Balancer device and lubricating system for oil pump and balancer shaft bearing

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10851685-B2
Application number	US-201916560211-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 4, 2019
Priority date	Mar 8, 2017
Publication date	Dec 1, 2020
Grant date	Dec 1, 2020

Abstract

Balancer shaft 5 and 6 rotatably set through bearings 11˜14 and an oil pump 2 driven by power from the balancer shaft 5 and 6 are provided in a balancer housing. Oil discharged from an outlet portion 42 of the oil pump 2 is supplied to a main oil gallery 10 through an outlet passage 48 . A bearing filter 55 that filters a part of the oil is provided in the outlet passage 48 that extends from the outlet portion 42 . A communication passage 50 that branches off from the outlet passage 48 and communicates with the bearings 11˜14 supplies a part of the oil having been filtered by the bearing filter 55 to the bearings 11˜14 . By filtering the oil that is going to be supplied to the bearing portion, decrease in durability of the bearing portion can be suppressed.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A balancer device for an internal combustion engine comprising:
a housing having therein an accommodation section and a bearing portion;
a balancer shaft rotatably provided at the bearing portion;
an oil pump provided in the housing and driven by power from the balancer shaft, wherein an outlet portion of the oil pump communicates with a main oil gallery of the internal combustion engine through an oil filter that is provided outside the housing;
a bearing filter provided in an outlet passage that extends from the outlet portion toward the outside of the housing and filtering a part of oil that flows in the outlet passage; and
a communication passage branching off from the outlet passage and supplying the oil filtered by the bearing filter to the bearing portion.

2. The balancer device for the internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein:
a mesh size of the bearing filter is greater than that of the oil filter.

3. The balancer device for the internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein:
a part of a filtering portion of the bearing filter is arranged in a direction that crosses a flow direction of the oil flowing in the outlet passage.

4. The balancer device for the internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 3 , wherein:
the filtering portion of the bearing filter is formed into a cylindrical shape.

5. The balancer device for the internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 4 , wherein:
the filtering portion is arranged in a direction that is orthogonal to the flow direction of the oil flowing in the outlet passage or a direction along the oil flow direction.

6. The balancer device for the internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 4 , wherein:
the bearing filter has a supporting frame having tubular both end portions in an axial direction of the bearing filter, one of which has an opening and the other of which has a closed-bottom, and the filtering portion supported in the supporting frame.

7. The balancer device for the internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 6 , wherein:
the supporting frame has long narrow frame portions that connect the both end portions of the bearing filter, and the filtering portion is supported in the frame portions.

8. The balancer device for the internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 7 , wherein:
the outlet passage is provided, at a branch portion with the communication passage, with an installation hole in which the bearing filter is installed, and
between one end side of the installation hole and the other end portion of the supporting frame, a forcing member that presses the one end portion of the supporting frame toward the other end side of the installation hole is provided.

9. The balancer device for the internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 6 , wherein: a tubular space portion is formed between a portion except the both end portions of the supporting frame and an inner circumferential surface of an installation hole.

10. The balancer device for the internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 9 , wherein:
an outside diameter of the one end portion of the supporting frame is smaller than that of the other end portion of the supporting frame.

11. The balancer device for the internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein:
the bearing portion is a plain bearing.

12. The balancer device for the internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 11 , wherein:
an oil vent is formed at the plain bearing, and the communication passage and an inner circumferential side of the plain bearing communicate with each other through the oil vent.

13. The balancer device for the internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 11 , wherein:
an inner circumferential portion of the plain bearing is made of a softer material than that of an outer circumferential portion of the plain bearing.

14. The balancer device for the internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 13 , wherein:
the inner circumferential portion of the plain bearing is made of an aluminium alloy material.

15. The balancer device for the internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 1 , wherein:
a throttle portion is provided in the communication passage.

16. The balancer device for the internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 15 wherein:
the housing is formed by joining a plurality of blocks together, and
the throttle portion is set so as to connect opposing surfaces of the joined blocks of the housing, and the throttle portion is detachable.

17. The balancer device for the internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 16 wherein:
the throttle portion is formed into a hollow pipe, and
one end opening and the other end opening of the throttle portion are inserted and fixed in insertion holes respectively which are formed on the opposing surfaces of the joined blocks of the housing so as to face to each other.

18. A balancer device for an internal combustion engine comprising: a housing having therein an accommodation section and a bearing portion; a balancer shaft rotatably provided at the bearing portion; a communication passage provided so as to branch off from an oil supply portion that supplies oil to a sliding part of the internal combustion engine for lubrication by an oil pump, the communication passage communicating with the bearing portion; an oil filter; a bearing filter provided at in the oil supply portion, the bearing filter filtering oil that flows from the oil supply portion into the communication passage; and an oil-pouring portion pouring oil, which flows from the oil supply portion and is not filtered by the bearing filter, toward the sliding part of the internal combustion engine through the oil filter.

19. An oil pump supplying oil to a sliding part of an internal combustion engine comprising: an oil filter; a bearing filter filtering a part of discharged oil and not filtering the other discharged oil; a first passage supplying the oil having been filtered by the bearing filter, which is disposed in the first passage, to a bearing portion of a balancer device; and a second passage pouring the oil not having been filtered by the bearing filter toward the sliding part of the internal combustion engine through the oil filter.

20. A lubricating system for a balancer shaft bearing portion comprising:
a balancer shaft rotatably provided at a bearing portion;
an oil pump whose outlet portion communicates with a main oil gallery of an internal combustion engine through an oil filter;
a bearing filter provided in a passage that extends from the outlet portion toward the main oil gallery, the bearing filter filtering a part of oil and not filtering the other oil; and
a communication passage supplying the oil having been filtered by the bearing filter to the bearing portion.

Assignees

• Hitachi Automotive Systems Ltd

Inventors

• Kitamura Masaharu
• Hirano Takashi
• Kurita Masahumi

Classifications

• F16C3/20

  Shape of crankshafts or eccentric-shafts having regard to balancing · CPC title

• F01M1/02

  using lubricating pumps (pumps in general F04; lubricating pumps per se F16N) · CPC title

• F01M2001/0276

  driven by a balancer shaft · CPC title

• F16F15/267 Primary

  characterised by bearing support of balancer shafts; Lubrication arrangements · CPC title

• F16C9/02

  Crankshaft bearings · CPC title