Patent ID: 8166958

Claim:
A positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) system for an internal combustion engine having an engine block defining a crankcase containing gases and oil particles suspended therein, the PCV system comprising: a shaft member rotatably supported within the engine block and defining a generally cylindrical cavity extending longitudinally within the shaft member and defining at least one orifice operable to communicate the gases and oil particles from the crankcase to the generally cylindrical cavity; a cover member removably mounted to the engine block and operable to enclose at least a portion of the shaft member, wherein the cover member at least partially defines a PCV feed passage and an oil drain passage; a hollow tube member formed on the cover member and at least a portion of the tube member being coaxially received within the generally cylindrical cavity of the shaft member to define an outer region and an inner region of the generally cylindrical cavity, the outer region being in communication with the oil drain passage and the inner region being in communication with the PCV feed passage; a centrifugal separator disposed within the generally cylindrical cavity and operable to effect rotation of the gases and oil particles within the generally cylindrical cavity; wherein at least a portion of the oil particles are forced to the outer region of the generally cylindrical cavity by the centrifugal separator for communication to the oil drain passage and at least a portion of the gases are communicated from the inner region to the PCV feed passage.