Patent ID: 6101987
Filing Date: 2000-08-15
Classification: F01P,G05D

Abstract:
A method of cooling coolant in a coolant circuit of an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle, comprising the steps of,(a) controlling with a thermostatic valve control device adjustment of a thermostatic valve that controls coolant flow from a radiator and coolant flow from a bypass line around the radiator into a combined coolant flow to the internal combustion engine, said step of controlling the adjustment of the thermostatic valve including evaluating parameters of the internal combustion engine and the motor vehicle against respective threshold values;(b) communicating a signal representative of said evaluation of the parameters from the thermostatic valve control device to a fan control device that controls operation of a fan which cools coolant in the radiator as a function of a target temperature; and(c) setting the target temperature of the fan control device to either a predetermined high value or a predetermined low value based on said communicated signal from the thermostatic valve control device;(d) wherein said step of controlling the adjustment of the thermostatic valve includes adjusting the thermostatic valve to an open position and, in combination therewith, said step of setting of the target temperature includes setting the target temperature to the predetermined low value, when both (i) a said evaluated parameter exceeds a respective threshold value, and (ii) the temperature of the coolant is greater than a predetermined minimum operating temperature but is less than the predetermined low value for the target temperature.