Patent Application
20150211411
This application claims priority of Taiwanese Patent Application No. 103103551, filed on Jan. 29, 2014, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
This invention relates to a vehicle, more particularly to a vehicle having a cooling system for cooling an engine and a generator.
Referring to
During the cooling process, the cooling water that flows through the engine 2 and that has been heated up by the engine 2 is transported through the water pump 11 into the heat exchanger 12 so as to be cooled down again and reflow into the engine 2 to achieve a cooling cycle.
If the generator 3 is a large-size power generating device that also provides electricity to an external electrical appliance, the generator 3 needs to be cooled down. However, the optimum working temperatures of the engine 2 and the generator 3 are different. Since the cooling system 1 includes only one water pump 11 and the heat exchanger 12 can only provide a single temperature of the cooling water, the engine 2 and the generator 3 cannot be cooled down independently. Furthermore, the water pump 11 is mechanically driven by the engine 2, and the turn-on time and the turn-off time of the water pump 11 can only be controlled by the operation time of the engine 2, so that cooling efficiency of the cooling system 1 is not optimized, thereby resulting in power loss of the engine 2 and increasing the load of the engine 2.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle that can overcome the aforesaid drawbacks of the prior art.
According to this invention, a vehicle includes an engine, a power generating system and a cooling system. The engine includes an air cylinder, a piston that is capable of moving upwardly and downwardly in the air cylinder, a crankshaft unit that is driven by the piston, a balancing shaft unit that is driven by the crankshaft unit, and an engine cooling passage that is for cooling water to flow through. The power generating system includes a generator and a generator cooling passage. The cooling system includes a mechanical water pump, a first heat exchanger, an electrically controlled water pump, a second heat exchanger and a controlling unit. The mechanical water pump is driven by the crankshaft unit and is in fluid communication with the engine cooling passage. The first heat exchanger is in fluid communication with the mechanical water pump and the engine cooling passage to constitute a first cooling circuit. The electrically controlled water pump is in fluid communication with the generator cooling passage. The second heat exchanger is in fluid communication with the electrically controlled water pump and the generator cooling passage to constitute a second cooling circuit.
The controlling unit is electrically connected to the electrically controlled water pump and the generator to control operation of the electrically controlled water pump.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the embodiment of this invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
A vehicle according to the present invention is, for example but not limited to a two-wheel or four-wheel vehicle, such as a motorcycle or an all terrain vehicle.
Referring to
The engine 5 includes an air cylinder 51, a piston 52 that is capable of moving upwardly and downwardly in the air cylinder 51, a crankshaft unit 53 that is driven by the piston 52, a balancing shaft unit 54 that is driven by the crankshaft unit 53, and an engine cooling passage 55 that is for cooling water to flow through. The crankshaft unit 53 includes a crankshaft 531 and a first gear 532 that is fixedly sleeved on the crankshaft 531. The generator 61 is driven by the crankshaft 531. The balancing shaft unit 54 includes a balancing shaft 541 and a second gear 542 that is fixedly sleeved on the balancing shaft 541 and that meshes with the first gear 532. In this embodiment, the tooth number of the first gear 532 is the same as that of the second gear 542 so that the rotational speed of the balancing shaft 541 is the same as that of the crankshaft 531.
The cooling system 4 is for cooling the engine 5 and the generator 61, and includes a mechanical water pump 41, a first heat exchanger 42, an electrically controlled water pump 43, a second heat exchanger 44 and a controlling unit 45.
The mechanical water pump 41 is driven by the crankshaft unit 53 and is in fluid communication with the engine cooling passage 55. The first heat exchanger 42 is in fluid communication with the mechanical water pump 41 and the engine cooling passage 55 to constitute a first cooling circuit (A). The electrically controlled water pump 43 is in fluid communication with the generator cooling passage 62. The second heat exchanger 44 is in fluid communication with the electrically controlled water pump 43 and the generator cooling passage 62 to constitute a second cooling circuit (B). The controlling unit 45 is electrically connected to the electrically controlled water pump 43 and the generator 61 to control operation of the electrically controlled water pump 43.
In this embodiment, the presence of the balancing shaft 541 results in a reduction in the vibration of the crankshaft 531. Moreover, the cooling water pumped by the mechanical water pump 41 can also absorb the vibration of the balancing shaft 541 and the vibration between the first and second gears 532, 542, thereby reducing noise between the gears.
The optimum working temperature of the engine 5 is about 70 to 80° C. The optimum working temperature of the generator 61 is about 20 to 30° C., which is much lower than the optimum working temperature of the engine 5. If the temperature of the cooling water pumped into the engine 5 is too low, contraction of the air cylinder 51 may occur so that the piston 52 may get stuck in the air cylinder 51. If the temperature of the cooling water pumped into the generator 61 is too high, the cooling effect is not sufficient so that the generator 61 may burn. In the first cooling circuit (A), the cooling water is transported by the mechanical water pump 41 to dissipate the heat generated from the engine 5. The cooling water that flows through the engine cooling passage 55 and that has been heated up by the engine 5 is then transported through the mechanical water pump 41 into the first heat exchanger 42 so as to be cooled down again and reflow into the engine cooling passage 55 to achieve a cooling cycle. In the second cooling circuit (B), the cooling water is transported by the electrically controlled water pump 43 to dissipate the heat generated from the generator 61. The cooling water that flows through the generator cooling passage 62 and that has been heated up by the generator 61 is then transported through the electrically controlled water pump 43 into the second heat exchanger 44 so as to be cooled down again and reflow into the generator cooling passage 62 to achieve another cooling cycle. In this embodiment, since the operation of the mechanical water pump 41 and the electrically controlled water pump 43 are completely independent of each other, the mechanical water pump 41 and the electrically controlled water pump 43 can respectively and independently control the cooling water in the first and second cooling circuits (A, B) such that the engine 5 and the generator 61 can work at their optimum working temperature. The crankshaft 531 has an axis 531a. The mechanical water pump 41 and the generator 61 are respectively disposed at two opposite sides of the crankshaft 531 along the axis 531a (see
Referring to
The temperature sensing member 452 detects the temperature of the generator 61 and emits a temperature signal to the controlling member 451 while the timer 453 emits a timing signal to the controlling member 451 according to the operation time of the generator 61. The controlling member 451 simultaneously receives the temperature signal from the temperature sensing member 452 and the timing signal from the timer 453 so as to control the turn-on time and the turn-off time and the rotational speed of the electrically controlled water pump 43. To be more specific, the timer 453 provides a fool-proofing effect. When the generator 61 is operated after a period of time, if the controlling member 451 does not receive the correct temperature signal from the temperature sensing member 452, the controlling member 451 can decide whether to turn on the electrically controlled water pump 43 depending on the timing signal emitted from the timer 453 according to the operation time of the generator 61. Therefore, by simultaneously receiving the temperature signal and the timing signal, the controlling member 451 is able to control the electrically controlled water pump 43 more precisely.
To sum up, since the electrically controlled water pump 43 can be directly and independently controlled by the controlling unit 45 so as to adjust the turn-on time and the turn-off time and the rotational speed thereof, the generator 61 can be maintained within the optimum working temperature range.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation and equivalent arrangements.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 103103551 | Jan 2014 | TW | national |
