INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE

Abstract

An internal combustion engine, having a cylinder crankcase delimiting a crank chamber and a lubricant pan accommodating a lubricant sump, which has a lubricant pan upper part arranged between the crank chamber and the lubricant sump and a lubricant pan lower part fastened on the lubricant pan upper part. Multiple ridges originate from a base component of the lubricant pan upper part in the direction of the lubricant sump, which ridges partially intersect and thus form chambers which are peripherally closed in section between them, and lubricant passage openings formed in the lubricant pan upper part open into at least part of the chambers, via which openings the crank chamber and the lubricant sump are fluidically connected.

Claims

1-10. (canceled)

11. An internal combustion engine, comprising: a cylinder crankcase delimiting a crank chamber and a lubricant pan accommodating a lubricant sump, which has a lubricant pan upper part arranged between the crank chamber and the lubricant sump and a lubricant pan lower part fastened on the lubricant pan upper part, wherein multiple ridges originate from a base component of the lubricant pan upper part in the direction of the lubricant sump, which ridges partially intersect and thus form chambers which are peripherally closed in section between them, and wherein lubricant passage openings formed in the lubricant pan upper part open into at least part of the chambers, via which openings the crank chamber and the lubricant sump are fluidically connected, wherein in at least one of the chambers, into which none of the lubricant passage openings opens, at least one ventilation opening opens, which additionally fluidically connects the crank chamber and the lubricant sump and has a smaller through-flow cross section in comparison to the lubricant passage openings.

12. The internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 11, wherein the lubricant passage openings are formed in walls of the lubricant pan upper part, which delimit depressions that are open in the direction of the crank chamber and are spaced apart from one another, wherein the depressions are arranged overlapping with crank pins of the crankshaft in the axial direction with respect to an axis of rotation of a crankshaft of the internal combustion engine.

13. The internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 11, wherein the lubricant passage openings are provided in two rows arranged in parallel to one another and to the axis of rotation of the crankshaft, wherein fastening recesses are formed between the two rows in the lubricant pan upper part, which are enclosed by the ridges.

14. The internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 11, wherein in addition to the ventilation opening, at least one further ventilation opening is provided, wherein a flow cross section of the further ventilation opening is larger than a flow cross section of the ventilation opening and smaller than flow cross sections of the lubricant passage openings.

15. The internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 11, wherein the lubricant passage openings are non-round and the ventilation opening is round.

16. The internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 11, wherein the ventilation opening is formed in a region, which is geodetically highest in the installed location of the internal combustion engine of a region of the base component delimiting the respective chamber.

17. The internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 11, wherein the ventilation opening is formed in one of the walls.

18. The internal combustion engine according to claim 11, wherein the further ventilation opening has dimensions in a first direction, which are at least 75% and/or at most 125% of dimensions of one of the lubricant passage openings in the same direction, and/or in that the further ventilation opening has dimensions in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, which are at most 25% of dimensions of the lubricant passage openings in this direction.

19. The internal combustion engine according to claim 11, wherein the ventilation opening has dimensions in the first direction and the second direction which are at most 25% of the dimensions of the further ventilation opening in the respective direction.

20. The internal combustion engine according to claim 11, wherein the ventilation opening has a diameter of at least 1 mm and/or at most 6 mm.

21. The internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 12, wherein the lubricant passage openings are provided in two rows arranged in parallel to one another and to the axis of rotation of the crankshaft, wherein fastening recesses are formed between the two rows in the lubricant pan upper part, which are enclosed by the ridges.

22. The internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 12, wherein in addition to the ventilation opening, at least one further ventilation opening is provided, wherein a flow cross section of the further ventilation opening is larger than a flow cross section of the ventilation opening and smaller than flow cross sections of the lubricant passage openings.

23. The internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 13, wherein in addition to the ventilation opening, at least one further ventilation opening is provided, wherein a flow cross section of the further ventilation opening is larger than a flow cross section of the ventilation opening and smaller than flow cross sections of the lubricant passage openings.

24. The internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 12, wherein the lubricant passage openings are non-round and the ventilation opening is round.

25. The internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 13, wherein the lubricant passage openings are non-round and the ventilation opening is round.

26. The internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 14, wherein the lubricant passage openings are non-round and the ventilation opening is round.

27. The internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 12, wherein the ventilation opening is formed in a region, which is geodetically highest in the installed location of the internal combustion engine of a region of the base component delimiting the respective chamber.

28. The internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 13, wherein the ventilation opening is formed in a region, which is geodetically highest in the installed location of the internal combustion engine of a region of the base component delimiting the respective chamber.

29. The internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 14, wherein the ventilation opening is formed in a region, which is geodetically highest in the installed location of the internal combustion engine of a region of the base component delimiting the respective chamber.

30. The internal combustion engine as claimed in claim 15, wherein the ventilation opening is formed in a region, which is geodetically highest in the installed location of the internal combustion engine of a region of the base component delimiting the respective chamber.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0047] The invention is explained hereinafter on the basis of the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawing, without the invention being restricted. In the figures:

[0048] FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of a part of an internal combustion engine and

[0049] FIG. 2 shows a schematic sectional view of a region of the internal combustion engine.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0050] FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a part of an internal combustion engine 1, namely a region of a lubricant pan 2. Specifically, a lubricant pan upper part 3 of the lubricant pan 2 is shown, which separates a lubricant sump, jointly delimited by a lubricant pan lower part and the lubricant pan upper part 3, from a crank chamber accommodated in a cylinder crankcase of the internal combustion chamber 1.

[0051] The lubricant pan upper part 3 has a base component 4, which delimits the crankcase in the direction of the lubricant pan 2 or in the direction of the lubricant sump. Multiple ridges 5 originate from the base component 4, of which only a few are identified by way of example. The ridges 5 are arranged in relation to one another such that they form chambers 6 between them, which are peripherally closed in section. These chambers are also only identified by way of example.

[0052] In a part of the chambers 6, lubricant passage openings 7 open, which are formed in walls 8 that form part of the lubricant pan upper part 3 or the base component 4. The walls 8 delimit depressions which are open in the direction of the crankcase. It can be seen that the lubricant passage openings 7 are arranged in multiple rows, which extend at least approximately or even precisely in parallel to one another.

[0053] Between the two rows of the lubricant passage openings 7, fastening recesses 9 are formed in the lubricant pan upper part 3, which are each enclosed by a ring ridge 10. The fastening recesses 9 are only indicated by way of example. The ridges 5 partially extend into the ring ridges 10 or originate from them. In the exemplary embodiment shown here, two of the ridges 5 extend in parallel to one another and accommodate the ring ridges 10 between them in this case.

[0054] To avoid an accumulation of air in the chambers 6 formed by the ridges 5, at least one ventilation opening 11 is produced in the lubricant pan upper part 3. In particular, a plurality of ventilation openings 11 is provided, in the exemplary embodiment shown here at least 10, at least 15, or at least 20. In addition to the at least one ventilation opening 11, at least one further ventilation opening 12 is provided. Further fastening recesses 13 are also produced in the lubricant pan upper part 3. These are solely indicated by way of example.

[0055] The ventilation opening 11 and the further ventilation opening 12 are used to ventilate the lubricant sump or the chambers 6, respectively, in the direction of the crankcase. It is apparent that the ventilation opening 11 has a significantly smaller through-flow cross-sectional area than the further ventilation opening 12 and each of the lubricant passage openings 7. In this way, on the one hand, sufficient ventilation of the chambers 6 is provided and, on the other hand, a rigidity of the lubricant pan upper part 3 and thus of the entire internal combustion engine 1 is not impaired.

[0056] FIG. 2 shows a schematic sectional view of a region of the internal combustion engine 1 in the region of one of the ventilation openings 11. It is apparent that the ridges 5 enclose the chamber 6 like a dome and that the ventilation opening 11 is formed in the base component 4 at a point of the chamber 6 which is geodetically highest in the installed location of the internal combustion engine 1. Extremely effective ventilation of the chamber 6 is achieved in this way.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0057] 1 internal combustion engine

[0058] 2 lubricant pan

[0059] 3 lubricant pan upper part

[0060] 4 base component

[0061] 5 web

[0062] 6 chamber

[0063] 7 lubricant passage opening

[0064] 8 wall

[0065] 9 fastening recess

[0066] 10 ring web

[0067] 11 ventilation opening

[0068] 12 ventilation opening

[0069] 13 fastening recess