Abstract:
An apparatus for retaining oil within a portion of an oil pan comprising a partition extending substantially horizontally within the oil pan. The partition has at least one opening therethrough and at least one rotatable flap mounted proximate to the at least one opening. The flap is sized to cover and substantially seal the at least one opening in a first orientation, and be suspended from the partition at a second orientation. An oil pay may also include the partition extending substantially horizontally therein having at least one opening therethrough and at least one rotatable flap mounted proximate to the at least one opening.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/344,223 filed Jun. 14, 2010 entitled Oil Pan Barrier. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to oil pans in general and in particular to a barrier locatable within an oil pan to retain the oil in a lowermost portion of the oil pan. 
         [0004]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0005]    In the field of automotive engines, oil is commonly circulated through the engine to lubricate it. To do so, oil is pooled below the engine block in an oil pan or reservoir after passing through the engine for collection by an oil pump to be redistributed through the engine. 
         [0006]    One well known problem in engine lubrication is maintaining the oil in the reservoir at a sufficient volume and at an appropriate location for pick up by the oil pump. Such oil pump pick-ups are typically located towards the rear of the oil pan. In particular, in applications where the vehicle may be accelerating, decelerating or changing directions at a high rate, the oil will have a tendency to propagate to one side or the other of the oil pan under the influence of the accelerating or cornering force. 
         [0007]    In particular, engines for use in drag racing are particularly susceptible to this difficulty due to the high acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle during the course of a drag racing run. In such a vehicle the oil located within the oil pan will be collected in the front or rear portion of the oil under deceleration or acceleration of the vehicle, respectively. Collection of the oil in either the front or rear portion of the oil pan causes several difficulties during operation of the engine. Where the oil is pooled in the front portion of the oil pan during deceleration of the vehicle, the oil pump may have difficulties collecting any oil from the oil pan if the oil pump pickup is located in the rear of the oil pan. Similarly, oil pickups located in a front portion of the oil pan may have difficulty collecting oil during acceleration of the vehicle. 
         [0008]    And additional difficulty is that oil that is pooled or otherwise collected in one of the front or rear portions of the oil pan may rise to a liquid level of a sufficient height to come into contact with the bottom of the crank shaft. Such contact between the oil and the crankshaft may lead to power loss of the engine due to the additional drag therebetween. 
         [0009]    Previous solutions to address the above difficulties have been insufficient. In particular trap doors or other one-way openings have been provided in a vertical wall located across the oil pan to maintain oil in either of the front or rear portion of the oil pan. Such solutions have not been adequate for applications which undergo a very high acceleration or deceleration forces such as drag racing vehicles. The height of such walls has conventionally been limited so as to not interfere with or impact the crank shaft thereabove. Due to this limited height of such vertical wall barriers, in a very high acceleration or deceleration applications, oil may be allowed to pass over the top of the vertical barrier wall and thereby to circumvent such solutions. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    According to a first embodiment of the present invention there is disclosed an apparatus for retaining oil within a portion of an oil pan. The apparatus comprises a partition extending substantially horizontally within the oil pan. The partition has at least one opening therethrough and at least one rotatable flap mounted proximate to the at least one opening. The flap is sized to cover and substantially seal the at least one opening in a first orientation, and be suspended from the partition at a second orientation. 
         [0011]    The partition may include a plurality of openings. The plurality of openings may be angularly oriented towards an end of the vehicle. At least one of the plurality of openings may comprise an acceleration opening being angularly oriented downwards towards a rear end of the vehicle. At least one of the plurality of openings may comprise a deceleration opening being angularly oriented downwards towards a front end of the vehicle. The openings may be angularly oriented at an angle of between 15 and 45 degrees from horizontal. 
         [0012]    The partition may include four acceleration openings being angularly oriented downwards towards a rear end of the vehicle and three deceleration openings being angularly oriented downwards towards a front end of the vehicle. 
         [0013]    The at least one opening may have a substantially rectangular outline. The at least one opening may have a width across the oil pan greater than a length along a longitudinal direction of the oil pan. 
         [0014]    The flap may be rotatably mounted to a bottom surface of the partition. The flap may be rotatably mounted proximate to a higher side of its corresponding opening. The flap may hang in a substantially vertical orientation in the second orientation. The flap may be proximate to the partition and surround its corresponding opening in the first position. The flap may have a length of between ⅛ and ¼ of an inch greater than its corresponding opening. The flap may have a width of between ⅛ and ¼ of an inch greater than its corresponding opening. 
         [0015]    The partition may have an outline corresponding to an interior surface of the oil pan. The partition may be securable within the oil pan by fasteners. The fasteners may be selected from the group consisting of bolts, screws or rivets. The partition may be securable within the oil pan by welding. 
         [0016]    According to a further embodiment of the present invention there is disclosed an oil pan for retaining oil within a lowermost thereof. The oil pan has a partition extending substantially horizontally therein having at least one opening therethrough and at least one rotatable flap mounted proximate to the at least one opening. The at least one flap is sized to cover and substantially seal the at least one opening in a first orientation, and suspended from the partition at a second orientation. 
         [0017]    Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description of specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0018]    In drawings which illustrate embodiments of the invention wherein similar characters of reference denote corresponding parts in each view, 
           [0019]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an oil pan having a barrier apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 2  is a top plan view of the barrier of  FIG. 1  located within the oil pan. 
           [0021]      FIG. 3  is a cross sectional view of the apparatus and oil pan of  FIG. 1  along the line  3 - 3 . 
           [0022]      FIG. 4  is a cross sectional view of the apparatus according to a further embodiment of the present invention as taken along the line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 2 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0023]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , an apparatus for retaining oil within a lowermost portion of an oil pan according to a first embodiment of the invention is shown generally at  20  located within an oil pan  8 . The oil pan  8  may be of a conventional type having a top rim  10  and interior surface  12 . The apparatus is located at a substantially midpoint within the interior of the oil pan so as to separate the interior of the oil pan into an upper portion  14  and a lower portion  16 . It will be appreciated that the apparatus  20  should be located at a position within the oil pan at a sufficient depth to prevent impact or interference of the apparatus upon the crankshaft or connecting rods of the engine. 
         [0024]    The apparatus  20  comprises a substantially planar member or partition  22  having an outline  24  corresponding to the shape of the interior surface  12  of the oil pan  8 . The partition  22  includes a plurality of first and second angular portions,  26  and  28 , respectively having corresponding openings  30  and  32 , respectively, extending therethrough. The first angular portions  26  are positioned towards a front portion  7  of the oil pan  8  and are angled in a downwards direction towards the front portion  7 . The second angular portions  28  are positioned towards a rear portion  9  of the oil pan and are angled in a downwards direction towards the rear portion  9 . Each of the first openings  30  includes a deceleration flap  42  associated therewith and each of the second openings  32  includes an acceleration flap  40  associated therewith. As will be further explained below, the first angular portions  26  and their corresponding openings  30  are adapted to be closed or blocked by the deceleration flap  42  upon deceleration of the vehicle in which the engine is located and the second angular portions  28  and their corresponding openings  32  are adapted to be closed or blocked by the acceleration flap  40  upon acceleration of the vehicle. As illustrated, the first and second openings  30  and  32  may have a substantially rectangular cross-section. However, it will be appreciated that other opening cross-sections may also be useful as well such as, by way of nonliving example, square, oval, circular or irregular. The first and second openings  30  and  32  may be selected to be as wide as possible, such as to size the first and second openings to be approximately ¼ of an inch less than the width of the oil pan. The first and second openings should also be sized to have a length sufficient to permit ease of closing between the first and second angular portions  26  and  28  and their respective acceleration and deceleration flaps  40  and  42  while preventing the acceleration and deceleration flaps from contacting the bottom of the oil pan. 
         [0025]    Turning now to  FIG. 2 , a top plan view of the partition  22  is illustrated. As illustrated, the apparatus  20  may have three first or deceleration openings  30  and four second or acceleration openings  32 . Will be appreciated that although four acceleration openings  32  and three deceleration openings  30  are illustrated, other quantities and combinations of the two types may be useful as well. The apparatus  20  may be designed to have differing numbers above the acceleration openings  32  or deceleration openings  30  depending on the intended use of the oil pan. By way of non-limiting example, for applications, such as drag racing, wherein the engine is required to provide a large amount of power while undergoing rapid acceleration, it may be desirable to provide the apparatus  20  with a larger number of acceleration openings so as to retain a greater volume of oil in the lower portion  16  of the oil pan during such acceleration. Furthermore, during applications in which the vehicle will experience rapid deceleration, the number and size of deceleration openings may be selected to retain a greater or lesser volume of oil in the lower portion  16  of the oil pan  8  depending on the engine operation and power requirements during or immediately after such deceleration. In applications such as drag racing, by way of non-limiting example, the apparatus may be designed to have a lesser number of deceleration openings as the engine will not be required to operate under a high load conditions immediately following the to deceleration at the end of the run. However, for applications such as track racing, the engine will be required to provide optimal or greater amounts of power, immediately after the deceleration, and therefore, it will be more desirable to maintain the larger quantity of oil in the lower portion  16  of the oil pan during and immediately after such deceleration. Accordingly, for such applications a greater number of deceleration openings may be appropriate. 
         [0026]    Turning now to  FIG. 3 , a cross sectional view of the apparatus  20  located within an oil pan and is illustrated as taken along the line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 2 . As illustrated, the apparatus  20  comprises four acceleration openings and three deceleration openings as described above with reference to  FIG. 2 , although it will be appreciated that different numbers of each of these openings may be useful as well. As set out above, each of the deceleration openings  30  is located through a corresponding first angular portion  26 . Each of the first angular portions may be angularly oriented relative to horizontal by an angle generally indicated as  34 . The deceleration angle  34  may be selected to correspond to the deceleration that the vehicle is expected to undergo, and therefore to the angle which the deceleration flap  42  is expected to rotate to under such deceleration. Furthermore, each of the acceleration openings  32  is located through a corresponding second angular portion  28 . Each of the second angular portions  28  may be angularly oriented relative to horizontal by an angle generally indicated as  36 . The acceleration angle  36  may be selected to correspond to the acceleration that the vehicle is expected to undergo, and therefore to the angle which the acceleration flap  40  is expected to rotate to under such acceleration. By way of non-limiting example, the acceleration and deceleration angles  34  and  36  may be selected between 15 and 45 degrees. 
         [0027]    The acceleration flaps  40  are suspended from the second angular portions  28  proximate to a top edge of the acceleration openings  32 . The acceleration flaps  40  are pivotally suspended from the second angular portions  28  by a hinge  44 . As illustrated, the acceleration flaps,  40  are suspended from a bottom surface of the second angular portions  28  so as to hang substantially vertically therefrom in a first position when the vehicle is at rest or traveling under a constant velocity. Upon acceleration of the vehicle, the oil located within the lower portion  16  of the oil pan  8  will be moved towards the rear of the oil pan any direction generally indicated at  46 . Due to the oil travelling towards the rear of the oil pan  46  as well as the gravitational forces upon the acceleration flaps  40  due to the acceleration will cause the flaps to be rotated about acceleration hinges  44  a direction generally indicated at  48 . Upon the vehicle achieving a sufficient acceleration according to the design of the vehicle and the engine, the acceleration flaps will engage upon the bottom surface of the second angular portions  28  so as to cover and substantially seal off the acceleration openings  32 . 
         [0028]    The deceleration flaps  42  are suspended from the first angular portions  26  proximate to a top edge of the deceleration openings  30 . The deceleration flaps  42  are pivotally suspended from the first angular portions  26  by a deceleration hinge  50 . As illustrated, the deceleration flaps  42  are suspended from the first angular portions  26  so as to hang substantially vertically therefrom in a first position when the vehicle is at rest or traveling under a constant velocity. Upon deceleration of the vehicle, the oil located within the lower portion  16  of the oil pan  8  will be moved towards the front of the oil pan any direction generally indicated at  52 . Movement of the oil towards the rear of the oil pan  46  as well as the gravitational forces upon the deceleration flaps  42  due to the deceleration will cause the flaps to be rotated about deceleration hinges  50  in a direction generally indicated at  54 . Upon the vehicle achieving a sufficient deceleration according to the design of the vehicle and the engine, the deceleration flaps will engage upon the bottom surface of the first angular portions  26  so as to cover and substantially seal off the deceleration openings  30 . 
         [0029]    It will be appreciated that the size of the flaps  40  and  42  should be selected to cover the openings. In particular, the flaps may be sized to overlap their corresponding openings by between ⅛ and ¼ of an inch. The flaps and openings may also optionally be provided with gaskets or seals to aid in the sealing therebetween as are commonly known. 
         [0030]    The apparatus  20  may be formed of any suitable rigid material, such as, by way of non-limiting example, steel, stainless steel, aluminum, as well as other metals, plastics and composite materials. The partition  22  and the flaps  40  and  42  may have a thickness selected to have sufficient strength for the desired application. By way of non-limiting example, for flaps  40  and  42  formed of steel or stainless steel, a thickness of between 10 and 20 gauge has been found useful. The partition  22  may be secured with an oil pan  8  by bolting, welding, riveting, through the use of adhesives or any other suitable method as are commonly known in the art. Additionally, it will be appreciated that the apparatus  20  may be provided as an additional component to be installed into an existing oil pan  8  or may be optionally formed integrally with the oil pan  8 . 
         [0031]    Turning now to  FIG. 4 , an alternative embodiment of the present apparatus  20  is illustrated for use in road or track racing vehicles. The apparatus  20  comprises a substantially planar member or partition  100  located within the interior of the oil pan as set out above. The partition  100  includes left and right angular portions,  102  and  104 , respectively having corresponding openings  106  and  108  extending therethrough. The left and right angular portions are angled away from the central axis of the oil pan and the vehicle. The apparatus further includes a centrally mounted rotatable flap  110  between the left and right angular potions  102  and  104  such that under cornering of the vehicle the flap will be either rotated into contact with the left angular portion  102  in the direction indicated generally at  112  or into contact with the right angular portion  104  in the direction indicated generally at  114 . It will be seen therefore that in such an embodiment, the flap  110  will serve to retain the oil in the lower portion  16  of the oil pan under cornering forces of the vehicle. Such an embodiment may be useful for replacement of what are known as dry sump oil collection systems in racing and high performance cars. 
         [0032]    While specific embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated, such embodiments should be considered illustrative of the invention only and not as limiting the invention as construed in accordance with the above description.