This present disclosure relates to the field of automotive heat exchangers, more specifically this disclosure relates oil cooler with adjustable flow baffle.
This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
In automotive vehicles, it is common to have a series of different heat exchangers transferring heat to or from a variety of liquids or gases. A typical vehicle may contain a heat exchanger to cool a fluid that is used to cool an engine. Charge air coolers are used to cool the air that is being compressed before leading into the intake of an engine. Additional heat exchangers may be used to cool oil that lubricates the internal components of the engine; additionally transmission fluid may also flow through a heat exchanger to maintain the transmission at an optimum temperature. Typical construction of such heat exchangers generally have an inlet or an outlet on one or both of the heat exchanger tanks and may have a fixed baffle to accommodate packaging constraints or increase heat rejection. The baffle is fixed so that the medium entering the inlet passes through a fixed number of tubes and the medium exiting has passed through a fixed number of tubes.
A problem with the conventional fixed baffle heat exchangers is their lack of versatility. Heat exchangers are optimally designed for one application only in accordance with the flow parameters and heat exchange requirements expected in that application and in an optimum condition. Where the heat exchanger designed for one application is used in another application in which the flow rate of the medium to be cooled is greater than the design flow rate, there is usually an unacceptable pressure drop in the system. Or if the viscosity of the fluid can change based on temperature, like oil, there may be an unacceptable pressure drop as well. If, on the other hand, the heat exchanger is used in an application in which the flow rate is less than the design flow rate, there is inefficient heat transfer to the cooling medium.
Heat exchangers with fixed baffle arrangements lack versatility in that it is not possible to cater for different flow parameters and heat exchange requirements. Also if the viscosity of a liquid can change based on its temperature the heat exchanger with fixed baffles cannot adjust to maximized optimum fluid flow limiting pressure drop losses.
A current solution is to install a bypass system. This system would allow the medium, during certain conditions, to bypass the heat exchanger entirely until the correct conditions are met. Such systems add complex components like control modules with sensors to regulate the system driving up overall costs and difficulty in implementation. However, if the heat exchanger was versatile to change the internal baffle position to allow for greater flow during high viscosity period and regulate to an optimum flow during normal operation, there would be no need for complex solutions.
It would be desirable to have a heat exchanger which has greater versatility, and the present development seeks to provide such a heat exchanger.
This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.
A heat exchanger for transferring heat from a liquid that comprises a first header tank also a second header tank. In between the two tanks are a plurality of tubes, these fluidly join the first header tank and the second header tank. Contained within one of the tanks is a moveable baffle. This baffle may divide one of the first header tank and the second header tank into a first chamber and a second chamber.
An additional embodiment may be an automotive heat exchanger with a plurality of tubes which medium flows through, at least two tanks which connect the tubes and which the heat exchange medium flows in and out. The tank encloses a self-adjusting partition baffle. The baffle is for dividing one of the tank portions into different independent tank chambers. The self-adjusting partition baffle may be resiliently attached to the tank.
An additional embodiment may be an oil cooler for a vehicle with a first end tank divided into a first portion and a second portion. The division is made by an adjustable baffle. An inlet of the tank is at the first portion, the second portion contains an outlet. The oil cooler has a plurality of a first section of tubes in fluid communication with the first portion of the first end tank. The section of first tubes has a fluid that flows to a second end tank. A section of second tubes may be in fluid communication with the second end tank and the second portion of the first end tank. The first end tank also has a first end and a second end, a spring extends from one end and attached to the adjustable baffle and changes the number of the first tubes in fluid communication with the first portion of the first end tank and the second end tank.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.
Referring to
With reference to
With reference to
The adjustable baffle 66 is moveable within the tank 56, track rails 70 and 72 may be inside the tank for the baffle 66 to ride against and stay perpendicular to the tank 56. The adjustable baffle 66 position is based upon the pressure balance of the inlet pressure represented by arrow 74 and outlet pressure represented by arrow 76. As shown in
Referring to
Referring to
A additional embodiment in
Those skilled in the art can now appreciate from the foregoing description that the broad teachings of the present invention can be implemented in a variety of forms. Therefore, while this invention has been described in connection with particular examples thereof, the true scope of the invention should not be so limited since other modifications will become apparent to the skilled practitioner upon a study of the drawings, the specification and the following claims.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the invention, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention.
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