JPH01266834A - Air drier - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To discharge an aq. soln. collected in a drier case without the intervention of an exhaust valve by providing a relief valve at the lowermost position of the draft port side on one side of the drier case, and setting the valve opening pressure at a pressure intermediate to the maximum pressure of a compressor and the working pressure. CONSTITUTION:The relief valve 24 is provided at the lowermost position of the draft port 22 side on one side of the main case 21. The exhaust hole 24A of a relief valve plug 25 is always closed, and automatically opened only when the pressure in a chamber 20 exceeds the specified valve opening pressure higher than the ordinary working pressure. When the aq. soln. collected in the chamber 20 is discharged, an exhaust valve 18 and a supply and exhaust valve to pneumatic devices are opened, the compressor is driven, and the pressure in a case 1 and the chamber 20 is increased to a pressure higher than the valve opening pressure of the relief valve 24. As a result, the relief valve 24 is automatically opened, the aq. soln. collected in the lower part of the chamber 20 is discharged to the outside along with air, the aq. soln. is adsorbed by an adsorbent 11, and a decrease in the drying capacity is prevented.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention is provided in, for example, a vehicle height adjustment device, etc., and dries air from a compressor and supplies it to an air suspension, etc. as a pneumatic a base. The present invention relates to an air dryer that is suitably used for drying, and particularly relates to an air dryer that can improve drying performance.

[Conventional technology]

A prior art air dryer is shown in FIGS. 5-8.

In the figure, l indicates a dryer case (hereinafter referred to as case l) formed as a closed container, and the case l is formed in a cylindrical shape with a bottom, and includes a case body 2 consisting of a bottom part 2A, a cylinder part 2B, etc. It consists of a lid 3 screwed onto the tip side of the cylindrical portion 2B of the case body 2, and the lid 3 has a cylindrical portion 3 that projects a predetermined dimension into the case body 2 from the center of the lid 3A.
B is formed to have a smaller diameter than the cylindrical portion 2B. An annular stepped portion 3C is provided on the inner periphery of the tip side of the cylindrical portion 3B, and a valve seat 3D is provided on the lid portion 3A.
or is formed. Further, an annular step portion 2C is formed in the cylindrical portion 2B of the case body 2 so as to protrude by a predetermined distance from the bottom portion 2A.

Reference numeral 4 indicates a ventilation port on one side provided at the bottom 2A of the case body 2. The ventilation port 4 is connected to a compressor (not shown), and air (compressed air) from the compressor is passed through the ventilation hole 4A. and into the case l.

An exhaust hole 5A is provided between the ventilation port 4 and the inside of the case body 2. Here, when the case 1 is mounted in a vehicle in a horizontal position as shown in FIG. It is located near the lower part.

Reference numeral 6 indicates a ventilation port on the other side provided in the lid portion 3A of the lid body 3, and the ventilation port 6 is connected to an air suspension (not shown) as a pneumatic device via a hose or the like, and is connected to the adsorption chamber lO. The air flowing out from inside the case 1 is supplied to this air suspension via the air suspension. 7
, 7 indicate a pair of partition plates arranged axially apart from each other in the cylindrical portion 2B of the case body 2, and each of the partition plates 7 has a large number of ventilation holes 7A, 7A, . . . Filters 8, 8, and 8 are provided on the inner surfaces (faces facing each other) of the cutting plate 7 of each company, respectively.

The partition plate 7 on the left side of the figure is the stepped portion 2C of the case body 2.
The right partition plate 7 is pressed by a spring 9 against an adsorbent 11, which will be described later, through a filter 8.

1O is an adsorption chamber located in the case body 2 and defined between each filter 8, 11 is an adsorbent filled in the adsorption chamber 1O, and the adsorbent 11 is made of a moisture absorbent such as silica gel. This absorbs moisture in the air discharged from the compressor, and distributes the dry air toward the ventilation port 6 toward the air suspension. Further, when the air is exhausted from the air suspension, the adsorbent 11 adsorbs the moisture absorbed as described above by the air, and is regenerated into several tatami mats by adsorbing the moisture.

Reference numeral 12 indicates a lid member which is positioned within the stepped portion 3C of the lid body 3 via a retaining ring 13 and which covers the tip end side of the cylindrical portion 3B.The lid member 12 has a circular shape as shown in FIG. Formed into a plate shape,
A ventilation hole 12A is bored in the center thereof. Also,
Four circular portions 12B are formed on both sides of the lid member 12, radially outward of the ventilation hole 12A, and a small-diameter orifice 12c is bored at the bottom of the recess 12B. 1
Reference numeral 4 indicates a sheet-shaped check valve held between the stepped portion 3C of the lid body 3 and the lid member 12, and the check valve 14 is made of an elastic resin material such as rubber into a disk shape as shown in FIG. A substantially C-shaped cutout 14A is formed in the center of the cutout 14A.
A valve portion 14B is formed via the valve portion 14B. The valve portion 14B always closes the ventilation hole 12A of the lid member 12, opens only when air is supplied to the air suspension, and allows the air passing through the ventilation hole 12A to flow toward the ventilation port 6 side. Further, the notch 14A of the check valve 14 is arranged at a position corresponding to the recess 12B of the lid member 12, and allows air to flow through the orifice 12C.

Reference numeral 15 indicates a residual pressure valve located between the valve seat 3D of the lid body 3 and the check valve 14, and slidably inserted into the cylindrical portion 3B. A valve seat 16 is provided on the lid side of the valve seat 3D to take off from and land on the valve seat 3D. Here, the valve seat 16 is formed of a 91'I resin material such as rubber into a disc shape as shown in FIG.
6B is formed. The valve portion 16B always closes the ventilation hole 15A formed in the residual pressure valve 15, and opens only when air is supplied to the air suspension.
Air is allowed to flow only toward the ventilation port 6 side.

Further, a valve spring 1 is provided between the residual pressure valve 15 and the check valve 14.
7 is arranged, and the valve spring 17 connects the residual pressure valve 15 to the valve seat 1.
6 to seat on the valve seat 3D, the air suspension is always biased in the valve closing direction, and the residual pressure inside the air suspension is always maintained at a predetermined pressure or higher. In addition, a substantially rectangular notch 15B is formed on the outer periphery of the lid portion of the residual pressure valve 15, and when the residual pressure valve 15 opens against the valve spring 17, the energized port 6 The air as exhaust gas is made to flow through the residual pressure valve 15 to the orifice 12c.

Further, reference numeral 18 indicates an exhaust valve installed in the exhaust valve accommodating portion 5 located on the bottom 2A side of the case body 2, and the exhaust valve 18 is constituted by an electromagnetic solenoid valve.
By energizing the coil 18B inside 8A from the outside,
The valve body 18C is removed from the valve seat 18D, and the air from the exhaust hole 5A is circulated in the direction of arrow A in FIG.
9, and is made to flow out from the exhaust port 5B.

The air dryer of the prior art has the above-mentioned configuration. First, air from the compressor flows into the adsorption chamber IO through the ventilation port 4, moisture is adsorbed by the adsorbent 11, and the air dryer is dried into the lid member 12. The air flows out toward the ventilation hole 12A of the residual pressure valve 15, opening the check valve 14 and opening the valve portion 16B of the valve seat 16, and opening the ventilation hole 1 of the residual pressure valve 15.
5A to the air suspension via the ventilation port 6, and the air suspension raises the vehicle height by the air pressure at this time.

Also, when lowering the vehicle height, the coil 18 of the exhaust valve 18
When B is energized from the outside, the valve body 18c opens.
Air is now exhausted from the air suspension,
This air acts on the residual pressure valve 15 through the ventilation port 6,
The residual pressure valve 15 is opened against the valve spring 17, and the residual pressure flows through the residual pressure valve 15 through the notch 15B of the residual pressure valve 15, and into the adsorption chamber 10 through the orifice 12G of the lid member 12. Inflow. Since the air at this time is in a dry state, the water adsorbed by the adsorbent 11 while flowing through the adsorption chamber 10 is desorbed from the adsorbent 11, and the adsorbent 11 is regenerated to be able to adsorb water again. While absorbing water, the water flows from the exhaust hole 5A in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 5, and is discharged from the exhaust port 5B via the filter 19.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, in the above-mentioned conventional technology, when the air from the compressor contains a large amount of moisture, this moisture is distributed between the bottom 2A of the case body 2 and the partition plate 7 on the left side. When the case 1 is placed horizontally as shown in FIG. 5, the water accumulates in the chamber 20 defined between The liquid gradually accumulates.

For this reason, in the prior art, when the compressor is operated, this water liquid flows into the adsorption chamber IO together with the water vapor in the air, causing the adsorbent 11 to adsorb a large amount of moisture. In order to increase the size of the case, unless the case 1 is made larger and the area for the adsorbent 11 is increased,
The problem may be that the air from the compressor cannot be dried sufficiently.

In addition, the water that has accumulated in the chamber 20 enters the space between the valve case 18A and the valve body 18C together with the air exhausted when the exhaust valve 18 is opened, causing rust on the valve case 18A, the valve body 18C, etc. In the worst case, this may make it difficult to open the exhaust valve 18.

The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the prior art described above, and the present invention improves the drying ability (moisture adsorption performance) by appropriately discharging the water accumulated in the dryer case to the outside without going through the exhaust valve. It is an object of the present invention to provide an air dryer which is not only improved in size but also prevents the size of the dryer case and the like from increasing.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The feature of the configuration adopted by the present invention in order to solve the above-mentioned problems is that the dryer case is provided with a relief valve at or near the lowest part located on one side of the ventilation port. The reason is that the opening pressure of the relief valve is set to a pressure lower than the maximum pressure generated by the compressor and higher than the working pressure supplied to the pneumatic equipment.

[Effect]

With the above configuration, even if water accumulates inside the dryer case, if the compressor is operated to make the pressure inside the dryer case higher than the normal operating pressure, the relief valve will automatically open and the water will be removed. It is possible to prevent this aqueous liquid from being discharged outside the dryer case and being adsorbed by the adsorbent and reducing the drying ability, and only the water vapor in the air can be adsorbed by the adsorbent.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 4. In addition, in the embodiment, the above-mentioned figures 5 to 8 are used.
Constituent ammonium elements that are the same as those in the prior art shown in the drawings are given the same reference numerals, and their explanations will be omitted.

In the figure, reference numeral 21 indicates a case body that constitutes the case l together with the four bodies 3, and the case body 21 is formed almost the same as the case body 2 described in the prior art, with a bottom part 21A, a cylindrical part 21B
Although the case body 21 has an annular stepped portion 21C, the ventilation hole 22A of the ventilation port 22 provided in the bottom portion 21A and the exhaust valve accommodating portion 23 are smaller than those of the prior art.
The exhaust hole 23A of the accommodating portion 23 is formed at a position a predetermined dimension higher than the lowest portion of the case body 21, as shown in FIG. Here, the case body 21
Although a chamber 20 is defined between the bottom portion 21A and the left partition plate 7 as in the prior art, the lowest part of the case body 21 located below the chamber 20 is provided with a counterbore, etc. The recessed portion 21D is formed by performing this step.

Reference numeral 24 indicates a relief valve located at the lowest part of the case body 21 and provided in the μ case body 21, and the relief valve 24 is located between the bottom portion 21A and the cylindrical portion 21B of the case body 21 and is directed downward. A valve case 24 is provided with a discharge hole 24A that protrudes from the chamber 20 and communicates with the chamber 20 through a fourth part 21D.
B, and a relief valve body 25, which will be described later.

Reference numeral 25 indicates a relief valve body provided in the valve case 24B of the relief valve 24, and the relief valve body 25 is formed by a ball valve or the like, and is connected to the discharge hole 24A side by a spring 27 disposed between it and a spring receiver 26. is biased with a predetermined spring load. The relief valve body 25 is connected to the discharge hole 2.
4A is always closed, and the valve is opened only when the pressure inside the chamber 20 (case 1) exceeds a predetermined opening pressure of about 1 Okg/c+s2, for example, to relieve the pressure inside the chamber 20 to the outside. It looks like this.

The air dryer according to this embodiment has the above-mentioned configuration, and a pneumatic circuit for adjusting vehicle height when mounted on a vehicle will be described next with reference to FIG. 2.

In the figure, 28 indicates a compressor, and the compressor 28
is the compressor main body 2 driven by the motor 28A.
8B, and the compressor main body 28B has an intake port 2.
The air taken in from 8C is pressurized and the air as compressed air is discharged toward the intake chamber IO. Here, the maximum pressure as the maximum discharge pressure of the compressor main body 28B is designed to be, for example, about 12 kg/cm2, and the normal working pressure supplied to each air suspension 29, which will be described later, is, for example, about 8 kg/cm2. ing. The opening pressure of the relief valve body 25 is set between the maximum pressure and the working pressure, for example, about 10 kg/cs2.

29.29. . . . indicates air suspensions as pneumatic bases disposed on the front and rear wheel sides of the vehicle, respectively, and each air suspension 29 is connected to the ventilation port 6 of the case l via an air conduit 30, etc. Each attached supply/exhaust valve 29A is opened when air is supplied or discharged from the compressor 28. Each air suspension 29 expands and contracts by supplying and discharging air, and adjusts the vehicle height as appropriate. Reference numeral 31.31 indicates front and rear wheel side vehicle height sensors provided in each air suspension 29, etc., and each city height sensor outputs its detection signal -) to a control unit 32, which will be described later. .

Further, reference numeral 32 indicates a control unit composed of a microcomputer, etc., the input side of the control unit 32 is connected to each vehicle height sensor 31 and an engine switch (not shown), etc., and the output side is connected to the motor 28A, exhaust gas, etc. Valve 1
8 and each supply/exhaust valve 29A. When the vehicle height sensor 31 detects that the vehicle height is low, the control unit 32 supplies power to the motor 28A to operate the compressor 28, and the air from the compressor 28 is pumped through the adsorption chamber 1O. Each air suspension 2
9 and open each air supply/exhaust valve 29A to extend each air suspension 29 and adjust the vehicle height higher. Further, when each vehicle height sensor 31 detects that the vehicle height is high, a valve opening signal is output to the exhaust valve 18 and each air supply/exhaust valve 29A to exhaust air from each air suspension 29. By reducing the value, the control unit 32 stores the block diagram shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and performs valve opening condition calculation processing and relief valve opening processing operations. etc.

This embodiment is constructed as described above, and there is no particular difference in its basic operation from that of the prior art.

The relief valve opening process and the like by the control unit 32 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

First, the valve opening condition processing operation shown in FIG. Outputs valve opening conditions. In the relief valve opening process shown in FIG. 3, the relief valve opening conditions are read, and when the relief valve opening conditions are satisfied, the timer t is activated. 1, for example, a time T of about IO seconds. The valve opening control of the exhaust valve 18 and each supply/exhaust valve 29A is temporarily interrupted until the period of is the opening pressure of the relief valve 24 (for example, lOkg/cm2)
Raise the pressure to over 2'.

As a result, the relief valve 24 automatically opens and the chamber 2
The water and air accumulated on the lower side of the chamber 20 are discharged to the outside to prevent water and the like from remaining inside the chamber 20. And time T. timer t elapses. Then, the valve opening control of the exhaust valve 18 and each supply/exhaust valve 29A is restarted, the compressor 28 is temporarily stopped, and the vehicle height is set to j!
The control of J maintenance will be continued again.

According to this embodiment, when the relief valve 24 is opened, the compressor 28 is operated with the exhaust valve 18 and the supply/exhaust valve 29A closed, and the case l
The pressure inside the chamber 20 is increased together with the inside of the chamber 20 to open the relief valve 24, and the water liquid accumulated inside the chamber 20 is released together with air into the valve case 2.
Since the water is discharged to the outside from 4B, the accumulation of aqueous liquid in the chamber 20 is prevented as much as possible. Problems such as a decrease in adsorption capacity (moat) can be solved.

That is, since the liquid content of the moisture (including liquid content and vapor content) in the air discharged from the compressor 28 is released to the outside by the relief valve 24, the adsorbent 11 in the adsorption chamber IO is Only the vapor content needs to be adsorbed, the air can be effectively dried, and the dry blast moat power can be greatly improved. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size of the case by reducing the stitching of the adsorbent 11, and it is also possible to reduce the space for the 5A air dryer in the vehicle, and also to reduce costs. Ru.

In addition, the exhaust valve accommodating portion 23 provided in the bottom portion 21A of the case body 21 is arranged higher than that of the conventional technology, and the exhaust hole 23
Since A is disposed at a position a predetermined dimension higher than the lowest part of the case body 21, even if water accumulates in the chamber 20, this water will infiltrate into the exhaust valve 18 through the exhaust hole 23A. This also prevents rust from forming on the exhaust valve 18. Furthermore, a recess 2 is provided at the bottom of the case body 21.
1D, and the concave portion 21D is communicated with the discharge hole 24A of the relief valve 24, so that water, etc. in the chamber 20 can be effectively discharged from the relief valve 24 to the outside via the concave portion 21D, etc. It has various effects.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 32 performs the relief valve opening process based on the program shown in FIG. 3, but this relief valve opening process is merely a specific example. For example, when the compressor 28 is operated multiple times to raise the vehicle height under F height adjustment control, when the number of times is counted and a predetermined number is reached, the opening condition of the relief valve 24 is set. The relief valve 24 may be opened upon assuming that the condition is satisfied.

In addition, in the relief valve opening process shown in FIG.
8. Stop the valve opening control of each supply and exhaust valve 29A (Middle 1tli
) and operate the compressor 28,
Although the relief valve 24 has been described as being opened, instead of this, the compressor 28 may be operated during normal driving, etc., when the vehicle height sensor 31 does not output a signal indicating that the vehicle height is high (low) to the control unit 32. The relief valve 24 may be opened; in this case, the exhaust valve 18
Drainage (aqueous liquid) can be discharged without interrupting valve opening control.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the case body 21 of the dryer case 1 is provided with the exhaust valve accommodating portion 23, and the exhaust valve 18 is incorporated into the accommodating portion 23. It may be formed integrally with the cylinder head or the like of the compressor 28, and the exhaust jf may be incorporated into this accommodation portion.

Further, in the above embodiment, the relief valve 24 is connected to the case body 2.
Although the relief valve 24 has been described as being provided at the lowest portion of the pump, it may also be provided near the lowest portion, for example, at a position corresponding to the exhaust hole 5A shown in FIG.

(Effects of the Invention) As detailed above, according to the present invention, a relief valve is provided at or near the lowest part of the dryer case, located on the side of the ventilation port on one side of the dryer case. Since the valve opening pressure is set between the maximum pressure generated by the compressor and the working pressure, even if water accumulates inside the dryer case, this water can be released to the outside by opening the relief valve. This prevents the adsorbent from adsorbing aqueous liquid, greatly improves the drying force, and also reduces the amount of adsorbent and downsizes the dryer case. 1. It has various effects.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 4 show embodiments of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a dryer, FIG. 2 is a pneumatic circuit (A) incorporating the dryer of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a relief valve. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the valve opening condition calculation processing operation, FIGS. 5 to 8 show the prior art, FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the dryer, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the lid member in FIG. 7, FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the check valve, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the valve seat. l... Dryer case, 3... 4 bodies, 6.22 −・
・Vent port, 7... Partition plate, 8... Filter, 1
0... Adsorption chamber, 11... Adsorbent, 18... Exhaust valve, 21... Case body, 21D... Recess, 23A.
...Exhaust hole, 24...Relief valve, 25...Relief valve body, 27...Spring, 28...Compressor, 2
9... Air suspension (pneumatic equipment), 31...
Vehicle height sensor, 32...control unit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] It consists of a dryer case with an adsorption chamber inside and ventilation ports on one side and the other side on both sides of the adsorption chamber, and an adsorbent filled in the adsorption chamber of the dryer case.
In the air dryer in which the ventilation port on one side is connected to the compressor and the ventilation port on the other side is connected to the pneumatic equipment, the dryer case has a lowermost portion located on the side of the ventilation port on the one side or in the vicinity thereof. An air dryer characterized in that a relief valve is provided, and the opening pressure of the relief valve is set to a pressure lower than the maximum pressure generated by the compressor and higher than the operating pressure supplied to the pneumatic equipment.