Vapor separating device

Claim 1

Apparatus for separating oil from the blow-by exhaust vapors of a combustion engine comprising a canister having an inlet port for the intake of said vapors from the engine, a gas outlet port for connection to a source of suction for causing the vapors to be sucked through said canister from said inlet port, a discharge port for removal of condensed oil from said canister, and a hollow, cylindrical filter stack located in said canister and operatively arranged so that the vapors pass in contact and radially through the filter stack being sucked from the inlet to the gas outlet port, said filter stack comprising a filter body formed of material permeable to gas and impermeable to oil, a sleeve partially surrounding said filter body on which said vapors from said inlet port impinge and on which the oil in said vapors condense and a longitudinal opening diametrically opposite to the inlet port, and including a pair of seal caps secured to opposite ends of said canister, and an end closure compressed against said seal cap to provide an airtight seal at both ends of said canister comprising a pair of annular disks having a diameter greater than the diameter of said filter body, each of said disks being interposed between said filter body and a respective one of filter stack material ends such that said core extends through said disks, and retaining means securing said sleeve about said annular disks and in spaced enveloping relation to said filter body, said filter stack being mounted within said canister and spaced from the interior wall surface thereof to define an annular flow passage between said sleeve and the interior wall surface of said canister in which said oil in said vapors may collect prior to passage through said filter body.