JPH0425429B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a gas/oil separation device for a Stirling engine.

[Conventional technology]

A conventional example of a Stirling engine is shown in FIG. 2, and its configuration and operation will be explained.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a displacer type Stirling engine, which is one of the typical configuration examples of a Stirling engine. In the figure, 1 is an expansion cylinder, 2 is a heater tube, 3 is a regenerator, 4 is a cooler tube, 5 is an air supply piston commonly called a displacer, 6 is a displacer rod, and 7 is an expansion cylinder 1 and a displacer rod. A first rod seal for sealing the sliding gap between the rod 6, 8 a compression cylinder, and 9 a compression cylinder 8.
a communication pipe for communicating between the expansion cylinder 1 and the expansion cylinder 1;
0 is the power piston, 11 is the power piston rod,
12 is a compression cylinder 8 and a power piston rod 11
13 is a first connecting rod for converting the rotational force of the crankshaft into reciprocating movement of the displacer 5; 14 is a connecting rod for converting the reciprocating movement of the power piston rod 10 into the reciprocating movement of the crankshaft. A second connecting rod 15 is a displacer 5 and a power piston 10 for converting it into rotational force.
16 and 17 are the main bearings of the crankshaft 15, and 100 is for holding each of the above-mentioned components 1 to 17 in a predetermined position. This is the crankcase, which also serves as the buffer chamber.
18 is a communication pipe for communicating the lower chamber 18a of the power piston 10 and the crankcase, and 19 is a mechanical seal provided between the crankcase 100 and the crankshaft 15.

In the Stirling engine configured in this way, if the heater tube 2 is continuously heated with a burner or the like, and the cooler tube 4 is continuously cooled with water or the like, pressure fluctuations occur within the cylinder.
This causes the power piston 10 to move up and down, allowing power to be extracted.

By the way, generally when operating a Stirling engine at high efficiency and high output, the expansion cylinder 1,
Hydrogen, helium, etc. are used as the working gas sealed within the compression cylinder 8. Furthermore, in order to prevent a decrease in the heat exchange capacity of the heater tube 2, cooler tube 4, etc., it is an important issue to prevent lubricating oil from the crankcase 100 from entering the cylinder.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, in the conventional configuration as described above,
Since the crankcase 100 also serves as a buffer chamber, gas moves between the crankcase 100 and the power piston lower chamber 18a as the power piston 10 reciprocates. At this time, the gas in the crank case contained some lubricating oil mist, which caused the disadvantage that lubricating oil would enter the cylinder over a long period of time.

This invention was made in order to eliminate the drawbacks of the conventional ones as described above, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a gas/oil separation device for a Stirling engine that can prevent lubricating oil from entering into the cylinder for a long period of time. It is an object.

[Means to solve the problem]

The gas/oil separation device for a Stirling engine according to the present invention includes a lubricating oil separation filter provided in the communication pipe between the power piston lower chamber and the crankcase,
A pressure accumulator tank is provided for storing gas at a higher pressure than the engine sealing pressure generated during engine operation, and an oil return means is provided for returning lubricating oil accumulated in the filter to the crankcase using the high pressure gas in the pressure accumulator tank. It is something.

[Effect]

In this invention, a lubricant oil separation filter provided in a communication pipe between the power piston lower chamber and the crankcase separates lubricant oil contained in the gas flowing through the communication pipe, and furthermore, the lubricant oil contained in the gas flowing through the communication pipe is separated, and furthermore, the lubricant oil contained in the gas flowing through the communication pipe is separated. Gas having a pressure higher than the pressure inside the case is stored in a high-pressure tank, and when the engine is stopped or after running for a predetermined time, the lubricating oil accumulated in the filter is returned to the crank case by the high-pressure gas.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a Stirling engine equipped with a gas/oil separation device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the same reference numerals as in FIG. 2 have the same configuration and function. 25 is a communication pipe for communicating the power piston lower chamber 18a and the crankcase 100, 23 is a cylindrical lubricating oil separation filter element provided in the middle of this communication pipe 25, and 24 is a housing for accommodating this filter element 23. The filter element 23 and the filter housing 24 constitute a lubricating oil separation filter that separates lubricating oil contained in the gas flowing through the communication pipe 25.

Further, 21 is a pressure accumulator tank for accumulating a part of the sealed gas during engine operation, 20 is a check valve protruding from the cylinder between the communication pipe 9 and the pressure accumulator tank 21, and 28 is the pressure accumulator tank 21. A gas return pipe 22 is provided between the communication pipe 25 and the upper part of the filter element 23 installation part, and 22 is a solenoid valve provided in the middle of this gas return pipe 28. Further, 27 is an oil return pipe that returns the lubricating oil accumulated in the lubricating oil separation filter to the crankcase 100, and 26 is a check valve inserted into this oil return pipe 27. And the above solenoid valve 2
2, a gas return pipe 28, and an oil return pipe 27 constitute an oil return.

The effects of this embodiment configured as described above will be explained.

During engine operation, the solenoid valve 22 is closed, and in this state, engine gas fills into the pressure accumulator tank 21 via the check valve 20, and the pressure inside the tank 21 is reduced by the action of the check valve 20. The pressure is accumulated to approximately equal to the maximum pressure inside the shilling. On the other hand, the power piston 1 is connected between the power piston lower chamber 18a and the crankcase 100.
The reciprocating motion of the engine-filled gas is alternately passed through the lubricating oil separation filter 23. At this time, a lubricating oil mist tries to flow from the crankcase 100 toward the power piston lower chamber 18a, but this lubricating oil mist is separated from the gas by the filter element 23 of the lubricating oil separation filter.
As a result, lubricating oil accumulates in the lower portion of the filter housing 24.

If the engine continues to run for a long period of time in this state, the filter housing 24 will be filled with lubricating oil and will lose its function as a lubricating oil separation filter. Therefore, in this embodiment, after the engine has been operated for a predetermined period of time or immediately after the engine is stopped, the solenoid valve 22 is opened to discharge high pressure gas from the pressure accumulator tank 21, and thereby the filter element 23
Also, the lubricating oil accumulated in the lower part of the filter housing 24 can be returned to the crankcase 100.

That is, according to this embodiment, the communication pipe 25 between the power piston lower chamber 18a and the crankcase 100
Since a lubricating oil separation filter is installed in the communication pipe 2,
The lubricating oil mist contained in the gas flowing through the cylinder 5 can be separated, and the lubricating oil can be prevented from entering the silling. Furthermore, in this embodiment, by using gas at a pressure higher than the engine sealing pressure (referring to the crankcase internal pressure) obtained during engine operation,
After running the engine for a predetermined period of time or when the engine is stopped, the lubricating oil accumulated in the lubricating oil separation filter is returned to the crankcase to regenerate the filter, so that the lubricating oil can be separated over a long period of time. This can improve engine reliability.

In the above embodiments, the present invention was applied to a displacer type Stirling engine, but the present invention is applicable to other configurations of the Stirling engine, such as a single cylinder displacer type and a piston opposed type Stirling engine. It goes without saying that the same effects as in the above embodiment can be obtained even if the present invention is applied to.

Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to a Stirling refrigerator having the same configuration as the above embodiment (in this case, the heater tube serves as a freezing tube), and the same effects as in the above embodiment can be achieved.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, a lubricant oil separation filter is provided in the middle of the communication pipe between the power piston lower chamber and the crankcase to separate lubricant oil from the gas flowing through the communication pipe, and furthermore, during engine operation. A pressure accumulator tank is installed to store gas at a higher pressure than the internal pressure of the crankcase, and when the engine is stopped, the lubricating oil accumulated in the filter is returned to the crankcase using the high-pressure gas. This has the effect of preventing lubricating oil from entering the cylinder over a period of time, thereby improving engine reliability.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a displacer type Stirling engine to which a gas/oil separation device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a conventional displacer type Stirling engine. 18a...Power piston lower chamber, 20...Return prevention valve, 21...Accumulator tank, 22...Solenoid valve,
23... Filter element for lubricating oil separation, 24
... Filter housing, 25 ... Communication pipe, 27
...Oil return pipe, 28...Gas return pipe. Note that the same reference numerals in the figures indicate the same or equivalent parts.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A gas/oil separation device for separating lubricating oil contained in the sealed gas of a Stirling engine, which is installed in the middle of a communication pipe that communicates between the lower chamber of the power piston and the crankcase, and the gas that flows through the communication pipe. a lubricating oil separation filter that separates lubricating oil contained in the filter; a pressure accumulating tank that accumulates pressure of a portion of the sealed gas during engine operation; A Stirling engine gas engine characterized by having an oil return means for returning it to the crankcase.
Oil separation equipment.