US2440815A

US2440815A - Crankcase construction

Info

Publication number: US2440815A
Application number: US518215A
Authority: US
Inventors: John J Wharam; Paul C Bastien
Original assignee: Ford Motor Co
Current assignee: Ford Motor Co
Priority date: 1944-01-14
Filing date: 1944-01-14
Publication date: 1948-05-04
Anticipated expiration: 1965-05-04

Description

May 4, 1948. J. J. WHARAM EI'AL 2,440,815

CRANKCASE CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 14, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 J. J Wharam PIC, Bash'en I INVENTOR.

BY @6404 (ha Patented May 4, 1948 2,440,815

Company, Dearborn, Mich, a. corporationof, Delaware Application January 14, 1944, Serial-N0. 518,215 7 Claims. (01. 134-6) This. invention relates to the. construction of With, these andiotherobjects in view, the-in, internal-combustion. engine crankcases; and, vention consists in; the arrangement, construe! more particularly, to a crankcase or oil pan havtion, and combination of the various partsroi the ing a wet sump divided into a plurality of sepimproved device. as. described in the specificae arate compartments. 5, tion, claimed in the claimsandillustratedin the The object of this invention is to devise a wet p y g drawings, in Which! sump crankcase. in which provision is made to Figure l is: a. planview of the crankcase-oi this insure an adequate supply of oil to the oil pump nventioneventhough the engine is operating at a consid- Figure 215 Vertical longitudinal ec n t e erable angle of inclination. Particularly in ord- 9- n.t ine- Z Q 'F nance equipment, such asv tanks and armored Figure 3:,isa vertical transverse section taken cars, they conditions of use are such that a veon the line 3. -3:.of:Fi e hicle may be called upon tooperate for a consid- Figure 4 islap tial planview of an endportion erable period of. time at angles up to 30 to-the of the-crankcase showing; the arrangement of the.

horizontal. In ordinary crankcase constructions overflow pipe taken Substantially as d ca ed this necessarily results in av concentration of oil by th'eline die-410i- Fi u e ,at, the low end of th pan may be in 5: iSa Vertical Section 601'- the front or back of the engine, depending upon respondingto the portion,otthecnankcaseshown the sense of the inclination). Thus, it is not in Fi u e 4- possible to locate a single oil intake in a position Figure B issa, vertical transverse section. taken in which it will always beimmersedin oil. The on the line. (if-61in Fi u a d win th inevitable result is that the oil pump under cerdrain-pl Construction tain extreme conditions will run dry; the engine Figures. 3 diagrammatic Views bearings will not be supplied with necessary oil, showing the. operation of the crankcase when thea engine failure i be accelerated vehicle. is. level, inclined forwardly and inclined The advantage of the present construction is r rwardly,respectively.

that by a few simple modifications, a conventioneferring toFigllres and 2, Ill-indicates, a1 crankcase or oil pan may be so changed that el'ally, a crankcase, Casting hailing a) p ll a supply of oil is available to the oil. intake and d flanges i2; by means of which it may be oil pump and to the lubricating system of th attached in the usual manner belowan engine engine under all operating conditions, Another block All a e the typ f en e to advantage is t th Operation of device which thiscrankcase has been adapted isshown entirely autgmatic and t afiected by t nin copending application Serial: No. 439,632 filed tion of the inclinationthat is, whether the en- April 1942; now Patent 2,349,157- -This gjne is pointing upwardly or downward1y hut is an eight-cylinder V-typethe center lines of under all these circumstances will insure the @Ylmders being Shown dotted H1185 Supply of an adequate quantity f n to the n l3, and the center lines of: the bearings are inpump Y another advantage is that the, dictated by the dotted lines M. This will indicatevice which reahzes these b n fits is a compact the relative orientation of the particular crankunit which can be accommodated directly on case and engine The Sump divided by a the engine crankcase, so that minimum f transverse wall. 15: into a front chamber in ancichange is required and which is as dependable, a rear chamber ii'i, although the designation as in action as the conventional pumps heretofore 011i and Year is: only relative as Construction used. A furthe advantage is that the construc is equally applicable-in the reversev arrangement.

tion devised strengthens the crankcase construc- A front Engine extends over from tion itself. Still another advantage is that the Chamber transverse Well 15 underecifi construction may be arranged, that neath the engine :block so that oil from the front for purpose of service or draining of the oil pan, lcylmclelsl Wm drain the pan into it can be treated the same as a conventional the real" Qhamb-al Pan Mel/31195011 construction. While the construction shown may 50 in he fiell el f m fiQWil g 93 .81 fil be designed to operate under almost any angle when 1 .8 n ine r ps hpl l zrdly. A somewhat of inclination, the limiting factor is found in the Similar ine pan t9. :coyers substantially 411 @f anglev at which the tractive effect of the vehicle's the rear chamber l5 :butcstops shorter-the transwheels or tracks decreases, which-for practical verse'wajl-l 15 so that oil draining from therear purposesmay betaken as 30. 56. four cylinders will flow into the rear chamber lil,

in the forward chamber I6 and a corresponding strainer 25 is located in the rear chamber These strainers are of a conventional construction with a screen 26, and are supported on bosses 21 formed in the bottom of the crankcase. An intake pipe 28 leads from the rear strainer 25 through the transverse wall |5 (in which it is resiliently mounted) to the intake port 29 f the'upper pump 22. Oil flowing therethrough is discharged through the discharge port 3| of this pump to a' pipe 32 located exteriorly of the crankcase and reintroduced through an aperture 33 into the forward chamber I6 of the sump. It is readily seen that oil is normally drawn from the rear chamber I! by the upper pump 22 and discharged into the forward chamber l6.

An intake pipe 34 leads from the front strainer 24 to the intake port 35 of the lower pump 23. The oil supplied by the intake pipe '34 passes through the lower pump 23 to the discharge port 36 of the lower pump and then through the bore 37 to an oil filter chamber 38 which includes a conventional filter element 39. The oil after passing through the filter element enters the vertical duct 4| which communicates with a similar duct in the engine block connecting with the various oil lines leading to the bearings and other mechanism to be lubricated. In the event that the oil filter should be clogged, a spring relief mechanism 42 is provided, including a spring weighted plunger 43 which opens a channel 44 leading directly from the oil filter chamber 38 to the vertical duct 4| referred to before. It will thus be seen that oil is withdrawn from the forward chamber I6 and pumped, after filtering, directly to the engine supply line.

A further connection is provided between the front and rear chambers through an overflow pipe 45 (best shown in Figures 4-6, inclusive), whichis formed integrally with the crankcase. This overflow pipe has an opening 46 through the transverse wall I into the rear chamber I1; andopens into the forward chamber I6 through an L 41,.having a horizontal opening 48 spaced a substantial distance above the floor of the crankcase. Thus any oil in the rear chamber above the level of the top of the L 41 when the engine is level, will flow through the overflow pipe 45 to the forward chamber I6 until the-levels in both chambers are equalized. As the engine is inclined upwardly, the natural tendency of the oil is to flow toward the rear of the engine; but the oil in the forward chamber I6 is prevented from taking such a course by the front pan l8 and cannot flow through the overflow pipe 45 after it reaches a minimum level for the particular degree of inclination defined by the elevation of the horizontal opening 48 in the L 41. However, when the engine is inclined downwardly, the oil from the rear chamber I1 is always free to flow through the overflow pipe 45 to the front chamber IE.

The operation of the device will be clarified through reference to Figures 7-9, inclusive. Figure 7 represents the engine operating on an even 4 keel in which the oil is withdrawn from the rear chamber I1 by the upper pump 22 and discharged into the front chamber l6 through the pipe 32. The oil in the front chamber is pumped through the lower pump 23 to the vertical duct 4| leading to the oil supply lines of the engine proper. Any excess oil in the forward chamber I6 not required for the engine, drains through the overflow pipe 45 to the rear chamber I1 and the process is repeated. When the engine is inclined downwardly, as shown in Figure 8, the oil tends to flow to the forward portion of the engine. Under these conditions, the rear strainer 25 may be entirely out of oil in the rear chamber I'I, since any oil therein may flow through the overflow pipe 45 to the front chamber I6. Under these conditions, the upper pump 22 is inoperative but an adequate supply of oil is available in the forward chamber I6 and is pumped through the lower pump 23 directly to the engine lines. The oil draining from the engine is divided between the front and rear chambers as indicated by the arrows on the figure. In the event that the engine is inclined upwardly (as shown in Figure 9), the oil tends to move to the rear of the crankcase, and under ordinary conditions if the oil intake were'located in the forward end, the oil lines would be starved. Under these conditions, however, all of the oil draining from the engine is directed to the rear chamberalthough a portion may be trapped as at 49 but this can be drained into the rear chamber I1 throughholes drilled in the engine pan I9. The oil in the rear chamber is pumped through the upper pump 22 and discharged into the front chamber. The level in the forward chamber is maintained due to the elevation of the opening 48 in the L 41 of the overflow pipe 45, while oil is withdrawn from the front chamber by the pump 23 and supplied to the engine.

From the diagrammatic showing, it will be apparent that regardless of the inclination of the engine, the pump will be supplied with an adequate amount of oil. This is attributable to the conjoint operation of the double pump and overflow pipe; and, at the same time, neither compartment of the crankcase can have an oversupply of oil.

In order to drain both chambers of the crankcase simultaneously, a drain plug 5| is provided which screws into the tapped boss 52 at the low point of the crankcase sump. The plug 5| has a shaft which extends into a cut-away cylinder 53 which has an aperture 54 opening to the front chamber I6 and an inside aperture 55 opening into the overflow pipe 45. The end of the plug 5| is piloted in a boss 56 on the overflow pipe 45. When the plug is screwed into position, it closes both

apertures

54 and 55 in the cylinder 53 and prevents oil from the overflow pipe from entering the front chamber through it, or oil from either the overflow pipe or the front chamber draining out of the crankcase. Conversely, when the plug is removed, free passage is established between the overflow pipe and the front chamber, and the oil is free to flow out..

Both pumps 22 and 23 are driven by the single shaft 57 from the engine crankshaft or camshaft (the precise connection not being shown, as it does not form a part of this invention) and extends upwardly through the opening 58 in Figure 1. For purposes of clarity, the oil pump structure is not shown in Figures 1 or 2, but it will be quite clear from the sectional view in Figure 3.

Directional arrows are used throughout to indi- :ate the flow of oil throughpthegvarious chambers, Jipes, and ducts referred to in the specification.

The-operation of this' device'is believed to'b'e. ipparentfrom the detailed description given'." It

s at once apparent that nomatterxwhat condi- ;ion ofoperation is encounteredwithin the limits 3f the tractive stability of thev vehicle, th'esoilpump is assured of a steady and continuous supply of oil to be forced. throughthe oil lines of :he engine.

Base with apair of co-operating .pumps-andan Jverfiow'device which is selferegulatingc Under all"conditions it'maintains a supply of oil for ;he delivery pump whether the vehicle be in- :lined forwardly or rearwardly oris operating an a substantially even keel. The particular zcon-a struction used is compact and requires no particular complexity of mechanism or connection. it presents no operating difficulty and is fully as dependableso far as pump operation itself is :0ncernedas any of the conventional single pump arrangements, which are open, of course, to the further objection of failure when an insufiicient supply of oil is forthcoming.

Some changes may be made in the arrangement, construction, and combination of the various parts of the improved device without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is the intention to cover by the claims such changes as may be reasonably included within the scope thereof.

The invention claimed is:

1. In an engine crankcase, a transverse wall intermediate the ends of said crankcase, dividing said crankcase into a pair of chambers arranged successively longitudinally of said engine and This is obtainedby the relatively,;- simple construction shown, using adividedcranker ent: chambers-e arranged;- successively? longitudisv nallygofasaideengine; span meanstinterpcsedi b tweenr said-echambers andz'said enginer andtnormallysefiectiveEtoedirect .a 'maj 01 1322117 "of. th'e:-:oil

5,. dnaim'ng fromrsaid:engineintoone of-saidchame having a substantially continuous fioor, oil defleeting means between said engine and said chambers and normally directing the major part of the oil draining from said engine on said oil deflecting means to one of said chambers and forming at least a partial closure for the other, chamber, a pump intake in said one chamber, a pump connected therewith effective to draw oil therefrom and deliver it to said other chamber, a pump intake in said other chamber, a second pump means eiiective to draw oil through said last-named pump intake and deliver it under pressure to said engine, a duct leading from the. bottom of said one chamber and discharging into said other chamber at a point remote from said transverse wall substantially spaced above the bottom of said other chamber and above said oil intake in said other chamber, said duct efiective to permit the free fiow of oil directly to said other chamber from said one chamber when the engine is tilted in one direction of inclination and to retain a minimum quantity of oil in said. other chamber when the engine is tilted in the opposite direction of inclination.

2. The structure of claim 1 which is further characterized in that a single drain plug is provided in said duct in said other chamber and co-operating as a closure with a passage in the wall of said duct between the interior of said duct and the interior of said other chamber and extending at least to the normal elevation of the bottom of said one chamber effective on removal to drain the oil from both said chambers therethrough.

3. In an engine crankcase, a transverse vertical wall intermediatethe ends of said crankcase, dividing said crankcase into a pair of independ here sand. forming'zatsr least a partial closure for; the otheresaid chamberralong said wa-ll, pumpw means.- mounted; 0n -'said -crankca'se* at one end-i thereof: externallya-of said chambers 'and' 'having z ,--a pair-w ofgeari pumps; ,a= pipe leadingifronwsaidt oneichamber: to one asaid gear pump; a discharge piperlcadingsfromnsaid onei-gear pumpi to: said: other chamber; a -piper leading? from said" "other chamber: tor saidother gear' pump-, discharge.

,means fromwsaid otheri'gear pump communicate ing-rwith-'-.-the,="oil .linesfiof :saidaengine, an enclos'ed duct integrally formed with saidi-crankcaseiandw extendingealongfthe' bottom of said other chambersubstantiallythe entire length of said other chamber, said duct opening through said transverse wall at one end communicating with the said one chamber adjacent the bottom thereof,

said duct opening to said other chamber at the other end of said duct, said opening being spaced a substantial distance above the bottom of said chamber.

4. The structure of claim 3, which is further characterized in that means is provided in said duct comprising an opening through the bottom of said crankcase, an opening between the interior of said duct and the interior of said other chamber, and a single plug externally insertable through said first opening to serve as a closure for both said openings and on removal to permit substantially complete drainage of oil from both said chambers through said first opening.

5. In an engine crankcase, a transverse vertical wall intermediate the ends of a crankcase dividing said crankcase into a pair of chambers, a drain pan arranged between the engine and one of said chambers normally effective to direct oil draining from said engine into the second of said chambers and preventing oil in said one chamber from flowing over said wall, pump means effective to pump oil from said second chamber and deliver it to first said chamber, a second pump means effective to pump oil from said first chamber and deliver it under pressure to said engine, and a duct communicating directly between said chambers, said duct opening into one chamber at a point substantially above the bottom thereof but permitting free fiow of oil between said chambers to equalize the 011 levels therein when said engine is substantially level and the oil level is above said last-mentioned duct opening.

6. In an engine crankcase, a transverse vertical wall intermediate the ends of crankcase dividing said crankcase into a pair of chambers, a drain pan arranged between the engine and one of said chambers normally effective to direct oil draining from said engine into the second of said chambers and preventing oil in said one chamber from flowing over said wall, pump means effective to pump oil from said second chamber and deliver it to first said chamber, a second pump means efiective to pump oil from said first chamber and deliver it under pressure to said engine, and a duct passing through said transverse wall between said chambers, said duct opening into said second chamber at the bottom thereof and discharging into said first chamber at a point spaced a substantial distance from the bottom thereof. I

'7. In an engine crankcase, a transverse vertical wail intermediate the ends of said crankcase dividing said crankcase into a pair of chambers; oil deflecting means between said engine and said chambers forming at least a partial closure for one of said chambers to prevent the oil therein from flowing over said wall, pump means efiective to draw oil from the other said chamber and deliver it to said one chamber, a second pump means efiective to draw oil from said one chamber and deliver it under pressure to said engine, a duct extending through the dividing wall for the free flow of oil between said chambers, said duct entering said other chamber adjacent the bottom thereof and discharging in said one chamber at a point, substantially spaced from the bottom of said one chamber and remote from said dividing wall. 7

JOHN J. WHARAM. PAUL C. BASTIEN.

8 e nnrnnanons CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,891,726 Radford Dec. 20, 1932 FOREIGN PATENTS 10 Number Country Date 15,866 Great Britain May 13, 1907 237,559 Great Britain Oct. 29, 1925 279,366 Germany Oct. 17, 1914 OTHER REFERENCES