JPH055409A - Lubrication controller for engine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve an oil recovery function and an output performance and to reduce a fuel consumption by respectively independently controlling oil pumps for sucking and exhausting each lubricant in a crank case and a head cover in accordance with an operating condition in a lubrication controller for a car. CONSTITUTION:When an engine is driven, oil pumps 5, 6 for sucking and exhausting lubricant in a crank case 2 and cylinder heads 4 are driven. A controller 14 fetches the output signals of an engine speed detecting sensor 11, a throttle opening sensor 10 and a car speed sensor 12 and decides whether or not a car is accelerated. During the acceleration, a control valve 8 is opened so that the suction and exhaust operation of the oil pumps 6 relative to lubricant in the cylinder heads 4 is temporarily stopped. When engine speed is a set speed or lower, and the detected quantity of an oil quantity detecting sensor 13 is a set quantity or lower, a control valve 7 is opened so that the suction and exhaust operation of the oil pumps 5 is stopped. When an automatic cruise switch 15 is operated, the control valves 7, 8 are controlled so that the capability of the oil pumps 5, 6 is lowered in accordance with the car speed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an engine lubrication control device provided with two types of oil pumps for independently sucking and discharging lubricating oil in a crankcase and a head cover.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-229913, a dry sump type lubricating device is known as one of lubricating methods for lubricating oil for automobile engines.

This dry sump type lubricating device does not have an oil pan in the engine, and after lubricating each part of the engine, the lubricating oil (oil) does not collect in the crankcase and is generally referred to as an scavenging pump. It is designed to be sucked and discharged into an oil tank that is arranged separately from the engine.

Generally, in this type of lubricating device, the inside of the head cover and the inside of the crankcase communicate with each other, and the oil pump connected to the crankcase drives the oil in the headcover to the oil tank via the crankcase. It is supposed to do.

[0005]

In the above lubricating apparatus, it is necessary to drive the oil pump for collecting and circulating the oil in the crankcase and the head cover, but the oil pump is directly driven by the engine. Therefore, the load (driving resistance) is applied to the engine.

On the other hand, the air pressure and the oil mist in the crankcase also serve as drive resistances, which are related to the operation of the oil pump, and the degree of influence of these drive resistances varies depending on the operating condition of the engine. For these reasons, there is room for improvement in order to improve running fuel efficiency and output performance.

In view of these circumstances, the present invention provides an engine lubrication control device capable of effectively and optimally utilizing an oil pump to improve running fuel consumption and output performance in addition to an oil recovery function. The purpose is to

[0008]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a first oil pump for sucking and discharging lubricating oil in a crankcase and a second oil pump for sucking and discharging lubricating oil in a head cover. It is provided with an oil pump and control means for independently controlling the sucking and discharging operation of the lubricating oil of both the oil pumps according to the operating state.

Further, according to the present invention, the engine speed detecting means for detecting the engine speed is provided, and the control means detects the sucking and discharging operation of the lubricating oil of the first oil pump by the engine speed detecting means. It is controlled according to the engine speed.

Further, in claim 3, the acceleration detecting means for detecting the acceleration time is provided, and the control means stops the sucking and discharging operation of the lubricating oil of the second oil pump at the acceleration time.

[0011]

According to the engine lubrication control device of the first aspect, the first oil pump sucks and discharges the lubricating oil in the crankcase, and the second oil pump sucks and discharges the lubricating oil in the head cover. .. Further, the suction and discharge action of the lubricating oil and the air pressure adjustment by driving the oil pump are controlled separately and independently on the crankcase side and the head cover side.

Further, according to the engine lubrication control device of the second aspect, the engine speed is detected by the engine speed detecting means, and the suction and discharge operation of the lubricating oil of the first oil pump and the crankcase inside by the operation. The adjustment of the oil mist amount is controlled according to the engine speed detected by the engine speed detecting means.

Further, according to the engine lubrication control device of the third aspect, the acceleration detecting means detects the acceleration time, and the driving resistance by the second oil pump is reduced at the acceleration time.

[0014]

2 and 3 are schematic configuration diagrams showing an embodiment of a V-type engine for an automobile to which a dry sump type lubrication control device according to the present invention is applied. 2 shows a side view of the engine 1, and FIG. 3 shows a plan view of the engine 1.

The engine 1 includes a cylinder block 3 having a crankcase 2 below and a pair of cylinder heads 4.
Is formed into a V-shaped structure having banks on the left and right. A plurality of first oil pumps (scavenging pumps) 5 are arranged above the cylinder block 3 between the banks. A plurality of second oil pumps (scavenging pumps) 6 are arranged above the cylinder head 4.

The oil pump 5 is driven in conjunction with the engine 1, and sucks and discharges lubricating oil (hereinafter referred to as oil) in the crankcase 2 through an oil discharge passage 51 communicating with the crankcase 2. The oil is returned to an oil tank (not shown). The oil pump 6
Like the oil pump 5, it is driven in association with the engine 1, and the oil in the cylinder head 4 is sucked and discharged to be returned to the oil tank. In addition,
The suction capacity of the oil pump 5 is higher than that of the oil pump 6.

On the other hand, the oil pump 5 is provided with a control valve 7 as shown in FIG. 4. When the control valve 7 is opened by a control signal from a control unit 14 which will be described later, the crankcase 2 is opened. The inside is open to the atmosphere. When the inside of the crankcase 2 is opened to the atmosphere, the suction operation of the oil pump 5 is disabled (stopped).

A control valve 8 (FIG. 4) is provided in the cylinder head 4, and when the control valve 8 is opened by a control signal from the control unit 14, the inside of the cylinder head 4 is opened to the atmosphere. It is like this. And
When the inside of the cylinder head 4 is opened to the atmosphere, the oil suction operation of the oil pump 6 is disabled (stops).
It is like this.

On the other hand, an air flow sensor 9 and a throttle opening sensor 10 for detecting the opening of the throttle valve are provided in the intake passage to the engine 1. Further, the engine 1 is provided with an engine rotation speed detection sensor 11 that detects the rotation speed of the crankshaft, and further, a vehicle speed sensor 12 that detects the vehicle speed is provided on the output shaft (drive shaft). Further, an oil amount detection sensor 13 that detects the amount of oil (oil level) is provided in the crankcase 2.

Next, the control system of the lubrication control device for the engine 1 will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG.

The control unit 14 includes a first control means 141, an acceleration detection means 142, and a second control means 1.
43 and the automatic cruise control means 144 etc. are provided. The first control means 141, based on the engine speed detected by the engine speed detection sensor 11 and the oil amount detected by the oil amount detection sensor 13,
The opening / closing operation of the control valve 7 is controlled to control the oil suction operation by the oil pump 5.

The acceleration detecting means 142 detects the acceleration time by calculating the change rate of the opening of the throttle valve based on the throttle opening detected by the throttle opening sensor 10. The acceleration detecting means 142 may detect the acceleration time from the rate of change of the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 12.

The second control means 143 controls the opening / closing operation of the control valve 8 based on the detection signal from the acceleration detection means 142 to control the oil suction operation by the oil pump 6. In addition, the first control means 141 and the second control means 143 are adapted to independently perform control operations.

When the auto-cruise switch 15 is operated, the auto-cruise control means 144 controls the opening of the throttle valve so as to maintain the set vehicle speed (auto-cruise operation state), and also the auto-cruise operation state. The opening of the control valve 7 or the control valve 8 is controlled so that the opening of the throttle valve is minimized to adjust the suction capacity of the oil pump 5 or the oil pump 6.

Next, an example of the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. The control valve 7
The control valve 8 is closed in the initial state. When the engine 1 is driven to drive the oil pump 5 and the oil pump 6 and the operation of this flowchart is started, the engine speed is detected by the engine speed detection sensor 11 after the control unit 14 is initialized. After the throttle opening is detected by the throttle opening sensor 10, the rate of change of the throttle opening is calculated based on the detected throttle opening (steps S1 to S4). Next, the vehicle speed sensor 12 detects the vehicle speed (step S5).

Then, it is judged whether or not the vehicle is accelerating on the basis of the rate of change of the throttle opening (step S6),
If it is during acceleration (YES in step S6), the control valve 8 is opened (step S7) to temporarily stop the suction / discharge operation of the oil pump 6 (control during acceleration). Then, the process returns to step S3, and the throttle opening is detected. On the other hand, if not during acceleration (NO in step S6),
Whether the oil pump 6 is sucking and discharging the oil in the cylinder head 4, that is, the control valve 8
It is determined whether or not is closed (step S8).

Immediately after the acceleration, since the control valve 8 has been opened in step S7 (NO in step S8) until then, the control valve 8 is closed and the oil pump 6 sucks the oil in the cylinder head 4. Is restarted (step S9). After this, the process returns to step S8, and step S8
Then, since YES is obtained, the process proceeds to step S10.

In step S10, it is determined whether or not the detected engine speed is equal to or lower than a preset set speed, and if the detected engine speed is equal to or lower than the set speed (YES in step S10), The oil amount sensor 13 detects the amount of oil in the crankcase 2 (step S11). Then, it is determined whether or not the detected oil amount is less than or equal to a preset set oil amount, and if the detected oil amount is less than or equal to the set oil amount (YES in step S12), the control valve 7 is opened. The operation of sucking and discharging the oil in the crankcase 2 by the pump 5 is stopped (step S13). Then, the process returns to step S10.

Then, when the oil amount exceeds the set oil amount due to the stop of the oil suction and discharge operation by the oil pump 5 (NO in step S12), the control valve 7 is closed and the oil in the crankcase 2 is sucked and discharged. (Step S14). It should be noted that the preset rotational speed is the drive loss curve A by the oil mist shown in FIG. 7 (described in detail later) and the engine 1 by the drive of the oil pump 5.
It is desirable to select the engine speed R0 which is the intersection with the drive loss curve B of.

On the other hand, when the engine speed increases in step S10 and exceeds the set speed (NO in step S10), whether the oil pump 5 is performing the oil suction / discharge operation, that is, the control valve 7 is closed. It is determined (step S15) that the control valve 7 is closed and the oil pump 5 starts sucking and discharging the oil in the crankcase 2 (step S16). After this, the process returns to step S15, and YES in step S15.
Therefore, the process proceeds to step S17.

In step S17, the auto cruise switch 15 is operated (auto cruise operation state).
If it is determined that it is not in the auto cruise operation state but in the normal operation state (NO in step S17), the process proceeds to step S18.

In step S18, it is judged whether the engine speed of the engine 1 is abnormally increased and is equal to or higher than a preset engine speed (overspeed). If the engine 1 speed is overspeed, If YES in step S18, the control valve 7 is opened (step S19).

On the other hand, if the rotation speed of the engine 1 is less than the over rotation speed, that is, if it is the normal rotation speed (N in step S18).
O), it is determined whether the control valve 7 is closed and the oil pump 5 is performing the suction / discharge operation of oil (step S21). After returning from the over-rotation to the normal rotation, the control valve 7 is closed in step S19 (NO in step S21), so the control valve 7 is opened and the oil pump 5 sucks the oil in the crankcase 2. The discharging operation is started (step S22). After that, the process returns to step S21, and since YES is determined in step S21, the process returns.

If the engine speed R0 or higher and the normal speed are the normal speeds, the drive loss of the engine 1 by the oil mist and the oil pumps 5 and 6 is minimized, as shown in FIG. 8, for example. In addition, the opening / closing operations of the control valve 7 and the control valve 8 are controlled so that the suction capacities of the oil pump 5 and the oil pump 6 linearly increase with respect to the engine speed.

On the other hand, if the automatic cruise operation state is set in step S17 (YES in step S17)
S), the control valve 7 or the control valve 8 is opened to reduce the suction capacity of the oil pump 5 or the oil pump 6 (step S
23). Subsequently, the vehicle speed is detected by the vehicle speed sensor 12, and it is determined whether or not the vehicle speed has decreased due to a decrease in the suction capacity of the oil pump 5 or the oil pump 6 (steps S24 and S25).

At this time, if the vehicle speed decreases (step S
(YES in 25), the control valve 7 or the control valve 8 is closed to increase the suction capability of the oil pump 5 or the oil pump 6 which has decreased, and after the vehicle speed is detected by the vehicle speed sensor 12 (steps S26, S27), It returns to step S25. Then, when the vehicle speed increases (N in step S25
O), the throttle valve is closed by a predetermined amount (step S28). Thereafter, the vehicle speed sensor 12 detects the vehicle speed (step S29). If the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than the set speed (YES in step S30), the throttle valve is further closed, and the process returns to step S28. That is, the throttle opening can be minimized in the state where the vehicle speed can maintain the set speed, and the traveling fuel consumption can be reduced.

On the other hand, when the vehicle speed becomes lower than the set speed (NO in step S30), the operating condition, that is, the operating state of the accelerator, the brake, etc. is detected, and the operating state of the auto cruise switch 15 is further detected (step S31,
S32). At this time, if the operating conditions are not changed, that is, if the accelerator, the brake, or the like is not operated (NO in step S33), the process returns to step S31. On the other hand, if the accelerator, the brake or the like is operated in step S33 (YES in step S33), the process returns to step S17 to determine whether or not the automatic cruise operation state is set.

In this way, the oil pump 5 for sucking and discharging the oil in the crankcase 2 and the oil pump 6 for sucking and discharging the oil in the head cover 4 are independently controlled according to the operating state. It is possible to reduce drive resistance and fuel consumption without lowering the oil suction / discharge function more than necessary.

That is, at the time of acceleration, the control valve 8 is opened, so that the oil pump 6 cannot perform the suction / discharge operation of the oil in the cylinder head 4 and is in the idling (stop) state. Therefore, the pump drive resistance is reduced and the load on the engine 1 is reduced. Therefore, the engine response is improved. It should be noted that although the oil mist increases in the cylinder head 4 due to the stop of the suction and discharge operation of the oil in the cylinder head 4, the rotation of the cam in the cylinder head 4 is relatively low, and the influence as the drive resistance of the oil mist is Few.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, when the engine speed is low, the drive loss (solid line A) of the engine 1 due to the oil mist in the crankcase 2 is the oil pump 5.
Is smaller than the drive loss of the engine 1 (solid line B). Therefore, when the engine speed is low and the influence of oil mist is small, the fuel consumption of the vehicle is reduced by intermittently driving the oil pump 5. On the other hand, when the engine speed becomes equal to or higher than the engine speed R0 described above, the drive loss due to the oil mist (solid line A) becomes larger than the drive loss due to the oil pump 5 (solid line B). For this reason,
Driving loss is reduced by driving the oil pump 5 to reduce the oil mist.

Further, when the engine 1 becomes over-rotated, the control valve 7 is opened to open the inside of the crankcase 2 to the atmosphere, which increases the resistance to the operation of the piston of the engine 1. , Engine braking is promoted. Therefore, it is possible to promptly return to the normal rotation speed (the rotation speed in the normal operating state).

Further, in the auto cruise operation state, the suction loss of the oil pump 5 or the oil pump 6 is reduced to reduce the drive loss, and the throttle valve is closed by an amount corresponding to the increase in vehicle speed (step S25).
Up to step S29), the traveling fuel efficiency in the case of the automatic cruise operation is improved.

In the above-mentioned flowchart, when the engine speed is less than or equal to the set speed (YES in step S10), the oil pump 5 sucks and discharges the oil in the crankcase 2 according to the amount of oil in the crankcase 2. Although the operation is controlled (step S11 to step S
14) If the engine speed is equal to or lower than the set speed, the suction / discharge operation of the oil pump 5 may be performed for a predetermined time every predetermined time.

Further, the same processing as the processing of steps S23 to S33 of the above-mentioned flowchart is performed,
The throttle opening may be minimized and the axle torque of the axle may be maximized. Further, the throttle opening may be controlled to be minimum with respect to the vehicle speed.

[0045]

According to the present invention, the suction and discharge operation of the lubricating oil of the first oil pump and the second oil pump are independently controlled according to the operating state, so that the suction and discharge function of the lubricating oil is unnecessary. It is possible to reduce the driving resistance and the like without lowering the driving resistance. Therefore, the performance of the engine can be effectively used.

Further, the running fuel consumption can be improved by controlling the sucking and discharging operation of the lubricating oil of the first oil pump in accordance with the engine speed detected by the engine speed detecting means.

Furthermore, by stopping the sucking and discharging operation of the lubricating oil of the second oil pump during acceleration, the responsiveness of the engine during acceleration can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a control system of an engine lubrication control device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing an embodiment of an engine to which a lubrication control device according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an engine according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a control system of a lubrication control device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the operation of the lubrication control device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the operation of the lubrication control device according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a characteristic diagram showing a drive loss curve due to oil mist and a drive loss curve due to driving of an oil pump.

FIG. 8 is a graph showing the relationship between engine speed and oil pump suction capacity control.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Engine 2 Crankcase 3 Cylinder Block 4 Cylinder Head 5 First Oil Pump 6 Second Oil Pump 7 Control Valve 8 Control Valve 9 Air Flow Sensor 10 Throttle Opening Sensor 11 Engine Speed Detection Sensor 12 Vehicle Speed Sensor 13 Oil Level Detection Sensor 14 Control unit 15 Auto cruise switch 141 First control means 142 Acceleration detection means 143 Second control means 144 Auto cruise control means

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. A first oil pump for sucking and discharging lubricating oil in the crankcase, a second oil pump for sucking and discharging lubricating oil in the head cover, and lubrication of both the oil pumps. A lubrication control device for an engine, comprising: a control unit that independently controls an oil suction / discharge operation according to an operating state. 2. The engine rotation speed detecting means for detecting the engine rotation speed is provided, and the control means sets the suction / discharge operation of the lubricating oil of the first oil pump to the engine rotation speed detected by the engine rotation speed detecting means. The lubrication control device for an engine according to claim 1, wherein the lubrication control device is controlled in accordance with the above. 3. The acceleration detecting means for detecting the acceleration time is provided, and the control means stops the sucking and discharging operation of the lubricating oil of the second oil pump at the acceleration time. Engine lubrication controller.