Engine frame

Abstract

To enhance the workability of maintenance inside an engine.SOLUTION: An engine frame 1 (a main frame 3) comprises: a horizontal wall 13 partitioning an upper side space 15a and a lower side space 16a; a vertical wall 19 extending downward from the horizontal wall 13, and defining the lower side space 16a; and a through hole 20 provided in the horizontal wall 13, and establishing communication between the upper side space 15a and the lower side space 16a. A portion of a lower end of an inner peripheral surface of the through hole 20 is connected to an upper end of a side surface 19a of the vertical wall 19. Thereby, because lubricating oil flows down along the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 20 and the side surface 19a of the vertical wall 19, the lubricating oil can be prevented from dripping from an edge of the through hole 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an engine frame. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, in large engines used as the main engines of ships, the parts housed inside the engine frame (piston rings, bearing metals, etc.) are inspected periodically. For example, in Patent Document 1 listed below, a maintenance window is provided on the outer wall of the engine frame (the side of the oil pan), thereby reducing the effort and cost of inspecting the parts inside the engine. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-26091 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, as shown in Fig. 6, an engine frame may be provided with a horizontal wall 101 that separates an upper space 102 (for example, a space that houses a camshaft) from a lower space 103 (for example, a space that houses a crankshaft). An inspection opening 105 is provided in an outer wall 104 (the wall surface at the back of the drawing) that faces these spaces 102 and 103, and this opening 105 is closed with a lid 106. An operator removes the lid 106 from the opening 105 and inserts his / her hand or a tool into the opening 105 to inspect the parts provided in the lower space 103.

[0005] At this time, the lubricating oil supplied to the upper space 102 moves due to its own weight to the lower space 103 through the through-hole 110 provided in the side wall 101. If the lubricating oil drips from the edge of the lower end of the through-hole 110 as shown in Fig. 6, the lubricating oil may adhere to the hands or tools of an operator inserted into the lower space 103 through the opening 105 in the outer wall 104, which may reduce workability.

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to improve the workability of maintenance work inside an engine. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides: an upper space and a lower space provided therein; a horizontal wall that separates the upper space from the lower space; a vertical wall extending downward from the horizontal wall and defining the lower space; a through hole provided in the lateral wall, the through hole communicating the upper space with the lower space; An engine frame is provided in which a part of the lower end of the inner peripheral surface of the through hole is connected to the upper end of the side surface of the vertical wall.

[0008] In this way, in the engine frame according to the present invention, a portion of the lower end of the inner circumferential surface of the through-hole provided in the horizontal wall is connected to the upper end of the side surface of the vertical wall. This allows lubricating oil supplied to the upper space to flow down along the inner circumferential surface of the through-hole in the horizontal wall and the side surface of the vertical wall connected thereto into the lower space. This prevents lubricating oil from dripping from the edge of the through-hole opening on the lower surface of the horizontal wall (the upper surface of the lower space), improving the ease of maintenance work in the lower space.

[0009] The engine frame described above has, for example, an outer wall facing the exterior and having an opening, and a lid that closes the opening. In this case, a maintenance worker removes the lid from the opening in the outer wall and inserts his or her hand or tool into the opening to perform the work. In this case, by connecting a portion of the lower end of the inner circumferential surface of the through hole to the upper end of the side surface of the vertical wall as described above, the lubricating oil flows down mainly along the side surface of the vertical wall, rather than down the outer wall, thereby preventing the lubricating oil from leaking out of the opening in the outer wall when the lid is removed. In particular, by separating the through hole from the outer wall, the lubricating oil can be more reliably prevented from leaking out of the opening in the outer wall.

[0010] In the engine frame described above, it is preferable that the inner circumferential surface of the through hole has a flat portion, and the lower end of this flat portion is connected to the upper end of the side surface of the vertical wall. By providing a flat portion on the inner circumferential surface of the through hole in this way, the area connected to the upper end of the side surface of the vertical wall can be made larger than when the inner circumferential surface of the through hole is cylindrical, for example, so that the lubricating oil can more easily flow down along the flat portion of the through hole and the side surface of the vertical wall. In particular, if the flat portion of the through hole and the side surface of the vertical wall are continuous on the same plane, the lubricating oil can more easily flow down along this plane.

[0011] The inner peripheral surface of the through hole may be, for example, substantially D-shaped, having the flat portion and a convex curved portion that bulges out on the side away from the vertical wall.

[0012] Even when a portion of the lower end of the inner circumferential surface of the through hole is connected to the upper end of the side surface of the vertical wall as described above, there is a risk of lubricating oil dripping from the portion of the inner circumferential surface of the through hole that is not connected to the side surface of the vertical wall. Therefore, it is preferable to provide an inclined portion on the horizontal wall that extends inward from the outer wall and slopes upward toward the side away from the outer wall, and to provide a through hole with a generally D-shaped cross section as described above in this inclined portion. In this case, the lubricating oil flows downward in the direction of inclination of the inclined portion of the horizontal wall (see arrow A in Figure 4 ). Therefore, when the lubricating oil reaches the convex curved portion of the through hole, it flows downward in the direction of inclination along the convex curved surface (see arrow B in Figure 4 ). This lubricating oil reaches the lower connection between the convex curved portion and the flat portion and flows down along the flat portion and the side surface of the vertical wall, thereby preventing lubricating oil from dripping from the convex curved portion. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] As described above, according to the present invention, the amount of lubricating oil dripping from the edge of the through hole into the lower space is reduced, thereby improving the ease of maintenance work in the lower space. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. [Figure 2] 1 is a cross-sectional view of an engine frame (main frame) according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 2. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of a through-hole in an engine frame according to another embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an engine frame according to a reference example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0016] The engine shown in FIG. 1 is mounted on a ship and used as the main engine that drives a propulsion propeller. Examples of such engines include a diesel engine that uses liquid fuel (LNG) and a dual-fuel engine that can selectively use either liquid or gas fuel. This engine has an engine frame 1 that houses a crankshaft 6 (see FIG. 2) therein and a cylinder head 2 attached to the upper part of the engine frame 1. The engine frame 1 has a main frame 3 and a lower frame 4 that is attached below the main frame 3 and functions as an oil pan that stores lubricating oil. An oil pump 9 is provided on the side of the engine frame 1 to supply lubricating oil stored in the lower frame 4 to each part of the engine.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 2, a cylinder liner 5, a crankshaft 6, a camshaft 7, and the like are attached to the main frame 3. FIG. 2 shows only the journal portions of the crankshaft 6 and the camshaft 7, which are supported by the main frame 3 via bearings. Pistons 8 are provided on the inner periphery of the cylinder liner 5, and the pistons 8 are connected to crank pins (not shown) of the crankshaft 6 via connecting rods (not shown). The engine of this embodiment is an eight-cylinder engine having eight cylinder liners 5 and pistons 8, and each piston 8 is connected to a crankshaft. In the following description, the rotational axis direction of the crankshaft 6 (a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in FIG. 2) is referred to as the "crankshaft axis direction," the sliding direction of the pistons 8 (the vertical direction in FIG. 2) is referred to as the "vertical direction," and the direction perpendicular to the crankshaft axis direction and the vertical direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 2) is referred to as the "width direction." As shown in FIG. 2, the engine is installed so that the vertical direction is vertical.

[0018] An opening 11 for inspecting the interior and a lid 12 for closing the opening 11 are provided on outer walls 10 on both sides in the width direction of the main frame 3. The opening 11 and the lid 12 are provided on both sides in the width direction of the crankshaft 6. The openings 11 and the lids 12 are provided at multiple locations spaced apart in the crankshaft direction, and in the illustrated example, the number of openings 11 and the lids 12 is the same as the number of cylinders (8 in this embodiment) (see FIG. 1). The openings 11 and the lids 12 may be provided not only in the main frame 3 but also in the lower frame 4.

[0019] The main frame 3 is provided with lateral walls extending inward in the width direction (toward the cylinder liner 5) from the outer wall 10. In the illustrated example, a first lateral wall 13 extends inward in the width direction from the outer wall 10 on one width direction side (the right side in FIG. 2), and a second lateral wall 14 extends inward in the width direction from the outer wall 10 on the other width direction side (the left side in FIG. 2). The first lateral wall 13 defines a cam chamber 15 in which the camshaft 7 is disposed, and a crank chamber 16 in which the crankshaft 6 is disposed. The second lateral wall 14 defines an exhaust duct 17 and the crank chamber 16. The lateral walls 13, 14 have inclined portions 13a, 14a that are inclined upward toward the side (inward in the width direction) away from the outer wall 10 to which they are connected.

[0020] As shown in Fig. 3, the cam chamber 15 is divided into a plurality of upper spaces 15a adjacent to each other in the crankshaft direction (left-right direction in Fig. 3) by a plurality of vertical walls 18. The crank chamber 16 is divided into a plurality of lower spaces 16a adjacent to each other in the crankshaft direction by a plurality of vertical walls 19. The vertical walls 18 extend upward from the horizontal walls 13, and the vertical walls 19 extend downward from the horizontal walls 13. The vertical walls 18, 19 extend inward in the width direction from the outer wall 10 (see Fig. 4).

[0021] The first lateral wall 13 is provided with a through hole 20 that connects the upper space 15a and the lower space 16a (see FIGS. 2 and 3). In this embodiment, the through hole 20 is provided near the lower end of the inclined portion 13a of the first lateral wall 13 (see FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 4, the inner circumferential surface of the through hole 20 in this embodiment has a flat portion 20a and a convex curved portion 20b, and is substantially D-shaped in plan view. The convex curved portion bulges out toward the side away from the flat portion 20a (the lower side in FIG. 4) and is formed, for example, by a partial cylindrical surface.

[0022] As shown in Figures 3 and 4, a portion of the lower end of the inner circumferential surface of the through hole 20 is connected to the upper end of the side surface 19a of the lower vertical wall 19. Specifically, the lower end of the flat portion 20a of the through hole 20 is connected to the upper end of the side surface 19a of the lower vertical wall 19. In the illustrated example, the flat portion 20a of the through hole 20 and the side surface 19a of the lower vertical wall 19 are continuous on the same plane. Note that the upper end of the vertical wall 19 at the left end in Figure 3 is thickened to accommodate a bolt hole, and as a result, the vicinity of the upper end of the side surface 19a of this vertical wall 19 protrudes inward (to the right in the figure). This protruding portion and the flat portion 20a of the through hole 20 are continuous on the same plane.

[0023] The lubricating oil stored in the lower frame 4 is supplied to various parts of the engine (for example, the cam chamber 15 and the crank chamber 16) by the oil pump 9. For example, the lubricating oil supplied to the cam chamber 15 drops onto the bottom surface of the upper space 15a, i.e., onto the upper surface of the first lateral wall 13. This lubricating oil moves to the lower space 16a via the through-hole 20 provided in the first lateral wall 13.

[0024] 6, if through-hole 110 is provided at a position away from vertical wall 107, lubricating oil will drip from the edge of the lower end of through-hole 110 into lower space 103. In this case, when removing lid 106 and inserting a worker's hand or tool through opening 105 to inspect the inside of the engine, the lubricating oil dripping from the edge of the lower end of through-hole 110 will adhere to the worker's hand or tool, making the work more difficult.

[0025] In contrast, in this embodiment, a portion of the lower end of the inner circumferential surface of the through hole 20 is connected to the side surface 19a of the lower vertical wall 19, so that the lubricating oil supplied to the cam chamber 15 flows down along the inner circumferential surface of the through hole 20 and the side surface 19a of the lower vertical wall 19 into the crank chamber 16. In this case, dripping of the lubricating oil from the edge of the through hole 20 is suppressed, so that the hands and tools of an operator inserted through the opening 11 are less likely to be contaminated with the lubricating oil, improving workability.

[0026] In this embodiment, a portion of the inner circumferential surface of the through hole 20 is connected to the side surface 19a of the vertical wall 19, rather than to the outer wall 10. This causes the lubricating oil to flow down mainly along the side surface 19a of the vertical wall 19, rather than along the outer wall 10, thereby preventing the lubricating oil from leaking out from the opening 11 of the outer wall 10 when the lid 11 is removed. In particular, in the illustrated example, the through hole 20 is separated from the outer wall 10, which more reliably prevents the lubricating oil from leaking out from the opening 11 of the outer wall 10 to the outside.

[0027] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the lower end of the flat portion 20a of the through hole 20 is connected to the upper end of the side surface 19a of the lower vertical wall 19. As a result, compared to when the inner circumferential surface of the through hole is cylindrical, for example, the area connected to the side surface 19a of the vertical wall 19 is larger, and therefore the amount of lubricating oil that flows down along the inner circumferential surface (flat portion 20a) of the through hole 20 and the side surface 19a of the vertical wall 19 increases, and the amount of lubricating oil that drips from the edge of the through hole 20 is further reduced. In particular, in this embodiment, the flat portion 20a of the through hole 20 and the side surface 19a of the lower vertical wall 19 are continuous on the same plane, making it even easier for the lubricating oil to flow down along them.

[0028] As described above, the flat portion 20a of the through hole 20 is connected to the side surface 19a of the lower vertical wall 19, but the circumferential middle portion (region excluding both circumferential ends) of the convex curved surface portion 20b of the through hole 20 is separated from the side surface 19a of the lower vertical wall 19. In this case, the lubricating oil flowing along the flat portion 20a of the through hole 20 flows down along the side surface 19a of the lower vertical wall 19 connected thereto below, but the lubricating oil flowing along the convex curved surface portion 20b of the through hole 20 is separated from the side surface 19a of the lower vertical wall 19, so there is a risk that it will drip from the edge of the lower end of the convex curved surface portion 20b.

[0029] In this embodiment, a through hole 20 is provided in the inclined portion 13a of the first horizontal wall 13 (see FIG. 2). The flat portion 20a of the through hole 20 is arranged parallel to the side surface 19a of the vertical wall 19, and the side surface 10a of the vertical wall 19 is arranged parallel to the inclination direction of the inclined portion 13a of the horizontal wall 13 (the direction of arrow A in FIG. 4). As a result, the flat portion 20a of the through hole 20 is arranged parallel to the inclination direction of the inclined portion 13a of the horizontal wall 13 (see arrow A in FIG. 4). In this case, the lubricating oil flows on the upper surface of the inclined portion 13a of the horizontal wall 13 downward in the inclination direction (the direction of arrow A in FIG. 4). Therefore, the lubricating oil that flows along the convex curved portion 20b of the through hole 20 flows along the convex curved portion 20b downward in the inclination direction (see arrow B in FIG. 4) and reaches the flat portion 20a of the through hole 20. This lubricating oil flows down along the flat portion 20a of the through hole 20 and the side surface 19a of the lower vertical wall 19, thereby preventing the lubricating oil from dripping from the edge of the convex curved portion 20b of the through hole 20.

[0030] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. Other embodiments of the present invention will be described below, but redundant description of points similar to those of the above-described embodiment will be omitted.

[0031] In the above embodiment, the flat portion 20a of the through hole 20 and the side surface 19a of the vertical wall 19 are continuous on the same plane, but this is not limited thereto. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, if the upper end of the side surface 19a of the vertical wall 19 is curved toward the side that protrudes into the space 16a (to the right in the figure), the upper end of this curved side surface 19a and the lower end of the flat portion 20a of the through hole 20 may be connected via an edge 21. In this case, the lubricating oil flowing down the flat portion 20a of the through hole 20 flows down the side surface 19a of the vertical wall 19 via the edge 21. In this case, the angle of the edge 21, i.e., the angle between the flat portion 20a of the through hole 20 and the tangent at the upper end of the side surface 19a of the vertical wall 19, is preferably an obtuse angle. In addition, the edge 21 is preferably chamfered to have a flat or curved surface.

[0032] Furthermore, a portion of the lower end (flat portion 20a) of the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 20 may be connected to the upper end of the inner side surface of the outer wall 10 (vertical wall). In this case, the through hole 20 is preferably provided in a region outside the opening 11 in the crankshaft direction (left and right direction in FIG. 3 ), avoiding being located directly above the opening 11 of the outer wall 10. This prevents the lubricating oil that flows down the through hole 20 and the side surface of the outer wall 10 from passing through the opening 11, making it less likely that the hands or tools of an operator inserted through the opening 11 will become dirty with the lubricating oil.

[0033] Furthermore, the lower end of the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 20 may be connected to both the upper end of the side surface 19a of the vertical wall 19 and the upper end of the inner side surface of the outer wall 10. In this case, the lubricating oil that flows down from the through hole 20 flows down along the corner provided at the boundary between the side surface 19a of the vertical wall 19 and the inner side surface of the outer wall 10.

[0034] The present invention is not limited to application to marine engines, but can also be applied to engine frames of other engines, such as automobile engines and power generation engines. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 1 Engine Frame 2. Cylinder head 3. Mainframe 4 Lower frame 5 Cylinder liner 6 crankshaft 7 Camshaft 8 pistons 9. Oil pump 10 Exterior Wall 11 Opening 12 Lid 13 Side Wall 13a Slope 15 Cam chamber 15a Upper space 16 Crankcase 16a Lower space 17 Exhaust duct 18, 19 Vertical wall 20 through holes 20a flat area 20b Convex face

Claims

1. an upper space and a lower space provided therein; a horizontal wall that separates the upper space from the lower space; a vertical wall extending downward from the horizontal wall and defining the lower space; a through hole provided in the lateral wall, the through hole communicating the upper space with the lower space; An engine frame in which a portion of a lower end of an inner peripheral surface of the through hole is connected to an upper end of a side surface of the vertical wall.

2. 2. The engine frame according to claim 1, further comprising an outer wall facing the outside and having an opening therein, and a lid for closing said opening.

3. 3. The engine frame according to claim 2, wherein the through-hole is spaced from the outer wall.

4. The inner circumferential surface of the through hole has a flat portion, 3. An engine frame according to claim 1, wherein a lower end of the flat portion is connected to an upper end of a side surface of the vertical wall.

5. 5. The engine frame according to claim 4, wherein the flat portion and the side surface of the vertical wall are continuous on the same plane.

6. 5. The engine frame according to claim 4, wherein an inner peripheral surface of the through hole has a convex curved portion that bulges out in a direction away from the flat portion.

7. The lateral wall has an inclined portion extending inward from the outer wall and inclined upward toward a side away from the outer wall, The engine frame according to claim 6, wherein the through-hole is provided in the inclined portion.

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