Patent Application
20170051821
The present disclosure relates to a fluid collection pan for motor vehicle transmissions having an integrated fluid heat exchanger within the pan.
The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may or may not constitute prior art.
Automobile vehicle automatic transmissions have low sump areas used to collect fluid such as transmission fluid which is circulated throughout the transmission and used to lubricate and cool the transmission. It is common that transmission fluid is withdrawn from the transmission and routed forward to a separate heat exchanger incorporated in an engine cooling radiator, so the transmission fluid can be either pre-heated or cooled as necessary. Pre-heating cold or ambient temperature transmission fluid has been identified to increase the fuel economy of the engine particularly during engine start conditions. Once the transmission fluid has been heated during vehicle operation, it is important to cool the fluid to mitigate degradation of its lubrication and operating properties. Tubing and connections required to provide flow to and return from the heat exchanger/radiator are expensive to provide and install, create separate maintenance issues due to damage from environmental conditions such as road debris, and magnify the number of locations where fluid leaks can occur. Adding a local externally mounted heat exchanger to the transmission pan to provide cooling or heating of the transmission fluid may result in undesirable damage to the heat exchanger due to the low ground level clearance position of the pan and the susceptibility of heat exchanger components and tubing to exposure to environmental conditions, including to thermal loss. The heat exchanger size may also have to be increased if the heat exchanger is externally mounted to account for ambient thermal losses.
Accordingly, there is room in the art for a transmission pan adapted to receive a heat exchanger for pre-heating and cooling a transmission fluid.
The present invention provides an example of a transmission pan with an integrated heat exchanger for a motor vehicle having an assembly including a transmission pan and a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger is positioned entirely within the transmission pan.
In one example of the transmission pan with integrated heat exchanger for a motor vehicle of the present disclosure, the heat exchanger includes a substantially flat surface, and a rectangular shaped body is adapted to minimize a depth “A” of the transmission pan required to incorporate a height “B” of the heat exchanger.
In yet another example of the transmission pan with integrated heat exchanger for a motor vehicle of the present disclosure, the surface includes a first flow port defining a transmission fluid inlet port, and a second flow port defining a transmission fluid outlet port.
In yet another example of the transmission pan with integrated heat exchanger for a motor vehicle of the present disclosure, the heat exchanger further includes a cooling header assembly having: an inlet header and an outlet header, each fixed to and sealed at an entrance through a wall of the heat exchanger; and the inlet header and the outlet header also each penetrate an outer wall of the transmission pan and are each fixed to and sealed where the penetrations of the inlet header and the outlet header contact the outer wall.
In yet another example of the transmission pan with integrated heat exchanger for a motor vehicle of the present disclosure, the cooling header assembly further includes: an inlet nipple connected to the inlet header; and an outlet nipple connected to the outlet header; wherein the inlet nipple and the outlet nipple are each adapted to receive a hose providing for flow of a liquid coolant.
In yet another example of the transmission pan with integrated heat exchanger for a motor vehicle of the present disclosure, each of the inlet header and the outlet header are connected to a common side wall of the heat exchanger.
In yet another example of the transmission pan with integrated heat exchanger for a motor vehicle of the present disclosure, the inlet header and the outlet header are connected to different side walls of the heat exchanger.
In yet another example of the transmission pan with integrated heat exchanger for a motor vehicle of the present disclosure, the heat exchanger further includes a cooling header assembly having an inlet header and an outlet header, each fixed to and sealed at an entrance through a different wall of the heat exchanger.
In yet another example of the transmission pan with integrated heat exchanger for a motor vehicle of the present disclosure further includes a bolting flange of the transmission pan correspondingly shaped and adapted to couple with a bolting flange of the automatic transmission; and a depth of the transmission pan is selected to provide space above the heat exchanger for connections to the heat exchanger within the transmission pan for transmission fluid inlet and discharge to and from the heat exchanger.
In yet another example of the transmission pan with integrated heat exchanger for a motor vehicle of the present disclosure, the assembly has the heat exchanger fixed to a bottom inner surface of the transmission pan.
In yet another example of the transmission pan with integrated heat exchanger for a motor vehicle of the present disclosure, the heat exchanger is a stacked plate heat exchanger.
Further features, advantages, and areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. The components in the figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. Moreover, in the figures, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the views. In the drawings:
The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses.
Referring now to the drawings, a transmission pan with integrated heat exchanger system 10 embodying the principles of the present invention is illustrated. With specific reference to
Referring to
The surface 30 of the heat exchanger 24 according to several aspects provides a first flow port 32 defining a transmission fluid inlet port, and a second flow port 34 defining a transmission fluid outlet port. For example, transmission fluid flows into the first flow port 32 of heat exchanger 24 in a flow direction “C” and exits second flow port 34 in a flow direction “D”. Connections provided in a sump area of the automatic transmission 14 are made during installation of the assembly 16 onto the automatic transmission 14 to direct transmission fluid that normally would collect at the bottom inner surface 28 instead into the first flow port 32 and out of the second flow port 34.
The cooling header assembly 26 includes an inlet header 36 and an outlet header 38, each fixed to and sealed at their entrances through a wall of the heat exchanger 24, for example by welding, brazing, or by a seal such as an O-ring. The inlet header 36 and the outlet header 38 also each penetrate an outer wall 40 of the transmission pan 22 and are each fixed to and sealed at the penetrations through the outer wall 40, for example by welding, brazing, or by a seal such as an O-ring. The inlet header 36 provides a total cooling water or fluid flow into the heat exchanger 24, where is it distributed through internal passageways (not shown) of the heat exchanger 24. The outlet header 38 collects the total cooling water or fluid flow from the internal passageways of the heat exchanger 24 (not shown), for return to the cooling water system of the motor vehicle.
An inlet nipple 42 is also connected to the inlet header 36, which is adapted to releasably receive a hose (not shown) providing a source of coolant liquid flow in an inlet cooling flow direction “E”. Similarly, an outlet nipple 44 is also connected to the outlet header 38, which is adapted to releasably receive a hose (not shown) providing for return flow of the liquid coolant in an outlet cooling flow direction “F”. Although the inlet nipple 42 and the outlet nipple 44 are shown in the exemplary aspect directed upwardly, the direction or orientation of the inlet nipple 42 and the outlet nipple 44 can be in any direction or orientation desired to suit the cooling supply and return system requirements or configuration.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
With reference again to
Positioning the heat exchanger 24 entirely within the transmission pan 22 provides several advantages. The transmission pan 22 is designed to protect against environmental conditions and impact, therefore the heat exchanger 24 is protected against damage from environmental elements such as road debris and contaminants which can degrade heat exchanger performance. The environment within the transmission pan 22 is temperature moderated compared to mounting the heat exchanger 24 external to the transmission pan 22. This reduces thermal losses of the heat exchanger particularly during the period of engine and transmission startup and warmup and during operation in winter when environmental temperature may be lowest. The design of the transmission pan with integrated heat exchanger system 10 of the present disclosure also minimizes tubing and/or connections required to provide transmission fluid flow to and from the heat exchanger 24, which reduces costs, mitigates against transmission fluid leakage, and reduces maintenance associated with these components.
The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention.
