Internal Combustion Engine Oil Return Passage Design
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional internal combustion engine designs require complex machining to return lubricating oil to an oil pan at suppressed speed, increasing machining man-hours and potentially causing oil bubbling and noise due to high inflow speed.
Innovation Solution
An internal combustion engine unit with a balancer device attached to the engine body, featuring a through hole for oil return and a swelling portion that guides oil flow to reduce speed and prevent bubbling, along with a guide and communication hole to ensure smooth oil flow into the oil pan, eliminating the need for complex perforation of the balancer device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a through hole is formed in the balancer device to return lubricating oil to the oil pan, then oil return function is achieved, but machining complexity and man-hours increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the oil return function from the balancer device by forming the through hole directly in the engine block instead of in the balancer device. This separates the oil return pathway from the balancer device structure, eliminating the need for complex machining of the balancer device while maintaining reliable oil return to the oil pan.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary structure (the oil passage formed in the engine block) to facilitate oil return. Instead of directly machining the balancer device, the oil passage serves as an intermediary pathway that guides oil from the engine block to the oil pan, simplifying the overall machining process.
2Speed
If a vertically extending longitudinal hole and horizontally extending transverse hole are formed in the balancer device, then oil return at suppressed speed is achieved, but machining man-hours increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex multi-directional hole structure from the balancer device and relocates the oil passage formation to the engine block. This eliminates the need for both vertical and horizontal hole drilling in the balancer device, significantly reducing machining operations while still achieving suppressed oil flow speed through the redesigned passage geometry in the engine block.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the dimensional approach to oil return by forming the passage directly in the engine block structure rather than attempting to create intersecting holes in the balancer device. This dimensional repositioning allows for a more efficient single-piece machining operation that achieves the same flow control function with fewer steps.
3Productivity
If high speed oil flow is allowed into the oil pan, then oil return efficiency is improved, but bubbling and noise occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a cushioning structure in the oil passage that gradually reduces oil flow velocity before the oil enters the oil pan. This beforehand cushioning prevents direct high-speed impact of oil into the pan, thereby eliminating bubbling and noise generation while maintaining efficient oil return through the optimized passage design.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Effectively suppresses oil flow speed into the oil pan, preventing bubbling and noise, while reducing machining complexity and time, by using a balancer device configuration that includes a swelling portion and guide to manage oil flow.
Implementation Method 1
a swelling portion that guides oil flow to reduce speed and prevent bubbling
Data Source
AI summary
An internal combustion engine unit including an internal combustion engine body, a balancer device attached to a lower portion of the internal combustion engine body, and an oil pan attached to the lower portion of the internal combustion engine body so as to surround the balancer device. The balancer device is disposed facing an outlet of an oil outflow hole, and the oil outflow hole is formed in the internal combustion engine body so as to return a lubricating oil in the internal combustion engine body to the oil pan.