1. A VENTILATOR FOR RAILROAD VEHICLE, comprising: a ventilation apparatus for replacing air in a vehicle; and a dust collector annexed to the ventilation apparatus, wherein the dust collector includes a housing, and a cyclone tubular body provided in an inside of the housing, the ventilation apparatus includes an air supply blower that supplies fresh air outside the vehicle, the fresh air having passed through the cyclone tubular body, to the vehicle, the housing includes a metal net through which fresh air is to be taken into the cyclone tubular body and a back plate connecting to the metal net, and the dust collector is connected to the ventilation apparatus such that the back plate is positioned in an inside of the ventilation apparatus.

2. The VENTILATOR FOR RAILROAD VEHICLE according to claim 1, wherein the ventilation apparatus has an air supply blower front chamber on an upstream side of the air supply blower; and the back plate configures part of a wall of the air 36 supply blower front chamber.

3. The VENTILATOR FOR RAILROAD VEHICLE according to claim 1, wherein the dust collector includes, below the cyclone tubular body, a dust collection box into which foreign matters collected by the cyclone tubular body are to be accumulated; and the dust collection box has the number of compartments corresponding to the number of the cyclone tubular bodies.

4. The VENTILATOR FOR RAILROAD VEHICLE according to claim 3, wherein the dust collection box is capable of being separated from the dust collector fixed to the ventilation apparatus.

5. The VENTILATOR FOR RAILROAD VEHICLE according to claim 1, wherein the housing is a parallelepiped that has a metal net on each three faces of four vertical side faces of the housing and has the back plate on a remaining one face of the four vertical side faces, the cyclone tubular body, an upper plate that fixes an upper end portion of the cyclone tubular body, and a lower plate that fixes a lower end portion of the cyclone tubular body cooperatively configure a cyclone unit, and 37 the cyclone unit has a heightwise dimension and a widthwise dimension that are set smaller than a heightwise dimension and a widthwise dimension of the metal net arranged in an opposing manner to the back plate.

6. The VENTILATOR FOR RAILROAD VEHICLE according to any one of claims 3 to 5, comprising: a dust collection box having compartments separated by a partition plate or plates.

7. The VENTILATOR FOR RAILROAD VEHICLE according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a plurality of the cyclone tubular bodies are arranged in a lined up relation in a direction intersecting an advancing direction of the rail vehicle.

[0001]The present invention relates to a VENTILATOR FOR
RAILROAD VEHICLE.
Background Art
[0002]A rail vehicle such as a railroad vehicle,
especially, a high-speed vehicle, has a highly airtight
vehicle structure, and therefore, not natural ventilation
but forced ventilation is applied generally for ventilation
in the vehicle. In such a rail vehicle, a ventilation
apparatus including an air supply fan for taking fresh air
outside the vehicle into the vehicle and an exhaust fan for
exhausting contaminated air in the vehicle to the outside
of the vehicle is arranged under the floor of the vehicle.
The forced ventilation is implemented by the ventilation
apparatus.
[0003]
Incidentally, the air outside the vehicle is not
3
always clean, and, for example, the vehicle sometimes
passes through a dusty section. Therefore, a prefilter
formed, for example, from a nonwoven fabric is provided at
an opening (fresh air intake port) of the ventilation
apparatus for the air supply fan such that dust is
collected from the outside air and clean air is supplied to
the inside of the vehicle.
[0004]
According to the prefilter, as the time during which
the prefilter is used increases, dust is accumulated and
contamination advances, and therefore, it is necessary to
clean the prefilter in a fixed cycle. However, if dust
sticks to the texture of the prefilter, then fixed labor is
required for removal of the dust. Especially, depending
upon the degree of contamination, cleaning of the prefilter
becomes difficult to such a degree that the prefilter
cannot be reused and it is obliged to exchange the
prefilter. If the frequency of exchange of the prefilter,
which is comparatively expensive, increases, then there is
the possibility that the maintenance cost may increase.
[0005]
Further, since a nonwoven fabric is used, there is a
problem that the dust collection performance of the
prefilter depends upon the texture of the cloth. For
example, if a rough texture nonwoven fabric is used, then
4
although clogging is less likely to occur, the dust
collection performance is not sufficient. In contrast, if
a fine texture nonwoven fabric is used so as to obtain a
high dust collection performance in order to improve the
cleanliness of air in the vehicle, then it becomes
necessary to increase the blowing performance of the air
supply fan in order to overcome high-pressure loss caused
by use of the fine texture nonwoven fabric, resulting in
the possibility that the cost may increase. Further, where
a higher dust collection performance is demanded, clogging
of the prefilter becomes severe, and this results in the
possibility that the cleaning frequency may increase and
the maintenance cost may increase.
[0006]
From such reasons as described above, it has been
proposed to incorporate a dust collector of the cyclone
type in place of the prefilter. The cyclone type dust
collector acts to generate whirl flows in a cylindrical air
passage to apply centrifugal force to dust thereby to
separate the dust from clean air. Therefore, the cyclone
type dust collector has an advantage that clogging of the
air passage is suppressed and cleanliness is enhanced in
comparison with those in the case in which the prefilter is
provided. Patent Document 1 discloses an example in which
a cyclone type dust collector is installed under the floor
5
of a vehicle.
Prior Art Document
Patent Document
[0007]
Patent Document 1: JP-2015-192982-A
Summary of the Invention
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
[0008]
Where the cyclone type dust collector disclosed in
Patent Document 1 is provided, it is expected that such
problems by the prefilter as described above are solved.
However, in the technique of Patent Document 1, since the
cyclone type dust collector is placed separately from a
ventilation apparatus, it is necessary to secure a large
installation space for the entire system. Especially, in
recent years, although a vehicle is designed to place
equipment under the floor in a high density, it is
considered that a conventional cyclone type dust collector
is not suitable for such a vehicle design as just described
because it is large in size.
[0009]
Further, while a cylindrical part (cyclone tubular
body) for collecting dust in the cyclone type dust
6
collector is attached to a ventilation apparatus through an
exhaust pipe that is an introduction pipe, air flows
eccentrically in the air supply fan and there is the
possibility that the dust collection performance and the
blowing performance may be suppressed and increase in the
pressure loss may be caused. Further, since the position
of the cyclone tubular body is near to an adjacent
apparatus, also the air supply port of the cyclone tubular
body comes near to the adjacent apparatus. Therefore,
there is the possibility that bending or the like of the
air supply pipe to the cylindrical part may become so
severe that the air intake performance may be degraded.
Further, since the cyclone tubular body has a comparatively
large diameter, there is also the possibility that
centrifugal force at an equal wind speed may decrease to
degrade the dust collection performance.
[0010]
The object of the present invention resides in
provision of a VENTILATOR FOR RAILROAD VEHICLE including a
dust collector that can suppress pressure loss to secure a
high dust collection efficiency and suppress the
installation space of the apparatus.
Means for Solving the Problems
[0011]
7
In order to solve the problems described above, one
of representative VENTILATORS FOR RAILROAD VEHICLE of the
present invention is achieved by a VENTILATOR FOR RAILROAD
VEHICLE, including: a ventilation apparatus for replacing
air in a vehicle; and a dust collector annexed to the
ventilation apparatus, in which the dust collector includes
a housing and a cyclone tubular body provided in an inside
of the housing, the ventilation apparatus includes an air
supply blower that supplies fresh air outside the vehicle,
the fresh air having passed through the cyclone tubular
body to the vehicle, the housing includes a metal net
through which fresh air is to be taken into the cyclone
tubular body and a back plate connecting to the metal net,
and the dust collector is connected to the ventilation
apparatus such that the back plate is positioned in an
inside of the ventilation apparatus.
Advantages of the Invention
[0012]
With the present invention, a VENTILATOR FOR
RAILROAD VEHICLE can be provided which includes a dust
collector enabling suppression of pressure loss to secure a
high dust collection efficiency and suppression of
installation space of the apparatus.
Problems, configurations, and effects other than
8
those described above are made clear by the description of
embodiments hereinafter described.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0013]
FIG. 1 is a ventilation air system diagram depicting
a state in which a ventilation apparatus according to an
embodiment is attached to a vehicle and depicting flows of
fresh air and exhaust air in ventilation.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the ventilation
apparatus that includes a dust collector according to the
present embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view of the
ventilation apparatus including the dust collector
according to the embodiment, taken along a plane that
intersects a longitudinal direction of a vehicle.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the ventilation
apparatus including the dust collector according to the
present embodiment, taken along a perpendicular plane
extending along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
FIG. 5 is a schematic view depicting a procedure for
recovering dust separated by the dust collector annexed to
the ventilation apparatus according to the present
embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a partial exploded view of the dust
9
collector annexed to the ventilation apparatus according to
the present embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another embodiment
of the dust collector annexed to the ventilation apparatus
according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a sectional view of under the floor of a
vehicle in another embodiment of the ventilation apparatus
according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view depicting an example of
a conventional ventilation apparatus.
Modes for Carrying Out the Invention
[0014]
In the following, a first embodiment is described
with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. First, directions are
defined. A direction along a longitudinal (rail) direction
of a vehicle 100 is determined as X direction; another
direction along a widthwise (railroad tie) direction of the
vehicle 100 is determined as Y direction; and a heightwise
direction of the vehicle 100 is determined as Z direction.
In the following description, the directions are sometimes
represented simply as X direction, Y direction and Z
direction.
[0015]
Rail vehicles are vehicles that are driven along a
10
laid track and include a railroad vehicle, a monorail
vehicle, a tram, a new transportation vehicle and so forth.
Embodiments of the present invention are described taking a
railroad vehicle as a representative example of rail
vehicles. The present invention can be applied not only to
a high-speed rail vehicle but also to all rail vehicles.
[0016]
FIG. 1 is a ventilation air system diagram
schematically depicting flows of fresh air and exhaust air
that are ventilated, together with a state in which the
ventilation apparatus according to the present embodiment
is attached to a railroad vehicle. If the vehicle 100 is
driven at a high speed, then the vehicle outside pressure
varies significantly when the vehicle 100 passes through a
tunnel or the like. Even in such a case as just described,
in order to prevent the vehicle internal pressure from
fluctuating by a large amount so such a degree that
passengers and so forth have discomfort in hearing, the
vehicle 100 is configured from a vehicle structure having
high airtightness.
[0017]
Further, where the vehicle 100 has a vehicle
structure having high airtightness, since the ventilation
in the vehicle is significant, the vehicle 100 includes,
under the floor thereof, a ventilation apparatus 101 for
11
forcibly ventilating the air between the outside and the
inside of the vehicle, and an air conditioner 102. The
ventilation apparatus 101 and the air conditioner 102 are
provided below a floorboard 630. The ventilation apparatus
101 includes an air supply blower for supplying the air
(fresh air) outside the vehicle into the inside of the
vehicle and an air exhaust blower for discharging exhaust
air in the vehicle to the outside of the vehicle.
Generally, the vehicle 100 that travels at a high speed
incorporates the ventilation apparatus 101 and the air
conditioner 102 under the floor of the vehicle 100 in order
to place the center of gravity to a lower position.
[0018]
The ventilation apparatus 101 supplies fresh air 111
taken in from the outside of the vehicle to the air
conditioner 102 and discharges exhaust air 113 in the
vehicle to the outside of the vehicle to forcibly ventilate
the vehicle 100. The air conditioner 102 adjusts the
temperature and the humidity of mixed air of the fresh air
111 supplied from the ventilation apparatus 101 and
recirculating air 115 from the inside of the vehicle to
generate conditioned air 112 and supplies the conditioned
air 112 into the inside of the vehicle.
[0019]
In the present embodiment, a dust collector 103
12
(refer to FIG. 2) is provided at a fresh air intake port of
the ventilation apparatus 101. The dust collector 103 has
a function of removing dust which have been in the
atmosphere, fallen leaves which have fallen on the rail,
and so forth if they are mixed in the fresh air 111 taken
in from the outside of the vehicle.
[0020]
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the ventilation
apparatus that includes the dust collector according to the
present embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view
of the dust collector of the ventilation apparatus
according to the present embodiment, taken along a vertical
plane orthogonal to the vehicle longitudinal direction.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the ventilation apparatus
including the dust collector according to the present
embodiment, taken along a vertical plane extending along
the vehicle longitudinal direction.
[0021]
The ventilation apparatus 101 to which the dust
collector 103 that removes dust and so forth included in
the air outside the vehicle is annexed is fixed under the
floor of the vehicle 100 utilizing a hanging implement 105
(FIG. 3) provided on a housing of the ventilation apparatus
101. The ventilation apparatus 101 includes a fresh air
intake port (not depicted) through which fresh air is taken
13
in, a fresh air discharge port 400 through which the fresh
air taken in is discharged, an exhaust air intake port 401
through which exhaust air in the vehicle is taken in, and
an exhaust air discharge port (not depicted) through which
the exhaust air taken in is discharged.
[0022]
The fresh air discharge port 400 is connected to a
fresh air duct provided on the vehicle 100 and serves as a
start point of a flow passage for supplying fresh air to
the air conditioner 102. The exhaust air intake port is
connected to an exhaust dust provided on the vehicle 100.
The exhaust duct provided on the vehicle 100 introduces
exhaust air from associated blocks of the vehicle 100 to
the ventilation apparatus 101.
[0023]
On the upstream side of the fresh air intake port of
the ventilation apparatus 101, the dust collector 103 is
provided which removes dust, fallen leaves, and so forth
included in the fresh air 111 to secure fresh air having
increased cleanliness. The dust collector 103 is installed
in a cantilever fashion at one end of the ventilation
apparatus 101 in the X direction and is fixed integrally to
the ventilation apparatus 101.
[0024]
The dust collector 103 includes: a metal net 200; a
14
housing in the form of a parallelepiped configured from a
back plate 340 (FIG. 4) connected to the metal net 200, and
so forth; three cyclone tubular bodies 300 of a
substantially cylindrical shape for changing fresh air
taken in into whirling flows; a dust collection box 220
provided below the cyclone tubular bodies 300 and
temporarily accumulating dust and so forth collected by the
cyclone tubular bodies 300; and a cap-shaped flow passage
210 that collects fresh air having been increased in
cleanliness by separating dust and so forth above the
cyclone tubular bodies 300. It is to be noted that the
number of cyclone tubular bodies 300 is optional, and here,
an example in which three cyclone tubular bodies 300 each
provided uprightly along the Z direction are provided is
depicted as depicted in FIG. 3. The dust collection box
220 is removably attached to the dust collector 103 by
bolts, a latch, or the like.
[0025]
The housing of the dust collector 103 includes a
metal net 200 on each of three faces among four vertical
side faces (on one face in the X direction and the opposite
faces in the Y direction) thereof, and includes the back
plate 340 on the remaining one face. Since the metal net
200 is provided on the three faces of the housing, the dust
collector 103 can introduce fresh air having passed through
15
the metal nets 200 from the X direction (111a) and the Y
direction (111b and 111c) into the inside of the housing.
[0026]
As depicted in FIG. 4, each cyclone tubular body 300
includes a cyclone inner tube 323 having an axis in the
vertical direction and a cyclone outer tube 320 having an
axis in the vertical direction similarly and including the
cyclone inner tube 323 therein. A first air supply port
310 and a second air supply port 311 are connected to a
flow passage defined by the cyclone outer tube 320 and the
cyclone inner tube 323.
[0027]
Fresh air having passed through the metal net 200
and flown into the dust collector 103 flows into the inside
of the cyclone tubular bodies 300 from the first air supply
port 310 and the second air supply port 311 both provided
along the X direction in the cyclone tubular body 300.
Since the first air supply port 310 and the second air
supply port 311 introduce the fresh air into tangential
directions along the X direction of a horizontal cross
section of the cyclone tubular body 300 of a cylindrical
shape, the fresh air having flowed into the inside of the
cyclone tubular body 300 forms a whirl flow 330 (FIG. 3).
The dimension of the meshes of the metal net 200 is set to
be a little smaller than the dimensions of the first air
16
supply port 310 and the second air supply port 311 such
that foreign matters having a comparatively large size such
as fallen leaves and feathers are suppressed from being
sucked into the cyclone tubular body 300.
[0028]
In the process when the fresh air having flowed into
the cyclone tubular body 300 and whirling along the inner
side face of the cyclone outer tube 320 passes through the
flow passage between the cyclone outer tube 320 and the
cyclone inner tube 323, foreign matters such as dust and
fallen leaves included in the fresh air are pressed against
the inner wall face of the cyclone outer tube 320 by the
centrifugal force and are separated as foreign matters from
the fresh air. The separated foreign matters drop
downwardly along the inner side face of the cyclone outer
tube 320 and are accumulated into the dust collection box
220 provided below the cyclone tubular body 300.
[0029]
The fresh air having been increased in cleanliness
with the foreign matters removed is led down to a lower end
portion of the cyclone outer tube 320 while being whirled
and then moved up in the Z direction passing through the
inner side of the cyclone inner tube 323. The fresh air
coming to an upper end portion of the cyclone inner tube
323 is aggregated in the cap-shaped flow passage 210 that
17
is shared by the upper end portions of the plurality of
cyclone tubular bodies 300 through openings 322, passes
through an air supply blower front chamber 511 configured
in the inside of the housing of the ventilation apparatus
101 and is sucked from an air supply blower suction port
512 into an air supply blower 510.
[0030]
Thereafter, the fresh air whose static pressure is
raised by the air supply blower 510 is supplied from the
fresh air discharge port 400 to the air conditioner 102 via
a fresh air duct (not depicted). The air supply blower 510
and an exhaust blower 520 are driven by a common electric
motor 500.
[0031]
Since the first air supply port 310 and the second
air supply port 311 are provided at two places on the
cyclone tubular body 300, the air supply area can be
increased in comparison with a case in which fresh air is
taken in from an air supply port at one place. Further,
since fresh air having a low flow speed is taken in from
the plurality of air supply ports, the air supply
efficiency can be increased thereby to reduce the inflow
loss (resistance) to the cyclone tubular body 300.
Further, since the inflow loss to the cyclone tubular body
300 can be reduced, fluid noise generated at the first air
18
supply port 310 (second air supply port 311) of the cyclone
tubular body 300 can be suppressed.
[0032]
The dust collection box 220 has compartments 222
partitioned by partition plates 221 according to the number
of cyclone tubular bodies 300 as depicted in FIG. 3.
Although the whirl flow 330 including much dust whirls in
the inside of the dust collection box 220, by providing the
plurality of compartments 222, the flow speed of the whirl
flow 330 passing through corner portions (angle portions)
of the compartments 222 can be lowered. Therefore, since a
larger amount of dust can be caught into the compartments
222 from within the whirl flows 330 having the lowered flow
speed, the dust collection efficiency can be increased.
Furthermore, since the flow speed of the whirl flows 330 at
corner portions (angle portions) of the compartments 222 is
low, the dust and so forth caught once can be suppressed
from being taken back into the whirl flows 330 to be sent
to the ventilation apparatus 101.
[0033]
Referring to FIG. 4, if the dimension of the
ventilation apparatus 101 along the X direction is
represented by A, and similarly, the projection dimension
of the dust collector 103 annexed to the ventilation
apparatus 101 and projected in the X direction is
19
represented by B, then by setting the dimension A to 5 to 7
times the dimension B, while a high dust collection
performance of the dust collector 103 is secured, reduction
in size of the ventilation apparatus 101 to which the dust
collector 103 is annexed can be achieved. Therefore, the
ventilation apparatus 101 can be installed under the floor
of the vehicle 100.
[0034]
If the widthwise dimension of the dust collector 103
in the Y direction is represented by E (FIG. 2), then by
setting the dimension E to 2 to 4 times the dimension B, an
installation space for cyclone tubular bodies required to
maintain a high dust collection efficiency can be secured.
[0035]
As depicted in FIG. 4, the dust collector 103 is
fixed to the ventilation apparatus 101 in such a manner
that it enters the ventilation apparatus 101 such that the
back plate 340 that forms part of the housing of the dust
collector 103 comes near to the air supply blower 510 from
an end face of the ventilation apparatus 101. The back
plate 340 is placed at a position spaced by a dimension D
in the X direction from the air supply blower suction port
512 and configures part of a wall of the air supply blower
front chamber 511, which extends from the exit of the capshaped
flow passage 210 provided in the dust collector 103
20
to the air supply blower suction port 512. By this
configuration, the dimension (A + B) in the X direction of
the whole in which the dust collector 103 is fixed to the
ventilation apparatus 101 can be reduced, and therefore,
the installation space for various equipment under the
floor of the vehicle 100 can be reduced.
[0036]
If the dimension in the X direction between the
second air supply port 311 and the back plate 340 is
represented by C and the dimension in the X direction
between the back plate 340 and the air supply blower
suction port 512 is represented by D, then by setting the
dimension C to two to four times the dimension D, increase
in intake loss by the second air supply port 311 and
pressure loss by the air supply blower front chamber 511
can be suppressed.
[0037]
FIG. 5 is a view schematically depicting a procedure
for recovering dust separated by the dust collector annexed
to the ventilation apparatus of the present embodiment.
Dust and so froth accumulated in the dust collection box
220 are taken out from the dust collection box 220 and
discharged at the time of periodic inspection of the
vehicle 100.
[0038]
21
In the following, a procedure for discarding dust
and so forth collected by the dust collector 103 is
described. First, a lower closing plate 600 positioned
below the dust collector 103 is removed from under the
floor of the vehicle 100 that stops at an inspection and
repair warehouse or the like. The lower closing plate 600
is laid across the ventilation apparatus 101 and equipment
adjacent to the ventilation apparatus 101 (for example, a
main converter 610).
[0039]
In a specific procedure for removing the lower
closing plate 600, bolts (not depicted) for fixing the
lower closing plate 600 to receiving portions 620 at a
lower end portion of the ventilation apparatus 101 and the
main converter 610 are removed first, and an end portion of
the lower closing plate 600 in the X direction is repelled
upwardly once and then the lower closing plate 600 is
slidably drawn out obliquely downwardly. Consequently, the
dust collection box 220 is exposed through an opening OP
formed as a result of the drawing out of the lower closing
plate 600. Therefore, bolts, a latch, or the like for
fixation to the dust collector 103 is removed and the dust
collection box 220 is taken out downwardly of the vehicle
100 from the opening OP. Then, the dust and so forth are
discarded from the dust collection box 220 to a
22
predetermined place. Since the removal of the dust
collection box 220 allows the lower ends of the cyclone
tubular bodies 300 (FIG. 4) built in the dust collector 103
to be exposed, cleaning of the cyclone tubular bodies 300
may be performed from here.
[0040]
FIG. 6 is an exploded view depicting part of the
dust collector annexed to the ventilation apparatus of the
present embodiment. The cyclone tubular bodies 300 built
in the dust collector 103 are supported by an upper plate
240 to which upper end portions of the cyclone tubular
bodies 300 are fixed along the Y direction and which has
three through-holes 241 through which fresh air to be
introduced from the cyclone tubular bodies 300 into the
cap-shaped flow passage 210 passes, and by a lower plate
250 to which circumferential edge portions of dust
collection ports 321 at lower end portions of the cyclone
tubular bodies 300 are fixed along the Y axis direction and
which has three through-holes 251 through which dust and so
forth separated by the cyclone tubular bodies 300 pass.
[0041]
The inner diameter of an upper end of the cyclone
inner tube 323 and the inner diameter of the through-holes
241 of the upper plate 240 have a substantially same
dimension. Upper end portions of the cyclone tubular
23
bodies 300 and the upper plate 240 are fastened together
through a removable mechanical fastening portion 242 (for
example, by a fastening screw). Similarly, lower end
portions of the cyclone tubular bodies 300 and the lower
plate 250 are fastened together through a removable
mechanical fastening portion 252 (for example, by a
fastening screw).
[0042]
The widthwise dimension Y1 and the heightwise
dimension Z1 of a cyclone unit configured from a plurality
of cyclone tubular bodies 300 and the upper plate 240 and
lower plate 250 are set smaller than the Y direction
dimension and the Z direction dimension of the metal net
200 (refer to FIG. 2) arranged in an opposing relation to
the back plate 340. Therefore, if the metal net 200
opposing to the back plate 340 is removed in the state in
which the dust collector 103 is fixed to the ventilation
apparatus 101 (refer to FIG. 3), then the complete set of
the cyclone unit can be drawn out downwardly of the vehicle
100 after it is pulled out in the X direction.
[0043]
Consequently, it is possible to disassemble and
clean the cyclone tubular bodies 300 individually and
perform visual inspection and so forth of them. Therefore,
it is also possible to exchange only the cyclone tubular
24
body 300 in which some abnormality is found. Further, if
the cyclone tubular bodies 300 (three cyclone tubular
bodies 300) are formed in the same shape, then common parts
can be used for them, and therefore, the cyclone tubular
bodies 300 can be obtained and exchanged at a low cost.
[0044]
Table 1 indicates a result of an experiment for
verification of the dust collection performance of the
cyclone tubular bodies 300 according to the present
embodiment. The dust collection performance was verified
using four different foreign matters supposed to be caught
by the dust collector 103 when the vehicle 100 travels
along a business route, by referring to foreign matters and
so forth that were caught by a prefilter provided at the
fresh air intake port of the ventilation apparatus used in
the business route.
[0045]
[Table 1]
Dust collection efficiency of various kinds of dust (%)
Quartz
sand
Iron
powder
Feather Dead
leaves
Large air volume (when traveling
at high speed)
94 98 99 100
Small air volume (when traveling 94 98 94 100
25
at low speed, when stopping)
[0046]
Here, in the ventilation apparatus 101, the number
of rotations of the electric motor 500 for driving the air
supply blower 510 and the exhaust blower 520 is increased
to obtain a large air amount and a high static pressure
such that the difference between the supply air amount of
the air supply blower 510 and the exhaust air amount of the
exhaust blower 520 of the ventilation apparatus 101 due to
the vehicle outside pressure fluctuation when the vehicle
is driven at a high speed is reduced. On the other hand,
when driving of the vehicle at a low speed including when
stopping of the vehicle, in order to reduce the power
consumption, the number of rotations of the electric motor
500 is reduced to obtain a small air amount. Therefore,
the air amount of the dust collector 103 was evaluated at
the two levels of the large air amount and the small air
amount.
[0047]
Further, as the foreign matters, four types
including quartz sand, iron powder (powder of several tens
to several hundreds μm), feather, and dead leaves (cut to
several mm) were applied, and the dust collection
performance of the dust collector 103 for the individual
foreign matters was evaluated by defining the dust
26
collection efficiency as the ratio between the weight of
the foreign matters before suction by the dust collector
103 and the weight of the foreign matters separated by the
dust collector 103 and recovered by the dust collection box
220. Specifically, the dust collection efficiency 99% in
Table 1 signifies that foreign matters are collected by 99%
in weight ratio while foreign matters are mixed by the
remaining 1% in the gas. As indicated by Table 1, a high
dust collection efficiency was confirmed for all foreign
matters, and it was confirmed that the dust collector 103
has a sufficiently high dust collection performance.
[0048]
FIG. 7 is a perspective view depicting another
example of the dust collector annexed to the ventilation
apparatus of the present embodiment and is depicted in a
state in which the metal net is removed. Depending upon
the environment of a line section in which the vehicle 100
travels, dust including much quartz sand therein is
sometimes recovered. In this manner, it is possible to
change the number of cyclone tubular bodies 300 according
to the environment of the line section to adjust the dust
collection performance of the dust collector 103 in
response to the composition of the dust. For example,
where it is desired to obtain a higher dust collection
performance while permitting increase in the pressure loss
27
of the dust collector 103 (in such a case that very small
powder down to less than several μm is to be collected or
in a like case), it is possible to reduce the outer
diameter of the cyclone tubular bodies 300 to adjust the
wind amount such that high turning force (separation force)
is generated at the time of the same wind amount.
[0049]
In such a case as just described, although the dust
collector 103 somewhat increases in volume and weight in
order to secure a higher dust collection performance and to
maintain a predetermined ventilation air amount, increasing
the number of cyclone tubular bodies to 10, for example,
copes with the case. In this example, two rows each
including five cyclone tubular bodies 800 of a small
diameter arranged in the Y direction are arranged in the X
direction as depicted in FIG. 7. Even if the number of
cyclone tubular bodies increases or decreases, if a
configuration of a corresponding cap-shaped flow passage
210 and dust collection box 220 is used, then the dust
collector 103 can be configured which maintains a
predetermined ventilation volume and has a higher dust
collection performance while securing high maintainability
and suppressing retaking in of dust and so forth.
[0050]
FIG. 8 is a sectional view depicting another
28
embodiment of the ventilation apparatus according to the
present embodiment in a state in which the ventilation
apparatus is arranged under the floor of the vehicle. In
the embodiment described above, the ventilation apparatus
is configured such that the dust collection box 220 can be
drawn out downwardly of the vehicle 100 as depicted in FIG.
5. In the present embodiment, the dust collection box 220
can be drawn out in the Y direction. A procedure of this
is described below.
[0051]
Below the floorboard 630 of the vehicle 100,
underfloor equipment 900 such as the ventilation apparatus
101 having the dust collector 103, the air conditioner 102
(refer to FIG. 1), an auxiliary power supply apparatus or
the like is provided. The vehicle 100 includes side skirts
910 extending downwardly from the opposite end portions of
the floorboard 630 in the Y direction. The lower closing
plate 600 is provided so as to extend from a lower end
portion of one of the side skirts 910 to a lower end
portion of the other side skirt 910. The side skirt 910
provided at a position from which a dust collection tray
921, hereinafter described, is drawn out includes a lid
part 911 capable of being opened and closed (removable) by
a latch or the like.
[0052]
29
The ventilation apparatus 101 includes a dust
collection box part 220a provided below the cyclone tubular
bodies 300 (refer to FIG. 3), the dust collection tray 921
into which collected dust is to be accumulated, and a
bottom plate 920 that supports the dust collection tray
921. The bottom plate 920 is fixed at one end portion
thereof in the Y direction (at a portion rather near to the
center of the vehicle 100 in the Y direction) by a hinge
931 and includes a latch 930 removably mounted at the other
end portion thereof in the Y direction. If the latch 930
is unlatched, then since the bottom plate 920 can be
pivoted around the hinge 931 in the Y-Z plane, the dust
collection tray 921 placed on the bottom plate 920 can be
drawn out in the Y direction.
[0053]
In the following, a procedure for discarding
collected dust and so forth is described. When the vehicle
100 enters an inspection and repair warehouse or the like
to perform inspection and so forth, the latch of the lid
part 911 provided on the side skirt 910 is unlatched and
the lid part 911 is opened. Thereafter, the latch 930 at a
lower portion of the dust collector 103 is unlatched and
the bottom plate 920 is pivoted downwardly around the hinge
931 as indicated by a broken line. Thereafter, the dust
collection tray 921 supported on the bottom plate 920 is
30
taken out from the lid part 911 to the outside of the
vehicle 100 to discard the collected dust and so forth.
[0054]
According to the configuration described, there is
no necessity to remove the lower closing plate 600 of the
vehicle 100 in order to discard dust and so forth.
Therefore, the man-hours for the discarding work of
collected dust can be reduced, and consequently, the
maintenance cost can be suppressed.
[0055]
FIG. 9 is a view depicting an example of a
conventional ventilation apparatus for reference. The
conventional ventilation apparatus 101 includes, on one
face of the ventilation apparatus 101 in the X direction
(on a ventilation apparatus front face 120), an air supply
port through which fresh air is take in, and includes, at
the air supply port, a prefilter 121 made of a nonwoven
fabric or the like in place of the dust collector 103 of
the present embodiment. The configuration of the other
part of the ventilation apparatus 101 is similar to that in
the present embodiment.
[0056]
In the ventilation apparatus of FIG. 9, as the
amount of dust and so forth that are caught by the
prefilter 121 increases, the area of the air supply port
31
decreases, and there is the possibility that this may
result in decrease in the air supply amount. Therefore,
depending upon the season, it is necessary to increase the
frequency of check and replacement of the prefilter 121.
[0057]
In contrast, according to the present embodiment
described hereinabove, the ventilation apparatus 101 having
the dust collector 103 suppresses rise of the maintenance
cost, suppresses the pressure loss, and secures a high dust
collection efficiency. Thus, a VENTILATOR FOR RAILROAD
VEHICLE can be provided which can suppress the installation
space of the apparatus.
[0058]
It is to be noted that the present invention is not
limited to the embodiments described above and includes
various modifications. For example, the above-described
embodiments are described in detail for better
understandings of the present invention and are not
necessarily restricted to an embodiment that includes all
configurations described hereinabove. Further, it is
possible to replace part of components of a certain
embodiment with a component of a different embodiment, and
also it is possible to add components of another embodiment
to a component of a certain embodiment. Further, it is
possible to perform addition, deletion, or replacement of a
32
component to, from, or with part of components of each
embodiment.
Description of Reference Characters
[0059]
100: Vehicle
101: Ventilation apparatus
102: Air conditioner
103: Dust collector
105: Hanging implement
111: Fresh air
112: Conditioned air
113: Exhaust air in vehicle
114: Exhaust air
115: Recirculating air
120: Ventilation apparatus front face
121: Prefilter
200: Metal net
210: Cap-shaped flow passage
220: Dust collection box
220a: Dust collection box part
221: Partition plate
222: Compartment
240: Upper plate
241: Through-hole
33
242: Mechanical fastening portion
250: Lower plate
251: Through-hole
252: Mechanical fastening portion
300: Cyclone tubular body
310: First air supply port
311: Second air supply port
320: Cyclone outer tube
321: Dust collection port
323: Cyclone inner tube
330: Whirl flow
340: Back plate
400: Fresh air discharge port
401: Exhaust air intake port
500: Electric motor
510: Air supply blower
511: Air supply blower front chamber
512: Air supply blower suction port
520: Exhaust blower
600: Lower closing plate
610: Main converter
620: Receiving portion
630: Floorboard
800: Cyclone tubular body of small diameter
900: Underfloor equipment
34
910: Side skirt
911: Lid part
920: Bottom plate
921: Dust collection tray
930: Latch
931: Hinge

WE CLAIM:

1. A VENTILATOR FOR RAILROAD VEHICLE, comprising:
a ventilation apparatus for replacing air in a
vehicle; and
a dust collector annexed to the ventilation
apparatus, wherein
the dust collector includes a housing, and a cyclone
tubular body provided in an inside of the housing,
the ventilation apparatus includes an air supply
blower that supplies fresh air outside the vehicle, the
fresh air having passed through the cyclone tubular body,
to the vehicle,
the housing includes a metal net through which fresh
air is to be taken into the cyclone tubular body and a back
plate connecting to the metal net, and
the dust collector is connected to the ventilation
apparatus such that the back plate is positioned in an
inside of the ventilation apparatus.
2. The VENTILATOR FOR RAILROAD VEHICLE according to
claim 1, wherein
the ventilation apparatus has an air supply blower
front chamber on an upstream side of the air supply blower;
and
the back plate configures part of a wall of the air
36
supply blower front chamber.
3. The VENTILATOR FOR RAILROAD VEHICLE according to
claim 1, wherein
the dust collector includes, below the cyclone
tubular body, a dust collection box into which foreign
matters collected by the cyclone tubular body are to be
accumulated; and
the dust collection box has the number of
compartments corresponding to the number of the cyclone
tubular bodies.
4. The VENTILATOR FOR RAILROAD VEHICLE according to
claim 3, wherein
the dust collection box is capable of being
separated from the dust collector fixed to the ventilation
apparatus.
5. The VENTILATOR FOR RAILROAD VEHICLE according to
claim 1, wherein
the housing is a parallelepiped that has a metal net
on each three faces of four vertical side faces of the
housing and has the back plate on a remaining one face of
the four vertical side faces,
the cyclone tubular body, an upper plate that fixes
an upper end portion of the cyclone tubular body, and a
lower plate that fixes a lower end portion of the cyclone
tubular body cooperatively configure a cyclone unit, and
37
the cyclone unit has a heightwise dimension and a
widthwise dimension that are set smaller than a heightwise
dimension and a widthwise dimension of the metal net
arranged in an opposing manner to the back plate.
6. The VENTILATOR FOR RAILROAD VEHICLE according to
any one of claims 3 to 5, comprising:
a dust collection box having compartments separated
by a partition plate or plates.
7. The VENTILATOR FOR RAILROAD VEHICLE according to
any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein
a plurality of the cyclone tubular bodies are
arranged in a lined up relation in a direction intersecting
an advancing direction of the rail vehicle.