A conventional cooling system that is integrated with a motor and uses a vacuum pump to remove air from a cooling fluid may experience priming issues. This multipiece approach has a higher piece count, is more process intensive and has a longer labor time to produce. This approach also introduces more potential leak points from each sealing plate that is utilized.
Disclosed is a self-priming fluid transfer system having an integral siphon line that draws trapped air bubbles out of a fluid over time and fluid cycles. The self-priming fluid transfer system may include a body structure and a siphon line. The body structure may include a chamber inlet and a chamber outlet that are positioned at a bottom wall of the body structure, and a main fluid chamber that receives and outputs fluid from the chamber inlet and the chamber, respectively. The siphon line may be positioned at the periphery of the main fluid chamber and may include a priming inlet and a siphon outlet. The priming inlet may be positioned at a top wall of the body structure and may receive air bubbles from the main fluid chamber. The siphon outlet may be positioned at the chamber outlet and may output the air bubbles at the chamber outlet.
The features, functions, and advantages that have been discussed above or will be discussed below can be achieved independently in various embodiments, or may be combined in yet other embodiments, further details of which can be seen with reference to the following description and drawings.
The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The use of the same reference number in different figures indicates similar or identical items.
The present disclosure is directed to a self-priming fluid transfer system having an integral siphon line that draws trapped air bubbles out over time and fluid cycles.
Many specific details of certain embodiments are set forth in the following description, and in
Referring more particularly to the drawings, embodiments of this disclosure may be described in the context of a vehicle 100 having a self-priming water jacket 120, such as that shown in
The hydrogen fuel tank 102 supplies hydrogen to a fuel cell 108 that generates electricity. The electric engine 112 can be powered by the battery 106 and/or the fuel cell 108 via the converter/controller 110. The battery 106 can be recharged by the generated electricity from the fuel cell 108. It should be noted that the vehicle 100 is shown as a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, but the vehicle 100 can also be a battery electric vehicle, a hybrid electric vehicle, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, or other type of vehicle.
The fluid in line 204 from the pump 224 enters the converter/controller 110 through a fluid inlet 206 that outputs the fluid through line 208 to a water jacket 120B, which includes a main fluid chamber 210 and a siphon line 212 for the fluid and air bubbles to pass through. The fluid and air bubbles exit from the water jacket 120B through line 214 via a fluid outlet 216, which passes the fluid and air bubbles through line 218 to the reservoir 220. The water jacket 120 can be made of, but is not limited to, cast iron, alloy and structural steel, or aluminum alloys. It should be noted that air bubbles can also enter the system 200 and circulate within the fluid. The self-priming water jacket 120 can remove the air bubbles from the water jacket and circulate them to the reservoir 220 or another device that removes the air bubbles from the system 200.
The fluid/air bubbles enter through line 204 into the fluid inlet 206 which is coupled with a chamber inlet 306 of the body structure 302. The fluid/air bubbles enter the inlet opening 306 and into a main fluid chamber 210. The main fluid chamber 210 receives the fluid/air bubbles from the chamber inlet 306 and circulates the fluid/air bubbles between and around fins 310 and pins 312 that are positioned in the main fluid chamber 210. The main fluid chamber 210 may have a U-shape configuration that is further described in succeeding figures. The fluid/air bubbles exit out of the main fluid chamber 210 at a chamber outlet 308, which is coupled with the fluid outlet 216. The fluid/air bubbles exit out the fluid outlet 216 through line 218. A priming inlet 316 is positioned at a top wall 324 of the body structure 302 and receives air bubbles from the main fluid chamber 210 and outputs the air bubbles at a siphon outlet 413 (
The main fluid chamber 210 has a top left protrusion 318, a bottom protrusion 314, and a top right protrusion 320 that aid in directing the air bubbles into the priming inlet 316, which is positioned between the top left protrusion 318 and the top right protrusion 320. The air bubbles can be trapped between the protrusions 318, 320 and can be pushed up by the bottom protrusion 314, resulting in the air bubbles entering the priming inlet 316. The flow of fluid and air bubbles in the main fluid chamber 210 and the siphon line 212 are further described in succeeding figures. A sealing plate 304 covers and seals the body structure 302.
The siphon line 212 can be narrower (i.e., have a smaller cross-sectional area) than the main fluid chamber 210. The priming inlet 316 allows air bubbles that would normally be trapped at or near the top wall 324 of the body structure 302 to be drawn out through an enclosed high velocity straw-like pathway of the siphon line 212. The direct connection of the siphon line 212 to the fluid outlet 216 and the narrow-enclosed pathway of the siphon line 212 can create a higher draw than the main fluid chamber 210 which flows at a much slower relative velocity due to the difference in cross-sectional areas between both flow paths. Positioning the priming inlet 316 at or near the top of the main fluid chamber 210 can allow the air bubbles to naturally collect at the priming inlet 316 due to buoyancy of the air bubbles and be carried away in the right section 411 of the siphon line 212 having a smaller cross-sectional area (i.e., narrower flow path) than the right section 422 of the main fluid chamber 210.
The self-priming water jacket 120 may operate on a high-pressure side and low-pressure side model. The velocity in the siphon line 212 is an attribute of the narrower siphon line 212 allowing fluid to pass through more rapidly down the siphon line 212. The higher velocity pathway may lend to the vacuum function of the siphon. Another factor of the vacuum function of the siphon is due to buoyancy of the air bubbles naturally floating to the top where the priming inlet 316 is located. The pressure differential between the main fluid chamber 210 and the narrower siphon line 212 may create a specific draw (lower pressure on the siphon line 212) that allows the siphon line 212 to siphon the air bubbles out of the top of the main fluid chamber 210. Velocity is the byproduct. The function of “priming and siphoning” may be created by the high-pressure/low-pressure differential between the paths of the main fluid chamber 210 and the narrower siphon line 212.
In this example, the siphon line 212 is positioned along the outer peripheral of the main fluid chamber 210. In another embodiment, the siphon line 212 can be positioned in front or back of the main fluid chamber 210. In another embodiment, the siphon line 212 can be positioned in front of the main fluid chamber 210 on the sealing plate 304 (
The self-priming water jacket 120 of
The right section 411 of the siphon line 212 is created by drilling a right-bottom pathway from the drilled opening 506b into the chamber outlet 308 and by drilling a right-side pathway from the drilled opening 506c to the right-bottom pathway. The priming inlet 316 is created by drilling from the drilled opening 506d through the top pathway and into the main fluid chamber 210. The base section 409 of the siphon line 212 is created by drilling a top pathway from the drilled opening 506a to the priming inlet 316. The drilled pathways of the right section 411 and base section 409 are further shown in
The siphon line 212 can be narrower than the main fluid chamber 210. The priming inlet 316 allows the air bubbles that would normally be trapped at the top wall 324 of the body structure 302 to be drawn out through an enclosed high velocity straw-like pathway of the siphon line 212. The direct connection of the siphon line 212 to the fluid outlet 216 and the narrow-enclosed pathway of the siphon line 212 can create a higher draw than the main fluid chamber 210 which flows at a much slower relative rate due to difference in cross-sectional area between both flow paths. Positioning the inlet at the top of the main fluid chamber 210 can allow the air bubbles to naturally be collected into the priming inlet 316 and be carried away in the right section 411 of the siphon line 212 having a narrower flow loop than left section 422 of the main fluid chamber 210.
In this example, the siphon line 212 is positioned along the outer peripheral of the main fluid chamber 210. In another embodiment, the siphon line 212 can be positioned in front or back of the main fluid chamber 210. In another embodiment, the siphon line 212 can be positioned in front of the main fluid chamber 210 on the sealing plate 304 (
The priming inlet 316 is created by drilling a front-center-top pathway from the drilled opening 506d. The base section 409 of the siphon line 212 is created by drilling a top pathway from the drilled opening 506a to the front-center-top pathway. It should be noted that the siphon line 212 of
The fluid/air bubbles enter the fluid inlet 206 flowing into the left section 920 of the main fluid chamber 910 in the direction of arrow 906. The fluid/air bubbles travel up the left section 920, across the top section 924 in the direction of arrow 907, down the right section 922 in the direction of arrow 908, across the bottom section 936 in the direction of arrow 909, out the bottom section 936 in the direction of arrow 914 and out the outlet 216. The top right corner of the top section 924/right section 922 is coupled to the priming inlet 926, where the fluid/air bubbles enter and travel toward a siphon outlet 913 and outlet 216. The protrusion 928 can trap the fluid/air bubbles between the priming inlet 926 and the protrusion 928, and the fluid/air bubbles can be drawn into the priming inlet 926 at line 932 and out the siphon outlet 913 in the direct of arrow 916. The fluid (typically not the air bubbles) travels down through the right section 922 of the main fluid chamber 910 in the direction of arrow 908.
The siphon line 912 can be narrower and have a smaller cross-sectional area than the main fluid chamber 910. The priming inlet 926 allows the air bubbles that would normally be trapped at the top section 924 of the main fluid chamber 910 to be drawn out in the direction of arrow 932 through an enclosed high velocity straw-like pathway of the siphon line 912. The direct connection of the siphon line 912 to the fluid outlet 216 and the narrow-enclosed pathway of the siphon line 912 can create a higher draw than the main fluid chamber 910, which flows at a much slower relative velocity due to difference in cross-sectional area between both flow paths. Positioning the priming inlet 926 at the top right corner of the main fluid chamber 910 can allow the air bubbles to naturally be collected into the priming inlet 926 and be carried away in the right section 911 of the siphon line 912 having a narrower flow loop than right section 922 of the main fluid chamber 910.
In this example, the siphon line 912 is positioned along the outer peripheral of the main fluid chamber 910. In another embodiment, the siphon line 912 can be positioned in front or back of the main fluid chamber 910. In another embodiment, the siphon line 912 can be positioned in front of the main fluid chamber 910 on the sealing plate 304 (
While embodiments have been illustrated and described above, many changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, the scopes of the embodiments are not limited by the disclosure. Instead, the embodiments of the disclosure should be determined entirely by reference to the claims that follow.