Lubricating oil supply unit for two-cycle engines
AssigneeYamaha Hatsudoki Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsTakao Moriya, Masaya Suenari
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A lubricating system for a machine such as a two-cycle internal combustion engine including a reciprocating pump that pumps a finite amount of lubricant during a single pumping stroke and a stepper motor for operating the pump through incremental phases of movement each less than a stroke. The lubricant requirements of the machine are determined and the driving increments are adjusted so as to provide a pumping stroke when the lubricant consumption of the machine reaches the output of the pump. Various arrangements of stepper motors and control arrangements are disclosed for controlling the amount and timing of the lubricate delivery.
Claims42
A system for lubricating a machine comprising a reciprocating pump operable through a fixed range of movement comprising a suction cycle, a dwell cycle, and a delivery cycle for delivering a fixed amount of lubricant only upon movement through said fixed range, a stepper motor for driving said pump in incremental steps of movement each less than said fixed range, a sensor for sensing at least one machine running condition, a lubricant consumption determiner for determining the consumption of lubricant by said machine from the output of said sensor, and an operator for operating said stepper motor to effect a step of movement of said stepper motor upon a predetermined amount of lubricant consumption, said stepper motor having a pair of stator windings having spaced apart coils and wherein the operator is selectively operable to energize respective of said stator windings depending upon predetermined conditions.
A system for lubricating a machine comprising a reciprocating pump operable through a fixed range of movement comprising a suction cycle, a dwell cycle, and a delivery cycle for delivering a fixed amount of lubricant only upon movement through said fixed range, a stepper motor for driving said pump in incremental steps of movement each less than said fixed range, a sensor for sensing at least one machine running condition, a lubricant consumption determiner for determining the consumption of lubricant by said machine from the output of said sensor, and an operator said stepper motor to effect a step of movement of said stepper motor upon a predetermined amount of lubricant consumption and means for operating the operator to reverse the direction of rotation of the stepper motor if a position of the stepper motor after a predetermined number of pulses does not coincide with a position in which the stepper motor should be after the predetermined number of pulses.
A system for lubricating a machine comprising a pump operable through a fixed range of movement for delivering a fixed amount of lubricant only upon movement through said fixed range, a stepper motor for driving said pump in incremental steps of movement each less than said fixed range, a sensor for sensing at least one machine running condition, a lubricant consumption determiner for determining the consumption of lubricant by said machine from the output of said sensor, and an operator for operating said stepper motor to effect a step of movement of said stepper motor upon a predetermined amount of lubricant consumption, said stepper motor having a pair of stator windings having spaced apart coils and wherein the operator is selectively operable to energize respective of said stator windings depending upon predetermined conditions.
A system for lubricating a machine comprising a pump comprised of a pump plunger driven by a cam having an inclined surface and rotatable about an axis for reciprocating said plunger, said pump being operable through a fixed range of movement for delivering a fixed amount of lubricant only upon movement through said fixed range, a stepper motor for driving said pump cam in incremental steps of movement each less than said fixed range, a sensor for sensing at least one machine running condition, a lubricant consumption determiner for determining the consumption of lubricant by said machine from the output of said sensor, and an operator for operating said stepper motor to effect a step of movement of said stepper motor upon a predetermined amount of lubricant consumption, said operator effecting the stepping movement of said stepper motor to preclude the completion of a step when the cam is on a ramp.
A reciprocating pump comprised of a pumping plunger reciprocable in a cylinder for pumping a fluid, a rotary cam rotatable through a predetermined angular position for operating said pumping plunger through a complete stroke of operation, a stepper motor for rotating said cam in angular steps each less than the angular amount required for operation of said pumping plunger through a complete stroke, a sensor for sensing when said pumping plunger is in a predetermined position in its stroke, a counter for counting a number of steps of said stepper motor required for driving said pumping plunger to said predetermined position, and a comparator for comparing said number of steps and the output of said sensor and reversing the direction of rotation of said stepper motor when said number of steps and said output of the sensor do not coincide.
A method of lubricating a machine comprising a reciprocating pump operable through a fixed range of movement through a suction cycle, a dwell cycle, and a delivery cycle for delivering a fixed amount of lubricant only upon movement through said fixed range and a stepper motor for driving said pump in incremental steps of movement each less than said fixed range, said method comprising the steps of sensing at least one machine running condition, determining the consumption of lubricant by said machine from the output of said sensor, and operating said stepper motor to effect a step of movement of said stepper motor upon a predetermined amount of lubricant consumption, said stepper motor having a pair of stator windings having spaced apart coils and selective of the stator windings are selectively operably energized depending upon predetermined conditions.
A method of lubricating a machine comprising a reciprocating pump operable through a fixed range of movement through a suction cycle, a dwell cycle, and a delivery cycle for delivering a fixed amount of lubricant only upon movement through said fixed range and a stepper motor for driving said pump in incremental steps of movement each less than said fixed range, said method comprising the steps of sensing at least one machine running condition, determining the consumption of lubricant by said machine from the output of said sensor, and operating said stepper motor to effect a step of movement of said stepper motor upon a predetermined amount of lubricant consumption, comparing the number of pulses generated on the stepper motor to rotate the stepper motor through a predetermined range and a predetermined position of the stepper motor, and reversing the direction of rotation of the stepper motor if the position of the stepper motor after the number of pulses does not coincide with the predetermined position.
A method of lubricating a machine comprising a reciprocating pump comprised of a pump plunger driven by a cam having an inclined surface and rotatable about an axis for reciprocating said plunger, said pump being operable through a fixed range of movement for delivering a fixed amount of lubricant only upon movement through said fixed range and a drive for driving said pump in incremental steps of movement each less than said fixed range, said method comprising the steps of sensing at least one machine running condition, determining the consumption of lubricant by said machine from the output of said sensor, and operating said drive to effect a step of movement of said drive upon a predetermined amount of lubricant consumption, said stepping movement of the drive precluding the completion of a step when the cam is on a ramp.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.