Air cleaning module

Abstract

To provide an air cleaning module capable of flowing a large amount of intake air to a filtering part to improve efficiency of capturing foreign matter even when there is a restriction on the arrangement of an inflow port.SOLUTION: In an air cleaning module comprising a housing that is formed into a hollow manner and has an inflow port and a discharge port for gas, and a filter element arranged between a dirty side of the inflow port and a clean side of the discharge port, the filter element has a filtering part whose surface on the dirty side is curved, and a perpendicular line extending from an end surface of the inflow port intersects with the surface or an imaginary extension surface of the filtering part on the dirty side.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an air purification module. [Background technology]

[0002] In general, air purification modules are used to remove dust particles and the like suspended in the air and purify the air, and are used in, for example, internal combustion engines, car air conditioners, air purifiers, and the like.

[0003] Various structures of conventional air purification modules are known, including, for example, an air purification module that has a flat filter element inside a box-shaped housing, a dirty side that is a chamber through which intake air flows before passing through the filter element, and a clean side that is a chamber through which intake air flows after passing through the filter element and being filtered, and the dirty side and the clean side are separated by the filter element. Patent Document 1 describes the structure of an air cleaner for a motorcycle transmission as an example of an air purification module. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Utility Model Registration No. 3156418 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The air cleaner described in Patent Document 1 comprises an intake port for introducing outside air into a case, an exhaust port provided in the case on the opposite side of the intake port, and a filter that divides the inside of the case into an intake side air chamber into which outside air flows from the intake port and an exhaust side air chamber from which air is exhausted from the exhaust port, the filter being arranged to extend from the intake side to the exhaust port side, and the wall portion of the intake side air chamber facing the filter being arranged so that the distance from the filter decreases as it moves from the intake port toward the back of the intake side air chamber, and the wall portion of the exhaust side air chamber facing the filter being arranged so that the distance from the filter increases as it approaches the exhaust port.

[0006] In this way, the structure of the air cleaner shown in Patent Document 1 allows the filter area to be increased without changing the size of the case by arranging the filter at an angle to the direction in which outside air flows in from the intake port.

[0007] In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for smaller and lighter components and optimized layouts in automobiles, motorcycles, and the like, in order to improve fuel economy.

[0008] For example, in the layout of an air purification module, it may be desirable to arrange the inlet duct that takes in outside air into the air purification module and the outlet duct that supplies filtered air to equipment such as an internal combustion engine so that they face in the same direction.

[0009] However, the air cleaner invention disclosed in Patent Document 1 is an invention having a configuration in which the inlet duct and the outlet duct are arranged facing in different directions, and it is difficult to apply it to the above-mentioned demands.

[0010] Furthermore, depending on the layout of the air purification module, restrictions may be placed on the shape of the housing, the position and angle of the inlet duct, etc., due to the relationship with other components arranged around the air purification module, and it may be necessary to arrange the inlet duct and the filtration section of the filter element in close proximity.

[0011] For example, in a conventional air purification module 100 shown in Fig. 11, when the inlet 420 of the inlet duct 400 and the filtering section 320 are positioned close to each other, it becomes difficult to smoothly direct the intake air flowing from the inlet duct 400 into the air purification module 100 toward the filtering section 320. Furthermore, if the intake air does not flow smoothly and the intake air passing through the filtering section 320 is biased toward one area, the filtering section 320 cannot filter the intake air over a wide area, which reduces the efficiency of capturing foreign matter.

[0012] Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above matters, and aims to provide an air purification module that can flow a large amount of intake air into the filtering section and improve the efficiency of capturing foreign matter, even when there are restrictions on the shape of the housing or the layout of the inlet duct and outlet duct, or when the inlet of the inlet duct and the filtering section are positioned close to each other. [Means for solving the problem]

[0013] The present invention has been made to achieve the above object and has the following features.

[0014] The air purification module of the present invention comprises a housing having a hollow interior and a gas inlet and outlet, and a filter element arranged between a dirty side on the inlet side and a clean side on the outlet side, wherein the filter element comprises a filtering section whose surface on the dirty side is curved, and a perpendicular line extending from the end face of the inlet intersects with the surface or an imaginary extended plane of the filtering section on the dirty side.

[0015] In the air purification module according to the present invention, it is preferable that the surface of the filtering section facing the dirty side be curved in a concave shape.

[0016] In the air purification module according to the present invention, it is preferable that the interior angle formed by the perpendicular line extending from the end face of the inlet and the surface of the filtering section on the dirty side or the imaginary extended plane is less than 90°.

[0017] In the air purification module of the present invention, it is preferable that the filtration section is made of a sheet-like filter material that is pleated so that the surface on the clean side is flat and the surface on the dirty side is concavely curved.

[0018] In the air purification module according to the present invention, it is preferable that a guide surface be formed on the inner surface of the housing to guide the gas flowing in from the inlet toward the filtering section.

[0019] In the air purification module according to the present invention, the inlet is preferably formed in a funnel shape with a diameter expanding outward.

[0020] In the air purification module according to the present invention, it is preferable that the flow direction of the gas flowing in from the inlet is opposite to the flow direction of the gas flowing toward the outlet.

[0021] The air purification module of the present invention comprises a housing having a hollow interior and a gas inlet and outlet, and a filter element arranged between the dirty side of the inlet and the clean side of the outlet, wherein the filter element comprises a filtration section, a perpendicular line extending from the end face of the inlet intersects with an imaginary extension plane of the filtration section on the dirty side, and the flow direction of the gas flowing in from the inlet is opposite to the flow direction of the gas heading towards the outlet.

[0022] In the air purification module of the present invention, it is preferable that the interior angle formed by the perpendicular line extending from the end face of the inlet and the imaginary extended plane intersect is less than 90°.

[0023] In the air purification module of the present invention, it is preferable that the filtration section is made of a sheet-like filter material that is pleated so that the surface on the clean side is flat and the surface on the dirty side is inclined relative to the surface on the clean side.

[0024] The above summary of the invention does not list all of the features necessary for the present invention, and subcombinations of these features may also constitute inventions. [Effects of the Invention]

[0025] According to the air purification module of the present invention, the surface on the dirty side of the curved filtration section can receive a wide range of intake air flowing in from the inlet, thereby preventing bias in the intake air passing through the filtration section.

[0026] Furthermore, according to the air purification module of the present invention, the surface on the dirty side of the filtration section can be positioned to face and receive the intake air flowing in from the inlet, allowing more intake air to flow into the filtration section and improving the efficiency of capturing foreign matter.

[0027] Furthermore, with the air purification module of the present invention, the guide surface allows the intake air flowing into the dirty side from the inlet to be appropriately directed toward the filtering section, thereby enabling a large amount of intake air to flow efficiently over a wide area of ​​the filtering section, improving the efficiency of capturing foreign matter. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0028] [Figure 1] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an air purification module according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the relationship between the angle of the filtration section and the angle of the inlet according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the relationship between the angle of the filtering section and the flow direction of intake air from the inlet according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 4]FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a modification of the filtering section of the air purification module according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing an air purification module according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the relationship between the shape of a filtration section and the angle of an inlet according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the relationship between the shape of a filtering section according to a second embodiment of the present invention and the flow direction of intake air from an inlet. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the filtering section of the air purification module according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing an air purification module according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] 10 is a cross-sectional view of the air purification module according to the present invention, showing a modified example of the inlet. FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a conventional air purification module. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0029] Preferred embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the inventions according to the claims, and not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention.

[0030] [First embodiment] Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an air purification module according to a first embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the relationship between the angle of the filtration unit and the angle of the inlet according to the first embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the relationship between the angle of the filtration unit and the flow direction of intake air from the inlet according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the filtration unit of the air purification module according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Note that, for convenience, the up, down, left, and right directions in Fig. 1 will be described as the up, down, left, and right directions of the air purification module in this specification.

[0031] As shown in Fig. 1, the air purification module 1a according to this embodiment includes a housing 2 composed of an upper housing 10 and a lower housing 20. The upper housing 10 and the lower housing 20 are both formed in the shape of a box with a bottom, with their openings facing each other to form a hollow interior. A filter element 30 is housed inside the housing 2.

[0032] The housing upper part 10 and the housing lower part 20 are combined so as not to separate by an engagement means (not shown). The engagement means may be a known means, such as a screw or a clip.

[0033] In this embodiment, it is assumed that other components are arranged around the air purification module 1a, and therefore the upper housing 10 and the lower housing 20 are not rectangular parallelepipeds but polyhedrons consisting of multiple slopes, as shown in FIG.

[0034] Intake air to the air purification module 1a flows from the outside into the upper housing 10 through an inlet duct 40 (described later), is filtered by passing through a filter element 30, then passes through the lower housing 20 and is supplied to equipment such as an internal combustion engine through an outlet duct 50 (described later). In this specification, the internal space of the housing 2, which is upstream of the filter element 30 in the flow direction of the intake air, is defined as the dirty side, and the space downstream of the filter element 30 in the flow direction of the intake air is defined as the clean side.

[0035] The housing upper part 10 is provided with an inflow duct 40 that allows external gas to flow into the dirty side. A sealing means is provided between the housing upper part 10 and the inflow duct 40, preventing gas from escaping from around the inflow duct 40 to the outside.

[0036] As an example, the inflow duct 40 is formed of a pipe with a circular cross section that extends in a substantially straight line. The inflow duct 40 has an external end 41 that takes in gas from the outside and an inlet 42 that allows the taken-in gas to flow into the dirty side. Furthermore, the inflow duct 40 may be arranged so that it slopes upward at a predetermined angle toward the downstream side in the flow direction of the intake air, as shown in Figure 1.

[0037] The filter element 30 includes a frame 31 and a filtering portion 32a.

[0038] The frame 31 holds the outer periphery of the filtering portion 32a and determines the position of the filtering portion 32a relative to the housing 2. The frame 31 also has sealing means on its outer edge.

[0039] The sealing means located on the outer edge of the frame 31 is made of an elastic material such as rubber or elastomer. The sealing means is preferably configured to be sandwiched between the upper housing 10 and the lower housing 20. The sealing means sandwiched between the upper housing 10 and the lower housing 20 is subjected to a predetermined pressure and maintained in a deformed state. This sealing means not only secures the filter element 30 to the upper housing 10 and the lower housing 20 but also prevents gas from leaking out from between the upper housing 10 and the lower housing 20.

[0040] The filter section 32a captures dust particles contained in the intake air. The filter section 32a is made of a filter material, such as a sheet of filter paper or nonwoven fabric, and is formed by folding the filter material into pleats so that multiple peaks and valleys of a predetermined height are alternately arranged. By folding the sheet of filter material into pleats, it is possible to increase the filtration area and reduce airflow resistance. However, the filter section 32a is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a flat filter material having a predetermined thickness that is curved rather than a folded sheet of filter material.

[0041] As shown in Fig. 1, the filtering portion 32a is formed so that the surface Sa on the dirty side is a curved surface with a predetermined concave shape. The filtering portion 32a is also disposed so as to be inclined at a predetermined angle so that the right end portion in Fig. 1 is higher than the left end portion.

[0042] In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 2, an imaginary plane including the end face of the inlet 42 of the inlet duct 40 is defined as a reference plane S. Also, a perpendicular line extending from the reference plane S is defined as a perpendicular line P (corresponding to the "perpendicular line extending from the end face of the inlet" in the claims).

[0043] In this embodiment, in a cross section perpendicular to the surface Sa (hereinafter simply referred to as "cross section perpendicular to the surface Sa"), as shown in FIG. 2, an imaginary line tangent to the arc drawn by the surface Sa and extending from the right end of the surface Sa is defined as an imaginary extension line L. In addition, a plane including this imaginary extension line L and extending in the depth direction in the cross section perpendicular to the surface Sa is defined as an imaginary extension plane Sa'.

[0044] The filtering portion 32a is preferably disposed so that the interior angle α formed by the perpendicular line P and the imaginary extension plane Sa′ is less than 90° in a cross section perpendicular to the surface Sa.

[0045] Furthermore, the filtering section 32a may be disposed so that the perpendicular line P intersects with the surface Sa. In such a case, the tangent plane to the surface Sa at the intersection of the perpendicular line P and the surface Sa is defined as a virtual tangent plane. When the perpendicular line P intersects with the surface Sa in this way, it is preferable that the filtering section 32a be disposed so that the interior angle α formed by the perpendicular line P and the virtual tangent plane is less than 90° in a cross section perpendicular to the surface Sa. In this specification, the "interior angle α formed by the perpendicular line P and the virtual tangent plane" and the "interior angle α formed by the perpendicular line P and the surface Sa" are synonymous.

[0046] With the filter section 32a thus arranged, as shown in FIG. 3, most of the intake air flowing in from the inlet 42 can be directed onto the curved surface Sa, and the intake air can be received over a wide range of the surface Sa.

[0047] 1, the housing lower part 20 is provided with an exhaust duct 50 that connects the clean side with an internal combustion engine or other equipment to which the purified intake air is supplied. A sealing means is provided between the housing lower part 20 and the exhaust duct 50, preventing gas from leaking from around the exhaust duct 50 to the outside.

[0048] The exhaust duct 50 is, for example, configured from a pipe that extends substantially linearly and has a circular cross section, and includes an exhaust port 51 located in the clean side and an equipment side end 52 that communicates with the equipment to which the exhaust is supplied. The exhaust duct 50 is also arranged in the same direction as the inlet duct 40 with respect to the housing 2.

[0049] In this specification, the same direction in which the inlet duct 40 and the outlet duct 50 are arranged is defined as either one direction relative to the center in the left-right direction of the housing 2 as viewed in Figure 1. Furthermore, as long as the external end 41 of the inlet duct 40 and the equipment end 52 of the outlet duct 50 are positioned in the same direction, even if the inlet duct 40 and the outlet duct 50 extend in different directions, this is considered to be arranged in the same direction.

[0050] As described above, the invention according to this embodiment is characterized in that the surface Sa of the filtration section 32a is formed to be curved, and the filtration section 32a is arranged so that, in a cross section perpendicular to the surface Sa, the surface Sa or the imaginary extension plane Sa' intersects with the perpendicular line P extending from the end face of the inlet 42. Furthermore, the invention according to this embodiment is characterized in that the filtration section 32a is arranged so that the imaginary extension plane Sa' forms a predetermined angle with respect to the perpendicular line P.

[0051] According to the present embodiment of the invention, the surface Sa on the dirty side of the curved filter section 32a can receive the intake air flowing in from the inlet 42 over a wide area, thereby preventing bias in the intake air passing through the filter section 32a and improving the efficiency of capturing foreign matter.

[0052] In the present embodiment, the filtering section 32a is formed by folding a sheet-like filtering material into pleats at a predetermined height so as to have a constant thickness and a predetermined curved surface, but the shape of the filtering section 32a is not limited to this. For example, as shown in Fig. 4, the filtering section 32a may be formed by appropriately changing the pleat height of the filtering material so that the surface Sa on the dirty side is a predetermined curved surface while the surface on the clean side is flat.

[0053] [Second embodiment] The air purification module 1a according to the first embodiment described above has a curved surface Sa on the dirty side of the filtering section 32a to receive the intake air flowing in from the inlet 42, allowing the intake air to pass through a wide area of ​​the filtering section 32a and improving the efficiency of capturing foreign matter. Next, an air purification module 1b according to a second embodiment will be described, which has a different configuration from the first embodiment. Components that are the same as or similar to those in the first embodiment described above are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0054] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing an air purification module according to a second embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the relationship between the shape of the filtration section according to the second embodiment of the present invention and the angle of the inlet; FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the relationship between the shape of the filtration section according to the second embodiment of the present invention and the flow direction of the intake air from the inlet; and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the filtration section of an air purification module according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0055] The filter unit 32b shown in Figure 5 captures dust particles contained in the intake air. The filter unit 32b is made of a filter material, such as a sheet of filter paper or nonwoven fabric, and is formed by folding the filter material into pleats so that multiple peaks and valleys of a predetermined height are alternately arranged. By folding the sheet of filter material into pleats, it is possible to increase the filtration area and reduce airflow resistance. However, the filter unit 32b is not limited to this, and for example, it may be made of a flat filter material having a predetermined thickness without folding the sheet of filter material.

[0056] In this embodiment, the filtering portion 32b is disposed so that the surface Sb on the dirty side is inclined at a predetermined angle so that the right end portion in FIG. 5 is higher than the left end portion.

[0057] 6, an imaginary plane extending along the dirty-side surface Sb of the filtering section 32b is defined as an imaginary extension plane Sb'. An imaginary plane including the end face of the inlet 42 of the inlet duct 40 is defined as a reference plane S. A perpendicular line extending from the reference plane S is defined as a perpendicular line P.

[0058] The filtering portion 32b is preferably arranged so that the interior angle β formed by the imaginary extension plane Sb' and the perpendicular line P is less than 90° in a cross section perpendicular to the surface Sb, as shown in FIG.

[0059] 7, the filter section 32b arranged in this manner can reduce the angle of incidence θ formed between the flow direction of the intake air flowing into the dirty side from the inlet 42 and the normal N of the surface Sb. In other words, the surface Sb on the dirty side of the filter section 32b can be arranged to face and receive the intake air flowing in from the inlet 42.

[0060] According to the invention of this embodiment, the dirty side surface Sb of the filtering section 32b can be positioned to face and receive the intake air flowing in from the inlet 42, allowing more intake air to flow into the filtering section, thereby improving the efficiency of capturing foreign matter.

[0061] In the present embodiment, the filtering section 32b is formed by folding a sheet-like filtering material into pleats at a predetermined height so as to have a constant thickness, and is arranged at an inclination at a predetermined angle. However, the shape and arrangement of the filtering section 32b are not limited to this. For example, as shown in Fig. 8, the filtering section 32b may be formed by appropriately changing the pleat height of the filtering material so that the surface Sb on the dirty side is inclined at a predetermined angle while the surface on the clean side is flat.

[0062] [Third embodiment] The air purification module 1b according to the second embodiment described above is arranged so that the dirty-side surface Sb of the filtering section 32b faces and receives the intake air flowing in from the inlet 42, allowing more intake air to flow into the filtering section 32b and improving the efficiency of capturing foreign matter. Next, an air purification module 1c according to a third embodiment will be described, which has a different configuration from the first and second embodiments. Components that are the same as or similar to those in the first and second embodiments described above are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0063] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing an air purification module according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[0064] As shown in FIG. 9, the air purification module 1c of this embodiment includes a guide surface 13 disposed in the dirty side so as to face the end face of the inlet .

[0065] The guide surface 13 is configured by forming a portion of the inner surface of the housing upper portion 10 into a curve that is concave on the opposite side to the filter element 30. The guide surface 13 is also concave in the depth direction as viewed in Figure 9, and is preferably formed into a hollow hemispherical shape. The guide surface 13 is formed to have a predetermined radius of curvature.

[0066] Such guide surface 13 can guide the flow of intake air flowing in from inlet 42 toward filtering section 32a. Because guide surface 13 is curved so as to be concave on the side opposite filter element 30, most of the intake air flowing in from inlet 42 can hit guide surface 13, and can be efficiently guided toward filtering section 32a.

[0067] According to the invention of this embodiment, the guide surface 13 can appropriately direct the intake air flowing into the dirty side from the inlet 42 toward the filtering section 32a, thereby efficiently directing a large amount of intake air over a wide area of ​​the filtering section 32a, thereby improving the efficiency of capturing foreign matter.

[0068] In this embodiment, the inlet duct 40 and the outlet duct 50 are described as being configured by pipes with a circular cross section that extend in a substantially straight line. However, the shapes of the inlet duct 40 and the outlet duct 50 are not limited to this, and they may be pipes that extend in a curved line depending on the layout of the air purification modules 1a, 1b, and 1c and other peripheral components. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 10, the inlet 42 of the inlet duct 40 may have a so-called funnel shape with an outwardly flared tip to ensure smooth air intake. It is clear from the claims that such modified or improved forms are also within the technical scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0069] 1a, 1b, 1c Air Purification Module 2. Housing 10 Upper part of housing 12 Chambers 13 Guide surface 20 Lower part of housing 30 filter element 31 frames 32a, 32b filtration section 40 Inlet duct 41 outer end 42 Inlet 50 Exhaust duct 51 Outlet 52 Equipment side end

Claims

1. An air purification module comprising: a housing having a hollow interior and a gas inlet and an outlet; and a filter element disposed between a dirty side of the inlet and a clean side of the outlet, The filter element includes a filtering portion having a curved surface on the dirty side, An air purification module, characterized in that a perpendicular line extending from an end face of the inlet intersects with a surface or an imaginary extended plane of the dirty side of the filtration section.

2. The air purification module according to claim 1, The air purification module is characterized in that the surface of the filtration section facing the dirty side is curved in a concave shape.

3. The air purification module according to claim 1, An air purification module characterized in that the interior angle formed by the perpendicular line extending from the end face of the inlet and the surface of the filtration section on the dirty side or the imaginary extended plane intersects with each other is less than 90°.

4. The air purification module according to claim 1, The air purification module is characterized in that the filtration section is made of a sheet-like filter material that is folded into pleats so that the surface on the clean side is flat and the surface on the dirty side is concavely curved.

5. The air purification module according to claim 1, The air purification module is characterized in that a guide surface is formed on the inner surface of the housing to guide the gas flowing in from the inlet toward the filtering section.

6. The air purification module according to claim 1, The air purification module is characterized in that the inlet is formed in a funnel shape with a diameter expanding outward.

7. The air purification module according to claim 1, The air purification module is characterized in that the flow direction of the gas flowing in from the inlet is opposite to the flow direction of the gas flowing toward the outlet.

8. An air purification module comprising: a housing having a hollow interior and a gas inlet and an outlet; and a filter element disposed between a dirty side of the inlet and a clean side of the outlet, The filter element includes a filtering portion, a perpendicular line extending from the end face of the inlet intersects with an imaginary extension plane of the filtration section on the dirty side, The air purification module is characterized in that the flow direction of the gas flowing in from the inlet is opposite to the flow direction of the gas flowing toward the outlet.

9. The air purification module according to claim 8, An air purification module, characterized in that the interior angle formed by the intersection of a perpendicular line extending from the end face of the inlet and the imaginary extension plane is less than 90°.

10. The air purification module according to claim 8, The air purification module is characterized in that the filtration section is made of a sheet-like filter material that has a flat surface on the clean side and is folded in a pleated shape so that the surface on the dirty side is inclined relative to the surface on the clean side.

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