Internal-combustion engines – Cooling – Automatic coolant flow control
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-01
2002-05-14
Yuen, Henry C. (Department: 3747)
Internal-combustion engines
Cooling
Automatic coolant flow control
Reexamination Certificate
active
06386150
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a process for controlling a flow amount of cooling fluid flowing through the internal combustion engine and an apparatus thereof.
DISCUSSION OF THE BACKGROUND
At present, as commercially available cooling systems for engines, most of the systems are types, which cool the engines by water-cooling. The water-cooled system prevents overheating due to the heating of the engine and prevents overcooling of the engine in cold times, always keeping the engine at an optimal temperature
In the cooling system by water-cooling, a radiator is placed outside of an engine, and the radiator and the engine are connected by means of a rubber hose, etc. to circulate a cooling fluid. The main configuration of the water-cooled system is composed of the radiator, which plays a role as a heat exchanger, a water pump, which forcedly feeds the cooling fluid from the engine to the radiator, a thermostat, which controls the flow of the cooling fluid to or from the radiator depending upon a change in the temperature of the cooling fluid to keep the temperature of the cooling fluid at an optimal level, and a rubber hose, which forms a circulation channel for the cooling fluid, and the like. Such a water-cooled system for cooling an engine is utilized in an engine for a two-wheeled vehicle as well as an engine for four-wheeled vehicle.
In recent vehicles, the weight is attached to the design for the outward appearance and, thus, it is required for the apparatuses to be placed within the engine room to improve the design of the apparatuses making it possible to effective layout within the engine room. For example, with regard to the radiator, there is a down-flow type radiator having an upper tank and a lower tank placed therein which carries out the heat exchange by circulating the cooling fluid. Due the configuration where the flow of the cooling fluid in the vertical direction, the down-flow type radiator is not suitable to be fit to a vehicle having a low hood. In the case of the vehicle having a low hood, a cross flow type radiator is utilized in which the cooling fluid flows in the horizontal direction. The cross flow type radiator can adjust the height and, thus can be adapted to the design of the vehicle having a low hood.
As described above, the thermostat for controlling the flow of the cooling fluid is placed within the four-wheeled vehicle having the water-cooled engine. As shown in
FIG. 6
, a thermostat
1
′ which is utilized in a general vehicle is placed on an appropriate portion of a cooling fluid channel
3
′ formed between the body of an engine E and a radiator R. The thermostat
1
′ itself is accommodated within a case or such. As a mechanism for quickly increasing the temperature of the cooling fluid to the optimum temperature at the time of starting the engine, some of the thermostats have a configuration to place a bypass channel
3
A′ on a cooling fluid channel
3
′. Many thermostats
1
′ have been developed having a bypass valve construction accommodated within the thermostat
1
′ in order to bypass the cooling fluid to the bypass channel
3
A′.
Depending upon the design of the vehicle, there is a vehicle having an extremely small space within the engine room. In the case of such a vehicle, the piping positions of the cooling fluid channel
3
′ and the bypass channel
3
A′ are regulated, and the position of the thermostat
1
′ accommodated within the case or such to be placed is also regulated.
With regard to the two-wheeled vehicle having the water-cooled engine carried therein, the space is further smaller, and the positions of the piping of the cooling fluid channel
3
′, the bypass channel
3
A′, and the thermostat
1
′ are also regulated similar to or much more than the case of the four-wheeled vehicle.
As shown in
FIG. 7
, the conventional thermostat
1
′ is placed within the cooling fluid
3
′ and a piston
16
′ is moved forward and backward in the direction parallel to the flow of the cooling fluid to open or close a thermo-valve
12
′. The flow amount of the cooling fluid flowing at the position where the thermostat
1
′ is placed should be secured to be approximately the same degree as the flow amount of the cooling fluid flowing within another portions. For this reason, it is required to secure a capacity for the flow of the cooling fluid at a lower portion of the thermo-valve
12
′ (around the wax case
15
′). Specifically, the pipe diameter (cross section) of the cooling fluid channel
3
′ at the portion on which the thermostat
1
′ is placed should be larger than the pipe diameter (cross section) of the cooling fluid channel
3
′ at any other portion.
In the thermostat
1
′ shown in
FIG. 7
, since the wax case
15
′, which detects the change in the temperature, is in the state of being directly immersed in the cooling fluid, it sensitively responds to the change in the temperature of the cooling fluid. For this reason, when the temperature of the cooling fluid is not uniform, for example, in the case of the warm-up of the engine at a cold morning, the thermo-valve
12
′ is frequently opened or closed to sometimes cause a hunting phenomenon. If the hunting phenomenon is caused, the flow amount of the cooling fluid cannot be controlled in a stable manner, and the temperature of the engine E cannot be held at the optimal temperature. As a result, the fuel ratio is changed for the worse and a large amount of harmful exhaust gas is discharged.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a process for controlling a flow of a cooling fluid, which can secure an adequate flow amount of the cooling fluid without changing the pipe diameter of the existing cooling fluid channel, and which can prevent the worsening of the fuel ratio and the discharge of the harmful exhaust gas due to the hunting phenomenon, and an apparatus thereof
A flow control process for controlling a cooling fluid according to the present invention, which can attain the object described above, is a process for controlling a cooling fluid flowing through a cooling fluid channel of an internal combustion engine, which comprises, moving an valve element forward or backward in the manner of crossing the cooling fluid channel according to a change in the temperature of the cooling fluid so as to communicate or block the cooling fluid channel.
In the flow control process for controlling a cooling fluid, since the valve element is moved forward or backward in the manner of crossing the cooling fluid channel, the flow amount of the cooling fluid can be secured without changing the pipe diameter of the cooling fluid channel and the device can be fit to a voluntary portion of the cooling fluid channel.
The flow controller according to the present invention, which attains the object is placed within a cooling fluid channel of an internal combustion engine and controls a flow of a cooling fluid flowing through the cooling fluid channel depending upon the change in the temperature of the cooling fluid and comprises: a cylindrical valve body which has an inlet opening and an outlet opening formed on a circumference thereof and which is fixed on the position where said inlet opening and said outlet opening are communicated with said cooling fluid channel; a fluid channel area which communicates said inlet opening and said outlet opening within said valve body, and a valve element which moves forward and backward in the manner of crossing said channel area depending upon the change in the temperature of said cooling fluid, whereby said inlet opening and said outlet opening are opened or closed through the movement of said valve element to communicate or block said fluid channel area,
According to the flow controller for controlling a cooling fluid, since the valve element is configured so as to move forward or backward in the manner of crossing the fluid channel area, the flow am
Ali Hyder
Nippon Thermostat Co., Ltd.
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
Yuen Henry C.
LandOfFree
Method and device for controlling flow of cooling medium does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Method and device for controlling flow of cooling medium, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Method and device for controlling flow of cooling medium will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2824307