Blowby mist separator and regulator system for an enclosed crankcase
AssigneeCaterpillar Inc.
InventorRandall B. Blum
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A blowby mist separator and regulator system for an enclosed crankcase of an internal combustion engine having a submicron mist separator and vacuum regulating valve disposed in a horizontally oriented cylindrical housing connected in fluid communication with the crankcase and an air intake manifold to maintain a vacuum within the crankcase, continuously return separated coalesced mist to the crankcase and prevent cylinder blowby from escaping to the atmosphere and having a pressure sensor in the crankcase, which cooperates with a high pressure indicator to indicate when the pressure within the crankcase becomes positive and blowby gases could be released into the atmosphere if the mist separator is not replaced.
Claims10
A blowby mist separator and regulator system for an enclosed crankcase of an internal combustion engine having an air filter, an inlet manifold and an enclosed crankcase characterized by an elongated cylindrical housing having an inlet port disposed adjacent one end of the housing and an outlet port disposed adjacent another end of the housing and in fluid communication with an inlet manifold, the inlet port being disposed in fluid communication with the enclosed crankcase and with a diaphragm valve that closes as the pressure within the housing drops and at a predetermined negative pressure shuts off the cylindrical housing from the crankcase, a cylindrical submicron mist separator disposed within the cylindrical housing interposed between the inlet and outlet ports, a drain port disposed in the lower portion of the cylindrical housing, a drain conduit providing fluid communication between the crankcase and the drain port, and means for only allowing liquid to flow between the drain port and the crankcase being cooperatively associated with the conduit, whereby differential pressure between the enclosed crankcase and the inlet manifold draws blowby fluid from the crankcase to maintain a regulated vacuum within the crankcase and pass the blowby fluid through the mist separator to coalesce submicron mist and separate out larger mist and drain the coalesced and separated mist to the bottom of the housing and back to the crankcase via the drain port and drain conduit and prevents the discharge of blowby fluid to the atmosphere.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.