The present invention relates to an engine cooling device for cooling an engine and an engine system having the same.
An example of such an engine cooling device is disclosed in Patent Document 1. A plurality of valves (thermostats) are provided in this type of engine cooling device. These valves can switch circulation paths for a coolant depending on the temperature of the coolant.
Japanese Examined Utility Model Application, Second Publication No. H05-13947
Three valves are provided in the engine cooling device of Patent Document 1. However, depending on the model of a construction machine in which the engine cooling device is mounted, there is a possibility of a size of a radiator being small and a flow rate of the coolant flowing out of the three valves becoming large relative to a capacity of the radiator. When a large flow rate of coolant flows into the radiator, a pressure of an inlet of the radiator increases, and power of a pump for forcing the coolant to flow into a cooling flow passage of an engine from an outlet of the radiator becomes large, which leads to energy loss. However, when the number of valves is changed depending on the model, a design for a housing in which the valves are individually installed is required for each model, which leads to an increase in cost.
Therefore, the present invention provides an engine cooling device capable of cooling an engine while reducing energy loss and costs, and an engine system having this engine cooling device.
An engine cooling device according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a pump configured to supply a coolant from a discharge port to an engine; a radiator configured to cool the coolant from the engine and to connect a suction port of the pump to an outlet for the coolant; a flow passage switching part provided between the engine and the radiator; a radiator connection flow passage configured to connect the flow passage switching part and the radiator; and a bypass flow passage configured to connect the flow passage switching part and the pump. The flow passage switching part has valves that perform switching to the radiator connection flow passage or the bypass flow passage according to a temperature of the coolant, and a flow splitting part that is connected in parallel to the valves, and circulate the coolant to both the bypass flow passage and the radiator connection flow passage.
According to the engine cooling device of the aspect, an engine can be cooled while reducing energy loss and costs.
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to
<Engine System>
As shown in
As shown in
<Circuit Structure of Engine System>
A coolant W is configured to circulate in the engine system 1. The engine 2 is connected at a downstream side (a side close to a discharge port 4a) of the pump 4, and a flow passage switching part 6 is connected at a downstream side of the engine 2. An upstream side (a side close to a suction port 4b) of the pump 4 is connected at a downstream side of the flow passage switching part 6 via a radiator 5 or directly.
<Engine>
The engine 2 is not shown in detail, and mainly includes a cylinder, a cylinder block, a cylinder head, an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) cooler, and so on.
A cooling flow passage EF is provided in the cylinder head and the cylinder block of the engine 2. The coolant W can circulate through the cooling flow passage EF. The engine 2 is cooled by the coolant W that circulates through the cooling flow passage EF. The coolant W flows from an inlet EFa of the downstream side (the side close to the discharge port 4a) of the pump 4 into the cooling flow passage EF of the engine 2, and the coolant W flows out of an outlet EFb at an upstream side of the flow passage switching part 6.
<Engine Cooling Device>
The engine cooling device 3 includes the pump 4 that is provided in the engine 2 and circulates the coolant W, the radiator 5 that cools the coolant W, and the flow passage switching part 6 that is disposed among the engine 2, the radiator 5, and the pump 4.
<Pump>
The pump 4 is provided on, for instance, the cylinder block of the engine 2. The pump 4 forces the coolant W to flow in from the inlet EFa of the cooling flow passage EF. The pump 4 is driven by power of the engine 2. The pump 4 is always operated to circulate the coolant W while the engine 2 is being driven.
<Radiator>
The radiator 5 cools the coolant W that circulates through the cooling flow passage EF of the engine 2, performs heat exchange between the radiator 5 and the engine 2 and reaches a high temperature. The radiator 5 includes a core 11 that performs heat exchange between the coolant W and air, and an upper tank 12 that is provided above the core 11, stores the coolant W flowing in from the outlet EFb of the cooling flow passage EF of the engine 2, and supplies the coolant W to the core 11. The coolant W can also be supplied from the outside of the engine cooling device 3 into the upper tank 12.
Although not shown in detail, the core 11 is, for instance, a fin-and-tube type heat exchanger having fins and a tube. The upper tank 12 communicates with the tube of the core 11, and supplies the coolant W to the tube. When the coolant W circulates through the tube, the coolant W performs heat exchange with air around the tube, and the coolant W is cooled. A pump suction flow passage 21 that connects an outlet of the core 11 and the suction port 4b of the pump 4 is provided between them.
<Flow Passage Switching Part>
As shown in
<Valve Housing>
The valve housing 15 is connected to and communicates with the outlet EFb of the cooling flow passage EF in the engine 2. A radiator connection flow passage 22 that connects the valve housing 15 and the upper tank 12 of the radiator 5 is provided between them. A bypass flow passage 23 that connects the valve housing 15 and the pump 4 is provided between them. A plurality of housing spaces S (three housing spaces in the present embodiment) are provided in the valve housing 15. Mounting portions for the valves 16 and the sleeve 17 to be described below have the same shape in the housing spaces S. Hereinafter, the housing spaces S are defined as housing spaces S1, S2 and S3 in turn from the right to the left in
Each of the housing spaces S1, S2 and S3 is a space that extends in a longitudinal direction (a vertical direction of
A first communication passage 15a that causes the housing spaces S1, S2 and S3 to communicate with one another and is connected to the outlet EFb of the cooling flow passage EF of the engine 2 is formed inside the valve housing 15. The first communication passage 15a causes the housing spaces S1, S2 and S3 extending in the longitudinal direction to be connected to communicate with one another at a lowermost portion in
Further, a second communication passage 15b that causes the housing spaces S1, S2 and S3 to communicate with one another at an upper portion of the first communication passage 15a and is connected to the radiator connection flow passage 22 is formed inside the valve housing 15. The second communication passage 15b causes the housing spaces S1, S2 and S3 extending in the longitudinal direction to be connected to communicate with one another in the vicinity of the middle in the vertical direction (the longitudinal direction) in
Further, a third communication passage 15c that causes the housing spaces S1, S2 and S3 to communicate with one another at an upper portion of the second communication passage 15b and is connected to the bypass flow passage 23 is formed inside the valve housing 15. The third communication passage 15c causes the housing spaces S1, S2 and S3 extending in the longitudinal direction to be connected to communicate with one another at an uppermost portion in
Accordingly, the coolant W from the outlet EFb of the cooling flow passage EF of the engine 2 flows into the housing spaces S1, S2 and S3 via the first communication passage 15a. Afterward, the coolant W is configured to flow out of the second communication passage 15b to the radiator connection flow passage 22, and to flow out of the third communication passage 15c to the bypass flow passage 23. That is, the housing spaces S1, S2 and S3 are connected by the first communication part 15a such that the coolant W flowing in from the cooling flow passage EF of the engine 2 flows through the housing spaces S1, S2 and S3 in parallel in the valve housing 15.
<Valves>
The valves 16 are provided in the housing spaces S of the valve housing 15 one by one. In the present embodiment, the valves 16 are provided in two housing spaces S1 and S2 of the three housing spaces S. Accordingly, in the present embodiment, the two valves 16 are provided in the valve housing 15. The valves 16 are also called thermostats.
Each of the valves 16 mainly has an actuator 31 in which, for instance, wax is used, a cylindrical valve body 32 which is moved forward/backward in the longitudinal direction by the actuator 31 and whose center is an axis O extending in the longitudinal direction, and a flange part 33 that protrudes outward in a radial direction of the valve body 32. As shown in
When a temperature of the coolant W is lower than a predetermined temperature corresponding to a specification of the engine 2, the valve 16 is put in a closed state by pulling the valve body 32 to approach the flange part 33 due to a change in volume of the wax in the actuator 31 as shown in
To be more specific, when the temperature of the coolant W is lower than the predetermined temperature, the valve body 32 comes into contact with the flange part 33 as shown in
On the other hand, when the temperature of the coolant W is equal to or higher than the predetermined temperature, the valve body 32 is separated from the flange part 33 as shown in
In the present embodiment, top bypass type thermostats are used as the valves 16, but thermostats of another type such as a bottom bypass type or a side bypass type may be used as the valves 16.
<Sleeve>
As shown in
The tubular part 41 has a cylindrical shape in which a main hole (first hole) MH passing through the tubular part 41 in an axial direction is provided. A plurality of drain holes (second holes) WH passing through the tubular part 41 in a radial direction are provided in an outer circumferential surface of the tubular part 41. As shown in
The flange part 42 has an annular shape, and is made to be put in the valve housing 15 and thereby fixed to the valve housing 15.
Next, the circulation path of the coolant W will be described.
As shown in
In this case, as shown in
On the other hand, as shown in
<Operation and Effects>
In the engine system 1, the plurality of housing spaces S in which the mounting portions for the valves 16 and the sleeve 17 have the same shape are provided in the valve housing 15 of the flow passage switching part 6. The valves 16 are provided in the two housing spaces S1 and S2, and the sleeve 17 is provided in the one remaining housing space S3. Accordingly, even in the state in which the coolant W of the high water temperature shown in
For this reason, when the coolant W flows from the case in which the valves 16 shown in
Further, as the coolant W does not abruptly flow into the radiator 5 in an amount that is equal to or more than an allowable amount of the radiator 5, the pressure at the inlet of the pump 4 and the outlet of the radiator 5 is not reduced. Therefore, occurrence of cavitation at the outlet of the radiator 5 can be avoided. As a result, durability of the pump 4 and durability of the radiator 5 are improved.
Here, the capacity (the size) of the radiator 5 differs according to the model in which the engine system 1 is mounted. In the present embodiment, the mounting portions for the valves 16 and the sleeve 17 have the same shape in the housing spaces S1 and S2 in which the valves 16 are installed and the housing space S3 in which the sleeve 17 is installed. That is, the valves 16 or the sleeves 17 can be installed in all the housing spaces S. Therefore, the number of the valves 16 and the sleeves 17 installed in the valve housing 15 is changed depending on the capacity of the radiator 5, and thereby an amount of inflow of the coolant W into the radiator 5 can be adjusted to an optimum value. Therefore, the valve housing 15 can be united for all models, and costs can be reduced.
Since there is no need to change the design of the pump 4 for each model according to the flow rate of the coolant W that can be allowed by the radiator 5 that differs depending on the model, the pump 4 can be united for all models, and the costs can be reduced.
Further, as shown in
When the engine 2 warms up, the coolant W is heated, and the temperature of the coolant W is equal to or higher than the predetermined temperature, the valves 16 are put in an opened state and the circulation path of the coolant W is switched. In this case, the flow rate of the coolant W flowing into the radiator 5 increases. In comparison with the case in which the valves 16 are put in an opened state (
Further, in the present embodiment, the opening area of the main hole MH of the sleeve 17 is greater than the sum value of the opening areas of all the drain holes WH. Accordingly, for example, in a case in which, when the engine 2 is started, the temperature of the engine 2 is low, the temperature of the coolant W is also low, and the valves 16 are put in a closed state, the flow rate of the coolant W flowing into the cooling flow passage EF of the engine 2 through the bypass flow passage 23 is more than the flow rate of the coolant W flowing into the upper tank 12 through the radiator connection flow passage 22. Accordingly, a great amount of the coolant W can be sent to the engine 2. Therefore, for example, when the temperature of the engine 2 is very low in a cold region, the temperature of the engine 2 can be quickly raised, and warmup of the engine 2 is ended early, which leads to the improvement in the efficiency of the engine 2.
Further, if the valve housing 15 and the sleeve 17 are provided at a high position relative to the engine 2, when the coolant W is supplied from the outside of the engine system 1 to the upper tank 12, air remaining in each of the flow passages of the engine system 1 can be guided upward through the drain holes WH of the sleeve 17. That is, an effect of venting the air can be obtained by the sleeve 17.
While an embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto, and can be appropriately modified without departing from the technical idea and spirit of the invention.
For example, the sleeve 17 is not limited to the shape described above. To be specific, the sleeve 17 may have a tubular shape without the flange part 42. That is, instead of the sleeve 17, it is possible to provide only a flow splitting part that can split the coolant W from the cooling flow passage EF of the engine 2 into the radiator connection flow passage 22 and the bypass flow passage 23.
A difference in size between the opening area of the main hole MH and the opening areas of the drain holes WH, or the number of drain holes WH is not limited to the case of the aforementioned embodiment. The difference in size between the opening area of the main hole MH and the opening area of the drain hole WH or an opening area ratio between the main hole MH to the drain holes WH need only be set such that the pressure in the upper tank 12 of the radiator 5 reaches an appropriate value for a size of the core 11 of the radiator 5.
The number of housing spaces S provided in the valve housing 15 is not limited to the aforementioned case. If the same valves 16 can be installed in all the housing spaces S, the shapes of the housing spaces S may not be completely identical.
According to the engine cooling device and the engine system having this engine cooling device, the engine can be cooled while reducing the energy loss and costs.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/JP2018/012660 | 3/28/2018 | WO | 00 |