JP4556128B2 - Oil supply device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an oil supply device that sucks up oil that is stored in each of a main oil storage section and at least one sub oil storage section that assists the main oil storage section and supplies the oil to each part of the engine as lubricating oil.

  In an internal combustion engine having two oil reservoirs divided as oil reservoirs, the dual pump sucks up oil from each oil reservoir through two oil suction pipes arranged in the respective oil reservoirs. There is known a technique for supplying each part of the above (see, for example, Patent Document 1). With this conventional technology, even when oil is unevenly distributed in the oil reservoir through a change in the vehicle posture, it is possible to obtain oil from the oil reservoir effectively, but on the other hand, the oil suction pump must be a dual type. In addition, the increase in occupied space and weight and high cost compared with the single pump of the dual pump remain as problems that cannot be ignored.

Japanese translation of PCT publication No. 2004-519587 (paragraph number 0012-0013, FIG. 1)

  When a single oil suction pump is used to avoid the problems of the prior art described above, if one of the oil reservoirs is emptied or if oil runs out at the suction port of the oil suction pipe, the oil suction pump Air will be sucked in, and this oil suction pump will no longer be able to suck up oil from the oil reservoir where the oil is filled, and lose the oil supply function.

  In view of such a situation, an object of the present invention is to supply oil to each part of the engine by sucking up oil stored in each of the main oil storage part and at least one sub oil storage part that assists the main oil storage part. In the supply device, there is provided a technique capable of maintaining a sufficient oil supply function while using a single pump.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the oil supply device according to the present invention includes a single oil pump that sucks up oil stored in the main oil storage section and the sub oil storage section, and the sub oil storage section. A suction shut-off mechanism that shuts off a sub-suction flow path from the sub-oil reservoir to the oil pump according to a liquid level of the oil to be stored.

  In this characteristic configuration, the oil stored in the main oil reservoir and the sub oil reservoir as two divided oil reservoirs is sucked up by a single oil pump and stored in the sub oil reservoir. When the liquid level becomes lower than a predetermined level, the sub suction channel connecting the sub oil reservoir and the oil pump is blocked by the suction block mechanism. In general, when an oil reservoir in an internal combustion engine is divided into a plurality of chambers, an oil reservoir chamber in which the amount of storage may be close to zero in some cases and an oil reservoir chamber that is basically designed to always secure oil. Divided. In the present invention, an oil reservoir chamber designed so that oil is always secured is set as the main oil reservoir, and an oil reservoir chamber in which a situation where oil is not secured in some cases is considered as the auxiliary oil reservoir. Therefore, when at least sufficient oil is not secured in the secondary oil reservoir, that is, when the oil level stored in the secondary oil reservoir is below a predetermined level, the secondary suction channel is blocked by the suction cutoff mechanism. This prevents the oil pump from sucking air. Naturally, when the oil is sufficiently restored in the secondary oil reservoir, the cutoff of the secondary suction flow path by the suction cutoff mechanism is opened, so that the oil pump is again connected in parallel from each of the main oil reservoir and the secondary oil reservoir. Oil can be sucked up. Therefore, in order to enjoy the cost reduction and space saving of the oil supply device, it maintains a sufficient oil supply function in all possible situations while using a single pump that draws oil from multiple oil reservoirs. can do.

Furthermore, in the present invention, this suction shut-off mechanism is constituted by a float valve that blocks the suction port of the oil pump with respect to the sub oil reservoir . By adopting the float valve, it is possible to close and open the suction port of the sub suction channel according to the liquid level of the sub oil reservoir with a simple configuration that does not require an electrical or mechanical control element. At that time, as one of the particularly advantageous structures of the float valve, it is also proposed that the sealing part contacting the peripheral area of the suction port and the float part for generating main buoyancy are made of different materials. Although the sealing part uses a material with a relatively high density but an excellent sealing effect, the float part uses a low-density material with a low sealing effect but a large buoyancy. Thus, a float valve having sufficient sealing performance and sensitive floatability is realized.

If the suction port of the secondary suction flow path is blocked with a float valve, negative pressure will act on the float valve as long as the oil pump is driven, so oil will begin to accumulate in the secondary oil reservoir and buoyancy will act on the float valve. However, the float valve does not rise until the negative pressure is overcome, and as a result, the opening of the suction port tends to be delayed. To eliminate the influence of negative pressure in this manner reduces the responsiveness of the float valve, in this onset bright, the auxiliary suction on the free surface side located on the opposite side of blockade surface facing the suction port of the float valve A pressure equilibration chamber communicating with the flow path is formed, and at least a part of the wall constituting the pressure equilibration chamber is configured as a displacement permission wall that allows the float valve to move up and down. In this configuration, the float is formed by constructing the pressure balance chamber so that the negative pressure acts not only on the suction port side surface (blocking surface) of the float valve but also on the free surface located on the opposite side of the sealing surface. Since at least a significant portion of the negative pressure acting on each face of the valve is offset, the decrease in float valve responsiveness due to the negative pressure is substantially negligible. As a specific example of the displacement permission wall that allows the float valve to move up and down, a bellows wall or the like is preferable.

  As a specific embodiment of the suction shut-off mechanism, in addition to the above-described float valve, the suction divided into a float for detecting the liquid level and a shut-off valve for shutting off the auxiliary suction flow path using the displacement of the float It is also possible to employ a blocking mechanism. Furthermore, the suction shut-off mechanism can be configured from a liquid level sensor other than the float type and a shut-off valve that shuts off the auxiliary suction flow path based on a detection signal from the liquid level sensor. When only a limited space can be secured in the secondary oil reservoir, it is convenient to detect the liquid level using the ultrasonic method, light beam method, and capacitance method, and to control the shutoff valve based on the detection signal. It is. The liquid level detection method may be determined according to usage conditions such as limited space and detection accuracy.

  In order to make the structure of the main oil storage section and the sub oil storage section, and the main suction flow path and the sub suction flow path connecting these oil storage sections and the oil pump compact, one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention. The main oil storage part and the sub oil storage part are arranged so as to overlap each other in the vertical direction, and a main suction channel extending from the main oil storage part to the oil pump is at least partially connected to the sub suction channel. Specifically, they are arranged in a coaxial core shape. In particular, the auxiliary oil reservoir is formed in the outer ring space of the pipe constituting the main suction channel, and the auxiliary suction channel extends in a cylindrical shape surrounding the outer periphery of the main suction channel, Since the structure of the sub suction channel is integrated and the cylindrical wall can be partially shared, the downsizing is further effective.

  First, the principle of the oil supply apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the schematic diagram shown in FIG. Here, the oil stored in the main oil reservoir 10 formed as an oil pan and the auxiliary oil reservoir 20 formed as a sub oil pan is sucked up by a single oil pump 30 and supplied to each part of the engine. . The oil supplied to each part of the engine is eventually recovered in the main oil storage unit 10 and the sub oil storage unit 20. The main oil reservoir 10 has a sufficient size and the oil does not bottom out. However, the sub oil reservoir 20 is a preliminary one and at least partially oily due to vehicle inclination or the like. It is assumed that will bottom out. The main oil reservoir 10 and the oil pump 30 are connected by a main suction passage 40, and the sub oil reservoir 20 and the oil pump 30 are arranged at one end in the sub oil reservoir 20 and the other end is at the main suction passage. It is connected via a sub suction channel 41 connected to 40. The oil sucked from the sub oil reservoir 20 is configured to join the oil sucked from the main oil reservoir 10 and flow into the oil pump 30 on the way.

  As described above, it is assumed that the oil is not sufficiently secured in the secondary oil reservoir 20 and the suction port 41a of the secondary suction channel 41 is not filled with oil. A suction blocking mechanism 50 that blocks the sub suction channel 41 is provided so as not to suck air from the suction port 41a of the suction channel 41. The suction shut-off mechanism 50 has a limit liquid level detection function for detecting a liquid level that is equal to or lower than a predetermined value in the sub oil reservoir 20 (for example, a liquid level at which air enters from the suction port 41a of the sub suction channel 41); A blocking function for blocking the auxiliary suction flow path 41 in response to the detection of the liquid level is provided. As long as the sub oil reservoir 20 is maintained at a liquid level exceeding a predetermined value (a liquid level at which air does not enter from the suction port 41a of the sub suction channel 41), the suction blocking mechanism 50 is opened. The oil pump 30 sucks oil from both the main oil storage unit 10 and the sub oil storage unit 20 and supplies the oil to each part of the engine through the supply channel 60. In addition, when the sub oil reservoir 20 reaches a liquid level that is equal to or lower than a predetermined value, the suction shut-off mechanism 50 operates the shut-off function and shuts off the sub-suction flow path 41. Without sucking in, oil is sucked only from the main oil reservoir 10 and supplied to each part of the engine through the supply channel 60.

  FIG. 2 shows one preferred embodiment of the oil supply apparatus according to the present invention. Here, the secondary oil reservoir 20 is formed inside the primary oil reservoir 10, and a through hole 21 a is provided at the bottom of the partition wall 21 that forms the secondary oil reservoir 20. The path 40 penetrates. Further, a sub suction channel 41 is provided in the form of a double pipe on the outer periphery of the main suction channel 40 made of pipe. A ring dish that connects the outer periphery of the main suction channel 40 and the partition wall 21 of the sub oil reservoir 20 to the lower end of the sub suction channel 41 to close the gap between the through hole 21a and the main suction channel 40. A bottom plate 42 is provided, and a suction port 41 a of the sub suction channel 41 is formed between the bottom plate 42 and the flange portion 43 protruding outward in the radial direction of the sub suction channel 41. . The suction port 41a may be one continuous ring-shaped opening or a group of a plurality of partial ring-shaped openings. The suction port 41a is substantially at the same level as the bottom of the sub oil storage unit 20, and as long as oil remains in the sub oil storage unit 20, oil can be sucked from the suction port 41a.

  A float valve that floats and displaces along the outside of the main suction channel 40 and the sub-suction channel 41, specifically, the outer peripheral surface of the pipe forming the sub-suction channel 41, which has a coaxial double pipe configuration, blocks suction. It is attached as a mechanism 50. As shown in FIG. 3, a preferred embodiment of the float valve 50 is constituted by a circular ring-shaped float part 51 and a sealing part 52 bonded to the lower surface of the float part 51. The blocking portion 52 is provided with a double lower protrusion 52a having a clog-like shape in a sectional view in order to block the suction port 41a. Since the sealing part 52 needs to be in close contact with the bottom plate 42 and the collar part 43 forming the suction port 41a by its own weight when the oil is reduced in the sub oil storage part 20, it is necessary to seal the suction port 41a. A material such as urethane rubber having high sealing properties and high density is preferable. On the other hand, a foamable resin material having a low density is suitable for the float portion 51 in order to obtain a large buoyancy.

  Such a float valve 50 has both a limit liquid level detection function for the auxiliary oil reservoir 20 imposed on the suction blocking mechanism described above and a blocking function for blocking the auxiliary suction flow path 41. That is, when the secondary oil reservoir 20 is maintained at a liquid level that exceeds a predetermined value, the blocking portion 52 is lifted from the suction port 41 a of the secondary suction channel 41 by the buoyancy acting on the float 51 of the float valve 50. Since the secondary oil reservoir 20 communicates with the secondary suction passage 41, the oil pump 30 sucks oil from both the main oil reservoir 10 and the secondary oil reservoir 20 and supplies the oil through the supply passage 60 to the engine. It supplies to each part (refer Fig.2 (a)). When the sub oil storage unit 20 reaches a liquid level below a predetermined value, the buoyancy acting on the float unit 51 decreases, the blocking unit 52 blocks the suction port 41a of the sub suction channel 41, and the sub suction channel 41. Therefore, the oil pump 30 sucks oil only from the main oil reservoir 10 without sucking air through the auxiliary suction passage 41, and supplies the oil to each part of the engine through the supply passage 60 (FIG. 2). (See (b)). When the oil starts to be stored in the sub oil reservoir 20, the float valve 50 starts to float against the negative pressure by the oil pump 30 and opens the suction port 41a of the sub suction channel 41. Oil is sucked from both the oil reservoir 10 and the sub oil reservoir 20.

  As described above, when the float valve 50 shifts from the closed state to the open state, the buoyancy acting on the float valve 50 needs to overcome the negative pressure by the oil pump 30, and this is the response of the float valve 50. Will be reduced. In order to solve this problem, the oil supply apparatus shown in FIG. 2 can be modified as shown in FIG. The oil supply apparatus shown in FIG. 4 has a pressure equilibrium chamber 70 communicating with the auxiliary suction channel 41 and the auxiliary opening 71 on the float part 51 side of the float valve 50 as compared with the oil supply apparatus shown in FIG. Is different. The pressure equilibrium chamber 70 includes a ring-shaped top plate 72 that is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the pipe that forms the sub-suction channel 41 and extends radially outward, the upper surface of the float portion 51, and the float valve 50. ) It is produced from the bellows side wall 73 as a displacement permission wall that allows displacement. With this configuration, the negative pressure of the oil pump 30 acting on the sealing portion 52 and the float portion 51 of the float valve 50 becomes substantially equal, that is, at least most of the negative pressure acting on both sides of the float valve 50 cancel each other. Therefore, the responsiveness reduction of the float valve 50 due to the negative pressure generated in the oil supply device shown in FIG. 2 is at a level that can be substantially ignored.

  In the description of the above-described embodiment, the float valve is employed as the suction blocking mechanism 50. Instead, the liquid level is detected by an ultrasonic method, a light beam method, or a capacitance method, and the detection is performed. It is also possible to control the shut-off valve based on the signal. FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of such an oil supply apparatus. Here, the suction shut-off mechanism 50 is an ultrasonic reflection type liquid level detection sensor 55 and an electromagnetic shut-off valve that shuts off the flow of the sub suction channel 41 based on a detection signal from the liquid level detection sensor 55. The controller 54 supplies a control signal to 55. The controller 54 opens the electromagnetic shut-off valve 56 as long as the liquid level detection sensor 55 detects a liquid level exceeding a predetermined value in the secondary oil reservoir 20, and the liquid level detection sensor 55 detects the secondary oil. A control program for closing the electromagnetic shut-off valve 56 when a liquid level below a predetermined value in the reservoir 20 is detected is implemented.

  In the embodiment described above, only one sub oil reservoir 20 has been described, but the present invention is effective even when there are a plurality of sub oil reservoirs 20. What is necessary is that the sub suction channel 41 connected to each sub oil reservoir 20 is merged with the main suction channel 40 and the amount of oil in any of the sub oil reservoirs 20 falls below a predetermined value. In addition, a suction blocking mechanism 50 that blocks the secondary suction flow path 41 belonging to the secondary oil reservoir 20 is provided.

  As is apparent from the above description using various embodiments, the important point of the oil supply apparatus according to the present invention is that the main oil storage unit 10 and at least one sub oil storage unit for assisting the main oil storage unit 10 are used. The oil supply function can be maintained even when the oil stored in each of the oil tanks 20 is sucked by the single oil pump 30 and the amount of oil stored in the auxiliary oil storage unit 20 is insufficient. is there.

The principle figure explaining the principle of the oil supply apparatus by this invention In the schematic diagram which shows one embodiment of the oil supply apparatus by this invention, in (a), the suction interruption | blocking mechanism has open | released the sub suction flow path, and in (b), the suction interruption | blocking mechanism interrupted | blocked the sub suction flow path. ing. Perspective view showing structure of float valve The schematic diagram which shows another embodiment of the oil supply apparatus by this invention. The schematic diagram which shows another embodiment of the oil supply apparatus by this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10: Main oil reservoir 20: Sub oil reservoir 30: Oil pump 40: Main suction channel 41: Sub suction channel 50: Suction shut-off mechanism (float valve)
51: Float part 52: Sealing part 60: Supply flow path 70: Pressure equilibration chamber

Claims (2)

In the oil supply device that sucks up the oil stored in each of the main oil storage part and at least one sub oil storage part that assists the main oil storage part and supplies the oil to each part of the engine.
A single oil pump for sucking up oil stored in the main oil storage section and the sub oil storage section;
A suction shut-off mechanism that shuts off a sub-suction passage from the sub-oil reservoir to the oil pump according to a liquid level of oil stored in the sub-oil reservoir ;
The suction shut-off mechanism is configured by a float valve that seals the suction port of the oil pump with respect to the auxiliary oil reservoir.
A pressure equilibrium chamber communicating with the sub-suction channel is formed on a free surface side opposite to the sealing surface facing the suction port of the float valve, and at least a part of the wall constituting the pressure equilibrium chamber is An oil supply device configured as a displacement permission wall that allows the float valve to move up and down .   The suction shut-off mechanism includes a liquid level sensor that detects a liquid level of oil stored in the sub oil reservoir and a shut-off valve that shuts off the sub suction flow path based on a detection signal from the liquid level sensor. The oil supply apparatus according to claim 1.

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