JP2008080312A - Filter and filter - Google Patents

Abstract

When a mesh portion formed on a peripheral wall portion of a bottomed cylindrical resin filter is inspected by image processing, a wide range can be accurately inspected at a time to shorten a highly accurate inspection result. Reduce the cost of the filter by getting it in time.
A peripheral wall portion of a filter is formed so that a cross-sectional shape in a direction orthogonal to the center line is a polygonal shape across both ends of the center line direction. A plurality of flat surface portions 36 are formed on the peripheral wall portion 31, and reinforcing ribs 38 are formed at the boundary portions of the flat surface portions 36 adjacent in the circumferential direction. A mesh part 40 for filtration is formed in a region between the ribs 38 in the flat surface part 36.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to, for example, a filter for filtering a fluid such as oil that lubricates an internal combustion engine, and a filter including the filter.

Conventionally, as this type of filter, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, a filter formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape including a bottom wall portion and a peripheral wall portion is known. The bottom wall portion and the peripheral wall portion of the filter are provided with a mesh portion for filtration and a plurality of ribs for reinforcing the mesh portion. These mesh portions and ribs are integrally formed of a resin material to reduce the number of parts.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 60-31319

  By the way, when the mesh part and the rib are integrally formed of a resin material as in Patent Document 1, a part of the fluid passage hole of the mesh part may be crushed, resulting in a defective product. In order to prevent this defective product from being shipped as it is, a finished product inspection is performed after molding, but since the fluid passage hole is small, the inspection accuracy by human visual inspection is low, and it takes time. End up. Therefore, in recent years, there has been a demand for a completed product inspection as an image processing inspection using a computer apparatus, which is intended to save labor while increasing inspection accuracy and to reduce the inspection time.

  However, since the filter of patent document 1 is cylindrical, the surrounding wall part is a curved surface. Accordingly, when the mesh portion of the peripheral wall portion is inspected by image processing, a portion close to the imaging camera and a portion far from the imaging camera can be formed, and the entire imaging range cannot be focused. In other words, the range that can be imaged and inspected by the imaging camera at a time is a narrow range in which the imaging camera is in focus, so the peripheral wall can be inspected little by little, and the time required to inspect the entire peripheral wall is long. turn into.

  Further, as described above, since the peripheral wall portion is a curved surface, when the peripheral wall portion is imaged by the imaging camera from one direction, the fluid passage hole in the mesh portion located in front of the imaging camera and the front of the imaging camera wrap around. The fluid passage hole located at the place is photographed in a different shape. As described above, if the shape of the fluid passage hole varies depending on the portion of the peripheral wall portion in the captured image, an accurate inspection result cannot be obtained.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and the object of the present invention is to widen the mesh portion formed on the peripheral wall portion of the bottomed cylindrical resin filter by image processing at a time. By making it possible to accurately inspect the range, it is possible to obtain a highly accurate inspection result in a short time and to reduce the cost of the filter.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cylindrical filter having a bottom wall portion and a peripheral wall portion, and the peripheral wall portion reinforces the mesh portion for filtering fluid and the mesh portion. And a cross-sectional shape in a direction perpendicular to the center line is formed across the both ends of the peripheral wall portion in the center line direction, and the mesh portion, the rib, and the bottom wall portion are made of resin. It is set as the structure integrally molded with the material.

  In the invention of claim 2, in the invention of claim 1, the fluid passage hole of the mesh portion is configured such that the opening area on the upstream side of the fluid flow is set larger than the opening area on the downstream side.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the filter according to the first or second aspect, the inner wall surface of the fluid passage hole is formed so as to guide the fluid passing through the fluid passage hole in the fluid flow direction in the peripheral wall portion. The configuration is as follows.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the filter according to any one of the first to third aspects and the filter are accommodated, an inflow hole into which a fluid before filtration flows, and a fluid after filtration by the filter flows out. A case having an outflow hole, and a cylindrical portion surrounding the peripheral wall portion of the filter is formed in the case.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect of the present invention, the outflow hole of the case is connected to a lubricating oil suction hole provided in the vehicle engine.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the cross-sectional shape of the peripheral wall portion is a polygonal shape across both ends in the center line direction, flat surfaces are formed on the peripheral wall portion as many as the number of sides of the polygon. become. As a result, when inspecting a finished product by image processing, it is possible to focus and image the entire flat surface with an imaging camera, and to inspect the entire flat surface at once based on this image. Other flat surfaces can be similarly inspected. Further, since the object to be imaged is a flat surface, the fluid passage hole in the mesh portion can be imaged in the same manner over the entire flat surface. Thereby, an accurate test result can be obtained. Therefore, when this filter is inspected by image processing, it is possible to accurately inspect a wide range at a time as compared with the case where the peripheral wall portion of the conventional example is cylindrical, and a highly accurate inspection result can be obtained in a short time. Obtainable. Thus, the cost of the filter can be reduced.

  According to the invention of claim 2, since the opening area on the upstream side of the fluid passage hole in the mesh portion is larger than the opening area on the downstream side, the fluid can easily flow into the fluid passage hole, and the flow resistance of the fluid can be reduced. .

  According to the invention of claim 3, for example, when the fluid passes through the fluid passage hole of the mesh portion from the outside of the peripheral wall portion to the inside thereof, the fluid is caused to flow inside the peripheral wall portion by the inner wall surface of the fluid passage hole. Can be guided in the direction of flow of the fluid flowing through. Thereby, the flow of fluid can be made smooth.

  According to the invention of claim 4, since the filter having a polygonal cross-sectional shape is surrounded by the cylindrical portion of the case, the flat surface formed on the peripheral wall portion of the filter and the inside of the cylindrical portion facing the flat surface Sufficient space can be secured between the peripheral surface. Thereby, the fluid which flowed in from the inflow hole of the case can be made to flow into the fluid passage hole of the surrounding wall part of a filter from the said space, and the flow of the fluid can be made smooth.

  According to invention of Claim 5, the filter attached to the engine for vehicles can be made high quality and low price.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the following description of the preferred embodiment is merely illustrative in nature, and is not intended to limit the present invention, its application, or its use.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 shows a filter 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 2 and 3, the filter 1 includes a case 2 and a filter 3. For example, although not shown, the filter 1 is disposed in an oil pan that constitutes an oil storage space of an internal combustion engine of an automobile. And attached to the cylinder block. The case 2 has a circular tubular shape, and an inflow hole 2a for allowing the oil to be filtered by the filter 3 to flow into the case 2 is opened at one end in the longitudinal direction (right side in FIG. 1). On the left side in FIG. 1, an outflow hole 2b for allowing the oil filtered by the filter 3 to flow out of the case 2 is opened. The outflow hole 2b is connected to an intake hole 4 (illustrated by phantom lines only in FIGS. 2 and 3) formed in an engine cylinder block.

  The case 2 is formed by injection molding a resin material. As shown in FIG. 1, a case side flange 10 is formed at the peripheral edge of the outflow hole 2 b of the case 2. The case side flange 10 is formed with two insertion holes 10a through which fastening members (not shown) for fastening the flange 10 to the cylinder block are inserted. As shown in FIG. 3, a first step portion 11 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the outflow hole 2 b of the case 2 on the back side, and a second step portion 12 is formed on the front side of the first step portion 11. ing. A sealing material 13 made of an O-ring is fitted into the second step portion 12. The sealing material 13 seals between the case side flange 10 and the peripheral edge of the suction hole 4 of the cylinder block.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a bent portion 14 is formed in the middle portion of the case 2 in the longitudinal direction. A space between the flange 10 and the bent portion 14 in the case 2 is a filter housing portion 15 as a cylindrical portion for housing the filter 3.

  The filter 3 is an integrally molded product formed by injection molding of a resin material, and has a bottomed cylindrical shape including a bottom wall portion 30 and a peripheral wall portion 31. An opening 32 is formed at the end of the filter 3 opposite to the bottom wall 30. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the bottom wall portion 30 is formed in a hexagonal plate shape in plan view.

  The outer diameter of the peripheral wall portion 31 of the filter 3 is set smaller than the inner diameter of the filter housing portion 15. The peripheral wall portion 31 extends from the peripheral edge portion of the bottom wall portion 30 while being inclined slightly toward the outside of the filter 3 toward the opening portion 32 in consideration of the die cutting angle. The cross-sectional shape in the direction orthogonal to the center line is a hexagonal shape similar to the bottom wall portion 30 across both ends in the line direction. Thus, by making the sectional shape of the peripheral wall portion 31 a hexagonal shape similar to the bottom wall portion 30, as shown in FIG. 4, six flat surface portions 36, 36,... Are formed on the peripheral wall portion 31. Will be.

  A filter-side flange 37 is formed around the opening 32 of the filter 3. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the outer shape of the filter-side flange 37 is a circle that fits in the first step portion 11 of the case 2. With the filter side flange 37 fitted into the first step portion 11, the sealing material 13 comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the filter side flange 37.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a total of six reinforcing peripheral wall ribs 38 are formed at the boundary between the flat surface portions 36 and 36 adjacent to the case 2 in the circumferential direction. These peripheral wall ribs 38 project radially outward from the peripheral wall portion 31 and continuously extend across both ends of the peripheral wall portion 31 in the center line direction. The front end surface of the peripheral wall rib 38 is preferably a curved surface.

  As shown in FIG. 7, a peripheral wall mesh portion 40 for filtering oil is formed in the region between the peripheral wall ribs 38, 38 in each flat surface portion 36 of the case 2. The fineness of the peripheral wall mesh portion 40 is set to have 19 fluid passage holes 40a for 19 mesh, that is, 1 inch in length. The first linear portion 40b and the second linear portion 40c constituting the fluid passage hole 40a of the peripheral wall mesh portion 40 are substantially orthogonal to each other in plan view, and the center line Y of the peripheral wall portion 31 (see FIG. 7). It is inclined at about 45 °. Accordingly, the fluid passage hole 40a has a substantially rectangular shape in plan view. In addition, the mesh number of the surrounding wall mesh part 40 can be set arbitrarily.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 8, the cross-sectional shapes of the first linear portion 40 b and the second linear portion 40 c are tapered toward the outside of the filter 3. This is set in consideration of the punching of the mold described later. Due to the tapered shape of the first linear portion 40 b and the second linear portion 40 c, the flow passage cross-sectional area of each fluid passage hole 40 a becomes larger toward the outside of the filter 3. That is, the opening area outside the filter 3 in the fluid passage hole 40 a is set larger than the opening area inside the filter 3. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a mesh portion 41 is also formed on the inner peripheral side of the filter side flange 37, and the flow passage cross-sectional area of the fluid circulation hole of the mesh portion 41 is outside from the inside of the filter 3. Is set up to the same.

  Reinforcing bottom wall ribs 34 projecting toward the side opposite to the opening 32 side are formed on the periphery of the bottom wall 30. As shown in FIG. 6, the bottom wall rib 34 has an annular shape extending continuously along the peripheral edge of the bottom wall portion 30. A bottom wall mesh portion 35 for filtering oil is formed in a region inside the bottom wall rib 34 of the bottom wall portion 30. The fineness of the bottom wall mesh portion 35 is set to be the same as that of the peripheral wall mesh portion 40. The cross-sectional shapes of the first linear portion 35b and the second linear portion 35c constituting the fluid passage hole 35a of the bottom wall mesh portion 35 are tapered toward the outside of the filter 3 in the same manner as the peripheral wall mesh portion 40. Has been.

  Next, the manufacturing procedure of the filter 3 configured as described above will be described. First, the forming die 100 for forming the filter 3 will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, the forming die 100 includes an upper die 101 for forming the inner peripheral surface of the filter 3 and an outer surface of the bottom wall portion 30 of the filter 3. A lower mold 102 to be molded and six intermediate molds 103, 103,... (Also shown in FIG. 6) for molding the outer surface of the peripheral wall portion 31 of the filter 3 are provided. The upper mold 101 moves in the direction of the center line of the filter 3, while the lower mold is integrated and fixed with an injection machine (not shown). A cavity is formed with the upper mold 101, the lower mold 102, and the intermediate molds 103, 103,.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the lower mold 102 is formed with a gate 102a for injecting a resin material into the cavity. Six gates 102a are arranged so as to correspond to the positions where the peripheral wall ribs 38 are formed in the cavity. The intermediate molds 103, 103,... Are arranged in the circumferential direction of the filter 3. Each intermediate mold 103 molds one flat surface portion 36 and moves in a direction perpendicular to the flat surface portion 36 as indicated by a white arrow in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of grooves 103 a for forming the first linear portion 40 b and the second linear portion 40 c of the peripheral wall mesh portion 40 are formed on the molding surface of each intermediate mold 103 at the center of the filter 3. It is provided so as to extend inclined with respect to the line.

  When the mold 100 configured as described above is clamped and the molten resin material is injected from the gate 102a into the cavity, the resin material is located from the location corresponding to the bottom wall 30 of the cavity to the location corresponding to the filter side flange 37. It will flow to. At this time, since the groove 103a on the molding surface of the intermediate mold 103 extends in a direction inclined with respect to the center line of the filter 3 at a location corresponding to the peripheral wall mesh portion 40 in the cavity, the resin material passes through the groove 103a. It flows smoothly to the part corresponding to the filter side flange 37 in the cavity. Thereby, it becomes easy to spread the resin material to the part corresponding to the peripheral wall mesh part 40 in the cavity. Then, after the resin material in the cavity is solidified, the mold is opened and the filter 3 is removed.

  Thereafter, the removed filter 3 is sent to a finished product inspection process. Although not shown, this finished product inspection is performed by an image processing apparatus used in an inspection process for various products. This image processing apparatus includes an imaging camera, and is a known configuration configured to determine whether or not an inspection target is manufactured as designed by analyzing an image captured by the imaging camera with a computer apparatus. Therefore, detailed description is omitted.

  In the finished product inspection step, first, one flat surface portion 36 is imaged and inspected with an imaging camera. At this time, since the inspection object is flat, an image in which the entire flat surface portion 36 is in focus is obtained, and based on this, the entire flat surface portion 36 is inspected at a time. When the inspection of the flat surface portion 36 is completed, the inspection proceeds to the inspection of the other flat surface portion 36 and the inspection of the bottom wall mesh portion 35, and the same inspection is performed. As a result of the inspection, if it is determined as a defective product, it is removed from the assembly line.

  When the filter 3 obtained as described above is inserted into the case 2 to form the filter 1, the peripheral wall portion 31 of the filter 3 has a hexagonal cylindrical shape, whereas the filter housing portion 15 has a cylindrical shape. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, a sufficient space S is secured between the flat surface portion 36 of the peripheral wall portion 31 and the inner peripheral surface of the filter housing portion 15 facing the flat surface portion 36. When the oil pump is operated after the filter 1 is attached to the cylinder block of the engine, oil is sucked into the case 2 from the outflow hole 2a of the case 2. The oil sucked into the case 2 passes through the bottom wall mesh portion 35 of the filter 3 from the outside to the inside, is filtered, and flows toward the opening 32 along the center line. On the other hand, the oil in the filter housing portion 15 passes through the peripheral wall mesh portion 40 from the outside to the inside, is filtered, and flows to the opening 32 side. That is, the main flow of oil flowing inside the peripheral wall portion 31 is a flow in the direction of the center line from the bottom wall portion 30 toward the opening portion 32 as indicated by an arrow X in FIGS.

  When the oil in the filter housing portion 15 flows into the fluid passage hole 40 a of the peripheral wall mesh portion 40, the flat surface portion 36 formed in the peripheral wall portion 31 and the inner peripheral surface of the filter housing portion 15 facing the flat surface portion 36. Since a sufficient space S is ensured between the two, the oil flows smoothly. The oil is also filtered when passing through the fluid passage hole 40 a of the flange 37.

  As described above, according to the filter 3 according to this embodiment, since the shape of the peripheral wall portion 31 is a hexagonal cylindrical shape, six flat surface portions 36, 36,. As a result, when performing a finished product inspection by image processing, the entire flat surface portion 36 can be inspected at a time based on this image by focusing on the entire flat surface portion 36 with an imaging camera. In addition, other flat surface portions 36 can be similarly inspected. Further, by imaging one flat surface portion 36, the fluid passage hole 40a of the peripheral wall mesh portion 40 can be imaged in the same manner over the entire flat surface portion 36, so that an accurate inspection result can be obtained. Therefore, when this filter 3 is inspected by image processing, it is possible to accurately inspect a wide range at a time as compared with the case where the conventional peripheral wall 31 is cylindrical, and a highly accurate inspection result can be obtained in a short time. The cost of the filter 3 can be reduced.

  Further, when the oil passes through the fluid passage holes 35a and 40a of the bottom wall mesh portion 35 and the peripheral wall mesh portion 40, the opening area of the fluid passage holes 35a and 40a is the downstream side of the filter 3 which is the upstream side in the oil flow direction. Since it is set larger than the inner side, the oil can easily flow into the fluid passage holes 35a and 40a, and the oil flow resistance can be reduced.

  Moreover, since the filter 1 attached to the vehicle engine is configured using the filter 3, the filter 1 can be made of high quality and low cost.

  Further, in the filter 1, the filter 3 having a hexagonal cross-sectional shape is surrounded by the cylindrical filter housing portion 15, so that the flat surface portion 36 formed on the peripheral wall portion 31 of the filter 3 and the flat surface portion 36 are formed. A sufficient space S can be secured between the inner peripheral surface of the filter housing portion 15 facing the surface portion 36. Thereby, when the oil flowing in from the inflow hole 2a of the case 2 flows into the fluid passage hole 40a of the peripheral wall portion 31 of the filter 3, the flow of the fluid can be made smooth.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 9 is a view of the filter 3 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention as viewed from the bottom wall side. The filter of the second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except that the shape of the bottom wall portion and the cross-sectional shape of the peripheral wall portion (not shown) are different from those of the first embodiment. The same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, description thereof is omitted, and different parts will be described in detail.

  Although the bottom wall portion of the filter 3 of the second embodiment is not illustrated, it is a quadrangle in plan view. The peripheral wall portion 31 has a rectangular tube shape having four flat surface portions 36, 36,... Corresponding to the shape of the bottom wall portion. The case 2 that accommodates the filter 3 is the same as that of the first embodiment.

  The mold for forming the filter 3 includes an upper mold, a lower mold (both not shown), and an intermediate mold 103 as in the first embodiment. The number of intermediate molds 103 is four, which is the same as the number of flat surface portions 36.

  Also in the filter 3 of the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, when performing a finished product inspection by image processing, it is possible to accurately inspect a wide range at a time, and to obtain a highly accurate inspection result in a short time. Therefore, cost reduction can be achieved.

  In addition, the 1st linear part 40a and the 2nd linear part 40b which comprise the surrounding wall mesh part 40 of the filter 3 are substantially the same from the outer side of the filter 3 to an inner side like the modification 1 shown to Fig.10 (a). As the width, the end located outside may be configured by a curved surface. Further, as in Modifications 2 and 3 shown in FIGS. 10B and 10C, the inner wall surface of the peripheral wall fluid passage hole 40a is used to transfer oil passing through the fluid passage hole 40a to oil in the peripheral wall portion 31. It may be formed so as to guide in the main flow direction (indicated by arrow X). In the second modification, one side surface of the first linear portion 40b is inclined with respect to the radial direction of the peripheral wall portion 31 so as to guide oil in the X direction. In the modified example 3, both side surfaces of the first linear portion 40b are similarly inclined. In these modified examples 2 and 3, the oil passing through the fluid passage hole 40a from the outer side to the inner side of the peripheral wall part 31 can be guided in the main flow direction X of the oil inside the peripheral wall part 31, and the flow resistance of the oil can be reduced. It can be made even smaller.

  Moreover, the said filter 1 can be used for the lubrication system of various automatic power machines other than a motor vehicle engine, and other various power machines. Moreover, in the said filter 1, water, air, etc. can also be filtered besides oil.

  Further, the peripheral wall portion 31 of the filter 3 is not limited to the above-described hexagonal cylindrical shape or square cylindrical shape, and the cross-sectional shape in a direction orthogonal to the center line is a polygon such as a triangle, pentagon, heptagon, octagon, or the like. I just need it. If the cross-sectional shape of the peripheral wall portion 31 is a heptagon or more, the number of intermediate molds 103a of the mold 100 increases and the mold structure becomes complicated, and the number of times of imaging increases in the finished product inspection process, which is complicated. The cross-sectional shape of the portion 31 is preferably set between a triangle and a hexagon.

  As described above, the filter and filter according to the present invention are suitable for being disposed in an oil pan of an automobile engine.

It is a perspective view of the filter concerning Embodiment 1 of the present invention. It is the II-II sectional view taken on the line in FIG. It is an expanded sectional view by the side of the filter accommodating part of a filter. It is the figure which looked at the filter from the opening part side. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view explaining the shaping | molding process of a filter. It is the VI-VI sectional view taken on the line in FIG. It is an enlarged view of a flat surface part. It is the VIII-VIII sectional view taken on the line in FIG. FIG. 7 is a view corresponding to FIG. 6 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 8, (a) relates to the first modification, (b) relates to the second modification, and (c) relates to the third modification.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Filter 2 Case 2a Inflow hole 2b Outflow hole 3 Filter 4 Intake hole 30 Bottom wall part 31 Peripheral wall part 38 Peripheral wall rib 40 Peripheral wall mesh part 40a Fluid passage hole

Claims (5)

A cylindrical filter having a bottom wall portion and a peripheral wall portion,
The peripheral wall portion includes a mesh portion for filtering fluid and ribs for reinforcing the mesh portion, and a cross-sectional shape in a direction perpendicular to the center line is a polygonal shape across both ends of the peripheral wall portion in the center line direction. Formed into
The filter, wherein the mesh portion, the rib, and the bottom wall portion are integrally formed of a resin material. The filter of claim 1,
The fluid passage hole of the mesh part has a larger opening area on the upstream side of the fluid flow than the downstream opening area. The filter according to claim 1 or 2,
The filter is characterized in that the inner wall surface of the fluid passage hole is formed so as to guide the fluid passing through the fluid passage hole in the flow direction of the fluid in the peripheral wall portion. A filter according to any one of claims 1 to 3;
And a case having an inflow hole into which the fluid before filtration flows and an outflow hole through which the fluid filtered by the filter flows out, while containing the filter.
The filter, wherein the case is formed with a cylindrical portion surrounding the peripheral wall portion of the filter. The filter according to claim 4,
A filter, wherein the outflow hole of the case is connected to a suction hole for lubricating oil provided in the vehicle engine.

Images