Patent ID: 7748500

Claim:
An oil pan, for an internal combustion engine, disposed in a lower part of the internal combustion engine, said oil pan comprising: an oil pan body having a shallow-bottom section with a smaller depth, and a deep-bottom section with a greater depth; and a baffle plate disposed between adjacent ones of the shallow-bottom section and the deep-bottom section to regulate flow of oil between adjacent ones of spaces defined by the shallow-bottom and deep-bottom sections, respectively, wherein: the oil pan body is divided into upper and lower oil pan elements corresponding to the shallow-bottom and deep-bottom bottom sections, respectively, with respect to a vertical direction; the baffle plate divides an interior space of the oil pan body into a deep space and a shallow space; the baffle plate is divided into an upper half baffle plate and a lower half baffle plate respectively for the upper oil pan element and the lower oil pan element; the upper half baffle plate is formed integrally with the upper oil pan element; the lower half baffle plate is formed integrally with the lower oil pan element; the baffle plate is provided with openings by way of which the deep space and the shallow space communicate with each other, said openings being formed in opposite side parts of the lower half baffle plate in the form of cutouts extending downward from an upper edge of the lower half baffle plate; respective middle parts of the half baffle plates between the cutouts are bulged in a direction toward the shallow-bottom section; and, the deep-bottom section has a suction opening of an oil strainer for an oil pump in a central part of the deep-bottom section with respect to a direction along the baffle plate.