Internal-combustion engines – Intake manifold
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-12
2001-05-15
McMahon, Marguerite (Department: 3747)
Internal-combustion engines
Intake manifold
C123S184570, C180S068500
Reexamination Certificate
active
06230677
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: 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. 5,040,495; U.S. Pat. No. 5,082,075; U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,834; U.S. Pat. No. 5,278,002; U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,190; U.S. Pat. No. 5,460,234; U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,489; U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,036; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,701.
It is generally known to associate an engine intake system with an internal combustion engine air intake system with a storage battery so that the battery is shielded by heat dissipation to the intake airflow. Certain of the arrangements in the above patents utilize blowers and/or other moving parts to accomplish their objectives. It is believed that such components increase the cost of a battery protection system and that it would therefore be beneficial if meaningful battery protection could be accomplished without such components.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In one respect, the present invention relates to engine air intake systems that provide storage battery protection without using devoted components that have moving parts. Stated another way, the invention relates to air intake structures that are associated with storage batteries in engine compartments of automotive vehicles and that perform active cooling of storage batteries by dissipating heat to engine intake airflow, but through passive structures that do not use devoted components having moving parts. It is believed that such passive structures provide favorable cost advantages and fewer reliability issues in comparison to systems like those in some of the above patents.
A further aspect of the invention relates to the integration, with such passive structures, of certain features useful to the engines. One integration feature relates to the association of one or more engine intake system resonators in thermally protective relation to a storage battery in an engine compartment. Another integration feature relates to the containment of electrolyte that may accidentally escapes from a storage battery due to causes such as vent spewing or casing failure.
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 in spaced apart relation to the engine; duct structure that forms a portion of the air intake system and comprises an inlet at which intake air enters and a passageway that conveys the intake air from the inlet, lengthwise through the passageway, to an outlet; a portion of the length of the passageway being disposed in covering relation to a wall of the battery that is toward the engine; a branch that is disposed in covering relation to another wall of the battery and that comprises a space that is open to the passageway, but otherwise closed; another branch that is disposed in covering relation to a further wall of the battery and that comprises a space that is open to the passageway, but otherwise closed; wherein one branch is open to the passageway upstream of a location where the other branch is open to the passageway; and collectively, the passageway and the branches are in covering relation to an entire perimeter that comprises the walls.
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 in spaced apart relation to the engine; duct structure that forms a portion of the air intake system and comprises an inlet at which intake air enters and a passageway that conveys the intake air from the inlet, lengthwise through the passageway, to an outlet; a portion of the length of the passageway being disposed in covering relation to a wall of the battery that is toward the engine; a branch that is disposed in covering relation to another wall of the battery and that comprises a space that is open to the passageway, but otherwise closed; another branch that is disposed in covering relation to a further wall of the battery and that comprises a space that is open to the passageway, but otherwise closed; and wherein at least one of the branches is constructed and arranged to form a resonator for tuning the air intake system to operation of the engine.
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 in spaced apart relation to the engine; duct structure that forms a portion of the air intake system and comprises an inlet at which intake air enters and a primary passageway that conveys the intake air from the inlet, lengthwise through the passageway, to an outlet; a portion of the length of the primary passageway being disposed in covering relation to a wall of the battery that is toward the engine; and a secondary passageway that is disposed in covering relation to another wall of the battery and that branches from the first passageway, comprising an entrance upstream of the portion of the length of the primary passageway that is disposed in covering relation to a wall of the battery that is toward the engine and an exit downstream of the portion of the length of the primary passageway that is disposed in covering relation to a wall of the battery that is toward the engine; and in which the primary passageway comprises a non-movable deflector wall that is disposed immediately upstream of the entrance of the secondary passageway and is effective at a relatively lower flow rate to cause proportion the flow through the two passageways such that the proportion of flow through the primary passageway to the flow through the secondary passageway is relatively larger than is the proportion of flow through the primary passageway to flow through the secondary passageway when the flow rate is relatively higher.
Other general and more specific aspects will been set forth in the ensuing description and claims.
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McMahon Marguerite
Shelton Larry
Visteon Global Technologies Inc.
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