Diesel engine system with oil-air separator and method of operation

Claim 2

An oil-air separator, for an engine having a crankcase producing fumes containing oil and gas that includes air, comprising: a chamber containing a filter rotatable about a shaft; an inlet port for fumes from a crankcase into a region of the chamber radially outside the filter; an outlet port from the chamber for gas separated from oil in the fumes; a drain for oil that has been centrifugally flung radially out from the rotatable filter; and, a drive mechanism on the shaft on which the filter rotates comprising a turbine wheel positioned to receive a pressurized fluid to drive the wheel.

Claim 3

The separator of claim 1 wherein: the pressurized fluid which the turbine wheel is positioned to receive is engine oil.

Claim 4

The separator of claim 1 wherein: the outlet port for gas is arranged in communication with an air inlet to the engine; and, the drain for oil is arranged in communication with the crankcase.

Claim 5

The separator of claim 1 wherein: the filter is substantially an annulus rotating about the shaft axis and has a filter medium that during rotation by the drive mechanism substantially prevents oil from the fumes passing radially inward and flings oil out against a wall of the chamber.

Claim 6

The separator of claim 4 wherein: the filter shaft is oriented vertically and oil collects in a channel of the chamber surface having the drain.

Claim 7

A diesel engine system comprising: an engine with combustion chambers which operate at pressures such that blowby gas escapes into a crankcase containing engine lubricating oil producing a mixture of blowby gas, including air, and oil mist; an oil-air separator connected by a first conduit with the crankcase to receive the mixture of blowby gas and oil, where the separator comprises an annular filter element mounted for rotation on a shaft within a chamber having an inlet for the mixture to an outer surface of the filter element and an outlet for gas passing into and through the filter element, a drain for removal from the chamber of oil separated from the gas by the oil having been centrifugally flung against a wall of the chamber; the outlet of the separator chamber being connected by a second conduit to supply blowby gas from which oil has been separated to an engine air inlet, and the drain of the separator chamber being connected to the crankcase.

Claim 8

A diesel engine system comprising: an engine with combustion chambers which operate at pressures such that blowby gas escapes into a crankcase containing engine lubricating oil producing a mixture of blowby gas, including air, and oil mist; an oil-air separator connected by a first conduit with the crankcase to receive the mixture of blowby gas and oil, where the separator comprises an annular filter element mounted for rotation on a shaft within a chamber having an inlet for the mixture to an outer surface of the filter element and an outlet for gas passing into and through the filter element, a drain for removal from the chamber of oil separated from the gas by the oil having been centrifugally flung against a wall of the chamber; the outlet of the separator chamber being connected by a second conduit to supply blowby gas from which oil has been separated to an engine air inlet, and the drain of the separator chamber being connected to the crankcase.

Claim 9

The system of claim 6 wherein: a drive mechanism is connected with the shaft of the separator filter and is arranged to rotate the filter at a speed sufficient to prevent oil from the mixture passing radially inward of the filter.

Claim 10

The system of claim 6 wherein: the engine air inlet to which the outlet of the separator chamber is connected is on the inlet side of an engine air filter.

Claim 11

The system of claim 6 wherein: the engine air inlet to which the outlet of the separator chamber is connected is on the engine intake air path after an engine air filter and before a turbocharger in the air path.

Claim 12

The system of claim 8 wherein: the separator and the respective first, second, and third conduits are each free of any added pressure regulator.

Claim 13

The system of claim 7 wherein: the drive mechanism is operable at a variable speed.

Claim 16

The method of claim 12 wherein: the rotating of the filter includes rotating a shaft on which the filter is mounted by supplying pressurized engine oil through a nozzle onto a turbine wheel mounted on the shaft exterior to a chamber containing the filter.

Claim 17

The method of claim 12 wherein: the conducting of crankcase fumes from the crankcase to the separator is performed by directly passing the fumes without influence of a pressure regulator.