WO2016186213A1

WO2016186213A1 - Oil separator

Info

Publication number: WO2016186213A1
Application number: PCT/JP2016/065088
Authority: WO
Inventors: 一郎湊; 裕昭川浪
Original assignee: ナブテスコオートモーティブ株式会社
Priority date: 2015-05-20
Filing date: 2016-05-20
Publication date: 2016-11-24
Also published as: CN112588025A; CN107847842A; CN107847842B; DE112016002270T5

Abstract

Provided is an oil separator equipped with a chassis, and a filter part disposed inside the chassis, the filter part being for gas-liquid separation of compressed air. The chassis is provided with an intake port for inflow of compressed air, and a vent port for discharge of purified air. The filter part has a filter inlet for inflow of compressed air, and a filter outlet for outflow of purified air having passed through the filter part. The opening area of the vent port is greater than the opening area of the filter outlet.

Description

Oil separator

This disclosure relates to an oil separator that separates oil contained in air that has passed through equipment from air.

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 for lubricating the inside of the compressor. When this compressed air containing moisture and oil enters each system, rust is generated and a rubber member (O-ring or the like) swells, causing a malfunction. For this reason, an air dryer for removing moisture and oil in the compressed air is provided downstream of the compressor.

The air dryer is provided with a desiccant that removes moisture and a filter that captures oil. This air dryer performs a dehumidifying action for removing moisture in the compressed air sent from the compressor and a regenerating action for discharging moisture adsorbed by the desiccant to the outside.

・ Air discharged from the air dryer during regeneration of the desiccant contains oil as well as moisture. Therefore, an oil separator may be provided at the drain outlet of the air dryer in consideration of environmental load (see Patent Document 1). The oil separator includes a collision material that collides with air containing moisture and oil in the casing, and separates moisture and oil contained in the air by causing the air to collide with the collision material. The separated oil is collected in the oil separator, and the clean air from which the oil has been removed is discharged to the outside.

JP 2014-091059 A

Incidentally, compressed air dried by an air dryer is used for regeneration of the desiccant of the air dryer. Therefore, when clean air is discharged from the oil separator, there is a problem that the discharge noise increases.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide an oil separator that can reduce the exhaust sound of clean air.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, a housing provided with an intake port through which compressed air flows and an exhaust port through which clean air is discharged is provided, and the compressed air is separated into gas and liquid by being provided in the housing. An oil separator is provided. The filter section has a filter inlet for compressed air to flow in and a filter outlet for clean air that has passed through the filter section to flow out. The opening area of the exhaust port is larger than the opening area of the filter outlet.

In another aspect, a body provided with an intake port through which compressed air flows and an exhaust port through which clean air is discharged, a filter unit containing a filter for gas-liquid separation of compressed air, and the body And a drain reservoir for covering the filter together with the body and storing a drain liquid separated from compressed air. At least two intake ports are provided in the body. The intake ports are provided in the body so as to be openable. A portion of the body where the exhaust port is provided is different from a portion where the intake port is provided.

In yet another aspect, an intake port through which compressed air flows, an exhaust port through which clean air is discharged, a filter unit for separating compressed air from gas and liquid, and a drain liquid separated from the compressed air An oil separator is provided that includes a drain reservoir for storing, a translucent part that allows the inside of the drain reservoir to be visually recognized, and a protective cover for protecting the translucent part.

In still another aspect, an oil separator is provided that includes a filter for gas-liquid separation of compressed air containing oil and a storage portion for storing the filter. The accommodating portion is provided with a filter inlet for allowing compressed air to flow into the filter and a filter outlet for allowing clean air that has passed through the filter to flow out. The opening area of the filter outlet is smaller than the opening area of the filter inlet.

The block diagram which shows schematic structure of the compressed air drying system to which the said oil separator is applied in 1st Embodiment of an oil separator. Sectional drawing of the oil separator of FIG. The enlarged view to which the filter exit vicinity of the oil separator of FIG. 1 was expanded. The enlarged view to which the exhaust port vicinity of the oil separator of FIG. 1 was expanded. Sectional drawing of the oil separator of one modification. Sectional drawing of the oil separator of another modification. The block diagram which shows schematic structure of the compressed air drying system to which an oil separator is applied in 2nd Embodiment of an oil separator. The perspective view which shows the structure of the oil separator of FIG. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 9-9 in FIG. 10 showing the structure of the body of the oil separator in FIG. 7; FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 10-10 in FIG. 9 showing the structure of the oil separator in FIG. The exploded sectional view showing the structure of the oil separator of FIG. The enlarged view which shows the structure of the male screw part of the oil separator of FIG. 7, and a female screw part. The enlarged view which shows the structure of the male screw part of the oil separator of FIG. 7, and a female screw part. The figure which shows the modification of the guide part provided in the external thread part of an oil separator. The top view which shows the structure of the oil separator of 3rd Embodiment. The perspective view which shows the structure of the oil separator of FIG. FIG. 17 is a 17-17 cross-sectional view showing the structure of the oil separator of FIG. The side view which shows the structure in 4th Embodiment of an oil separator. The disassembled sectional view which shows the attachment structure of the protective cover of the oil separator of FIG. Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the oil separator of FIG. The side view which shows the modification of the attachment structure of the protective cover of an oil separator. The figure which shows the modification of the protective cover of an oil separator. The figure which shows another modification of the protective cover of an oil separator. The figure which shows the modification of the translucent part of the drain bowl of an oil separator. The figure which shows another modification of the translucent part of the drain bowl of an oil separator. Sectional drawing of the oil separator of 5th Embodiment. The perspective view which shows the cross section of the filter case provided in the oil separator of FIG. Sectional drawing which shows a part of cross section about one modification of an oil separator. The block diagram which shows schematic structure of the compressed air drying system to which the said oil separator is applied about another modification of an oil separator. The figure which shows the cross section about another modification of an oil separator. The perspective view from the front, a plane, and the right side of the filter part of a modification. FIG. 32 is a perspective view from the back, bottom, and left side of the filter unit of FIG. 31. The front view of the filter part of FIG. The top view of the filter part of FIG. The bottom view of the filter part of FIG. The right view of the filter part of FIG. FIG. 37 is a sectional view taken along the line 37-37 in FIG. 33 of the filter unit of FIG. 31. The perspective view from the front, a plane, and the right side of the oil separator of another modification. The perspective view from the back surface, bottom surface, and left side of the oil separator of FIG. The front view of the oil separator of FIG. The rear view of the oil separator of FIG. The top view of the oil separator of FIG. The bottom view of the oil separator of FIG. The right view of the oil separator of FIG. The left view of the oil separator of FIG. 46 is a cross-sectional view of the oil separator of FIG. 38 taken along the line 46-46 in FIG. FIG. 47 is a sectional view of the oil separator of FIG. 38 taken along line 47-47 in FIG. The perspective view from the front, a plane, and the right side of the oil separator of another modification. The perspective view from the back surface, bottom surface, and left side of the oil separator of the modification of FIG. The front view of the oil separator of the modification of FIG. The rear view of the oil separator of the modification of FIG. The top view of the oil separator of the modification of FIG. The bottom view of the oil separator of the modification of FIG. The right view of the oil separator of the modification of FIG. The left view of the oil separator of the modification of FIG. FIG. 56 is a cross-sectional view of the oil separator of the modification of FIG. 48 taken along the line 56-56 in FIG.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment in which an oil separator is applied to a compressed air drying system mounted on a vehicle will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 1, a compressed air drying system for removing oil and moisture in the compressed air sent from the compressor 1 is provided downstream of the compressor 1. The compressed air drying system is provided with an air dryer 2 that removes oil and moisture from the compressed air. In the air dryer 2, a desiccant 2a is provided. The air dryer 2 performs a load operation in which compressed air is passed through the desiccant 2a to remove moisture and oil, and an unload operation in which the moisture and oil trapped in the desiccant 2a are discharged to regenerate the desiccant 2a. And do. The air dryer 2 sends dry compressed air, which is air obtained by removing oil and moisture from the compressed air by the load operation, to the system tank 6. The system tank 6 supplies compressed air to each system such as a brake and a suspension. When the pressure in the system tank 6 reaches a predetermined value, the exhaust valve 2b of the air dryer 2 is opened and an unload operation is performed. When the exhaust valve 2b is opened, dry compressed air is supplied from the system tank 6 to the air dryer 2, and the dry compressed air that has flowed into the air dryer 2 flows in a direction opposite to that during the load operation. Thereby, the water | moisture content and oil content which were capture | acquired by the desiccant 2a are removed. The removed moisture and oil are discharged from the drain outlet 2c of the air dryer 2 together with the air. At this time, the air discharged from the air dryer 2 is called purge air.

In the compressed air drying system, an oil separator 5 is connected to the drain outlet 2c of the air dryer 2. The oil separator 5 is connected to the drain outlet 2c of the air dryer 2 through a connection hose 2d.

Oil separator 5 gas-liquid separates purge air containing oil and moisture into drain liquid and clean air, which are liquids containing oil and moisture. The oil separator 5 discharges the separated clean air from the discharge port 5c. The oil separator 5 stores the separated drain liquid in the housing 5a.

Next, the oil separator 5 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. A casing 5 a of the oil separator 5 includes a body 10 and a drain bowl 30. The body 10 includes an intake port 16 and an exhaust port 17 having a discharge port 5c. The discharge port 5c has a circular shape with a diameter (inner diameter) D10.

The body 10 is formed in a cylindrical shape. The first end of the body 10 is closed. An opening 11 is provided at the second end of the body 10. A female screw 12 is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the body 10 on the opening 11 side.

The drain bowl 30 is formed in a cylindrical shape. The first end of the drain bowl 30 has a bottom. An opening 31 is provided at the second end of the drain bowl 30. Inside the drain bowl 30 is provided a storage portion 32 that is a space for storing the drain liquid. A male screw 33 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the opening 31 of the drain bowl 30. The drain bowl 30 is fixed to the body 10 by the female screw 12 of the body 10 and the male screw 33 of the drain bowl 30 being screwed together. The oil separator 5 is fixed to the vehicle side in a state where the body 10 is disposed vertically upward and the drain bowl 30 is disposed vertically downward, and the drain liquid is stored in the drain bowl 30. The stored drain liquid is discharged from a drain discharge port (not shown) provided in the drain bowl 30. The stored drain liquid can be discarded from the opening 31 by removing the drain bowl 30 from the body 10.

The filter unit 40 is fixed to the bottom of the body 10. The filter unit 40 includes a filter case 41 as a filter housing unit, a filter 42 housed inside the filter case 41, and a filter lid 43.

An annular protrusion 13 is provided on the inner side of the body 10 and at the center of the bottom in the radial direction. A female screw 14 is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the annular protrusion 13. The filter case 41 is formed in a cylindrical shape. A ceiling 53 is provided at the first end of the filter case 41. An opening 54 is provided at the second end of the filter case 41. An annular protrusion 51 that protrudes to the outside of the filter case 41 is provided at the center of the ceiling 53 in the radial direction. A male screw 52 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the annular protrusion 51. The filter portion 40 is fixed to the body 10 by screwing the female screw 14 of the body 10 and the male screw 52 of the filter case 41.

A plurality of first vent holes 56 are formed in the peripheral wall portion 55 of the filter case 41. In the present embodiment, the circumferential wall portion 55 is formed with a plurality of rows of a plurality of first vent holes 56 formed along the circumferential direction. A filter outlet 57 is provided at the center of the ceiling 53 and surrounded by the annular protrusion 51. The filter outlet 57 has a plurality of second ventilation holes 58 that communicate the inside and the outside of the filter case 41.

The filter lid 43 is provided so as to close the opening 54 of the filter case 41. A plurality of discharge holes 44 are formed in the filter lid 43. The filter 42 is accommodated in a space formed by the filter case 41 and the filter lid 43. The filter 42 has a large number of pores through which compressed air passes. The filter 42 is, for example, a sponge (urethane foam) having a large number of bubbles, a metal material such as a metal wire or a metal foil, and having a large number of pores (crushed aluminum), glass fiber, etc. Consists of.

The compressed air that has flowed into the filter 42 from the first vent hole 56 of the filter case 41 collides with the filter 42 to be gas-liquid separated. The drain liquid separated by the filter 42 flows downward in the vertical direction in the filter 42 due to gravity, and falls into the storage portion 32 through the discharge hole 44. The clean air separated by the filter 42 is discharged from the filter unit 40 via the second vent hole 58 of the filter outlet 57.

Also, the intake port 16 of the body 10 is connected to the air dryer 2 via a connection hose 2d (see FIG. 1). The intake port 16 is connected to a first passage 18 that extends toward the opening 11 of the body 10.

The first passage 18 is connected to the storage part 32 of the drain bowl 30. The diameter of the first passage 18 is gradually or continuously increased toward the storage portion 32. The first passage 18 and the storage portion 32 of the drain bowl 30 function as a first expansion chamber 34 in which compressed air that has flowed in via the intake port 16 expands. As the compressed air expands in the first expansion chamber 34, the oil and moisture in the compressed air easily aggregate.

The exhaust port 17 of the body 10 discharges clean air that has been gas-liquid separated by the filter unit 40 to the outside. The exhaust port 17 is connected to the second passage 19. The second passage 19 is formed in a substantially L shape and includes a small passage 21 connected to the filter outlet 57 and a small passage 22 provided between the small passage 21 and the exhaust port 17. The small passage 21 extends along the axial direction of the drain bowl 30. The small passage 22 extends in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the small passage 21 extends. The second passage 19 functions as a second expansion chamber 23 in which compressed air expands. Although the first space of the filter case 41 is the first expansion chamber 34 and the space after the filter case 41 is the second expansion chamber 23, the space in the filter case 41 is also connected to the first expansion chamber 34 and the second expansion chamber 23. Although the expansion effect is low, it has a function of expanding air. Specifically, the air compressed by passing through the first vent hole 56 expands in the space in the filter case 41.

In the small passage 22 toward the exhaust port 17 of the second passage 19, a first perforated plate 61, a second perforated plate 62, a silencer 65 disposed between the first perforated plate 61 and the second perforated plate 62, Is provided. The first perforated plate 61 is formed with a plurality of first through holes 63 penetrating in the thickness direction. The second perforated plate 62 is formed with a plurality of second through holes 64 penetrating in the thickness direction. The silencer 65 has a large number of pores through which compressed air passes. For example, the silencer 65 is formed by molding a metal material such as a sponge (urethane foam) having a large number of bubbles, a metal wire, or a metal foil. And having a large number of pores (crushed aluminum). The silencer 65 may be made of the same material as the filter 42 or may be made of a different material.

The first perforated plate 61 is disposed on the filter outlet 57 side and is fixed by being sandwiched between the stepped portion 25 formed on the inner surface of the second passage 19 and the silencer 65. The second porous plate 62 is disposed on the exhaust port 17 side. The second perforated plate 62 is prevented from being detached from the body 10 by fitting a retainer ring 66 into a groove portion 28 formed on the inner surface of the second passage 19.

Next, the configuration of the second passage 19 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.
As shown in FIG. 3, the second vent hole 58 provided in the filter outlet 57 is formed in a circular cross section having a diameter D1. The 2nd ventilation hole 58 may be formed in the ceiling part 53 at equal intervals, and may be formed at random. When the number of the second vent holes 58 is L, the opening area S1 at the filter outlet 57 is “π {(D1) / 2} ² · L”.

Since the exhaust port 17 has a substantially circular cross section with a diameter D10, the opening area S10 is “π {(D10) / 2} ² ”. The opening area S10 of the exhaust port 17 is larger than the opening area S1 at the filter outlet 57 (opening area S10> opening area S1).

As shown in FIG. 4, the first through hole 63 provided in the first perforated plate 61 has a circular cross section with a diameter D2, and is larger than the diameter D1 of the second vent hole 58 of the filter outlet 57 (diameter D2). > Diameter D1). When the number of first through holes 63 is M, the opening area S2 of the first porous plate 61 is “π {(D2) / 2} ² · M”, and the opening area S1 of the filter outlet 57 is (Opening area S2> opening area S1). The opening area S10 of the exhaust port 17 is larger than the opening area S2 of the first porous plate 61 (therefore, the opening area S10> the opening area S2> the opening area S1). The number (M) of the first through holes 63 is smaller than the number (L) of the second ventilation holes 58 of the filter outlet 57 (number M <number L).

The second through hole 64 provided in the second porous plate 62 has a circular cross section with a diameter D3. The diameter D3 of the second through hole 64 is smaller than the diameter D1 of the second vent hole 58 of the filter outlet 57 (thus, the diameter D3 <diameter D1 <diameter D2). The depth L1 of the second through hole 64 is larger than the diameter D3. Moreover, the 2nd through-hole 64 may be formed at equal intervals, and may be formed at random. When the number of the second through holes 64 is N, the opening area S3 in the second porous plate 62 is “π {(D3) / 2} ² · N”. The number (N) of the second through holes 64 is larger than the number (L) of the second ventilation holes 58 of the filter outlet 57 (therefore, the number N> the number L> the number M). Further, the opening area S3 of the second porous plate 62 is larger than the opening area S1 at the filter outlet 57 and smaller than the opening area S2 of the first porous plate 61 (opening area S2> opening area S3> opening area). S1).

Next, the operation of the oil separator 5 will be described with reference to FIG. When the exhaust valve 2b of the air dryer 2 is opened and an unload operation is performed, a drain liquid containing oil and moisture together with purge air is discharged to the oil separator 5. The drain liquid contained in the purge air is mist or liquid. The purge air containing the drain liquid flows into the oil separator 5 from the intake port 16.

The purge air is expanded by flowing into the first expansion chamber 34 from the intake port 16. Note that the pressure of the purge air expanded in the first expansion chamber 34 is maintained at a value larger than the atmospheric pressure. The expanded purge air flows into the filter unit 40 through the first vent hole 56 of the filter case 41. The purge air that has flowed into the filter section 40 passes through the filter 42 while repeatedly colliding with the wall surfaces of the pores and colliding (friction) with the compressed air within the pores. Thus, the purge air is separated into the drain liquid and the clean air from which the drain liquid has been removed. The separated drain liquid falls into the storage part 32. The separated clean air is directed to the filter outlet 57. At this time, the clean air once expands by flowing into the filter case 41, but is compressed as it moves toward the filter outlet 57 having a small opening area.

Clean air is rectified by passing through the plurality of second vent holes 58 at the filter outlet 57. Thereby, since generation | occurrence | production of the turbulent flow in the 2nd channel | path 19 can be suppressed, the noise by generation | occurrence | production of a turbulent flow is reduced. The clean air is compressed by passing through the second vent hole 58 of the filter outlet 57 and then expanded in the second expansion chamber 23 (second passage 19).

The flow of clean air bends along the direction of the second passage 19 and moves toward the first perforated plate 61. Further, when clean air flows along the second passage 19, the opening area S <b> 2 of the first porous plate 61 is larger than the opening area S <b> 1 of the filter outlet 57, and the first through hole provided in the first porous plate 61. Since the diameter D2 of 63 is larger than the diameter D1 of the second vent hole 58 formed in the filter outlet 57, the flow rate of the clean air decreases from the filter outlet 57 toward the first porous plate 61. By reducing the flow velocity of the clean air in this way, it is possible to reduce the exhaust sound that is generated until the clean air passes through the filter outlet 57 and is exhausted from the exhaust port 17.

Further, the flow of clean air having a reduced flow velocity is compressed before the first perforated plate 61, and the flow velocity temporarily changes immediately before and after passing through the first through hole 63. When the silencer 65 is a porous material made of a metal such as crashed aluminum, the collision between the clean air and the inner wall surface of the pore, or the collision of the flow of the clean air in the pore is repeated. Thereby, the vibration of clean air is reduced and the generation of noise is suppressed. When the silencer 65 is a porous material made of a synthetic resin having bubbles, such as a sponge, for example, the collision between the clean air and the inner wall surface of the bubbles or the collision of the flow of the clean air in the bubbles is repeated. The sound is absorbed.

The opening area S3 of the second porous plate 62 provided closer to the exhaust port 17 than the silencer 65 is smaller than the opening area S2 of the first porous plate 61. For this reason, compared with the case where the second perforated plate 62 has an opening area larger than that of the first perforated plate 61, the clean air is less likely to be discharged from the second through hole 64 of the second perforated plate 62. Circulate in 65. As described above, even if the flow rate of the clean air decreases before the first perforated plate 61, the clean air is circulated in the silencer 65, so that the silencer 65 collides with the clean air, or the clean air in the pores. The chance of collision between air increases, and the effect of reducing noise (silent effect) can be enhanced.

The diameter of the second through hole 64 of the second porous plate 62 is smaller than D3 and the diameter D2 of the first through hole 63 of the first porous plate 61. For this reason, compared with the case where the diameter D3 of the 2nd through-hole 64 is larger than the diameter D2 of the 1st through-hole 63, clean air can be disperse | distributed and discharged | emitted from the 2nd through-hole 64. FIG. Dispersing and discharging in this way can reduce noise associated with the discharge of clean air.

Also, the clean air is diffused by repeating the collision in the silencer 65. Since the number of the second through holes 64 formed in the second porous plate 62 is larger than the number of the first through holes 63 of the first porous plate 61, the diffused clean air is discharged from each second through hole 64. Thus, an excessive increase in the pressure in the silencer 65 is suppressed. The clean air that has passed through the second through hole 64 of the second porous plate 62 is discharged from the exhaust port 17 to the outside.

The opening area S10 of the discharge port 5c of the exhaust port 17 is larger than the opening area S1 of the filter outlet 57. In the second passage 19 from the filter outlet 57 to the exhaust port 17, the opening area S2 of the first porous plate 61 and the opening area S3 of the second porous plate 62 are larger than the opening area S1 of the filter outlet 57. For this reason, the flow velocity of the clean air as a whole decreases toward the exhaust port 17, although the flow velocity may locally increase when passing through the first porous plate 61. When the air flow rate increases, the exhaust sound increases exponentially. Therefore, the clean air exhaust sound can be reduced by decreasing the flow rate in the second passage 19.

Also, the purge air that has flowed in from the intake port 16 expands in the first expansion chamber 34 and is compressed when it flows into the filter portion 40 through the first vent hole 56. The clean air separated by the filter 42 is expanded again by flowing from the filter unit 40 into the second expansion chamber 23 formed by the second passage 19, and is compressed again by passing through the first porous plate 61. Thus, the pulsation of compressed air (or clean air) is suppressed by repeating the cycle consisting of expansion and compression a plurality of times. For this reason, the noise accompanying a pulsation can also be suppressed.

Furthermore, even if air expands in the second expansion chamber 23, the flow of clean air is rectified by the first through hole 63 of the first perforated plate 61 and the second through hole 64 of the second perforated plate 62. . Therefore, the generation of turbulent flow is suppressed downstream of the second passage 19 and before the exhaust port 17, and noise associated with turbulent flow is reduced.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following advantages can be obtained.
(1) Since the opening area of the exhaust port 17 is larger than the opening area of the filter outlet 57, the flow rate of clean air decreases as it goes from the filter outlet 57 to the exhaust port 17. As a result, it is possible to reduce the exhaust noise that occurs before the clean air passes through the filter outlet 57 and is exhausted from the exhaust port 17.

(2) In the second passage 19, a first perforated plate 61 and a second perforated plate 62 are provided. Therefore, the clean air that has passed through the filter 42 is rectified by the first through hole 63 and the second through hole 64 and discharged to the exhaust port 17. Thereby, since generation | occurrence | production of the turbulent flow in the exhaust port 17 vicinity is suppressed, the noise accompanying a turbulent flow can be suppressed. Further, the opening area of the first porous plate 61 and the opening area of the second porous plate 62 are larger than the opening area of the filter outlet 57. For this reason, the flow velocity of the clean air decreases as it goes from the filter outlet 57 toward the first porous plate 61 side. Thereby, the discharge sound of clean air can be made small.

(3) The filter outlet 57 is provided with a plurality of second ventilation holes 58, and the first porous plate 61 has a plurality of first through holes 63 having a diameter (inner diameter) larger than the diameter of the second ventilation holes 58. Have. For this reason, the flow rate of clean air can be reduced between the first porous plate 61 and the filter outlet 57. As described above, since the flow velocity is lowered before the clean air is discharged from the filter outlet, it is possible to reduce the discharge sound when the clean air is discharged from the exhaust port 17.

(4) The opening area of the first porous plate 61 is larger than the opening area of the second porous plate 62. A silencer 65 is provided between the first perforated plate 61 and the second perforated plate 62. For this reason, clean air can be circulated in the silencer 65 disposed between the first perforated plate 61 and the second perforated plate 62. Therefore, the silent effect by the silencer 65 can be enhanced.

(5) The diameter (inner diameter) of the second through hole 64 formed in the second porous plate 62 is smaller than the diameter (inner diameter) of the first through hole 63 formed in the first porous plate 61. For this reason, the second porous plate 62 has a smaller opening area than the first porous plate 61, but can disperse and discharge clean air by increasing the number of the second through holes 64. . For this reason, the effect which suppresses generation | occurrence | production of a turbulent flow is heightened, and the noise accompanying generation | occurrence | production of a turbulent flow can be suppressed.

(6) A first expansion chamber 34 is provided between the intake port 16 and the filter 42, and a second expansion chamber 23 is provided between the filter outlet 57 and the exhaust port 17. Therefore, the compressed air flowing in from the intake port 16 first expands by flowing into the first expansion chamber 34 and flows into the filter 42 from the first vent hole 56 that is the filter inlet. Further, when the air passes through the filter 42 and is discharged from the filter outlet 57, the clean air is compressed. The compressed clean air is expanded again by flowing into the second expansion chamber 23. Thus, the compressed air flowing in from the intake port 16 is compressed after expansion and expanded again, so that pulsation of the compressed air and clean air can be suppressed, and noise associated with the pulsation can be suppressed.

(Other embodiments)
In addition, 1st Embodiment can also be implemented with the following forms.
The exhaust port 5c of the exhaust port 17 only needs to have an opening area larger than that of the filter outlet 57, and may have a shape other than a circular shape.

The first through hole 63 of the first perforated plate 61 and the second through hole 64 of the second perforated plate 62 do not have to be circular in cross section. In that case, the opening area of the first perforated plate 61 is calculated by multiplying the opening area of the first through hole 63 by the number (M). The opening area of the second porous plate 62 is calculated by multiplying the opening area of the second through hole 64 by the number (N).

In the first embodiment, the number of first through holes 63 formed in the first porous plate 61 is smaller than the number of second through holes 64 formed in the second porous plate 62. However, when a sufficient silencing effect is obtained by passing clean air through the silencer 65, the number of first through holes 63 is equal to or greater than the number of second through holes 64 formed in the second porous plate 62. There may be.

In the first embodiment, the opening area of the first porous plate 61 is larger than the opening area of the second porous plate 62. However, when the noise can be sufficiently reduced even if the circulation effect of clean air in the silencer 65 cannot be obtained, the opening area of the first porous plate 61 is equal to or less than the opening area of the second porous plate 62. Also good.

In the first embodiment, the silencer 65 is provided between the first porous plate 61 and the second porous plate 62, but this may be omitted. If there is at least the first perforated plate 61 and the second perforated plate 62, the rectifying effect of clean air can be enhanced.

In the first embodiment, the diameter D1 of the second vent hole 58 of the filter outlet 57 is made larger than the diameter D3 of the second through hole 64 of the second porous plate 62 and is larger than the diameter D1 of the second vent hole 58. The diameter D2 of the first through hole 63 of the first perforated plate 61 was increased (diameter D3 <diameter D1 <diameter D2). However, the diameter D1 of the second vent hole 58, the diameter D2 of the first through hole 63, and the diameter D3 of the second through hole 64 are not limited to the above-described relationship. For example, the diameter D3 of the second through hole 64 may be larger than the diameter D1 of the second vent hole 58 and smaller than the diameter D2 of the first through hole 63 (diameter D1 <diameter D3 <diameter D2). . Further, the diameter D3 of the second through hole 64 may be the same as or larger than the diameter D2 of the first through hole 63 (diameter D1 <diameter D2 = diameter D3, or diameter D1 <diameter D2 <diameter). D3). The relationship between the diameters D1 to D3 can be changed according to the configuration of the oil separator 5 and the like.

In the first embodiment, the first porous plate 61 and the second porous plate 62 are provided in the second passage 19, but only one porous plate may be provided or the porous plate may be omitted. Even in these cases, if at least the opening area of the exhaust port 17 is larger than the opening area of the filter outlet 57, the exhaust sound of clean air can be reduced.

As shown in FIG. 5, the filter outlet of the oil separator 5 may be provided on the peripheral wall of the filter case. The oil separator 5 includes a body 110 and a drain bowl 130 as a casing. The drain bowl 130 is provided with a drain discharge port 159 for discharging the drain liquid. The body 110 includes an intake port 116 and an exhaust port 117, and includes a first expansion chamber 134 that expands compressed air flowing from the intake port 116. A filter unit 140 is fixed to the body 110 via a cover 111. The filter unit 140 includes a filter case 141, a filter 142, and a filter lid 143. A plurality of ventilation holes 156 that are filter inlets are formed in the ceiling portion of the filter case 141, and ventilation holes 158 that are filter outlets are formed through the peripheral wall of the filter case 141. That is, the filter outlet does not necessarily have to be formed on the ceiling of the filter case. A plurality of ventilation holes 158 are formed along the circumferential direction of the filter case 141. Although FIG. 5 shows a mode in which a porous plate is not provided on the exhaust port 117 side, a porous plate may be provided in the oil separator 5 of FIG. Regardless of the presence or absence of the perforated plate, the opening area of the exhaust port 117 is larger than the opening area of the filter outlet composed of the plurality of vent holes 158. The compressed air flowing in from the intake port 116 expands in the first expansion chamber 134 and then flows into the filter unit 140 from the vent hole 156 of the filter case 141. The drain liquid separated by the filter 142 flows down from the discharge hole 144 of the filter lid 143 to the storage part 132. The separated clean air passes through the air holes 158 formed in the peripheral wall portion of the filter case 141, passes through the space between the drain bowl 130 and the filter portion 140, and moves toward the exhaust port 117. Thus, when the opening area of the exhaust port 117 is larger than the opening area of the filter outlet, at least when the clean air flows from the filter outlet toward the exhaust port 117, the flow velocity decreases. Therefore, the noise accompanying the discharge of clean air can be reduced.

In the first embodiment and the other embodiments described above, the

first expansion chambers

34, 134 and the second expansion chamber 23 are provided in the oil separator 5, but the pulsation of the compressed air sent from the air dryer 2 is not expected. In some cases, one or more of these expansion chambers may be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 6, the oil separator may have a rectangular parallelepiped casing. The housing includes a case 170 having an opening and a lid 171 that seals the opening of the case 170. The case 170 has an intake port 172 and an exhaust port 173. A drain discharge port (not shown) for discharging the drain liquid is provided at the bottom of the case 170. A partition wall 181 having a hole 182 is provided in the case 170. The interior of the case 170 is partitioned by a partition wall 181 into a first expansion chamber 183 on the intake port 172 side and a second expansion chamber 184 on the exhaust port 173 side. The partition wall 181 has a communication hole 185 that allows the drain liquid to pass between the first expansion chamber 183 and the second expansion chamber 184. A pair of

collision plates

186 and 187 are respectively provided on both sides of the partition wall 181.

Slits

188 and 189 are formed in the

collision plates

186 and 187, respectively. In addition, communication holes 191 and 192 that allow the drain liquid to pass therethrough are formed at the lower ends of the

collision plates

186 and 187, respectively. A filter 194 is installed on the upstream side of the

collision plates

186 and 187 in the first expansion chamber 183. The filter 194 is made of the same material as the filter 42 of the above-described embodiment, and is provided with a perforated plate 193 having a plurality of holes on the surface opposite to the intake port 172. Further, on the downstream side of the

collision plates

186 and 187 in the second expansion chamber 184, a filter 197 in which perforated

plates

195 and 196 having a plurality of holes are attached on both sides is installed. The opening area of the front porous plate 195 is preferably larger than the opening area of the rear porous plate 196. The filter outlet is a plurality of holes 198 formed in the porous plate 196 on the exhaust port 173 side, and the opening area of the filter outlet is the total area of all the holes 198. The opening area of the exhaust port 173 is larger than the opening area of the filter outlet (all holes 198). Thus, when the opening area of the exhaust port 173 is larger than the opening area of the filter outlet, at least when the clean air flows from the filter outlet toward the exhaust port 173, the flow rate of the clean air decreases. Therefore, it is possible to reduce clean air exhaust noise. Further, the perforated plate 195 can rectify the clean air and reduce the exhaust sound accompanying the turbulent flow.

In the first embodiment, the depth L1 of the second through hole 64 is larger than the diameter D3. Thereby, the effect which rectifies | compresses compressed air and makes it quiet can be anticipated. Similarly, the depth of the second vent hole 58 of the filter outlet 57 may be larger than its diameter D1. Further, the depth of the first through hole 63 of the first perforated plate 61 may be larger than the diameter D2. Even if it does in this way, the effect which rectifies | compresses compressed air and makes it quiet can be anticipated.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the oil separator will be described focusing on differences from the first embodiment. The basic configuration of the oil separator according to this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, and in the drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the elements substantially the same as those of the first embodiment. Shown and redundant explanations are omitted.

Conventionally, in the oil separator, when the position of the exhaust port is determined, the position of the intake port is also determined. On the other hand, the position of the air dryer to be connected to the intake port differs depending on the vehicle to be attached. For this reason, the installation work of the connection hose between the connection target and the oil separator and the installation work of the oil separator to the vehicle are complicated, for example, the connection hose connected to the intake port is routed and installed depending on the position of the connection target such as an air dryer There is. Such a problem is not limited to an oil separator connected to an air dryer mounted on a vehicle, but is generally common to oil separators attached to other attachment targets.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which an oil separator is applied to a compressed air drying system mounted on a vehicle will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 7, a compressed air drying system that removes oil and moisture in the compressed air sent from the compressor 1 is provided downstream of the compressor 1. The compressed air drying system is provided with an air dryer 2 that removes oil and moisture from the compressed air. In the air dryer 2, a desiccant 2a is provided. The air dryer 2 performs a load operation in which compressed air is passed through the desiccant 2a to remove moisture and oil, and an unload operation in which the moisture and oil trapped in the desiccant 2a are discharged to regenerate the desiccant 2a. And do. The air dryer 2 sends dry compressed air, which is air obtained by removing oil and moisture from the compressed air by the load operation, to the system tank 6. The system tank 6 supplies compressed air to each system such as a brake and a suspension. When the pressure in the system tank 6 reaches a predetermined value, the exhaust valve 2b of the air dryer 2 is opened and an unload operation is performed. When the exhaust valve 2b is opened, dry compressed air is supplied from the system tank 6 to the air dryer 2, and the dry compressed air that has flowed into the air dryer 2 flows in the opposite direction to the load operation. Thereby, the water | moisture content and oil which were capture | acquired by the desiccant 2a are removed. The removed moisture and oil are discharged from the drain outlet 2c of the air dryer 2 together with the air. The air discharged from the air dryer 2 is called purge air.

The compressed air drying system is provided with a first oil mist separator 7 and a second oil mist separator 8 that remove oil mist in the compressed air. The two oil mist separators 7 and 8 are provided between the compressor 1 and the air dryer 2. The first oil mist separator 7 is provided closer to the compressor 1 (upstream) than the second oil mist separator 8. A check valve 9 is provided between the first oil mist separator 7 and the second oil mist separator 8 to prevent a back flow from the second oil mist separator 8 to the first oil mist separator 7. A check valve 9 is provided between the second oil mist separator 8 and the air dryer 2 to prevent backflow from the air dryer 2 to the second oil mist separator 8.

The oil mist separator 7 has a filter 7a, and captures oil mist contained in the compressed air sent from the compressor 1 by allowing the compressed air to pass through the filter 7a. The oil mist separator 7 includes a regeneration tank that accumulates the compressed air for regeneration. When the pressure of the compressed air in the system tank 6 reaches a predetermined value, the exhaust valve 7b of the oil mist separator 7 is opened, and the regeneration tank The dry compressed air is supplied to the oil mist separator 7. Thereby, the oil mist captured by the filter 7a is removed. The removed oil mist is discharged from the drain discharge port 7c of the oil mist separator 7 together with the air. The air discharged from the oil mist separator 7 is called purge air.

The oil mist separator 8 has a filter 8a, and captures oil mist contained in the compressed air sent from the compressor 1 by allowing the compressed air to pass through the filter 8a. The oil mist separator 8 is provided with a regeneration tank for storing the compressed air for regeneration, and when the pressure of the compressed air in the system tank 6 reaches a predetermined value, the exhaust valve 8b of the oil mist separator 8 is opened to regenerate. Dry compressed air is supplied to the oil mist separator 8 from the tank. Thereby, the oil mist captured by the filter 8a is removed. The removed oil mist is discharged from the drain discharge port 8c of the oil mist separator 8 together with the air. The air discharged from the oil mist separator 8 is called purge air.

In the compressed air drying system, the oil separator 5 is connected to the drain outlet 7c of the oil mist separator 7, the drain outlet 8c of the oil mist separator 8, and the drain outlet 2c of the air dryer 2. The oil separator 5 is connected to the first oil mist separator 7 via a connection hose 7 d connected to the drain discharge port 7 c of the first oil mist separator 7. The oil separator 5 is connected to the second oil mist separator 8 via a connection hose 8d connected to the drain outlet 8c of the second oil mist separator 8. Further, the oil separator 5 is connected to the air dryer 2 via a connection hose 2d connected to the drain discharge port 2c of the air dryer 2.

The oil separator 5 gas-liquid separates compressed air containing oil and moisture, and discharges the separated clean air from the outlet 5c. The oil separator 5 stores a drain liquid, which is a liquid containing oil and moisture separated from the compressed air, in the housing 5a.

Next, the oil separator 5 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 8, the casing 5 a of the oil separator 5 includes a cylindrical body 10 and a drain bowl 30 that is a drain reservoir attached to the body 10. An attachment member 70 for attaching the body 10 to a vehicle to be attached is attached to the outer periphery of the body 10. A mounting groove 15 for mounting the mounting member 70 is provided on the outer periphery of the body 10. The attachment member 70 includes an attachment portion 71 that is rotatably attached to the body 10 and a fixing portion 76 that is fixed to the vehicle. The attachment portion 71 includes an annular portion 72 formed in an annular shape, and a tightening portion 73 that tightens the annular portion 72 with a bolt 74 and a nut 75. The fixing portion 76 is fixed to the vehicle by a bolt (not shown). Therefore, the body 10 can change the position of 360 ° in the attachment portion 71.

As shown in FIG. 9, the body 10 includes three intake ports 16 and one exhaust port 17. The intake port 16 is provided so as to be openable in three of the four directions on the side wall of the body 10. Here, “four directions” refers to directions in each range of 90 ° obtained by dividing 360 ° into four. Each intake port 16 may be provided at any position within the range. In this embodiment, since two oil mist separators 7 and 8 and one air dryer 2 are connected, all three intake ports 16 are open. The connection hose 7d connected to the drain discharge port 7c of the first oil mist separator 7, the connection hose 8d connected to the drain discharge port 8c of the second oil mist separator 8, and the drain discharge port 2c of the air dryer 2 A connection hose 2 d to be connected is connected to each intake port 16. In addition, the optimal connection destination of each

connection hose

7d, 8d, 2d is selected from each intake port 16.

The exhaust port 17 is provided on one of the four sides of the side wall of the body 10 where the intake port 16 is not provided. The exhaust port 17 is provided with a discharge port 5c.
As shown in FIG. 10, the first end of the body 10 is closed, and the opening 11 is provided at the second end. A female screw 12 is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the body 10 on the opening 11 side.

Next, the assembly of the body 10, the filter unit 40, and the drain bowl 30 will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, as shown in FIG. 11, the filter unit 40 is attached to the body 10 by screwing the male screw 52 of the filter unit 40 with the female screw 14 of the body 10. Subsequently, the drain bowl 30 is attached to the body 10 by screwing the male screw 33 of the drain bowl 30 with the female screw 12 of the body 10.

In addition, when exchanging the filter 42, the drain bowl 30 is removed from the body 10, and the filter unit 40 is further removed from the body 10. Then, the filter lid 43 is removed from the filter case 41 and the filter 42 is replaced. In addition, you may replace | exchange filter part 40 itself.

Here, the assembly of the body 10 and the drain bowl 30 will be described in detail.
As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, a guide portion 30 a extending from the portion where the male screw 33 is provided is provided at the tip of the portion where the male screw 33 of the drain bowl 30 is provided. For this reason, before the tip of the male screw 33 portion of the drain bowl 30 comes into contact with the tip of the female screw 12 portion of the body 10, the guide portion 30 a comes into contact with the female screw 12 portion of the body 10. On the other hand, the drain bowl 30 can be guided.

The outer peripheral corner portion 30b of the guide portion 30a is chamfered at an angle θ. For this reason, a catch when the guide part 30a contacts the female screw 12 of the body 10 can be reduced.

Further, the length A in the axial direction of the guide portion 30 a is larger than the length B in the axial direction of the female screw 12 of the body 10. For this reason, the guide part 30a contacts the whole part of the female screw 12 of the body 10 before the front-end | tip of the part of the male screw 33 of the drain bowl 30 contacts the front-end | tip of the part of the female screw 12 of the body 10. That is, since the male screw 33 of the drain bowl 30 starts to be screwed with the female screw 12 of the body 10 while the guide portion 30a is in contact with the entire female screw 12 of the body 10, the guide function can be enhanced. it can.

Next, with reference to FIG. 8, attachment of the oil separator 5 to the vehicle will be described. First, the attachment member 70 is attached to the outer periphery of the body 10 of the oil separator 5 in a rotatable state. And the position of the exhaust port 17 provided in the body 10 with respect to the attachment member 70 is selected by rotating the body 10 with respect to the attachment member 70. Thereby, the position of the exhaust port 17 with respect to the vehicle to which the attachment member 70 is fixed can be selected. The attachment member 70 attached to the body 10 is fixed to the vehicle by inserting a bolt through the fixing portion 76.

Subsequently, three intake ports 16 provided in the body 10 of the oil separator 5 fixed to the vehicle are connected to a connection hose 7d of the first oil mist separator 7, a connection hose 8d of the second oil mist separator 8, and an air dryer 2. The connection hose 2d is easily selected and connected to each other.

Next, the operation of the oil separator 5 will be described with reference to FIG.
When the exhaust valve 2b of the air dryer 2 is opened and an unloading operation is performed, a drain liquid containing oil and moisture together with compressed air is sent to the oil separator 5. Further, when the exhaust valves 7b and 8b of the oil mist separators 7 and 8 are opened, the drain liquid containing the oil mist together with the compressed air is sent to the oil separator 5 through the

connection hoses

7d, 8d and 2d. The drain liquid contained in the compressed air is mist or liquid. The compressed air containing the drain liquid flows into the oil separator 5 from each intake port 16.

Compressed air is expanded by flowing into the first expansion chamber 34 from the three intake ports 16. Note that the pressure of the compressed air expanded in the first expansion chamber 34 is maintained at a value larger than the atmospheric pressure. The expanded compressed air flows into the filter unit 40 through the first vent hole 56 of the filter case 41. The compressed air that has flowed into the filter section 40 passes through the filter 42 while repeatedly colliding with the wall surfaces of the pores and colliding (friction) with the compressed air within the pores. Thereby, compressed air is isolate | separated into a drain liquid and the clean air from which the drain liquid was removed. The separated liquid drain liquid falls into the storage part 32. The separated clean air is directed to the filter outlet 57. The clean air is compressed by passing through the second vent hole 58 of the filter outlet 57 and then expands in the second expansion chamber 23 (second passage 19). The clean air that has passed through the second passage 19 is discharged from the exhaust port 17 to the outside.

As described above, the oil separator 5 can select the direction of the exhaust port 17 with respect to the vehicle, and further select the one from which the

connection hoses

7d, 8d, and 2d can be easily attached from the three intake ports 16. be able to. Therefore, the mounting operation of the oil separator 5 can be facilitated regardless of the type of vehicle.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following advantages can be obtained.
(7) Three intake ports 16 are provided on the side walls of the body 10, and exhaust ports 17 are provided on portions of the side walls of the body 10 where the intake ports 16 are not provided. That is, in the body 10, the portion where the exhaust port 17 is provided is different from the portion where the intake port 16 is provided. For this reason, according to the position of the oil mist separators 7 and 8 and the air dryer 2 which are different depending on the type of the vehicle, the

connection hoses

7d, 8d and 2d to the oil mist separators 7 and 8 and the air dryer 2 are connected to the intake port 16 which is easy to attach. be able to. Therefore, the oil separator 5 can be easily attached regardless of the type of vehicle.

(8) The intake port 16 is provided in three of the four sides of the side wall of the body 10, and the exhaust port 17 is provided in the other one of the four sides of the side wall of the body 10. For this reason, the position of the intake port 16 with respect to the exhaust port 17 can be selected from three of the four directions on the side wall of the body 10, and the interval between the intake ports 16 can be increased. Is easy.

(9) Since the body 10 can rotate at the mounting portion 71 of the mounting member 70, the body 10 can be rotated with respect to the mounting member 70 to select the position of the exhaust port 17, and the position of the intake port 16 Can be selected from three directions.

(10) The body 10 and the drain bowl 30 are fixed by the female screw 12 and the male screw 33. For this reason, the drain bowl 30 can be easily attached to and detached from the body 10 by rotating the drain bowl 30 in the screw direction with respect to the body 10.

(11) Since the guide portion 30a is provided at the tip of the male screw 33 portion, the guide portion 30a contacts the female screw 12 portion before the tip of the male screw 33 portion contacts the tip of the female screw 12 portion. To do. For this reason, the position of the male screw 33 with respect to the female screw 12 can be easily matched, and as a result, the drain bowl 30 can be easily attached to the body 10.

(12) The axial length A of the guide portion 30 a is larger than the axial length B of the female screw 12 of the body 10. For this reason, since the male screw 33 of the drain bowl 30 starts screwing with respect to the female screw 12 of the body 10 while the guide part 30a contacts the whole female screw 12 of the body 10, the guide function is enhanced. Can do.

(Other embodiments)
In addition, 2nd Embodiment can also be implemented with the following forms which changed this suitably.
-In 2nd Embodiment, although the front-end | tip outer periphery corner | angular part 30b of the guide part 30a was made into the chamfer of angle (theta), as shown in FIG.

In the second embodiment, the female screw 12 is provided in the body 10 and the male screw 33 is provided in the drain bowl 30. However, the drain bowl 30 is assembled to the outer periphery of the body 10 so that the male screw and the drain bowl 30 are attached to the body 10. A female screw may be provided. In this case, a guide portion is provided at the tip of the portion of the body 10 where the male screw is provided.

In the second embodiment, the length A of the guide portion 30a of the drain bowl 30 is larger than the length B of the female screw 12 of the body 10 in the axial direction. However, if the guide function is obtained by the presence of the guide portion 30a, the length A of the guide portion 30a may be set equal to or smaller than the axial length B of the female screw 12 of the body 10. .

-In 2nd Embodiment, although the guide part 30a was provided in the drain bowl 30, if the guide function is unnecessary, you may abbreviate | omit the guide part 30a.
In the above embodiment, the attachment member 70 is attached to the body 10 and the oil separator 5 is fixed to the vehicle. However, the body 10 of the oil separator 5 may be directly fixed to the vehicle.

-The drain bowl 30 of the oil separator 5 of the second embodiment may be provided with a drain discharge port for discharging the drain liquid stored in the storage portion 32.
In the second embodiment, the three intake ports 16 are provided on the side wall of the body 10, but four or more intake ports may be provided in three of the four directions. That is, when four or more intake ports are provided, a plurality of intake ports are provided in any one of the four directions. In this way, four or more connection hoses can be connected to the oil separator while selecting an optimal intake port position.

-In 2nd Embodiment, although it was set as the compressed air drying system provided with the two oil mist separators 7 and 8 and the one air dryer 2, the compressed air provided with the one oil mist separator and the one air dryer 2 is used. It is good also as a drying system. In this case, the connection port hose of the oil mist separator and the connection hose of the air dryer 2 are selected and connected to the intake port 16 at the optimum position of the oil separator 5. In addition, since two intake ports 16 are selected and used among the three intake ports 16, the remaining one intake port 16 is closed by fitting a closing member (not shown).

In the second embodiment, the intake port 16 is provided at a position in each range of 90 ° obtained by dividing 360 ° on the side wall of the body 10 into four, but the interval between the intake ports 16 may be set to an arbitrary angle.

In the second embodiment, all the intake ports 16 are provided on the side wall of the body 10, but at least one intake port 16 may be provided on the upper wall of the body 10.
In addition, if it is not necessary to remove oil mist upstream of the air dryer 2, a compressed air drying system including one air dryer 2 may be used. In this case, the connection hose of the air dryer 2 is selected and connected to the intake port 16 at the optimum position of the oil separator 5. Since one intake port 16 is selected and used among the three intake ports 16, the remaining two intake ports 16 are closed by fitting a closing member (not shown).

(Third embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment of the oil separator will be described focusing on differences from the first embodiment. The basic configuration of the oil separator according to this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, and in the drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the elements substantially the same as those of the first embodiment. Shown and redundant explanations are omitted.

In conventional oil separators, the amount of drain liquid in the case is confirmed by the position of the drain liquid in the drain hose connected to the drain outlet of the case. When checking the amount of drain liquid, remove the tip of the drain hose and let the air flow into the drain hose so that the drain liquid accumulated in the case matches the height of the drain liquid in the drain hose. ing. Thus, the drain hose must be operated, which is inconvenient. Such a problem is not limited to an oil separator connected to an air dryer mounted on a vehicle, but is generally common to oil separators attached to other attachment targets.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which an oil separator is applied to a compressed air drying system mounted on a vehicle will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the casing 5 a of the oil separator 5 includes a cylindrical body 10 and a drain bowl 30 that is a drain reservoir attached to the body 10. An attachment member 70 for attaching the body 10 to a vehicle to be attached is attached to the outer periphery of the body 10. A mounting groove 15 for mounting the mounting member 70 is provided on the outer periphery of the body 10. The attachment member 70 includes an attachment portion 71 that is rotatably attached to the body 10 and a fixing portion 76 that is fixed to the vehicle. The attachment portion 71 includes an annular portion 72 formed in an annular shape, and a tightening portion 73 that tightens the annular portion 72 with a bolt 74 and a nut 75. The fixing portion 76 is fixed to the vehicle by a bolt (not shown). Therefore, the body 10 can change the position of 360 ° in the attachment portion 71.

A protective cover 80 for protecting the drain bowl 30 is attached to the outer periphery of the body 10. The protective cover 80 is partially open with respect to the entire circumference of the drain bowl 30. The protective cover 80 is substantially semicircular when viewed from above, and opens toward the rear in the vehicle traveling direction. The protective cover 80 includes a cover member 81 made of a plate material and three mounting bolts 82. In the upper part of the cover member 81, three through holes 81a into which the respective mounting bolts 82 are inserted are arranged at intervals of 90 °. The cover member 81 is desirably made of a material having a strength that prevents stones flying from the road surface or the like from penetrating, and is preferably made of metal.

Four attachment portions 24 for attaching attachment bolts 82 are provided below the attachment groove 15 on the outer periphery of the body 10. The four attachment portions 24 are arranged with an interval of 90 °. The mounting portion 24 is provided with a female screw 26 that is screwed with the mounting bolt 82. That is, three of the four attachment portions 24 are selected, and the cover member 81 is fixed to the body 10 by the three attachment bolts 82. Therefore, the position of the protective cover 80 can be selected every 90 ° with respect to the body 10. Note that the three through holes 81 a, the three attachment bolts 82, and the four attachment portions 24 of the cover member 81 function as rotating members that rotate the protective cover 80 in the circumferential direction of the body 10.

The body 10 includes an intake port 16 and an exhaust port 17. The intake port 16 is connected to a connection hose 2d connected to the drain discharge port 2c of the air dryer 2. The exhaust port 17 is provided with a discharge port 5c.

As shown in FIG. 17, the first end of the body 10 is closed, and the opening 11 is provided at the second end. A female screw 12 is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the body 10 on the opening 11 side.
The drain bowl 30 is formed in a cylindrical shape by a translucent material. In particular, the drain bowl 30 is preferably formed of a transparent material, for example, a resin such as polycarbonate, polyamide, or polypropylene, so that the amount of the drain liquid accumulated inside can be visually recognized. In the present embodiment, the entire drain bowl 30 is a translucent part. The first end of the drain bowl 30 has a bottom. The drain bowl 30 has an opening 31 at the second end. Inside the drain bowl 30 is provided a storage portion 32 that is a space for storing the drain liquid. A male screw 33 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the opening 31 of the drain bowl 30. The drain bowl 30 is fixed to the body 10 by the female screw 12 of the body 10 and the male screw 33 of the drain bowl 30 being screwed together. The cover member 81 of the protective cover 80 has a length that includes from the mounting portion 24 of the body 10 to the bottom of the drain bowl 30.

At the bottom of the drain bowl 30, a discharge valve 35 for discharging the drain liquid stored in the storage section 32 is provided. That is, a through hole 36 is provided at the center of the bottom of the drain bowl 30. An insertion member 37 is inserted into the through hole 36. The fitting member 37 includes a disk-shaped sealing portion 37 a that is in close contact with the inside of the bottom of the drain bowl 30, and a cylindrical fitting insertion portion 37 b that is fitted into the through hole 36. A male screw 37c is formed on the outer periphery of the insertion portion 37b. A disk-shaped fixing member 38 that is screwed into the male screw 37 c of the fitting insertion member 37 and is fixed to the drain bowl 30 is provided on the outside of the bottom portion of the drain bowl 30. A female screw 38 a is provided at the center of the fixing member 38. The fitting member 37 and the fixing member 38 are fixed to the drain bowl 30 by screwing and fastening the fixing member 38 to the fitting member 37. A discharge valve 35 is attached to the fitting portion 37 b of the fixing member 38.

The oil separator 5 is fixed to the vehicle side in a state where the body 10 is arranged vertically upward and the drain bowl 30 is arranged vertically downward, and the drain liquid is stored in the drain bowl 30. The stored drain liquid is discharged to the outside by opening a discharge valve 35 provided at the bottom of the drain bowl 30.

Next, attachment of the oil separator 5 to the vehicle will be described with reference to FIG.
Before attaching the oil separator 5 to the vehicle, the position of the protective cover 80 attached to the oil separator 5 is changed according to the position of the oil separator 5 attached to the vehicle. The three attachment bolts 82 are removed from the attachment portions 24, and the three attachment bolts 82 are screwed into the attachment portions 24 in accordance with the attachment portions 24 to which the through holes 81a of the cover member 81 are to be attached. For example, the protective cover 80 is attached to the oil separator 5 so as to cover the front of the oil separator 5 in the traveling direction of the vehicle. Note that the position of the protective cover 80 relative to the oil separator 5 may be changed after the oil separator 5 is attached to the vehicle. Thereby, even if the position with respect to the vehicle in the circumferential direction is changed by the mounting member 70, the position of the protective cover 80 can be changed at 90 ° intervals.

The connection hose 2d of the air dryer 2 is connected to the intake port 16 provided in the body 10 of the oil separator 5 fixed to the vehicle.
Next, the operation of the oil separator 5 will be described with reference to FIG.

The compressed air is expanded by flowing into the first expansion chamber 34 from the intake port 16. Note that the pressure of the compressed air expanded in the first expansion chamber 34 is maintained at a value larger than the atmospheric pressure. The expanded compressed air flows into the filter unit 40 through the first vent hole 56 of the filter case 41. The compressed air that has flowed into the filter section 40 passes through the filter 42 while repeatedly colliding with the wall surfaces of the pores and colliding (friction) with the compressed air within the pores. Thereby, compressed air is isolate | separated into a drain liquid and the clean air from which the drain liquid was removed. The separated liquid drain liquid falls into the storage part 32. The separated clean air is directed to the filter outlet 57. The clean air is compressed by passing through the second vent hole 58 of the filter outlet 57 and then expands in the second expansion chamber 23 (second passage 19). The clean air that has passed through the second passage 19 is discharged from the exhaust port 17 to the outside.

As described above, the amount of the drain liquid stored in the storage portion 32 inside the drain bowl 30 can be confirmed by looking at the drain bowl 30 from a portion where the protective cover 80 is not provided. In addition, since the stones and the like flying from the road surface as the vehicle travels fly from the front in the traveling direction, even if the stones or the like fly, the collision with the protective cover 80 prevents the collision with the drain bowl 30, The drain bowl 30 can be protected. Therefore, the drain bowl 30 which can confirm the quantity of drain liquid directly can be provided. Even if the circumferential position of the oil separator 5 with respect to the vehicle is changed, the circumferential position of the protective cover 80 with respect to the oil separator 5 can be changed, so that protection by the protective cover 80 can be maintained.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following advantages can be obtained.
(13) Since the inside of the drain bowl 30 can be seen by the drain bowl 30 which is the whole light-transmitting part, the amount of the accumulated drain liquid can be easily confirmed. In addition, since the drain bowl 30 is protected by the protective cover 80, even if the strength of the drain bowl 30 is reduced because a transparent material such as resin is used instead of metal, the drain bowl 30 may fly off the road surface. It is possible to prevent the drain bowl 30 from being damaged by the coming stone or the like.

(14) The position of the opening of the protective cover 80 can be changed in the circumferential direction of the body 10. For this reason, the entire portion from the opening portion of the protective cover 80 is a light-transmitting portion while protecting the drain bowl 30 by aligning the portion of the protective cover 80 that is not open to the drain bowl 30 at a position where stones can easily fly from the road surface or the like. The amount of the drain liquid can be confirmed through a certain drain bowl 30.

(15) Since the drain valve 30 is provided in the drain bowl 30, the drain liquid in the drain bowl 30 can be discharged to the outside via the discharge valve 35 without removing the drain bowl 30 from the body 10. .

(Fourth embodiment)
Hereinafter, a fourth embodiment of the oil separator will be described with reference to FIGS. The oil separator of this embodiment is different from the third embodiment in that the protective cover covers the entire drain bowl. Hereinafter, the difference from the first embodiment will be mainly described.

As shown in FIGS. 18 and 20, the oil separator 5 includes a drain bowl 30 that is a translucent part as a whole, as in the third embodiment. The oil separator 5 includes a bottomed cylindrical protective cover 90 attached to the drain bowl 30. The protective cover 90 covers the entire circumference of the drain bowl 30. The protective cover 90 is molded according to the outer shape of the drain bowl 30 and matches the outer shape of the drain bowl 30. The protective cover 90 is preferably made of metal.

The protective cover 90 is provided with a plurality of windows 91. These windows 91 have a slit shape extending in the axial direction (vertical direction) of the protective cover 90 and are provided at intervals. These windows 91 have such a width in the circumferential direction that the amount of drain liquid stored in the drain bowl 30 can be seen.

As shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, a through hole 36 is provided in the center of the bottom of the drain bowl 30 as in the third embodiment. An insertion member 37 is inserted into the through hole 36. A fixing member 38 that is screwed into the male screw 37 c of the fitting insertion member 37 and is fixed to the drain bowl 30 is provided outside the bottom portion of the drain bowl 30. Further, a through hole 92 having the same central axis as the through hole 36 of the drain bowl 30 is provided at the center of the bottom of the protective cover 90. The fitting member 37 is fitted into the through hole 36 of the drain bowl 30 and the through hole 92 of the protective cover 90 from the inside of the drain bowl 30. The fixing member 38 is screwed into the fitting member 37 and tightened from the outside of the protective cover 90 to fix the drain bowl 30 and the protective cover 90. Therefore, the protective cover 90 is fixed to the drain bowl 30. A discharge valve 35 is attached to the fixing member 38.

As described above, the amount of the drain liquid stored in the storage portion 32 inside the drain bowl 30 can be confirmed by looking at the drain bowl 30 through the window 91 of the protective cover 90. Moreover, the collision with the drain cover 30 can be prevented and the drain bowl 30 can be protected by colliding the stone or the like flying from the road surface with the protective cover 90 as the vehicle travels. Therefore, the drain bowl 30 which can confirm the quantity of drain liquid directly can be provided. Even if the circumferential position of the oil separator 5 with respect to the vehicle is changed, the protective cover 90 is provided on the entire circumference of the drain bowl 30, so that the drain bowl 30 is protected regardless of the direction of the oil separator 5 with respect to the vehicle. can do.

As described above, according to this embodiment, in addition to the effects (13) and (15) of the third embodiment, the following advantages can be obtained.
(16) The drain bowl 30 can be reliably protected by the protective cover 90 that covers the entire drain bowl 30, and the drain in the drain bowl 30, which is entirely a translucent portion, is provided through the window 91 provided in the protective cover 90. The amount of liquid can be confirmed.

(17) Since only the through

holes

36 and 92 are provided in the drain bowl 30 and the protective cover 90, respectively, it is possible to eliminate the need for a mounting structure in the drain bowl. Further, the drain bowl 30 and the protective cover 90 can be fixed by the fitting member 37 and the fixing member 38 which are separate bodies.

(Other embodiments)
In addition, 3rd Embodiment and 4th Embodiment can also be implemented with the following forms which changed this suitably.

In the third embodiment, the through hole 81a of the protective cover 80 and the mounting portion 24 are provided at an interval of 90 °. However, if the position of the protective cover 80 relative to the body 10 is to be changed finely, the mounting portion 24 is provided. May be provided at an interval narrower than 90 °. Moreover, the combination of the quantity of the through-hole 81a and the quantity of the attaching part 24 can each be changed arbitrarily.

In the third embodiment, the interval between the through holes 81a of the protective cover 80 and the interval between the mounting portions 24 are equal. However, the interval between the through holes 81a of the protective cover 80 and the interval of the attachment portion 24 may be any interval different from the equal interval as long as the positions of the protection cover 80 and the attachment portion 24 are combined.

In the third embodiment, the discharge valve 35 is provided at the bottom of the drain bowl 30 by the fitting member 37 and the fixing member 38. In the fourth embodiment, the protective cover 90 is fixed to the drain bowl 30 by the fitting member 37 and the fixing member 38. However, the fixing member may be directly fixed to the bottom of the drain bowl 30. For example, as shown in FIG. 21, the bottom of the drain bowl 30 is made thick, and a through hole 36 is provided in the bottom of the drain bowl 30. A female screw 36 a is provided in the through hole 36. A fixing member 39 is screwed into the female screw 36 a at the bottom of the drain bowl 30. The fixing member 39 includes a disc-shaped sealing portion 39a that is in close contact with the bottom outer side of the drain bowl 30, and a cylindrical cylindrical portion 39b that is screwed into the female screw 36a. A male screw 39c is formed on the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 39b. The fixing member 39 is fixed to the drain bowl 30 by screwing and fixing the fixing member 39 to the female screw 36a. A discharge valve 35 is attached to the fixing member 39. In the case of the cylindrical protective cover 90, the protective cover 90 is fixed to the drain bowl 30 by the fixing member 39. In such a configuration, by using the fixing member 39 in addition to the drain bowl 30 and the protective cover 90, the protective cover 90 is fixed to the drain bowl 30 without using any member inside the drain bowl 30. be able to.

In the fourth embodiment, the protective cover 90 is provided with the slit-shaped window 91. However, the window of the protective cover 90 is not limited to the slit shape, and may be any shape that allows the amount of the drain liquid inside the drain bowl 30 to be visually recognized. For example, as shown in FIG. 22, the round windows 93 may be arranged side by side in the circumferential direction and the radial direction. The arrangement of windows can be arbitrarily changed.

・ Also, the protective cover may be formed of a tape material such as an electric wire protective tape. The electric wire protection tape is a tape-like material in which an adhesive is added to a sponge material. In addition, you may abbreviate | omit an adhesive. For example, as shown in FIG. 23, the tape material 100 is directly wound around the drain bowl 30, and a gap 101 is provided between the tape material 100 and the tape material 100 in some places. The amount of the drain liquid inside the drain bowl 30 is visually recognized by the gap 101. In this way, the tape material 100, which is the protective cover itself, can be directly wound, so that a member for fixing the protective cover of the drain bowl 30 becomes unnecessary. Note that a protrusion 102 that prevents the tape material 100 from dropping may be provided on the outer peripheral surface near the bottom of the drain bowl 30.

-In 3rd Embodiment and 4th Embodiment, the drain bowl 30 which is the whole translucent part was employ | adopted for the oil separator 5. As shown in FIG. However, a drain bowl partially provided with a translucent portion may be employed for the oil separator 5. For example, as shown in FIG. 24, the oil separator 5 includes a drain bowl 30 made of metal, for example, whose inside cannot be visually recognized. Four through holes 131 are provided on the side surface of the drain bowl 30 at intervals of 90 ° in the circumferential direction. A bottomed cylindrical transmission part 120 is fitted into the through hole 131. The transmissive part 120 is made of a light transmissive material. The transmission part 120 includes a cylindrical part 121 fitted in the through hole 131 and a disk part 122 that comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the drain bowl 30. The user can visually recognize the inside of the drain bowl 30 through the disk portion 122. The body 10 is provided with a protective cover 80 provided with an opening in a part thereof. The protective cover 80 is set to a length including the transmission part 120. It is preferable that the through hole 131 is provided before the amount of the drain liquid stored in the drain bowl 30 becomes full. In this case, it is preferable to drain the drain liquid when the drain liquid is seen inside the drain bowl 30 through the transmission part 120. Note that the number and arrangement of the transmissive portions 120 can be arbitrarily changed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 25, the oil separator 5 includes a drain bowl 30 made of metal, for example, whose inside cannot be visually confirmed. The drain bowl 30 is provided with a connection hose 125 that connects the bottom and side surfaces of the drain bowl 30. The connection hose 125 corresponds to the light transmitting part. A through hole 123 is provided at the bottom of the drain bowl 30, and the first end of the connection hose 125 is connected thereto. A through hole 124 is provided in the side surface portion of the drain bowl 30, and the second end of the connection hose 125 is connected thereto. The drain liquid stored in the drain bowl 30 flows into the connection hose 125 from the second end. The liquid level of the drain liquid in the connection hose 125 coincides with the liquid level of the drain liquid in the drain bowl 30. The connection hose 125 is made of a translucent material. The user can check the amount of the drain liquid by looking at the connection hose 125. The body 10 is provided with a protective cover 80 provided with an opening in a part thereof. The protective cover 80 is set to a length including the connection hose 125. The position of the through hole 124 on the side surface of the drain bowl 30 is preferably set to a height including the position where the amount of the drain liquid is desired.

In the third embodiment and the fourth embodiment, the discharge valve 35 is provided at the bottom of the drain bowl 30. However, if the drain bowl 30 is removed from the body 10 and the drain liquid in the drain bowl 30 is discarded, the discharge valve 35 may be omitted.

(Fifth embodiment)
Next, a fifth embodiment of the oil separator will be described focusing on differences from the first embodiment. The basic configuration of the oil separator according to this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, and in the drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the elements substantially the same as those of the first embodiment. Shown and redundant explanations are omitted.

In the conventional oil separator, when the air flowing in from the intake port passes through the filter, it is easy to take the shortest distance route from the inlet side through hole to the outlet side through hole. For this reason, in the filter, there is an unused area in which gas and liquid separation is hardly performed while moisture and oil components and air are separated in an area centered on the path of the shortest distance. In a filter with a large unused area, the filter itself must be enlarged in order to ensure a certain oil / water removal performance. As a result, the oil separator is increased in size and the volume of the space in which the drain liquid can be stored is reduced.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which an oil separator is applied to a compressed air drying system mounted on a vehicle will be described with reference to FIGS.
The oil separator 5 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

A plurality of first ventilation holes 56 as through holes are formed in the peripheral wall portion 55 of the filter case 41. These first vent holes 56 correspond to the filter inlet 59 through which the compressed air flows into the filter case 41. In the present embodiment, the circumferential wall portion 55 is formed with a plurality of rows of a plurality of first vent holes 56 formed along the circumferential direction. A filter outlet 57 is provided at the center of the ceiling 53 and surrounded by the annular protrusion 51. The filter outlet 57 has a plurality of second ventilation holes 58 as through holes. The second vent hole 58 communicates the inner side and the outer side of the filter case 41.

The number of pores of the filter 42 with respect to the opening area of one first vent hole 56 of the filter inlet 59 is preferably 10 or more and 50 or less. The number of pores can be measured, for example, by visually counting based on an image obtained by observation with a scanning electron microscope or a transmission electron microscope, or by performing image analysis processing with a laser scanning microscope. By setting the number of pores of the filter 42 with respect to the opening area of the first vent hole 56 within the above range, the chance of collision between the compressed air and the inner wall of the pore is increased while maintaining good air permeability, and the compressed air and the oil content are increased. In addition, gas and liquid can be easily separated from moisture.
The depth of the second through hole 64 is larger than its diameter. In this way, the compressed air is rectified by passing through the second through hole 64, and the generation of exhausted sound can be suppressed.

Next, the filter case 41 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
The first vent hole 56 formed in the peripheral wall portion 55 of the filter case 41 has a diameter D4. The first vent holes 56 are formed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the peripheral wall portion 55. In FIG. 27, the first ventilation holes 56 are formed every 20 ° in the circumferential direction, and three rows of the plurality of first ventilation holes 56 are formed. The number of rows of the first vent holes 56 can be changed. The opening area S11 of the filter inlet 59 is “π {(D4) / 2} ² · N ′”, where the number of the first vent holes 56 is N ′.

The second vent hole 58 formed in the filter outlet 57 has a diameter D1. The diameter D1 of the second vent hole 58 is smaller than the diameter D4 of the first vent hole 56. The second vent holes 58 are formed at equal intervals in the circular filter outlet 57. The opening area S12 of the filter outlet is “π {(D1) / 2} ² · M ′” where the number of the second vent holes 58 is M ′. The opening area S12 of the filter outlet is smaller than the opening area S11 of the filter inlet 59.

Next, the operation of the oil separator 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. When the exhaust valve 2b of the air dryer 2 is opened and an unload operation is performed, a drain liquid containing oil and moisture together with purge air is sent from the air dryer 2 to the oil separator 5. The drain liquid contained in the purge air is mist or liquid. The purge air containing the drain liquid flows into the oil separator 5 from the intake port 16.

The purge air is expanded by flowing into the first expansion chamber 34 from the intake port 16. Note that the pressure of the purge air expanded in the first expansion chamber 34 is maintained at a value larger than the atmospheric pressure. The expanded purge air flows into the filter portion 40 toward the radially inner side of the filter case 41 through the first vent hole 56 of the filter case 41. At this time, since the opening area S12 of the filter outlet 57 is smaller than the opening area S11 of the filter inlet 59 (S12 <S11), the pressure in the filter case 41 is higher than when the opening areas S11 and S12 are the same. . That is, in the filter 42, the compressed air flows from the filter inlet 59 to the filter outlet 57 as compared with the case where the opening areas S11 and S12 are the same and the case where the opening area S11 of the filter inlet 59 is smaller than the opening area S12 of the filter outlet 57. It is difficult to take the shortest route to the filter 42 and circulates in the filter 42. For this reason, the compressed air passes through not only the central part including the shortest path from the filter inlet 59 to the filter outlet 57 in the filter 42 but also the corners of the filter 42, so that the unused area of the filter 42 is reduced. Is done. Since the compressed air circulates through the filter 42 in this manner, the opportunity for the filter 42 and the compressed air to collide with each other is increased, so that the removal performance by the filter 42 is improved. Therefore, the filter can be used effectively. Further, since the diameter D4 of the first vent hole 56 of the filter inlet 59 is larger than the diameter D1 of the second vent hole 58 of the filter outlet 57 (D1> D2), the diameter D4 of the first vent hole 56 of the filter inlet 59 is large. Is smaller than the diameter D1 of the second vent hole 58 of the filter outlet 57, the flow rate of the compressed air immediately after passing through the first vent hole 56 is reduced. For this reason, the time for the compressed air to circulate in the filter 42 can be lengthened.

The purge air is separated into the drain liquid and the clean air from which the drain liquid has been removed by the collision between the filter 42 and the compressed air or the collision (friction) between the compressed air. In particular, since the compressed air that has flowed in from the different first vent holes 56 flows radially inward, it is possible to promote collision or friction between the compressed air. The separated drain liquid falls into the storage part 32. The separated clean air passes through the second vent hole 58 of the filter outlet 57. The clean air is compressed by passing through the second vent hole 58 of the filter outlet 57 and then expands in the second expansion chamber 23 (second passage 19).

The flow of clean air is bent along the extending direction of the second passage 19 and flows into the silencer 65 through the first through hole 63 of the first perforated plate 61. The clean air that has passed through the silencer 65 is discharged from the exhaust port 17 to the outside through the second through hole 64 of the second porous plate 62.

Thus, the intake port 16 communicates with the internal space of the drain bowl 30 via the first passage 18. On the other hand, the exhaust port 17 communicates with the storage part 32 of the drain bowl 30 via the filter part 40. For this reason, even if the drain liquid stored in the storage part 32 shakes or jumps up due to the vibration of the vehicle on which the oil separator 5 is mounted, the drain liquid does not directly flow into the exhaust port 17. Therefore, the non-reserved space provided in order to suppress the inflow of the drain liquid to the exhaust port 17 in the storage part 32 can be omitted or minimized. Thereby, the ratio of the maximum storage amount of the drain liquid with respect to the volume of the storage part 32 can be enlarged.

Further, since the filter outlet 57 is provided with a plurality of second ventilation holes 58, for example, the drain liquid adhering to the filter 42 is less than in the case where the filter outlet is constituted by one through-hole having a large opening area. Inflow into the second passage 19 can be prevented.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following advantages can be obtained.
(18) Since the opening area of the filter outlet 57 is smaller than the opening area of the filter inlet 59, the opening area of the filter outlet 57 is larger than the opening area of the filter inlet 59. In comparison, it becomes difficult for the compressed air to take the shortest path from the filter inlet 59 to the filter outlet 57, and the time for the compressed air to circulate in the filter 42 becomes longer. Thus, by increasing the time for which the compressed air circulates in the filter 42, the compressed air takes a path other than the shortest path from the filter inlet 59 to the filter outlet 57 and reaches the corner of the filter 42. Unused area is reduced. Therefore, the filter 42 can be used effectively.

(19) The filter outlet 57 has a plurality of second vent holes 58 formed therein. For this reason, it can suppress that the water | moisture content and oil which adhered to the filter 42 flow in into the 2nd channel | path 19 which the downstream of the filter exit 57 and a clean air flow.

(20) Since the diameter D4 of the first vent hole 56 of the filter inlet 59 is larger than the diameter D1 of the second vent hole 58 of the filter outlet 57, the diameter D4 of the first vent hole 56 of the filter inlet 59 is equal to the filter outlet 57. Compared with the case where the diameter D1 of the second vent hole 58 is smaller, the flow velocity immediately after the compressed air passes through the filter inlet 59 can be reduced. For this reason, the time during which the compressed air stays in the filter 42 becomes longer, and the compressed air can be circulated more in the filter 42 than when the diameters are the same.

(21) The compressed air that has flowed into the oil separator 5 flows inward in the radial direction of the filter case 41 from the first vent holes 56 provided at a plurality of positions in the circumferential direction of the filter case 41. The compressed air circulates in the filter 42 and is then discharged from the second vent hole 58 provided at the first end of the filter case 41. Therefore, the compressed air that has flowed in from the different first vent holes 56 easily collides within the filter 42, so that the recovery rate of the oil contained in the compressed air can be increased.

(22) The exhaust port 17 communicates with the storage part 32 through the filter 42. Therefore, the drain liquid stored in the storage part 32 does not directly flow into the exhaust port 17 when the drain liquid jumps up due to vibration applied to the oil separator 5 or the like. For this reason, even when the storage amount of the drain liquid increases, the outflow of the drain liquid from the exhaust port 17 can be suppressed.

(23) Since the number of pores (mesh roughness) of the filter 42 is 10 or more and 50 or less, the circulation efficiency of the compressed air can be further increased.
(Other embodiments)
In addition, the said embodiment can also be implemented with the following forms.

As shown in FIG. 28, the oil separator 5 may include a heater 78 attached to the body 10. In FIG. 28, the heater 78 is provided on the top of the body 10. The heater 78 operates when the temperature of the purge air sent from the air dryer 2 is a low temperature such as 0 ° C. or less to heat the body 10. As a result, the intake port 16 and the exhaust port 17 formed in the body 10 can be heated at the same time, so that the intake port 16 and the exhaust port 17 can be prevented from being blocked due to freezing.

As shown in FIG. 29, a heater 79 may be provided on at least a part of the connection hose 2d that connects the air dryer 2 and the oil separator 5. The heater 79 operates when the temperature of the purge air sent from the air dryer 2 is a low temperature such as 0 ° C. or less to heat the purge air. Thereby, obstruction | occlusion by freezing of the connection hose 2d can be prevented.

-The filter outlet of the oil separator 5 of this embodiment may be provided in the surrounding wall part of the filter case of the oil separator 5 as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 30, the oil separator may have a rectangular parallelepiped casing. The perforated plate 193 corresponds to the filter outlet. The opening area of the perforated plate 193 is smaller than the opening area of the intake port 172. For this reason, compressed air can be circulated in the filter 194 to improve oil removal performance. Further, a filter in which a porous plate 195 having a plurality of holes 198 and a porous plate 196 having a plurality of holes 199 are attached to both sides of the second expansion chamber 184 downstream of the

collision plates

186 and 187. 197 is installed. The opening area of the rear porous plate 196 is smaller than the opening area of the front porous plate 195. For this reason, compressed air can be circulated in the filter 197 to improve the oil removal performance.

The casing of the oil separator 5 may have a configuration other than a configuration including a body, a drain bowl, and a filter case, and a configuration including a case and a lid. For example, you may comprise from the drain bowl provided with the intake port and the exhaust port, and the lid | cover which obstruct | occludes the opening of a drain bowl.

The opening area of the filter outlet 57 may be smaller than at least one of the opening area of the first porous plate 61 and the opening area of the second porous plate 62. If it does in this way, the effect of reducing the flow velocity of compressed air and making it quiet can be expected. Further, the diameter of the second vent hole 58 of the filter outlet 57 is made smaller than at least one of the diameter of the first through hole 63 of the first perforated plate 61 and the diameter of the second through hole 64 of the second perforated plate 62. May be. Even if it does in this way, the effect of reducing the flow rate of compressed air and making it quiet can be expected.

The depth of the first vent hole 56 at the filter inlet 59 may be larger than its diameter D4. The “depth” is the length in the direction from the outer peripheral surface of the filter case 41 to the inner peripheral surface, and corresponds to the plate thickness of the peripheral wall portion of the filter case 41. Further, the depth of the second vent hole 58 of the filter outlet 57 may be larger than its diameter D1. Further, the depth of the first through hole 63 of the first perforated plate 61 may be larger than its diameter. If it does in this way, the effect which rectifies | compresses compressed air and silences can be expected.

(Other embodiments)
The filter part 40 (filter cartridge) for gas-liquid separation of the oil separator 5 may have a shape as shown in FIGS. FIG. 31 is a perspective view of the filter unit 40 viewed from the front, the plane, and the right side, and FIG. 32 is a perspective view of the filter unit 40 viewed from the back, the bottom, and the left side. 33 is a front view of the filter unit 40, FIG. 34 is a plan view of the filter unit 40, FIG. 35 is a bottom view of the filter unit 40, FIG. 36 is a right side view of the filter unit 40, and FIG. FIG. 37 is a sectional view taken along line 37-37. Note that the rear view is the same as the front view, and is omitted. Since the right side view appears the same as the left side view, it is omitted.

The body 10 of the oil separator 5 may have a shape as shown in FIGS. The drain bowl 30 has translucency. FIG. 38 is a perspective view of the oil separator 5 as seen from the front, the plane, and the right side, and FIG. 39 is a perspective view of the oil separator 5 as seen from the back, the bottom, and the left side. A heater mounting portion 85 and a thermostat mounting portion 86 are provided on the closed upper surface of the body 10. The heater mounting portion 85 has a hole for inserting a heater. A thermostat for controlling the heater is attached to the thermostat attachment portion 86. 40 is a front view of the oil separator 5, FIG. 41 is a rear view of the oil separator 5, FIG. 42 is a plan view of the oil separator 5, FIG. 43 is a bottom view of the oil separator 5, and FIG. FIG. 45 is a left side view of the oil separator 5. 46 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 46-46 in FIG. 42, and FIG. 47 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 47-47 in FIG.

The protective cover 80 of the oil separator 5 may have a shape as shown in FIGS. FIG. 48 is a perspective view of the oil separator 5 as seen from the front, the plane, and the right side, and FIG. 49 is a perspective view of the oil separator 5 as seen from the back, the bottom, and the left side. 50 is a front view of the oil separator 5, FIG. 51 is a rear view of the oil separator 5, FIG. 52 is a plan view of the oil separator 5, FIG. 53 is a bottom view of the oil separator 5, and FIG. FIG. 55 is a left side view of the oil separator 5. 56 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 56-56 in FIG.

· The casing of the oil separator 5 may have a configuration other than the body, the drain bowl and the filter case, or the case and the lid. For example, you may comprise from the drain bowl provided with the intake port and the exhaust port, and the lid | cover which obstruct | occludes the opening of a drain bowl.

The structure of the oil separator 5 is that the purge air containing the oil and moisture discharged from the air dryer 2 can be separated into the drain liquid and the clean air, which are liquids containing the oil and moisture, as in the above embodiment. It is not limited to the structure.

In the above embodiment and other embodiments, the drain liquid contained in the purge air sent from the air dryer 2 is removed by the oil separator 5, and the oil and moisture contained in the compressed air sent from the compressor 1 are removed by the oil separator 5. Although the aspect to remove was demonstrated, aspects other than this may be sufficient. That is, the oil separator 5 may be connected to a device that discharges gas containing oil other than the compressor, and the oil discharged from the device may be removed.

The filter unit 40 may have a configuration other than the filter 42 made of the above-described material as long as the compressed air can be gas-liquid separated. For example, a configuration in which a baffle plate is provided in the filter case 41 or a configuration in which gas and liquid are separated by causing compressed air to collide with the baffle plate may be employed.

In the above embodiment and other embodiments, the oil separator 5 is applied to a compressed air drying system mounted on a vehicle (automobile). However, the system includes a function of gas-liquid separation of air (gas) containing oil. If so, it may be applied to other systems. For example, the oil separator may be applied to a moving body other than an automobile such as a train, a ship, and an aircraft. Moreover, you may apply an oil separator to pneumatic systems other than a moving body.

Claims

A housing provided with an intake port through which compressed air flows and an exhaust port through which clean air is discharged;
A filter unit provided in the housing for separating the compressed air from gas and liquid,
The filter unit has a filter inlet for compressed air to flow in, and a filter outlet for clean air that has passed through the filter unit to flow out,
The opening area of the exhaust port is larger than the opening area of the filter outlet.
The oil separator according to claim 1, wherein a porous plate having a plurality of through holes is provided in a passage from the filter outlet to the exhaust port, and an opening area of the porous plate is larger than an opening area of the filter outlet. .
The oil separator according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of vent holes are provided at the filter outlet, and an inner diameter of the vent hole is smaller than an inner diameter of the through hole of the perforated plate.
The perforated plate is a first perforated plate, the plurality of through holes are first through holes, and the passage is provided with a plurality of second through holes arranged on the exhaust port side of the first perforated plate. A second perforated plate is provided, a silencer is provided between the first perforated plate and the second perforated plate, and an opening area of the first perforated plate is larger than an opening area of the second perforated plate The oil separator according to claim 2 or 3.
The oil separator according to claim 4, wherein an inner diameter of the second through hole is smaller than an inner diameter of the first through hole.
A plurality of vent holes are provided at the filter outlet, a first expansion chamber is provided between the intake port and the filter portion, and a second expansion chamber is provided between the filter outlet and the exhaust port. The oil separator according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein an expansion chamber is provided.
A body provided with an intake port through which compressed air flows and an exhaust port through which clean air is discharged;
A filter unit containing a filter for gas-liquid separation of compressed air;
A drain reservoir part that is attached to the body, covers the filter part together with the body, and accumulates a drain liquid separated from compressed air; and
At least two intake ports are provided in the body;
The intake port is provided in the body so as to be openable,
The portion of the body where the exhaust port is provided is different from the portion where the intake port is provided.
Oil separator.
At least three intake ports are provided in the body;
The intake port is provided so as to be openable in three of four sides of the side wall of the body,
The oil separator according to claim 7, wherein the exhaust port is provided in one of the four sides of the side wall of the body where the intake port is not provided.
The oil separator according to claim 7, comprising an attachment member having an attachment portion configured to be rotatably attached to the body and a fixing portion configured to be fixed to an attachment target of the oil separator.
The body includes either one of a female screw and a male screw that is screwed into the female screw,
The drain reservoir includes either the female screw or the male screw,
The oil separator according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein the body and the drain reservoir are fixed by the female screw and the male screw.
The oil separator according to claim 10, wherein a guide portion that extends from a portion where the male screw is provided and guides the male screw when being screwed with the female screw is provided.
The oil separator according to claim 11, wherein a length of the guide portion is larger than a length of the female screw.
An intake port for compressed air to flow in;
An exhaust port for exhausting clean air;
A filter unit for gas-liquid separation of compressed air;
A drain reservoir for storing the drain liquid separated from the compressed air;
A translucent part capable of visually recognizing the inside of the drain reservoir,
An oil separator, comprising: a protective cover for protecting the translucent part.
The oil separator according to claim 13, wherein the protective cover includes a rotating member that is partially open with respect to the entire circumference of the drain reservoir and rotates the protective cover in a circumferential direction of the drain reservoir.
The translucent part is the entire drain reservoir part,
The oil separator according to claim 13, wherein the protective cover covers the entire circumference of the drain reservoir and is provided with a window and is attached to the drain reservoir.
A through hole having the same central axis is provided at the bottom of the drain reservoir and the bottom of the protective cover,
An insertion member that can be inserted into the through hole, and a fixing member that is screwed into the insertion member to fix the drain reservoir and the protective cover. Oil separator as described in 1.
A through hole is provided in the bottom of the drain reservoir and the bottom of the protective cover,
A female screw is provided in the through hole of the drain reservoir,
The oil separator according to claim 15, further comprising: a fixing member that is inserted into the through-hole and is configured to be screwed into the female screw to fix the drain reservoir and the protective cover.
The oil separator according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the fixing member is provided with a discharge valve that discharges the drain liquid accumulated in the drain reservoir.
A filter for gas-liquid separation of compressed air containing oil,
An accommodating portion for accommodating the filter,
The accommodating portion is provided with a filter inlet for compressed air to flow into the filter and a filter outlet for flowing clean air that has passed through the filter,
The opening area of the filter outlet is smaller than the opening area of the filter inlet.
The oil separator according to claim 19, wherein the filter outlet has a plurality of through holes.
The filter inlet has a plurality of through holes,
The oil separator according to claim 20, wherein a diameter of the through hole of the filter inlet is larger than a diameter of the through hole of the filter outlet.
21. The through hole of the filter inlet is provided at a plurality of positions in the circumferential direction of the cylindrical housing part, and the through hole of the filter outlet is provided at a first end part in the axial direction of the housing part. Or the oil separator of 21.
An intake port for compressed air to flow in;
An exhaust port through which clean air flows out,
The oil separator according to any one of claims 19 to 22, wherein the filter is interposed between the exhaust port and a storage portion that stores drain liquid separated by the filter.
The oil separator according to any one of claims 19 to 22, wherein the number of pores of the filter with respect to the opening area of the through hole of the filter inlet is 10 or more and 50 or less.