CYCLONE

CYCLONE

Abrégé anglais

A cyclone, particularly for preliminary separation of
dust from a gas, including a plastic housing 1 on which a
dust collecting container is affixed by a bayonet catch.
The plastic housing has an inlet opening 2 with guide vanes
for generating a swirling flow of gas, and additional guide
vanes 9 are also provided adjacent the air outlet opening
for redirecting the swirling flow of gas into a linear flow,
thereby reducing the flow resistance. The cyclone has the
advantages of a flat construction; individual parts being
connected by simple elements such as a bayonet catch 11 or
a snap connection; and an enlarged dust collection space 6
due to the geometry of the housing, so that servicing
intervals are extended.

Revendications

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A cyclone for separating particles from a gas
comprising a substantially cylindrical housing, an air inlet
opening which opens upwardly into said housing, a dust
collecting container, a downwardly open outlet opening for
the cleaned gases, first guide vanes associated with the air
inlet opening for imparting a swirling motion to an upwardly
flowing gas stream entering through said inlet opening,
means for deflecting said upwardly flowing gas stream
downwardly toward said outlet opening, and second guide
vanes associated with said outlet opening.
2. A cyclone according to claim 1, wherein said
cyclone is arranged in the air intake of an internal
combustion engine for separating dust from the intake air of
the engine.
3. A cyclone according to claim 1, wherein said second
guide vanes are arranged to offset the swirling motion of
the gas stream and convert the rotational movement of the
gas into a linear flow movement.
4. A cyclone according to claim 3, wherein said second
guide vanes project upwardly beyond the outlet opening
interiorly of said housing.
5. A cyclone according to one of the preceding claims,
wherein the dust collecting container annularly surrounds
the housing.
6. A cyclone according to claim 5, wherein the dust
collecting container is releasably connected to the housing
by a bayonet catch.
- 5 -

7. A cyclone according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 6,
wherein the housing and the dust collecting container are
closed at the top by a cover fastened in place by a snap
connection.
8. A cyclone according to claim 5, wherein the
housing and the dust collecting container are closed at the
top by a cover fastened in place by a snap connection.
9. A cyclone according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 6,
wherein said deflecting means comprise a cover fastened by
a snap connection.
10. A cyclone according to claim 5, wherein said
deflecting means comprise a cover fastened by a snap
connection.
11. A cyclone according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 or
10, wherein the dust collecting container and/or the lid
are provided with gripping rails for facilitating
detachment.
12. A cyclone according to claim 7, wherein the dust
collecting container and/or the lid are provided with
gripping rails for facilitating detachment.
13. A cyclone according to claim 9, wherein the dust
collecting container and/or the lid are provided with
gripping rails for facilitating detachment.
- 6 -

Description

2173029
CYCLONE
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a cyclone for separating
particles from a gas, particularly for separating dust from
the intake air of an internal-combustion engine.
Back~round of the Invention
Published German Patent Application No. DE-OS 1,576,517
discloses a dust separator with a cyclone system for
internal-combustion engines. In this dust separator, the
air to be cleaned is drawn in through a lid, guided to a
ring of inlet vanes, and passes via a flow deflector to the
air outlet opening. The separated dust collects in an
additionally arranged dust collecting container and can be
removed from there from time to time.
It is a disadvantage of this dust separator that the
path of flow of the air is deflected in several places by
180, causing considerable flow losses. Also, additional
component expense is involved in constructing the dust
removal container.
Sum~ary of the Invention
It is an aspect of the invention to provide a cyclone
which, on the one hand, has a high degree of dust separation
and, on the other hand, presents a very low flow resistance
to a gas such as air passing therethrough.
These and other aspects of the invention have been
realized by providing a cyclone for separating particles
from a gas comprising a substantially cylindrical housing,
an air inlet opening which opens upwardly into the housing,
a dust collecting container, a downwardly open outlet

2173024
opening for the cleaned gases, first guide vanes associated
with the air inlet opening for imparting a swirling motion
to an upwardly flowing gas stream enterins through the inlet
opening, means for deflecting the upwardly flowing gas
stream downwardly toward the outlet opening, and second
guide vanes associated with the outlet opening.
An important advantage of the invention is that the
gases passing therethrough experience only a single,
approximately 180 deflection, so that the flow resistance
is kept very low.
The cyclone of the invention can be constructed in a
simple manner substantially of plastic parts. The plastic
parts are joined by means of suitable plug-in connections
and may be exchanged without any problem.
In accordance with a further preferred embodiment of
the invention, the dust collecting container is fastened to
the housing of the cyclone by means of a bayonet catch. As
a result, it can be removed easily and can be emptied from
time to time. The lid of the cyclone is also attached to
the dust collecting container in a simple manner by means of
a snap connection and can be detached easily.
The arrangement of guide vanes in the air outlet
counteracts or neutralizes the swirl of the gas flow. As a
result, the flow resistance of the cyclone is considerably
reduced by the redirection of the flow of the gas stream to
a linear flow.
These and other features of preferred embodiments of
the invention, in addition to being set forth in the claims,
are also disclosed in the specification and/or the drawings,
and the individual features each may be implemented in
embodiments of the invention either individually or in the
form of subcombinations of two or more features and can be
applied to other fields of use and may constitute
advantageous, separately protectable constructions for which
protection is also claimed.

~17302~
Brief Description of the Drawings
The invention will be described in further detail
hereinafter with reference to illustrative preferred
embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a view of a cyclone according to the
invention, partially in section.
Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments
Figure 1 shows a cyclone comprising a housing 1. An
inlet opening 2 for unfiltered air is provided in the
housing 1. Guide vanes are arranged in this inlet opening
2 for imparting a swirling motion to an incoming gas stream.
A guiding wall 3 is arranged above the guide vanes. The gas
stream, which has been caused to swirl by the guide vanes in
the inlet opening 2, flows along guiding wall 3. Dust
particles contained in the gas stream are flung outwardly by
the swirling gas flow, and at the top of the cyclone the
dust particles pass between the top of the guiding wall 3
and the cover 4 into an annularly outwardly disposed dust
collecting container 5. These dust particles then are
collected in the lower area 6 of the dust collecting
container 5.
The cleaned gas stream is deflected and flows as shown
by arrow 7 toward the air outlet opening 8. Additional
guide vanes 9 are arranged in the air outlet opening 8.
These guide vanes 9 offset the swirling motion of the gas
stream or convert the swirling motion into linear motion.
The cleaned gas stream leaves the cyclone through the gas
outlet opening 8, and from thence it may be guided to an gas
filter (not shown), for example an oil bath air filter, for
further filtering.
The cover or lid 4 is arranged on the dust collecting
container 5 by means of a snap connection and can easily be
removed. The dust collecting container 5 is provided with
gripping rails 10. These gripping rails 10 serve for
releasing the dust collecting container 5 from the housing

- ~730~
1. The dust collecting container 5 is attached to the
housing 1 by means of a bayonet catch 11.
Advantages of the cyclone include its flat construction
and the use of simple components which can be manufactured
from thermoplastic material by injection molding.
Another particular advantage of the cyclone is that the
guide wheel or the ring of guide vanes 9 contributes to a
pressure recovery. This means that a possible pressure
loss, which is caused by the rotational motion of the gas,
can be recovered by this conversion of the rotational motion
into a linear motion. As a result, the flow resistance
caused by the cyclone is considerably reduced.
It is also an advantage that the guide vanes 9 extend
beyond the air outlet opening 8. This extension of the
guide vanes 9 beyond the upper edge of the air outlet
opening 8 is clearly visible in the Figure. This measure
additionally improves the pressure recovery and
fundamentally can be used wherever rotational flows are to
be neutralized.
The foregoing description and examples have been set
forth merely to illustrate the invention and are not
intended to be limiting. Since modifications of the
disclosed embodiments incorporating the spirit and substance
of the invention may occur to persons skilled in the art,
the invention should be construed to include everything
within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents
thereof.

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