JP2002266620A - Oil separator structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance separating efficiency of removing oil mist from a gas stream including the oil mist such as blow-by gas without accompanying an increase of pressure loss and improve performance of an oil separator. SOLUTION: The oil separator structure for separating an oil portion from the gas fluid including mist like oil is provided with a swirl forming part 41L turning the gas fluid introduced inside a easing into a swirl and a filter installation part 41M installed inside the easing so that the swirl of the gas fluid passes through it.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an oil separator structure for separating mist-like oil contained in a gas fluid such as blow-by gas, and more particularly, to an oil separator structure suitable for a gas engine of a gas heat pump type air conditioner. The present invention relates to an oil separator structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An air conditioner which performs cooling and heating using a heat pump is provided with a refrigerant circuit including components such as an indoor heat exchanger, a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, and an expansion valve. Cooling and heating of the room is realized by exchanging heat in the indoor heat exchanger and the outdoor heat exchanger, respectively, while the refrigerant passes through this circuit. Further, the refrigerant circuit may be provided with a refrigerant heater for directly heating the refrigerant itself, instead of relying solely on receiving the heat of the refrigerant by the outdoor heat exchanger (during the heating operation). .

In recent years, as a power source for a compressor in the above-described refrigerant circuit, a type using a gas engine instead of a commonly used electric motor has been developed. An air conditioner using this gas engine is generally called a gas heat pump type air conditioner (hereinafter abbreviated as GHP). According to this GHP, a relatively inexpensive gas can be used as fuel, so that the running cost does not increase as in an air conditioner (hereinafter abbreviated as EHP) equipped with a compressor using an electric motor. Costs can be reduced.

Further, in the GHP, for example, during heating operation, if the heat of the high-temperature exhaust gas discharged from the gas engine is used as a heating source for the refrigerant, it is possible to obtain an excellent heating effect, Use efficiency can be improved. In addition, if such a mechanism is introduced, it is not necessary to specially install devices such as the above-described refrigerant heater in the refrigerant circuit.

[0005] In addition, in the GHP, a frost removing operation of the outdoor heat exchanger required for a heating operation, that is, a so-called defrost operation, can also be performed by using exhaust heat of the engine. Generally, in the defrost operation in the EHP, the heating operation is stopped, the cooling operation is temporarily performed, and the outdoor heat exchanger is defrosted. In this case, since the cool air is blown into the room, the comfort of the room environment is impaired. In the GHP, the continuous heating operation becomes possible due to the above-described circumstances, and there is no occurrence of a problem that is a concern in the EHP.

[0006]

Although the GHP has many advantages as described above, the following problems have been pointed out with respect to the conventional GHP.

As described above, the GHP uses a gas engine as a drive source of the compressor. In such a gas engine, the oil content in the blow-by gas may cause a problem. . The blow-by gas is gas that leaks from the combustion chamber to the crankcase through the gap between the piston ring and the cylinder, and is usually returned from the crankcase to the engine intake system and sent to the combustion chamber again.

Since the above-mentioned blow-by gas contains mist-like lubricating oil (hereinafter referred to as oil mist), a blow-by gas filter is provided at an appropriate position in a flow path of the blow-by gas (hereinafter referred to as blow-by gas system). Thus, an apparatus (oil separator) for collecting and removing oil mist is provided. 5 and 6 are views showing an oil separator used as a conventional blow-by gas filter. In the drawings, reference numeral 140 denotes an oil separator, 141 denotes a case body, 142 denotes a lid (lid member),
143 is a filter, 144 is a gas fluid inlet, 145 is a gas fluid outlet, and 146 is an oil mist outflow outlet collected by the filter 143. The case body 141
The lid 142 constitutes an oil separator casing.

In such an oil separator 140,
The blow-by gas flowing from the inlet 144 communicating with the crankcase of the gas engine passes through the filter 143,
The gas is drawn from the outlet 145 into the intake system of the gas engine. Oil mist in the blow-by gas is
3 and is dropped off at the bottom of the case body 141 and returned from the outlet 146 to the oil pan of the gas engine. For this reason, the separation efficiency of oil mist is ensured by making the vertical height of the filter 143 serving as the flow path of the blow-by gas as large as possible (increase the thickness), but the filter 143 is appropriately determined according to the operation period. Since the lid 142 needs to be replaced, a casing structure in which the lid 142 can be removed from the case body 141 is adopted. In addition, in consideration of workability when replacing the filter 143, the mounting position of the lid 142 is set to a side surface on which the area of the opening can be maximized.

However, in the above-described conventional oil separator 140, the separation of oil mist depends only on the filter 143, so that there is a problem that it is difficult to obtain a sufficient separation efficiency. In this case, filter 1
It is possible to increase the separation efficiency by increasing the thickness of the filter 43, but there is a limit because increasing the thickness of the filter 143 leads to a significant increase in pressure loss. For this reason, an oil separator structure with high separation efficiency capable of efficiently separating oil mist contained in blow-by gas without increasing pressure loss is desired.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to improve the separation efficiency for removing oil mist from a gas fluid containing oil mist such as blow-by gas without increasing pressure loss. To improve the performance of the oil separator structure.

[0012]

The present invention employs the following means in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. The oil separator structure according to claim 1, wherein in the oil separator structure configured to separate an oil component from a gas fluid containing mist-like oil, a swirling flow forming portion that swirls the gas fluid introduced into a casing; A filter installation portion installed in the casing so as to allow the swirling flow of the gas fluid to pass therethrough.

According to such an oil separator structure, the oil mist is separated from the gaseous fluid in two stages: the separation of the oil mist by the action of the centrifugal force in the swirling flow forming section and the separation of the oil mist by the passage through the filter in the filter installation section. Can be separated, so that the separation efficiency can be improved without increasing the pressure loss.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the oil separator structure according to the first aspect,
An inlet for the gas fluid is provided on a lower side wall of the casing, an outlet for the gas fluid is provided on an upper surface of the casing, an outlet for separated oil is provided on a bottom of the casing, and the swirling flow forming portion is provided on the casing. It is characterized by being arranged at the lower part.

According to such an oil separator structure, the gas fluid first passes through the swirl flow forming section and then passes through the filter installation section, so that the gas having a reduced oil mist content due to centrifugal separation. The fluid can be separated and removed by the filter, and the life until the filter is replaced can be extended. The oil separated by centrifugation flows out of the casing from the outlet without passing through the filter installation part, and the oil separated and removed by the filter also falls by gravity and flows out of the casing from the outlet. I do.

In the above-described oil separator structure according to the second aspect, it is preferable that the inlet is provided at an opening position and a direction in which the gas fluid is introduced along a side wall surface in the casing. The formation of a stream is facilitated. In this case, the formation of the swirling flow is also facilitated by providing the swirling flow guide member for the gas fluid in the swirling flow forming portion, and the outlet is arranged at the center of the upper surface of the casing to form the swirling flow. Enables smooth outflow.

In the above oil separator structure, the gas fluid is blow-by gas of an internal combustion engine,
It is preferable that the inlet communicates with a crankcase of the internal combustion engine, and the outlet communicates with an intake system of the internal combustion engine. Since the gas is sucked into the intake system, a smooth flow of the gas fluid can be formed in the oil separator.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of an oil separator structure according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, a configuration example of a gas heat pump type air conditioner will be described as an application example of the oil separator structure according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the gas heat pump type air conditioner (GHP) mainly includes an indoor unit 1 and an outdoor unit 10. In the indoor unit 1,
An indoor heat exchanger is provided for evaporating and evaporating a low-temperature and low-pressure liquid refrigerant to remove heat from indoor air during a cooling operation, and for condensing and liquefying a high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant to heat indoor air during a heating operation. A low-temperature and low-pressure liquid refrigerant (during cooling operation) or a high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant (during heating operation) is supplied from the outdoor unit 10 to the indoor heat exchanger through the refrigerant pipe 2. The air in the room for cooling and heating is sucked by the operation of an indoor unit fan (not shown), passes through the indoor heat exchanger, exchanges heat with the refrigerant, and is blown out into the room.

The outdoor unit 10 includes a refrigerant circuit section including a compressor, an outdoor heat exchanger, an expansion valve, a four-way valve, etc., a gas engine for driving the compressor, an electric motor, and equipment associated therewith. And a gas engine unit. The outdoor unit 10 includes a lower machine room 11.
The upper and lower heat exchange chambers 12 are divided by a partition plate (not shown), and the main equipment such as a gas engine 14, a compressor 15, and a controller (control unit) 16 is installed in one machine room 11. In the other heat exchange room 12, main devices such as an outdoor heat exchanger 30 and an outdoor unit fan 31 are installed. The partition plate is provided with a ventilation port, and the machine room 1
1 and the heat exchange chamber 12 are in communication.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a blow-by gas system BG of the gas engine 14.
4a, crankshaft 14b, piston 14c, piston ring 14d, cylinder 14e, crankcase 1
4f, a combustion chamber 14g, a cylinder head cover 14h, and an intake manifold 14i. The blow-by gas is supplied from the combustion chamber 14 g to the piston ring 14.
d through the gap between the cylinder 14e and the crankcase 1
The gas leaked to 4f contains unburned fuel gas, mist (mist) lubricating oil, exhaust gas, and the like.

The flow of the blow-by gas is indicated by an arrow in FIG. 4, and the blow-by gas containing oil mist leaked to the crankcase 14f (indicated by a broken arrow).
Is guided to the cylinder head cover 14h through the internal flow path BG1 of the gas engine 14. The cylinder head cover 14h is connected to the blow-by gas filter 40 by a blow-by outflow passage BG2. Therefore, the blow-by gas is guided from the cylinder head cover 14h to the blow-by gas filter 40. The oil removed by the blow-by gas filter 40 is returned to the oil pan 14a through the oil return hose BG3 by its own weight (indicated by a two-dot chain line arrow), and merges with the lubricating oil in the oil pan 14a. Be reused.

The blow-by gas from which the oil mist has been removed by the blow-by gas filter 40 (indicated by the dashed-dotted arrow) is sucked by the blow-by return flow path BG4 toward a suitable place in the engine intake system, for example, toward the intake manifold 14i. . The blow-by gas guided to the intake manifold 14i in this manner is merged with newly sucked air (fresh air) indicated by a solid line arrow, and then returned to the combustion chamber 14g again and burned together with the fuel gas. You.

The blow-by gas system B constructed as described above
In G, the blow-by gas filter 40 provided as an oil separator is configured as described below. As shown in FIG. 1, the blow-by gas filter 40 includes a case main body 41 having an open upper portion of the hollow container.
And a lid 42 provided as a lid member for closing an upper opening of the case main body 41, and a filter 43 made of a nonwoven fabric or the like stored in the case main body 41. The casing of the blow-by gas filter 40 includes a case body 41 and a lid 42. In the drawing, reference numeral 44 denotes an inlet of the blow-by gas containing oil mist, 45 denotes an outlet of the blow-by gas from which the oil mist has been removed, and 46 denotes an outlet of the removed oil.

The illustrated case main body 1 is a resin molded part having a substantially hollow rectangular parallelepiped shape, and an upper opening is provided by removing an upper surface thereof. Around the upper opening,
A flange portion 41a is provided. The lid 42 is a plate-shaped member of a resin molded component having a shape substantially matching the plan view shape of the flange portion 41a. It is designed to be integrated. The fixing means 47 used here includes, for example, bolts and nuts,
A lid 42 that can be repeatedly attached and detached is selected. Note that an O-ring (not shown) as a seal member is provided over the entire circumference of the flange portion 41a.

In the case body 41, a gas fluid inlet 44 for introducing blow-by gas containing oil mist into the casing and an outlet 46 for discharging oil separated and removed from the blow-by gas are formed in a lower space. (The swirl flow forming unit 41L). In addition, in the middle part of the case body 41 located above the swirling flow forming part 41L, a space for installing the filter 43 (the filter installing part 41) is provided.
M) is provided. The inlet 44 is provided to open at the lower side surface of the case main body 41, and communicates with the crankcase 14f of the gas engine 14 by a pipe. In the illustrated example, the position of the inlet 44 is eccentric from the center of the short side so as to be almost in contact with the long side wall surface of the rectangular cross section, and the blow-by gas is introduced along the long side wall surface in the swirl flow forming portion 41L. It opens in the right direction. The outflow port 46 is opened at the bottom of the case body 41 so as to collect and discharge the oil dropped by gravity, and communicates with the oil pan 14a through a pipe. In addition, since the space of the swirling flow forming portion 41L in which the inlet 44 and the outlet 46 are open communicates with the crankcase 14f, the space is a positive pressure region where the internal pressure is higher than the atmospheric pressure outside the casing. .

The lid 42 is provided with a gas fluid outlet 45 for discharging the blow-by gas from which the oil mist has been removed to the outside of the casing. Since the outlet 45 communicates with the intake system of the gas engine 14, for example, the intake manifold 14i through a pipe, the outlet 45 opens to a negative pressure region where the pressure inside the casing is lower than the atmospheric pressure.

The swirling flow forming section 41L has a function of separating the blow-by gas and the oil mist by the action of centrifugal force by giving a swirl to the blow-by gas containing the oil mist. For this reason, the oil mist that is heavier than the gas component of the blow-by gas flows out and adheres to the wall surface, and falls to the bottom surface by gravity. On the other hand, the gas component of the blow-by gas, which is lighter than the oil mist, is separated from the oil mist, rises while turning near the center, passes through the filter 43, and flows out of the outlet 45 where negative pressure is applied to the hold 14i between the intakes. . Therefore, the swirl flow forming unit 4
The oil mist separated and removed by 1 L and remaining in the drawing adheres when passing through the filter 43 and is separated and removed.

As described above, in the blow-by gas filter 40 of the present invention, since the swirl flow forming portion 41L and the filter installation portion 41M are both provided, it is possible to separate and remove the oil mist from the blow-by gas in two stages. it can. Further, in the separation of the oil mist by the swirling flow, an increase in pressure loss can be significantly suppressed as compared with the case where the filter 43 is made thicker to obtain the same separation effect.

Incidentally, the above-described swirl flow forming section 41L
Formed the swirling flow of the gas fluid by providing the inlet 44 eccentrically on the short side of the rectangular cross section. However, as shown in FIG. 2, a longitudinal partition plate 50 was provided at the center, A guide member for promoting the swirling flow may be used. When such a partition plate 50 is provided, the gas fluid flowing in from the inlet 44 becomes easy to swirl along the wall surface, so that a more effective swirl flow can be formed. Further, in addition to the illustrated partition plate 50, a flat or curved vane (guide member) that promotes the swirling flow may be provided at an appropriate position such as around a corner of a rectangular cross section.

The swirling flow forming section 4 of the case body 41
In 1L, the swirling flow can be formed more smoothly by making the corner of the rectangular cross section a curved surface. In particular, considering only the formation of the swirling flow, the cross-sectional shape of the swirling flow forming portion 41L is most preferably a circle, and subsequently an elliptical shape. However, considering the problem of securing the installation space of the blow-by gas filter 40, and the like, In some cases, a rectangular section or a section having a curved corner at the corner of the rectangular section may be advantageous. Further, the outlet 44 of the blow-by gas from which the oil mist has been removed.
2 is preferably arranged at the center of the upper surface of the casing as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. This swirling flow passes through the center of the filter 43 and flows out of the outlet 44, so that the filter 43 can reliably remove the oil mist.

In the above description, the gas fluid has been described as the blow-by gas of the gas engine 14 in the GHP. However, the oil separator structure of the present invention is not limited to this. It is also applicable as an oil separator. Further, the configuration of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, a casing structure in which the position of the lid 42 is on the side surface of the case main body 41 (see FIG. 5) may be adopted. It can be changed as appropriate without departing from the scope.

[0032]

According to the oil separator structure of the present invention, the oil component can be separated and removed in two stages by passing the gas fluid containing oil mist through the swirling flow forming section and the filter installation section. Separation efficiency can be improved without a significant increase in pressure loss. Also, the position and orientation of the gas fluid inlet opening into the swirl flow forming section are devised, a swirl flow guide member is installed, or the outlet position of the gas fluid from which oil mist has been removed is arranged at the center. This facilitates the formation of a swirling flow and improves the separation efficiency due to centrifugal force. Further, first, the oil mist is separated by centrifugal force through the swirling flow forming portion, so that the gas fluid having a low oil mist ratio is caused to flow through the filter. Therefore, the life of the filter can be extended, and the maintenance interval can be extended.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an oil separator structure according to the present invention, wherein (a) is a plan view and (b) is a front view.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1 (b).

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a gas heat pump type air conditioner as an application example of the oil separator structure according to the present invention.

4 is a view showing a blow-by gas system of a gas engine in the gas heat pump type air conditioner shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a conventional oil separator structure.

6A is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 5, and FIG.
It is CC sectional drawing of (a).

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 40 blow-by gas filter (oil separator) 41 case body 41L swirl flow forming part 41M filter installation part 42 lid (lid member) 43 filter 44 inlet 45 outlet 46 outflow outlet 50 partition plate (swirl flow guide member)

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An oil separator structure for separating an oil component from a gas fluid containing mist-like oil, wherein a swirling flow forming section for turning the gas fluid introduced into a casing into a swirling flow; An oil separator structure, comprising: a filter installation portion installed to allow the swirling flow to pass therethrough. 2. The swirling flow forming device according to claim 2, wherein an inlet for the gas fluid is provided on a lower side wall of the casing, an outlet for the gas fluid is provided on an upper surface of the casing, and an outlet for separated oil is provided at a bottom of the casing. The oil separator structure according to claim 1, wherein a portion is disposed at a lower portion of the casing. 3. The oil separator structure according to claim 2, wherein the inlet is provided at an opening position and a direction in which the gas fluid is introduced along a side wall surface in the casing. 4. The oil separator structure according to claim 2, wherein a swirling flow guide member for the gas fluid is provided in the swirling flow forming portion. 5. The oil separator structure according to claim 2, wherein the outlet is disposed at a central portion of the upper surface of the casing. 6. The internal combustion engine engine according to claim 6, wherein the gas fluid is blow-by gas of the internal combustion engine, and the inlet communicates with a crankcase of the internal combustion engine, and the outlet communicates with an intake system of the internal combustion engine. The oil separator structure according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein: