US1381516A - Internal-combustion engine - Google Patents

Description

W. R. STRICKLAND. INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 16, ms.

Patented June M, 19216,

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

W. R. STRICKLAND.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 16, 1918- 1,381,516.

Patented June 14, 1921.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2- UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE.

WILLIAM R. STRICKLAN D, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE PEERLESS MOTOR CAB COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application/filed September 16, 1918. Serial No. 254,271.

To all whom it may concernfl Be it known that I, W1 IAM R. STRIGK- LAND, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Internal- Combustion Engines, of which the followin is a full, clear, and exact description.

lhis invention relates to internal combustion engines and has for one of its objects to provide means for preventing oil being carried by the rapid circulatlon of air due to the rotating parts, to the cylinders of the engine, and for. preventing the cranks and ends of the connecting rods dip ping into the oil when the Vehicle driven by the engine is going up or down hill.

A further object is to provide means for preventing oil being blown upwardly along the wall of the crank-case and into the lower ends of the cylinders by the air currents created by the rotating crank-shaft and parts connected thereto.

The above and other more specific objects which will be brought out in the following description are attained by my invention which includes two prime features which while admirably adapted for conjoint use and cooperating when so used to accomplish the objects above stated, have utility though employed independently. One of these parts or features consists of a pan of novel shape and construction positioned between the crank-shaft and lower part of the crank-case, and the other part resides in a battle placed along the wall against which the air currents are driven by the air currents sweeping through the lower part of the crank-case, and arranged to divert and reduce the eflfects of the air currents in so far as they tend to drive the oil along said wall up into the cylinders.

The invention may be further briefly summarized as consisting in certain novel details of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts which will be described in the specification and set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying sheet of drawings wherein I have shown the preferred form of'my invention, Figure 1 is a transverse.

sectional View, looking rearwardly, through an engine such as is employed on motor vehicles and equipped with my invention; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the lower part of the crank-case showing the crank-shaft and portions of the connecting rods by dotted lines; Fig. 3 is a view on a reduced scale similar to Fig. 1, showing a modification wherein the bafiie is employed independently of the pan; Fig. t is a view on a reduced scale, similar to Fig. 1, showing a modification in the shape of the pan; and Fig. 5 is a plan view of a pan detached, showing a further modification.

The engine here shown, is of the V-type such as an engine of eight, twelve, or more cylinders, though it is to be understoodthat my invention 1n all its aspects has utility also in an engine having vertical bore cylinders. The engine here shown has a crankcase composed of an upper part-10 and a lower part 11, and diagonally disposed cylinders 12. The usual crank-shaft 13 is likewise provided, having crank portions connectcd to connecting rods 14 Whose outer ends will be connected to the pistons in the customary manner.

In accordance with my invention, I provide between the crank-shaft and the parts rotating therewith, and the bottom of the cranlec-ase, a pan or receptacle 15, which in this case is separate from the lower half of the crank-case, in which event it is preterably formed of sheet metal, though it may be cast integral with the lower half of the crank-case. This pan is closed on all four sides, being open at the top only, and it is secured to the two opposite sides of the crank-case by bolts 16, though it is spaced fromthe sides of the crank-case by spacing members 17 surrounding'the bolts, and is preterably spaced also from both ends. The spacing of this pan from the sides of the crank-case is of importance as it is desired that the oil be free to flow downward along the sidesof the crank-case into the sump, and the spacing from the front end of the crank-case is of importance as it is desired that the oil be free to flow from the gear housing (not shown) commonly provided at the 'front of the crank-case, into the front end ofthe, latter, without entering the pan,

Patented June 14, 1921.

to this gear-housing. At thispointit may be mentionedthatoil ma be fed to the and this opening I place near the center the pan on the off side from. the direction of rotation, 6. near the upright wall toward which the air is blown -by-the rotation of the crank-shaft and the parts connected to it in sweeping throu h the lower part of the crank-case. Additionally it should be noted the topof the .pan between the wall of the crank caseiandflthe adiacent side ofthe pan as shown in Fig. 1. n that event, the side of the an forms in eifect a continuation of the be e, but if this bafile is employed without the pan, then it is preferably extended well down toward the bottom of the crankcase, as illustrated in Fig. 3, where the bafile is designated 19.

Regardless of the distance thatthe battle 19 is extended down into thelo'wer half of the crank-case, that is to say, whether it is employed with or without the pan, its lower that as here shown, the bottom of this pan is edge is bent or extended outwardly so as to inclined downward toward the off side from the direction of rotation. This is not,how-

ever, an-essential feature, as the bottom might "be substantiallyifiat, but in that event the outlet opening would be located as shown. The main idea is to form a pocket protected from the full force of the air currents, allowing the oil to separate from the air currents and drain intothe sump. The

action-might :be supplemented b channels pressed into the pan and running engthwise or diagonally toward the centrally disposed dramppenmg-as shown in Fig.5.

At the rearr'nd of-the pan I provide a transverse bafile 18 which extends downwardly beneath the pan 'within -a short distance from the bottom'of the cranks, the urpose of this bafiie being to prevent slus ing of theoil, and to minimize banking in going up or down hill. A- similar baflie 18 may be but. preferably of the former, is attached to the-lower portion of the upper half of the crank-case by bolts20, and spacers-21 are provided around the bolts to; space the baflie from the crank-case wall. This bafile 19 extends wellqup along the upper half of the crank-case, andits' upper portion is preferabl bent-or inclined inwardly, and if it is inc ined inwardly far enough, and is em- .pl'oyed on. an engine of the V-type asherein illustrated, the up, er portion is provided with notches 22 to orm clearance spaces for theeonnectmg rods associated with the cylinders on the side of the engine to which the bafileplate is applied.

Additionally this bafile extends downwardly into the-lower half of the crank-case a distance which will depend upon-whether or not the pan described above, is utilized with it. If'employed with the pan, it is only necessarythat the lower end of the bafile: extend downwardly a short distance beneath and virtually because the pan, exce bear against the wall of the crank-case, and is provided at intervals with drain openings 23, so'that the-oil flowing downwardly behind the baiile canreadily pass to the sump.

-It was previously stated that the bottom of the pan might be flat instead of inclined. This is shown in Fig. 4, wherein the pan is designated 15. If the bottom of the pan is flat, as'hereshown, or substantially fiat, I prefer to provide along the bottom of the pan=and next to the wall toward which the air currents tend to blow the oil, a depression or gutter 15 constituting a pocket, so that the oil can run into this gutter and be protected from the full force of the air. At about the center of the gutter a drain opening 15" is provided.

It was previously stated also, that the bottom of the pan might'be provided with additionalmeans for protecting the oil from the full force of the. air, and that this might be accomplished by the provision of channels or depressions along which the oil flows to the drain opening. This I have illustrated in'Fig. 5, wherein the gutters or channels referred to are designated 15, and are shown connected to the drain opening 15 located as in the other cases. These channels can extend longitudinally of the bottom of the pan, or diagonally, or it may be desirable that both arrangements be utilized such as illustrated in Fig. 5. These channels could be employed whether or not the bottom of the pan-is inclined as shown in Fig. 1.

The advantages of the construction above described are as follows: The pan minimizes prevents oil being picked up by-the rotat ng air currents, this being particularly important with high speed motors which cause the air to'be circulated in the crank-caseatextremely high velocities. Additionally by reason of the fact that the outlet opening in the bottom of the pan is located about midway between its ends, and t for this opening is closed on all sides an at-the bottom, in going up or down hill the oil is virtually preyented, though banked at one end by the tilting of the motor, from entering the pan, so

.that the ends of the connecting rods cannot dip in the oil and throw theoil up into the cylinders as has been the case with the major portion of the prior engine constructions of which I am aware.

At this point it may be stated that I am aware of the fact that it has heretofore been proposed to break the effects of the air as far as picking up oil is concerned, by the provision of horizontal barriers between the crank-shaft and the base of the crankcase, but in all such instances of which I am aware, these barriers, or by what other name they may have been styled, were not capable of preventing the oil rising above them in going up or down hill.

Furthermore, due to the inclination of the bottom ofthe pan or other provision for the protection of the oil, and the direction in which the air currents sweep over it, the oil which is thrown from the bearings into the pan tends to bank on the off side from the direction of rotation, but by reason of the location of the. drain opening 15, the oil will drain rapidly from the pan so that very little, if any, can be picked up by the air and carried to the upper walls of the crank-case or to thecylinders. v

Neither the provision of this pan, nor the provision of the baflie 19 can interfere with the fiow ofoil downward along theside walls of the crank-case, since both the parts referred to are spaced from the walls of the crank-case. On the other hand, the bafile 1.9 permits this downward flow of oil, as well as prevents the oil being blown up along the wall into the cylinders. Any 011 that may be carried upwardly by the air currents, along the inner side of the baflie on reaching the top edge flows down the rear side of the baffle into the 'sump.

Having described my invention, I claim: 1. In combination with an internal combustion engine having a rotating crank-shaft and a crank-case, of a shield in the form of a pan between the crank-shaft and the bot-' tom of the crank-case, said pan being closed on all four sides and extending along but spaced from the walls of the crank-case, and said pan having at substantially the lowest part thereof one or more drain openings so that any oil caught in the pan will drain therefrom.

2. In combination with an internal combustion engine having a rotating crank-shaft and a crank-case, of a shield in the form of a pan between the crank-shaft and the bottom of the crank-case, the bottom of said pan having an outlet opening near the center thereof and located near one side wall at substantially the lowest part of the pan so as not to retain oil.

'3. In combination with an internal combustion engine having a rotating crank-shaft and a crank-case, of a shield in the form of a pan between the crank-shaft and the bottom of the crank-case, said pan being closed on all four sides, and having a bottom wall inclined downward on the off side from the direction of rotation from substantially one side of the pan to the other.

4:. In combination with an internal combustion engine havinga rotating crank-shaft and a crank-case, of a pan between the crank-shaft and the bottom of the crankcase, said pan being closed on all four sides and having a bottom which is inclined downwardly on the off side from the direction of rotation and is provided with a drain opening near the center of the pan, lengthwise considered, and adjacent the lower part of the bottom.

5. In an internal combustion engine having a rotating crank-shaft and a crank case, of a shield in the form of a pan between the crank-shaft and the bottom of the crankcase, and having upstanding side and end walls spaced from the walls of the crankcase, said pan having one or more openings in substantially the lowest part thereof so that any oil caught in the pan will freely drain therefrom, and a baffle secured to the u per part of the crankcase and extending albn one wall of the crank-case downwar y below the top of'the pan.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto afiix my signature. 7

WILLIAM R. STRICKLAND."

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