JPH0364609A - Lubricator of internal combustion engine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To effectively supply lubrication oil at an oil pan bottom part by arranging an auxiliary pump which collects the lubrication oil while actuating by relief oil pressure of an oil pump, and a reserve chamber for the collected lubrication oil inside the oil pan. CONSTITUTION:When an internal combustion engine is at a high engine speed range, discharge pressure of an oil pump 3 is increased and an exit part 5b of a relief valve 5 is opened. A hydraulic motor 8 is actuated accordingly by relief oil pressure from an oil return pipe 12, and a scavenging pump 7 which is an auxiliary pump is actuated via a driving shaft 11. As a result, lubrication oil at the bottom of an oil pan 2 is collected into an auxiliary pump chamber 7a, and sent to a reserve chamber 9. The lubrication oil is separated from bubble and sucked into the oil pump 3 via a suction pipe 4. One of relieved lubrication is again used for activation of the hydraulic motor 8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to improvements in lubrication systems for internal combustion engines, for example for automobiles.

As is well known in the art, lubricating systems for automobile internal combustion engines include:
The so-called wet sump method, in which lubricating oil stored in the oil pan is splashed onto piston sliding parts using a connecting rod, etc., or the so-called wet sump method, in which lubricating oil is not kept in the crankcase, but is forcibly supplied to each sliding part using multiple pumps. There are dry sump methods, etc.

As an example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 62 (1983) using the dry sump method
The one described in Japanese Patent No.-101811 is generally known. This system is equipped with an oil tank separate from the oil pan, and the oil path from the oil pan and oil tank to one oil pump is switched by a switching valve that works with an oil level sensor in the oil pan, allowing each sliding movement of the engine to be switched. At the same time, lubricating oil is supplied from the oil pump at a predetermined pressure or higher to the oil tank via a relief valve. This configuration attempts to solve the problems of the conventional dry sump system, such as the use of multiple oil pumps and increased horsepower consumption.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, although the conventional lubricating device described above can solve the problems such as having multiple oil pumps, on the contrary, it only uses a single oil pump, and Only the lubricating oil relieved from the oil pump is supplied to the tank, so if the lubricating oil pumped to each sliding part of the engine is not recovered sufficiently and quickly into the oil pan, It goes without saying that lubricating oil cannot be supplied from the oil pan, and there is a risk that the lubricating oil in the oil tank may also become insufficient. In particular, with the recent demand for quieter engines and higher output, the number of valves per cylinder has increased, and the amount of oil remaining in the engine has tended to increase due to the increased use of lanosure adjusters, which require a large amount of oil. In particular, when the vehicle turns at high speed, the oil level in the oil pan tilts, making it more difficult to absorb necessary lubricating oil from the oil pan.

Moreover, since the oil passage is switched by a switching valve according to the amount of oil in the oil pan, the higher the speed, the more frequently the switching operation must be performed, and depending on the structural conditions, the durability and reliability may be affected. There is a risk that it may decline.

Furthermore, since two tanks, an oil pan and a large-capacity oil tank, are required, the overall size of the device is forced to increase, and there are various problems such as restrictions on the degree of freedom in layout within the engine room.

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention has been devised in view of the above-mentioned problems of the conventional art. The present invention is characterized in that an auxiliary pump is provided to collect the collected lubricating oil, and a storage chamber is provided in which the collected lubricating oil is temporarily stored and whose interior communicates with the suction port of the oil pump.

Function: For example, when the engine is running at low speed, lubricating oil in the oil pan is supplied to each sliding part by the operation of the oil pump, but since there is no relief from the oil tank, the auxiliary pump does not operate.

On the other hand, when the engine reaches a high speed range, the amount of lubricating oil required at each sliding part of the engine increases, the discharge pressure of the oil pump also increases, and a portion of the oil is relieved. Therefore, the auxiliary pump starts operating to forcibly scrape up the lubricating oil in the oil pan and send it into the storage chamber. Furthermore, the lubricating oil once stored in this storage chamber is sucked into the oil pump and used as engine lubricating oil, and a portion of the relieved oil is returned to the oil pan and used to operate the auxiliary pump. be done.

Therefore, not only the lubricating oil used for lubrication but also the lubricating oil that has been relieved is returned to the oil pan, so a relatively high oil level is ensured, and even if the oil level is low, it can be assisted. Since it is efficiently collected by the pump, the shortage of supply to the sliding parts of the engine can be resolved.

Embodiment FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a lubricating device according to the present invention, which has a wet sump system as its basic configuration.

That is, ■ is a cylinder block of an internal combustion engine, 2 is an oil pan fixed to the lower end of the cylinder block 1, and 3 is an oil pump that is provided at the front end of the cylinder block 1 and rotates in synchronization with the crankshaft. One end of a suction vibrator 4 of an oil strainer facing into the oil pan 2 is connected to the suction port 3a of this oil pump 3, and the suction vibrator 4, which is housed in the cylinder block 1, is housed in the cylinder block 1 and applies discharge pressure to the discharge port 3b. Inlet part 5a of relief valve 5 kept constant
is connected.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2.3, a scavenging pump 7 as an auxiliary pump, a hydraulic motor 8 for driving the scavenging pump 7, and a storage chamber 9 are integrated into the internal bottom surface 2al of the oil pan 2. The stored casing 6 is stored and fixed. To be more specific, the casing 6 has a front casing part 6a and a rear casing part 6b, which have an abbreviated shape, are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the oil pan 2, and have pump chambers 7a, 8a inside the front and back, The storage chamber 9 is provided inside the side of the front casing part 6a.
and a side casing portion 6C that forms a side casing portion 6C.

As shown in FIG. 2, the scavenging pump 7 is a roots blower type pump that can be downsized. A cocoon-shaped drive shaft supported by two parallel drive shafts 10 and 11 that mesh with each other.
Two rotors 7b+70 are rotatably housed. Further, a curved suction passage 7d that communicates the vicinity of the bottom of the oil pan 2 and the first pump chamber 7a is formed on one side of the front casing portion 6a, while the first pump chamber 7a is formed on the other side. A curved discharge passage 7e is formed to communicate between the storage chamber 9 and the storage chamber 9.

The hydraulic motor 8 is a spur gear external motor as shown in FIG.
Two gears 8b and 8c, which are supported on the other end of the drive shaft 10.11 and mesh with each other, are rotatably housed. Further, an oil return pipe 12 that communicates the second pump chamber 8a and the outlet part 5b of the relief valve 5 is connected to the upper end of the rear casing part 6b, and a second oil return pipe 12 is connected to the lower end of the rear casing part 6b.
A discharge port 8d is provided that communicates the pump chamber 8a with the vicinity of the bottom of the oil pan 2. Further, an emergency bypass valve 13 is provided on the oil return pipe 12 upstream of the hydraulic pump 8 . This bypass valve 13 is used when the hydraulic motor 8 is locked due to an unexpected situation.
The check valve 13a is pushed open by the relief hydraulic pressure, and the relieved lubricating oil is returned directly into the oil pan 2 through the oil passage 13b.

As shown in FIG. 2, the storage chamber 9 has a substantially rectangular interior defined by a side casing part 6c, and the other end of the storage chamber 9 is connected to the suction pipe 4 through the suction pipe 4, which penetrates the upper wall of the side casing part 6c from above. The oil pan 2 is connected to the suction port 3a of the oil pump 3 through a long suction hole 9a formed laterally in the lower part of the side wall of the side casing portion 6c.
It communicates with the bottom area. Further, the storage chamber 9 is connected to the inner surface of the side casing 6C of the storage chamber 9 from the suction passage 7e.
Separating the lubricating oil that has flowed into the interior and air bubbles in the lubricating oil 3
A plurality of separate fins 14 are provided to protrude at regular intervals in the vertical direction, and each of the separate fins 14 is formed to slope downward in the opposite direction from the direction of the suction passage 7e. Further, an air vent hole 9b is formed in the upper wall of the side casing portion 6c to discharge air bubbles separated from the lubricating oil by the separate fins 14 to the upper part of the oil pan 2.

The operation of this embodiment will be explained below.

First, in the case of a low engine speed range, the amount of lubricating oil required for each sliding part of the engine is small, so the amount of lubricating oil pumped by the oil pump 3 is also small. Therefore, since the outlet portion 5b of the relief valve 5 is closed, the hydraulic motor 8 is in a stopped state. At this time, the lubricating oil in the storage chamber 9 is supplied to the oil pump 3 via the suction vibrator 4.

The oil pan 2 is connected to the storage chamber 9 through the suction elongated hole 9a.
There is sufficient lubricating oil inside.

On the other hand, when the engine reaches a high speed range, the amount of lubricating oil required at each sliding part increases, the discharge pressure of the oil pump 3 also increases, and the outlet part 5b of the relief valve 5 is opened accordingly. , the hydraulic motor 8 starts operating due to the relief hydraulic pressure from the oil return pipe 12, and the scavenging pump 7 also operates via the drive shaft 10.11. As a result, the lubricating oil remaining at the bottom of the oil pan 2 is forcibly collected into the first pump chamber 7a and sent into the storage chamber 9 from the discharge passage 7e as shown by the arrow. Furthermore, within this storage chamber 9, the lubricating oil and air bubbles are efficiently separated by the separate fins 14, the lubricating oil is temporarily stored in the lower part, and the air bubbles are discharged upward from the air vent hole 9b inside the oil pan 2. be done. The lubricating oil in the storage chamber 9 is sucked into the oil pump 3 and used as it is for engine lubrication, etc., and the relieved part is used again to operate the hydraulic motor 8. Therefore, in the oil pan 2, not only the lubricating oil used for lubrication but also the lubricating oil that is relieved is returned via the discharge port 8d after being used for the operation of the hydraulic motor 8. The oil surface O level is ensured. Moreover, even if the oil surface O level becomes low, it is efficiently scraped by the scavenging pump 7, thereby preventing insufficient supply to the engine sliding parts and the like.

In particular, this device exhibits its performance when the vehicle turns at high speed, and when the oil level O leans to the right as shown in Figure 4A, the scavenging pump 7 is partially exposed from the oil level, so air is sucked in. However, since the storage chamber 9 is filled with lubricating oil, the required amount of oil can be supplied to the oil pump 3. On the other hand, if the oil level 0 is tilted to the left as shown in FIG. can.

Since gas-liquid separation is effectively performed by the separate fins 14 in the storage chamber 9, the oil pump 3
Improves pump efficiency and lubrication performance.

Furthermore, even if the hydraulic motor 8 starts or knocks, the relief action of the oil pump 3 can be maintained by the bypass valve 13, so that the operation of the oil pump 3 is not hindered. Furthermore, since the scavenging pump 7 is operated by relief hydraulic pressure via the hydraulic motor 8, not only is no energy consumed for operation, but it also does not operate at low engine speeds, so problems such as fuel consumption and noise do not occur.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and the configurations of the scavenging bomb 7 and the hydraulic motor 8 can be changed as desired, and each pump chamber 7a, 3a and the storage chamber 9 can be integrated. It is also possible to construct it with a separate casing instead.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above explanation, according to the present invention, there is sufficient oil in the oil pan, that is, in the storage chamber, by the lubricating oil provided for lubrication and the lubricating oil relieved from the oil pump. Not only does this ensure a level surface level, but the scraping action of the auxiliary pump efficiently supplies lubricating oil near the bottom of the oil pan, so it is possible to efficiently supply lubricating oil to the sliding parts of the engine 6, etc. without increasing the overall amount of lubricating oil. A sufficient amount of lubricating oil can be supplied. Furthermore, since the auxiliary pump is operated by relief hydraulic pressure from the oil pump, there is no loss of energy consumption for operation.

Furthermore, since the auxiliary pump and the like are compactly housed in one oil pan, the degree of freedom in layout within the engine room is improved compared to the conventional case where two tanks are placed outside.

Furthermore, since a conventional switching valve is not required, deterioration in the durability and reliability of the device can be prevented.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of essential parts showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line TI-U in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line I-II in FIG. 1.
The line sectional view and FIGS. 4A and 4B are sectional views of essential parts showing the operation of this embodiment. 2...Oil pan, 3...Oil pump, 3a...
- Suction port, 4... Suction vibe, 7... Scavenging pump (auxiliary pump), 9... Storage chamber. Figure 2G Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In a lubricating system that supplies lubricating oil in an oil pan to various parts of an engine using an oil pump, an auxiliary pump is installed in the oil pan that is operated by the relief hydraulic pressure of the oil pump to scrape the lubricating oil in the oil pan. 1. A lubricating device for an internal combustion engine, comprising: a storage chamber for temporarily storing the scraped lubricating oil and having an interior communicating with a suction port of the oil pump.