig. 4(a)] and exploded perspective [Fig. 4(b)] of supporting member 104 along with the first portion 106a in the air filtration assembly 100. Fig. 4(a) shows the first portion 106a of the supporting member 104. The air filter, inlet unit 101, outlet unit 102 and the liquid collection unit 103 are mounted on the supporting member 104. The supporting member 104 belongs generally to the group consisting of a tube, rod, channel, conduit, bar, shaft and pipe. However, the said material is not limiting and various manifestations of supporting member 104 can be realised using other materials. Fig. 4(b) shows the exploded view of the supporting member 104. The supporting member 104 includes two portions 106a, 106b comprising a first portion 106a and the second portion 106b. The first portion 106a is configured to mount air filter, inlet unit 101, outlet unit 102 and the liquid collection unit 103. The first portion 106a includes a crimped portion 106aa (also shown in Fig. 3) being offset from the remaining non-crimped first portion. The crimped portion 106aa is configured to mount the air filter, inlet unit 101, outlet unit 102. The crimped portion 106aa have one or more fasteners. In one embodiment, such fasteners can be bolts which may be welded to the first portion 106a. This enables easier assembly and installation for the workmen because the liquid collection unit 103 need not be held in one hand while attaching the support member 104 to the frame 105 of the vehicle. The liquid collection unit 103 can be hung on said bolts welded to first portion 106a and fixed subsequently. The second portion 106b is detachably attached to the first portion 106a through a mounting point (not shown) on its base portion 109 (shown in Fig. 7(a)). The second portion 106b is detachably attached to the frame 105 of the vehicle.
[00038] Figure 5 illustrates the top perspective view of the second portion 106b of the supporting member 104 in the air filtration assembly 100. The second portion 106b is detachably attached to the first portion 106a and the frame 105 of the vehicle. The second portion 106b of the supporting member 104 is defined by a bracket 108 which is configured to have a polyhedron structure with at three surfaces. The bracket 108 being open from the other three sides. The one of the three surfaces comprises an attachment means (not shown) for detachably attaching the second portion 106b of the supporting member 104 to the frame 105 of the vehicle. The second portion 106b is configured to have higher section modulus than the section modulus of the first portion 106a in the supporting member 104.
[00039] Figure 6 illustrates vehicular rear view of the air filtration assembly 100. The distance between “the mounting of the liquid collection unit 103 to the crimped portion 106aa of the first portion 106a” and “the mounting of first portion 106a to the second portion 106b with the help of bracket portion 109 to the frame 105 of the vehicle” is kept minimum. This reduces the moment arm in the top view. This design not only protects the bracket 108 from rotating about the mounting bolt (not shown) but also decreases the cost and other problems like extra time consumption on the assembly line and increased weight of the vehicle. Further, the tubular structure for inlet unit 101 and outlet unit 102 make up the same stiffness like that having a sheet metal bracket without increasing the weight and thereby reducing cost of manufacturing. The liquid collector unit 103 is being mounted at an offset from the second portion 106b using a plurality of mounting points (not shown) on one side of the first portion 106a of the supporting member 104 such that there is a pre-determined gap between the third opening 107 and the supporting member 104. The mounting points and the liquid collection unit 103 are provided on the same side which ensures ease of reachability while standing outside of the chassis to a floor of the vehicle. Therefore, without much modification to the vehicle layout, it becomes economical to create different variants using the same platform.
[00040] Figure 7 illustrates the exemplary views in perspective [Fig. 7(a)], top [Fig. 7(b)] and side view [Fig. 7(c)] of the second portion. The second portion 106b is defined by the bracket 108. The bracket 108 is configured to have a polyhedron structure with at least three surfaces. The bracket 108 is open from at least three sides. The three surfaces comprise an attachment means for detachably attaching the second portion 106b of the supporting member 104 to the frame 105 of the vehicle. The bracket 108 is configured to have the base portion 109, a side wall 110 which is provided on either side of the base portion 109. The base portion 109 includes an opening which is configured to receive the attachment means. The base portion 109 is also configured to have an arc shaped portion 111. The arc shaped portion 111 substantially surrounds the opening that receives the attachment means. The side walls 111 are configured to have a substantially triangular shape when viewed from a vehicle side ward direction. The larger surface area of the bracket 108 helps to distribute the stresses at larger surface area of the base portion 109. This reduces the stress concentration in the base portion 109 while using lesser thick base portion 109 for the design.

List of Reference numerals:
100: Air filtration assembly
101: Inlet Unit
102: Outlet Unit
103: Liquid Collection Unit
104: Supporting Member
105: Frame
106a: First Portion
106aa: Crimped Portion
106b: Second Portion
107: Openings
108: Bracket
109: Base Portion
110:
111:
112 Side Wall
Arc shaped portion
Attachment means

, Claims:We claim:
1. An air filtration assembly (100) for a prime mover of a vehicle, said air filtration assembly (100) comprising:
at least an air filter;
at least an inlet unit (101) for receiving air from the atmosphere;
at least an air outlet unit (102) for supplying filtered air to said prime mover (100);
a liquid collection unit (103), said liquid collection unit (103) being connected downstream of said inlet unit (101) and connected upstream of said outlet unit (102); and
a supporting member (104); wherein
at least one of said air filter, said inlet unit (101), said outlet unit (102) and said liquid collection unit (103) is mounted on said supporting member (104); and
said supporting member (104) is detachably attached to a frame (105) of said vehicle.

2. The air filtration assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said supporting member (104) is selected from the group consisting of a tube, rod, channel, conduit, bar, shaft and pipe.

3. The air filtration assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said supporting member (104) includes at least two portions (106a, 106b), said at least two portions (106a, 106b) comprising
a first portion (106a), said first portion (106a) being configured to mount at least one of said air filter, said inlet unit (101), said outlet unit (102) and said liquid collection unit (103); and
a second portion (106b), said second potion (106b) being detachably attached to said first portion (106a) and said second portion (106b) being detachably attached to said frame (105) of said vehicle.

4. The air filtration assembly (100) as claimed in claim 3, wherein
said first portion (106a) includes a crimped portion (106aa), said crimped portion (106aa) being offset from the remaining first portion and said crimped portion (106aa) being configured to mount at least one of said air filter, said inlet unit (101), said outlet unit (102).

5. The air filtration assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said crimped portion (106aa) is configured to have one or more fasteners, said fasteners being configured to enable the mounting of at least one of said air filter, said inlet unit (101), said outlet unit (102).

6. The air filtration assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a height of said liquid collection unit (103) being mounted on said supporting member (104) from the ground is higher than a height of said frame (105) of said vehicle from the ground.

7. The air filtration assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said liquid collection unit (103) comprises at least three openings (107) wherein
said inlet unit (101) and said outlet unit (102) are connected to said liquid collection unit (103) on two out of said three openings (107),
said third opening (107) being used to collect and drain liquid from the air filtered by said air filtration assembly (100).

8. The air filtration assembly (100) as claimed in claim 5, wherein said liquid collection unit (103) is mounted at an offset from said second portion (106b) using said one or more fasteners on one side of said first portion (106a) of said supporting member (104) such that there is a pre-determined gap between said third opening (107) and said supporting member (104).

9. The air filtration assembly (100) as claimed in claim 3, wherein said second portion (106b) is defined by a bracket (108), said bracket (108) being configured to have a polyhedron structure with at least three surfaces and said bracket (108) being open from at least three sides; and wherein one of the at least three surfaces is configured to receive at least one attachment means for detachably attaching said second portion (106b) of said supporting member (104) to said frame (105) of said vehicle.

10. The air filtration assembly (100) as claimed in claim 3, wherein said second portion (106b) is configured to have a higher section modulus than the section modulus of said first portion (106a).

11. The air filtration assembly (100) as claimed in claim 9, wherein said at least three surfaces include a base portion (109) and at least two side walls (110) on either side of said base portion (109).

12. The air filtration assembly (100) as claimed in claim 11, wherein said base portion (109) includes at least one opening (112) to receive said attachment means, for detachably attaching said second portion (106b) of said supporting member (104) to said frame (105) of said vehicle.

13. The air filtration assembly (100) as claimed in claim 12, wherein said base portion (109) is configured to have an arc shaped portion (111), said arc shaped portion (111) substantially surrounds said opening (112) when viewed from a vehicle top-bottom direction.

14. The air filtration assembly (100) as claimed in claim 13, wherein said side walls are configured to have a substantially triangular shape when viewed from a vehicle side ward direction.

15. The air filtration assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said supporting member (104) being detachably attached to a portion of said frame (105) corresponding to a floor of said vehicle.

16. The air filtration assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said prime mover includes an internal combustion engine, or an electric machine or any other propelling means for said vehicle.

17. A multi-wheeled vehicle comprising
a prime mover;
a chassis frame structure, said chassis frame structure including a plurality of long members, and a plurality of cross members; and
an air filtration assembly (100), said air filtration assembly (100) being operatively connected to said prime mover and said air filtration assembly (100) comprising
at least an air filter;
at least an inlet unit (101) for receiving air from the atmosphere;
at least an air outlet unit (102) for supplying filtered air to said prime mover (100);
a liquid collection unit (103), said liquid collection unit (103) being connected downstream of said inlet unit (101) and connected upstream of said outlet unit (102); and
a supporting member (104); wherein
at least one of said air filter, said inlet unit (101), said outlet unit (102) and said liquid collection unit (103) is mounted on said supporting member (104); and
said supporting member (104) is detachably attached to a frame (105) of said vehicle.