JP2008014286A - Air cleaner for engine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air cleaner capable of automatically discharging dust or the like during operation of an engine. <P>SOLUTION: The air cleaner 1 for an engine provided with an element 2 making air sucked in the engine pass through, a dust side 3 defined in an upstream of the element 2 and a clean side defined in a downstream of the element 2, is provided with a dust discharge opening 14 opening on the dust side 3, a dust discharge door 21 opening and closing the dust discharge opening 14, and a dust discharge door drive mechanism 25 opening the dust discharge door 21 with responding to increase of negative pressure generated in the clean side 4 with exceeding a predetermined value. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a structure for discharging dust that has entered a casing in an air cleaner provided in an automobile engine or the like.

Conventionally, as this type of air cleaner, the one disclosed in Patent Document 1 is provided with a bellows type discharge valve on the dust side upstream of the element, and this discharge valve is closed by the negative suction pressure of the engine during operation of the engine. On the other hand, when the engine is stopped, the discharge valve is opened so that dust or the like entering the dust side is discharged to the outside.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2-2530369 JP 61-46457 A Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 60-39664 JP-A-9-250407

  However, in such a conventional air cleaner, for example, when a vehicle travels in the desert or the like and a large amount of dust enters the dust side, the dust discharge door does not open until the engine stops, and the dust side The dust that entered the engine increased the intake resistance of the engine, which could lead to a decrease in engine output.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an air cleaner capable of automatically discharging dust and the like during operation of the engine.

  According to the present invention, in an engine air cleaner comprising an element that allows air taken into the engine to pass through, a dust side that is defined upstream of the element, and a clean side that is defined downstream of the element. A dust discharge opening that opens to the side, a dust discharge door that opens and closes the dust discharge opening, and a dust discharge door that opens the dust discharge door in response to the negative pressure generated on the clean side exceeding a predetermined value. A drive mechanism.

  According to the present invention, for example, when a vehicle travels in the desert or the like and a large amount of dust enters the dust side, the element gradually becomes clogged. For this reason, when the negative pressure on the clean side increases and exceeds the predetermined negative pressure, the dust discharge door automatically opens and the dust that has entered the dust side is discharged from the dust discharge port to the outside. Reduce output.

  The configuration of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, an air cleaner 1 provided in an automobile engine includes a casing 10 installed in an engine room of a vehicle, and an element 2 for filtering air is provided in the casing 10. Intervened.

  In the internal space of the casing 10, the dust side 3 is provided on the upstream side of the element 2, and the clean side 4 on the downstream side of the element 2 is provided.

  An inlet 11 opens in the dust side 3 of the casing 10, and an outlet 12 opens in the clean side 4. As indicated by the arrows in the figure, air (outside air) that has flowed into the dust side 3 from the inlet 11 passes through the element 2 and is sucked into the engine from the clean side 4 through the outlet 12 and the intake passage.

  The element 2 is formed in a panel shape by a filter medium having fine eyes such as a non-woven fabric, and passes air from the dust side 3 toward the inlet 11 to separate dust contained in the air, and remove the dust and remove the air from the engine. Send to.

  When the element 2 is clogged due to long-time operation of the engine or the like, the element 2 is removed from the casing 10 for cleaning or replaced with a new one.

  By the way, when the vehicle travels in the desert or the like, a large amount of dust flows into the dust side 3 from the inlet 11, and dust accumulated on the dust side 3 may increase the intake resistance of the engine, leading to a decrease in engine output. It was. Further, when traveling in a cold region, a large amount of snow and ice may flow into the dust side 3 from the inlet 11 and cause a decrease in engine output.

  In the present invention, the dust discharge port 14 opened in the dust side 3 of the casing 10, the dust discharge door 21 that opens and closes the dust discharge port 14, and the negative pressure generated in the clean side 4 exceeds a predetermined value. A dust discharge door drive mechanism 25 that opens the dust discharge door 21 in response to the increase of the dust is provided, and when dust accumulates on the dust side 3, as shown in FIG. The discharge port 14 is opened to discharge dust out of the casing 10.

  The dust discharge port 14 opens to the bottom 13 of the casing 10 that defines the dust side 3, and the dust discharge port 14 is opened so that most of the dust accumulated on the dust side 3 can be discharged out of the casing 10. Is provided.

  The dust discharge door 21 is formed in a flat plate shape and, as shown in FIG. 1A, contacts the opening edge of the dust discharge port 14 of the casing 10 via a sealing material (not shown), thereby the dust discharge port 14. Occlude.

  The dust discharge door 21 is pivotally connected to the casing 10 via a hinge 22 at its base end. The hinge 22 supports the dust discharge door 21 so as to rotate about the horizontal axis with respect to the casing 10.

  The hinge 22 is provided with a spring 23 that urges the dust discharge door 21 in the closing direction. Even if dust accumulates on the dust discharge door 21, the biasing force of the spring 23 keeps the dust discharge door 21 closed with the dust discharge port 14.

  The dust discharge door drive mechanism 25 includes a cylinder 15 communicating with the clean side 4, a piston 26 slidably interposed in the cylinder 15, a rigging 27 that transmits the displacement of the piston 26 to the dust discharge door 21, and the like. Prepare.

  The cylinder 15 is formed in a cylindrical shape that protrudes downward from the bottom 13 of the casing 10. A mesh 27 is provided at the opening of the cylinder 15 with respect to the clean side 4, and the pressure of the clean side 4 is guided into the cylinder 15 through the mesh 27.

  The disc-shaped piston 26 is slidably interposed on the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder 15 via a seal material (not shown). A spring 28 is interposed between the mesh 27 and the piston 26. When the negative pressure of the clean side 4 guided to the cylinder 15 increases beyond a predetermined value, the piston 26 is pulled up against the spring 28.

  One end of the rigging (wire rope) 27 is connected to the dust discharge door 21, the other end is connected to the piston 26, and the middle thereof is wound around the pulley 29. Convert to open / close action.

  The air cleaner 1 is configured as described above, and the operation and effect will be described next.

  Under the operating conditions in which almost no dust is accumulated on the dust side 3, the dust discharge door 21 closes the dust discharge port 14 by the urging force of the spring 23, as shown in FIG. In this state, the air (outside air) flowing into the dust side 3 from the inlet 11 passes through the element 2 and is filtered through the outlet 12 and the intake passage from the clean side 4 as indicated by arrows in the figure. Inhaled into the engine.

  On the other hand, under an operating condition in which a large amount of dust is accumulated on the dust side 3, the piston 26 resists the spring 28 by the suction negative pressure of the engine guided to the cylinder 15 as shown in FIG. The dust discharge door 21 is opened through the rigging 27 against the biasing force of the spring 23, and the dust discharge port 14 is opened. Thereby, the dust accumulated on the dust side 3 is discharged at once from the dust discharge port 14 to the outside of the casing 10. Thus, when the negative pressure on the clean side 4 decreases as the dust is discharged, the piston 26 is lowered and the dust discharge door 21 is closed.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the element 2 that allows air taken into the engine to pass through, the dust side 3 that is defined upstream of the element 2, and the clean that is defined downstream of the element 2. In an air cleaner 1 of an engine including a side 4, a dust discharge port 14 that opens to the dust side 3, a dust discharge door 21 that opens and closes the dust discharge port 14, and a negative pressure generated in the clean side 4 exceeds a predetermined value. A dust discharge door drive mechanism 25 that opens the dust discharge door 21 in response to the increase is provided. Therefore, when a large amount of dust, snow, ice or the like accumulates on the dust side 3, the dust discharge door 21 is automatically Accordingly, the dust accumulated on the dust side 3 is discharged to the outside from the dust discharge port 14, and the engine output reduction can be eliminated.

  Further, in this embodiment, the dust discharge door drive mechanism 25 includes a cylinder 15 communicating with the clean side 4 and a piston 26 slidably interposed in the cylinder 15 so that the negative pressure on the clean side 4 is increased. Accordingly, since the piston 26 slides against the spring 28 to open the dust discharge door 21, the degree of freedom in setting the sizes of the dust discharge port 14 and the dust discharge door 21 can be increased. The opening area of the dust discharge port 14 can be sufficiently secured.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the dust discharge door 21 is rotated to open the dust discharge port 14, so that dust or the like accumulated on the dust discharge door 21 by the opening operation in which the dust discharge door 21 rotates is blown at a stroke. Can be discharged.

  Next, a second embodiment shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B will be described. This basically has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, and only different portions will be described. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same structure part as the said embodiment.

  The air cleaner 1 includes a dust discharge door 31 slidably supported on the bottom 13 of the casing 10, and the dust discharge port 14 is opened and closed by sliding the dust discharge door 31.

  The dust discharge door 31 is formed in a flat plate shape and closes the dust discharge port 14 as shown in FIG.

  The dust discharge door drive mechanism 35 includes a cylinder 17 that communicates with the clean side 4 and a piston 36 that is slidably interposed in the cylinder 17. The cylinder 17 is formed in the shape of a square cylinder between the bottom portion 13 of the casing 10. The square piston 36 is slidably mounted on the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder 17 via a seal material (not shown).

  A spring 38 is interposed between the piston 36 and the casing 10, and when the negative pressure of the clean side 4 guided to the cylinder 17 increases beyond a predetermined value, the piston 36 resists the spring 38 and is shown in FIG. Slide as shown.

  The air cleaner 1 is configured as described above, and the operation and effect will be described next.

  Under the operating conditions in which almost no dust is accumulated on the dust side 3, the dust discharge door 31 closes the dust discharge port 14 by the urging force of the spring 23, as shown in FIG. In this state, the air (outside air) flowing into the dust side 3 from the inlet 11 passes through the element 2 and is filtered through the outlet 12 and the intake passage from the clean side 4 as indicated by arrows in the figure. Inhaled into the engine.

  On the other hand, under the operating conditions in which a large amount of dust has accumulated on the dust side 3, the piston 36 slides against the spring 38 by the negative pressure introduced to the cylinder 17, as shown in FIG. The dust discharge door 31 slides with the piston 36, and the dust discharge port 14 is opened. As a result, dust, snow, ice and the like that have entered the dust side 3 are automatically discharged from the dust discharge port 14 to the outside of the casing 10. When the negative pressure on the clean side 4 decreases as dust and the like are discharged in this way, the piston 36 slides back to the original position by the biasing force of the spring 38, and the dust discharge door 31 is closed.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, since the dust discharge door 31 slides to open the dust discharge port 14, dust or the like that has entered the dust discharge door 31 by the opening operation of sliding the dust discharge door 31 is removed. It can be discharged at once.

  In this embodiment, the dust discharge door drive mechanism 35 includes a cylinder 17 communicating with the clean side 4 and a piston 36 slidably interposed in the cylinder 17 so that the negative pressure on the clean side 4 is increased. Accordingly, since the piston 36 slides against the spring 38 to open the dust discharge door 31, the degree of freedom in setting the size of the dust discharge port 14 and the dust discharge door 31 can be increased. The opening area of the dust discharge port 14 can be sufficiently secured.

  Note that the air cleaner 1 can be mounted in a limited space in the engine room of the vehicle by making the casing 10 into a square box shape, thereby avoiding an increase in size.

  The present invention can also be applied to a cyclone type air cleaner that separates dust by swirling an air flow.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is obvious that various modifications can be made within the scope of the technical idea.

Sectional drawing of the air cleaner of the engine which shows 1st Embodiment of this invention. Sectional drawing of the air cleaner of the engine which shows 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Air cleaner 2 Element 3 Dust side 4 Clean side 10 Casing 14 Dust discharge port 15 Cylinder 17 Cylinder 21 Dust discharge door 22 Hinge 25 Dust discharge door drive mechanism 26 Piston 28 Spring 31 Dust discharge door 35 Dust discharge door drive mechanism 36 Piston 38 Spring

Claims (4)

In an engine air cleaner comprising an element through which air sucked into the engine passes, a dust side defined upstream of the element, and a clean side defined downstream of the element,
A dust discharge opening that opens to the dust side, a dust discharge door that opens and closes the dust discharge opening, and opens the dust discharge door in response to a negative pressure generated on the clean side exceeding a predetermined value. An air cleaner for an engine comprising a dust discharge door drive mechanism.   The dust discharge door drive mechanism includes a cylinder communicating with the clean side and a piston slidably interposed in the cylinder, and the piston resists the spring as the negative pressure on the clean side increases. The engine air cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the dust discharge door is opened by sliding.   The engine air cleaner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the dust discharge door rotates to open the dust discharge port.   The engine air cleaner according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the dust discharge door slides to open the dust discharge port.