Variable Oil Pump Control for Engine Crank Bearing Pressure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing engine oil supply systems face inefficiencies and drive loss due to the need to control oil pump operation based solely on flow rate control valves, which do not effectively manage varying oil requirements across different engine operation states.
Innovation Solution
An engine oil supply apparatus with a variable oil pump, main and sub oil supply paths, oil pressure sensors, and a control apparatus that sets the highest required oil pressure as a target, allowing the oil pump discharge amount to be adjusted to match detected oil pressure, ensuring appropriate oil supply to crank journals and pins while minimizing drive loss.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a flow rate control valve is used to control oil supply to crank bearing sections, then the required oil amount can be satisfied, but the oil pump operates in a wasteful manner and creates drive loss
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the oil pump's discharge amount variable rather than fixed. The oil pump controller dynamically adjusts the discharge amount based on real-time feedback from the oil pressure sensor and detected engine operation state, allowing the system to adapt to varying oil requirements across different engine conditions while minimizing unnecessary pump operation and drive loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operating parameters of the oil pump by controlling its discharge amount as a variable parameter. Instead of operating the oil pump at constant flow rate, the system varies the discharge amount parameter according to the detected operation state and required oil pressure, enabling efficient operation across different engine conditions.
2Loss of energy
If the oil pump discharge amount is controlled based on operation state, then drive loss is reduced, but precise control of oil pressure to multiple crank bearing sections becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by using a single oil pressure sensor to monitor the main oil supply path pressure that serves multiple crank bearing sections. The same oil pump controller uses this single pressure reading to regulate discharge amount for the entire system, eliminating the need for multiple sensors and complex individual control mechanisms for each bearing section.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary approach by using the main oil supply path as a common distribution network. The oil pressure sensor monitors this intermediate path, and the controller adjusts the oil pump discharge to maintain appropriate pressure in this main path, which then automatically distributes oil to all crank bearing sections through existing branch paths.
Data Source
AI summary
An oil supply apparatus includes: an oil pump; a main oil supply path; a sub oil supply path connected to the main oil supply path; a first oil supply section which is connected to the main oil supply path and which supplies oil to a crank bearing section of a specific crank journal; a second oil supply section which is connected to the sub oil supply path and which supplies oil to a crank bearing section of a crank journal other than the specific crank journal; and a control apparatus which sets, as a target oil pressure, a highest required oil pressure among required oil pressures required from a plurality of hydraulic operating sections in accordance with an operation state of the engine, and which controls the discharge amount of the oil pump so that an oil pressure detected by an oil pressure sensor equals the target oil pressure.