Importance

Loading Importance Indicators...

Abstract

A filter element includes a cylindrical support tube, pleated filter material surrounding the support tube, and end caps at either end of the filter material. The filter material has pleat sidewalls along the opposed side edges of the material which are located in surface-to-surface contact with each other. A mass of adhesive is disposed axially along the filter element in the pleat cavities defined in part by the adjacent pleat sidewalls. The adhesive entirely fills the cavities and encapsulates the pleat sidewalls along the side edges to retain the side edges together. Color and/or alpha-numeric character(s) representing a structural or functional characteristic of the filter element (e.g., efficiency, chemical resistivity, model number, trade name, etc.) are included with the mass of adhesive. The color can be introduced into the adhesive as a dye or pigment before curing, or can be applied as a dye or a paint to the exterior surface of the adhesive after the adhesive is cured. The alpha-numeric characters can be laser-etched into the exterior surface of the cured adhesive. The color and alpha-numeric characters can also be incorporated into a strip of mesh-type material disposed along the adhesive. In this aspect, warm (uncured) adhesive can wick through the material to form a transparent protective barrier for the exterior surface of the strip. Alternatively, the strip could be applied to the adhesive after the adhesive is cured with an additional mass of adhesive.

Loading the Abstract Image...

First Claim