JP2020122468A - Oil pan - Google Patents

Abstract

To reduce a bubble amount in lubricant to be suctioned into a strainer.SOLUTION: An oil pan for storing lubricant that has dropped from an oil outlet, comprises: a partition wall whose lower end is installed away from the bottom surface of the oil pan, and which extends toward the oil outlet and is provided so as to surround a position where the lubricant falls; and a rib which protrudes from the bottom surface of the oil pan toward the oil outlet and is provided so as to surround the position where the lubricant falls.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an oil pan.

An oil pan is provided below the internal combustion engine as a storage tank for storing and sucking up the lubricating oil supplied for lubrication of each mechanical component of the internal combustion engine again. The lubricating oil stored in the oil pan is pumped through the operation of the oil pump and supplied to the engine sliding parts such as the bearings of the crankshaft. The lubricating oil that has been used to lubricate the engine sliding parts in this way falls from each engine sliding part and is returned to the oil pan. Then, the lubricating oil returned to the oil pan is pumped up again by the oil pump and supplied to the engine sliding portion.

By the way, in such a lubricating system of an internal combustion engine, air bubbles may be entrained and mixed in the lubricating oil during the lubrication of the engine sliding portion or when it falls into an oil pan. When air bubbles are mixed in the lubricating oil, the lubricating performance of the lubricating oil is deteriorated, which may make it impossible to properly lubricate the sliding portion of the engine.

In Patent Document 1, the partition provided in the oil pan separates the area where the lubricating oil falls from the area where the lubricating oil is sucked into the strainer, so that the passage of the lubricating oil from the location where the lubricating oil falls to the strainer. Is long. The bubbles contained in the lubricating oil disappear while passing through the long flow path, and the amount of bubbles in the lubricating oil sucked into the strainer decreases.

JP, 2005-120879, A

However, in the conventional technique, the amount of bubbles contained in the lubricating oil may not be sufficiently reduced depending on the operating conditions of the internal combustion engine.

Therefore, it is an object of the oil pan disclosed in the present specification to reduce the amount of bubbles in the lubricating oil sucked into the strainer.

In order to solve such a problem, an oil pan disclosed in the present specification is an oil pan for storing lubricating oil that has dropped from an oil drop opening, and a lower end thereof is installed at a position apart from a bottom surface of the oil pan. A partition wall that extends toward the oil drop opening and surrounds the position where the lubricating oil drops, and a position where the lubricating oil drops from the bottom surface of the oil pan toward the oil drop opening. And a rib provided so as to surround the.

According to the oil pan disclosed in the present specification, the amount of bubbles in the lubricating oil sucked into the strainer can be reduced.

1A is a cross-sectional view of the oil pan according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a schematic top view of the oil pan according to the first embodiment. 2(A) to 2(C) are views for explaining the functions of the ribs and partition walls included in the oil pan according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the amount of bubbles sucked into the strainer. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the oil pan according to the second embodiment. 5A to 5D are views showing another example of the partition wall and the rib.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, in the drawings, the dimensions, ratios, etc. of the respective parts may not be shown so as to completely match the actual ones. In addition, details may be omitted in some drawings.

1A is a cross-sectional view of the oil pan according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a schematic top view of the oil pan according to the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1(A), an oil pan 100 is usually attached to a lower portion of an internal combustion engine, that is, a lower portion of a cylinder block 200, and is configured to store lubricating oil supplied to the internal combustion engine and circulated. ing. In addition, in FIG. 1A, an arrow indicates a direction in which the lubricating oil flows.

In the cylinder block 200, an oil return passage 205 is formed as an oil passage for returning the lubricating oil supplied to the valve operating mechanism such as the intake valve and the exhaust valve to the oil pan 100. The lower end of the oil return passage 205 is opened on the bottom surface of the cylinder block 200 toward the oil pan 100, and serves as an oil drain port 203. For example, the lubricating oil used to lubricate the valve operating mechanism such as the intake valve and the exhaust valve passes through the oil return passage 205 and drops from the oil drop port 203 toward the oil pan 100.

The suction port of the strainer 103 is immersed in the lubricating oil stored in the oil pan 100. The lubricating oil stored in the oil pan 100 is sucked by an oil pump (not shown) via the strainer 103. The lubricating oil sucked into the oil pump is pumped by the oil pump and supplied to each engine sliding part such as a crankshaft bearing.

As shown in FIGS. 1(A) and 1(B), the oil pan 100 includes a partition wall 110 and a rib 120 for preventing the lubricating oil containing bubbles from being sucked into the strainer 103. Prepare

The rib 120 is provided so as to project upward from the bottom surface of the oil pan 100 so as to surround the lubricating oil drop position LP. The rib 120 may be formed integrally with the oil pan 100, or may be a separate body from the oil pan 100.

As shown in FIG. 1B, the partition wall 110 is installed so as to surround the drop position LP of the lubricating oil that drops from the oil drop port 203. As shown in FIG. 1A, the lower end of the partition wall 110 is installed at a position away from the bottom surface of the oil pan 100 so as not to hinder the flow of the lubricating oil. The partition wall 110 extends from the lower end toward the oil outlet 203, and the upper end of the partition wall 110 extends in the vertical direction so that the upper end of the partition wall 110 projects from at least the liquid surface of the lubricating oil stored in the oil pan 100 (hereinafter referred to as the oil surface). Is set. The partition 110 is fixed to the oil pan 100, for example, by welding or the like via a fixing member 111. The partition 110 may be welded to, for example, a crankcase or a balancer. The method of fixing the partition wall 110 is not limited to welding, and another method may be used. The oil pan 100 is easy to process, durable, lightweight, and can be made of inexpensive metal such as aluminum or its alloy by a commonly used technique such as casting.

Here, the functions of the rib 120 and the partition 110 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2(A) to 2(C). 2A to 2C, illustration of the cylinder block 200 and the fixing member 111 is omitted.

In FIG. 2(A), as shown by arrow AR10, when the lubricating oil falls from the oil drop port 203, for example, the lubricating oil collides with the oil surface at the position LP and bubbles as shown in FIG. 2(B). B1 occurs. The dropped lubricating oil collides with the bottom surface of the oil pan 100 as shown by an arrow AR1 in FIG. 2B, and tries to diffuse along the bottom surface of the oil pan 100 with bubbles B1. At this time, since the rib 120 projects upward from the bottom surface, the lubricating oil and the bubbles B1 collide with the rib 120 and are guided to the oil surface by the rib 120, as indicated by an arrow AR3 in FIG. 2C. R. In this way, the ribs 120 can prevent the lubricating oil and the air bubbles B1 from spreading along the bottom surface of the oil pan 100 and being sucked into the strainer 103.

The partition wall 110 retains the bubble B1 guided to the oil surface by the rib 120 inside thereof. As a result, it is possible to prevent the bubbles B1 that have risen to the oil level from being sucked into the strainer 103 in a foam layer state.

By providing the ribs 120 and the partition walls 110, the strainer 103 can suck in the lubricating oil with few bubbles, as indicated by the arrow AR4.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the amount of bubbles sucked into the strainer 103, in which the vertical axis represents the bubble volume and the horizontal axis represents the bubble particle size. The partition 110 and the rib 120 are not provided in the oil pan according to the comparative example. From FIG. 3, it can be seen that in the oil pan 100 according to the first embodiment in which the partition wall 110 and the rib 120 are provided, the volume of bubbles sucked by the strainer 103 is reduced. Further, from FIG. 3, it can be seen that, according to Example 1, in particular, it is possible to suppress suction of bubbles having a large particle diameter.

As described above in detail, the oil pan 100 according to the first embodiment is an oil pan for storing the lubricating oil that has dropped from the oil drop port 203, and the lower end is located at a position apart from the bottom surface of the oil pan 100. The partition wall 110 is installed and extends toward the oil drop port 203, and is provided so as to surround the drop position LP of the lubricating oil, and the bottom surface of the oil pan 100 projects toward the oil drop port 203 to drop the lubricating oil. A rib 120 provided so as to surround the position LP. The rib 120 guides the lubricating oil that has rebounded from the bottom surface of the oil pan 100 to the oil surface to guide the bubble B1 to the oil surface, and the partition wall 110 retains the bubble B1 guided to the oil surface inside the partition wall 110. By doing so, the amount of bubbles contained in the lubricating oil sucked into the strainer 103 can be reduced.

Further, for example, in Patent Document 1, by extending the passage of the lubricating oil from the position where the lubricating oil falls to the strainer, the bubbles contained in the lubricating oil reach the oil surface while passing through the long passage. By taking advantage of the rise and disappearance, the amount of bubbles in the lubricating oil sucked into the strainer is reduced. However, for example, under operating conditions in which the engine speed is in a high rotation range, the circulation time of the lubricating oil (the time from falling into the oil pan to being sucked into the strainer) is extremely short, so that the lubricating oil was included in Lubricating oil containing bubbles may be sucked into the strainer before the bubbles disappear. On the other hand, according to the first embodiment, the bubble B1 can be raised by the rib 120 in a shorter time than in Patent Document 1, so that the lubrication sucked into the strainer 103 even under operating conditions where the circulation time of the lubricating oil is short The amount of oil bubbles can be reduced.

Further, for example, in Patent Document 1, when the engine is started at an extremely low temperature, the flow path is long, so it takes time for the low-viscosity lubricating oil to reach the strainer. As a result, the lubricating oil may not be properly supplied to the engine sliding portion, and the engine sliding portion may be seized. In the oil pan 100 of the first embodiment, the lower end of the partition wall 110 is installed at a position away from the bottom surface of the oil pan 100 so as not to obstruct the flow of lubricating oil. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the engine sliding portion from being seized because the lubricating oil is not properly supplied to the engine sliding portion.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing the configuration of the oil pan according to the second embodiment. The configurations of the partition wall 110 and the rib 120 included in the oil pan 100A of the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment. In FIG. 4, the cylinder block 200 and the fixing member 111 are not shown.

In the oil pan 100A according to the second embodiment, the relief oil ejection port 106A of the relief passage 106 that returns the relief oil to the oil pan 100A when the pressure of the lubricating oil becomes excessive is directed toward the oil surface inside the partition wall 110. Are arranged. As a result, as shown by the arrow AR5, the relief oil is ejected from the relief passage 106 toward the oil surface, and the jet of the relief oil can promote the rise of the bubbles B1. Therefore, the amount of bubbles in the lubricating oil sucked into the strainer 103 can be further reduced.

In addition, in the first and second embodiments, the case where the partition wall 110 and the rib 120 have a rectangular shape (see FIG. 1B) has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a circular shape or an ellipse. It may have a shape. Further, for example, the rib 120 may have a rectangular shape, a circular shape, or an elliptical shape with a part thereof interrupted as long as it can exhibit the function of guiding the bubbles B1 to the liquid surface. The partition wall 110 may have a partially interrupted rectangular shape, a circular shape, or an elliptical shape as long as it can exhibit the function of retaining the bubbles B1 inside. For example, as shown in FIG. 5(A), the partition wall 110 and the rib 120 may be partially interrupted on the opposite side of the strainer 103.

Further, in the first and second embodiments, the case where the upper end of the rib 120 is located lower than the lower end of the partition wall 110 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 5B, the upper ends of the ribs 120 may be located higher than the lower ends of the partition walls 110. The position of the upper end of the rib 120 and the position of the lower end of the partition 110 may be appropriately set so as not to hinder the flow of the lubricating oil.

Further, in the first and second embodiments, the rib 120 projects upward from the bottom surface of the oil pan 100 or 100A, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the rib 120 may be inclined inward or outward, as shown in FIGS. 5(C) and 5(D).

Further, in the first and second embodiments, the outer edge of the rib 120 is located inside the inner wall of the partition wall 110, but the invention is not limited to this. If the bubble B1 guided by the rib 120 can be retained inside the partition wall 110, for example, the outer edge or the inner edge of the rib 120 may be located outside the outer wall of the partition wall 110.

The above embodiment is merely an example for carrying out the present invention, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications of these examples are within the scope of the present invention. It is obvious from the above description that various other embodiments are possible within the scope.

100,100A Oil pan 103 Strainer 110 Partition wall 120 Rib

Claims (1)

An oil pan for storing the lubricating oil that has dropped from the oil outlet,
A lower end is installed at a position apart from the bottom surface of the oil pan, extends toward the oil drop opening, and a partition wall is provided so as to surround the position where the lubricating oil falls,
A rib that protrudes from the bottom surface of the oil pan toward the oil outlet and is provided so as to surround the position where the lubricating oil falls,
Equipped with an oil pan.

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