JP2017082847A - Breather device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a breather device having a structure which hardly causes the come-off of a cap even if receiving a direct hit of high-pressure cleaning water.SOLUTION: This breather device 100 comprises a plug 10 having an axial line direction which is connected to an atmosphere open end of a breather hose, and a cap 20 attached to a tip of the plug 10 in the axial line direction. A bottom wall of the cap 20 includes a portion which is formed of a porous film 22. The plug 10 integrally comprises a plurality of claw parts 14 constituted of elastic bodies which extend toward a tip side of the axial line direction at the outside of a radial direction of a sidewall of the cap 20. Retention parts 14b located at the tip side of the axial line direction with respect to the bottom wall of the cap 20 so as to abut on the bottom wall of the cap 20 are arranged at tips of the claw parts 14. A diameter (clearance between a pair of the retention parts 14b) D1 of a virtual circle which passes each retention part 14b is smaller than an outside diameter D2 of the cap 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a breather apparatus.

  Conventionally, a breather pipe (also referred to as a breather hose) is connected to a hole (so-called breathing hole) provided in the casing in order to suppress an increase in air pressure inside the casing of a transmission, transfer, motor, or other device. Is widely known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In this structure, it is necessary to suppress intrusion of water from the open end of the breather pipe while ensuring the breathability of the breather pipe. That is, breathability and waterproofness are required. For this reason, in the structure described in this document, a breather device having both air permeability and waterproofness is connected to the open end of the breather pipe.

JP 2013-170647 A

  2. Description of the Related Art As a breather device having both breathability and waterproofness, a breather device having a structure that employs a “cap having both breathability and waterproofness” is known. Specifically, as shown in Patent Document 1, this breather device includes a “plug having an axial direction connected to an atmosphere open end of a breather pipe” and a “cap attached to a distal end portion of the plug in the axial direction”. ". An air circulation hole penetrating in the axial direction is provided inside the plug.

  The cap has a cup shape including a side wall and a bottom wall. The cap is attached to the distal end portion of the plug so that the side wall surrounds the outer periphery of the distal end portion in the axial direction of the plug and the bottom wall faces the distal end surface in the axial direction of the plug. This breather device has both air permeability and waterproofness by attaching a cap to the tip of the plug in the axial direction.

  By the way, when washing | cleaning the vehicle provided with the transmission with which breather piping was connected, a transfer, a motor, etc., the case where the breather apparatus shown in patent document 1 receives the direct hit of high-pressure washing water can be assumed. In particular, when the breather device receives a direct hit from high pressure washing water from below, it is conceivable that the cap side wall receives an upward force from the high pressure washing water and the cap comes off from the tip of the plug. If the cap is removed, the waterproofness will be lost.

  From the above, it has been desired that a breather apparatus having the above-described structure, which has a structure in which the cap does not easily come off even when directly hit with high-pressure washing water, has been desired. An object of the present invention is to provide such a breather apparatus.

  The breather apparatus according to the present invention includes a plug connected to the open end of the breather pipe and a cap attached to the plug, as in the structure described above.

  The plug has an axial direction, and includes a “base portion”, “an insertion portion that protrudes from the base portion toward the proximal end side in the axial direction and is press-fitted into the open air end of the breather pipe”, A mounting portion that protrudes from the base portion toward the distal end side in the axial direction and attaches the cap ”. The base portion, the insertion portion, and the attachment portion are configured integrally (seamlessly). Inside the plug, an air circulation hole penetrating in the axial direction is formed from the base portion to the distal end (from the proximal end to the distal end of the plug).

  The cap has a cup shape having a “side wall” and a “bottom wall”. The cap is attached to the attachment portion of the plug so that the side wall surrounds the outer periphery of the attachment portion of the plug on the tip end side in the axial direction.

  The breather device according to the present invention is characterized in that the plug is provided with “a retaining mechanism that is provided integrally (seamlessly) from the base and prevents the cap from being detached from the mounting portion of the plug”. It is in.

  According to this, since the plug has a cap retaining mechanism, it is possible to obtain a structure in which the cap is difficult to be removed even when the cap is directly hit by the high-pressure washing water. In addition, this retaining mechanism is integrally provided from the base of the plug. That is, the entire plug including the base portion, the insertion portion, the attachment portion, and the retaining mechanism can be configured integrally (seamlessly). Therefore, for example, when the plug is manufactured by resin molding, the entire plug including the retaining mechanism can be manufactured integrally. Therefore, since the number of parts does not increase by providing the retaining mechanism, an increase in manufacturing cost can be suppressed as a whole apparatus.

  Specifically, the retaining mechanism includes a plurality of claw portions made of an elastic body integrally extending from the base portion and extending radially outward of the side wall of the cap toward the distal end side in the axial direction. Is preferable. In this case, it is more preferable that the retaining mechanism is composed of two claw portions facing each other in the radial direction. Thereby, when the whole plug is produced by resin molding, it becomes easy to realize a shape in which a so-called undercut hardly occurs.

  As described above, when the retaining mechanism is constituted by a plurality of claw portions, the tip portion of each claw portion is “the bottom wall of the cap can be in contact with the bottom wall of the cap. A retaining portion located on the distal end side in the axial direction, and a diameter of a virtual circle (D1, see FIG. 4 described later) passing through the retaining portions of each of the claw portions is an outer diameter (D2, described later) of the cap. It is preferable to provide a smaller retaining part ”(see FIG. 4). According to this, since the diameter of the virtual circle passing through the retaining portion of each claw portion is smaller than the outer diameter of the cap, it is possible to reliably prevent the cap from coming off.

  In addition, as described above, when the retaining portion is provided at the distal end portion of each claw portion, the distal end portion of each of the claw portions is “continuously from the retaining portion, the distal end side in the axial direction and the radially outer side. The diameter of a virtual circle (D3, see FIG. 4 to be described later) passing through the distal end portion of the guide portion of each of the claw portions is an outer diameter (D2) of the guide. It is preferable to provide a larger guide part).

  According to this, the diameter of the imaginary circle which passes along the front-end | tip part of the guide part of each nail | claw part comprised with the elastic body is larger than the outer diameter of a cap. Therefore, when assembling (press-fitting) the cap into the mounting portion of the plug, the respective claw portions have a diameter by pressing the side wall of the cap toward the proximal end in the axial direction against the guide portion of each claw portion. While elastically deforming outward in the direction, the guide portion of each claw portion can serve as a guide for assembling the cap.

  As the axial position of the cap relative to the plug moves to the base side, the amount of elastic deformation of each claw portion radially outward increases, and when the side wall of the cap passes through the retaining portion of each claw portion. The amount of elastic deformation is maximized. After the side wall of the cap passes through the retaining portion of each claw portion (that is, after completion of assembly (press-fit) of the cap), each claw portion, which is an elastic body, returns to its original shape. As a result, as described above, the diameter of the virtual circle that passes through the retaining portion of each claw is smaller than the outer diameter of the cap, so that the cap can be reliably prevented from coming off.

  In the breather device according to the present invention, it is preferable that a flange portion having an outer diameter larger than the outer diameter of the side wall of the cap is provided on the base portion. According to this, compared with the structure in which such a flange is not provided, when the breather apparatus receives a direct hit from the high-pressure washing water from below, the side wall of the cap becomes more difficult to receive an upward force due to the high-pressure washing water. Therefore, the cap can be more reliably prevented from coming off.

  The breather device according to the present invention includes a porous membrane on the bottom wall of the cap, and a casing to which a base end side of the breather pipe is connected. The plug is attached with the axial direction of the plug inclined from the vertical direction of the casing, and the lower surface of the porous membrane faces the tip surface of the attachment portion. Is preferred.

  When the tip end side in the axial direction of the plug is located above the base end side, and the axial direction of the plug coincides with the vertical direction of the casing, the lower surface of the porous membrane provided on the bottom wall of the cap and the mounting constituting the plug Since the porous film is placed in a state of being opposed to the tip surface of the part, water droplets are likely to stay on the upper surface of the porous film. If water droplets stay, it becomes difficult to ensure the air permeability of the porous membrane. On the other hand, in the said structure, since a porous membrane inclines with respect to the horizontal direction of a casing, it becomes difficult for a water droplet to stay on the upper surface of a porous membrane. Therefore, the air permeability of the porous membrane is easily maintained stably.

It is a figure which shows the state by which the breather apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention was assembled | attached to the air release end of the breather piping provided in the casing of the motor. It is the principal side sectional view and top view of the single plug shown in FIG. It is a principal side view of the cap single item shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a main side cross-sectional view and a top view of a subassembly in which the cap shown in FIG. 3 is assembled to the plug shown in FIG. 2.

  Hereinafter, a breather device 100 for breather piping according to an embodiment (this embodiment) of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Example of use of breather device 100)
FIG. 1 shows an example of a state in which a breather device 100 is assembled to an atmosphere open end H1 of a breather pipe (hereinafter referred to as a breather hose) H connected to a casing of a device M such as a motor. As shown in FIG. 1, a breather device 100 includes a plug 10 having an axial direction connected to an atmosphere open end H1 of a breather hose H, a cap 20 press-fitted or attached to a distal end portion of the plug 10 in the axial direction, It has. Hereinafter, the configurations of the plug 10 and the cap 20 will be described in order.

(Composition of a single plug)
As shown in FIG. 2, the plug 10 having the axial direction includes a base portion 11, an insertion portion 12, and a mounting portion 13. An air circulation hole Z penetrating in the axial direction is provided inside the plug 10.

  The base 11 is a short columnar (disc-shaped) first flange portion 11 a and a short columnar shape having an outer diameter smaller than that of the first flange portion 11 while being coaxially connected to the distal end side of the first flange portion 11 ( Disc-shaped) second flange portion 11b.

  The insertion portion 12 has an elongated cylindrical shape that protrudes coaxially from the first flange portion 11a of the base portion 11 toward the proximal end side in the axial direction. The insertion portion 12 is a portion that is press-fitted into the open air end H1 of the breather hose H. In a state where the air release end H1 of the breather hose H has been press-fitted into the insertion portion 12, the end surface of the air release end H1 comes into contact with the base end side surface of the first flange portion 11a. That is, it can be said that the first flange portion 11a plays a role of a stopper when the breather hose H is press-fitted. An annular protrusion 12a is provided at a base end side portion of the insertion portion 12 in order to improve airtightness in a state where the breather hose H is press-fitted.

  The attachment portion 13 includes an elongated cylindrical shape that protrudes coaxially from the second flange portion 11 b of the base portion 11 toward the distal end side in the axial direction. The attachment part 13 is a part for press-fitting or attaching the cap 20. The outer diameter of the attachment portion 13 is larger than the outer diameter of the insertion portion 12, while being smaller than the outer diameter of the second flange portion 11b. In a state where the cap 20 is press-fitted or assembled to the mounting portion 13, the end surface on the proximal end side of the cap 20 contacts the surface on the distal end side of the second flange portion 11b. That is, it can be said that the second flange portion 11b serves as a stopper when the cap 20 is press-fitted or attached.

  The plug 10 further includes a plurality of (in this example, a pair of) claw portions 14. Each claw portion 14 has a thin plate shape extending in the axial direction. The pair of claw portions 14 are integrated from the base end side portion of the outer peripheral portion of the second flange portion 11b of the base portion 11 so that the respective main surfaces face each other in the radial direction (so that the respective main surfaces are parallel). (Seamlessly), extending toward the tip end in the axial direction.

  The front end portion of each claw portion 14 is slightly bent radially inward, and a thin plate-like guide portion 14 a having a rectangular main surface is provided at the front end of the “bent portion”. Each guide portion 14a extends obliquely from the axial direction from the proximal end side in the axial direction and the radially inner side toward the distal end side in the axial direction and the radially outer side. The central portion of each guide portion 14a in the axial direction is connected to the corresponding “bent portion”. Among the respective guide portions 14a, in particular, the end portion on the base end side in the axial direction corresponds to the retaining portion 14b. The guide part 14a and the retaining part 14b will be described in detail later. The pair of claws 14 corresponds to the “retaining mechanism” of the present invention.

  The entire plug 10 is made of an elastic resin (typically polyethylene), and the base 11, the insertion portion 12, the attachment portion 13, and the pair of claws 14 are integrally formed by resin molding (seamlessly). To be configured. Therefore, in particular, the pair of claw portions 14 is configured to be easily elastically deformable mainly in the radial direction. As can be easily understood from FIG. 2, the overall shape of the plug 10 is such that the so-called undercut does not occur by setting the parting line for resin molding of the entire plug 10 to the PP line of FIG. It can be said that it is a shape.

(Composition of a single cap)
As shown in FIG. 3, the cap 20 includes a substantially cylindrical resin-made main body 21, a porous film (porous film) 22 bonded and fixed to an end surface on the front end side of the main body 21, and a side surface of the main body 21. And a cup-shaped resin cover 23 fixed to the main body 21 so as to cover the porous membrane 22. The side wall of the main body 21 and the side wall of the cover 23 correspond to the “side wall of the cap” of the present invention, and the bottom wall of the porous membrane 22 and the cover 23 corresponds to the “bottom wall of the cap” of the present invention. doing.

  As the porous membrane 22, typically, Temisch S-NTF1133 manufactured by Nitto Denko Corporation or the like can be used (Temisch: registered trademark). Accordingly, the cap (subassembly) 20 is also called a “Temisch cap”. The porous membrane 22 has both air permeability and waterproofness.

  The cover 23 is provided to protect the porous membrane 22. A plurality of minute gaps penetrating in the axial direction are formed between the inner peripheral surface of the side wall of the cover 23 and the outer peripheral surface of the side wall of the main body 21 to ensure air permeability. Further, a gap for ensuring air permeability is also formed between the porous film 22 and the bottom wall of the cover 23. The main body 21 (the inner wall surface thereof) is press-fitted or attached to the attachment portion 13 (the outer wall surface thereof) of the plug 10.

(Sub-assembly of plug-cap, that is, action and effect of breather device 100)
FIG. 4 shows a state of the subassembly in which the main body 21 of the cap 20 is press-fitted or assembled into the attachment portion 13 of the plug 10 (that is, a state where the breather device 100 is completed). In this sub-assembly state, as shown in FIG. 1, the inserter 12 of the plug 10 is press-fitted into the air release end H <b> 1 of the breather hose H, so that the breather device 100 is put into use. In the use state of the breather device 100, the inside and outside of the open air end H1 of the breather hose H are partitioned by a porous film 22 having both air permeability and waterproofness. As a result, the breather apparatus 100 can exhibit air permeability and waterproofness.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in a state where the plug 10 is not elastically deformed, an interval between the retaining portions 14b of the pair of claw portions 14 (corresponding to a diameter of a virtual circle passing through each retaining portion 14b) is “D1”. The outer diameter of the cap 20 (more precisely, the cover 23) is “D2”, and the distance between the tip portions 14a1 of the guide portions 14a of the pair of claws 14 (corresponding to the diameter of a virtual circle passing through the tip portions 14a1 of the guide portions). ) Is “D3”, and the outer diameter of the first flange portion 11a of the plug 10 is “D4”.

  In the state of this sub-assembly, the retaining portions 14b of the pair of claw portions 14 (retaining mechanism) are positioned on the tip end side in the axial direction with respect to the bottom wall of the cap 20 (more precisely, the cover 23), It is in contact with the bottom wall of the cap 20 (or spaced apart from the bottom wall by a small distance). In addition, as can be understood from FIG. 4, there is a relationship of D1 <D2.

  For this reason, when the breather device 100 is directly hit by the high pressure washing water from below, the cap 20 can be surely removed from the mounting portion 13 of the plug 10 even if the side wall of the cap 20 receives an upward force from the high pressure washing water. Can be prevented. In addition, a pair of claw portions 14 are integrally provided from the base portion 11 of the plug 10. Therefore, since the number of parts does not increase by providing the pair of claws 14, an increase in manufacturing cost can be suppressed as the entire breather device 100.

  In addition, there is a relationship of D2 <D3. Therefore, when the cap 20 is assembled (press-fitted) into the mounting portion 13 of the plug 10, the side wall of the cap 20 is pressed toward the proximal end side in the axial direction against the guide portion 14a of each claw portion 14. While the claw portions 14 are elastically deformed radially outward, the guide portions 14 a of the claw portions 14 can serve as guides for assembling the cap 20.

  As the position of the cap 20 in the axial direction relative to the plug 10 moves to the base side, the amount of elastic deformation of the claw portions 14 toward the radially outer side gradually increases, and the side walls of the cap 20 prevent the claw portions 14 from coming off. When passing through the portion 14b, the amount of elastic deformation is maximized. After the side wall of the cap 20 passes through the retaining portion 14b of each claw portion 14 (that is, after completion of assembly (press-fit) of the cap 20), each claw portion 14 that is an elastic body returns to its original shape. As a result, as described above, the distance D1 between the retaining portions 14b of the pair of claws 14 is smaller than the outer diameter D2 of the cap, so that the cap 20 can be reliably prevented from coming off.

  Further, there is a relationship of D2 <D4. Therefore, when the breather device 100 is directly hit by the high-pressure washing water from below, the side wall of the cap 20 becomes more difficult to receive the upward force due to the high-pressure washing water as compared with the structure in which the first flange 11a is not provided. . Therefore, the cap 20 can be prevented from coming off more reliably.

  Further, in the use example of the breather device 100 shown in FIG. 1, the air release end H <b> 1 (and therefore the plug 10) of the breather hose H into which the plug 10 is inserted is connected to the plug 10 by the clamp C provided on the casing of the device M. Is fixed in a state in which the axial direction of the is intentionally inclined from the vertical direction.

  Here, when the plug 10 is fixed so that the axial direction of the plug 10 coincides with the vertical direction, the porous film 22 positioned on the bottom wall of the cap 20 becomes horizontal, and water drops stay on the upper surface of the porous film 22. It becomes easy to do. If the water droplets stay, it becomes difficult to ensure the air permeability of the porous membrane 22. On the other hand, in the configuration shown in FIG. 1, the porous film 22 is inclined with respect to the horizontal, so that it is difficult for water droplets to stay on the upper surface of the porous film 22. Therefore, the air permeability of the porous film 22 is easily maintained stably.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be employed within the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, a pair of (two) claw portions 14 is provided as a retaining mechanism, but three or more claw portions 14 may be provided. In this case, it is preferable that the plurality of claw portions 14 are provided at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. However, when the number of the claw portions 14 is three or more, it is difficult to realize a shape in which a so-called undercut does not occur during resin molding of the entire plug 10.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the guide portion 14a of each claw portion 14 extends “from the base portion side in the axial direction and radially inward from the portion connected to the“ bent portion ”at the tip portion of the claw portion 14. ”(Portion connected to the retaining portion 14b) and“ portion extending toward the distal end side in the axial direction and radially outward ”(portion connected to the distal end portion 14a1 of the guide portion), There may be no “portion extending toward the distal end side in the axial direction and radially outward” (portion connected to the distal end portion 14a1 of the guide portion). However, in this case, it becomes difficult for the guide portions 14 a of the claw portions 14 to serve as a guide for assembling the cap 20.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the subassembly comprised with the main body 21, the porous membrane 22, and the cover 23 is used as the cap 20, "The bottom wall containing the part comprised with the side wall and the porous membrane" The side wall surrounds the outer periphery on the tip end side in the axial direction of the plug attachment portion, and the porous film on the bottom wall faces the tip end surface of the plug attachment portion. Any form may be used as long as it is press-fitted or attached to the attachment part of the plug.

  In the above embodiment, there is a relationship of D2 <D4 (that is, the outer diameter of the cap 20 is smaller than the outer diameter of the first flange portion 11a), but D2> D4 may be satisfied. However, in this case, when the breather apparatus 100 is directly hit by the high pressure washing water from below, the side wall of the cap 20 is likely to receive an upward force from the high pressure washing water.

  Moreover, although the breather apparatus which concerns on the said embodiment is provided in the casing of apparatus M, such as a motor, it cannot be overemphasized that the breather apparatus concerning this invention is applicable also to the casing of a transmission, and the casing of a transfer. .

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Plug, 11 ... Base part, 11a ... 1st flange part, 12 ... Insertion part, 13 ... Mounting part, 14 ... Nail | claw part, 14a ... Guide part, 14a1 ... Tip part of a guide part, 14b ... Detachment part, 20 ... Cap, 21 ... Main body, 22 ... Porous membrane, 23 ... Cover

Claims (5)

A breather device comprising: a plug connected to an atmosphere open end of a breather pipe; and a cap attached to the plug;
The plug has an axial direction;
A base part, an insertion part protruding from the base part toward the base end side in the axial direction and press-fitted into the open air end of the breather pipe, and a base part projecting from the base part toward the tip end side in the axial direction and An attachment portion for attaching a cap, and an air circulation hole penetrating in the axial direction from the base portion to the tip is formed,
The cap has a cup shape including a side wall and a bottom wall, and the side wall is attached to the plug mounting portion so as to surround an outer periphery on the tip end side in the axial direction of the plug mounting portion.
The plug is
A breather device provided integrally with the base and provided with a retaining mechanism for preventing the cap from being detached from the mounting portion of the plug. The breather device according to claim 1.
The retaining mechanism is
It is composed of a plurality of claw portions made of an elastic body integrally extending from the base portion and extending radially outward of the side wall of the cap toward the distal end side in the axial direction.
The front end of each claw part is a retaining part located on the front end side in the axial direction with respect to the bottom wall of the cap so as to be able to contact the bottom wall of the cap, and the retaining part of each claw part A breather device comprising: a retaining portion having a virtual circle diameter passing through the portion smaller than the outer diameter of the cap. The breather device according to claim 2,
A tip portion of each claw portion is a guide portion extending from the axial direction toward the tip end side in the axial direction and radially outward from the retaining portion, and extending from the axial direction. A breather device comprising: a guide portion having a diameter of a virtual circle passing through the tip of the cap larger than the outer diameter of the cap. The breather device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The breather device, wherein the base portion is provided with a flange portion having an outer diameter larger than the outer diameter of the side wall of the cap. The breather device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
Provided with a porous membrane on the bottom wall of the cap,
By the casing to which the proximal end side of the breather pipe is connected, the plug is positioned such that the distal end side in the axial direction of the plug is located above the proximal end side, and the axial direction of the plug is inclined from the vertical direction of the casing. A breather device that is attached in a state where the lower surface of the porous membrane faces the tip surface of the attachment portion.

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