Patent ID: 9399935
Filing Date: 2016-07-26
CPC Classification: F01M,Y10T

Claim Text:
1. An oil pan inner tank valve structure in a double-tank oil pan having an inner tank inside an outer tank, comprising: a valve port that is formed in a bottom wall of the inner tank; a float valve that is arranged below the valve port, that contacts or moves away from a valve seat around the valve port depending on whether there is buoyancy of oil inside the double-tank oil pan to open or close the valve port, that has an upper surface mound portion gradually bulging or protruding upward from an outer peripheral portion of an upper surface of the float valve, and that closes the valve port in such a manner that the upper surface mound portion contacts the valve seat, the upper surface mound portion of the float valve having a center protruding portion and a contact portion that contacts the valve seat, the center protruding portion protruding upward at an upper surface center thereof at an inclination steeper than that of the contact portion; a vertical movement restricting portion that faces a lower surface of the float valve and that restricts a vertically movable range of the float valve; and a lateral movement restricting portion that is provided on any one of the inner tank and the outer tank, and that restricts lateral movement of the float valve so that a top portion of the upper surface mound portion constantly vertically faces an area inside the valve seat, wherein one of a lower surface center and upper surface center of the float valve has a center recess formed in a surface thereof, the lateral movement restricting portion is a lateral movement restricting pin that is received by the center recess and that extends beyond the float valve in a direction away from a closed innermost end of the center recess, the center recess being fitted to the lateral movement restricting pin with a gap disposed therebetween such that inclination and lateral movement of the float valve relative to the valve seat are allowed within a range of the gap, the lateral movement restricting pin is constantly disposed within the center recess, the lateral movement restricting portion having a cover portion covering a top surface, a first side surface, a second side surface, and a portion of a bottom surface of the lateral movement restricting pin, the vertical movement restricting portion is a bulged wall that bulges downward from a lateral position with respect to the valve seat on a lower surface of the bottom wall of the inner tank and that has an oil passing hole that allows the oil to pass therethrough, and the float valve is accommodated in a valve accommodating room between the bottom wall and the bulged wall.