Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02279711 1999-08-06
Application for Letters Patent
Pneumatic System for Storing Engines Hot Oil in Cold Weather
Fernandes
Table of Contents
INVENTOR -__________________________________________________-
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ABSTRACT -
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2
BACKGROUND --
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3
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION -
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5
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS -_________________________________________________
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION ----------------------------------
7
CLAIMS -
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g
FIGURES-____________________________________________________________________
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CA 02279711 1999-08-06
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INVENTOR:
Luiz Claudio Vieira Fernandes
30 Carlyle Ave.
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada K1S 4Y3
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Pneumatic System for Storing Engines Hot Oil in Cold Weather
This invention deals with the field of internal combustion engines/
compressors
that stores oil in an oil pan and in particular a system and method for
storing heat
in the lubricant oil for improved engine starting in cold weather.
BACKGROUND:
In regions with severe winters, temperatures are often so low that the use of
external heat sources such as electric engine block heaters, oil dipstick
heaters to
ensure engine start-up and comfort are used. Such heaters are inefficient and
expensive to operate, since the majority of heat generated escapes to the
atmosphere as there is no insulation of the metal engine parts in contact with
the
exterior.
As well, very often no electricity is available at the location where a
vehicle must
be parked. Presently, remote starters address this problem by automatically
starting the engine when the temperature of the coolant in the engine drops to
a
certain level. The engine then run for several minutes, warming the said
coolant
and then shuts off automatically. The heat generated is stored in the engine
block
and dissipates over time until the temperature of the coolant again drops to
the predetermined temperature. This process is repeated until the driver
returns.
Obviously this method is costly and inefficient as well.
For the trucking industry, it is common practice to leave the engine running
as
long as the truck is parked, to either avoid the risk of not having enough
cranking
when the lubricant oil is extremely cold.
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Much work has also been done in exploring ways of storing heat for extended
periods of time, and then transferring such heat to the engine to aid
starting. The
inventor wrote a paper on a similar subject, which was presented, to the
Annual
Conference of the Solar Energy Society of Canada at Penticton, Canada on June
19, 1989.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:
It is the object of the present invention to provide a heat storage system for
engine
oil/ engine transmission oil which allow trucks/ vehicles to be left
unattended
without electricity or starting for longer periods of time than is now
possible in
cold weather, while ensuring that the engine will start.
The present invention accomplishes these objectives in the lubricant oil
system of
a known engine, consisting of an insulated vessel in fluid communication with
the
lubricant oil and/or transmission oil; means to store oil warmed by the engine
from the previous running; means to transfer hot oil from the insulated
vessel to the engine and vice versa using air pressure or an air sub-
atmospheric
conditions created at the top of the mentioned vessel.
The addition of a heating element to the insulated vessel will allow operation
similar to the presently known lubricant oil heaters, but with a much greater
increased energy efficiency, as the heated oil would be contained in an
insulated
vessel. When starting is required, compressed air is provided at the upper
part of
the insulated vessel, expelling the hot oil that flows back to the to the
engine.
When the engine is warmed and shut down, a vacuum is created at the upper part
of the insulated vessel so that hot oil is quickly aspirated from the engine
to the
vessel.
The method of using either compressed or low-pressure air in the insulated
vessel
to respectively remove or admit engine lubricant oil is also disclosed and
claimed.
A simple mini air-compressor can be modified to perform this operation, using
both its suction and compression capabilities.
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The present invention is simple in operation and requires no heat exchanger or
lubricant pump. It simply minimizes heat losses from the engine lubricant oil
to
the environment. Using hot lubricant oil to start facilitates the pumping
action of
the existing engine lubricant pump and also reduces dramatically the friction
between moving parts such as engine pistons and bearings. This last fact
facilitates engine cranking at cold start and reducing engine wear.
The invention also contemplates the possibility of pumping pressurized air in
the
existing engine oil pump high-pressure circuit during the engine oil removal
from
the engine and pumping pressurized lubricant oil from the vessel during engine
oil
filling to the engine. This method is also disclosed and claimed.
It is contemplated that the present invention would prove useful as well in
facilitating oil changes, since the engine lubricant oil can be easily removed
from
the engine.
It is also contemplated that the present invention can be used in any machine
that
have an oil reservoir, which is exposed, to cold temperatures such as
compressors,
hydraulic equipment etc.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:
While the invention is claimed in the concluding portions hereof, preferred
embodiments are provided in the accompanying description which may be best
understood in conjunction with the accompanying diagrams where like parts in
each of the several diagrams are labeled with like numbers, and where:
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Figure 1 gives a general view of the system; Figure 2 is a more detailed view
where the oil circuit is presented with options to either pump air or
lubricant oil to
the engine on the high-pressure oil circuit.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION:
The invention, a pneumatic heat storage system for engine oil, is an addition
to the
lubricant system of a conventional internal combustion engine. Said heat
storage
system being largely comprised of an insulated vessel in fluid communication
with the engine lubricant oil; means to store hot oil heated either by the
engine
during its normal operation or by an external heater when the engine oil is
not hot
enough in the insulated vessel; means to transfer oil from the existing engine
oil
pan to the insulated vessel and vice versa pneumatically, using the insulated
vessel
as either a slightly air pressurized vessel pumping oil from the vessel to the
engine
or as a vacuum vessel, removing oil from the engine to the vessel.
Figure 1 shows one preferred embodiment as an addition to the lubricating
system
of a conventional internal combustion engine, said addition consisting of a
thermally insulated storage vessel (1); an oil line that connects to the oil
pan (2);
an air line (3) that connects the insulated vessel to a pneumatic system, in
the case
presented as a mini air compressor (4); an air valve (5) that allows the
vessel to
operate either pressurized or on vacuum, depending which port of the
compressor
it is connected. A control system (6) operates in a way that would eliminate
the
possibility of cranking the engine without oil lubricant. The control system
also
operates in a way that it would avoid having extremely cold oil in the vessel,
which could plug the oil line (2). It also allows the complete drain of oil
from the
oil line (2) when the engine is not operating, avoiding the formation of a
viscous
oil plug in the mentioned line, that could create difficulty of moving the hot
oil
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through it. A heater (7) is used to maintain or increase the oil temperature
inside
the vessel (1).
In operation, when the engine is turned off and the oil temperature is high,
the
system would create a vacuum in the vessel (1) through the air aspiration in
line
(3) connected to the compressor (4) suction line. The control system is
informed
using a temperature sensor about the engine oil temperature situation so that
it
will only operate if the temperature is hot enough to allow oil to flow easily
in the
oil line (2) from the engine to the insulated vessel 1. Another control sensor
also
indicates the presence or not of oil in the line (2); in a negative case it
would mean
that all lubricant oil would be contained in the insulated vessel (1), so that
the
system should stop running. Another control temperature sensor, located in the
vessel could be used to determine if oil has to be pumped back to the engine
in
case of the oil becomes excessive cold in the insulated vessel. This would
avoid
having extremely cold and viscous oil in the vessel that could plug the vessel
(1)
and oil line (2). The heater (7) can be manually or automatically operated.
Moments before cranking the engine, the system is turned on and hot oil is
pumped from the vessel (1) to the engine. It can be pumped using the oil line
(2)
or to optional lines (2A) as presented in figure 2. The option lines (2A)
permits
two possibilities: the first possibility is that hot oil can be pumped from
the vessel
1 to the engine in different regions other the oil pan. This allows hot oil
air to
reach engine strategic parts such as piston, crankshaft bearings before
starting,
reducing friction. The second possibility is to pump air to the to the engine
oil
circuit when oil is being drained from the engine to the vessel (1). This
would
empty the engine oil circuit of oil that would eventually cool down and could
make difficulty hot oil to flow through it during the engine starting process.
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Thus it can be seen that the invention accomplishes all of its stated
objectives. The
foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the
invention.
Further, since numerous changes and modifications will readily occur to those
skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact
construction
and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all such suitable changes
or
modifications in structure or operation may be resorted to are intended to
fall
within the scope of the claimed invention.
