JP3893752B2 - Oil pan - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an oil pan for an internal combustion engine, and more particularly to an oil pan in which dead space in the oil pan is eliminated.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As shown in FIG. 5, the oil pan 1 mounted on the lower side of a cylinder block (not shown) of the internal combustion engine has a shallow bottom portion 2 and a deep bottom portion 3. A pump drive gear 5 is provided. Further, the oil strainer 6 attached to the oil pump 4 is provided so that the suction port 7 faces the bottom surface 8 of the deep bottom portion 3.
[0003]
The oil sucked up by the oil pump 4 flows into the oil pan 1 as indicated by the arrow after lubricating the lubricated portion in the internal combustion engine. The oil accumulated in the oil pan 1 is led to the oil pump 4 again through the oil strainer 6.
However, the height of the oil pan 1 is limited due to the vehicle layout, and the interval between the oil pan 1 and each component is narrowed. In particular, the distance between the shallow bottom portion 2 of the oil pan 1 and the meshed hatched portion (A) between the oil pump 4 and the oil pump drive gear 5 becomes narrow, which causes the following problems.
[0004]
(1) Oil that has flowed down from above accumulates in the hatched portion (b), and the oil around the gear (c) becomes difficult to flow. As a result, the total oil amount due to the deterioration of oil circulation is insufficient, and the oil pump hunts.
{Circle around (2)} Oil is accumulated too much in the meshed portions (A), and the agitation resistance of the oil pump drive gear 5 increases. As a result, the drive loss of the oil pump drive gear 5 increases, resulting in a deterioration in fuel consumption.
(3) On the other hand, the bottom of the oil pan 1 is greatly vibrated and causes noise.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an oil pan having no defects as described in the above (1) to (3).
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
An oil pan according to a first aspect of the present invention is an oil pan of an internal combustion engine having a shallow bottom portion and a deep bottom portion, and an oil pump and an oil pump drive gear located at an end of the shallow bottom portion, wherein the shallow bottom portion Provided with an arch-shaped weir in a plan view that divides the area below the oil pump drive gear and the substantially central portion of the shallow bottom, and a plan view formed between the arch-shaped weir and the side wall of the oil pan. The oil flows in the direction of the deep bottom in the arch-shaped passage, while the oil flows from the center of the shallow bottom surrounded by the arch-shaped weir toward the inlet of the oil strainer. It is what.
[0007]
According to the above configuration, the oil that has flowed between the oil pan and the oil pump drive gear flows into the deep bottom through the arched passage between the weir and the side wall of the oil pan, while the center of the shallow bottom The oil flowing down to the section flows smoothly from the central portion of the shallow bottom surrounded by the arch-shaped weir toward the inlet of the oil strainer.
The oil pan according to the invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that the cross section of the weir is formed in a concave shape to increase the rigidity of the oil pan itself .
[0008]
According to the above configuration, the rigidity of the oil pan itself is increased and the vibration of the oil pan is reduced.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, an oil pan 1 mounted on the lower side of a cylinder block (not shown) of an internal combustion engine has a shallow bottom portion 2 and a deep bottom portion 3. An oil pump drive gear 5 is provided. Further, the oil strainer 6 attached to the oil pump 4 is provided so that the suction port 7 faces the bottom surface 8 of the deep bottom portion 3.
[0010]
The oil sucked up by the oil pump 4 flows into the oil pan 1 as indicated by the arrow after lubricating the lubricated portion in the internal combustion engine. The oil accumulated in the oil pan 1 is led to the oil pump 4 again through the oil strainer 6.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an arch-shaped weir 9 is provided in the shallow bottom portion 2 to partition an area 10 below the oil pump drive gear 5 and a substantially central portion 11 of the shallow bottom portion 2. The weir 9 includes a short portion 91 provided along the side wall 12 positioned at the end of the shallow bottom portion 2, and a long portion 92 extended from both ends of the short portion 91 toward the deep bottom portion 3. As shown in FIG. 1, the long portion 92 is formed and reaches the deep bottom portion 3 through the side wall 14 between the shallow bottom portion 2 and the deep bottom portion 3.
[0011]
Further, the weir 9 has a substantially U-shaped cross section so as to increase the rigidity of the oil pan 1 itself. The cross-sectional shape of the weir is not limited to the U shape, and may be, for example, a U shape or a V shape. In short, it is only necessary that the shape of the cross section is a concave shape.
Accordingly, in FIG. 1, the oil flowing down as indicated by an arrow c passes through the arch-shaped passage 15 formed between the weir 9 and the side wall 13 in the longitudinal direction of the oil pan 1 as shown in FIG. 2. It flows in the direction of 3 as indicated by an arrow c '.
[0012]
On the other hand, the oil flowing down as indicated by the arrow b flows smoothly as indicated by the arrow b ′ from the central portion 11 of the shallow bottom portion 2 surrounded by the arch-shaped weir 9 toward the suction port 7 of the oil strainer 6.
Examples of the material for the oil pan include aluminum, aluminum alloys, light alloys such as magnesium, and fiber reinforced plastics.
[0013]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, since the oil circulation is improved, the amount of oil can be reduced, and the oil weight can be reduced.
Further, according to the present invention, the oil agitation resistance of the oil pump drive gear is reduced, so that the fuel efficiency is improved.
[0014]
Furthermore, according to the present invention, since the rigidity of the oil pan is increased by the weir, the vibration at the bottom of the oil pan is reduced, so that the noise can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an oil pan according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a plan view of an oil pan according to the present invention.
3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional oil pan.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Oil pan 2 Shallow-bottom part 3 Deep-bottom part 4 Oil pump 5 Oil-pump drive gear 9 Weir 10 Area under oil-pump drive gear 11 Shallow-bottom approximate center part

Claims (2)

An oil pan for an internal combustion engine having a shallow bottom portion and a deep bottom portion, and an oil pump and an oil pump drive gear positioned at an end of the shallow bottom portion, wherein the shallow bottom portion includes an area below the oil pump drive gear and a shallow bottom portion. An arch-shaped weir is provided in a plan view that divides the substantially central portion of the arch, and the arch-shaped passage formed between the arch-shaped weir and the side wall of the oil pan is directed toward the deep bottom. An oil pan characterized in that, while oil flows, the oil flows from the central portion of the shallow bottom surrounded by the arch-shaped weir toward the inlet of the oil strainer . 2. The oil pan according to claim 1 , wherein the cross section of the weir is formed in a concave shape to increase the rigidity of the oil pan itself .

Images