CA2213645A1

CA2213645A1 - An oil recycler

Info

Publication number: CA2213645A1
Application number: CA 2213645
Authority: CA
Inventors: Jose Gonzales Ramirez; Hassan Talal Yousef Assali
Original assignee: PINMORE Ltd
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1995-02-23
Filing date: 1996-02-23
Publication date: 1996-08-29
Also published as: WO1996025996A3; WO1996025996A2; GB9503658D0; AU4836596A

Abstract

An oil recycler (2) for use in a vehicle comprises a heated chamber (77) adjacent a filter element (3). There is a stack of spaced apart discs (41, 43, 47, 49 and 51) in the heated chamber (77). Oil is filtered through the filter element (3) and then cascades over the discs (41, 43, 47, 49 and 51) in the heated chamber (77), so that any contaminants contained therein are evaporated.

Description

CA 0221364~ 1997-08-22 I~N OIL ~YLLER
.

This invention relates to an oil recycler, in particular an oil recycler for use in a vehicle engine.
s US-A-4,943,352 discloses an oil recycler which comprises a filter for physically removing particles from the oil and an evaporation chamber to evaporate liquid cont~in~nts. However, devices of this type are not efficient and are plagued by oil leakage problems.

One object of the present invention is to improve the efficiency of the cleaning of lubricating oils.
Another object of the present invention is to reduce oil leakage problems associated with known oil recyclers.

According to a first aspect of this invention there is provided an oil recycler as claimed in claim 1.

Preferred features of this first aspect of the invention are claimed in claims 2 to 7.

According to a second aspect of this invention there =is provided an oil recycler as claimed in claim 8.

The magnet may be a permanent ring magnet.

CA 0221364~ 1997-08-22 According to a third aspect of this invention there is provided an oil recycler as claimed in claim 10.

Preferred features of the third aspect of this S invention are claimed in claims 11 to 16.

A specific embodiment of each aspect of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing which is a partly sectioned elevation of an oil recycler.

The drawing shows an oil recycler 2 which has a filter portion 3, a base portion 5 and a top portion 7.
The base portion 5 is connected between the filter portion 3 and the top portion 7.

The filter portion 3 has a cylindrical outer container 9 which contains an annular filter element 11 havin'g a central cylindrical cavity. Outer and inner walls respectively of the annular filter element 11 are made of perforated stainless steel. The filter element 11 is closed at one end by an annular end cap and is fully closed its other end, so that the cylindrical cavity is open at one end and closed at its other end.
Contained between the outer and inner walls is filter media, for example a mixture of cotton fibre and glass CA 0221364~ 1997-08-22 WO 96/25996 PCr/~D9G/00~24 fibre. The filter element 11 is suspended so that there is a gap 12 between it and the main body of the outer container 9. A filter adaptor 13 is fitted into the open end of the cylindrical cavity.

The base portion 5 comprises a tray portion 15 with an oil outlet 17. The oil outlet 17 extends from the inside of the tray portion 15 through one of its walls.
An L-shaped passage 21 is formed through a portion of the tray and extends from an outside wall to the undersurface 23 of the bottom portion 19 of the tray. A recess 25 having a threaded wall is defined in the undersurface 23 of the tray. The tray portion 15 with the L-shaped passage 21, the oil outlet 17 and recess 25 is a one piece moulding.

The filter portion ~3 is connected to the base portion 5 by the adaptor 13 which is screwed into the recess 25 defined in t~he undersurface 23 of the bottom portion 19. When the filter and base portions, 3 and 5 respectively, are so connected the L-shaped passage 21 on the base portion 5 opens directly into the gap 12 - between the filter element 11 and the outer contAiner 9.

Upstanding from the middle of the surface of the interior of the tray portion 15 is a mounting portion 27 -CA 022l364~ l997-08-22 W 096/25996 PCT/~GIC~124 which comprises a circular bottom portion 29 and a circular top portion 31, the circular top portion 31 having a smaller diameter than the circular bottom portion 29. A through passage 33 is formed through the centre of the mounting portion 27. A tube 35 is screwed into a top section of the through passage 33 so that it projects beyond the circular top portion 31. The bore of the tube 35 co~mllnicates with the recess 25 in the undersurface 23 of the tray portion 15 via the through passage 33, so that when the base portion 5 is connected to the filter portion 3, a passage extends from the cylindrical cavity of the filter element ll to the top of the tube 35.

A magnet 39 is placed on the step formed by the circular bottom and top portions 29 and 31 respectively.
A first annular saucer shaped disc 41 is positioned on the circular top portion 31 so that the tube 35 extends therethrough. This annular saucer shaped disc 41 comprises a coned annular portion which extends upwardly and radially outwardly from the outer periphery of an annular disc shaped portion. A second similar annular saucer shaped disc 43 is mounted on a tubular mounting portion 45' which is placed over the tube 35 and rests on said first annular saucer shaped disc 41.

CA 0221364~ 1997-08-22 W 096/25996 PCT/~D9~C~~24 Third, fourth and fifth similar annular saucer shaped discs 47,49 and 51 are mounted one each on one of three further tubular mounting portions 45. The outside diameter of the discs decreases gradually from the first 41 to the fifth 51 such disc. The discs 41,43,47,49 and 51 are made of the -lly conducting material such as stainless steel and each has a small drainage hole formed therethrough. The drainage holes may be conveniently defined by a recess in the inner periphery of the annular disc shaped portions. The tubular mounting portions 45 are a snug fit around the tube 35. A final tubular mounting portion 45 is placed on the fifth disc 51 and a thermistor 53 is mounted thereon. A nut 55 is screwed onto a threaded end of the tube 35 so that the parts fitted therearound are held in place.

An inlet portion 57 having a pressure release valve 61 is screwed into the L-shaped passage 21. The pressure release valve 61 is a solenoid valve.
The top portion 7 comprises an outer part 65 which encases a bell shaped heat transfer part 67. The bell shaped part 67 is made of copper. A circular heating element 69 extends around and rests in a ledge formed on the bell shaped part 67. Current is supplied to the heating element 69 through leads 71 which extend from a CA 022l364~ l997-08-22 W 096/25996 PCT/C~9-'~~124 battery 73 outside the outer part 65 through a contracting gland 75 to the heating element 69. The contracting gland 75 is a heat resistant (PTFE) gland which is formed by heat shrinking PTFE. The battery 73 is the battery of the vehicle in which the recycler 2 is incorporated.

The base portion 5 and the bell shaped part together define a heat exchange chamber 77 in which the ambient temperature can be varied by varying the current supplied to the heating element 69. Since the discs 41,43,47,49 and 51 are made of thermally conducting material, the temperature of each disc is also effectively varied by varying the current through the heating element 69.

At a top of the beli shaped part 67 there is a ball valve 79 which extends from the heat exchange chamber 77 to the exterior of the recycler 2. The ball valve 79 comprises two coaxial tubular portions 81 and 83 which have different internal diameters, the larger diameter portion 81 of which extends into the heat exchange chamber 77 and is termin~ted by a castle screw 85 which has a hole formed therethrough. A ball 87 is positioned in the larger diameter portion 81. This ball 87 has a diameter less than that of the interior of the larger diameter portion 81 but greater than that of the interior -CA 0221364~ 1997-08-22 of the smaller diameter portion 83 and that of the hole formed through the castle screw 85. The arrangement is such that during normal usage of the recycler the ball valve 79 is open and when the oil pressure in the chamber exceeds a preselected value the ball 87 is forced upwards so that it is urged against the base of the tubular portion 83, as illustrated in the drawing, so that the valve 79 is closed and oil cannot leave the heat exchange chamber 77.

The temperature of the heat exchange chamber 77 is electronically controlled and maintained at a level between 115~C and 135~C. The heating element used, for a standard car recycler, has typically a 180W power rating. In the regions away from the heating element 69 and the thermistor 53, the bell shaped part 67 is thermally insulated, so that heat loss to the outer part 65 and the surroundings is minimised~

A circuit 89 is provided for controlling the supply of current to the heating element 69. This is connected to the thermistor 53, which has a resistance which varies with temperature, and uses the resistance of the thermistor 53 to det~ ine the current required by the heating element 69 to maintain the temperature of the heat exchange chamber 77 within the required limits, so CA 0221364~ 1997-08-22 W O 96/25996 PCT/~C~0~24 that the circuit 89 and the thermistor 53 act as a thermostat.

The control circuit 8g may be provided with a delaying circuit operable to delay the start of supply of current to the heating element 69 until the engine of the vehicle is operating. This ensures that the heating element 69 does not drain current from the battery when that current is needed to supply other components of the vehicle, in particular, the starter motor. The time delay may be of the order of 15 seconds.

When the recycler 2 is in use, oil from the engine of, say, a car enters the pressure release valve 61 at the oil inlet portion 57. If the oil pressure is below a pre-selected value, the pressure release valve 61 opens and oil flows through the oil inlet portion 57. The oil then flows through the L-shaped passage 21 and into the gap 12 between the outer container 9 and the inner filter element 11. It then enters the filter media through the perforated metal outer wall, and flows through the inner wall and into the cylindrical cavity. The oil pressure is such that the oil is forced up through the cylindrical cavity and into the heat exchange chamber 77 through the top of the tube 35. The oil then cascades down slowly over the discs 41,43,47,49 and 51, in such a way that it CA 0221364~ 1997-08-22 W 096/25996 PCT/~5G~C424 is collected in a disc until it flows over the edges of that disc onto the disc below or it drains through the drainage holes. The temperature in the heat exchange chamber 77 is sufficient to evaporate liquid or gas impurities out of the oil. Any vapour resulting from the heating of the oil leaves the heat exchange chamber 77 through the ball valve 79, which during normal operation of the recycler is open. The oil then leaves the heat exchange chamber 77 through the oil outlet 17 to be recycled back to the engine.

The filter media lc.~.o~es from the oil solid particles such as metal, carbon, silicon and dust. At this stage most particles having a diameter of greater than 2 - 6 microns are filtered out of the oil.

The discs 41,43,47,49 and 51 are designed to reduce the flow rate of the oil, so that the oil spends enough time in the heat exchange chamber 77 for most of the liquid and gas cont~min~nts such as water, fuel and/or corrosive gases to be evaporated out of the oil. The thickness of the layer of oil on each disc 41,43,47,49 and 51 is kept low, by keeping the flow rate of the oil low and ~x;mising the surface area of the discs, in order to increase the efficiency of the transfer of heat from the discs to the oil. Laboratory tests have shown CA 0221364~ 1997-08-22 that at least 97% of liquid cont~in~nts are eliminated when converted into gases. -The presence of the magnet 39 in the heat exchange chamber 77 serves to remove any metal particles left after the initial filtration stage through the filter media. Using stainless steel rings or discs 41,43,47,49 and 51 has the advantage that they can be magnetised by the magnet 39, thereby increasing the possibility of removing metal particles from the oil.

The recycling process described above does not significantly effect the normal viscosity of the oil.
Furthermore, it does not interfere with the additives in the oil, which are critical to the utility of the oil.

The oil pressure inside the heat exchange chamber 77 is limited to a preset value so that oil does not leak out of the recycler 2 through the ball valve. The pressure release valve 61 at the inlet 57 is arranged so that when the oil is cold, for example, when the engine is turned on initially, the valve 61 is forced closed.

However, when the oil begins to heat up and the pressure then drops, the valve 61 opens and oil is allowed into the filter portion 3. If the oil pressure in the heat exchange chamber 77 is too high, then the ball 87 of the CA 0221364~ 1997-08-22 ball valve 79 closes that valve, thereby ensuring that ~ oil cannot leak therethrough. The pressure of the oil when it is cold is typically 100 bar, and 80 bar when it is hot. Hence, the pressure release valve 61 is selected so that it is open at 80 bar but closed at 100 bar.

The oil recycler 2 of the present invention is designed so that it can fit into a partial bypass in the lubricating system of a standard car, so that in the unlikely event of the recycler 2 being blocked the main operation of the engine is unaffected.

The oil recycler 2 of the present invention has been proven to be highly efficient. Hence, a car fitted with the oil recycler 2 would operate with a lubricant which is in practically perfect condition at all times, thereby potentially increasing the lifetime of that engine.

The oil recycler 2 is designed so that a standard car filter 3 can be used. This filter can be readily attached to the base portion 5 of the recycler 2, so that removal and replacement of the filter 3 is easy and does not require interfering with the interior of the heat exchange chamber 77. This is advantageous as such interference often leads to oil leakage from the heat exchange chamber 77.

CA 0221364~ 1997-08-22 The battery 73 which is used to supply current to the heater may be the battery of the vehicle in which the recycler is incorporated as described, or alternatively it may be a separate power supply.

Preferably, the surface of the bottom portion 19 of the tray slopes towards the oil outlet 17, so that any oil in the tray tends to flow into the outlet 17.

Claims

1. An oil recycler (2) comprising filtering means (3) adjacent a chamber (77), heating means (69) operable to heat the chamber (77), and conduit means (17,21 and 57, 33 and 35) by which flow of oil to be recycled is directed into and through the filtering means (3) and into and out from the chamber (77), the arrangement being such that, in operation of the recycler, particles are removed from the flow of oil to be recycled in the filtering means (3) and liquid contaminants are evaporated from that oil in the chamber (77) which is heated by said heating means (69), the oil from which particles and liquid contaminants have been removed being discharged from the oil recycler (2), characterised in that a series of at least two vertically-spaced apart thermally conducting elements (41,43,47,49 and 51) is provided in said chamber (77) so that the flow of oil to be recycled flows over each of said elements (41,43,47,49 and 51) within said chamber (2).

2. An oil recycler (2) according to claim 1, wherein vent means (81 and 83) are provided which are operable to allow vapours or gases to be vented from the chamber.

3. An oil recycler according to claim 2, wherein pressure responsive valve means (79) are provided which are operable to close the vent means (81 and 83) when the oil pressure in the chamber (77) rises to a certain, predetermined level.

4. An oil recycler (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the elements (41,43,47,49 and 51) are discs or rings or plates.

5. An oil recycler (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the elements (41,43,47,49 and 51) are made of stainless steel.

6. An oil recycler (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the series of vertically spaced apart elements (41,43,47,49 and 51) comprise a stack of coaxial rings or discs of increasing diameter.

7. An oil recycler (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein each of the elements (41,43,47,49 and 51) has a small drainage hole formed therethrough.

8. An oil recycler (2) comprising filtering means (3) adjacent a chamber (77), heating means (69) operable to heat the chamber (77), and conduit means (17,21 and 57, 33 and 35) by which flow of oil to be recycled is directed into and through the filtering means (3) and into and out from the chamber (77), the arrangement being such that, in operation of the recycler, particles are removed from the flow of oil to be recycled in the filtering means (3) and liquid contaminants are evaporated from that oil in the chamber (77) which is heated by said heating means (69), the oil from which particles and liquid contaminants have been removed being discharged from the oil recycler (2), characterised in that a magnet (39) is provided inside the chamber (77), the magnet (39) being operable to remove metallic particles from the flow of oil to be recycled.

9. An oil recycler (2) according to claim 8, wherein the magnet (39) is a permanent ring magnet.

10. An oil recycler (2) comprising filtering means (3) adjacent a chamber (77), heating means (69) operable to heat the chamber (77), conduit means (17,21 and 57, 33 and 35) by which flow of oil to be recycled is directed into and through the filtering means (3) and into and out from the chamber (77), and vent means (81 and 83) are provided which are operable to allow vapours or gases to be vented from the chamber (77), the arrangement being such that, in operation of the oil recycler, the chamber (77) is heated by the heating means (69), particles are removed from the flow of oil to be recycled in the filtering means (3) and liquid contaminants are evaporated from that oil in the heated chamber (77) and vented by the vent means (81 and 83), characterised in that pressure responsive valve means (79) are provided which are operable to close the vent means (81 and 83) when the oil pressure in the chamber (77) rises to a certain, predetermined level.

11. An oil recycler (2) according to claim 10, wherein a pressure release valve (61)is provided in said conduit means (17,21 and 57, 33 and 35) at an inlet of the oil recycler (2), said pressure release valve (61) being responsive to the temperature of the flow of oil to be recycled that is supplied to the recycler (2) whereby to be closed automatically when that temperature is below a certain predetermined level.

12. An oil recycler (2) according to claim 11, wherein the pressure release valve (61) is a solenoid valve.

13. An oil recycler (2) according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein said pressure responsive valve means is a ball valve (79).

14. An oil recycler (2) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the heated chamber (77) comprises a portion made of copper.

15. An oil recycler (2) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a thermistor (53) is provided to monitor the temperature of the chamber (77).

16. An oil recycler (2) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a thermostat is provided to control the temperature of the chamber (77).