Motor vehicles – Power – Battery mountings and holders
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-06
2001-05-15
Dickson, Paul N. (Department: 3618)
Motor vehicles
Power
Battery mountings and holders
C180S068400, C180S009260, C248S503000, C429S062000, C429S120000, C123S184210
Reexamination Certificate
active
06230833
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to automotive vehicles that are powered by internal combustion engines and that have electrical systems containing storage batteries.
2. Background Information
Lead-acid storage batteries are commonly used in electrical systems of automotive vehicles to provide electric energy for operating starter motors to crank engines that power the vehicles. During running of an engine, an alternator that is driven by the engine keeps the battery recharged through an electric regulator. It is generally desirable for the battery to be disposed in proximity to the engine so that ohmic losses can be minimized during cranking when current draw on the battery is quite high. Over time, such a battery ages, and eventually reaches a point where it is incapable of sustaining sufficient charge to serve the needs of a vehicle.
Heat is a contributor to battery aging, and because an engine in an engine compartment can at times be a source of significant heat, various arrangements have heretofore been proposed to shield the battery from engine heat. It is believed that the following U.S. patents are representative of the state of the art relating to thermal protection of a storage battery in an engine compartment: U.S. Pat. No. 4,126,734; U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,327; U.S. Pat. No. 5,031,712; U.S. Pat. No. 5,082,075; U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,834; U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,190; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,489. The inventor's pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/348,928, of even date, bearing title STORAGE BATTERY PROTECTION BY ENGINE AIR INTAKE SYSTEM discloses further improvements in thermal protection of a battery using intake air for active cooling of the battery.
Because an engine vibrates to some degree when it is running, it is also known to mount the engine on a vehicle chassis through engine mounts containing elastomeric elements that isolate the chassis at least to some degree from vibrations propagating from the engine. A known design practice for associating an engine air intake system with an engine is to dispose an air box that contains an air filter element on the engine. Noise and vibration generated by the intake airflow will therefore also be inherently isolated from the chassis at least to some degree by virtue of the engine mounts.
If an air box could be mounted on other than an engine, more packaging options would be available for the design of an engine compartment, but the isolation that is obtained through the engine mounts would be lost. Accordingly, it would seem that the mounting an air box on body and/or chassis members of a vehicle would require the use of devoted vibration isolators to provide at least some degree of isolation of the air intake system noise and vibration from the chassis and body of the vehicle. Like engine noise and vibration, air intake system noise and vibration may contribute in a negative way to NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) characteristics of a vehicle.
It is therefore believed desirable if an air box could be mounted on body and/or chassis structure proximate an engine in an engine compartment so that objectionable noise and vibration frequencies created by airflow through the engine air intake system could be isolated from transmission through the air box to the body and/or chassis structure without the use of devoted vibration isolators.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In a general respect, the present invention relates to a novel association of an air box with a storage battery of a vehicle electrical system in an engine compartment of the vehicle for mounting the air box on other than the engine in a manner that does not require devoted vibration isolators for the mounting. An ancillary benefit of the association is that the air box may provide some degree of thermal shielding of the battery from engine compartment influences that tend to raise battery temperature.
A further aspect of the invention relates to certain integration of the air box and a tray on which the battery is supported. Such integration may have certain favorable implications to the cost-effectiveness of implementing the invention in a vehicle. Moreover, certain other engine-related components may also be integrated and/or otherwise associated with the air box and battery tray, further enhancing the cost-effectiveness of the invention.
A general aspect of the within claimed invention relates to an engine compartment of an automotive vehicle that houses an internal combustion engine having an air intake system and that also contains an electrical system storage battery, wherein a tray comprises a bottom wall, and fasteners fasten the tray bottom wall to underlying structure of the vehicle that is spaced from the engine. The battery is disposed on the bottom wall in overlying relation to the underlying vehicle structure. The tray further comprises a walled compartment which adjoins the bottom wall and has an interior forming an internal space of an air box through which intake air for the engine passes, and the battery is external to the air intake system.
Another general aspect relates to an engine compartment of an automotive vehicle that houses an internal combustion engine having an air intake system and that also contains an electrical system storage battery, wherein a tray comprises a bottom wall and upright walls forming side-by-side compartments that are open at the top. Fasteners fasten the tray bottom wall at a first of the compartments in a hard mounting to underlying structure of the vehicle that is spaced from the engine. The battery is disposed on the bottom wall in the first compartment. A cap closes the open top of a second of the compartments that adjoins the first compartment and cooperates with the second compartment to form an air box of the air intake system. The battery is external to the air intake system.
Still another general aspect relates to an engine compartment of an automotive vehicle that houses an internal combustion engine having an air intake system and that also contains an electrical system storage battery wherein a tray comprises a bottom wall and upright walls forming side-by-side compartments that are open at the top and that share a common upright imperforate wall. The battery is disposed in a first of the compartments. A cap closes the open top of a second of the compartments that adjoins the first compartment and cooperates with the second compartment to form an air box of the air intake system.
Other general and more specific aspects will been set forth in the ensuing description and claims.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1266780 (1918-05-01), Edison
patent: 2104766 (1938-01-01), Saunders
patent: 4013136 (1977-03-01), Fear
patent: 4126734 (1978-11-01), Walters
patent: 4216839 (1980-08-01), Gould et al.
patent: 4468440 (1984-08-01), Evjen
patent: 4682751 (1987-07-01), Tamas
patent: 4791805 (1988-12-01), Gates
patent: 4976327 (1990-12-01), Abujudom, II et al.
patent: 5031712 (1991-07-01), Karolek et al.
patent: 5082075 (1992-01-01), Karolek et al.
patent: 5215834 (1993-06-01), Reher et al.
patent: 5320190 (1994-06-01), Naumann et al.
patent: 5542489 (1996-08-01), Allison et al.
patent: 5585204 (1996-12-01), Oshida et al.
patent: 5633095 (1997-05-01), Ishikawa et al.
patent: 5636701 (1997-06-01), Norman et al.
patent: 5639571 (1997-06-01), Waters et al.
patent: 5709280 (1998-01-01), Beckley et al.
patent: 5899174 (1999-05-01), Anderson et al.
patent: 5913295 (1999-06-01), Sadr et al.
patent: 8-93583 (1996-04-01), None
patent: 8-321290 (1996-12-01), None
patent: 9-272344 (1997-10-01), None
Dickson Paul N.
Draper Deanna
Shelton Larry I.
Visteon Global Technologies Inc.
LandOfFree
Storage battery tuning of engine air intake system does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Storage battery tuning of engine air intake system, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Storage battery tuning of engine air intake system will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2502253