FILTER ELEMENT AND AIR CLEANER
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention
[0001]
The present invention relates to a filter element assembled to an air cleaner that filters air to be supplied to an internal combustion engine mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile and a motorcycle, and an air cleaner to which the filter element is assembled. Description of the Related Art
[0002]
Conventionally, various structures have been known for filter elements assembled to air cleaners that filter air to be supplied to internal combustion engines mounted on vehicles such as automobiles and motorcycles.
[0003]
Since there is a demand for reduction in size and weight in consideration of low fuel consumption of automobiles and motorcycles of recent years, it has been desired to optimize layouts of internal combustion engines and auxiliary devices that are assembled to the internal combustion engines and there is a demand for arranging intake ports and exhaust ports such that the intake ports and the exhaust ports face in the same directions in air cleaners, so that piping and the like can be disposed to be as short as possible, for example.

[0004]
With the intake port and the exhaust port disposed in this way, when air introduced from the intake port is discharged from the exhaust port, it is necessary to cause the air to detour in the air cleaner, and it is necessary to form the bypass in the air cleaner.
[0005]
Various structures have been known for air cleaners provided with a path of a separate system from a filtration passage, and for example, an air cleaner of a type as described in Patent Literature 1 is known.
[0006]
[Patent Literature 1] National Publication of International Patent Application No. Hei 4-503234
[0007]
The air cleaner described in Patent Literature 1 is a combination of an engine induction air filter element and a positive crankcase ventilation breather element, in which the air filter element includes a longitudinally extending array of air filter media, the array has edges defining the perimeter of the array, a band of a sealing material extending around the perimeter to be capable of sealing between the air filter element and a housing is further included, the sealing material on at least one edge of the air filter media has a projecting portion projecting beyond the one edge of the air filter media, the breather element includes breather media having edges, one edge of the breather media engages with the

projecting portion of the sealing material on the one edge of the air filter media so that the sealing material secures the breather media to the air filter media, and also seals both the one edge of the air filter media and the one edge of the breather media against the housing, and the band of the sealing material extends around the other edges of the breather media. [0008]
The air filter element which is in this way assembled to the air cleaner described in Patent Literature 1 facilitates replacement work, because the air filter and the breather element can be replaced at the same time. In addition, the pleats at the end of the induction air filter act as a barrier and can prevent oil that has already passed through the breather air filter media from entering the induction air inlet portion.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0009]
However, in the structure of the above described filter element, a path of a separate system is formed in the air cleaner, and if the structure is applied to the bypass for the filtered air, there arises a problem of a turbulent flow of air generated to increase ventilation resistance in a bent portion of the path along the path extending from a filter portion 111 to a circulation port 112, as illustrated in FIG. 8.

[0010]
Further, as illustrated in FIG. 9, in the conventional structure, when a seal member 114 is to be assembled to the filter element having an opening portion 112, a space 114a between the opening portion 112 and the filter portion 111 cannot be properly sealed, because the opening portion 112 and the filter portion 111 are integrally formed, and there arises the problem of difficulty in creating a sufficient seal. [0011]
Conseguently, the present invention is made in the light of the above described problems, and has an object to provide a filter element that does not increase ventilation resistance even when a bypass that allows filtered air to detour is formed in an air cleaner, and an air cleaner in which the filter element is incorporated. [0012]
A filter element according to the present invention is a filter element including a filter portion that filters a fluid, and a circulation port that allows the fluid which passes through the filter portion to circulate, wherein a rectifying device is formed on at least one side of an inner peripheral edge of the circulation port. [0013]
Further, in the filter element according to the present invention, the rectifying device is preferably formed on a second side that intersects a first side that is close to the filter portion, of the circulation port.

[0014]
Further, in the filter element according to the present invention, the rectifying device is preferably formed on a first side that is close to the filter portion, of the circulation port.
[0015]
Further, in the filter element according to the present invention, the rectifying device preferably extends in an arc shape in section from a clean side of the filter portion and continues to the circulation port.
[0016]
Further, in the filter element according to the present invention, the rectifying device is preferably attached to at least either one of an inlet side and an outlet side of the circulation port.
[0017]
Further, the filter element according to the present invention preferably includes a seal device that seals an outer peripheral edge of the filter portion and an outer peripheral edge of the circulation port respectively.
[0018]
Further, in the filter element according to the present invention, the seal device is preferably formed to be substantially 8-shaped to face the outer peripheral edge of the filter portion and an outer edge portion of the circulation port respectively.
[0019]

Further, in the filter element according to the present invention, a frame portion in which the circulation port is formed and the filter portion are preferably formed separately. [0020]
Further, in an air cleaner according to the present invention, a case member and a cover member are combined to form an interior hollow, and the filter element described above is incorporated into the interior. [0021]
The summary of the invention described above is not the list of all of the necessary features of the present invention, and a sub combination of these feature groups also can be the invention. [0022]
In the filter element according to the present invention, the rectifying device is formed on at least one side of the inner peripheral edge of the circulation port, so that even when the bypass is formed in the interior of the air cleaner, air that flows into the circulation port is rectified, and ventilation resistance can be reduced. [0023]
Further, in the filter element according to the present invention, the rectifying devices are formed along the first side which is close to the filter portion, of the circulation port, and the second side that intersects the first side, and further formed on at least either one of the inlet side and the outlet side of the circulation port, so that ventilation

resistance can be reduced optimally in accordance with dispositions and shapes of the inlet port and the outlet port of the air cleaner. [0024]
Further, in the filter element according to the present invention, the rectifying device is formed into an arc shape in section, and therefore can exhibit a more advantageous rectifying effect. [0025]
Further, the filter element according to the present invention includes the seal device that seals the outer peripheral edge of the filter portion and the outer peripheral edge of the circulation port respectively, so that when the filter element is incorporated into the air cleaner, the air cleaner can be made airtight reliably. [0026]
Further, in the filter element according to the present invention, the frame portion where the circulation port is formed and the filter portion are formed separately, so that rigidity of the seal device is ensured to enable sealing performance to be enhanced, because the outer edges of the frame portion and the filter portion serves as reinforcements, and in addition, a space between the circulation port and the filter portion can be reliably sealed. [0027]
Further, in the air cleaner according to the present invention, the case member and the cover member are combined

to form the interior hollow, and the aforementioned filter element is incorporated into the interior, so that even when the bypass is formed in the interior, ventilation resistance is not increased, and the structure in which the inlet port and the outlet port are disposed in the same direction can be adopted.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0028]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an air cleaner according to the present embodiment;
FIG. 2 is a view of the air cleaner according to the present embodiment from which a cover is removed;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a filter element according to the present embodiment;
FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the filter element according to the present embodiment;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 2;
FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the filter element according to the present embodiment;
FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 2;
FIG. 8 is a sectional view for explaining a structure of a conventional filter element; and
FIG. 9 is an enlarged view for explaining the structure of the conventional filter element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0029]
Hereunder, a preferable embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described with use of the drawings. Note that the following embodiment does not limit the invention according to each of the claims, and all of combinations of features described in the embodiment are not always essential to the solution of the invention.
[0030]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an air cleaner according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a view of the air cleaner according to the present embodiment from which a cover is removed. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a filter element according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the filter element according to the present embodiment. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line A-A in FIG. 2. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the filter element according to the present embodiment. FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line B-B in FIG. 2.
[0031]
As illustrated in FIG. 1, in an air cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment, a case member 3 that has an inlet port 4 and an outlet port 5 and is formed into a shape of a bottomed box, and a cover member 2 that is formed into a shape of a bottomed box are combined so that opening portions are matched with each other to form an interior hollow.
[0032]

The cover member 2 and the case member 3 are respectively formed of a synthetic resin, preferably a thermoplastic synthetic resin such as a polypropylene resin and a polyamide resin, for example. Further, for assembly, the cover member 2 and the case member 3 are combined with each other by a known engaging device 8, and in the present embodiment, a clip is used as the engaging device 8. [0033]
As illustrated in FIG. 2, in the interior of the air cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment, a plate-shaped filter element 10 is housed, and a bypass 6 in which air flowing in from the inlet port 4 heads to the outlet port 5 after being filtered by the filter element 10 is formed. The filter element 10 is assembled so that a seal device 14 at an outer edge portion is pinched between the cover member 2 and the case member 3, and with the cover member 2 attached, positioning of the filter portion 11 of the filter element 10 is ensured. [0034]
In the air cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment which is constructed in this way, air introduced from the inlet port 4 passes through the interior of the case member 3 to reach the filter portion 11 of the filter element 10, and the air is filtered when passing through the filter element 10 from a lower side to an upper side. The filtered air moves along an inner wall of the cover member 2 through a circulation port 12 of the filter element 10 into the bypass 6

along an inner wall of the case member 3, and is supplied to an internal combustion engine through the outlet port 5 from the bypass 6. [0035]
As illustrated in FIG. 3, the filter element 10 includes the filter portion 11 formed into a plate shape by folding a sheet-shaped filter material into pleats, the circulation port 12 formed at one end side of the filter portion 11, and the seal device 14 that seals an outer edge portion of the filter portion 11 and an outer edge portion of the circulation port 12. For the filter portion 11, a well-known filter medium such as unwoven fabric, and filter paper is properly used. [0036]
As illustrated in FIG. 4, the filter element 10 is composed of a filter frame 16 formed on an outer periphery of the filter portion 11, a frame portion 15 in which the circulation port 12 formed separately from the filter portion 11 is formed, and the substantially 8-shaped seal device 14 having a first opening 14a facing the outer edge portion of the circulation port 12, and a second opening 14b facing the outer edge portion of the filter portion 11. [0037]
As illustrated in FIG. 3, at an inner peripheral edge of a continuous first side 21 of the filter portion 11 and the circulation port 12, a first rectifying device 13a is formed along an extending direction of the first side 21 (a width direction in FIG. 3), and at an inner peripheral edge of a

second side 22 that intersects the first side 21, a second rectifying device 13b is formed. The first rectifying device 13a and the second rectifying device 13b are preferably formed integrally at the aforementioned frame portion 15. [0038]
As illustrated in FIG. 5, the first rectifying device 13a is disposed with a gap between the first rectifying device 13a and the filter frame 16, so that when the cover member 2 is assembled, a rib not illustrated that is projected from an inner surface of the cover member 2 is inserted into the gap, and thereby the rib can reliably abut on the seal device 14 that is present in a position of the gap. [0039]
The first rectifying device 13a is formed at an inner peripheral edge on an inlet side IN of the circulation port 12, and extends in an arc shape in section from a clean side C of the filter portion 11 to continue to the circulation port 12. The rectifying device 13 is formed in this way, whereby filtered air detouring the clean side C is rectified to be introduced into the circulation port 12 without generating a turbulent flow, and ventilation resistance can be reduced. [0040]
As illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, the second rectifying device 13b is formed at an inner peripheral edge on an outlet side OUT of the circulation port 12, and extends in an arc shape in section similarly to the first rectifying device 13a to continue from the circulation port 12. The bypass 6 having

the outlet port 5 of the air cleaner 1 is formed to be disposed ahead of the arc shape of the second rectifying device 13b, whereby filtered air passing through the bypass 6 is caused to flow out of the air cleaner 1 smoothly without generating a turbulence flow to enable reduction in ventilation resistance. [0041]
In the filter element 10 according to the present embodiment, the filter portion 11 and the frame portion 15 are formed separately, so that as illustrated in FIG. 6, the seal device 14 can seal the respective outer edge portions of the filter frame 16 and the frame portion 15, and thereby can increase sealability between the filter portion 11 and the circulation port 12. [0042]
In this way, the air cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment has the inlet port 4 and the outlet port 5 formed in the case member 3, which accommodates a layout having no difference in elevation between the inlet port 4 and the outlet port 5, and realizes such a layout without using additional piping and the like. Thus, the air cleaner 1 can be smaller and low-profiled without increasing ventilation resistance. [0043]
Further, since the sealability between the filter portion 11 and the circulation port 12 is increased, air leakage

between the filter portion 11 and the circulation port 12 can be reliably prevented. [0044]
In the air cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment described above, explanation is made about the case in which the case member 3 and the cover member 2 are assembled detachably by using the engaging device 8 such as a clip, but the case member 3 and the cover member 2 may be assembled to each other by using a well-known fastening device such as a screw. [0045]
Further, explanation has been made about the case in which the filter element 10 is formed into a plate shape by folding the sheet-shaped filter material into pleats. It is obvious from the description of Claims, however, that the filter material may be used in the plate shape without being folded into pleats, and the mode including such modifications or alterations can be encompassed in the technical scope of the present invention.
The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description and all changes which come within the meaning and range of eguivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-140835 filed on July 15, 2016 including the specification, claims, drawings and summary is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Reference Signs List [0046]
1 Air cleaner, 2 Cover member, 3 Case member, 4 inlet port, 5 Outlet port, 6 Bypass, 8 Engaging device, 10 Filter element, 11 Filter portion, 12 Circulation port, 13a First rectifying device, 13b Second rectifying device, 14 Seal device, 14a First opening 14b Second opening, 15 Frame portion, 16 Filter frame, 21 First side, 22 Second side, C Clean side, D Dirty side, IN Inlet side, OUT Outlet side

What is claimed is:
1. A filter element comprising a filter portion that filters
a fluid, and a circulation port that allows the fluid which
passes through the filter portion to circulate,
wherein a rectifying device is formed on at least one side of an inner peripheral edge of the circulation port.
2. The filter element according to claim 1,
wherein the rectifying device is formed on a second side that intersects a first side that is close to the filter portion, of the circulation port.
3. The filter element according to claims 1 and 2,
wherein the rectifying device is formed on a first side that is close to the filter portion, of the circulation port.
4. The filter element according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
wherein the rectifying device extends in an arc shape in
section from a clean side of the filter portion and continues to the circulation port.
5. The filter element according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
wherein the rectifying device is attached to at least
either one of an inlet side and an outlet side of the circulation port.

6. The filter element according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
comprising:
a seal device that seals an outer peripheral edge of the filter portion and an outer peripheral edge of the circulation port respectively.
7. The filter element according to claim 6,
wherein the seal device is formed to be substantially 8-shaped to face the outer peripheral edge of the filter portion and an outer edge portion of the circulation port respectively.
8. The filter element according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
wherein a frame portion in which the circulation port is
formed and the filter portion are formed separately.
9. An air cleaner,
wherein a case member and a cover member are combined to form an interior hollow, and the filter element according to any one of claims 1 to 8 is incorporated into the interior.