JP4870376B2 - Breather equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a breather device that is provided in an operation part of various machines and is attached to a vent of an apparatus.

  Conventionally, gears such as reducers and transmissions used in various machines have been filled with liquid fluid such as lubricating oil to lubricate internal gears, and the pressure inside the device is prevented from rising due to such fluids. In order to do so, a vent is formed. Further, a cap member is provided at the vent in order to prevent leakage of the internal fluid and intrusion of dust from the outside.

  However, as shown in FIG. 5, in the conventional cap member 101, the venting direction is changed from the flow direction of the vent of the device and the diameter of the outlet portion of the vent hole 111 of the cap member is reduced, or the inside of the cap member 101 is simply Since the ventilation path is complicated, when the internal fluid is stirred and foamed by the operation of the internal gear or the like, the foamy fluid overflows from the vent hole 111 in the cap member 101 and leaks to the outside of the device. was there.

  In consideration of the above problems, the present invention is a breather for preventing ventilation, leakage of an internal sealing fluid, and prevention of intrusion of dust from the outside, which is attached to a vent provided to prevent an increase in internal pressure of the device. A device is provided with a chamber in the ventilation hole, a wall is provided on the device side of the chamber, a small hole is formed in the wall, and a small piece movable on the wall surface is provided in the room. A breather device is provided.

With the above configuration, the small piece moves on the wall surface in the room of the breather device due to the vibration of the device, etc., so that it can come into contact with the foam-like internal fluid that has come out of the vent hole and break off the foam. it can.
Large bubbles can also be eliminated by passing through small holes in the wall.
And since this small piece does not block all of the vent holes in the wall at the same time, the liquid internal fluid left after the foam breaks in this chamber returns from the vent hole to the inside through the vent of the device. The gas inside is directly discharged from the ventilation outlet to the outside of the device.

  Moreover, in this invention, this small piece is good also as a rolling element, Thereby, a small piece becomes easy to move and can further raise a defoaming effect.

  In the present invention, it is possible to prevent a fluid such as lubricating oil sealed inside the device from becoming a foam and leaking out of the device through the vent with a simple configuration.

  Embodiments of the breather device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, but the present invention is not limited to the illustrated configuration.

FIG. 1 shows a partial cross-sectional view of a device 5 such as a speed reducer or a transmission in which the breather device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is attached to the vent 3. Inside the device 5, oil 7 such as a lubricant is sealed as a liquid internal fluid and used for lubricating internal gears.
The vent 3 provided to prevent an increase in the internal pressure of the device 5 is equipped with the breather device 1 according to the present invention in order to prevent leakage of the internal sealing fluid and intrusion of dust and the like from the outside. As indicated by the arrows, air is exhausted through the interior.

FIG. 2 shows a further enlarged cross-sectional view of the breather device 1 of FIG. The breather device 1 is provided with a mounting portion 12 screwed into the vent 3 of the device 5 outside the main body 10 and a vent hole 11 communicating with the vent 3 of the device inside the main body 10. A chamber 13 is formed in 11, a wall 15 made of punching metal is provided on the device 5 side of the chamber 13, and rolling balls 17 are arranged on the surface of the wall 15 so as to be movable.
Further, a labyrinth structure 19 is provided in the passage from the chamber 13 to the outside of the breather device so that the oil 7 is not directly discharged from the chamber 13.

  In the above, punched metal is used for the wall, but a metal or resin net may be applied. Further, the ball 17 is preferably made of SUS or other various metals having a weight that does not lift from the wall surface due to ventilation from the inside. However, a resin or the like can be used as long as it has a sufficient weight. Alternatively, a metal core material may be used. Moreover, although the main body of a breather apparatus uses synthetic resins, such as a polyamide and a polyacetal, you may use metals, such as aluminum and SUS.

In this configuration, the operation of the present invention will be described.
For example, at the time of cold start or the like, since the viscosity of the oil 7 such as lubricating oil is low in the device 5, the oil is stirred and foamed by the start. Then, the bubbles pass through the vent 3 of the device 5 and enter the vent hole 11 of the breather device 1, and further rise due to foaming of oil and reach the wall 15 provided on the device 5 side of the chamber 13.
At this time, since the wall 15 is made of punching metal, the bubbles try to pass through the gaps as the vent holes of the small holes and come out on the upper surface of the wall 15. However, bubbles with large diameters are easily removed when they pass through this gap.

When the bubbles come out on the surface of the wall 15, the rolling balls 17 arranged on the surface of the wall move as vibrations due to the operation of the device 5 and come into contact with these bubbles.
Bubbles that come into contact with the rolling ball 17 break and return to a liquid state, pass through the gap between the walls 15, and return to the inside of the device 5. Since the rolling ball 17 is moved by vibration, all the gaps of the wall through which the liquid oil 7 passes are not blocked simultaneously.
In this way, the bubbles are extinguished, and only the internal air passes through the labyrinth structure portion 19 of the ventilation outlet of the breather device 1 and is discharged to the outside.

  According to the above-described operation configuration, even if the oil in the apparatus becomes foamed, the foam is surely eliminated by the breather device according to the present invention, so that leakage to the outside can be prevented.

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment according to the invention corresponding to FIG.
In this second embodiment, instead of the punching metal wall 17 provided on the device 5 side in the chamber 13 in the breather device of the first embodiment, a wall 27 provided with a small hole vent hole 26 in the chamber 23. Is formed integrally with the main body 20.
Since other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

  In this configuration, as in the first embodiment, when the oil bubbles from the inside of the device and reaches the wall 25 through the vent hole 21, the foam passes through the small hole vent hole 26 provided in the wall 25 and the wall 25. Try to come out on the surface. However, bubbles having a large diameter are easily repelled when they pass through the vent hole 26, and the remaining bubbles pass through the vent hole 26 and come out on the wall surface.

Then, as in the first embodiment, the rolling balls 27 arranged on the surface of the wall 25 move due to vibrations caused by the operation of the equipment and come into contact with the bubbles on these surfaces. Breaks back to a liquid state, passes through the vent hole 26 in the wall 25 and returns to the interior of the device 5. Since the rolling ball 27 is moved by vibration, all of the air holes through which the liquid oil passes are not closed at the same time, so that the rolling ball 27 can return smoothly.
In this way, the bubbles are extinguished and only the internal air passes through the labyrinth structure 29 at the ventilation outlet of the breather device and is discharged to the outside, and the oil is returned to the inside of the apparatus and maintained.

  Even if the wall is formed integrally with the main body from the above operation configuration, even if the oil in the device becomes foamy, the breather device according to the present invention can surely eliminate the bubbles, so that leakage to the outside is prevented. Can be prevented. Further, in this embodiment, since the breather device is integrally formed, it is further advantageous in that the manufacture is easy.

FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of a third embodiment according to the present invention corresponding to FIG.
This embodiment is different only in that the labyrinth structure portion 29 of the ventilation outlet of the second embodiment is excluded. Therefore, since the other configuration is the same as that of the above embodiment, detailed description is omitted.
In this embodiment, after the foam of oil has passed through the small vent 36 of the wall 35 and has been extinguished to some extent, the remaining foam is also extinguished by the rolling ball 37, and the gas inside is on the side of the main body 30. The air is exhausted directly from the ventilation outlet provided in the section. Therefore, it can be applied as a low-cost simple type when exhaust is not so important.

  In each of the above embodiments, the small piece is a rolling ball, but if it is a rolling element such as a roller or a polygon, its mobility is good and it is preferable because it has better defoaming properties. Depending on the case, it may be constituted by a disk-type or ring-type sliding type plate. Any device can be used as long as it can be moved on the wall surface by vibration of the device.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent a fluid such as lubricating oil sealed inside the device from becoming a foam and passing through the vent and leaking outside the device with a simple configuration.

  Although the above description has been made with reference to the embodiments, it is obvious that the present invention is not limited thereto and that various changes and modifications can be made within the spirit of the present invention and the scope of the claims.

Sectional drawing which attached the breather apparatus of 1st Example by this invention to the vent hole of an apparatus is shown. The expanded sectional view of 1st Example of FIG. 1 is shown. Sectional drawing of the breather apparatus of 2nd Example by this invention is shown. Sectional drawing of the breather apparatus of 3rd Example by this invention is shown. Sectional drawing of the conventional cap member with which the ventilation hole of an apparatus is equipped is shown.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Breather apparatus 3 Vent 5 Equipment 7 Oil 10, 20, 30 Main body 11, 21, 31 Vent 12, 22, 32 Mounting part 13, 23, 33 Chamber 15, 25, 35 Wall 17, 27, 37 Rolling ball 19, 29 Labyrinth structure part 26, 36 Vent hole 101 Cap member 110 Main body 111 Vent hole 112 Mounting part

Claims (2)

  A breather device attached to a vent of an apparatus, wherein a chamber is provided in a vent hole of the breather apparatus, a wall is provided on the instrument side of the chamber, a small hole is formed in the wall, and The breather device is provided with a small piece movable on the wall surface.   2. The breather device according to claim 1, wherein the small piece is a rolling element.

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