US 6,213,080 B1 · Electronically controlled continuous lubricating oil replacement system

Abstract

An improved method and system for automatically continuously removing an engine's used lubricating oil and injecting the used oil into the engine's fuel system throughout operation based on engine operating conditions is disclosed. The present system includes a lube oil replacement pump system for injecting small amounts of used lube oil into the engine's fuel system and recycling controlled quantities of removed used oil into the engine's lube oil system. The process periodically determines an engine operating severity value, i.e. fuel consumption value, for an interval of engine operation and calculates a base line quantity of oil for injection based on the current fuel consumption of the engine during the current interval. The lube oil pump system may be in the form of a compact, unitized lube oil replacement pump assembly integrating the various components of the system. The system maintains the oil concentration in the engine's fuel at an acceptable level while permitting existing oil level detecting and maintenance systems or procedures to be used to maintain the lube oil level in the engine sump.

Claims11

Dependent claims

An electronically controllable lube oil pump system for an engine lube oil system, comprising:

an injection pump means for removing used oil from the engine lube oil system and injecting the removed oil into an engine fuel system, said injection pump means including an injection piston reciprocally mounted for movement through an injection stroke and a removal stroke;
an auxiliary pump means operable in a recycle mode for recycling removed oil to the engine lube oil system, said auxiliary pump means including an auxiliary piston reciprocally mounted for movement through a suction stroke and a discharge stroke;
a first solenoid operated control valve for controlling the flow of an actuating fluid to control the operation of said injection pump means and said auxiliary pump means, said first solenoid operated control valve movable between first and second positions, wherein movement of said first solenoid operated control valve into said first position causes said injection piston to move through said injection stroke and said auxiliary piston to move through said discharge stroke.

An electronically controllable lube oil pump system for an engine lube oil system, comprising:

an injection pump means for removing used oil from the engine lube oil system and injecting the removed oil into an engine fuel system, said injection pump means including an injection piston reciprocally mounted for movement through an injection stroke and a removal stroke, said injection piston removing a fixed quantity of used oil during each removal stroke to define a removal period;
an auxiliary pump means operable in a recycle mode for recycling removed used oil to the engine lube oil system, said auxiliary pump means including an auxiliary piston reciprocally mounted for movement through a suction stroke and a discharge stroke, said auxiliary piston discharging a first fixed recycle quantity of removed used oil to the engine lube oil system during each discharge stroke to define a first recycling period, said first fixed recycle quantity of removed used oil being approximately half of said fixed quantity of used oil and said first recycling period occurring substantially subsequent to said removal period;
an actuating fluid supply for moving said injection piston through said injection stroke and said auxiliary piston through said discharge stroke;
and
a control valve means for controlling the flow of said actuating fluid to control the operation of said injection pump means and said auxiliary pump means.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Electronically controlled continuous lubricating oil replacement system

Life of this patent

Electronically controlled continuous lubricating oil replacement system

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims11