JPS6228644Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a lubricating device for an engine such as an automobile engine, in which engine cooling water is used as a heat source for heating the interior of the vehicle.

In conventional engines of this type, no particular consideration was given to the relationship between the amount of lubricating oil stored in the oil pan located at the bottom of the crankcase where the crankshaft is located and the engine temperature. .

However, if a certain amount of lubricating oil is always stored in the oil pan regardless of the engine temperature, it is possible to reduce the overall height of the engine in order to make the engine more compact. By shortening the skirt of the cylinder block below the center of the main bearing of the crankshaft, in engines where the crankshaft is located inward from the oil pan opening, even when the engine is cold, it is almost the same as when the engine is warm. As the same amount of lubricant oil rotates as the crankshaft or counterweight rotates, the vehicle climbs, descends, and accelerates rapidly, not only in splash-lubricated engines but also in non-splash-lubricated engines. , and is splashed onto the cylinder or piston due to rapid speed, etc., so even when the engine is cold, the amount of heat released from the cylinder or piston to the lubricating oil side increases, just as when the engine is warm, and the amount of heat released into the lubricating oil side increases accordingly. Temperature rise is suppressed. Therefore, when a heater using this cooling water as a heat source is used to heat the interior of the vehicle when the engine is cold, the problem arises that the heater is not effective because the temperature of the cooling water is difficult to rise.

In view of the above-mentioned problems with conventional engine lubrication systems, the present invention promotes the temperature rise of cooling water by reducing as much as possible the amount of heat released from the cylinder or piston to the lubricating oil side when the engine is cold. The purpose of this device is to provide an engine lubricating device that increases the rate of temperature rise of cooling water when the engine is cold, and the crankcase is located inward from the opening. In an engine equipped with an oil pan for storing lubricating oil at a liquid level close to the crankshaft, the engine includes a temperature sensor for detecting the engine temperature, and a temperature sensor for detecting the engine temperature, and a temperature sensor for storing lubricating oil at a liquid level close to the crankshaft. The present invention is characterized by being provided with a liquid level lowering device for lowering the liquid level of lubricating oil in the lubricating oil.

Hereinafter, the engine lubricating device of the present invention will be explained based on the first embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and the second embodiment shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 1 shows the first embodiment of the present invention. A motor vehicle engine Z ₁ is shown equipped with a lubrication device according to the invention. This engine Z ₁ has a cylinder block 1 in which a cylinder 7 and a crankcase 8 are integrally formed, and a piston 2 is installed in the cylinder 7.
A connecting rod 9 is attached to a crank pin 3a of a crankshaft 3 disposed within a crankcase 8. In this case, this engine Z ₁ is particularly intended to be made compact by reducing its overall height as much as possible, and as a specific means for this purpose, the crank case 8 of the cylinder block 1 is
Of the skirt portion 1a constituted by the lower end portion of the crankshaft 3, the extension dimension of the portion extending downward from the main bearing 3b of the crankshaft 3 is made as short as possible. Therefore, the counterweight 4, which is eccentrically arranged with respect to the main bearing 3b and integrally formed with the crankshaft 3, necessarily protrudes downward from the lower end surface 8a of the crankcase 8, and is attached to the lower end surface 8a of the crankcase 8. It protrudes inward through the opening 5a of the deep dish-shaped oil pan 5, which is fastened and fixed from below.

Incidentally, engine cooling water, which is also used as a heat source for a heater for heating the passenger compartment, flows through a water jacket 15 provided within the peripheral wall of the cylinder 7.

In addition, lubricating oil L is stored in the oil pan 5, and the liquid level is normally indicated by the symbol in FIG.
As shown by LH, the liquid level is close to the counterweight 4 of the crankshaft 3 (hereinafter, this liquid level is referred to as a high liquid level LH). Furthermore, the lubricating oil L stored in the oil pan 5 is passed through an oil feed path 13 by a lubricating oil pump 10 to the cylinder head 6.
The oil is supplied to a valve train (not shown) provided therein, a crank pin 3a of a piston 2 or a crankshaft 3, a main bearing 3b, etc., and lubricates each of these sliding parts. Further, the return oil from each of these sliding parts is returned to the oil pan 5 side through the return oil passage 14. In addition, the reference numeral 11 in the figure is an oil filter, and 12 is an oil filter.
is an oil strainer.

Further, between the crankcase 8 and the oil pan 5, there is an oil receiving member 17 for temporarily storing lubricating oil returned from the return oil passage 14 to the oil pan 5 side.
is interposed. This oil receiving member 17 has a counterweight 4 and a crankshaft 3 in its center.
It is integrally formed with a gutter-like ring body having a through hole 17a that allows rotation of the lubricating oil L, and its bottom surface 17b is positioned above the high liquid level LH of the lubricating oil L in the oil pan 5. The bottom surface 17 of this oil receiving member 17
An oil passage port 18 that is opened and closed by a solenoid valve 20 is formed in b. This oil port 18
The maximum opening area is determined by the amount of lubricating oil that flows down from the oil receiving member 17 side to the oil pan 5 side through the oil inlet 18 when the solenoid valve 20 is fully opened, and the amount of lubricating oil pumped up by the lubricating oil pump 10. The amount of lubricating oil is appropriately set so as to be equal to the amount of lubricating oil.

Further, the solenoid valve 20 is closed depending on the engine temperature, and acts to restrict the opening area of the oil passage port 18 to an appropriate size. That is, the drive circuit 40 for the solenoid valve 20 is connected to a temperature detector 41 such as a water temperature sensor installed at a suitable location in the engine via a determination circuit 42 as shown in the control block diagram shown in FIG.
(see Figure 1), and the cooling water temperature detected by the temperature detector 41 (hereinafter referred to as detected temperature T ₁
) and a preset reference temperature T ₂ (for example, water temperature of 50 to 60°C) are compared in the judgment circuit 42, and if the detected temperature T ₁ is lower than the reference temperature T ₂ (hereinafter, this state is referred to as engine cold temperature). A drive signal is sent to the drive circuit 40 only when the solenoid valve 20 is energized, and the opening area of the oil passage port 18 that is energized to the solenoid valve 20 is narrowed down. Note that when the detected temperature T ₁ is higher than the reference temperature T ₂ (hereinafter, this state is referred to as engine warm time), the solenoid valve 20 is kept fully open.

In this way, when the solenoid valve 20 is closed and the opening area of the oil passage port 18 is narrowed, the amount of lubricant that passes through the oil passage port 18 is smaller than the amount of lubricant pumped up from inside the oil pan 5 by the lubricating oil pump 10. bread 5
Since the amount of lubricating oil that is recirculated into the oil pan 5 decreases, the liquid level of the lubricating oil L in the oil pan 5 remains at the high liquid level LH when the engine is warm, that is, when the oil port is fully open.
The liquid level will drop from LL to low liquid level LL.

In this first embodiment, the solenoid valve 20 and the oil receiving member 17 are used as a liquid level lowering device _A1 for lowering the liquid level of lubricating oil in the oil pan 5 when the engine is cold. .

Next, the operation of the engine lubricating system of the first embodiment will be explained. When the engine is cold, such as immediately after starting, the solenoid valve 20 operates to appropriately throttle the opening area of the oil inlet 18 and close the oil pan. Change the liquid level of lubricating oil L in 5 from high liquid level LH to low liquid level.
Lower it to LL. Therefore, due to the structure of the cylinder block 1, the engine is originally configured such that the counterweight 4 of the crankshaft 3 and the liquid level of the lubricating oil L in the oil pan 5 (i.e., the high liquid level LH) are close to each other. While the counterweight 4
It becomes possible to increase the distance in the vertical direction between the lubricating oil L and the liquid level of the lubricating oil L. For this reason, even when the lubricating oil L is unevenly distributed on one side in the oil pan 5 and its liquid level becomes high, for example, when the car suddenly starts or stops, or when climbing a slope, the crankshaft 3 or counterweight 4 The amount of lubricating oil that is splashed onto the cylinder 7 or piston 2 by the crankshaft 3 or counterweight 4 is much smaller than when the liquid level is high LH. , the amount of heat released from the cylinder 7 or piston 2 portion to the lubricating oil side is reduced accordingly. Therefore, the amount of heat released to the cooling water side is relatively increased and the temperature of the cooling water is accelerated, so that the heater can be activated more quickly.

Next, the engine lubricating device of the second embodiment will be explained.
The lubricating device of the embodiment is a liquid level lowering device _A1 that adjusts the liquid level of lubricating oil; an oil receiving member 17 that temporarily stores return oil; and a solenoid valve 20 that opens and closes the oil passage port 18 of the oil receiving member 17. In contrast, the lubricating device of this second embodiment consists of a liquid level lowering device.
_A2 is the same as the first embodiment except that it is constructed with a solenoid coil 30 that is controlled according to the engine temperature and a bellows 31 that is expanded and contracted by the solenoid coil 30. ing. Therefore, each member in FIG. 3 is given the same reference numeral as that in FIG. 1, and the explanation thereof is omitted.
Only the structure of _A2 will be detailed.

Liquid level lowering device A ₂ of the lubricating device of this second embodiment
A bellows 31 is attached to the tip of an actuator 32 that is driven forward and backward by a solenoid coil 30 that is attached to the oil pan 5 at a position below the high liquid level LH in the inner and outer directions.
By expanding and contracting the lubricating oil L by the magnetic attraction force of the solenoid coil 30 and the spring force of the return spring 33, the effective volume of the oil pan 5 is changed and the liquid level of the lubricating oil L is adjusted. That is, when the engine is cold, the bellows 31 is contracted to increase the effective volume of the oil pan 5, and the lubricating oil L is
Lower the liquid level to the low liquid level LL.

In this way, when the liquid level lowering device A ₂ is composed of the solenoid coil 30 and the bellows 31, its structure becomes simpler than that of the first embodiment, and the number of parts is reduced to reduce costs. You can also try it out.

It goes without saying that the lubricating device of the present invention can also be applied to a splash lubrication type engine in which lubricating oil is splashed onto sliding parts by an oil spatter that swings integrally with the connecting rod. It is.

Next, to explain the effect of the present invention, the engine lubricating device of the present invention lowers the liquid level of the lubricating oil stored in the oil pan when the engine is cold, and the lubricating oil is splashed onto the cylinder or piston. This reduces the amount of heat dissipated from the cylinder or piston to the lubricating oil, thereby promoting the temperature rise of the engine cooling water.
In engines such as automobile engines that use cooling water as a heat source for a heater, this has the practical effect of increasing the effectiveness of the heater and improving the heating start-up effect.

Furthermore, by accelerating the temperature rise of the coolant, engine warm-up can be completed more quickly, and if the intake system is heated with the coolant, fuel vaporization and atomization can be accelerated. It is possible to promote this and improve flammability.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the main parts of an engine equipped with a lubricating device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the liquid level lowering device of the engine shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a main part of an engine equipped with a lubricating oil device according to a second embodiment of the invention. 3...Crankshaft, 5...Oil pan,
8... Crank case, 41... Temperature detector,
A ₁ , A ₂ ... liquid level lowering device, L ... oil pan 5
Lubricating oil stored inside.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In an engine comprising an oil pan in which a crankshaft is positioned inwardly from an opening thereof and which stores lubricating oil at a liquid level close to the crankshaft, a temperature detector for detecting engine temperature; A lubricating device for an engine, comprising: a liquid level lowering device that lowers the liquid level of lubricating oil in the oil pan when the temperature is below a predetermined value.