JPS6060004B2 - Oil pan for internal combustion engines - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to an oil pan for an internal combustion engine.

In most conventional internal combustion engine lubricant supply systems,
Lubricating oil flows from the oil pan through an oil strainer, an oil pump, and an oil filter to the main gear rally to supply oil to each lubricated portion of the cylinder block, and from the oil filter to the cylinder head.

However, this conventional lubricating oil supply system requires time, and during that time, friction during startup is large, resulting in poor fuel efficiency.

Various types of systems have been proposed in the past for raising the lubricating oil temperature with some other aid during cold start. For example, a) a system in which exhaust gas is passed through the oil pan and heated by the exhaust heat; b) an engine cooling water pipe is provided in the oil pan and cooling water is passed through it;
A system that increases the temperature of lubricating oil; c) A system that increases the temperature of lubricating oil by installing a heater around or inside the oil pan; d) A system that divides the oil pan into two and supplies oil from only one side when it is cold to raise the temperature. There is also a system that refuels from both sides.

In system a), the lubricating oil is heated too much by the exhaust gas, which may lead to decomposition and deterioration. In system b), the lubricating oil has a high viscosity, so the lubricating oil is not stirred sufficiently, causing damage to the engine cooling water pipes. Only the lubricating oil in the vicinity can be heated, and in both systems b and c), the lubricating oil in a large oil pan must be heated, and there are problems such as the inability to raise the temperature rapidly. In addition, in the system d), the oil pan is simply divided into two parts and the valves are opened and closed depending on the temperature of the lubricating oil, but if the vehicle leans on a slope or ramp, there is a risk of oil supply being exhausted. None of these methods have been put into practical use. An object of the present invention is to provide an oil pan for an internal combustion engine that can reduce mechanical sliding friction due to viscosity and improve fuel efficiency by rapidly raising the temperature of lubricating oil at low temperatures.

The present invention divides the oil pan into a warming pot and a main body,
A switching valve integrated with the thermostat is communicated with the small-volume warm-up pot when the temperature is low, and when the oil temperature rises, it is communicated with the large-volume main body to rapidly raise the oil temperature at low temperatures. The idea is to let it happen.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

In FIGS. 1 to 4, 1 is an oil pan, and 2 is a conduit leading to an oil pump 19, through which lubricating oil is supplied to various parts of the engine.

By providing a warm-up pot 3 with an oil recovery plate 17 around the upper part in the oil pan 1, the oil in the oil pan 1 is divided into main body side oil 14 and warm-up pot side oil 15. In the warming pot 3, at the boundary between the main body side and the warming pot side,
An oil strainer 4 for the main body side and an oil strainer 5 for the warming pot side are provided. 10 is a valve communication path provided in the switching valve 16, and the switching valve 16, which is provided integrally with the thermowax 6 that senses the oil temperature of the warming pot side oil 15, is connected to the spring 21 according to the oil temperature. By moving up and down in the chamber 11, it communicates with the main body side oil inlet 8 or the warming pot side oil inlet 9 via oil strainers 4 and 5, respectively.

Further, the oil entering the valve communication path 10 passes through a groove 20 provided in the switching valve 16 and enters the conduit 13 and the conduit 2. In addition, 7 is a communication hole for keeping the liquid level of the main body side oil 14 and the warming pot side oil 15 at a constant level.
At least several of them are provided at positions higher than the oil inlet 9 on the warm pot side. 12 leads from the warming pot 3 to the conduit 13. A check valve is installed in the middle of the communication hole.

In addition, when the switching valve 16 moves up and down depending on the oil temperature and switches from the oil inlet 8 on the main body side to the oil inlet 9 on the warm pot side, or vice versa, the oil supply to the lubricated parts is not interrupted. Oil on the side! The port 8 and the warm pot side oil inlet 9 are overlapped by I. Third
The figure is an enlarged view of section A in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the switching valve 16, in which two arc-shaped grooves 20 are provided, and a groove 23 is provided for inserting the tip of a bolt 22 to prevent the switching valve from rotating during operation. ing. When starting an engine that has been left unused for several hours or more, the lubricating oil temperature is low at the time of starting, as shown by curve a in FIG. 5, and startup is slow. In FIG. 5, the vertical axis represents lubricating oil temperature and the horizontal axis represents time.

This oil pan circulates only the warm pot side oil 15 for the first few minutes to several tens of minutes, and the warm pot side oil 15 is circulated through the warm pot side oil strainer 5,
Warm-up pot side oil inlet 9, valve communication path 10 of the switching valve 16
, conduit 13 and further conduit 2 to the oil pump,
The oil pump 19 is fed, used to lubricate various parts of the engine, and then returned to the warm-up pot 3 via the oil recovery plate 17. As the operation continues, the temperature of the oil 15 in the warm-up pot rises, and the thermowax 6 provided in the warm-up pot 3 begins to expand gradually by sensing the oil temperature in the warm-up pot 3, and the switching valve 16 rises within the chamber 11 and serves to close the oil inlet 9 on the warm pot side and to communicate the oil inlet 8 on the main body side with the valve communication path 10 . For this reason, up until now, the warm-up pot side oil 15
As a result, the oil pump that was previously using the main body side oil 14 will now pump up the oil 14 on the main body side.

Since the oil 14 on the main body side is cooler than the oil 15 on the warm pot side, it is possible to prevent seizure due to excessive rise in lubricating oil temperature, and the oil 14 on the main body side is appropriately preheated by the oil 15 on the warm pot side. Of course, this reduces friction loss.

Incidentally, the oil 14 on the main body side initially falls into the warm-up pot 3, but when the warm-up pot 3 becomes full, it naturally returns to the main body side, so there is no need to take any particular measures to prevent a lack of lubricating oil capacity on the main body side. It is preferable to provide several communication holes 7 in the warm-up pot 3 with the main body to maintain the liquid level at a constant level.

In addition, since the oil recovery plate 17 does not cover the entire oil pan 1, even during cold operation using the warm-up pot side oil 15, some oil returns to the main body side and warms up. Since the amount of oil 15 on the pot side decreases to some extent, it is effective to provide the communication hole 7 between the warming pot side and the main body side as a countermeasure.

During the above process, even if the engine was temporarily stopped, oil was easily cooled down because there was no way to keep it warm in the past, but in this system, the oil 15 on the warm pot side is transferred to the warm pot 3 and the main body side. Because it is surrounded by the oil 14, it is difficult to cool down, and the thermostat 16 is constantly operating, so even when the engine is restarted after being stopped for several hours, the temperature of the oil 15 on the warm-up pot side remains below a certain limit. When the lubricating oil temperature is reached, the switching valve 16 is gradually lowered and oil can be supplied from the warm-up pot 3 again, making it possible to restart the lubricating oil at a higher temperature than before. Also, after stopping, as the oil temperature decreases, the switching valve 16 gradually descends, so the conduit 1
3 and the check valve 18 so that there are no holes in the chamber 11.
By providing this in the communication hole 12, oil can flow into the warm-up pot 3 from one direction, thereby preventing air bubbles from being mixed in when the engine is restarted. As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to quickly warm up the engine shown in curve b in Figure 5, and it is possible to expect an improvement in fuel efficiency when starting at a low temperature. Since it is in a higher range than before, fuel efficiency will not improve.

Additionally, compared to conventional two-part oil pan systems, the oil pan is pot-shaped and has an oil collection plate on top, so the oil on one side of the oil pan won't run out due to slopes, ramps, etc.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG. 1. Figure 3 is an enlarged view of section A in Figure 1. FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the switching valve. FIG. 5 is a graph showing the rise in lubricating oil temperature in the conventional oil pan and the oil pan of the present invention at the time of a cold start. 1...
...Oil pan, 2... Conduit, 3...
Warming pot, 6...Thermo wax, 7...
...Communication hole, 12...Communication hole, 13...
Conduit, 16... switching valve, 17... oil recovery plate,
18... Check valve.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In an oil pan for an internal combustion engine connected to a lubricated part by an oil supply passage and an oil return passage, the oil pan is divided into a first and a second chamber, The oil return passage is always in communication with the first chamber, and a temperature sensing means is provided for measuring the oil temperature in the first chamber;
A switching valve is provided in the supply passage, so that when the temperature sensing means indicates a temperature below a certain temperature, the supply passage communicates only with the first chamber, and when the temperature exceeds the certain temperature, it communicates with the second chamber. An oil pan for internal combustion engines that is designed to be compressed. 2. The oil pan for an internal combustion engine according to claim 1, wherein a communication hole having a check valve communicating with the first chamber is provided downstream of the switching valve. 3. Claim 1, characterized in that a communication hole for communicating the first chamber and the second chamber is provided at a higher position than the communication portion between the supply passage and the first chamber. Oil pan for internal combustion engines as described in .