Lubricating system of engine

• US 7,240,657 B2
• Filed: 06/22/2006
• Issued: 07/10/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kawasaki Motors
• Original Assignee: Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Watanabe, Yoshio
• Primary Examiner(s): Kamen; Noah P.
• Application Number:
  US11/472,309
• Publication Number:
  US 20060288976A1
• Time in Patent Office: 383 Days
• Field of Search: 123/196.R, 184/6.5, 184/6.8, 184/6.13
• US Class Current: 123/196.00R
• CPC Class Codes: F01M 1/12 Closed-circuit lubricating systems not provided for in groups F01M1/02 - F01M1/10
• CPC Class Codes: F01M 11/02 Arrangements of lubricant conduits
• CPC Class Codes: F01M 2001/126 Dry-sumps
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 61/02 for driving cycles

Abstract

The invention relates to a dry sump type or semidry sump type lubricating system of an engine in which a lubricating method executes an operation while keeping an inner side of a crank chamber in a dry state. An oil drain port is formed in a bottom surface of each of individual crank chambers partitioned into the cylinders, and a scavenging oil pump is provided so as to suck out oil to an oil reservoir portion which is isolated from each of the individual crank chambers. An oil collecting chamber communicating with a suction portion of the scavenging oil pump is provided in a lower side of the bottom wall in the crank chamber, and the oil drain port is communicated with the oil collecting chamber.

Claims

1. A lubricating system of an engine in which plural cylinders are provided so as to be arranged in a direction of a crank shaft, an oil pan is mounted to an oil pan mounting portion formed in a lower surface of a crank case, and a whole of a crank chamber in the crank case is partitioned into plural individual crank chambers by a partition wall so as to correspond to the cylinders in which the crank chamber has a bottom wall to isolate the crank chamber from the oil pan, comprising:

an oil drain port formed in the bottom wall of each of the individual crank chambers respectively;

a scavenging oil pump pumping out oil to an oil reservoir portion which is isolated from each of the individual crank chambers; and

an oil collecting chamber communicating with a suction portion of the scavenging oil pump, wherein

the oil collecting chamber is positioned under the bottom wall of the crank chamber, and the oil drain ports are communicated with the oil collecting chamber.

2. The lubricating system of the engine as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the oil collecting chamber is formed within the oil pan, and

at least one of the oil drain ports is communicated with the oil collecting chamber via an oil collecting passage formed in the bottom wall of the crank chamber.

3. The lubricating system of the engine as claimed in claim 2, wherein

the oil collecting passage comprises a passage forming groove formed in the bottom wall of the crank chamber, and a bottom plate,

a lower end of the passage forming groove is opened,

the bottom plate closes the lower opening end of the passage forming groove.

4. The lubricating system of the engine as claimed in claim 2, wherein

an oil piping space is formed between the bottom wall of the crank chamber and the oil pan,

the oil collecting passage is formed within the oil piping space,

and an oil supply pipe for supplying the oil to each of lubricating positions of the engine is provided in the oil piping space.

5. The lubricating system of the engine as claimed in claim 3, wherein

a mounting face for the oil collecting chamber in the oil pan is formed in the oil pan mounting portion of the crank case,

the mounting face corresponds to an upper end of a peripheral wall of the oil collecting chamber,

a portion of the mounting face is opened so as to communicate the passage forming groove to the oil collecting chamber,

and a mounting face supplement member which forms approximately the same surface as the mounting face is mounted to the opening portion of the mounting face.

6. The lubricating system of the engine as claimed in claim 1, wherein

a strainer is provided in the oil collecting chamber.

7. The lubricating system of the engine as claimed in claim 1, wherein

a lower portion of a transmission room within the crank case is formed as the oil reservoir portion,

an oil suction chamber isolated from the oil collecting chamber is formed in a lower portion than the bottom wall of the crank chamber,

and the oil suction chamber is communicated with a suction portion of a feed oil pump for supplying the oil to each of lubricating positions of the engine, and is communicated with the oil reservoir portion.

8. The lubricating system of the engine as claimed in claim 7, wherein

the scavenging oil pump and the feed oil pump are arranged in the transmission room,

and a discharge portion of the feed oil pump is communicated with a main gallery via an oil supply pipe, for supplying the oil to each of lubricating positions of the engine, arranged within an piping space formed between the bottom wall of the crank chamber and the oil pan.

9. The lubricating system of the engine as claimed in claim 1, wherein

an oil collecting passage is provided under the bottom wall so as to flow the oil from the drain port to the oil collecting chamber,

a regulating hole is provided to the oil collecting passage or the bottom wall so as to communicate the oil collecting chamber with the oil reservoir portion, and

a cross sectional area of the regulating hole is set such that an amount of the oil flowing to the oil collecting chamber from the oil reservoir portion through the regulating hole and the oil collecting passage becomes smaller than an amount of the oil pumped out to the oil reservoir portion from the oil collecting chamber by the scavenging oil pump.

10. The lubricating system of the engine as claimed in claim 9, wherein

the oil reservoir portion is provided with an oil inspection window through which an oil level within the oil reservoir portion is visible from the outside.

11. A semidry sump type lubricating system of an engine in which a lower portion of a transmission room of a crank case is formed as an oil reservoir portion isolated from a crank chamber, comprising:

an oil collecting chamber positioned under a bottom wall of the crank chamber;

a scavenging oil pump pumping out oil from the oil collecting chamber to the oil reservoir portion;

a feed oil pump for supplying the oil from the oil reservoir portion to each of lubricating positions of the engine;

an oil collecting passage provided under the bottom wall so as to flow the oil from a drain port of the crank chamber to the oil collecting chamber, and

a regulating hole provided to the oil collecting passage or the bottom wall so as to communicate the oil collecting chamber with the oil reservoir portion, wherein

a cross sectional area of the regulating hole is set such that an amount of the oil flowing to the oil collecting chamber from the oil reservoir portion through the regulating hole and the oil collecting passage becomes smaller than an amount of the oil pumped out to the oil reservoir portion from the oil collecting chamber side by the scavenging oil pump.

12. The semidry sump type lubricating system of the engine as claimed in claim 11, wherein

the regulating hole is formed bottom portion of the oil collecting passage.

13. The semidry sump type lubricating system of the engine as claimed in claim 12, wherein

the oil collecting passage comprises a passage forming groove formed the bottom wall of the crank chamber, and a bottom plate closing a lower opening end of the passage forming groove,

the regulating hole is formed to the bottom plate.

14. The semidry sump type lubricating system of the engine as claimed in claim 11, wherein

the oil reservoir portion is provided with an oil inspection window through which an oil level within the oil reservoir portion is visible from the outside.