This application is a Section 371 of International Application No. PCT/JP2020/016470, filed Apr. 14, 2020, which was published in the Japanese language on Dec. 17, 2020, under International Publication No. WO 2020/250566 A1, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(b) to Japanese Application No. 2019-109378, filed Jun. 12, 2019, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a blow-by gas recirculation device to be mounted on: an industrial engine to be used in an agricultural machine or a construction machine; an automobile engine; or the like.
Many industrial diesel engines and the like have a structure including a blow-by gas recirculation device configured to allow blow-by gas to pass through the inside of a cylinder head cover (hereinafter, abbreviated as a head cover) and then return to an intake path.
In the structure in which blow-by gas is allowed to pass through the inside of the head cover and then returned to the intake passage, a gas passage is generally provided on the upper side of a valve mechanism in the head cover. Since the gas passage inside the head cover tends to be a flat passage that is vertically narrow, an oil separator for trapping oil components from the blow-by gas is generally provided outside the head cover as a dedicated part (e.g., Patent Document 1).
In the structure in which the oil separator is disposed on the side of a cylinder block, there is almost no limitation on space as inside the head cover, so that there is an advantage that the oil separator can have a sufficient capacity. However, the oil separator, which is a dedicated part, is added as an auxiliary machine of the engine, so that there arise the following problems.
That is, the size (bulk) of the entire engine tends to increase as much as the oil separator is attached. In addition, since the gas passage from the head cover to the intake passage, that is, an external pipe becomes large in length, the risk that the moisture contained in the blow-by gas may freeze in cold weather increases.
An object of the present invention is to provide a blow-by gas recirculation device that, while having a configuration in which a passage for blow-by gas is provided in a head cover and an oil separator is also provided, is improved, by devising a structure, in that an increase in size of an engine is suppressed and the risk of the freezing is avoided as much as possible by shortening the length of an external pipe for the blow-by gas.
A blow-by gas recirculation device according to the present invention is characterized by being configured to guide blow-by gas from a crankcase to an intake passage through an in-cover gas passage formed inside a head cover, in which an oil separator that traps and removes oil from the blow-by gas is attached to the inside of the head cover,
a pressure regulating valve is provided on an outlet side of the in-cover gas passage in the head cover, and
a separator outlet, which is an outlet for the blow-by gas in the oil separator, is overlapped on a blow-by gas inlet portion of the pressure regulating valve.
It is preferable that the pressure regulating valve is disposed in a gas outlet portion of the in-cover gas passage with respect to the head cover. Furthermore, it is preferable that the pressure regulating valve is a diaphragm valve and a cover lid that enables assembly and removal of a diaphragm is detachably attached to the head cover.
It is preferable that the oil separator includes a separator inlet through which the blow-by gas is introduced, an oil filter, an oil dropping portion, and the separator outlet through which the blow-by gas is discharged. It is preferable that the oil filter has an impactor structure including a nozzle and a collision plate. It is more preferable that the oil dropping portion protrudes toward a gap portion of a valve mechanism provided inside the head cover.
It is preferable that: a check valve that allows a downward movement of the oil and prevents an upward movement of the oil is provided in a lower end portion of the oil dropping portion; and the oil separator is formed in a long shape along a longitudinal direction of the head cover.
According to the present invention, the oil separator is built into (housed in) the head cover, so that the bulk of the entire engine can be made smaller than a case where an oil separator is disposed outside the head cover as a dedicated part. Moreover, an external pipe for the blow-by gas from the head cover to the oil separator can be omitted, so that there is an advantage that the risk that the moisture in the blow-by gas may freeze in the external pipe in cold weather or the like is avoided.
Further, the blow-by gas outlet of the oil separator is overlapped on the blow-by gas inlet portion of the pressure regulating valve provided on the blow-by gas outlet side of the head cover, so that a path that connects the separator and the pressure regulating valve becomes unnecessary, and a space necessary for disposing the separator and the pressure regulating valve, the space being minimized as much as possible, can be provided in the head cover.
As a result, it is configured such that the oil separator is provided in the head cover in a state of being overlapped on the passage for the blow-by gas and the pressure regulating valve, so that an increase in the size of an engine can be suppressed and the risk of the freezing can be avoided as much as possible by shortening the length of the external pipe for the blow-by gas, whereby an improved blow-by gas recirculation device can be provided.
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a blow-by gas recirculation device according to the present invention, when applied to an industrial diesel engine, will be described with reference to the drawings.
In a diesel engine E to be applied to industrial machines such as agricultural machines and construction machines, a cylinder head 2 is assembled on a cylinder block 1, a cylinder head cover (hereinafter, abbreviated as a “head cover”) 3 is assembled on the cylinder head 2, and an oil pan 4 is assembled under the cylinder block 1, as illustrated in
A transmission case 5 is assembled to a front end portion of the cylinder block 1, an engine cooling fan 6 is disposed in a front portion of the transmission case 5, and a flywheel housing 7 is disposed in a rear portion of the cylinder block 1. The upper half portion of the cylinder block 1 is formed in a cylinder 1A, and the lower half portion is formed in a crankcase 1B.
A drive pulley 8 to be attached to a shaft end of a crankshaft (not illustrated), a fan pulley 6A for driving the engine cooling fan 6, a transmission belt 10 extending over a passive pulley 9A of a dynamo (alternator) 9, a water flange 30, and the like are mounted on a front portion of the engine E. An exhaust manifold 11, a supercharger 12, a starter 13, an EGR cooler 14, and the like are mounted on the left side of the engine E. An intake manifold 15, an oil filter 17, and the like are mounted on the right side of the engine E. A compressor downstream suction passage (secondary air passage) 18 (see
An exhaust gas treatment device 19 is provided in an upper portion and a rear portion of the engine E. The exhaust gas treatment device 19 has an exhaust gas primary treatment device (DPF, etc.) 19A disposed in an upper portion of the flywheel housing 7 in the rear portion of the engine E, and an exhaust gas secondary treatment device (SCR, DOC, etc.) 19B disposed close to the rear portion of the head cover 3 in the upper portion of the engine E. The exhaust gas treatment device 19 is supported by a mounting frame 16 bolted to the cylinder block 1.
An intake passage a is a general term including a compressor upstream suction passage 20, the compressor downstream suction passage 18, and the intake manifold 15. The compressor upstream suction passage 20 is the intake passage a formed of a pipe connecting an air cleaner (not illustrated) and a compressor housing 12A of the supercharger (turbocharger) 12. The compressor downstream suction passage 18 is the intake passage a formed of a pipe connecting the compressor housing 12A and the intake manifold 15.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
Next, the configuration of the portion of the head cover 3 in the blow-by gas recirculation device A will be described. As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The separator rear portion 25A is provided with a plate-shaped wall 25a protruding rearward in a horizontal posture on the upper side of the separator inlet 35 located in the front portion of the separator rear portion 25A. Therefore, it is configured such that the blow-by gas that has entered from the separator inlet 35 is once detoured backward and then moved toward the oil filter 36 located in the upper front portion.
The oil filter 36 is configured to have an impactor structure including a plurality of nozzles 36a vertically lined in a horizontal posture and a collision plate 36b in a vertical posture disposed in front of the nozzles. The blow-by gas is accelerated by passing through the nozzle 36a, and when the accelerated blow-by gas vigorously collides with the collision plate 36b, the oil contained in the blow-by gas is separated from the gas and dropped. Note that an orifice or a small diameter portion having a constant diameter may be adopted instead of the nozzle 36a, and in short, a means (passage) for increasing the speed of the blow-by gas may be adopted. These (nozzle, orifice, small diameter portion) may be collectively expressed as a speed increase path.
The separator middle portion 25B is a portion where the oil that is trapped by the oil filter 36 and drops is dropped from the droplet collecting portion 37 to a shallow bottom wall. The separator middle portion 25B is configured such that the oil that hits a wall 25c above the boundary with the separator front portion 25C and drops can also be guided to the droplet collecting portion 37. The oil that has dropped from the droplet collecting portion 37 can be stored on a shallow bottom wall 25b leading to the downward protrusion.
The separator front portion 25C leading to the separator middle portion 25B is provided with the separator outlet 27 in the upper portion, the downward protrusion 38 in the lower portion, and a partition wall 25d for forming the droplet collecting portion 37 in the vertical middle. In the separator front portion 25C, the separator outlet 27 is located at the highest position, and the height position of the upper surface (peripheral portion 27a described later) of a separator outlet 27d is set to be lower than the height positions of the upper surface of the separator rear portion 25A and the upper surface of the separator middle portion 25B, the height positions being the same as each other, for convenience in disposing the pressure regulating valve B.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
In the blow-by gas passage w of the blow-by gas recirculation device A, the configuration in which the PCV valve B having a diaphragm valve structure (may be referred to as a breather valve) is provided in the head cover 3 is a well-known technique in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-22650, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-116395, and the like, and here the structure of the PCV valve B will be described briefly.
The PCV valve B is provided on the top wall 3a using a valve installation hole 42 formed in the top wall 3a, and the blow-by gas that has passed through the in-cover gas passage 3A and the PCV valve B flows out from the gas outlet portion 43 formed below the valve installation hole 42 in a state of facing left front, and flows to the gas duct 21. That is, the PCV valve B is disposed in the gas outlet portion 43 in a state where most constituent elements thereof are formed on the top wall 3a itself. Note that in
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The inlet pipe 47 is liquid-tightly and penetratingly supported by the rear portion of the lid body portion 45A, and a tip portion 47a thereof is provided in a state of having a large insertion amount so as to reach a hole bottom 44a portion of the deep hole portion 44A. The outlet pipe 48 is an outlet for a fluid with respect to the deep hole, and is liquid-tightly and internally fitted in an outlet protrusion 45B formed in the front portion of the lid body portion 45A. On the inner surface of the lid body portion 45A, a discharge introduction recess 49 located in the outlet protrusion 45B and a flat recess 50 that is long in the front-rear direction and extremely shallow are continuously formed. When the lid body 45 is assembled to the head cover 3, the discharge introduction recess 49 and the flat recess 50 are configured such that they face the opening portion 44C with substantially the same dimensions.
In the temperature raising mechanism C, the cooling water r enters the hole bottom 44a portion of the deep hole portion 44A from the inlet pipe 47, and then flows to the deep hole portion 44A, the shallow hole portion 44B, the discharge introduction recess 49, and the outlet pipe 48. When the cooling water r flows through the flow path 44, the heat of the cooling water r is conducted to a valve structure portion 58 and a surrounding portion 59 of the PCV valve B on the head cover 3, so that the temperature of the PCV valve B can be quickly and efficiently raised. A supply pipe 54 for the cooling water r is connected to the inlet pipe 47, and a discharge pipe 55 is connected to the outlet pipe 48 [see
With the temperature raising mechanism C, the temperature of the cooling water r is quickly raised with the start of the engine, and the PCV valve B is warmed from the inside by the cooling water r that has become a warm fluid, even if the PCV valve B whose lid body 45 is exposed to the outside freezes in extremely cold weather such as winter. Therefore, the moisture in the blow-by gas is prevented from freezing in the PCV valve B, and the blow-by gas recirculation device A in which the PCV valve B works well can be realized. In addition, the flow path 44 is formed in the head cover 3 itself, so that it is not necessary to provide another dedicated flow path and the temperature raising mechanism C that is economical and space-saving can be realized, and the temperature of the PCV valve B can be quickly and efficiently raised from the valve structure portion 58 that is the central portion thereof.
As illustrated in
Since the PCV valve B and the lid body 45 are located at the highest position in the blow-by gas passage w, there is a merit that air bleeding for the blow-by gas passage w can be performed by one air bleeding portion D provided in the lid body 45. Moreover, the lid body 45 has a reasonable structure that serves as both a constituent member of the temperature raising mechanism C and a main part (base portion 56) of the air bleeding portion D, which is advantageous in terms of cost reduction, size reduction, simplification of configuration, and the like.
As illustrated in
The heating mechanism 22 is formed by attaching a pipeline 24 through which the cooling water r passes to the recirculation passage portion k, and a cooling water inlet portion (not illustrated) made of a metal pipe is liquid-tightly provided below the pipeline 24 made of a metal pipe, and a cooling water outlet portion 26 made of a metal pipe is liquid-tightly provided above the pipeline 24. The pipeline 24 is attached in a state of straddling and being in contact with both the straight pipe 23 and the inrush pipe 28 by welding (welding or the like).
A first connection tube 34 that connects a branched pipe (reference sign is omitted) from an EGR cooler cooling water pipe 32 and a cooling water inlet portion (not illustrated) and a second connection tube 33 that connects a water pump 31 and the cooling water outlet portion 26 are provided. For example, the cooling water r enters the pipeline 24 from the cooling water inlet portion on the lower side (not illustrated), is thermally conducted to the recirculation passage portion k when passing through the pipeline 24, and then exits from the cooling water outlet portion 26 on the upper side.
It is possible to obtain an advantage that troubles, in which in extremely cold weather the moisture in the blow-by gas recirculated into the inrush pipe 28 and the straight pipe 23 freezes by being cooled by low-temperature fresh air and the internal passage of the inrush pipe 28 is narrowed or clogged by the freezing, does not occur. The straight pipe 23, the inrush pipe 28, and the pipeline 24 are metal pipes, and the recirculation passage portion k is excellent in thermal conductivity, so that blow-by gas g and cold fresh air can be warmed by the heat of the cooling water r.
The oil filter 36 to be installed in the oil separator 25 may have a structure other than the impactor structure.
The pressure regulating valve B may be a valve having a structure other than the diaphragm valve.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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JP2019-109378 | Jun 2019 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/JP2020/016470 | 4/14/2020 | WO |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2020/250566 | 12/17/2020 | WO | A |
Number | Date | Country |
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201041060 | Mar 2008 | CN |
103987928 | Aug 2014 | CN |
105715326 | Jun 2016 | CN |
106246286 | Dec 2016 | CN |
107023348 | Aug 2017 | CN |
107152324 | Sep 2017 | CN |
107939479 | Apr 2018 | CN |
109113833 | Jan 2019 | CN |
109236416 | Jan 2019 | CN |
102014013714 | Mar 2016 | DE |
1959105 | Aug 2008 | EP |
2090760 | Aug 2009 | EP |
2018-035787 | Mar 2018 | JP |
1544727 | Aug 2015 | KR |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20220251986 A1 | Aug 2022 | US |