JP4400910B2 - Oil pan for internal combustion engine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an oil pan for an internal combustion engine that stores lubricating oil (hereinafter referred to as oil) that lubricates the internal combustion engine (hereinafter referred to as engine), and in particular, in order to promote an increase in oil temperature during warm-up operation, The present invention relates to an oil pan for an internal combustion engine having a structure in which an interior is divided into two chambers.

  For the purpose of quickly raising the oil temperature during engine warm-up operation, the oil pan provided in the lower part of the engine block or the like is divided into two chambers, a main chamber and a sub chamber, The oil is supplied from the chamber to the engine, and when the oil temperature is low, the oil is prevented from flowing between the chambers. When the oil is overheated by the engine and heated to an appropriate temperature, the chambers are Various oil pan structures that allow oil to flow between them have been proposed in the past (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

According to such a structure, during warm-up operation, oil in only the main chamber is supplied to each part of the engine and circulated, so that an increase in the temperature of the oil is promoted, and when the oil exceeds a predetermined temperature, both chambers are By circulating the oil between them, it is possible to prevent an excessive increase in the oil temperature and deterioration of the oil.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-43850 JP-A-61-66813

  By the way, in the oil pan structure conventionally known, in order to divide the inside of the oil pan into two chambers, a partition wall having an appropriate shape is provided inside the oil pan, or a partition wall is provided, or the partition plate Since only the inner container is formed by combining the above, the following problems have occurred.

  That is, many oil pans have a complicated shape, and providing a partition plate or the like on the inside to form a partition wall or an inner container diversifies the shape of the partition plate and is not very versatile. There were problems such as troublesome installation work.

  In addition, the two chambers formed inside the oil pan are normally open upward. For example, even if the two chambers are shut off and the oil from the main chamber is circulated during the warm-up operation, the two chambers fall from the engine side. Since the oil to be mixed also enters the sub chamber side, there is also a problem that it is difficult to obtain the required oil temperature rise.

  Furthermore, depending on the situation of use, such as when vibration or lateral G is applied when the vehicle is running, the oil in both chambers may be mixed, or the oil in one side may be offset, leading to a shortage of oil, etc. There was also a bug.

  Also, depending on the shape and structure of the two chambers inside the oil pan, it may be difficult to extract the oil from the two chambers when changing the oil. There was also a problem that it might be difficult to do. This is caused by the positional relationship between the two chambers, the position where an on-off valve for communicating and blocking between the two chambers is provided, the positional relationship between the drain ports of each chamber, and the like.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and can be easily formed by dividing two chambers inside the oil pan, and the communication and blocking of oil between the two chambers can be appropriately performed. During the warm-up operation of the vehicle, the oil in the two chambers can be prevented from mixing, and the oil temperature can be increased quickly to improve the fuel consumption of the engine. An object of the present invention is to obtain an oil pan for an internal combustion engine that has a simple structure and is advantageous in terms of cost.

In order to meet such an object, an oil pan for an internal combustion engine according to the present invention (the invention according to claim 1) is integrally provided inside the oil pan, and its inner chamber is a first storage chamber inside the oil pan. A hollow internal container made of a synthetic resin, which is a second storage chamber, and a chimney-like air vent pipe is erected on the upper part of the internal container, and the first storage chamber and An openable and closable valve for selectively communicating and blocking between the second storage chambers and a drain port for discharging the oil in the second storage chamber to the outside of the oil pan are provided at the upper end of the air vent pipe. Is provided with a cap that prevents oil from entering the inner container, and the cap at the upper end of the air vent pipe prevents the oil from flowing into the air vent pipe when the oil level rises in the first storage chamber. To close the air vent Characterized in that it is a cap with the over door function.

An oil pan for an internal combustion engine according to the present invention (the invention described in claim 2) is provided integrally in the oil pan, and a second storage chamber in which the inner chamber is partitioned from the first storage chamber in the oil pan. A hollow internal container made of synthetic resin is provided, and a chimney-like air vent pipe is erected at the upper part of the inner container, and the space between the first storage chamber and the second storage chamber is selectively provided at the lower part. A thermostat valve that opens and closes according to the oil temperature so as to communicate with and shut off, and a drain port for discharging the oil in the second storage chamber to the outside of the oil pan is provided at the upper end of the air vent pipe. Is provided with a cap that prevents oil from entering the inner container, and the cap at the upper end of the air vent pipe prevents the oil from flowing into the air vent pipe when the oil level rises in the first storage chamber. Air vent Characterized in that it is a cap with a float function of closing.

  According to the present invention, an oil pan for an internal combustion engine of a vehicle is integrally provided with a synthetic resin hollow inner container in which an openable / closable valve and an oil draining drain plug are installed below the valve. By preventing the oil in the inner container and the oil in the oil pan from mixing during operation, it is possible to mainly promote early warm-up of the engine oil.

  Further, according to the present invention, the inner container is provided with a chimney-like air vent pipe, and there is no pressure difference between the first storage chamber and the second storage chamber, so that smooth oil is supplied between the two chambers. Outflow or inflow can be performed, and the amount of oil in each chamber can be maintained at a required amount. In addition, the air vent pipe prevents the oil from entering the inner container even when the oil pan tilts due to vibration or lateral G acting on the vehicle and the oil level temporarily rises. can do. Furthermore, the air vent pipe has a cap with a float function that prevents oil from entering, so that oil falling from the engine side or oil in the oil pan does not mix with oil in the inner container. can do.

  In addition, since the internal container has a hole for oil draining that uses the drain bolt of the oil pan in common, it is easy to change the oil.

  As described above, according to the oil pan for an internal combustion engine according to the present invention, the inner container that forms the second storage chamber is formed of a synthetic resin inside the oil pan, so that it is molded along a complicated oil pan shape. Can be easily performed, and the degree of freedom of shape can be increased.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the chimney-like air vent pipe having the air vent is provided in the synthetic resin inner container, when the openable valve is opened, the two inside the oil pan are opened. Since there is no pressure difference between the storage chambers, the oil can smoothly flow out or inflow between the two chambers, and the oil amount in each chamber can always be maintained at a specified amount.

  In addition, according to the present invention, the air vent pipe is used even when it is used, for example, when the oil pan tilts due to vibration or lateral G acting on the vehicle and the oil level temporarily rises. The oil can be prevented from entering the inner container. Further, since the air vent pipe is provided with a cap with a float function for preventing oil from being mixed in, it is possible to effectively prevent the oil falling from the engine side and the oil in the oil pan from being mixed.

  In addition, according to the present invention, by providing a drain port of the oil pan coaxially with the drain port of the inner container and providing a drain bottle that is a stopper for sealing the oil pan, the two storage chambers can be used when oil is drained. At the same time, the oil can be drained.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, since the inner container forming the second storage chamber is made of a synthetic resin, the oil temperature inside the oil pan is moderated to improve warm-up performance at the time of restart. it can. In this case, a heat insulating container or a heat insulating layer made of a resin is provided along the inner side surface of the oil pan, and by using this together, the heat retaining property of the oil temperature can be further improved. If it does in this way, the oil temperature fall after an engine stop can be controlled, and it becomes possible to perform engine warm-up operation after a restart much more efficiently.

1 (a) and 1 (b) are views showing an embodiment of an oil pan for an internal combustion engine according to the present invention.
In these drawings, reference numeral 10 denotes an oil pan for an internal combustion engine, which includes an oil pan main body 11 and is disposed at a lower portion of an engine block (not shown) and serves to store oil 12 for lubricating the engine.

  The oil pan body 11 is provided with an oil strainer 15 for sucking up the oil 12 stored in the first storage chamber 13, and the oil 12 is sucked up by an oil pump (not shown) and supplied to the engine as lubricating oil. It is comprised so that.

  In the figure, reference numeral 16 denotes an oil level gauge that faces the first storage chamber 13 and checks the amount of oil in the first storage chamber 13. The oil level gauge 16 includes a first oil pan 10. An indication of both the liquid level position for injecting oil into the storage chamber 13 and the liquid level position after opening the openable thermostat valve 23 for communicating and blocking between the first and second storage chambers 13, 21 is provided. Is provided.

  The inside of the oil pan main body 11 is formed as a first storage chamber 13, and a part of the interior of the oil pan main body 11 is a second storage that partitions the inner chamber from the first storage chamber 13 inside the oil pan 10. A hollow inner container 20 made of synthetic resin is provided as a chamber 21 and is integrally provided inside the oil pan body 11. Here, the inner container 20 is composed of upper and lower pairs, and is formed as a hollow container by abutting and integrating the flanges. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the inner container 20 can be formed by removing the flange and integrating the upper and lower members by welding or the like, or can be formed as a hollow container by means of hollow molding or the like. .

  Here, the temperature of the oil 12 in this kind of oil pan 10 rises to about 130 ° C. Therefore, as the synthetic resin material forming the inner container 20, it is preferable to use a resin that has sufficient heat resistance even at a temperature of, for example, about 130 ° C. + α and is excellent in oil resistance. That is, it is good to form using the synthetic resin material excellent in heat resistance and oil resistance, such as nylon and PPS.

  A chimney-like air vent pipe 22 is erected on the upper portion of the inner container 20, and can be opened and closed to selectively communicate and block between the first storage chamber 13 and the second storage chamber 21 on the lower side portion. And a drain port 24 for discharging oil in the second storage chamber (hereinafter referred to with 12A for convenience of explanation) to the outside of the oil pan 10. Yes.

  A cap 30 is provided at the upper end of the air vent pipe 22 at the air vent port 22a to prevent the oil 12 from being mixed into the inner container 20. The cap 30 is a cap 30 having a float function that closes the air vent port 22a so that the oil 12 does not flow into the air vent pipe 22 when the liquid level of the oil 12 rises in the first storage chamber 13. is there.

  Further, the drain port 24 at the lower part of the inner container 20 described above is provided so as to be positioned coaxially with the drain port 18 at the lower part of the oil pan body 11. The drain ports 18 and 24 located on the same axis are closed by a common drain plug body (drain bolt 19) assembled from the outside of the oil pan body 11.

  Furthermore, this embodiment demonstrates the case where the thermostat valve which opens and closes according to the temperature of the oil 12 in the 1st storage chamber 13 is used as the valve 23 which can be opened and closed.

  In the oil pan 10 for an internal combustion engine having such a configuration, when the engine is cold, for example, during a warm-up operation when the engine is started, the thermostat valve 23 is closed as shown in FIG. Communication between the storage chambers 13 and 21 is blocked. Then, only the oil 12 from the first storage chamber 13 is circulated and supplied to the engine side, and by reducing the amount of oil, the temperature rise time of the oil 12 can be shortened and the oil 12 can be warmed quickly. It is possible to achieve early stabilization of the engine and reduction of fuel consumption.

  Further, for example, when the temperature of the oil 12 becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature after the engine warms up, as shown in FIG. 2B, the thermostat valve 23 is opened and the first and second storage chambers 13 and 21 are communicated with each other. Since the oils 12 and 12A of both chambers 13 and 21 are mixed, an excessive temperature rise of the oils 12 and 12A is suppressed.

  Here, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the thermostat valve 23 includes a thermo element generally indicated by reference numeral 40. The thermo element 40 is encapsulated in a large diameter portion 41 on one end side of the case with a wax as a thermal expansion body that thermally expands and contracts under the influence of heat from the outside. The piston 42 that moves forward and backward is slidably held on the other end side. A stopper 43 is disposed at the tip of the piston 42, and a disc-like valve body 44 is provided on the stopper 43 by caulking or the like. Further, a valve seat 45 as a valve seat having an opening that is opened and closed by the valve body 44 is attached to the side wall portion of the inner container 20.

  A frame 46 that holds the large-diameter portion 41 on one end side of the case of the thermo element 40 is assembled to the valve seat 45 and fixed by caulking or the like. Further, a return spring 48 is provided between the retainer member 47 and the valve seat 45, which are fixed together with the valve body 44 by the stopper 43 by caulking or the like, and constantly bias the valve body 44 in the valve closing direction. It has been.

In such a thermostat valve 23, when the oil temperature in the first storage chamber 13 rises, the wax expands in the thermo element 40, whereby the piston 42 projects in the axial direction toward the second storage chamber 21. Then, the return spring 48 is compressed against the urging force, and the valve body 44 operates from the state shown in FIG. 3A to the state shown in FIG. 3B to open the valve. Then, oil circulates between the first and second storage chambers 13 and 21.
On the other hand, when the oil temperature decreases and the wax contracts, the piston 42 moves toward the inside of the thermo element 40, whereby the valve body 44 is seated on the valve seat 45 and the valve is closed. As a result, the storage chambers 13 and 21 are blocked from each other.

Further, in the oil pan 10 for an internal combustion engine having the above configuration, the operation at the time of oil injection is as follows.
That is, as shown in FIG. 4A, the oil 12 is injected into the first storage chamber 13 of the oil pan 10 with the thermostat valve 23 first closed. A level line that can confirm the amount of oil to be injected at this time may be added to the oil level gauge 16.
In this state, when the engine is started and the oil temperature becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature, the thermostat valve 23 is opened, whereby the oil 12 enters the second storage chamber 21 and the amount thereof is maintained at a predetermined amount.

  In such an internal combustion engine oil pan 10, the oil 12 sent from the first storage chamber 13 to the engine falls from the top of the oil pan 10. As described above, the inner container 20 is a hollow container. Since the air vent 22a of the air vent pipe 22 standing on the top is covered with the cap 30 as shown in FIG. 5, it circulates to the second storage chamber 21 in the container 20. The oil 12 that has flown does not flow in.

  Further, when the vehicle equipped with the above-described oil pan 10 for an internal combustion engine travels, etc., when the oil pan 10 tilts due to the action of vibration or lateral G, as shown in FIG. The oil level in the storage chamber 13 may be temporarily increased. However, even in such a case, as shown in FIG. 6A, since the air bleeding pipe 22 exists, the second storage chamber 21 of the inner container 20 has a first storage chamber 13 side. Problems such as inflow are unlikely to occur. Even if the oil level further increases, the cup 30 is moved upward by the cap 30 having a float function as shown in FIG. 5B, and the air passage from the air vent 22a to the outside. The oil 12 can be prevented from entering by shutting off the oil.

  Here, the cap 30 with the float function has a portion that seals in close contact with a part of the upper end portion of the pipe 22 when the cap 30 moves upward at the upper end portion of the air bleeding pipe 22. It is configured to prevent the entry and exit of air by closing the part.

  Further, a drain port 18 is provided at the bottom of the oil pan main body 11 described above, and a drain port 24 is also provided at the bottom of the inner container 20 so as to be positioned coaxially therewith. And these drain ports 18 and 24 are arrange | positioned so that it may be located on coaxial as shown to Fig.7 (a), (b). In the figure, reference numeral 35 denotes a connecting cylinder, and a notch passage 35a for allowing the oil 12 from the first storage chamber 13 side to flow out is formed in a part of the circumferential direction. A drain bolt 19 is screwed and fixed so as to simultaneously close the drain ports 18 and 24.

  Therefore, when this drain bolt 19 is removed, not only the oil 12A in the second storage chamber 21 but also the oil 12 in the first storage chamber 13 can be discharged to the outside, and the advantage is great. In addition, since this drain portion is located at the lowermost part of the oil pan 10 for the internal combustion engine, all the oil 12, 12A can be discharged, so that the oil change can be performed easily and reliably.

  In the oil pan 10 for an internal combustion engine having the above-described configuration, the inner container 20 that forms the second storage chamber 21 is formed of a synthetic resin inside the oil pan body 11, so that it matches the complicated shape of the oil pan body 11. Can be easily formed, and the degree of freedom of shape can be increased. In particular, since the inner container 20 made of a synthetic resin can be arranged in the oil pan 10, it can be applied to the existing oil pan 10 relatively easily, and its versatility and the like are great.

  Furthermore, since the inner container 20 forming the second storage chamber 21 is made of synthetic resin, it is possible to moderate the temperature drop of the oil 12 inside the oil pan 10 and improve the warm-up performance at the time of restart. There are also advantages.

FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the oil pan for an internal combustion engine according to the present invention. That is, in this embodiment, the oil pan body 11 is formed in a double structure by providing the heat retaining container 50 (or the heat retaining layer) along the inner surface of the oil pan body 11. And by using such a structure together with the above-described synthetic resin-made inner container 20, it is possible to further improve the heat retaining property of the oil 12.
In other words, since the oil temperature drop after the engine is stopped can be suppressed in this way, the warm-up time after the restart can be shortened, and the engine warm-up operation can be performed more efficiently. Can do it.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the structure described in the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that the shape and structure of each part of the oil pan 10 for an internal combustion engine can be appropriately modified and changed.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the thermostat valve 23 is used as an openable / closable valve for communicating and blocking between the first and second storage chambers 13 and 21 is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this. In other words, since the on-off valve is not affected by the pressure in the oil pan 10, no special force is required. For example, an appropriate modification such as a valve using SMA, bimetal, or the like as an operating means can be considered. .

1 shows an embodiment of an oil pan for an internal combustion engine according to the present invention, in which (a) is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a main part of the oil pan, and (b) is a side cross-sectional view thereof. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating the operating state of the oil pan for the internal combustion engine of FIG. 1, wherein (a) is a state when the engine is cold and (b) is a state when the engine is warm. FIG. 1 shows a thermostat valve as an openable / closable valve for communicating and blocking between the first and second storage chambers in the oil pan for an internal combustion engine of FIG. 1, wherein (a) shows a closed state and (b) shows a opened state. It is a principal part expanded sectional view which shows this. In the oil pan for an internal combustion engine of FIG. 1, (a) and (b) are schematic cross-sectional views for explaining an operation when oil is injected. In the oil pan for an internal combustion engine of FIG. 1, (a) and (b) are a schematic sectional view for explaining the effect of an air vent pipe and a cap that covers an air vent port at the upper end portion thereof, and an enlarged view of a main part thereof. . In the oil pan for an internal combustion engine of FIG. 1, (a) and (b) are a schematic cross-sectional view and an enlarged view of a main part thereof for explaining the operation of the cap with a float function when the vehicle, that is, the engine is tilted. In the internal combustion engine oil pan of FIG. 1, (a) and (b) are a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining a drain portion when an oil draining operation is performed and an enlarged view of a main part thereof. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows another embodiment of the oil pan for internal combustion engines which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Oil pan for internal combustion engines, 11 ... Oil pan body, 12, 12A ... Oil (lubricating oil), 13 ... First storage chamber, 15 ... Oil strainer, 16 ... Oil level gauge, 18 ... Drain port, 19 ... Drain Bolt (drain plug), 20 ... hollow inner container made of synthetic resin, 21 ... second storage chamber, 22 ... air vent pipe, 22a ... air vent, 23 ... openable / closable valve (thermostat valve), 24 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Drain port, 30 ... Cap with float function, 40 ... Thermo element, 43 ... Piston, 44 ... Valve seat, 45 ... Valve seat (valve seat), 48 ... Return spring, 50 ... Insulation container.

Claims (2)

A synthetic resin hollow inner container provided integrally within the oil pan and having the inner chamber as a second reservoir chamber partitioned from the first reservoir chamber within the oil pan;
A chimney-like air vent pipe is erected at the upper part of the inner container, and an openable / closable valve for selectively communicating and blocking between the first storage chamber and the second storage chamber at the lower part, and the oil pan outside And a drain port for discharging the oil in the second storage chamber ,
At the upper end of the air vent pipe, a cap is provided to prevent oil from mixing into the inner container,
The cap at the upper end of the air bleed pipe is a cap with a float function that closes the air bleed port so that the oil does not flow into the air bleed pipe when the oil level rises in the first storage chamber. An oil pan for an internal combustion engine. A synthetic resin hollow inner container provided integrally within the oil pan and having the inner chamber as a second reservoir chamber partitioned from the first reservoir chamber within the oil pan;
A chimney-like air vent pipe is erected on the upper part of the inner container, and the lower part opens and closes according to the oil temperature so as to selectively communicate and block between the first storage chamber and the second storage chamber. A thermostat valve and a drain port for discharging oil in the second storage chamber to the outside of the oil pan;
A cap is provided at the upper end of the air vent pipe to prevent oil from mixing into the inner container,
The cap at the upper end of the air bleed pipe is a cap with a float function that closes the air bleed port so that the oil does not flow into the air bleed pipe when the oil level rises in the first storage chamber. An oil pan for an internal combustion engine.

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