Patent Application
20230383689
The present disclosure is generally related to the technical field of liquid cooled engines. More particularly, the present embodiments are related to the field of thermostatic temperature controls for engine cooling systems.
Thermostatic devices disposed in cooling systems of internal combustion engines and the like typically comprise a sensor case having a built-in thermal expansion body which perceives temperature changes in cooling liquids which fills the circulation channels of a cooling system and expands and contracts accordingly. The valve body opens and closes in response to volumetric change accompanying the expansion and contraction of the thermal expansion body, and thus the thermostat device functions to maintain cooling liquid at a predetermined temperature.
The housing that holds the thermostat device directs the coolant flow to the heater, and to the radiator when the thermostat that is located inside the thermostat housing is opened when the coolant fluid has reached a temperature limit.
The high temperatures and the temperature cycling cause the housing to become brittle leading to cracking of the housing, because the housing is made of the plastic material. The cooling system needs to continuously regulate the coolant temperature in order to maintain a proper operating temperature for the engine. If the housing is cracking it can lead to the coolant fluid leaking out which causes the engine to overheat. Also, partial degradation of any of the parts leads to improper coolant flow.
While conventional cooling system and components have generally been considered satisfactory for their intended purpose there is still a need in the art for improved coolant systems that handle high temperatures and temperature cycling. The present disclosure provides a solution for this need.
A housing for a thermostatic element in a coolant system of an internal-combustion engine. The housing has a plurality of cooling fins or heat sinks for dissipating heat from the housing.
The fins are of various sizes and are distributed about the external surfaces of the housing.
The interior of the housing has a dependent post for contact with a thermostatic element. The dependent post is generally circular and is tapered to reduce turbulence in the coolant flow through the housing.
These and other features of the disclosed invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings.
The following detailed description will be better understood when read in conjunction with the drawings. In the drawings:
A detailed description of the inventions will be made to the drawings wherein like reference numerals identify similar structural features or aspects of the subject disclosure.
A side view of the present housing 100 is shown in
With refence to
The plurality of projections around the circular wall 101 are generally rectangular in shape and extend outwardly from the base 106 up along the circular wall 101. The projections 124 have a greater height than the projections 118, 120 and 128. The projections 130 and 132 on outlet 114 generally have a three side configuration, i.e. 130-1, 130-2 and 130-3, see
The housing 100 is casted in metal as a single unit and the preferred metal is aluminum. Aluminum is a good heat conductor and is known to surrender heat to the surrounding atmosphere more quickly than other metals.
The above described and illustrated thermostatic housing is believed to provide superior heat management and thermal cycling.
