Patent Application
20240271553
The invention relates to engine oil pumping systems and methods for motor vehicles.
The majority of motor vehicles in use today employ the internal combustion engine. For these engines, oil is vital because it is needed in the engine in order to lubricate, cool and protect various internal components of the engine. The oil in the engine specifically protects engine components such as rotating bearings, sliding pistons, the camshaft, and the like, by reducing friction between these components while the engine is running, thereby providing smooth engine operation and protection of the engine from damage due to the high internal operating temperatures of the engine. Such systems usually consist of a sump (also known as an oil tank, or oil pan, or oil drain pan, which stores the bulk of the oil, and which often has a drain plug at its lowest point), oil galleries (that transport oil through the engine), an oil pump, and an oil filter.
However, the engine oil in such engines has a limited life span based upon the driving conditions to which the vehicle is exposed. Close to the end of the useful life of the engine oil, it must be replaced so as to make sure the engine remains protected. Changing the oil in a vehicle is not a complicated process but it generally is tedious and dirty. It usually requires removal of a drain plug and capture of the waste oil, often in a limited space underneath the vehicle.
To access the oil drain plug, located underneath the vehicle, and the oil filter, which may also be located in an inconvenient location, requires that the vehicle be lifted either with a car jack or a commercial auto lift in a technician's auto shop. For the ordinary person, using a car jack can be hazardous in that if improperly placed, it can fail and cause grave injuries to the person under the vehicle. Still further, when a car has been driven for any appreciable time immediately prior to conducting an oil change, the engine components and waste oil can be quite hot and the hot oil has the potential to bum the person changing the oil. In addition, after the draining of the used oil, the used oil must be properly recycled, and as such, the owner of the vehicle would have to transport the used oil to a proper recycling location, which poses an additional tedious chore on the vehicle owner.
Therefore, conducting an oil change on their own is not readily possible or desirable for the average vehicle owner. Rather, such is more easily conducted in garages by professional mechanics. For these reasons many vehicle owners seek out automotive repair technicians to provide for a proper oil change in a timely manner. However, doing so requires surrendering access to the vehicle for a period of time which is undesirable for many busy vehicle owners. In addition, it can be difficult at times to obtain an appointment for an oil change when the automotive repair technician is involved in other more profitable repairs on other vehicles.
Further, regardless of whether one performs their own oil change, or a professional does so, one of the main problems is that often some of the old engine oil is sometimes retained at the bottom of the oil pan. While the amount of engine oil remaining on the bottom of the engine oil pan is not usually problematic, since it is usually only a small amount, nonetheless a problem can arise when the engine is filled with fresh oil, in that the remaining engine oil may contain a small amount of metallic debris from the engine therein. When the engine is started after the oil change, these small particles can mix with the fresh engine oil and circulate throughout the engine potentially causing progressive damage to internal engine components. Due to the foregoing issues, it is imperative that when the engine oil is changed that the vehicle be placed on level ground so that as much of the waste oil as possible can be removed through gravity.
Accordingly, there remains a need for a solution to at least one of the aforementioned problems. For instance, there is an established need for a means for changing the oil on a vehicle in a quick and tidy manner, which does not require any personal risk or special knowledge, can remove as much of the waste oil as possible from the oil drain pan, and which provides a means for recycling the waste oil in a less tedious way.
Certain preferred embodiments of this invention are directed to an engine oil pumping system. The engine oil pumping system employs an oil line which contains an oil pump there along. One end of the oil line is attached to the drain of the oil tank of a vehicle (e.g., oil pan, oil drain pan, sump), and the opposing end is attached to and feeds a reservoir tank located in the trunk or other convenient location of the vehicle. The system also includes a one way check valve and a powered check valve which are both upstream of the oil pump and downstream of the drain of the oil tank. The oil pump can be connected to a fuse box in the vehicle which in turn is connected to a switch in or otherwise on the vehicle. The switch also activates the powered check valve to keep the valve in the open position and starts the oil pump, which in turn pumps the oil from the engine oil tank, through the oil line, and into the reservoir tank in the trunk (or other location) of the vehicle. The one way check valve operates under only the difference in upstream and downstream pressure and prevents backflow of oil back into the oil tank. By employing the engine oil system and an installed oil filter relocation system, a person can easily empty the oil in their vehicle with little to no effort and can then refill the oil and replace the oil filter in their vehicle with little to no mess and without having to go under the vehicle. Then the vehicle owner can choose when to deliver the oil in the reservoir tank to a recycling center or otherwise dispose of it.
The term “about” as used herein can entail a variance of 10% greater or lower .than the value recited.
It can be understood herein that the term “vehicle”, “motor vehicle”, or “vehicular” or other similar term as used herein is inclusive of motor vehicles in general, such as passenger automobiles including sports utility vehicles (SUV), buses, trucks, and various commercial vehicles, watercraft (including a variety of boats and ships), aircraft and the like, and it includes hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and the like. As referred to herein, a hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that has two or more sources of power, for example, both gasoline-powered and electric-powered vehicles.
The values of any endpoint(s) of any range(s) recited herein can be used to create different ranges or different endpoints of ranges described herein.
In a first implementation of the invention there can be provided an engine oil pumping system comprising:
In one preferred aspect of the invention, the oil line can be from about 10 to about 20 feet in length and can be made from PVC, nylon, rubber, synthetic rubber, fluorosilicone, polyurethane, ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber, chlorinated polyethylene, other similar materials known to a person of skill in the art, and combinations thereof. The oil line can be uncovered and/or braided and can have a diameter of from about ¼ of an inch up to about 1 inch, preferably from about 5/16 of an inch up to about 15/16 of an inch and more preferably from about 1 1/32 up to about 19/32 of an inch.
The oil line connects the oil drain hole of the oil tank (the hole closed by the vehicle drain plug) of the vehicle at the oil attachment end to the oil tank adjacent one way check valve, which can be located from about 1 inch up to about 24 inches, preferably from about 3 inches up to about 18 inches from the oil tank drain hole of the vehicle. The connection can be provided by any one of the fittings described herein or known to a person of skill in the art. The oil line then can connect the downstream side of the check valve, i.e., the side further from the oil tank, to the powered check valve, which length of oil line can be a length of from about 3 feet up to about 8 feet, preferably about 3 feet to about 6 feet from the downstream side of the check valve. The powered check valve can then be connected with the oil line by the downstream side of the powered check valve, i.e., the side further from the oil tank to the oil pump, which can be from about 1 inch up to about 24 inches, preferably from about 3 inches up to about 18 inches. The oil line can then also connect from the downstream side of the oil pump (i.e., the side further from the oil tank) to the reservoir located in the trunk of the vehicle. Any of these connections can also be provided by any one of the fittings described herein of known to a person of skill in the art. Preferably, a quick disconnect fitting can be employed for connecting the oil reservoir end of the oil line with the oil reservoir.
In another aspect of the invention, the oil attachment end can be attached to the oil tank drain hole of the vehicle with an oil tank fitting such as a quick connect/disconnect or a fixed fitting. The fitting can be accommodated over or into an oil drain hole of an engine oil tank of a vehicle and as such can vary depending on the vehicle, and can be screwed on, screwed into, or pushed in, or pushed over, the oil tank drain hole.
Quick disconnect fittings (abbreviated as “QDCs” or “QDs”) are known to those of skill in the art and are commercially available for oil hose fittings. They are used to provide fast and easy connection and disconnection of fluid lines. These fittings are also known as quick connects or quick release couplings. Typically, quick disconnect fittings are operated by hand and are often used to replace fitting connections which require tools to assemble and disassemble, i.e., fixed fittings.
In one embodiment, a quick disconnect fitting is used to connect the oil reservoir end with the oil reservoir. In an alternate embodiment, any of the fittings herein can be a fixed fitting such as a hose clamp, hose clip, adapter fittings, hose finishers, and the like. Still further a combination of fixed and quick disconnect fittings can be used in the system herein in any combination. The fittings and the check valves herein can be plastic, e.g., polymer material, or metal. Any one type or combination of types of fittings described herein can in one non-limiting embodiment be used to connect any of the connections between the components of the engine oil pumping system described herein and between the system and engine oil tank of the vehicle.
In yet one other aspect of the invention, the oil reservoir can be any suitable vessel for the storage of waste oil. Preferably, the oil reservoir can be of a size of from about 1.5 gallons up to about 4 gallons, preferably from about 2 gallons up to about 3 gallons and can be made of any suitable materials such as a metal or a plastic material, e.g., polyethylene, including high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene (PP), polycarbonate (PC), poly-ethylene terephthalate (PET), low-density polyethylene (LOPE), and co-polyester. Preferably, the oil reservoir is in a rectangular or square shape although other shapes can be employed. In one specific embodiment the reservoir can be of a shape in which the reservoir can be accommodated in location in the trunk of a vehicle in general, or a specific vehicle. For example, the reservoir could be of a shape wherein it is easily accommodated and fitted above or beneath the spare tire of a vehicle in the trunk, e.g., wherein a molded indented opening is provided to accommodate the shape of reservoir. Therefore, in such an embodiment the reservoir can be irregularly shaped to fit beneath a spare time, next to a spare tire, or in the central indented area of a spare time. Alternatively. the reservoir can be stored in a storage compartment in the trunk of the vehicle. In one embodiment the reservoir can be a pouch which can have 6-mil, 3-layer construction made from polyester, nylon and LLDPE. In certain embodiments, the reservoir is provided with hardware known to a person of skill in the art to keep it in place and secure from vibration and noise creation in a given part of the trunk (e.g., string, rope, hemp cord, bungee cord, rubber matting, foam and/or rubber bumpers, metal strapping).
In yet even one other aspect of embodiments of the invention the electric oil pump can be any suitable electric oil pump as would be appreciated by one of skill in the art. For example, the oil pump can be a 12 volt DC oil pump or a 115V AC oil pump. Preferably, the oil pump can be from about ¼ horsepower (hp) up to about 2 hp, more preferably from about 1/2 hp up to about 1 hp, and can have a flow rate of from about 2 gallons per minute (gpm) up to about 15 gpm.
In yet even another aspect of embodiments of the invention, the one way check valve and/or the powered check valves can be any of a ball valve, diaphragm valve, swing check valve, silent check valve, tilting disc check valve, wafer check valve, stop check valve, piston check valve, butterfly check valve, and other devices for such valves known to a person of skill in the art. The check valves can be chosen to be commensurate and operable with the specific oil lines employed in terms of materials and internal diameters and the like. The one way check valve can preferably be not electrically powered. Preferably, the powered check valve can be powered by a wire connected directly to the oil pump and/or directly to a fuse of the fuse box of the vehicle and/or to the battery of the vehicle.
In a second implementation of the invention there can be provided herein an engine oil changing kit comprising: the engine oil pumping system described herein; and an oil filter relocation kit. Similarly, embodiments of the engine oil pumping system described herein may alternatively be described as including the engine oil changing kit.
In one aspect of embodiments of the invention, the oil filter relocation kit permits the stock oil filter and oil filter mounting plate and/or similar original equipment hardware to be removed from its original location and moved to another location on the engine, which other location is more readily accessible, e.g., accessible from the top of the engine with the hood of the vehicle up, and which does not require lifting the vehicle or going under the vehicle. The oil filter relocation kit can comprise two attachment parts, each attachment part having two ports. One attachment part can be screwed on the stock oil filter location and the other attachment part can house the oil filter where it is fastened to the engine block or other vehicle component at its new location. The oil filter attachment part can be attached with fasteners to the new location, such as those noted above, with fasteners known to a person of skill in the art such as machine screws or bolts.
The oil filter relocation kit can further comprise two oil lines, such as those described herein, with a first oil line being used to circulate the oil from the engine from one exit port of the attachment at the stock oil filter location to an entry port of the attachment of the oil filter at the new oil filter location, wherein the oil can be filtered through the filter, and then returned to the engine at the stock oil filter location through a second oil line going from an exit port of the attachment part at the new oil filter location back to an entry point on the attachment at the stock filter oil location. The engine oil filter relocation kit can also contain a hollow bolt for attaching the attachment at the stock oil filter location as well as optional adapters for suiting a wide arrangement of bolts for different engines.
In one preferred embodiment, the engine oil pumping system described herein further comprises an oil filter relocation kit, the oil filter relocation kit comprising two attachment parts, wherein one attachment part is attached to an original oil filter location of the vehicle, wherein the second attachment part houses a new oil filter in a new location on the vehicle different from the original oil filter location of the vehicle, and wherein the two attachment parts are connected to one another by an oil filter relocation oil line. In a method of changing the oil of the vehicle that has this embodiment, the new oil filter is removed from a new, more accessible location, and replaced.
In a third implementation of the invention, there can be provided a method of changing the oil in a vehicle comprising:
In one aspect of the invention, the fuse, fuse box and switch can be conventional components which are known to those skilled in the art and are not described in detail herein.
In yet another aspect of the invention, between the steps of the connection of the oil pump and the step of pumping the used oil, there can be added the step of adding oil to the oil tank of the vehicle and running the vehicle in the usual fashion until an oil change is needed.
In yet one other aspect of the invention, between the steps of the connection of the oil pump and the step of pumping the used oil, there can be added the step of adding a switch connected by wire to the fuse box and switching the switch on to stop the engine before the oil pumping begins.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the attached drawings and the detailed description of the preferred embodiments, which follow.
The preferred embodiments of the invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings provided to illustrate and not to limit the invention, where like designations denote like elements, and in which
Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the described embodiments or the application and uses of the described embodiments. As used herein, the word “embodiment”, “exemplary” or “illustrative” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” or “illustrative” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementation. Any embodiments described as “preferred” should not be construed as excluding other embodiments from the invention, but merely reflects a non-limiting preference for an implementation. All of the implementations described below are exemplary implementations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to make or use the embodiments of the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, which is defined by the claims. For purposes of description herein, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “left”, “rear”, “right”, “front”, “vertical”, “horizontal” and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as oriented in
Referring initially to
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In an alternative embodiment herein, the system can be in the absence of an air pump.
Since many modifications, variations, and changes in detail can be made to the described preferred embodiments of the invention, it is intended that all matters in the foregoing description and shown in the accompanying drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. Furthermore, it is understood that any of the features presented in the embodiments may be integrated into any of the other embodiments unless explicitly stated otherwise.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/444,608 filed on Feb. 10, 2023, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63444608 | Feb 2023 | US |
