Internal-combustion engines – Lubricators – Crankcase – pressure control
Patent
1996-08-22
1998-06-23
Solis, Erick R.
Internal-combustion engines
Lubricators
Crankcase, pressure control
184 62, F01M 1106
Patent
active
057690472
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
One problem that exists in engines is reliable removal of oil from the engine housing during every stage of operation of the engine. The engine oil is customarily collected in a so-called sump, that is, "below" in the crankcase outside the rotating parts, such as crankshaft, counterweight, etc., of the engine. Such a method of oil removal is critical, for instance, in aircraft engines for acrobatic airplanes which remain, for a long time, substantially in upside down position, but also in conventional automobile engines when oil reaches the area of the rotating parts as result of transverse accelerations. For lubrication technique reasons, it must be ensured that the removal of oil, that is, the drawing of the oil out of the crankcase, be as free of air as possible so that no foam forms in the oil.
It has been sought to remove the oil by additional pumps. On one hand, this involves considerable expenses and, in addition, does not ensure air-free conveyance of the oil since the pumps, which run continuously, of necessity deliver air even in the case of small amounts of oil.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The problem on which the invention is based is to ensure removal of oil by means of a simple construction which guarantees that the oil will be completely removed from the crankcase and practically free of air.
According to the invention, this is obtained by the fact that the parts of the engine that rotate in the crankcase, that is, the crankshafts, the crankpins, the piston rods and the counterweights, are surrounded by an engine housing with a spacing such that only a small gap remains between the surface circumscribing the rotating parts and the crankcase so as to generate, in the crankcase by means of the rotating parts, a centrifugal flow which is used for conveying the oil. The oil is removed from the crankcase through an outlet that extends tangentially out of the crankcase. The centrifugal force acting upon the oil is substantially stronger than gravity acting upon the oil and thus the outlet can be situated at any desired place in the cylindrical crankcase. Air and oil are necessarily separated from each other by the centrifugal forces. By dimensioning the downflow resistance through the outlet, it can be obtained that only oil and not air exits from the outlet.
For the rest it is not necessary that the crankcase be adapted in shape exactly to the external surface that circumscribes all of the rotating parts, that is, adapted especially in shape to the rolling of the crankshaft; it is, to the contrary, sufficient that the innerwall of the crankcase be generally cylindrical and the crankcase be on both sides of the crankshaft, locked as tightly as possible to the rotating parts. A separate outlet is preferably provided for each cylinder.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
One embodiment of the invention is explained in detail with reference to the diagrammatic drawings. In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a cross section through one part of a engine;
FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic side view of an in-line four-cylinder engine.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A cylindrical crankcase 1 for a crankshaft 2, with crank-pins 3 on which are hinged piston rods 4 which lead to pistons, not shown, that slide to and fro in a cylinder 5, is shown in FIG. 1. The crankshaft 2 rotates about its shaft axle A. The crankshaft 2 is connected with counterweights 6 for the piston rods and the pistons, and a small gap 8 remains between the partially cylindrical underside 7 of the counterweight 6 and the inner wall of the crankcase 1. A slide or wiper 9 can also be provided on the bottom of the counterweight which slides directly on the inner wall of the crankcase 1 or in a groove in the inner wall. An outlet 10, leading substantially tangentially out of the crankcase, is provided on the cylindrical crankcase.
A side view of an in-line four-cylinder engine, with the cylindrical crankcase 1 and the four cylinders 5, is diagrammatically shown in FIG. 2. A flywheel 11 with a clutch and a ventilator 12
REFERENCES:
patent: 1270606 (1918-06-01), Ducorron
patent: 1528171 (1925-03-01), Tokarczike
patent: 2030647 (1936-02-01), McMillin et al.
patent: 2050723 (1936-08-01), McMillin
patent: 3045411 (1962-08-01), Dalrymple
patent: 4773366 (1988-09-01), Seidl et al.
patent: 5452692 (1995-09-01), Spray et al.
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