Internal-combustion engines – Cooling – System drained and/or heat-storing
Patent
1997-06-16
1998-05-12
Solis, Erick R.
Internal-combustion engines
Cooling
System drained and/or heat-storing
1231425R, F01P 1120
Patent
active
057493294
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a heat-storage device of the kind defined in the preamble of claim 1.
The problems of cold-starting internal combustion engines, such as the engines of automotive vehicles, are generally known. These problems are normally overcome by connecting the engine to a separate heat source, such as an electric engine heater for instance, before starting the engine. Devices which avail themselves of the heat content of coolant that has been heated by the engine, by storing the liquid in an insulated container that is able to communicate with the engine-cooling system have also been proposed. However, special requirements are placed on such devices when they are intended for use in more modern internal combustion engines that include so-called closed cooling systems which operate with a continuous coolant volume.
One example of a device intended for this purpose is described in Swedish Patent Specification SE-B-444 348, this device representing the technology on which the present invention is based in accordance with the preamble of claim 1. This patent specification describes an arrangement relating to liquid-cooled internal combustion engines whose engine blocks are provided with passageways for the circulation of water coolant, including a heat-insulated storage container for storing hot coolant, a reversible pump by means of which the coolant can be pumped from the passageways in the engine block to the heat-insulated storage container and from there back to the passageways in the engine block, wherein the storage container is divided into two chambers with the aid of a reciprocatingly movable plunger means, and wherein the chambers communicate with inlet and outlet orifices of the engine block coolant passageways. In the case of this embodiment, one chamber in the storage container contains cold coolant when the engine is running. When the engine is stopped, hot coolant is pumped into the other chamber, therewith displacing the plunger and leading the cold coolant to the passageways in the engine block. Before restarting the engine, the pump is activated, although now in the opposite direction, so as to lead the stored hot coolant from said other chamber to the passageways in the engine block while leading cold coolant from the engine block to the first-mentioned chamber at the same time.
This problem solution has certain drawbacks. Firstly, the storage container is cooled when one chamber thereof is emptied of its hot coolant contents through the medium of the movable plunger means and cold coolant is successively led from the engine into the other chamber of the storage device, i.e. cold coolant is stored in the container as the motor is running. Thus, when the engine is stopped the hot coolant passed from the engine block to the container will be stored in a chamber which has been cooled by the cold coolant, thereby greatly reducing the efficiency of the arrangement. Secondly, the arrangement requires the presence of a reversible pump.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a heat-storage device which includes an insulated storage container whose temperature is equivalent to the temperature of the coolant during running of the engine, and which only requires the presence of a single-acting pump. In other words, the object of the invention is to provide a heat-storage device which enables hot coolant to flow through the storage device with the intention of heating the same, as the engine is running. In this regard, it is also essential that the coolant normally remaining in the conduit is passed to the engine, so as to completely empty the container of all coolant.
It has not been possible to achieve these inventive objects with the earlier known heat-storage arrangements pertaining to water cooled internal combustion engines. The objects are, however, achieved in accordance with the invention, with the aid of a heat-storage device having the features set forth in the following claims.
The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to a
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