Dynamic, reverse-flow oil purifier device

A low-cost, mass-produced, reverse-flow oil purifier device utilizing reverse internal currents in a contained oil mass to remove impurities or water from oil fed to the device as from a spill or an oil supply that is circulating in the lubrication or fuel or other system of a piece of equipment, comprising in combination:

• (a) a sealed housing having a transverse bottom wall and an inner upper wall,
• (b) said housing having upper and lower portions and having inside of its upper portion an oil inlet port adapted to direct entering oil along said inner upper wall whereby the latter imparts a swirling movement to the oil, said inner upper wall tending to direct said entering oil in a circular path,
• (c) a straight open-top-end and open-bottom-end oil discharge standpipe attached to and supported by the transverse bottom wall of the housing and extending upward therefrom to a location in the upper portion of the housing, the bottom portion of said standpipe passing through said bottom wall,
• (d) guide means comprising a plurality of thin, spaced-apart perforated plates supported in vertically spaced relation by and surrounding said standpipe, for guiding said swirling entering oil downward into the lower portion of the housing and simultaneously reducing the swirling movement thereof whereby a settling of impurities from said reduced-swirl oil can occur in said lower housing portion,
• (e) said guide means enabling oil which has been subjected to said settling action in the lower housing portion to pass upward around and closely adjacent the standpipe to the open-top-end thereof, thereby to ultimately flow downward in and through the standpipe and to be discharged from the open-bottom-end thereof, and
• (f) an inverted cup means in the upper portion of the housing and extending from a point above the open-top-end of the standpipe downward past said open-top-end, tending to keep the swirling inlet oil separated from the rising, settle-purified discharge oil which latter is entering the open-top-end of the discharge standpipe, said cup means having a bottom rim disposed at a level below the open-top-end of the oil discharge standpipe and said open-top-end of the discharge standpipe being spaced from said cup means, said inverted cup means having a wall which is interposed between the open-top-end of the discharge standpipe and the said oil inlet port whereby a restricted path for flow exists between said open-top-end and said oil inlet port, thus to minimize cross flow between the oil inlet port and the oil discharge standpipe.

A low-cost, mass-produced, reverse-flow oil purifier device utilizing reverse internal currents in a contained oil mass to remove impurities or water from oil fed to the device as from a spill or supply that is circulating in the lubrication, fuel or other system of a piece of equipment, comprising in combination:

• (a) a sealed housing having upper and lower interfitting parts, said lower housing part having a lateral bottom wall,
• (b) said upper housing part having an upper inner wall and a top wall, and having an oil inlet port adapted to direct the entering oil along said upper inner wall whereby the latter imparts a swirling movement to the oil, said upper inner wall tending to direct said entering oil in a circular path,
• (c) an open-top-end and open-bottom-end oil discharge standpipe attached to and supported by the lateral bottom wall of the lower housing part and extending upward therefrom to a point adjacent the top wall of the upper housing part,
• (d) guide means comprising a plurality of thin, spaced-apart perforated plates supported in spaced relation by and surrounding said standpipe, for guiding said swirling entering oil downward into the lower housing part and simultaneously reducing the swirling movement thereof whereby a settling of impurities from said reduced-swirl oil can occur in said lower housing part,
• (e) said guide means enabling oil which is subject to said settling action in the lower housing part to pass upward around and closely adjacent the standpipe to the open-top-end thereof, thereby to ultimately flow downward in and through the standpipe and to be discharged from the open-bottom-end thereof, and
• (f) an inverted cup means at the top wall of the upper housing part and extending downward past the open-top-end of the standpipe, tending to keep the swirling inlet oil separated from the rising, settle-purified discharge oil which latter is entering the open-top-end of the discharge standpipe, said cup means having a bottom rim disposed at a level above the said guide means and above the bottom area of the oil inlet port and below the open-top-end of the oil discharge standpipe, and said discharge standpipe being free of and unattached to said inverted cup means, and said inverted cup means having a wall which is only partially interposed between the open-top-end of the discharge standpipe and the oil inlet port whereby a direct but only restricted path for flow exists between said open-top-end and a portion of said oil inlet port, thus to minimize cross flow between the oil inlet port and the oil discharge standpipe.

In a low-cost, mass-produced, reverse-flow oil purifier device utilizing reverse internal currents in a contained oil mass to remove impurities or water from oil fed to the device as from a spill or an oil supply that is circulating in the lubrication or fuel or other system of a piece of equipment, a combined oil-guide and oil-discharge sub-assembly comprising in combination:

• (a) a lower housing part having a bottom wall,
• (b) an open-top-end and open-bottom-end oil discharge standpipe supported and carried by the lower housing part and extending upward from the said bottom wall thereof,
• (c) means supported on the upper end portion of said discharge standpipe, for imparting a downward swirling movement to oil entering through an inlet port adjacent said upper end portion, tending to force said entering oil downward toward said bottom wall and in a circular path, and
• (d) guide means surrounding and supported by said standpipe and disposed under said immediately-preceding means, for guiding said swirling entering oil further downward toward the bottom wall of the lower housing part and simultaneously reducing the swirling movement thereof whereby a settling of impurities from said reduced-swirl oil can occur on the bottom wall of said lower housing part,
• (e) said guide means enabling oil, which is subject to said settling action on the bottom wall of the lower housing part, to pass upward around and closely adjacent the standpipe to the open-top-end thereof, thereby to ultimately flow downward in and through the standpipe and to be discharged from the open-bottom-end thereof,
• (f) the means for imparting a downward swirling movement to the oil, and the said guide means comprising thin, spaced-apart perforated plates which are supported in spaced relation by and which surround said standpipe,
• (g) said standpipe having exterior annular shoulders on which the said perforated plates rest and by which they are supported.