Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Tetsuo Gotou

Hiroo Shimada

Kazuo Inoue

Tsuneo Konno

Katsunori Nakamura

Kenji Hamabe

Takashi Moriya

Masaki Ueyama

Toshinobu Hata

Tomoyoshi Matsuno

Morimasa Nagata

Naomi Warashina

A cylinder block as a main part of an engine block includes a cylinder barrel assembly block, a skeleton-like frame surrounding the outer periphery of the cylinder barrel assembly block and a plate-like rigid film member, within a fluid passage in the skeleton-like frame. The skeleton-like frame is integrally joined to the outer surfaces of left and right side walls of the assembly block along the crankshaft axis and includes crossbeam bone members, longitudinal beam bone members and post bone members which are rigid and unitarily assembled into a three-dimensional latticework structure. A cylinder head is integrally coupled to the deck surface of the cylinder block and a lower case is integrally coupled to the lower surface of the cylinder block, lateral outer surfaces of the block and lower case along the crankshaft axis being formed flush with each other in parallel with the cylinder bore axis. The lower case includes a lower case frame of three-dimensional latticework structure and rigid film members at least on the lateral outer surfaces of the lower case frame along the crankshaft axis. Moreover, the lower case is secured to the lower surface of the cylinder block by bolts and an oil pan is floatingly carried on the lower surface of the lower case via resilient members. The cylinder block has at its one end surface along the crankshaft axis a square, transmission mating surface and a divergent bulged portion extending from a rear part of the cylinder block toward the mating surface.

Engine block construction with skeletal frame

An oil pan structure for the cylinder block of an internal combustion engine for storing lubricating oil in the oil pan. A volume body submergible at least partly below the oil level for displacing a volume of oil when the oil is titled by displacement to one side in the oil pan as a result of the running condition of the motor vehicle having the engine with the oil pan structure, such as during turning, acceleration, deceleration or banking. The volume body has an inlet opening positioned near an allowable upper limit oil level for a predetermined maximum oil tilting condition for introducing into the volume body the lubricating oil which exceeds the allowable upper limit oil level. The oil pan structure also has an oil discharge passage from the lower portion of the volume body.

Oil pan structure for internal combustion engine

Growing community of inventors

Saitama, Japan

Tetsuo Gotou