Heating systems – Heat and power plants – Vehicle
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-29
2001-05-08
Joyce, Harold (Department: 3749)
Heating systems
Heat and power plants
Vehicle
C122S026000, C126S247000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06227452
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to devices for providing a vehicle with an auxiliary source of heat and more particularly to an auxiliary heating device which is packaged with another one of the vehicle accessory devices.
2. Discussion
In conventionally configured vehicles, the heating system is typically configured in a manner which extracts heat from the coolant circulated through a water-cooled engine to heat the air that is forced into the vehicle passenger compartment. Some engines, however, such as diesel and lean-burn engines, reject so little heat that it is not possible to extract a sufficient amount of heat from the engine coolant to heat the passenger compartment at a desired rate.
To overcome this problem, many vehicle manufacturers employ an auxiliary heating device, such as a conventional viscous heater. Viscous heaters generate heat by applying a shearing force against a fluid. In response to the shearing force, the fluid is heated and this heat is in turn extracted to heat the air forced into the vehicle passenger compartment. Despite the apparent success of such viscous heaters, several drawbacks have been noted.
One significant drawback concerns the ability with which these devices may be integrated into a vehicle. Frequently, the engine compartment of modern vehicles lacks sufficient space to integrate a viscous heater in a conventional manner, necessitating the use of additional idler wheels to configure the drive belt in a desired manner and/or bracket assemblies to mount the viscous pump to the engine. The use of additional idler wheels and brackets adds significant cost to the vehicle which must be passed along to the vehicle consumer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,467 to Ban et al. issued Apr. 28, 1998, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein, addresses this concern by coupling a viscous heater to a vehicle accessory, such as an alternator or a power steering pump. This configuration, however, presents several other disadvantages in that the viscous pump and vehicle accessory are continuously driven from a single input shaft. Consequently, additional torque is required from the vehicle starter or starters to start the vehicle engine to overcome the additional torque created as a result of the shearing force applied by the viscous heater. Another disadvantage of this configuration is that the viscous heater is run continuously, even when auxiliary heat is not required. Operation of the viscous heater in this manner reduces the fuel economy of the vehicle.
Consequently, there remains a need in the art for an auxiliary heating device which may be easily integrated into a vehicle and controlled in a manner so as to minimize its effect on the fuel economy of the vehicle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is one object of the present invention to provide an auxiliary heater which may be easily integrated into a vehicle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an auxiliary heater which may be controlled in a manner so as to minimize its effect on the fuel economy of a vehicle.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an auxiliary heater which may be controlled to aid in heating a vehicle engine to a predetermined temperature.
An auxiliary heat source for a vehicle having a driving source is provided. The auxiliary heat source includes a drive mechanism, an auxiliary machine and a heat generating unit. The drive mechanism is adapted for receiving a rotational driving force from the driving source and includes a first drive structure and a second drive structure. The auxiliary machine for the vehicle includes a first shaft, which is coupled for rotation with the first drive structure and which is operable for providing a power input to the auxiliary machine. The heat generating unit uses a shearing force to generate heat. The heat generating unit includes a rotor and a second shaft. The second shaft is coupled for rotation with the second drive structure and operable for providing a power input to the rotor. The drive mechanism is configured to rotate the first shaft at a first rotational speed based on an input speed of the rotational driving force and to rotate the second shaft at second rotational speed which is selectively controllable.
Additional advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
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Desrochers Guy R.
Ivanescu Cornel
Teasdale Todd R.
Boles Derek S.
DaimlerChrysler Corporation
Joyce Harold
Lorelli Marc
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