JP4378850B2 - Air cleaner for internal combustion engine - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an air cleaner for an internal combustion engine including an air filtering element and an adsorbent that adsorbs fuel vapor in an air flow path.
[0002]
[Prior art]
An air cleaner for an internal combustion engine having an adsorbent that adsorbs fuel vapor is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-72669, and a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the air cleaner is shown in FIG.
The air cleaner 60 includes a housing 65 in which an air inlet port 62 and an air outlet port 64 are formed, and an element 67 for filtering air is attached in the housing 65. An adsorption plate 68 made of activated carbon is attached to the inner wall surface of the housing 65 with an adhesive, and fuel vapor that leaks from the carburetor or the like when the engine is stopped by the adsorption plate 68. Adsorbed.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the air cleaner 60 described above, since the suction plate 68 is attached to the inner wall surface of the housing 65 with an adhesive, the suction plate 68 may peel off from the inner wall surface over time due to a decrease in the adhesive force.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an air cleaner for an internal combustion engine having a structure in which an adsorbed adhering material is difficult to peel off.
[0004]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The above-described problem is solved by the invention of claim 1.
The invention of claim 1 is an air cleaner for an internal combustion engine comprising an air filtering element and an adsorbent that adsorbs fuel vapor in an air flow path, and is provided on the surface of the flow path constituting member constituting the flow path. When the solidifiable fluid in which the adsorbent particles are mixed is applied to the surface of the flow path component member, a recess into which the fluid flows is formed and formed by solidification of the fluid The adsorbent layer formed and the flow path component are engaged at the position of the recess.
Thus, since the adsorbent layer formed on the surface of the flow path component and the flow path component are engaged with each other at the position of the recess, the adhesive force of the adsorbent layer to the flow path component is reduced. Even so, the adsorbent layer does not peel off from the surface of the flow path component.
Here, the flow path constituting member means all members constituting the air flow path in the air cleaner for the internal combustion engine, and not only the housing of the air cleaner but also a member that is housed in the housing and rectifies air. Is also included.
[0005]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[Embodiment 1]
Hereinafter, Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 1 (A) is a longitudinal sectional view of an air cleaner for an internal combustion engine, FIG. 1 (B) is an enlarged view of a part B of FIG. 1 (A), and FIG. 1 (C) is FIG. It is a CC arrow sectional view of).
[0006]
The air cleaner 1 includes a housing 10. The housing 10 is a molded product made of, for example, a synthetic resin, and is divided into a lower housing 10a having an inlet port 12 and an upper housing 10b having an outlet port 14 as shown in FIG. Therefore, the upper surface of the lower housing 10a and the lower surface of the upper housing 10b are open, and the outer peripheral frame 32 of the element 30 described later is sandwiched and fixed between the respective open edges.
In the circumferential direction of the housing 10, connecting means (not shown) for connecting the lower housing 10a and the upper housing 10b with the outer peripheral frame 32 of the element 30 interposed therebetween are provided at several locations.
[0007]
On the inner wall of the upper housing 10b, a plurality of (three rows in this embodiment) reinforcing ribs 11 are formed in the width direction (perpendicular to the paper surface) on the ceiling portion. As shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C, a plurality of rectangular through holes 11h are formed at a predetermined interval at the root position.
Similarly, a plurality of (three rows in the present embodiment) reinforcing ribs 13 are formed in the width direction on the bottom surface of the inner wall of the lower housing 10a, and a predetermined position is provided at the root position of the reinforcing ribs 13. A plurality of rectangular through holes 13h are formed at intervals.
[0008]
The inner wall surfaces of the upper housing 10b and the lower housing 10a are covered with an adsorbent layer 17 made of activated carbon or the like that adsorbs fuel vapor.
The adsorbent layer 17 is formed by the following process. First, a solution in which powdered activated carbon is mixed in an acrylic-based resin emulsion is manufactured. Next, the solution is sprayed onto the inner wall surfaces of the upper housing 10b and the lower housing 10a (hereinafter referred to as the housing 10) using a spray nozzle or the like. As a result, the solution is applied to the inner wall surface of the housing 10 with a substantially constant thickness, and the solution flows into the plurality of rectangular through holes 11 h and 13 h formed at the root positions of the reinforcing ribs 11 and 13. That is, the solution applied to the front and back surfaces of the reinforcing ribs 11 and 13 is integrated through the rectangular through holes 11h and 13h as shown in FIG. The size of the rectangular through holes 11h and 13h is set to a value such that the solution is filled in the rectangular through holes 11h and 13h by surface tension.
[0009]
In this way, after the solution is applied to the inner wall surface of the housing 10, the inside of the housing 10 is heated to crosslink the acrylic resin emulsion constituting the solution. That is, the solution is solidified. As a result, an adsorbent layer 17 made of activated carbon or the like is formed on the inner wall surface of the housing 10. As described above, since the solution flows into the plurality of rectangular through holes 11h and 13h formed at the base positions of the reinforcing ribs 11 and 13, the adsorbent layer 17 and the housing 10 penetrate through the square in a state where the solution is solidified. Engage at the positions of the holes 11h and 13h. For this reason, even if the adhesive force between the adsorbent layer 17 and the inner wall surface of the housing 10 decreases with time, the adsorbent layer 17 does not peel off from the housing 10.
[0010]
Since the acrylic resin has particles larger than the pores of the activated carbon, it cannot penetrate into the pores of the activated carbon, and the acrylic resin hardly becomes an obstacle when adsorbing fuel vapor. However, since the fuel vapor hardly penetrates to the inner part of the adsorbent layer 17, the fuel vapor is actually adsorbed by activated carbon exposed on the surface of the adsorbent layer 17.
Thus, the housing 10 described above corresponds to the flow path component of the present invention, and the inner wall surface of the housing 10 corresponds to the surface of the flow path component of the present invention. Further, the plurality of rectangular through holes 11h and 13h formed in the reinforcing ribs 11 and 13 of the housing 10 correspond to recesses formed on the surface of the flow path constituting member of the present invention. Further, the solution corresponds to the fluid of the present invention, and the activated carbon corresponds to the adsorbent of the present invention.
[0011]
The element 30 described above is a member that filters the intake air, and the element body 31 is generally formed of a nonwoven fabric. And the outer peripheral frame 32 which functions as a soft seal part integrally shape | molded with the nonwoven fabric is provided in the outer peripheral part of the element main body 31. As shown in FIG. The element 30 is held almost horizontally in the housing 10 by the outer peripheral frame 32 being sandwiched between the open edges of the lower housing 10a and the upper housing 10b. Further, the outer peripheral frame 32 of the element 30 is sandwiched between the open edges of the lower housing 10a and the upper housing 10b, thereby sealing between the two 10a and 10b.
[0012]
Next, the operation of the air cleaner 1 configured as described above will be described.
When the engine is stopped, since air is not taken into the engine, the fuel adhering to the inside of the engine evaporates, and the fuel vapor leaks from the outlet port 14 into the housing 10 through the intake system. However, since the leaked fuel vapor is efficiently adsorbed by the activated carbon of the adsorbent layer 17 formed on the inner wall surface of the housing 10, the fuel vapor does not leak out of the housing 10.
[0013]
When the engine is in operation, the air flowing from the inlet port 12 is filtered by the element 30, and the filtered air is supplied from the outlet port 14 to the engine. As described above, an air flow is generated in the housing 10 when the engine is operated. As described above, since the adsorbent layer 17 is formed on the inner wall surface of the housing 10, the adsorbent layer 17 generates an air flow. There is little to prevent.
[0014]
As described above, in the air cleaner 1 according to the present embodiment, the adsorbent layer 17 covering the inner wall surface of the housing 10 and the housing 10 are engaged with each other at the positions of the rectangular through holes 11h and 13h. Even if the adhesive force of the adsorbent layer 17 is reduced, the adsorbent layer 17 is hardly peeled off from the inner wall surface of the housing 10. For this reason, the member etc. which support the adsorbent layer 17 from the outside become unnecessary, and cost reduction can be aimed at.
In the present embodiment, an example in which the solution of the adsorbent layer 17 is applied to the inner wall surface of the housing 10 using a spray nozzle has been described. However, a method of pouring the solution into the housing 10 and applying the solution to the inner wall surface. But it ’s okay.
[0015]
[Embodiment 2]
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 2 (A) is a longitudinal sectional view of the air cleaner for an internal combustion engine according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 (B) is an enlarged view of portion B of FIG. 2 (A).
The air cleaner 40 according to the present embodiment is obtained by changing the shape, size, and arrangement of the rectangular through holes 11h, 13h in the air cleaner 1 described in the first embodiment, and other structures are the same as those of the air cleaner 1 in the first embodiment. The same. For this reason, about the same member as the air cleaner 1 of Embodiment 1, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted.
[0016]
The air cleaner 40 has a plurality of reinforcing ribs 11 in the ceiling portion of the upper housing 10 b, and a plurality of through holes 41 h are formed between the reinforcing ribs 11 and between the reinforcing rib 11 and the outlet port 14. Has been. The through holes 41h are formed along the reinforcing ribs 11 at substantially equal intervals.
Similarly, a plurality of reinforcing ribs 13 are formed on the bottom portion of the lower housing 10a, and a plurality of through holes 43h are formed between the reinforcing ribs 13 and between the reinforcing ribs 13 and the inlet port 12. The reinforcing ribs 13 are formed at almost equal intervals along the reinforcing rib 13. The through holes 41h and 43h may have any shape such as a round shape, a square shape, or a polygon shape.
[0017]
When a solution having the same component as that used in the first embodiment is applied to the inner wall surface of the housing 10, the solution is extruded from the through holes 41h and 43h as shown in FIG. Is held in that position. The sizes of the through holes 41h and 43h are set to values at which the solution stops at the through holes 41h and 43h due to surface tension. Accordingly, when the solution is solidified by heating, the adsorbent layer 17 formed by the solution and the housing 10 are engaged at the positions of the through holes 41h and 43h. That is, the through holes 41h and 43h function as concave portions formed on the surface of the flow path constituting member of the present invention.
[0018]
Thus, since the adsorbent layer 17 and the housing 10 are engaged at the positions of the through holes 41h and the like, even if the adhesive force between the adsorbent layer 17 and the inner wall surface of the housing 10 decreases with time, The adsorbent layer 17 does not peel off from the housing 10. Further, the processing of the through holes 41h and 43h can be easily performed because a special slide mold is not required unlike the processing of the square through holes 11h and 13h.
[0019]
[Embodiment 3]
The third embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. 3A is a longitudinal sectional view of the air cleaner for an internal combustion engine according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 3B is a sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG.
In the air cleaner 50 according to the present embodiment, instead of forming the adsorbent layer 17 on the inner wall surface of the housing 10, the adsorbent layer 17 is formed on the surface of the rectifying plate 54 of the air flow meter 52 provided in the outlet port 14. Is. Here, since the basic configuration of the air cleaner 50 is the same as that of the air cleaner 1 in the first embodiment, the same members as those in the air cleaner 1 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 3B, the rectifying plate 54 is composed of four thin plates 55 assembled in a lattice shape, and these thin plates 55 are arranged along the flow path of the outlet port 14. . Further, a through hole 55 h that penetrates from the front surface to the back surface of each thin plate 55 is formed in the approximate center of each thin plate 55.
When the solution used in the first embodiment is applied to the entire thin plate 55 of the rectifying plate 54, the solution flows into the through hole 55h, and the solution on the surface of the thin plate 55 and the solution on the back surface of the thin plate 55 are penetrated. It integrates through the hole 55h.
[0021]
For this reason, when the solution is solidified by heating, the adsorbent layer 17 formed by the solution and the thin plate 55 of the rectifying plate 54 are engaged at the position of the through hole 55h. For this reason, even if the adhesive force between the adsorbent layer 17 and the thin plate 55 of the rectifying plate 54 decreases with time, the adsorbent layer 17 does not peel off from the rectifying plate 54. That is, the thin plate 55 of the current plate 54 corresponds to the flow path component of the present invention, and the through hole 55h of the thin plate 55 functions as a recess formed on the surface of the flow path component of the present invention.
Although the example in which the adsorbent layer 17 is formed only on the thin plate 55 of the rectifying plate 54 is shown, the adsorbent layer 17 may be formed on both the rectifying plate 54 and the inner wall surface of the outlet port 14. A plurality of through holes 55h may be formed in each thin plate 55.
[0022]
As described above, in the air cleaner 50 according to the present embodiment, it is not necessary to form the adsorbent layer 17 on the entire inner wall surface of the housing 10, so the work of forming the adsorbent layer 17 is facilitated.
Here, in Embodiments 1-3, although the example which forms a recessed part with a through-hole was shown, you may form a recessed part with a hollow.
In the first and second embodiments, the example in which the adsorbent layer 17 is formed on the entire inner wall surface of the housing 10 has been described. However, the adsorbent layer 17 may be formed only on the inner wall surface of the upper housing 10b.
Moreover, although the example which uses the acrylic-based resin emulsion for the solution which forms the adsorbent layer 17 was shown, it is also possible to use another resin emulsion.
[0023]
In addition, the invention grasped by the present embodiment and not described in the scope of claims will be additionally described below.
(1) A method of manufacturing an air cleaner for an internal combustion engine comprising an air filtering element and an adsorbent that adsorbs fuel vapor in an air flow path,
Forming a recess on the surface of the flow path component constituting the flow path;
Applying a solidifiable fluid in which particles of the adsorbent are mixed on the surface of the flow path component, and allowing the fluid to flow into the recess;
Solidifying the fluid applied to the surface of the flow path component; and
A method for producing an air cleaner for an internal combustion engine, comprising:
(2) The method for producing an air cleaner for an internal combustion engine, wherein the fluid is a solution in which activated carbon powder is mixed in a resin emulsion. For this reason, an adsorbent layer can be formed satisfactorily.
(3) A method for producing an air cleaner for an internal combustion engine, wherein the fluid applied to the surface of the flow path component member is solidified by heating.
(4) The air cleaner for an internal combustion engine, wherein the recess is a through hole formed in the flow path component. For this reason, a recessed part can be formed easily.
[0024]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, even if the adhesive force of the adsorbent layer to the flow path constituent member is reduced, the adsorbent layer is difficult to peel off from the surface of the flow path constituent member. Thus, cost reduction can be achieved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view (A view) of an air cleaner for an internal combustion engine according to a first embodiment of the present invention, an enlarged view of a B portion in FIG. A (B view), and a cross sectional view along a CC arrow in FIG. Figure).
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view (FIG. A) of an air cleaner for an internal combustion engine according to a second embodiment of the present invention and an enlarged view (B view) of a B part in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view (FIG. A) of an air cleaner for an internal combustion engine according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and an enlarged sectional view (B view) taken along line BB in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional air cleaner for an internal combustion engine.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Air cleaner (Air cleaner for internal combustion engine)
10 Housing (flow path component)
11 Reinforcing rib 11h Rectangular through hole (concave)
13 Reinforcing rib 13h Rectangular through hole (concave)
17 Adsorbent layer 30 Element 41h Through hole (concave)
43h Through hole (concave)
54 Rectifying plate (flow path component)
55 Thin plate (flow path component)
55h Through hole (concave)

Claims (1)

An air cleaner for an internal combustion engine comprising an air filtering element and an adsorbent for adsorbing fuel vapor in an air flow path,
When the solidifiable fluid mixed with the adsorbent particles is applied to the surface of the flow channel component, the fluid flows into the surface of the flow channel component constituting the flow channel. An air cleaner for an internal combustion engine, wherein a recess is formed, and the adsorbent layer formed by solidification of the fluid and the flow path component are engaged at the position of the recess.

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