US RE38,855 E1Granted

Centrifugal separator with one or more internal contaminant barriers

AssigneeFilterwerk Mann & Hummel GmbH

InventorsIan M. Cox, Andrew L. Samways

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Abstract

A centrifugal separtor for non-cohesive particulates, such as are found in transmission oils and hydraulic liquids, rather than the cohesive combustion products found within internal combustion engine lubricants, consists of a housing enclosing a vertical spindle on which spins a liquid reaction driven rotor container. The container is divided internally by inwardly extending partition wall into separate outflow chambers. Non-cohesive particulates which separate from the liquid, and are held against the peripheral side wall by centrigual force during rotation, slump therefrom in the absence of rotation and risk forming a slurry that gets carried to the outflow chamber. An upwardly extending, outwardly inclined barrier wall forms a contaminant retention region with a restricted neck defined by the separation of the barrier wall edge from the side wall, that permits deposits on the barrier wall to carry to the peripheral side wall and spread across it during rotation, and does not interfere with slumping absent rotation and inhibits the slumped material from being washed into the outflow before rotation recommences.

Claims42

Dependent claims

A centrifugal separator for separating non-cohesive particulate contaminants from a liquid supplied thereto comprising a housing enclosure, an axis extending through the housing enclosure in an operationally substantially vertical orientation, a rotor arranged to receive a liquid at elevated pressure and, in reaction to ejection of the liquid therefrom substantially tangentially, spin about the axis at least a predetermined minimum speed to effect separation of said non-cohesive contaminant particles from contaminated liquid therein, the rotor comprising a container having

(i) an outer, peripheral wall including a peripheral side wall displaced from the axis,
(ii) an internal partition wall extending radially inwardly from the peripheral wall dividing the container into a separation chamber and an outflow chamber and defining at its radially inner periphery a transfer aperture between the separation and outflow chambers, said separation chamber including an inlet aperture to admit contaminated liquid thereto from the rotation axis and the outflow chamber having at least one nozzle to eject liquid from the container, and
(iii) barrier wall means, within the separation chamber, comprising a barrier wall extending upwardly from the partition wall to terminate in a barrier wall edge and disposed radially inwardly of the peripheral side wall, to define with said peripheral side wall and partition wall a contaminant retention region, said barrier wall being inclined towards the peripheral side wall such that said barrier wall edge is spaced therefrom to form a radially restricted neck to the contaminant retention region at such inclination and spacing, when the rotor is spinning about the axis at least said predetermined minimum speed, that non-cohesive contaminants deposited on the barrier wall by centrifugal separation force are caused by said force to flow from the barrier wall edge to the peripheral side wall and, when the rotor is not spinning at least said predetermined speed, to permit the separated non-cohesive contaminants deposited on the peripheral side wall to slump into said contaminant retention region and be inhibited from being entrained into liquid flowing between the inlet aperture and the transfer aperture.

A rotor for a centrifugal separator, comprising:

a container having:
(i) an outer, peripheral wall including a peripheral side wall displaced from a longitudinal rotation axis of the rotor,
(ii) an internal partition wall extending radially inwardly from the peripheral wall dividing the container into a separation chamber and an outflow chamber and defining at a radial inner periphery a transfer aperture between the separation and outflow chambers, the separation chamber including an inlet aperture to admit contaminated liquid thereto from the rotation axis and the outflow chamber having at least one nozzle to eject liquid from the container, and
(iii) barrier wall means, within the separation chamber, comprising a barrier wall extending upwardly from the partition wall to terminate in a barrier wall edge and disposed radially inwardly of the peripheral side wall, to define with said peripheral side wall and partition wall a contaminant retention region, said barrier wall being inclined towards the peripheral side wall such that said barrier wall edge is spaced therefrom to form a radially restricted neck to the contaminant retention region at such inclination and spacing, when the rotor is spinning about the axis at at least a predetermined minimum speed, that non-cohesive contaminants deposited on the barrier wall by centrifugal separation force are caused by said force to flow from the barrier wall edge to the peripheral side wall, and, when the rotor is not spinning at at least side predetermined speed, to permit the separated non-cohesive contaminants deposited on the peripheral side wall to slump into said contaminant retention region and be inhibited from being entrained into liquid flowing between the inlet aperture and the transfer aperture.

1 more element

A rotor for a centrifugal separator, comprising:

a container having:
(i) an outer, peripheral wall including a peripheral side wall displaced from a longitudinal rotation axis of the rotor,
(ii) an internal partition wall extending radially inwardly from the peripheral wall dividing the container into a separation chamber and an outflow chamber and defining at a radial inner periphery a transfer aperture between the separation and outflow chambers, the separation chamber including an inlet aperture and the outflow chamber having at least one ejection nozzle, and
(iii) a barrier wall assembly, within the separation chamber, comprising a barrier wall extending upwardly from the partition wall to terminate in a barrier wall edge and disposed radially inwardly of the peripheral side wall, to define with said peripheral side wall and partition wall a contaminant retention region, said barrier wall being inclined towards the peripheral side wall such that said barrier wall edge is spaced therefrom to form a radially restricted neck to the contaminant retention region.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.