JP2002364325A - Oil pan baffle plate for internal combustion engine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate the need of an opening portion for passing an oil strainer, and prevent increasing in complexity of a structure and the number of part items. SOLUTION: A baffle plate 1 is arranged in an oil pan 2. The baffle plate 1 is made by joining a synthetic resinous main plate 6 and a sub plate 7, and passage-shaped strainer chamber 8 is formed by recessed portions 6a, 7a of the main plate 6 and the sub plate 7. A mesh plate 9 working as a filter medium is clipped between both plates 6, 7. Lubricating oil sucked up through a sucking pipe 11 integrally formed on the sub plate 7 is sucked from an outlet portion 13 to an oil pump after removing foreign matter by the mesh plate 9.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a baffle plate provided in an oil pan of an internal combustion engine for suppressing the fluctuation of an oil level, and more particularly to a baffle plate integrally provided with an oil strainer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an internal combustion engine for an automobile, for example, an oil pan is mounted on a lower surface of a cylinder block. Lubricating oil flowing down into a crank chamber is collected by the oil pan, and a part of the oil pan is provided at a deep bottom. Storing,
In addition, a so-called wet sump type configuration is often used, in which the oil is pumped up from here by an oil pump via an oil strainer and is pumped to each part.

[0003] In such a configuration, in order to suppress the fluctuation of the oil level of the lubricating oil and to avoid the interference between the crank rotation system and the lubricating oil and the entrainment of air into the lubricating oil, a general method is used. A baffle plate is provided in the oil pan. The baffle plate is made of, for example, a metal plate in which a large number of oil drop holes are press-formed, and is fixed to the oil pan by welding or bolting.

On the other hand, an oil pump is disposed, for example, at the front end of a cylinder block. A suction pipe extends from the oil pump to a deep bottom of an oil pan, and a tip of the suction pipe is provided with lubricating oil. An oil strainer for removing foreign matter is provided. The above-mentioned oil strainer generally has a substantially disk shape, and a wire mesh or the like serving as a filter medium is provided on the front surface thereof.

Accordingly, the baffle plate needs a relatively large opening to allow the suction pipe and the oil strainer to pass therethrough.
The desired function as a baffle plate cannot be obtained.

On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-291807 discloses an oil passage formed integrally with a baffle plate, one end of which is connected to an oil pump on the cylinder block side, and the other end of which is connected to a suction pipe and an oil strainer. Is disclosed so that a large opening does not exist in the baffle plate. That is, in this configuration, a relatively short suction pipe having a substantially disc-shaped oil strainer at the tip is attached to the lower surface of the baffle plate.

[0007]

However, in the configuration described in the above publication, although an opening is not required in the baffle plate, a configuration in which a substantially disk-shaped oil strainer is provided at the tip of the suction pipe is a conventional configuration. No change,
Accordingly, with the necessity of an oil passage in the baffle plate, the configuration becomes more complicated and the number of parts increases as a whole. In addition, since a substantially disk-shaped oil strainer having a large mass is located at the distal end of the suction pipe, and the base end of the suction pipe is attached to the lower surface of the baffle plate, the oil strainer is moved in accordance with running vibration or the like. The provided suction pipe tends to resonate, causing fatigue at the mounting portion.

[0008]

Accordingly, the present invention has a structure in which an oil strainer is provided integrally with the baffle plate itself.

That is, the invention according to claim 1 is a baffle plate disposed in an oil pan of an internal combustion engine, comprising a main plate and a sub plate joined to an upper surface or a lower surface of the main plate. In between, a strainer chamber is formed by depressing at least one of the plates, and a filter member whose peripheral edge is sandwiched between the two plates is disposed so as to partition the strainer chamber up and down, In addition, a suction pipe extending from a region below the strainer chamber to the bottom of the oil pan is provided on the plate on the lower surface side, and a region above the strainer chamber is connected to the oil pump side on the plate on the upper surface side. Is formed.

[0010] As described above, the baffle plate of the present invention comprises at least two plates including a main plate and a sub plate. The sub-plate joined to the upper or lower surface of the main plate may be the same size as the main plate, or
It may be a small one that is joined only to a part thereof.
The outlet is usually provided at a position corresponding to the inlet of the oil pump on the cylinder block side. On the other hand, the position of the suction pipe is set corresponding to the position of the bottom of the oil pan where lubricating oil is most likely to accumulate in consideration of turning of the vehicle and the like, so that both are generally offset from each other. The strainer chamber is formed in a range including at least both of them, and may have, for example, an elongated passage-like shape. For example, a mesh filter medium is provided so as to partition the strainer chamber up and down, and foreign matter is removed when the lubricating oil passes from a region below to a region above.

According to a more specific aspect of the present invention, both the main plate and the sub plate have concave portions depressed to opposite sides, respectively, and the strainer chambers are formed by the respective concave portions. In this case, the filter medium can be a simple planar shape along the joint surface of both plates.

A third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the filter medium is constituted by a mesh plate. This mesh plate can be made of, for example, synthetic resin or metal.

The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that a notch is formed in the joint surface of the two plates along the periphery of the strainer chamber, into which the periphery of the filter medium fits. . That is, a locking groove having a width corresponding to the thickness of the filter medium is provided, and the periphery of the filter medium fits into the locking groove. The locking groove may be formed over both of the plates, or may be formed on only one of the plates.

Further, the invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the outlet portion is formed in a cylindrical shape extending upward, and is fitted to a pump inlet portion of the cylinder block via a seal member. The main plate is characterized in that a peripheral portion is sandwiched and fixed between the oil pan and the cylinder block.

In this configuration, the baffle plate having the main plate and the sub plate is positioned with respect to the cylinder block by fitting the outlet portion and the pump inlet portion. Then, in this correctly positioned state, the baffle plate is sandwiched and fixed between the oil pan and the cylinder block. for that reason,
For example, the respective positioning operations are easier than when the baffle plate is fixed to the oil pan in advance.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, which is further embodied in the fifth aspect, between the upper surface of the peripheral portion of the main plate and the cylinder block, and between the lower surface of the peripheral portion of the main plate and the oil pan, At least one of
An elastic member is interposed. The baffle plate is reliably elastically supported by the interposition of the elastic member.

In the seventh aspect of the present invention, the main plate and the sub plate are formed of a synthetic resin molded product, and are adhered or welded to each other. In this synthetic resin, the main plate and sub plate are
A desired complicated shape can be easily formed, for example, a suction pipe can be formed integrally therewith.

[0018]

In the oil pan baffle plate for an internal combustion engine according to the present invention, a main plate and a sub plate are joined to form a strainer chamber between the two plates. Needless to say, there is no need to form a large opening to allow the strainer to pass through.
The structure is simple, and there is no room for problems such as resonance of the oil strainer due to running vibration or the like.

In particular, according to the configuration of the second aspect, it is possible to use a simple flat material along the joint surface of the two plates as the filter medium, and it is possible to constitute an oil strainer by simply joining the two plates. .

Further, according to the third and fourth aspects of the present invention, the holding and positioning of the filter medium are facilitated, and the workability of assembly is improved.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the baffle plate can be easily positioned with respect to the cylinder block, and the outlet of the lubricating oil on the baffle plate side and the pump inlet on the cylinder block side can be reliably formed. Can be connected. Since the baffle plate is fixed while being positioned with respect to the cylinder block, the assembling workability is excellent.

In particular, by elastically supporting as in claim 6, errors in each part can be easily absorbed, and the baffle plate can be securely held.

Further, if both plates are made of synthetic resin as in claim 7, it is possible to integrally form both the suction pipe and the like, thereby further reducing the total number of parts and reducing the weight. Becomes possible.

[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show an entire baffle plate 1 according to the present invention together with an oil pan 2. The oil pan 2 is attached so as to cover the lower surface of the crank chamber of the cylinder block 3 (see FIG. 6), has a flange portion 4 on the outer peripheral edge, and has a shallow bottom portion whose rear portion is slightly inclined. 2a, and has a deep bottom portion 2b in the front portion where lubricating oil is stored.

The baffle plate 1 is disposed in the oil pan 2 so as to suppress the fluctuation of the oil level.
As shown in FIG. 1, the oil pan 2 has a size to cover substantially the entire inside of the oil pan 2, and has a large number of oil drop holes 5 formed therein. As shown in FIG. 2, the baffle plate 1 is composed of a main plate 6 and a sub-plate 7 superposed on a part of the lower surface of the main plate 6, and both are integrally joined. As detailed in 5,
A strainer chamber 8 is formed. This strainer room 8
Has an elongated passage shape as shown in FIG. Specifically, the main plate 6 and the sub plate 7
Both are made of synthetic resin, and the main plate 6 is provided with a concave portion 6a which is recessed upward, and the sub-plate 7 is provided with a concave portion 7a which is recessed downward. By combining them, an elongated strainer chamber 8 is formed. The joining surfaces of the two are bonded or welded to each other by heat welding or an adhesive or the like, so that they are securely sealed.

The main plate 6 and the sub plate 7
A flat synthetic resin mesh plate 9 as a filter material is sandwiched on the joint surface with the filter member to partition the space in the strainer chamber 8 up and down. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, a locking groove 10 having a width corresponding to the thickness of the mesh plate 9 is cut out along the peripheral edge of the strainer chamber 8. The periphery of the mesh plate 9 is fitted and positioned. In the illustrated example, the locking groove 10 is formed to extend over both the main plate 6 and the sub plate 7.

The sub-plate 7 is formed integrally with a cylindrical suction pipe 11 so as to extend substantially vertically downward from one end of the recess 7a. The suction pipe 11 extends to near the bottom surface of the deep bottom portion 2b.
It is arranged at a position close to the center of the internal combustion engine where the oil level change during turning of the vehicle is small. In addition, on the main plate 6 side, extending substantially vertically upward from one end of the concave portion 6a,
A cylindrical connecting pipe portion 12 is integrally formed, and thereby forms a lubricating oil outlet portion 13. The connection pipe section 12 is arranged on one side of the front end of the oil pan 2. That is, the suction pipe 11 and the outlet 13 are respectively located at different ends of the elongated strainer chamber 8.

A pump inlet 14 communicating with a suction port of an oil pump (not shown) is arranged on the lower surface of the cylinder block 3 so as to correspond to the position of the connection pipe 12. As shown in FIG. 4, the pump inlet portion 14 is formed in a cylindrical shape that opens downward, and the connection pipe portion 12 is fitted to the inner periphery of the large diameter portion at the distal end thereof via a seal member 15. ing. Therefore, when an oil pump (not shown) is operated, the lubricating oil in the oil pan 2 is sucked up from the suction pipe 11 and flows through the strainer chamber 8 having a passage shape, and crosses the mesh plate 9 to remove foreign matter. Then, the oil is sucked from the outlet 13 into the oil pump.

As shown in FIG. 3, the main plate 6 has an outer peripheral side portion rising upward to reach a peripheral flange portion 16. In other words, the baffle plate 1 is disposed so as to be dropped downward from the surrounding flange portion 16 along the inner wall surface of the oil pan 2, and has a distance between the baffle plate 1 and a rotating system such as a counterweight (not shown). Is secured. Then, the flange portion 16 is arranged as shown in FIG.
As shown in detail in FIG. 1, rubber members 18, 1 are engaged with a stepped portion 17 formed by cutting out the flange portion 4 of the oil pan 2, and are respectively disposed on the upper surface and the lower surface of the flange portion 16.
9, it is sandwiched and fixed between the cylinder block 3. The rubber members 18 and 19 are for elastically supporting the baffle plate 1 and are provided for the oil pan 2.
The space between the flange portion 4 and the cylinder block 3 is sealed by another seal member 20 made of, for example, a liquid gasket. As shown in FIG. 7, a step 21 may be provided on the cylinder block 3 side.

According to the structure of the above embodiment, the baffle plate 1 also having the function of an oil strainer is composed of the main plate 6, the sub plate 7, and the mesh plate 9.
Since the number of parts is extremely reduced and the main plate 6 and sub-plate 7 can be assembled simply by joining them together, the assembly is very simple. Since the mesh plate 9 is built in the baffle plate 1, no problem such as resonance of the suction pipe 11 occurs. Moreover, a sufficiently large filtration area by the mesh plate 9 can be secured. Also,
Since the baffle plate 1 has a shape that covers substantially the entire surface of the oil pan 2, desired functions such as suppression of oil surface swing and prevention of air mixing can be sufficiently achieved.

In the above configuration, when the baffle plate 1 is mounted on the cylinder block 3,
Is positioned with respect to the cylinder block 3 based on the fitting between the pump inlet portion 14 and the connection pipe portion 12 described above,
Thereafter, in this positioned state, the oil pan 2 is fixed to the cylinder block 3 so as to be elastically supported between the oil pan 2 and the cylinder block 3. Therefore, the baffle plate 1 can be easily assembled with the cylinder block 3 and the oil pan 2 without requiring high processing accuracy.

Next, FIGS. 8 to 11 show modified examples in which the above configuration is partially changed.

FIG. 8 shows an embodiment in which the locking groove 10 for positioning the mesh plate 9 is formed only on the upper main plate 6.

FIG. 9 shows an embodiment in which the locking groove 10 for positioning the mesh plate 9 is formed only in the lower sub-plate 7.

FIG. 10 shows an embodiment in which the recess 6a constituting the strainer chamber 8 is formed only in the main plate 6, and the sub-plate 7 has no recess. That is, the joint surface of the sub-plate 7 is a flat surface including the strainer chamber 8. In this embodiment, the mesh plate 9 has a shape in which a central portion protrudes upward as compared with a peripheral edge portion, and thus a space is secured below the mesh plate 9.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, the positional relationship between the main plate 6 and the sub plate 7 is reversed, and the sub plate 7 is superimposed on the upper surface of the main plate 6, so that the main plate 6 Suction pipe 1 on 6 side
1 and an outlet 13 provided with a cylindrical connecting pipe 12 on the sub-plate 7 side. In particular, in the example of FIG. 11, the upper sub-plate 7 does not have a recess, and only the lower main plate 6 has a recess 6a.
Are formed. The mesh plate 9 has a shape in which a central portion protrudes downward as compared with a peripheral edge portion, and thus a space is secured above the mesh plate 9.

FIGS. 12 and 13 show a second embodiment in which the present invention is applied to, for example, an oil pan 2 of an internal combustion engine for a four-wheel drive vehicle. In this embodiment, the oil pan 2 includes a tank 31 for storing lubricating oil at the rear end of the engine. Therefore, the position of the suction pipe 11 extending downward and the position of the connecting pipe portion 12 (exit portion 13) extending upward are largely separated in the front and rear direction. The baffle plate 1 is composed of a main plate 6 and a sub-plate 7 made of synthetic resin, similarly to the above-described embodiment, and a strainer chamber 8 which is elongated in the front-rear direction is formed therebetween. Note that other configurations including the main plate 6 and the like are not particularly different from the above-described embodiment, and thus detailed description thereof will be omitted.

By forming the strainer chamber 8 in the form of a passage as described above, it is possible to arrange the suction pipe 11 at an arbitrary position distant from the outlet portion 13 and to easily secure a necessary filtration area. Can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an oil pan and a baffle plate showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part of a part C in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a main part of a portion E in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a main part of a D part in FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a main part showing a modification of the part D.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a main part showing a modification of the locking groove.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a main part showing still another modified example of the locking groove.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing another modified example of the concave portion.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing still another modified example of the concave portion.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of an oil pan and a baffle plate showing a second embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along the line FF of FIG. 12;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Baffle plate 2 ... Oil pan 6 ... Main plate 7 ... Sub plate 8 ... Strainer room 9 ... Mesh plate 11 ... Suction pipe 13 ... Outlet part

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A baffle plate disposed in an oil pan of an internal combustion engine, comprising a main plate and a sub plate joined to an upper surface or a lower surface of the main plate, and at least one plate is provided between the two plates. The strainer chamber is formed by depressing the filter medium, and the peripheral portion is disposed so as to partition the strainer chamber up and down with the filter medium sandwiched between the two plates. A suction pipe extending from a region below the strainer chamber to the bottom of the oil pan, and an outlet for connecting the region above the strainer chamber to the oil pump side is formed in a plate on the upper surface side. An oil pan baffle plate for an internal combustion engine. 2. The internal combustion engine according to claim 1, wherein each of the main plate and the sub plate has a concave portion depressed toward the opposite side, and the strainer chamber is formed by each concave portion. Engine oil pan baffle plate. 3. The oil pan baffle plate for an internal combustion engine according to claim 1, wherein said filter medium is constituted by a mesh plate. 4. The joining surface of the two plates is provided with a notch formed along the periphery of the strainer chamber, into which a periphery of the filter medium is fitted. An oil pan baffle plate for an internal combustion engine according to any one of the above. 5. The outlet portion is formed in a cylindrical shape extending upward, is fitted to a pump inlet portion on the cylinder block side via a seal member, and a peripheral portion of the main plate is 5. The fuel pump according to claim 1, wherein the oil pan and the cylinder block are sandwiched and fixed.
An oil pan baffle plate for an internal combustion engine according to any one of the above. 6. An elastic member is interposed between at least one of the upper surface of the peripheral portion of the main plate and the cylinder block and between the lower surface of the peripheral portion of the main plate and the oil pan. The oil pan baffle plate for an internal combustion engine according to claim 5, wherein 7. The oil pan baffle plate for an internal combustion engine according to claim 1, wherein said main plate and said sub plate are made of a synthetic resin molded product and are adhered or welded to each other. .