Ion exchanger

Abstract

To provide an ion exchanger capable of enhancing rigidity against restoring force of a seal ring.SOLUTION: An ion exchanger 10 includes a cartridge 50 filled with an ion exchange resin 80, a case 20 to which the cartridge 50 is attached, and a first seal ring 63 for closing a gap between the cartridge 50 and the case 20. In the mounted state in which the cartridge 50 is mounted on the case 20, the male screw portion of the cartridge 50 is screwed into the female screw portion 323 of the case 20, and the first seal ring 63 is elastically deformed between the inner peripheral wall 62 of the cartridge 50 and the outer peripheral wall 32 of the case 20 above the male screw portion of the cartridge 50 and the female screw portion 323 of the case 20. In the case 20, the lower end of the reinforcing rib 34 is located above the female screw portion 323.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an ion exchanger. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, fuel cells have been designed to suppress temperature rise during power generation by using cooling water circulating inside the fuel cell. When ions are eluted into the cooling water as the fuel cell generates power, the conductivity of the cooling water increases. This can result in a decrease in the performance of the fuel cell due to electrical leakage through the cooling water. For this reason, fuel cells are connected to ion exchangers that remove ions from the cooling water by passing the cooling water through ion exchange resin.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 describes an ion exchanger including a cartridge filled with ion exchange resin, a case into which the cartridge is attached, and a seal ring that seals the gap between the cartridge and the case. The cartridge has a retaining groove that holds the seal ring. A male thread is provided on the outer surface of the cartridge. The case includes a storage section that houses the cartridge, an inlet pipe that allows coolant to flow into the storage section, and an outlet pipe that allows coolant to flow out of the storage section. The inner surface of the storage section is provided with a female thread that corresponds to the male thread of the cartridge.

[0004] When the cartridge is mounted in the case, the cartridge is screwed into the case so that the male thread of the cartridge is engaged with the female thread of the case, and the seal ring is compressed and deformed between the cartridge and the case. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2022-133709 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In the ion exchanger described above, when the cartridge is attached to the case, a restoring force corresponding to the compressive deformation of the seal ring acts on both the cartridge and the case. Therefore, it is preferable that the ion exchanger has increased rigidity against the restoring force of the seal ring. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The ion exchanger that solves the above problem includes a cartridge filled with ion exchange resin, a case in which the cartridge is attached, and a seal ring that closes a gap between the cartridge and the case, wherein the cartridge has a lid portion, a cylindrical inner circumferential wall that extends downward from the lid portion, and a male screw portion provided on the outer circumferential surface of the inner circumferential wall, and the case has a bottom wall, a cylindrical outer circumferential wall that extends upward from the bottom wall, a flange that extends outward in the radial direction of the outer circumferential wall from an upper end of the outer circumferential wall, and a male screw portion provided on the outer circumferential surface of the outer circumferential wall. and a reinforcing rib protruding radially outward from the surface and a female thread portion provided on the inner surface of the outer wall, and when the cartridge is attached to the case, the male thread portion of the cartridge screws into the female thread portion of the case, the seal ring is above the male thread portion of the cartridge and the female thread portion of the case, and elastically deforms between the inner wall of the cartridge and the outer wall of the case, and in the case, the lower end of the reinforcing rib is located above the female thread portion.

[0008] The ion exchanger has reinforcing ribs on its outer peripheral wall that increase the rigidity of the case against the restoring force of the seal ring. The reinforcing ribs are also provided in locations on the case where the restoring force can act, i.e., above the female threads on the case. Therefore, since the ion exchanger has reinforcing ribs in necessary locations on the case, it is possible to reduce the amount of raw material used in manufacturing the case. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an ion exchanger. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the ion exchanger of FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the ion exchanger of FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] An embodiment of the ion exchanger will be described below. <Configuration of this embodiment> 1, the ion exchanger 10 includes a case 20 and two cartridges 50. The ion exchanger 10 is connected to a cooling circuit 100 through which cooling water flows for cooling the fuel cell, for example.

[0011] In the following description, the up-down direction of the ion exchanger 10 will be used. In the drawing, the up-down direction of the ion exchanger 10 is the direction in which the Z axis extends. The up-down direction of the ion exchanger 10 preferably coincides with the vertical direction.

[0012] <Case 20> 1 and 2, the case 20 includes two storage sections 30 and a flow path forming section 40. The case 20 is made of a material such as a thermoplastic resin. In this case, the case 20 can be manufactured by injection molding.

[0013] <Storage section 30> The two storage sections 30 are aligned in the longitudinal direction of the flow path forming section 40. The two storage sections 30 have substantially the same configuration. The storage section 30 has a bottom wall 31, an outer peripheral wall 32, a flange 33, and a plurality of reinforcing ribs 34.

[0014] The bottom wall 31 is disk-shaped. The thickness direction of the bottom wall 31 is the up-down direction. The bottom wall 31 has an inlet 311 and an outlet 312. The inlet 311 and the outlet 312 penetrate the bottom wall 31 in the thickness direction. The inlet 311 is provided at a position offset from the center of the bottom wall 31, and the outlet 312 is provided at the center of the bottom wall 31. The bottom walls 31 of the two storage sections 30 are connected to the flow path forming section 40.

[0015] The outer peripheral wall 32 is cylindrical. The outer peripheral wall 32 has a first outer peripheral wall 321 extending upward from the outer edge of the bottom wall 31, and a second outer peripheral wall 322 extending upward from the upper end of the first outer peripheral wall 321. The inner diameter of the first outer peripheral wall 321 is smaller than the inner diameter of the second outer peripheral wall 322. It is preferable that the inner diameters of the first outer peripheral wall 321 and the second outer peripheral wall 322 gradually increase upward. A female thread portion 323 is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the second outer peripheral wall 322. The upper end of the second outer peripheral wall 322 defines an opening of the storage section 30.

[0016] The flange 33 is plate-shaped and extends outward in the radial direction of the second outer peripheral wall 322 from the upper end of the second outer peripheral wall 322. In a plan view in the up-down direction, the flange 33 has a circular outer shape.

[0017] The multiple reinforcing ribs 34 connect the outer peripheral surface of the outer peripheral wall 32 and the underside of the flange 33. The multiple reinforcing ribs 34 include multiple first reinforcing ribs 341 and multiple second reinforcing ribs 342. The multiple first reinforcing ribs 341 protrude in the same direction from the outer peripheral wall 32. In other words, the thickness directions of the multiple first reinforcing ribs 341 are the same. Thus, when injection molding the accommodating portion 30, the multiple reinforcing ribs 34 can be molded using a mold that separates in the direction extending along the Y axis. When viewed from the thickness direction, the first reinforcing rib 341 has a triangular shape. If the length of the first reinforcing rib 341 in the protruding direction is defined as the height of the reinforcing rib 34, the height of the first reinforcing rib 341 gradually increases upward. Furthermore, the upper end of the first reinforcing rib 341 connects to the underside of the flange 33, and the lower end of the first reinforcing rib 341 is located above the upper end of the female thread portion 323 of the outer peripheral wall 32. The second reinforcing rib 342 protrudes from the outer peripheral wall 32 in the radial direction of the outer peripheral wall 32. When the second reinforcing rib 342 is viewed from the plate thickness direction, the second reinforcing rib 342 has a rectangular shape. The upper end of the second reinforcing rib 342 is connected to the lower surface of the flange 33, and the lower end of the second reinforcing rib 342 is located above the upper end of the female thread portion 323 of the outer peripheral wall 32. In this respect, in the case 20, the upper ends of the multiple reinforcing ribs 34 are located below the flange 33, and the lower ends of the multiple reinforcing ribs 34 are located above the female thread portion 323. In other words, the multiple reinforcing ribs 34 are provided at positions offset in the up-down direction with respect to the female thread portion 323.

[0018] Note that, "the lower ends of the multiple reinforcing ribs 34 are located above the female thread portion 323" means that the lower ends of the multiple reinforcing ribs 34 are located at a higher position than the female thread portion 323. In other words, "the lower ends of the multiple reinforcing ribs 34 are located above the female thread portion 323" does not mean that the lower ends of the multiple reinforcing ribs 34 are located directly above the female thread portion 323.

[0019] <Flow path forming portion 40> The flow path forming section 40 has an inlet pipe 41 and an outlet pipe 42. The flow path forming section 40 also has an inlet flow path 43 and an outlet flow path 44.

[0020] The inlet pipe 41 and the outlet pipe 42 are connected to the cooling circuit 100. The inlet flow path 43 connects the inlet pipe 41 to the inlets 311 of the two storage units 30. The outlet flow path 44 connects the outlet pipe 42 to the outlets 312 of the two storage units 30. In this way, the flow path forming unit 40 allows the cooling water to flow from the cooling circuit 100 into the two storage units 30, and allows the cooling water to flow from the two storage units 30 to the cooling circuit 100. The flow path forming unit 40 may be configured integrally with the two storage units 30, or may be configured separately.

[0021] <Cartridge 50> The cartridge 50 includes a housing 60, a retention unit 70, and an ion exchange resin 80. The cartridge 50 also includes a first space SP1 and a second space SP2. The material of the cartridge 50, excluding the ion exchange resin 80, etc., is a thermoplastic resin.

[0022] The housing 60 constitutes the exterior of the cartridge 50. The housing 60 has a lid portion 61, an inner circumferential wall 62, and a first seal ring 63. The lid portion 61 has a circular shape in a plan view in the vertical direction. The central portion of the lid portion 61 bulges upward relative to the peripheral edge portion of the lid portion 61. The inner circumferential wall 62 has a cylindrical shape. The inner circumferential wall 62 extends downward from the lid portion 61. The outer diameter of the inner circumferential wall 62 is smaller than the inner diameter of the outer circumferential wall 32 of the case 20. The inner circumferential wall 62 has a seal retaining portion 621 that retains the first seal ring 63 and a male thread portion 622 that corresponds to the female thread portion 323 of the housing portion 30 of the case 20. The seal retaining portion 621 and the male thread portion 622 are provided on the outer circumferential surface of the inner circumferential wall 62. The seal retaining portion 621 is located above the male thread portion 622. The seal retaining portion 621 holds the first seal ring 63 to prevent the first seal ring 63 from moving in the vertical direction. In this embodiment, the seal holding portion 621 is configured by two annular ribs spaced apart in the vertical direction and protruding radially outward from the inner circumferential wall 62. The first seal ring 63 corresponds to the "seal ring."

[0023] The holding unit 70 has an upper partition wall 71, a lower partition wall 72, a connecting pipe 73, and a plurality of seal rings 74 to 76. The upper partition wall 71 and the lower partition wall 72 have a circular shape in a plan view in the up-down direction. The upper partition wall 71 and the lower partition wall 72 respectively have mesh members 711 and 721 that allow cooling water to pass through but prevent the ion exchange resin 80 from passing through. The mesh members 711 and 721 are configured to allow cooling water to pass through but prevent the ion exchange resin 80 from passing through. The mesh members 711 and 721 are configured by providing a plurality of through holes in a metal plate such as stainless steel.

[0024] A second seal ring 74 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the upper partition 71, and a third seal ring 75 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the lower partition 72. The connecting pipe 73 is cylindrical. The axial direction of the connecting pipe 73 is the vertical direction. The connecting pipe 73 connects the upper partition 71 and the lower partition 72 in the vertical direction. In this embodiment, the upper partition 71 and the connecting pipe 73 are configured as an integral unit, and the lower partition 72 and the connecting pipe 73 are configured as separate bodies. For this reason, a fourth seal ring 76 is arranged between the lower partition 72 and the connecting pipe 73 to close the gap between them.

[0025] The holding unit 70 is inserted into the housing 60 and thereby integrated with the housing 60. More specifically, an upper partition wall 71 of the holding unit 70 fits into the lid portion 61 of the housing 60, and a lower partition wall 72 of the holding unit 70 fits into the inner peripheral wall 62 of the housing 60. In addition, a second seal ring 74 is disposed between the upper partition wall 71 of the holding unit 70 and the lid portion 61 of the housing 60, and a third seal ring 75 is disposed between the lower partition wall 72 of the holding unit 70 and the inner peripheral wall 62 of the housing 60.

[0026] The first space SP1 is a space defined by the inner peripheral wall 62 of the housing 60 and the upper and lower partition walls 71 and 72 and the connecting pipe 73 of the holding unit 70. The second space SP2 is a space defined by the lid portion 61 of the housing 60 and the upper partition wall 71 of the holding unit 70. The second space SP2 is connected to the first space SP1 via the mesh member 711 of the upper partition wall 71.

[0027] The ion exchange resin 80 is filled in the first space SP1 of the cartridge 50. The ion exchange resin 80 is, for example, a large number of granular resins. The ion exchange resin 80 removes ions from the cooling water passing through the first space SP1 by ion exchange.

[0028] <How to install Cartridge 50> The method for attaching the cartridge 50 includes a screwing process. The screwing process is a process in which the cartridge 50 is inserted into the housing portion 30 of the case 20 and then rotated relative to the case 20. In the screwing process, the female thread portion 323 of the case 20 and the male thread portion 622 of the cartridge 50 are threadedly engaged. Furthermore, when the lid portion 61 of the cartridge 50 comes into contact with the flange 33 of the case 20 in the screwing process, the cartridge 50 cannot rotate relative to the case 20. In this way, the cartridge 50 is attached to the case 20. Although not explained further, when the cartridge 50 is to be removed from the case 20, such as when replacing the cartridge 50 with another cartridge 50, the cartridge 50 can be rotated in the opposite direction to the screwing process.

[0029] <Engagement Relationship Between Case 20 and Cartridge 50> When the cartridge 50 is attached to the case 20, the first seal ring 63 is located above the female thread portion 323 of the case 20 and the male thread portion 622 of the cartridge 50, and is compressed between the outer peripheral wall 32 of the case 20 and the inner peripheral wall 62 of the cartridge 50. This closes the gap between the outer peripheral wall 32 of the case 20 and the inner peripheral wall 62 of the cartridge 50. Here, in the radial direction of the outer peripheral wall 32 of the case 20, the reinforcing rib 34 and outer peripheral wall 32 of the case 20 and the first seal ring 63 and inner peripheral wall 62 of the cartridge 50 are aligned.

[0030] In the mounted state, a space (hereinafter referred to as a "third space SP3") is formed between the lower partition wall 72 of the cartridge 50 and the bottom wall 31 of the case 20. The third space SP3 is connected to the first space SP1 via a mesh member 721 of the lower partition wall 72. The third space SP3 is also connected to the inlet flow path 43 of the flow path forming section 40 via an inlet 311 of the bottom wall 31. Meanwhile, the lower end of the connecting pipe 73 of the cartridge 50 is connected to the outlet flow path 44 of the flow path forming section 40 via an outlet 312 of the bottom wall 31. As a result, the cooling water flowing into the ion exchanger 10 flows through the inlet pipe 41, the inlet flow path 43, the third space SP3, the mesh member 721 of the lower partition wall 72, the first space SP1, the mesh member 711 of the upper partition wall 71, the second space SP2, the connecting pipe 73, the outlet flow path 44, and the outlet pipe 42 in this order, before flowing out of the ion exchanger 10. When the cooling water passing through the ion exchanger 10 flows through the first space SP1, ions are removed by the ion exchange resin 80 filled in the first space SP1.

[0031] <Operation of this embodiment> In the mounted state, the first seal ring 63 of the ion exchanger 10 is elastically deformed between the inner circumferential wall 62 of the cartridge 50 and the outer circumferential wall 32 of the case 20. Therefore, a restoring force proportional to the amount of elastic deformation of the first seal ring 63 acts on the inner circumferential wall 62 of the cartridge 50 and the outer circumferential wall 32 of the case 20. In particular, as shown in FIG. 3, an outward force Fs acts on the outer circumferential wall 32 of the case 20 in the radial direction of the outer circumferential wall 32. Here, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the case 20 of this embodiment has a plurality of reinforcing ribs 34 at positions corresponding to the portions on which the restoring force of the first seal ring 63 acts. Therefore, the rigidity of the case 20 against the restoring force of the first seal ring 63 is increased and creep deformation is less likely to occur.

[0032] The restoring force acting on the inner circumferential wall 62 of the cartridge 50 acts on a portion of the inner circumferential wall 62 that is close to the lid portion 61. In other words, the restoring force acting on the inner circumferential wall 62 of the cartridge 50 acts on the base end portion of the inner circumferential wall 62. In contrast, the restoring force acting on the outer circumferential wall 32 of the case 20 acts on a portion of the outer circumferential wall 32 that is far from the bottom wall 31. In other words, the restoring force acting on the outer circumferential wall 32 of the case 20 acts on the tip end portion of the outer circumferential wall 32. In this respect, the restoring force of the first seal ring 63 is more likely to have an adverse effect on the outer circumferential wall 32 of the case 20 than on the inner circumferential wall 62 of the cartridge 50.

[0033] <Effects of this embodiment> (1) In the ion exchanger 10, the reinforcing ribs 34 provided on the outer peripheral wall 32 can increase the rigidity of the case 20 against the restoring force of the first seal ring 63 and suppress creep deformation due to this restoring force. Furthermore, if the storage section 30 and cartridge 50 of the case 20 are increased in size to improve the performance of the ion exchanger 10, the first seal ring 63 also becomes larger. In this case, the case 20 becomes more likely to deform due to the increased restoring force of the first seal ring 63 described above. The ion exchanger 10 of this embodiment can solve this problem by providing multiple reinforcing ribs 34 on the outer peripheral wall 32.

[0034] (2) For example, consider a comparative example in which the case 20 has a plurality of reinforcing ribs 34 and a female thread portion 323 located on both radial sides of the outer peripheral wall 32. In this comparative example, the portions where the plurality of reinforcing ribs 34 are provided are locally thick. As a result, there is a risk that moldability will deteriorate when the case 20 is injection molded. In contrast, in the case 20 of this embodiment, the plurality of reinforcing ribs 34 are positioned offset in the vertical direction from the male thread portion 622. This prevents deterioration in moldability when the case 20 is injection molded. Furthermore, by providing the necessary amount of reinforcing ribs 34 in the necessary portions, the ion exchanger 10 can reduce the amount of raw material used when molding the case 20.

[0035] <Example of change> This embodiment can be modified as follows: This embodiment and the following modifications can be combined and implemented within the scope of technical compatibility.

[0036] The number of reinforcing ribs 34 formed can be changed as appropriate. The reinforcing rib 34 may extend in the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral wall 32. In other words, the reinforcing rib 34 may have an annular shape.

[0037] The multiple reinforcing ribs 34 may protrude outward from the outer peripheral wall 32 in the radial direction of the outer peripheral wall 32. In other words, the multiple reinforcing ribs 34 may have different thickness directions. The cartridge 50 does not have to be attached to the case 20 by a screw-in method. The cartridge 50 may be attached by a push-in method, in which the cartridge 50 is pushed into the case 20.

[0038] The positions of the inlet pipe 41 and the outlet pipe 42 can be changed as appropriate in the ion exchanger 10. For example, the cartridge 50 may have a configuration corresponding to at least one of the inlet pipe 41 and the outlet pipe 42.

[0039] The material of the case 20 does not have to be a thermoplastic resin as long as it satisfies the functions of the ion exchanger 10 . The outer peripheral wall 32 of the case 20 may have a structure equivalent to the seal holding portion 621. In this case, the inner peripheral wall 62 of the cartridge 50 does not need to have the seal holding portion 621.

[0040] The ion exchanger 10 may include a case 20 having one storage section 30 and one cartridge 50. Alternatively, the ion exchanger 10 may include a case 20 having three or more storage sections 30 and three or more cartridges 50. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 10...Ion exchanger 20…case 30...Storage section 31...Bottom wall 32…Outer wall 321…First outer peripheral wall 322…Second outer peripheral wall 323... Female thread 33...Flange 34...Reinforcing rib 341...First reinforcing rib 342...Second reinforcing rib 50...cartridge 60…Housing 61...Lid part 62…Inner peripheral wall 621...Seal retaining part 622...Male thread 63...First seal ring (seal ring) 70...Holding unit 80...Ion exchange resin 100...Cooling circuit

Claims

[Claim 1] a cartridge filled with an ion exchange resin; a case in which the cartridge is mounted; a seal ring that closes a gap between the cartridge and the case, the cartridge has a lid portion, a cylindrical inner circumferential wall extending downward from the lid portion, and a male thread portion provided on an outer circumferential surface of the inner circumferential wall, The case has a bottom wall, a cylindrical outer peripheral wall extending upward from the bottom wall, a flange extending outward in a radial direction of the outer peripheral wall from an upper end of the outer peripheral wall, a reinforcing rib protruding outward in the radial direction from an outer peripheral surface of the outer peripheral wall, and a female thread portion provided on an inner peripheral surface of the outer peripheral wall, In a mounted state in which the cartridge is mounted in the case, the male thread portion of the cartridge is threadedly engaged with the female thread portion of the case, the seal ring is located above the male thread portion of the cartridge and the female thread portion of the case, and is elastically deformed between the inner circumferential wall of the cartridge and the outer circumferential wall of the case; In the case, the lower end of the reinforcing rib is located above the female thread portion. Ion exchanger.

Images