Oil tank

Abstract

To provide an oil tank capable of suppressing oil dripping sound in the oil tank.SOLUTION: A cylindrical rope 3 constituted by forming a net-like material having resistance to high-temperature oil into a cylindrical shape is connected to a downstream end part of an oil recovery piping 22, the cylindrical rope 3 is extended toward a bottom plate 21b of an oil tank 21, and the lower edge part of the rope is fixed to the bottom plate 21b by a fixation member 4. Therefor, such a situation that oil O2 drips on an oil surface of oil O1 reserved in the oil tank 21 and dripping sound is generated can be suppressed. Also, such a fact that the cylindrical rope 3 largely moves in an oil reserving space 21a can be suppressed, such a situation that the cylindrical rope 3 collides with a side plate 21d and / or the bottom plate 21b of the oil tank 21 can be inhibited, and also occurrence of noise caused by such a crush can be suppressed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an oil tank, and more particularly to an improvement in an oil tank applied to a dry sump type internal combustion engine. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, automotive internal combustion engines (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as engines) have been known to have dry sump lubrication systems. As disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, this system includes an oil tank (also called a reservoir tank) separate from the engine body. A scavenging pump attached to an oil recovery pipe connecting the oil tank to an oil pan at the bottom of the engine body operates to extract lubricating oil (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as oil) collected in the oil pan and temporarily store it in the oil tank. A feed pump attached to an oil supply pipe connecting the oil tank to the engine body also operates to supply oil to various lubricated parts, such as sliding components, inside the engine body, thereby reducing friction and cooling each part of the engine. This system allows for a shorter oil pan height, thereby enabling a more compact engine body and a lower center of gravity, while also providing a stable supply of oil to the lubricated parts. For example, this system allows for a stable supply of oil to the lubricated parts, even in vehicles such as sports cars that are likely to be driven under high horizontal acceleration. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-291849 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, an issue with oil tanks used in dry sump engines is that abnormal noises emitted from inside the oil tank are transmitted into the vehicle cabin, causing discomfort to occupants. Patent Document 1 discloses that by providing an oil tank with a bubble-breaking means, even if air bubbles are contained in the residual oil discharged into the oil stored in the oil tank, the air bubbles can be broken down by the bubble-breaking means, thereby suppressing the noise generated when the bubbles burst.

[0005] However, abnormal noises emanating from inside an oil tank include not only the sound of bubbles bursting, but also the sound of oil dropping when the oil flowing into the oil tank drops onto the surface of the remaining oil. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the internal configuration of a conventional oil tank a (oil tank a is shown in phantom in FIG. 3). As shown in FIG. 3, an oil recovery pipe b is connected to the side of the oil tank a, allowing oil recovered from the engine body to flow into the oil tank a. As indicated by the dashed arrow in the figure, a dropping sound can occur when the oil flowing into the oil tank a from the oil recovery pipe b drops onto the surface of the remaining oil c in the oil tank a. In particular, when the amount of oil supplied to the engine increases and the oil level in the oil tank a is low, the difference between the connection position of the oil recovery pipe b and the oil level becomes large, increasing the oil's dropping speed, which tends to increase the volume of the dropping sound. The inventors of the present invention have conducted research into suppressing this dropping sound.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide an oil tank that can suppress the sound of oil falling inside the oil tank. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The solution of the present invention to achieve the above object is based on an oil tank connected to an oil recovery pipe extending from a dry sump internal combustion engine and having an oil storage space for storing oil recovered from the internal combustion engine via the oil recovery pipe. The oil tank also includes a cylindrical rope and a fixing member. The cylindrical rope is made of a mesh material resistant to high-temperature oil and formed into a cylindrical shape. The cylindrical rope is connected to the downstream end of the oil recovery pipe located in the oil storage space and extends toward the tank bottom plate. The fixing member fixes the lower end of the cylindrical rope to the tank bottom plate.

[0008] With this feature, oil recovered from the internal combustion engine to the oil tank through the oil recovery pipe flows from the downstream end of the oil recovery pipe into the tubular rope. This tubular rope is made of a cylindrically shaped mesh material that is resistant to high-temperature oil and extends toward the tank bottom plate. Therefore, the oil flows along the tubular rope and into the oil stored in the oil storage space. This prevents the oil from falling onto the surface of the oil stored in the oil tank and generating a falling noise. Furthermore, because the lower end of the tubular rope is fixed to the tank bottom plate by a fixing member, not only is the oil flowing along the tubular rope reliably channeled into the stored oil, but the tubular rope is also prevented from moving significantly within the oil storage space even when the oil tank is subjected to high horizontal or vertical acceleration. This prevents the tubular rope from colliding with the side or bottom plate of the oil tank, thereby further reducing the generation of abnormal noise. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] In this invention, a cylindrical rope made of a mesh material resistant to high-temperature oil is connected to the downstream end of the oil recovery pipe, and the cylindrical rope extends toward the tank bottom plate, with its lower end fixed to the tank bottom plate with a fixing member. This prevents oil from falling onto the surface of the oil stored in the oil tank and generating falling noise. Furthermore, the cylindrical rope is prevented from moving significantly within the oil storage space, preventing the cylindrical rope from colliding with the side or bottom plate of the oil tank and suppressing the generation of abnormal noise caused by such collisions. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an engine body and a lubrication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the internal configuration of the oil tank. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a perspective view illustrating the internal configuration of an oil tank according to the prior art. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to an oil tank for an automobile engine.

[0012] -Outline of engine body and lubrication system- FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the schematic configuration of an engine body 1 and a lubrication system 2 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, a cylinder block of the engine body 1 has a plurality of cylindrical cylinders 11 formed along the cylinder row direction (a direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1 ), and each cylinder 11 houses a piston 12 capable of reciprocating up and down. The reciprocating motion of the piston 12 is converted into the rotational motion of a crankshaft 14 via a connecting rod 13. Oil (lubricating oil) circulating inside the engine body 1 is supplied to lubricated parts, such as the bearing parts of the crankshaft 14 and connecting rod 13, and the sliding parts between the piston 12 and cylinder 11, to reduce frictional resistance and to maintain airtightness, prevent corrosion, and cool the lubricated parts. An oil pan 16 is located below the crankcase 15, and the oil circulating through the lubricated parts is dripped into the oil pan 16 and collected.

[0013] The lubrication system 2 includes an oil tank 21 that is provided separately from the oil pan 16. The oil tank 21 and the oil pan 16 are connected by an oil recovery pipe 22. One end (upstream end) of the oil recovery pipe 22 is connected to a position near the bottom of the side of the oil pan 16, while the other end (downstream end) penetrates the side of the oil tank 21 and is located in the oil storage space 21a, which is the internal space of the oil tank 21. In other words, the downstream end of the oil recovery pipe 22 protrudes into the oil storage space 21a. In addition, a scavenging pump 23 is provided in the oil recovery pipe 22, and by operating the scavenging pump 23, oil that has dripped and recovered in the oil pan 16 is passed through the oil recovery pipe 22 and stored in the oil tank 21 (oil storage space 21a).

[0014] An oil supply pipe 24 is also connected to the oil tank 21. One end (upstream end) of this oil supply pipe 24 is connected to the oil tank 21 (for example, connected to the bottom of the oil tank 21), while the other end (downstream end) is connected to an oil supply passage that leads to each of the parts to be lubricated in the engine body 1. A feed pump 26 is also provided in this oil supply pipe 24, and operation of this feed pump 26 causes the oil O1 stored in the oil storage space 21a to be filtered by an oil strainer (not shown) to remove worn metal powder, sludge, etc., before being supplied to each of the parts to be lubricated in the engine body 1.

[0015] Note that mechanical oil pumps such as trochoid pumps and gear pumps that operate using mechanical power (the rotational force of the crankshaft 14) from the engine body 1 are used as the scavenging pump 23 and feed pump 26. Therefore, when the engine is running, the pumps 23 and 26 operate, and the oil that has passed through the lubricated parts of the engine body 1 is circulated through the crankcase 15, oil pan 16, oil recovery pipe 22, oil tank 21, and oil supply pipe 24 and is then supplied back to the lubricated parts of the engine body 1.

[0016] It is also possible to use an electric oil pump that operates using the rotational torque of an electric motor as the scavenging pump 23 and the feed pump 26. If this electric oil pump is used, the required amount of oil can be supplied at the appropriate time according to the running state of the vehicle, regardless of the operation of the engine.

[0017] -Oil tank configuration- Next, the configuration of the oil tank 21, which is a feature of this embodiment, will be described. Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the internal configuration of the oil tank 21 (in Fig. 2, the oil tank 21 is shown by imaginary lines). As shown in Fig. 2, the oil tank 21 is, for example, a cylindrical container, and is configured to include a bottom plate 21b, a top plate 21c, and a side plate 21d, and is configured to have a capacity larger than the amount of oil required for the size of the engine body 1. In addition, the downstream end of the oil recovery pipe 22 is connected to a relatively high position on the side plate 21d of the oil tank 21. As described above, the downstream end of this oil recovery pipe 22 protrudes into the oil storage space 21a.

[0018] A cylindrical rope 3 is connected to the downstream end of the oil recovery pipe 22. This cylindrical rope 3 is made of a mesh-like metal material (metal fiber) that is resistant to oil and high-temperature oil, formed into a cylindrical shape. An upper end portion 31 of this cylindrical rope 3 (the portion connected to the downstream end of the oil recovery pipe 22) has an inner diameter that approximately matches the outer diameter of the downstream end of the oil recovery pipe 22, and is connected to wrap around the downstream end of the oil recovery pipe 22 from the outside. Specifically, the upper end portion 31 of the cylindrical rope 3, made of a mesh-like metal material (metal fiber) formed into a cylindrical shape, is expanded to approximately match the outer diameter of the downstream end of the oil recovery pipe 22, and the downstream end of the oil recovery pipe 22 is inserted inside the upper end portion 31 of the cylindrical rope 3, and the upper end portion 31 of the cylindrical rope 3 is connected to the downstream end of the oil recovery pipe 22. Although not shown, in order to prevent the upper end portion 31 of the cylindrical rope 3 from falling off from the downstream end of the oil recovery pipe 22, it is preferable to apply, for example, a threaded hose band or hose clip that is resistant to oil and high-temperature oil to this connection portion.

[0019] The rope body portion 32 of the cylindrical rope 3 that is not connected to the downstream end of the oil recovery pipe 22 is formed into a rope shape by bundling a mesh-like metal material. Therefore, when oil flows into the cylindrical rope 3 from the downstream end of the oil recovery pipe 22, this oil flows through the internal space of the cylindrical rope 3 (the arrow O2 in FIG. 2 indicates the flow of this oil), or flows out from between the metal fibers (mesh) onto the surface of the cylindrical rope 3 and flows down along the surface of the cylindrical rope 3.

[0020] The lower end portion of the cylindrical rope 3 is fixed to the bottom plate 21b of the oil tank 21 by a fixing member 4. Specifically, the fixing member 4 is composed of a hook member 41 and a striker .

[0021] The hook member 41 is connected to the lower end portion of the tubular rope 3 (the lower end portion of the rope main body portion 32) and is formed in a hook shape. The connection structure of the hook member 41 to the lower end portion of the tubular rope 3 is preferably configured so as not to close the lower end of the inner space of the tubular rope 3 (the inner space of the tubular shape). Meanwhile, the striker 42 is attached to the upper surface of the bottom plate 21b of the oil tank 21, and the hook member 41 is engaged therewith. The hook member 41 is also provided with a stopper member 41a to prevent the hook member 41 from coming off the striker 42 when engaged therewith. The configurations of the hook member 41 and the striker 42 are well known, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted here. Therefore, the lower end portion of the tubular rope 3 is fixed to the bottom plate 21b of the oil tank 21 via the hook member 41 and the striker 42. In other words, the upper end portion 31 of the tubular rope 3 is connected to the downstream end of the oil recovery pipe 22, and the lower end portion is fixed to the bottom plate 21b of the oil tank 21. As a structure for fixing the lower end portion of the cylindrical rope 3 to the bottom plate 21b of the oil tank 21, other structures (for example, a screw fastening system using a bracket or the like) may be adopted.

[0022] With the above configuration, when the engine body 1 is driven, the pumps 23, 26 are operated, and the oil O2 recovered from the oil pan 16 of the engine body 1 to the oil storage space 21a of the oil tank 21 by the oil recovery pipe 22 flows from the downstream end of the oil recovery pipe 22 into the cylindrical rope 3. This cylindrical rope 3 is made of a mesh-like metal material formed into a cylindrical shape, so it receives the oil O2 flowing from the downstream end of the oil recovery pipe 22. The oil O2 then flows along the cylindrical rope 3 and into the oil O1 stored in the oil storage space 21a. This prevents the oil O2 from falling onto the surface of the oil O1 stored in the oil storage space 21a, generating a falling noise. That is, the oil O2 is prevented from falling onto the surface of the oil O1 at any time, whether it is flowing into the oil storage space 21a, while flowing along the cylindrical rope 3, or when it flows into the stored oil O1, thereby suppressing the generation of falling noise caused by this falling. In addition, since the oil O2 continuously flowing into the oil storage space 21a is prevented from splashing, the generation of falling noise caused by the splashed oil O2 falling onto the surface of the oil O1 is also suppressed. Furthermore, in the prior art, a soundproof cover was sometimes used to prevent the falling noise from being transmitted to the outside (for example, the vehicle interior) (for example, by wrapping a soundproof cover around the outer surface of the oil tank), but according to this embodiment, this soundproof cover can be made unnecessary.

[0023] Furthermore, since the lower end portion of the cylindrical rope 3 is fixed to the bottom plate 21b of the oil tank 21 by the fixing member 4, the oil O2 flowing along the cylindrical rope 3 is reliably poured into the stored oil O1 without falling onto the surface of the stored oil O1. Not only that, even when the horizontal and vertical accelerations are high while the vehicle is running, the cylindrical rope 3 is prevented from moving significantly within the oil storage space 21a, thereby avoiding a situation in which the cylindrical rope 3 collides with the side plate 21d or bottom plate 21b of the oil tank 21.

[0024] The oil O1 temporarily stored in the oil tank 21 is then pumped up by the feed pump 26 and supplied again to the lubricated parts of the engine body 1 via the oil supply pipe 24. In this way, the oils O1 and O2 circulate between the engine body 1 and the oil tank 21.

[0025] -Effects of the embodiment- As described above, in this embodiment, the cylindrical rope 3, which is made of a cylindrically shaped mesh material that is resistant to oil and high-temperature oil, is connected to the downstream end of the oil recovery pipe 22, and the cylindrical rope 3 extends toward the bottom plate 21b of the oil tank 21, with its lower end fixed to the bottom plate 21b by the fixing member 4. This prevents the oil O2 from falling onto the surface of the oil O1 stored in the oil tank 21, generating a falling noise. Furthermore, it prevents the cylindrical rope 3 from moving significantly within the oil storage space 21a, and prevents the cylindrical rope 3 from colliding with the side plate 21d or bottom plate 21b of the oil tank 21, thereby suppressing the generation of abnormal noise caused by such a collision.

[0026] -Other embodiments- The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and all modifications and applications within the scope of the claims and equivalents thereto are possible.

[0027] For example, in the above embodiment, the present invention has been described as being applied to an oil tank 21 applied to an automobile engine. However, the present invention is not limited to being applied to automobile engines, and can also be applied to oil tanks applied to other engines. [Industrial Applicability]

[0028] The present invention is applicable to oil tanks used in dry sump type automobile engines. [Explanation of symbols]

[0029] 1 Engine body (internal combustion engine body) 2 Lubrication system 21 Oil Tank 21a Oil storage space 21b Bottom plate 22 Oil recovery pipe 3. Cylindrical rope 4 Fixing member O1 Oil (oil stored in the oil storage space) O2 oil (oil collected in the oil storage space)

Claims

[Claim 1] An oil tank is connected to an oil recovery pipe extending from a dry sump type internal combustion engine body, and has an oil storage space for storing oil recovered from the internal combustion engine body by the oil recovery pipe, a cylindrical rope made of a mesh material resistant to high-temperature oil formed into a cylindrical shape, the cylindrical rope being connected to a downstream end of the oil recovery pipe located in the oil storage space and extending toward a tank bottom plate; and a fixing member for fixing the lower end portion of the cylindrical rope to the tank bottom plate.

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