The present disclosure relates to heat exchangers and, in particular, to heat exchangers for cooling hot fluids used onboard vehicles. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to heat exchanger bypass systems.
A heat exchanger is used to cool certain fluids such as engine oil and transmission fluid onboard a vehicle. It is desirable to block circulation of these vehicle fluids through a heat exchanger during, for example, “engine start-up” cycle, when the vehicle fluids are “cold” and therefore do not need to be “cooled.” During these “cold fluid” conditions, the fluids are allowed to circulate in the engine and transmission and are not allowed to flow through the heat exchanger. A heat exchanger bypass valve is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,253,837, which patent is incorporated herein in its entirety.
A fluid regulator in accordance with the present disclosure includes a fluid-control housing and a fluid-flow controller in the fluid-control housing. The fluid-control housing includes first and second fluid-transfer passageways and a cooler bypass passageway arranged to interconnect the first and second fluid-transfer passageways in fluid communication. The fluid-flow controller includes a temperature-responsive bypass valve and a valve return spring associated with the bypass valve. The bypass valve and the valve return spring are both located in the second fluid-transfer passageway.
In illustrative embodiments, the first fluid-transfer passageway is configured to conduct transmission fluid discharged from a transmission to a heat exchanger. The second fluid-transfer passageway is configured to return transmission fluid discharged from the heat exchanger to the transmission. No return spring is located in the first fluid-transfer passageway or in the cooler bypass passageway.
Additional features of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of illustrative embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the disclosure as presently perceived.
The detailed description particularly refers to the accompany figures in which:
A heat exchanger bypass system 200 in accordance with the present disclosure includes a fluid heater 201, a fluid cooler 202, and a fluid regulator 10. Fluid regulator 10 functions to cause fluid discharged from fluid heater 201 to flow through fluid cooler 202 only when the temperature of that fluid exceeds a predetermined minimum temperature. In an illustrative embodiment, fluid heater 201 includes a transmission 16, a fluid discharge conduit 15, and a fluid intake conduit 21 and fluid cooler 202 includes a heat exchanger 18, a fluid intake conduit 17, and a fluid discharge conduit 19 as suggested diagrammatically in
A fluid regulator 10 in accordance with the present disclosure includes a fluid-control housing 100 formed to include first and second fluid-transfer passageways 11, 12 and a cooler bypass passageway 13 interconnecting first and second fluid-transfer passageways 11, 12 as suggested in
Whenever the temperature of transmission fluid 14 discharged from transmission 16 is relatively cold (i.e., below a predetermined minimum threshold temperature), it is desirable to cause that cold transmission fluid 14 to “bypass” heat exchanger 18 and instead flow from first fluid-transfer passageway 11 to second fluid-transfer passageway 12 through cooler bypass passageway 13. Transmission fluid 14 is often cold at the beginning of an engine-startup cycle. Cold transmission fluid has a high viscosity (i.e., resistance to flow) and does not flow easily through many heat exchangers and could lead to poor return of transmission fluid to transmission 16.
As suggested in
Whenever the temperature of transmission fluid 14 discharged from transmission 16 is relatively hot (i.e., above a predetermined minimum threshold temperature), it is desirable normally to “close” cooler bypass passageway 13 causing hot transmission fluid 14 to flow through heat exchanger 18 as suggested in
In an illustrative embodiment, fluid-control housing 100 is formed to include a first transmission port 31 coupled to a fluid discharge conduit 15 mated to transmission 16 and a first cooler port 41 coupled to a fluid intake conduit 17 mated to heat exchanger 18. First fluid transfer passageway 11 is arranged to interconnect first transmission port 31 and first cooler port 41 in fluid communication as suggested in
Fluid-control housing 100 is also formed to include a second cooler port 42 coupled to a fluid discharge conduit 19 mated to heat exchanger 18 and a second transmission port 32 coupled to a fluid intake conduit 21 mated to transmission 16 as shown, for example, in
In an illustrative embodiment, partition plate 24 is retained on an annular seat 34 by a plate retainer 36 included in housing 100 to partition second fluid-transfer passageway 12 as shown, for example, in
A base 44 is coupled to housing 100 to close valve access opening 39 as suggested in
In an illustrative embodiment, base 44 includes a piston support plate 46 formed to include a central piston-receiving cavity 48 opening toward partition plate 30, a frustoconical ring 50 having a small-diameter end coupled to a perimeter edge of piston support plate 46, and an annular mount flange 52 having an inner edge coupled to a large-diameter end of frustoconical ring 50. Annular mount flange 52 is retained by a flange retainer 53 included in housing 100 on an annular seat 54 formed in housing 100 adjacent to valve access opening 39 and against a sealing gasket 56 located in a gasket-receiving channel formed in housing 100 as suggested in
In an illustrative embodiment, fluid-flow controller 20 comprises a temperature-responsive bypass valve 60, a relief valve 62, and a valve mover spring 64 as suggested in
Bypass valve 60 comprises a piston 66 arranged to extend through fluid-transfer orifice 22 formed in partition plate 24 to engage and seat in central piston-receiving cavity 48 formed in piston support plate 46 and a body 67 coupled to piston 66 and configured to be moved relative to piston 66 as suggested in
Relief valve 62 comprises valve plate 30 and a cylindrical guide sleeve 72 coupled to a perimeter edge of valve plate 30 and arranged to extend toward base 44, as shown, for example, in
Valve mover spring 64 is configured and arranged normally to urge temperature-responsive bypass valve 60 in a first direction 81 toward base 44 and away from cooler bypass passageway 13 to engage partition plate 24 and close fluid-transfer orifice 22. In an illustrative embodiment, valve mover spring 64 is a coiled compression spring arranged to wind around plug 68. Valve mover spring 64 has a narrow-diameter end arranged to engage an annular spring-mount flange 71 provided on an underside of thermal motor 70 as shown in
Valve mover spring 64 is also configured and arranged normally to urge relief valve 62 in an opposite second direction 82 away from base 44 to engage an annular valve seat 27 formed to define outlet 26 of cooler bypass passageway 13. In an illustrative embodiment, valve mover spring 64 has a wide diameter end arranged to engage an annular surface provided on a top side of valve plate 30 as shown in
In the illustrated embodiment, valve mover spring 64 is located in second fluid-transfer passageway 12. No “return” spring is present in first fluid-transfer passageway 11 or cooler bypass passageway 13. During assembly, before base 44 is anchored to housing 100, relief valve 62, valve mover spring 64, and temperature-responsive bypass valve 60 are passed through valve access aperture 39 into second fluid-transfer passageway 12. Then partition plate 24 is passed through valve access aperture 39 and anchored to annular seat 34 while piston 66 extends in direction 81 through fluid-transfer orifice 22. Finally, base 44 is anchored to fluid-control housing 100 after a tip of piston 66 is inserted into central piston-receiving cavity 48 of piston support plate 46 of base 44. When installed, as shown in
In an illustrative embodiment, thermal motor 70 is a wax motor comprising a temperature-responsive expansion agent (not shown) provided in a cavity (not shown) inside bypass valve 60 and coupled to piston 66. The expansion agent is configured to expand when heated to cause relative movement between piston 66 and thermal motor 70 to move thermal motor 70 from a low-temperature position shown in
Whenever transmission fluid 14 extant in motor chamber 40 cools to a relatively cold temperature, the temperature-responsive expansion agent in thermal motor 70 will contract and valve mover spring 64 also located in motor chamber 40 functions as a “return spring” to urge and return thermal motor 70 to the low-temperature position shown in
Relief valve 62 is exposed to hot transmission fluid 14 flowing in first fluid-transfer passageway 11 and filling cooler bypass passageway 13 while relief valve 62 is urged by valve mover spring 64 in second direction 82 to engage the annular valve seat formed to include outlet 26 of cooler bypass passageway 13. Once the pressure of hot transmission fluid 14 in closed cooler bypass passageway 13 rises to a level that is high enough to apply a force on the underside of valve plate 30 that is greater than the opposing force applied on the top side of valve plate 30 by, for example, fluid pressure and spring pressure, the valve plate 30 will rise as shown in
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/743,504, filed Mar. 16, 2006, which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60743504 | Mar 2006 | US |