Patent Application
20150096841
The present disclosure relates to internal combustion engines and more particularly to an internal combustion engine oil pan casting with optional oil cooler provisions.
This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Internal combustion engines are lubricated using oil that is collected in an oil pan in the bottom of the crankcase of the internal combustion engine. The oil pan serves as an oil reservoir where the lubrication oil accumulates. Some engines are provided with an oil cooler in order to cool the oil. The oil is withdrawn from the oil pan, runs through the oil pump oil cooler and the cooled oil is then sent through the engine lubrication system and is then returned to the oil pan. Although oil cooled engines are common, it is also common to have engines with no oil cooler. Typically, an engine having an oil cooler has to have a specially designed oil pan in order to port the oil from the engine to a remote oil cooler and back again. Accordingly, engines utilizing an oil cooler have one oil pan design while engines without an oil cooler have a different oil pan design.
The present disclosure provides an oil pan design that can share an oil pan casting tool, and that can be machined and fitted differently to serve in both engine oil cooled and non-oil cooled vehicle applications.
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a universal oil pan die tooling is provided for forming alternative oil pans for alternative internal combustion engines with and without an oil cooler circuit. The die tooling includes a first die member defining a cavity and a second die member having a protruding portion designed to be inserted into the cavity of the first die member to define a mold cavity therebetween that defines a shape of the oil pan. A first die insert is used along with the first die member and the second die member to form oil pans for use with an engine having an oil cooler. An alternative second die insert is used in place of the first die insert along with the first die member and the second die member to form oil pans for use with an engine without and oil cooler.
According to a further aspect of the present disclosure, the universal oil pan design is provided for use with an internal combustion engine and includes a bottom wall, a sidewall extending from a periphery of the bottom wall and the bottom wall and the sidewall each including an interior surface to define an internal cavity. The top edge of the sidewall defines a mounting flange. A plurality of mounting apertures extend through the mounting flange. First and second bosses are disposed in the outer surface of the oil pan. The first and second bosses are optionally provided with oil cooler supply and return ports therethrough, respectively for connection to an oil cooler for use with an engine having an oil cooler. The oil cooler supply port is in communication with a first recess region in the interior of the oil pan and has an opening extending through the oil pan adjacent to an oil filter fitting. The oil cooler return port is in communication with a second recessregion in the interior of the oil pan. The first and second bosses can remain closed for use with an engine having no oil cooler.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.
Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.
With reference to
With reference to
According to conventional engine designs, the oil pans for oil-cooled engines and for non-oil cooled engines have required different designs, thereby requiring separate tooling for each type of oil pan. According to the principles of the present disclosure, the oil pan 14 for the non-oil cooled engine 10 is cast in the same die tooling as the oil pan 114 for the oil cooled engine 110. Therefore, a significant cost savings is achieved by forming the oil pans 14, 114 for both non-oil cooled and oil cooled engines using common die tooling, as will be described in detail herein.
With reference to
With reference to
In the assembled position, the oil filter 16 includes a gasket (not shown) that engages the annular filter mounting region 24, shown in
With reference to
In the assembled position, the oil filter 16 includes a gasket (not shown) that engages the annular filter mounting region 24, shown in
An oil pump (not shown) is connected to the interior surface 34 of the oil pan 114 and seals against the gasket 144. As is known in the art, the oil pump draws oil from a lowest portion of the oil pan through the oil pump, into the recess 146 through the oil cooler supply port 124, through the oil cooler supply line 122, through the oil cooler 118, through the oil cooler return line 128, through the oil return port 130 and into the second recessed region 148. The second recessed region 148 is provided with an opening 150 that is in communication with the oil filter 16. Oil passes through the opening 150 into the oil filter 16 and out through the fitting 30 where the filtered oil is then supplied to the various engine components for lubrication thereof.
As shown in
With the exception of the following differences, the oil pans 14, 114 are generally identical and are formed within the same tooling. The oil pan 14 includes a recessed gasket region 42 that only surrounds the fitting 30 and the recess 46 for receiving the gasket 44. In the oil pan 114, the recessed gasket region surrounds the fitting 30, a first recess 146 and a second recess 148 for receiving the gasket 144.
In the oil pan 14, an opening 48 is provided between the interior recess 46 and the exterior side 36 of the oil pan 14 and within the oil filter mounting region 24. In the oil pan 114, the first recess 146 is provided with a bypass valve 156 in an opening 158 between the recess 146 and the exterior side 36 of the oil pan 114 and within the oil filter mounting region 24.
In the oil pan 14, each of the raised boss regions 20, 22 remain closed. In the oil pan 114, each of the raised boss portions 20, 22 are drilled out or machined to provide a passage through the oil pan 114 from the exterior side 36 to the interior side 34 of the oil pan 114. The raised boss portions 20, 22 serve as an oil cooler supply port 124 and an oil cooler return port 130, respectively for use of the oil pan 114 for an engine 110 having an oil cooler 118. In the oil pan 114, the second recess 148 is provided with an opening 150 that communicates with the oil filter 16. The oil pan 14 does not include a gasket-surrounded second recess like the oil pan 114.
With reference to
With reference to
With reference to
Accordingly, by utilizing the universal oil pan die tooling 70 with alternative die inserts 90, 190, the universal oil pan die tooling 70 can be used for making oil pans that can be used for engines that do not include oil cooling and for engines that do include oil cooling. Accordingly, the present disclosure provides two oil pan designs 14, 114 that share an oil pan casting tool 70 which can be machined and fitted differently to serve in both engine oil cooled and non-cooled vehicle applications.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.
