JP6138517B2 - Oil separator - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an oil separator that separates oil contained in air that has passed through an apparatus.

  Vehicles such as trucks, buses and construction machinery control systems such as brakes and suspensions using compressed air sent from a compressor directly connected to the engine. This compressed air contains moisture contained in the atmosphere and oil that lubricates the inside of the compressor. When this compressed air containing moisture and oil enters each system, rust and swelling of a rubber member (O-ring or the like) are caused, causing a malfunction. For this reason, the air dryer for removing the water | moisture content and oil content in compressed air is provided downstream of the compressor of an air system (for example, refer patent document 1).

  In the air dryer, a desiccant such as a filter, silica gel or zeolite is provided. And an air dryer performs the dehumidification effect | action which removes a water | moisture content, and the reproduction | regeneration effect | action which remove | eliminates the water | moisture content adsorbed by the desiccant and discharge | releases outside.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-296038

  By the way, since the oil released from the air dryer during regeneration of the desiccant contains oil as well as moisture, it is considered to provide an oil separator downstream of the compressor of the air system in consideration of environmental load. This oil separator is a device in which a collision material that collides with air containing oil is provided in the casing, and the oil is separated and collected, and clean air from which oil has been removed is discharged.

  Here, when the oil separator is used in a cold region, moisture contained in the air released from the air dryer may freeze in the housing, and a desired oil content may not be separated. Therefore, there is a demand for an oil separator that suppresses freezing of moisture in the housing.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an oil separator that suppresses freezing of moisture in the housing.

Hereinafter, means for achieving the above-described object and its operation and effects will be described.
An oil separator that solves the above-described problems includes an oil component by separating the oil component by causing the purge air that has been discharged from the purge air discharge port of the air dryer and flowing into the housing to collide with the collision material when regenerating the desiccant of the air dryer. The gist of the present invention is to provide an oil separator that collects drain and discharges clean air, and includes a heating device that warms the casing.

  According to this configuration, since the heating device that warms the housing is provided, the housing is heated by the heating device, and freezing of moisture in the housing can be suppressed in a cold district or the like. In addition, since the casing is warmed by the heating device and moisture contained in the drain accumulated in the casing is easily evaporated, the drain accumulation interval can be extended by extending the period during which the drain is accumulated up to the maximum allowable amount. .

About the said oil separator, it is preferable that the said heating apparatus is provided in the outer periphery of the said housing | casing.
According to this configuration, since the heating device is provided on the outer periphery of the casing, it is not necessary to employ a complicated configuration, and the installation of the heating device with respect to the oil separator is easy.

About the said oil separator, it is preferable that the said heating apparatus is provided in the inside of the said housing | casing.
According to this configuration, since the heating device is provided inside the housing, the housing can be efficiently warmed without the heating device being exposed to the outside air.

Regarding the oil separator, it is preferable that the heating device warms the casing by drawing in compressed air of a compressor that supplies compressed air to the air dryer.
According to this configuration, since the heating device warms the casing with the compressed air heated by the compression heat of the compressor, there is no need to generate warm air or the like, and there is no need to separately draw warm air or the like, and the compressed air supplied to the air dryer It can be easily realized by pulling in.

About the oil separator, it is preferable that the compressed air of the compressor is supplied to the air dryer after passing through the heating device.
According to this configuration, the compressed air supplied to the air dryer is routed through the heating device. For this reason, since the compressed air supplied from the compressor is appropriately cooled by the heating device, it is not necessary to cool to a temperature that optimizes the performance of the air dryer.

With respect to the oil separator, it is preferable that the heating device warms the casing by drawing exhaust gas from the internal combustion engine.
According to this configuration, since the heating device warms the casing by the exhaust gas from the internal combustion engine, this can be realized without the need to generate warm air or the like.

About the said oil separator, it is preferable that the said heating apparatus warms the said housing | casing by providing electric heat.
According to this configuration, since the heating device warms the casing by electric heat, it is not necessary to generate warm air or the like, and it is possible to realize without having to draw warm air or the like separately.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress freezing of moisture in the housing.

The block diagram which shows the installation position of the oil separator in an air system | strain. The figure which shows the attachment state of an oil separator, and the connection state of an oil separator and an air dryer. The partially broken figure which shows the structure of the heating apparatus of an oil separator. Sectional drawing which shows the internal structure of an oil separator. Sectional drawing which shows the internal structure of an oil separator. The block diagram which shows the installation position of the oil separator in the air system of another example. The partially broken figure which shows the structure of the heating apparatus of the oil separator of another example.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the oil separator will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, vehicles such as trucks, buses, and construction machinery control systems such as brakes and suspensions using compressed air sent from a compressor 1. For this reason, an air dryer 2 is provided downstream of the compressor 1 of the air system for removing oil and water from the compressed air and providing dry air. A desiccant is provided in the air dryer 2. The air dryer 2 performs a dehumidifying action for removing oil and moisture and a regenerating action for removing oil and moisture adsorbed on the desiccant and releasing them to the outside.

  Therefore, since air (purge air) released from the air dryer 2 during regeneration of the desiccant contains oil as well as moisture, an oil separator 3 is provided downstream of the compressor 1 of the air system in consideration of environmental load. In particular, the oil separator 3 is provided in the exhaust system of the air dryer 2 and separates and recovers oil and moisture from purge air discharged when the air dryer 2 is regenerated.

  The oil separator 3 is a collision system in which a plurality of collision materials that collide with air containing oil and moisture are provided in a casing. The collision-type oil separator 3 collects oil and discharges clean air by performing gas-liquid separation by colliding air containing oil and water with the collision material. The separated oil and water will be referred to as drain hereinafter.

  The oil separator 3 is provided with a heating device 80. The heating device 80 warms the oil separator 3 by allowing high-temperature compressed air supplied from the compressor 1 to pass through the outer periphery of the oil separator 3. That is, the compressed air of the compressor 1 is supplied to the air dryer 2 via the outer periphery of the oil separator 3. The temperature of the compressed air supplied from the compressor 1 is as high as 160 ° C.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the air dryer 2 includes a bottomed cylindrical case 21 whose top is closed vertically, and a support member 22 that closes the opening of the case 21 and supports the case 21. . A purge air discharge port 23 for discharging purge air when the drying agent is regenerated is formed below the support member 22. A purge air discharge cover 24 to which a connection hose 25 is connected is attached to the purge air discharge port 23. The connection hose 25 is connected to the oil separator 3. The support member 22 of the air dryer 2 is provided with an introduction port 28 for introducing the compressed air compressed by the compressor 1 and an exhaust port 29 for discharging the dry compressed air.

  The oil separator 3 includes a case 31 as a bottomed cylindrical casing extending in the vertical direction, and a lid 32 that closes the opening of the case 31. The bottom 31a of the case 31 is provided with a drain discharge port 33 for discharging the accumulated drain. A drain hose 34 used when taking out the drain is connected to the drain outlet 33. The lid 32 is separately formed with an inlet 35 for introducing purge air from the air dryer 2 via the connection hose 25 and an outlet 40 for discharging clean air from which oil has been separated. The introduction port 35 and the connection hose 25 are connected by a connecting member 27.

An attachment member 37 is integrally provided on the lid 32 of the oil separator 3 with respect to the lid 32. The attachment member 37 is fixed to the chassis 38 with bolts.
Moreover, the front-end | tip part of the drain hose 34 is attached to the support member 60 fixed to the chassis 38 etc. of the vehicle so that attachment or detachment is possible. That is, the fixing member 61 is fixed to the support member 60. A one-touch coupler 62 for fixing the tip end portion of the drain hose 34 with one touch is fixed to the lower end portion of the fixing member 61. The distal end portion of the drain hose 34 is fixed to the fixing member 61 by being inserted into the one-touch coupler 62, and can be detached from the fixing member 61 by operating the one-touch coupler 62. The distal end portion of the drain hose 34 is attached to the fixing member 61 vertically upward. The leading end of the drain hose 34 is located above the lid 32 of the oil separator 3. For this reason, it is possible to suppress drain leakage from the tip of the drain hose 34.

  A cylindrical jacket 81 constituting the heating device 80 is mounted on the outer periphery of the case 31 of the oil separator 3. The jacket 81 can be attached to and detached from the case 31. An inlet connecting pipe 82 that connects to the compressor 1 and introduces compressed air from the compressor 1 is connected to the upper side surface of the jacket 81. In addition, a discharge connection pipe 83 that is connected to the air dryer 2 and discharges compressed air to the air dryer 2 is connected to the lower portion of the side surface of the jacket 81. The discharge connection pipe 83 is connected to the introduction port 28 of the air dryer 2. The heating device 80 warms the case 31 by drawing the compressed air of the compressor 1 into the jacket 81. Moreover, the heating device 80 cools the compressed air supplied from the compressor 1 and discharges it to the air dryer 2 by moving the amount of heat of the compressed air supplied from the compressor 1 through the jacket 81 to the case 31. The temperature of the compressed air cooled through the jacket 81 is about 60 ° C.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the jacket 81 is provided with a spiral guide tube 84 along the outer periphery of the case 31, connecting the introduction connection tube 82 and the discharge connection tube 83. In the lid 32, the introduction port 35 and the discharge port 40 are opened in the same direction (right side in the figure). The connection hose 25 is connected to the introduction port 35 via a connecting member 27. In addition, a discharge hose 42 is connected to the discharge port 40 via a connection member 41 that is bent downward from the horizontal direction. That is, the connecting member 27 and the connecting member 41 are provided side by side. The tip opening of the discharge hose 42 is formed in a short and oblique manner on the case 31 side. While facilitating the discharge of clean air from the discharge hose 42, the waterproof property is enhanced.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the lid 32 has a bottomed cylindrical shape with the top vertically closed. Two baffle plates 46 are erected on the inner wall of the lid 32 in the vicinity of the inlet 35 so as to be orthogonal to the traveling direction of the purge air introduced from the inlet 35. The internal space of the lid 32 functions as a first expansion chamber 45 that expands purge air introduced from the introduction port 35. The lid 32 is formed with a communication portion 32 a that communicates from the inside of the case 31 to the discharge port 40.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a disc-shaped cover 47 that closes the case 31 and closes the lid 32 is provided between the case 31 and the lid 32. The cover 47 is fastened to the lid 32 together with the case 31 by bolts 36. That is, the bolt 36 is fastened to the screw hole formed in the flange portion 32 b provided in the lid 32. Further, the screw portion of the bolt 36 is passed through a through hole formed in the flange portion 31 b provided in the case 31. The cover 47 is formed with a through hole through which the threaded portion of the bolt 36 passes. Therefore, the screw portion of the bolt 36 is passed through the through hole of the flange portion 31 b of the case 31 and the through hole of the flange portion 47 a of the cover 47, and the bolt 36 is screwed into the screw hole of the flange portion 32 b of the lid 32. Thus, the lid 32, the cover 47, and the case 31 are fastened. The cover 47 is formed with a communication hole 47 c that communicates from the inside of the case 31 to the discharge port 40.

  The space formed by the lid 32 and the cover 47 functions as the first expansion chamber 45. The cover 47 is fixed with a bolt 39 with a bottomed cylindrical housing member 48 closed in the vertical direction for housing the urethane foam 50 such as sponge. The urethane foam 50 functions as a collision material. A flange portion 48 a and a flange portion 48 b are formed on the upper end edge portion and the lower end edge portion of the housing member 48. Bolts 39 are passed through flanges 48 a formed at the upper edge of the housing member 48, and the housing member 48 is fastened to the cover 47. A space formed by the cover 47 and the upper surface of the housing member 48 functions as the second expansion chamber 51. The cover 47 is formed with a plurality of through holes 47 b that allow the first expansion chamber 45 and the second expansion chamber 51 to communicate with each other. A plurality of through holes 49 a are formed in the central portion of the upper bottom portion 49 of the housing member 48. The through hole 47 b of the cover 47 and the through hole 49 a of the upper bottom portion 49 of the housing member 48 are formed at positions that do not face each other. A plurality of through holes 48 c are formed on the lower end side of the side surface of the housing member 48 at intervals in the radial direction.

  A disc-shaped support lid 52 that supports the accommodated urethane foam 50 is fixed to the flange portion 48 b formed at the lower end edge of the accommodation member 48 by screws 53. The support lid 52 is formed to have substantially the same diameter as the inner diameter of the case 31. A space formed by the upper bottom 49 of the housing member 48 and the support lid 52 functions as the third expansion chamber 59. The support lid 52 is formed with a plurality of through holes 52a through which oil and water removed by the urethane foam 50 is dropped. Therefore, the lower part in the case 31 functions as the drain reservoir 54.

Next, the operation of the oil separator 3 configured as described above will be described.
As shown in FIG. 2, the compressed air supplied from the compressor 1 through the introduction connecting pipe 82 is introduced into the induction pipe 84 in the jacket 81 of the heating apparatus 80, and passes through the induction pipe 84 to pass through the jacket 81. The case 31 is warmed through. The compressed air that has passed through the jacket 81 is cooled more than when it is introduced into the jacket 81. The compressed air discharged from the jacket 81 is introduced into the air dryer 2 through the discharge connecting pipe 83. The compressed air introduced into the air dryer 2 is dried and stored in an air tank (not shown). The air dryer 2 is introduced into the oil separator 3 from the purge air discharge port 23 during unloading for regenerating the desiccant. The purge air is air containing oil and water.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the purge air introduced from the introduction port 35 collides with the baffle plate 46, is introduced into the oil separator 3 along the baffle plate 46, and expands in the first expansion chamber 45. The air expanded in the first expansion chamber 45 enters the second expansion chamber 51 through a through hole 47 b formed in the cover 47. The air expanded in the second expansion chamber 51 enters the third expansion chamber 59 from the through hole 49a in the upper bottom portion 49 of the housing member 48, and the oil and water colliding with the urethane foam 50 are separated from the air. The drain containing water and oil captured by the urethane foam 50 reaches the upper surface of the support lid 52 through the urethane foam 50, falls from the through hole 52a of the support lid 52 to the drain reservoir 54, and is stored in the drain reservoir. It collects in the part 54. The drain accumulated in the drain reservoir 54 enters the drain hose 34 from the drain discharge port 33.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, the air that has entered the housing member 48 through the through hole 49 a in the upper bottom portion 49 of the housing member 48 and separated the oil and moisture is removed from the through hole 48 c on the side surface of the housing member 48. Enter 31. The air that has entered the case 31 passes through the communication hole 47c of the cover 47 and the communication portion 32a of the lid 32, flows into the discharge hose 42 from the discharge port 40 through the connection member 41, and is discharged to the atmosphere. Therefore, the air that has entered the case 31 is discharged from the discharge port 40 with almost no contact with the drain of the drain reservoir 54. The air discharged from the discharge port 40 is clean air that does not contain oil.

  When discharging the drain accumulated in the drain reservoir 54, the one-touch coupler 62 is operated to remove the tip of the drain hose 34 from the one-touch coupler 62, and the tip of the drain hose 34 is drained from the drain reservoir 54. It can be discharged by making it lower than the surface of the water.

  In the present embodiment, the high-temperature compressed air supplied from the compressor 1 is drawn into the jacket 81 constituting the heating device 80 to heat the case 31 of the oil separator 3, so that the case of the oil separator 3 can be used in a cold region. Freezing of moisture in 31 can be suppressed.

As described above, according to the embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) Since the heating device 80 for heating the case 31 is provided, the case 31 is heated by the heating device 80, and freezing of moisture in the case 31 can be suppressed in a cold district or the like. In addition, since the case 31 is warmed by the heating device 80 and moisture contained in the drain accumulated in the case 31 is easily evaporated, the period during which the drain is accumulated to the maximum allowable amount is extended, and the drain discharge interval is extended. Can do.

(2) Since the heating device 80 is provided on the outer periphery of the case 31, it is not necessary to employ a complicated configuration, and the heating device 80 can be easily installed on the oil separator.
(3) Since the heating device 80 warms the case 31 with the compressed air warmed by the compression heat of the compressor 1, there is no need to generate warm air or the like, and there is no need to separately draw warm air or the like, and the compressed air supplied to the air dryer 2 It can be easily realized by pulling in.

  (4) The compressed air supplied to the air dryer 2 is routed through the heating device 80. For this reason, since the compressed air supplied from the compressor 1 is appropriately cooled by the heating device 80, it is not necessary to cool the compressed air to a temperature that optimizes the performance of the air dryer 2.

In addition, the said embodiment can be implemented with the following forms which changed this suitably.
In the above configuration, the jacket 81 is preferably a heat insulating material.
In the above embodiment, the compressed air supplied from the compressor 1 is supplied to the air dryer 2 via the jacket 81 of the heating device 80. However, a part of the compressed air supplied from the compressor 1 is supplied to the jacket 81 of the heating device 80. May be routed.

  In the above embodiment, the hot compressed air supplied from the compressor 1 is drawn into the jacket 81 of the heating device 80 to warm the case 31, but the exhaust discharged from the internal combustion engine may be supplied to the heating device 80. . That is, as shown in FIG. 6, high-temperature exhaust discharged from the engine 4 as the internal combustion engine is supplied to the heating device 80. The exhaust from the engine 4 supplied to the heating device 80 is discharged to the exhaust system of the internal combustion engine.

In the above configuration, the case 31 and the jacket 81 may be integrated.
In the above embodiment, the case 31 is warmed by supplying the compressed air of the compressor 1 and the exhaust of the engine 4 to the heating device 80. However, the case 31 may be warmed by electric heat without depending on the warm air. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the heating wire 85 may be wound around the case 31 and covered with a jacket 81 to warm the case 31. In this way, the oil separator 3 can be warmed even when the vehicle is not driven.

  In the above embodiment, the outer periphery of the case 31 is warmed by the heating device 80, but a heating device may be provided inside the case 31. For example, a guide pipe through which the compressed air of the compressor 1 passes is provided in the case 31. The exhaust of the engine 4 may be passed through this guide pipe.

  -In the said embodiment, the water | moisture content contained in the drain collected in the drain reservoir 54 by the heating means may be made to reduce the amount of drain. In this way, by extending the period during which the drain accumulates to the capacity limit, the drain discharge interval can be lengthened and the maintenance burden can be reduced.

  In the above embodiment, the introduction port 35 of the oil separator 3 is positioned above the connection port of the purge air discharge cover 24 in the vertical direction. However, if it is not necessary to suppress the height in the vertical direction including the air dryer 2 and the oil separator 3, the inlet 35 of the oil separator 3 may be positioned below the connection port of the purge air discharge cover 24 in the vertical direction. Good.

  In the above embodiment, the end of the drain hose 34 is positioned above the lid 32 of the oil separator 3. However, the tip of the drain hose 34 may be positioned below the lid 32 of the oil separator 3 as long as the drain can be prevented from leaking from the tip of the drain hose 34.

  In the above embodiment, the drain hose 34 is connected to the drain discharge port 33 of the case 31. However, the drain hose 34 may be omitted, and the drain discharge port 33 may be provided with a plug so as to discharge directly from the drain discharge port 33. Good.

  In the above embodiment, the first expansion chamber 45, the second expansion chamber 51, and the third expansion chamber 59 are provided in the oil separator 3, but the first expansion chamber 45, the second expansion chamber 51, and the third expansion chamber 59 are provided. Or at least one of them. Further, four or more expansion chambers may be provided.

  In the above embodiment, a member such as a nonwoven fabric filter may be disposed upstream or downstream of the urethane foam 50 or in the expansion chambers 45 and 51. In this way, the oil component removal rate can be improved. Further, the member such as the nonwoven fabric filter may be charged with static electricity. In this way, the oil component removal rate can be further improved.

  In the above embodiment, the urethane foam 50 is employed as the collision material, but other members such as crashed aluminum may be employed.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Compressor, 2 ... Air dryer, 3 ... Oil separator, 4 ... Engine, 21 ... Case, 22 ... Support member, 23 ... Purge air discharge port, 24 ... Purge air discharge cover, 25 ... Connection hose, 27 ... Connection member, 28 ... Inlet port, 29 ... Discharge port, 31 ... Case, 31a ... Bottom, 31b ... Flange portion, 32 ... Lid, 32a ... Communication portion, 32b ... Flange portion, 33 ... Drain discharge port, 34 ... Drain hose, 35 ... Inlet port , 36 ... bolt, 37 ... mounting member, 38 ... chassis, 39 ... bolt, 40 ... discharge port, 41 ... connection member, 42 ... discharge hose, 45 ... first expansion chamber, 46 ... baffle plate, 47 ... cover, 47a ... Flange part, 47b ... Through hole, 47c ... Communication hole, 48 ... Accepting member, 48a ... Flange part, 48b ... Flange part, 48c ... Through hole, 49 ... Upper bottom part, 49a ... Through hole Hole: 50 ... urethane foam, 51 ... second expansion chamber, 52 ... support lid, 52a ... through hole, 53 ... screw, 54 ... drain reservoir, 59 ... third expansion chamber, 60 ... support member, 61 ... fixing member 62 ... One-touch coupler, 80 ... Heating device, 81 ... Jacket, 82 ... Inlet connection pipe, 83 ... Discharge connection pipe, 84 ... Induction pipe, 85 ... Heating wire.

Claims (7)

When regenerating the desiccant of the air dryer, the purge air discharged from the purge air discharge port of the air dryer and flowing into the housing collides with the impact material to separate the oil and collect the drain containing the oil and discharge the clean air. In the oil separator
An oil separator comprising a heating device for heating the casing. In the oil separator according to claim 1,
The oil separator is characterized in that the heating device is provided on an outer periphery of the casing. In the oil separator according to claim 1,
The oil separator is characterized in that the heating device is provided inside the casing. In the oil separator according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The oil separator is characterized in that the heating device warms the casing by drawing in compressed air of a compressor that supplies compressed air to the air dryer. In the oil separator according to claim 4,
The oil separator, wherein the compressed air of the compressor is supplied to the air dryer after passing through the heating device. In the oil separator according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The heating device warms the casing by drawing in exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine. In the oil separator according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The oil separator is characterized in that the heating device warms the housing by providing electric heat.

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