JP2013019309A - Engine, transmission and differential gear mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an engine in which a temperature of a lubricating oil 3 in an oil pan 2 is rapidly raised during warming-up, and sufficient fuel economy can be exhibited.SOLUTION: The oil pan 2 is connected to an opening 1A on a lower end of a crankcase 1, and the lubricating oil 3 is stored up to the position of an inner surface 1B of the crankcase 1 over the oil pan 2. The oil pan 2 is made of steel, and the crankcase 1 is made of aluminum alloy. An inner surface 2B of the oil pan 2 and the inner surface 1B of the crankcase 1 are covered by a heat insulating material 5. Accordingly, heat of the lubricating oil 3 is not radiated to the oil pan 2 or the crankcase 1 during warming-up.

Description

  The present invention relates to an engine, a transmission, and a differential gear mechanism, and more specifically to, for example, an improvement of an oil pan and its peripheral members.

Conventionally, an engine in which a heat insulating material is provided in an oil pan in order to raise the temperature of lubricating oil in the oil pan during warm-up has been proposed (for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3).
That is, in Patent Document 1, the outer surface of the oil pan is covered with a heat-resistant material in order to prevent heat dissipation and reduce noise. Moreover, in patent document 2, while covering an oil pan main body with a cover from the outer side, the structure which pinches | interposes a heat insulating material between these both members is employ | adopted. Furthermore, in Patent Document 3, the oil pan has a three-layer structure, and a heat insulating material is interposed as an intermediate layer between the inner and outer metal member layers.

JP 59-136521 A JP 2001-355422 A JP 2010-127090 A

Since the conventional oil pan described above has a structure in which the outer surface of the metal oil pan main body or component is covered with a heat insulating material, the heat of the lubricating oil in the oil pan is the metal oil pan main body or component. It is designed to dissipate heat.
By the way, conventionally, at the time of warming up after the engine is started, in order to reduce the friction of the sliding portion in the engine, it is desired to quickly raise the temperature of the lubricating oil in the oil pan. However, since the conventional oil pan is configured as described above, the heat of the lubricating oil in the oil pan is easily dissipated to the oil pan during warm-up, so that the lubricating oil in the oil pan quickly rises in temperature. There is a drawback of not being.
In particular, in an engine made of an aluminum alloy having a thick crankcase and storing lubricating oil up to the position of the crankcase, the temperature of the lubricating oil in the oil pan is not easily raised during warm-up. This is because the heat of the lubricating oil is easily radiated to the crankcase because the crankcase is made of an aluminum alloy and has a large heat capacity. Therefore, in an aluminum alloy engine, it takes time to raise the temperature of the lubricating oil in the oil pan during warm-up, and the sliding portion in the engine is poorly lubricated. Therefore, there is a drawback that the frictional resistance of the sliding portion in the engine is increased, and consequently the fuel consumption of the engine is reduced.

In view of the circumstances described above, the first aspect of the present invention described in claim 1 is an engine including a crankcase and an oil pan that is connected to a lower portion of the crankcase and stores lubricating oil therein.
The inner surface of the oil pan is covered with a heat insulating material.
Next, a second aspect of the present invention according to claim 5 is a casing that houses a plurality of members for shifting, and an oil pan that is connected to an opening at a lower portion of the casing and stores lubricating oil therein. In a transmission with
The inner surface of the oil pan is covered with a heat insulating material.
Next, a third aspect of the present invention as set forth in claim 7 is a differential gear mechanism including a casing that accommodates the differential gear and stores lubricating oil therein.
The inner surface of the casing is covered with a heat insulating material.

  According to such a configuration, the heat insulating material can prevent the heat of the lubricating oil from being radiated to the oil pan or the casing during warm-up after engine startup. Therefore, it is possible to quickly raise the temperature of the lubricating oil during warm-up.

Sectional drawing of the principal part which shows one Example of this invention.

The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 shows a main part of an automobile engine. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a crankcase with its upper portion omitted, and a generally box-shaped oil pan 2 is connected to an opening 1A at the lower portion of the crankcase 1 from the lower side while maintaining liquid tightness. ing.
A member such as a crankshaft 4 is accommodated in the upper internal space of the crankcase 1, while the lubricating oil 3 is stored in the lower internal space of the oil pan 2 and the crankcase 1. . In the present embodiment, the lubricating oil 3 is stored up to a position where the liquid level 3A exceeds the oil pan 2 and becomes the height of the inner surface 1B of the crankcase 1.
The crankcase 1 is made of an aluminum alloy and has a lower end portion that is an opening 2A. On the other hand, the oil pan 2 is made of steel and has a shallow box shape with an open top. An opening 2A serving as an upper end portion of the oil pan 2 is connected to the opening 2A of the crankcase 1 while maintaining liquid tightness.
When the crankshaft 4 is rotated and the engine is started, the lubricating oil 3 stored in the oil pan 2 and the crankcase 1 is supplied to sliding parts such as in the crankcase 1 and the like. It is designed to lubricate.

Thus, the present embodiment is characterized in that the inner surface 1B of the crankcase 1 and the inner surface 2B of the oil pan 2 are covered with the heat insulating material 5. More specifically, a heat insulating paint using ceramic fine particles as the heat insulating material 5 is applied to the entire area of the inner surface 1B of the crankcase 1. Similarly, a heat insulating paint using ceramic fine particles as the heat insulating material 5 is applied to the entire area of the inner surface 2B of the oil pan 2.
In the present embodiment, a heat insulating paint is used as the heat insulating material 5, but each ceramic fine particle contained in the heat insulating paint is a hollow one having a space inside. Ideally, all the ceramic fine particles contained in the heat insulating paint are hollow. However, in consideration of the actual manufacturing process of ceramic fine particles, for example, 100% of the total ceramic fine particles include solid ceramic fine particles or incomplete ceramic fine particles in which the outer surface is broken and the internal space is exposed. A paint may be used. In addition, it is not necessary to use a heat insulating paint that contains all the hollow ceramic fine particles, and a heat insulating paint that contains all the solid ceramic fine particles may be used.
Note that the heat insulating material 5 is not provided on the outer surface 1C of the crankcase 1 and the outer surface 2C of the oil pan 2, and therefore the outer surfaces 1C, 2C of both members are exposed as they are as an aluminum alloy or steel material. .
Thus, the crankcase 1 and the oil pan 2 are covered with the heat insulating material 5 over the entire inner surfaces 1B and 2B. Therefore, the lubricating oil 3 stored therein is not in direct contact with the metal crankcase 1 and the oil pan 2, and the heat of the lubricating oil 3 is transferred by the heat insulating material 5 to the crankcase 1 and the oil. Heat transfer to the pan 2 is prevented.

In the above configuration, when the engine is started and the warm-up operation is started, the lubricating oil 3 in the oil pan 2 is supplied to the sliding portion in the crankcase 1 via an oil supply passage (not shown) and an oil pump. . Here, the temperature of the lubricating oil 3 in the oil pan 2 is increased by the start of the warm-up operation, but since the heat insulating material 5 is provided in the entire inner surfaces 1B and 2B of the crankcase 1 and the oil pan 2, the lubricating oil 3 The oil temperature is prevented from transferring heat to the crankcase 1 and the oil pan 2.
Therefore, as compared with the above-described conventional one, in this embodiment, the temperature of the lubricating oil 3 in the oil pan 2 rises more quickly after the start of the warm-up operation, and the heated lubricating oil 3 slides in the engine. Will be supplied to the part. Thus, since the lubricating oil 3 whose temperature has been quickly raised is supplied to the sliding portions in the engine, it is possible to suppress the frictional resistance and wear of each sliding portion, thereby improving the fuel efficiency of the engine. it can.
Further, in this embodiment, the heat insulating material 5 (heat insulating paint) may be applied to the inner surfaces 1B and 2B of the existing crankcase 1 and oil pan 2, so that a simple configuration is not required without adding new members. This can contribute to an improvement in engine fuel efficiency.

In the above embodiment, the entire inner surfaces 1B and 2B of the crankcase 1 and the oil pan 2 are covered with the heat insulating material 5, but the liquid surface 3A of the lubricating oil 3 is positioned below the crankcase 1. When the position of the inner surface 2B of the oil pan 2 is reached, the heat insulating material 5 on the inner surface 1B of the crankcase 1 may be omitted. In other words, the heat insulating material 5 may be provided only on the inner surface 2 </ b> B of the oil pan 2. In this case, the heat insulating material 5 can be omitted also in the upper part of the inner surface 2B of the oil pan 2 that does not come into contact with the lubricating oil 3. Even in such a configuration, as compared with the above-described conventional oil pan, it is possible to quickly raise the temperature of the lubricating oil at the time of warming up after starting the engine, thereby lubricating the lubricating oil in the sliding portion. It can be performed. Therefore, it is possible to obtain the same operation and effect as the above-described embodiment.
Furthermore, although the above-described embodiment has been described with respect to the case where the present invention is applied to the oil pan 2 and the crankcase 1 of the engine, although the drawings are omitted here, the present invention can also be applied to a transmission. In other words, in a transmission including a casing that houses a gearshift member and an oil pan that is connected to a lower opening of the casing and stores lubricating oil, the entire area of the inner surface of the oil pan is insulated as in the above-described embodiment. It may be covered with a material.
The present invention can also be applied to a casing of a differential gear mechanism. That is, in the differential gear mechanism that includes the casing that houses the differential gear and stores the lubricating oil, the entire inner surface of the casing may be covered with the heat insulating material.

1 crankcase 1B inner surface 2 oil pan 2B inner surface 3 lubricating oil 5 heat insulation

Claims (8)

In an engine including a crankcase and an oil pan connected to a lower portion of the crankcase and storing lubricating oil therein,
An engine characterized in that an inner surface of the oil pan is covered with a heat insulating material. An engine configured to store lubricating oil up to the position of the inner surface of the crankcase above the oil pan,
The engine according to claim 1, wherein an inner surface of the crankcase is covered with a heat insulating material.   The engine according to claim 1, wherein the heat insulating material is a heat insulating paint using ceramic fine particles, and is applied to an inner surface of the oil pan.   The engine according to claim 2, wherein the heat insulating material is a heat insulating paint using ceramic fine particles, and is applied to an inner surface of the oil pan and an inner surface of a crankcase. In a transmission that includes a casing that houses a plurality of members for shifting, and an oil pan that is connected to an opening at the bottom of the casing and stores lubricating oil therein.
A transmission characterized in that an inner surface of the oil pan is covered with a heat insulating material.   The transmission according to claim 5, wherein the heat insulating material is a heat insulating paint using ceramic fine particles, and is applied to an inner surface of the oil pan. In the differential gear mechanism having a casing that accommodates the differential gear and stores lubricating oil therein,
A differential gear mechanism, wherein an inner surface of the casing is covered with a heat insulating material.   The differential gear mechanism according to claim 7, wherein the heat insulating material is a heat insulating paint using ceramic fine particles, and is applied to an inner surface of the casing.

Images