Internal combustion engine pre-ignition oil pump

An apparatus to pre-lubricate an engine to avoid undue wear and to augment an engine's main lubrication pump with an auxiliary oil pump attached between the oil filter and the engine which directs lubrication from the engine's sump through the existing filter and into the engine's conventional lubrication circuit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates to engine lubrication systems, particularly to 
pre-ignition engine lubrication. 
2. Description of the prior art 
U.S. Pat. No. 2,357,606 issued Sep. 5, 1944 to A. Nutt describes a 
pre-ignition oiler which comprises an electric oil pump which draws oil 
from a sump and delivers the unfiltered oil to various engine parts 
through passageways which are independent of the engine's normal operating 
lubrication system. Unlike the present invention, the reference system is 
not seen to filter oil drawn from the sump, fails to utilize the operating 
lubricating system's oil passageways, and lacks modularity such that 
incorporation in an extant system would require substantial reworking of 
the engine. 
U.S. Pat. No, 4,094,293 issued Jun. 13, 1978 to J. W. Evans describes a 
pre-ignition oiler which comprises a cylinder. Compressed air fills one 
side of the chamber which a piston divides; the other side acts as an oil 
reservoir. Low oil pressure triggers a solenoid to allow the piston to 
pump oil into the engine's lubrication system. The reservoir is recharged 
when the oil pressure has reached normal operating conditions. 
Evans'preoiler is dependent on maintaining a separate reservoir of oil 
rather than relying on the system's extant reservoir as is the case in the 
instant invention. Evans'pre-oiler depends on maintaining compressed air 
in the system unlike the present invention and does not filter the oil 
prior to its introduction into the engine system. 
Great Britain Patent No, 940,909 published Nov. 6, 1963 and issued to 
Daimler-Benz Aktiengesellschaft (DBA) describes an engine pre-oiler which 
comprises a fluid circuit which includes a separate pre-oil pump, and 
which feeds into the operating lubrication system. DBA's system also 
includes a check valve to ensure the pre-oil pump experiences no back flow 
when the operating oil pump is in service. However, DBA's system fails to 
ensure that the operating oil pump and sump experience no back-flow while 
the pre-oil pump is in service. 
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in 
combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
When a conventional engine is idle and cold, the lubricant which normally 
coats the engine parts and protects them from excessive wear and heat 
build-up has typically seeped out of the passageways or galleys among and 
supplying these parts. During ignition cranking and initial running, the 
engine parts interact without the benefit of lubrication and suffer 
greater wear until the engine's main pump is able to deliver adequate 
lubrication to these parts. Reducing or eliminating this initial abuse 
will greatly increase the life and performance of an engine. The instant 
invention proposes to augment an engine's conventional lubrication system 
by drawing from the same sump as the main pump and supplying the same 
lubrication circuit. The instant invention also proposes to introduce only 
filtered oil into the lubrication circuit to reduce wear on the engine 
parts. 
In consideration of the above, an object of the invention is to insure an 
adequate supply of oil to the engine prior to and during engine ignition 
by means of an auxiliary pump which will provide lubrication to the engine 
prior to ignition. 
Another object of the invention is to insure an adequate supply of oil to 
the engine while it is operating by means of an auxiliary pump which will 
provide lubrication to the engine during episodes when the main pump does 
not adequately lubricate the engine. 
A further object of the invention is to provide for easy adaptability of 
the invention to conventional engine systems which are or will be in 
service. 
Yet another object of the invention is to provide improved elements and 
their arrangement in an apparatus for the purposes described which is 
inexpensive, dependable and effective. 
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily 
apparent upon review of the following specification and drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring to the FIG. 1 schematic diagram, prior to ignition and with the 
ignition key inserted to engage the battery 42 by closing key switch 40, 
or any other circumstance when low pressure exists in the oil filter feed 
line 22 of the lubrication circuit such as main or primary pump 44 
failure, an oil pressure sensitive switch 32A registers such and, as shown 
in FIG. 2, electrical switch 32B completes the electrical circuit which 
includes the auxiliary pump relay switch 38 and energizes the auxiliary or 
secondary pump 16. With the electrical circuit completed, a dashboard lamp 
36 is also energized by the vehicle's battery 4 and advises the operator 
literally that the auxiliary pump 16 is in service. The auxiliary pump 16 
draws oil from the sump 18 through the sump line 26 which is shown in FIG. 
1 as being entirely, physically distinct from the oil filter feed line 22, 
and delivers lubrication through the auxiliary line 24 to a one-way check 
valve 30. The check valve 30 promotes flow to the filter adaptor 14 and 
discourages flow in the other direction so that when the main pump 44 is 
operating, unfiltered lubrication is not allowed into the engine 10 via 
the sump 18, auxiliary line 24, auxiliary pump 16 and sump line 26. The 
filter adaptor 14 directs lubrication from the check valve 30 into the 
filter 12 and then into the engine 10. The auxiliary pump 16 delivers 
lubrication to the engine parts which otherwise suffer tremendous wear 
during the time it takes the main pump 44 to deliver adequate lubrication. 
Lubrication will flow off the engine parts and, aided by gravity, collect 
in the sump 18. 
When the engine 10 has been adequately lubricated, the sending unit 34 will 
alert the operator that ignition is appropriate. As the engine begins to 
turn over while it is being started, the main pump 44 will begin pumping 
lubrication through the oil filter feed line 22, a one-way check valve 28 
and the filter adaptor 14 into the filter 12. The check valve 28 is 
intended to prohibit flow, when the auxiliary pump 16 is in service, from 
the auxiliary line 24 to the oil filter feed line 22 and through the 
filter 12 which could be damaged. From the filter 12, lubrication flows 
through the oil filter return line 20 into the engine 10. 
When the switch 32 detects that the pressure in the oil filter feed line 22 
originating in the sump 18 has reached a pressure consistent with adequate 
engine lubrication, electrical switch 32B will break the electrical 
circuit which includes the auxiliary pump relay switch 38 and de-energize 
the auxiliary pump 16. The dashboard lamp 36 within this electrical 
circuit will also be de-energized and advise the operator that the 
auxiliary pump 16 is no longer in service. 
During the course of normal operation, the sending unit 34 and the oil 
pressure sensitive switch 32A monitor the lubrication circuit to determine 
the adequacy of the lubrication in the engine 10. In the event the main 
pump 44 fails, the oil pressure sensitive switch 32A will sense the 
lubrication inadequacy and automatically engage the auxiliary pump 16 and 
alert the operator by the dashboard lamp 36 that the auxiliary pump 16 is 
in service. While the auxiliary pump 16 is replenishing the lubrication 
circuit, the sending unit 34 may sense that inadequate lubrication exists 
in the engine 10 and send a brief warning to the operator; should the 
auxiliary pump 16 ultimately fail to adequately lubricate the engine 10, 
the oil sending unit 34 will send a sustained warning to the operator. 
The present invention is not intended to be limited to the sole embodiment 
described above, but to encompass any and all embodiments within the scope 
of the following claims.