JP4395888B2 - Air cleaner - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an air cleaner, and more particularly, to an air cleaner that improves the filtration efficiency by promoting the flow of intake air in a structure in which an element is sandwiched between an upper case and a lower case.

  In vehicles, an air cleaner is provided to filter intake air. In this air cleaner, an element is sandwiched between a lower case on the bottom side and an upper case on the upper side, and foreign elements contained in the outside air taken into the engine are removed by this element. The lower case and the upper case are each formed with an opening, an inlet pipe is connected to the inlet opening on the lower case side, an outlet pipe is connected to the outlet opening on the upper case side, and the outside air purified by the element is supplied to the engine. Supply.

Conventionally, in an air cleaner, in a structure in which an element is sandwiched between a cap provided with an inlet opening and a case provided with an outlet opening, a diffusion plate is provided in the cap to reduce turbulence generated in the flow of intake air. There are things that extend the life of
The air cleaner has a structure in which an element is sandwiched between a lower housing having an inlet opening and an upper housing having an outlet opening. Some elements remove dust evenly throughout the element.
Further, the air cleaner has a structure in which an element is sandwiched between a cover body provided with an inlet opening and a case body provided with an outlet opening, and is provided directly above the vaporizer. Some are arranged at the rear, and the height of the clean side chamber formed by the cover body is set so that the front part is low and the back part is high, thereby improving the filtration efficiency.
JP 2000-346687 A JP-A-5-272420 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-312474

  However, conventionally, in an air cleaner having a structure in which an element is sandwiched between an upper case and a lower case, when the intake air flowing in from the inlet opening provided in the lower case flows perpendicularly to the element, for example, the element and the inlet In the case where the opening is formed so as to be opposed to the opening, the flow of the intake air taken in from the inlet opening is biased to the vicinity of the inlet opening, and therefore, local contamination of the filter of the element, for example, There was a disadvantage that the clogging by oil particles occurred and the life of the element was shortened. In particular, when the element has a rectangular shape, a large number of stains separated from the inlet opening are present in a portion that is not so conspicuous as compared with a portion where the stain is generated near the inlet opening.

  The present invention provides an air cleaner having an outlet opening to which an outlet pipe is connected to an upper case, an inlet opening to which an inlet pipe is connected to a lower case, and an element sandwiched between the upper case and the lower case The element includes a filter and a frame for holding the filter. The frame is provided with an opening for storing the filter and a partition that surrounds the opening, and the partition is expanded laterally. An enlarged side portion is provided, and a rectifying portion is provided on the enlarged side portion to guide the intake air flowing in from the inlet opening to the filter side.

  In the air cleaner of the present invention, the element includes a filter and a frame portion that holds the filter, and the frame portion is provided with an opening portion that stores the filter and a partition portion that surrounds the opening portion, and the partition portion is laterally disposed. Since the enlarged side is expanded and a rectifying part is provided on the enlarged side to guide the intake air flowing in from the inlet opening to the filter side, the element frame is used to take in the entire filter from the inlet opening. The intake air thus passed can be passed, and local contamination of the filter can be prevented and the life of the filter can be extended.

In the present invention, in order to prevent local contamination of the filter and extend the life of the filter, a rectification unit is provided on the enlarged side portion of the frame portion of the element to guide intake air flowing from the inlet opening to the filter side. This is what is achieved.
Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail and specifically with reference to the drawings.

  1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 4, 2 is a vehicle, 4 is a side frame, 6 is an engine room panel, and 8 is an engine room. In the engine room 8, a vertically mounted engine 10 is disposed at a substantially central portion of the engine room 8, and an air cleaner 12 is disposed along the engine room panel 6 on the right side of the engine 10. A canister 14 is disposed in a space between the engine room panel 6 and the engine room panel 6.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the air cleaner 12 is configured by sandwiching an element 20 between an upper case 16 and a lower case 18, and connecting the upper case 16 and the lower case 18 with a plurality of connectors 22. Yes. In the air cleaner 12, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, a clean side chamber 24 is formed by the upper case 16 and the element 20, and a dirty side chamber 26 is formed by the lower case 18 and the element 20. .

  The upper case 16 is integrally provided with an upper-side filter housing portion 16A having a rectangular shape in plan view and an upper-side bulging portion 16B having a triangular shape in plan view continuous on the short side of the upper-side filter housing portion 16A. An outlet opening 28 is formed on the short side opposite to the short side where the side bulging portion 16B is formed and at the rear end portion of the upper filter housing portion 16A. An outlet connection pipe 30 is provided. An intake outlet pipe 32 connected to the engine 10 is connected to the outlet connection pipe 30. Further, the upper case 16 is provided with an upper case side joining flange 34 at a peripheral portion.

  Further, the lower case 18 is integrally provided with a lower-side filter housing portion 18A having a rectangular shape in plan view and a lower-side bulging portion 18B having a triangular shape in plan view that is continuous on the short side of the lower-side filter housing portion 18A. An inlet connection pipe 38 is provided that forms an inlet opening 36 that opens to the lower side of the vehicle at the front end (a triangular top portion) of the lower side bulging portion 18B. The inlet connection pipe 38 is connected to an intake inlet pipe 40 that is disposed toward the front side of the vehicle. In addition, the lower case 18 is provided with a lower case-side joining flange 42 at a peripheral portion and a plurality of installation fixing portions 44.

  In the air cleaner 12, the upper case side joining flange 34 and the lower case side joining flange 42 sandwich the element 20 and are connected by a plurality of connecting members 22, and are fixed to the vehicle body by a plurality of installation fixing portions 44. The outlet opening 28 on the vehicle rear side is disposed away from the inlet opening 36 on the vehicle front side.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the element 20 of the air cleaner 12 includes a filter 46 and a frame portion 48 that holds the filter 46.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the frame 48 has one side as the filter 46, one side as the opening 50 for housing the other side filters 46-1, 46-2, and the other side openings 50-1, 50. -2, a partition 52 that surrounds the one-side and other-side openings 50-1 and 50-2, and a clamping flange 54 at the peripheral portion. The one-side and other-side filters 46-1 and 46-2 are each formed in a rectangular shape. The partition portion 52 is provided with a central side partition portion 56 oriented in the longitudinal direction so as to partition the one-side and other-side openings 50-1 and 50-2. The sandwiching flange 54 is sandwiched and fixed between the upper case side joining flange 34 of the upper case 16 and the lower case side joining flange 42 of the lower case 18.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the partition portion 52 is provided with an enlarged side portion 58 that is enlarged to the side of the lower case 18 on the inlet opening portion 36 side. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the enlarged side portion 58 is formed in a triangular shape with a portion facing the inlet opening 36 as a vertex, and is provided on the short side of each rectangular filter 46. Ribs 60 are provided at predetermined positions on the upper surface.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the lower case side bottom portion 62 on the bottom surface side of the enlarged side portion 58 is provided with a rectifying portion 64 that guides the intake air flowing in from the lower inlet opening 36 to the filter 46 side.

  The lower case side bottom portion 62 forms a rectifying portion 64 and projects downward by a height h from the bottom portion 46B of the filter 46 to the inlet opening portion 36 side at a portion facing the inlet opening portion 36. It is formed in an arc shape so as to continue to 46.

  Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described.

  The air taken in from the inlet opening 36 is guided to the center side of the filter 46 of the element 20 by the rectifying unit 64 in the dirty side chamber 26, whereby the intake air is guided to the center side of the filter 46. , And reaches the clean side chamber 24, and local contamination of the filter 46 can be prevented.

  That is, in the first embodiment, the element 20 includes a filter 46 and a frame portion 48 that holds the filter 46, and an opening portion 50 that houses the filter 46 in the frame portion 48 and a partition that surrounds the opening portion 50. And a rectifying part 64 for guiding the intake air flowing in from the inlet opening 36 to the filter 46 side is provided on the enlarged side part 58. Therefore, the intake air taken in from the inlet opening 36 can be passed through the entire filter 46 using the frame portion 48 of the element 20, thereby preventing local contamination of the filter 46 and extending the life of the filter 46. Can be achieved.

  The rectifying unit 64 is formed on the lower case side bottom portion 62 of the enlarged side portion 58, and the lower case side bottom portion 62 protrudes closer to the inlet opening 36 than the bottom portion 46 </ b> B of the filter 46 at a portion facing the inlet opening 36. In addition, since it is formed in an arc shape so as to be continuous with the filter 46, the flow of the intake air taken in from the inlet opening 36 is promoted by the arc-shaped bottom surface of the enlarged side portion 58 and dispersed throughout the dirty side chamber 26 in the lower case 18. In this state, the filter 46 is passed through, so that the filtration efficiency can be improved.

  Furthermore, the filter 46 of the element 20 has a rectangular shape, and since the enlarged side portion 58 is provided on the short side of the filter 46, even if the filter 46 has a rectangular shape with many parts separated from the inlet opening 36. In addition, it is possible to improve the filtration efficiency and the life of the filter 46 by allowing the intake air to pass through the entire filter 46.

  Furthermore, since the outlet opening 28 is spaced apart from the inlet opening 36, it facilitates the flow of intake air from the dirty side chamber 26 in the lower case 18 to the clean side chamber 24 in the upper case 16. And the filtration efficiency can be improved.

  Further, since the enlarged side portion 58 is formed in a triangular shape having a portion facing the inlet opening 36 as a vertex, the enlarged side portion 58 is a compact enlarged side portion 58 and the portion facing the inlet opening 36 is replaced with another portion. By forming it narrower than the portion, the flow of the intake air flowing out from the inlet opening 36 can be further promoted, and the filtration efficiency and the life of the filter 46 can be improved.

  FIG. 5 shows a special configuration of the present invention and shows a second embodiment.

  In the following embodiments, portions having the same functions as those in the first embodiment will be described with the same reference numerals.

  The features of the second embodiment are as follows. That is, in the element 20, the filter 46 is disposed to be inclined at an angle θ with respect to the frame portion 48. The filter 46 is disposed such that the front end portion on the inlet opening portion 36 side is located above the rear end portion on the outlet opening portion 28 side and is inclined at an angle θ.

  According to the configuration of the second embodiment, the front end portion of the filter 46 on the inlet opening portion 36 side is located above the rear end portion of the filter 46 on the outlet opening portion 28 side and is inclined at an angle θ. As a result, the intake air from the rectifying unit 64 passes in a direction orthogonal to the filter 46 to promote the flow of the intake air and to improve the filtration efficiency.

  FIG. 6 shows a special configuration of the present invention and shows a third embodiment.

  The features of the third embodiment are as follows. That is, the lower case side bottom portion 62 is provided with the intake guiding portion 72 continuously to the rectifying portion 64. The intake air induction unit 72 has a function of once guiding the intake air from the rectifying unit 64 to the bottom side of the dirty side chamber 26 and allowing the intake air to pass through the entire filter 46.

  According to the configuration of the third embodiment, the intake air from the rectifying unit 64 is once guided to the bottom side of the dirty side chamber 26 by the intake induction unit 72 and then passes through the filter 46, so that the intake air is fed to the entire filter 46. The filtration efficiency can be improved.

  A structure in which a rectifying unit that guides the intake air flowing in from the inlet opening to the filter side on the enlarged side of the frame part of the element can be applied to other air supply devices.

It is a side view of an element in the 1st example. It is a schematic plan view of the element by arrow II of FIG. 1 in 1st Example. It is a perspective view of an air cleaner in the 1st example. It is a partial top view of the vehicle front part in 1st Example. It is a side view of an element in the 2nd example. It is a side view of an element in the 3rd example.

Explanation of symbols

2 Vehicle 8 Engine room 10 Engine 12 Air cleaner 16 Upper case 18 Lower case 20 Element 24 Clean side chamber 26 Dirty side chamber 28 Outlet opening 32 Outlet pipe 36 Inlet opening 40 Inlet pipe 46 Filter 48 Frame 50 Opening 52 Partition 62 Lower case side bottom 64 Rectifier

Claims (5)

  An air cleaner in which an outlet opening to which an outlet pipe is connected is provided in the upper case, and an inlet opening to which an inlet pipe is connected is provided in the lower case, and the element is sandwiched between the upper case and the lower case. Comprises a filter and a frame for holding the filter, and provided with an opening for housing the filter and a partition for enclosing the opening in the frame, and the side of the partition is enlarged to enlarge the side The air cleaner is characterized in that a rectifying portion for guiding the intake air flowing in from the inlet opening portion to the filter side is provided on the enlarged side portion.   The rectifying part is formed on the lower case side bottom part of the enlarged side part, and the lower case side bottom part protrudes to the inlet opening part side from the bottom part of the filter at a part facing the inlet opening part, and to the filter. The air cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the air cleaner is formed in a continuous arc shape.   The air cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the filter of the element is formed in a rectangular shape, and the enlarged side portion is provided on a short side of the filter.   The air cleaner according to claim 3, wherein the outlet opening is disposed apart from the inlet opening.   The air cleaner according to claim 4, wherein the enlarged side portion is formed in a triangular shape having a portion facing the inlet opening as a vertex.

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