Office Action 1: Non-Final Rejection (2025-05-12)
Rejection types: 102 - Lack of Novelty

CLAIMS:
WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
1\. An internal combustion engine powered system comprising: an engine; an auxiliary device coupled to the engine; a first stage turbocharger coupled to the engine; a first stage air-to-air cooler fluidly coupled to the first stage turbocharger to receive a first charge air therefrom, the first stage air-to-air cooler arranged to direct the first charge air along a first direction from an inlet of the first stage air-to-air cooler to an outlet of the first stage air-to-air cooler; a second stage turbocharger fluidly coupled to the first stage air-to-air cooler; and a second stage air-to-air cooler fluidly coupled to the second stage turbocharger to receive a second charge air therefrom, the second stage air-to-air cooler being separate from the first stage air-to-air cooler and arranged to direct the second charge air along a second direction from an inlet of the second stage air-to-air cooler to an outlet of the second stage air-to-air cooler, the second direction being different from the first direction.
2\. The internal combustion engine powered system of claim 1, wherein the first direction extends in a vertical direction between a lower end of the engine and an upper end of the engine.
3\. The internal combustion engine powered system of claim 2, wherein the engine further comprises an intake manifold and an exhaust manifold spaced apart from the intake manifold, the second direction extending parallel to a reference line representing a shortest distance between the intake manifold and the exhaust manifold.
4\. The internal combustion engine powered system of claim 1, wherein the first stage air-to-air cooler and the second stage air-to-air cooler spaced apart from the engine by a substantially equivalent distance along a rotational axis of a driveshaft of the engine.
5\. The internal combustion engine powered system of claim 1, further comprising an air driver coupled to the engine and powered by the engine, the first stage air-to-air cooler and the second stage air-to-air cooler each disposed in a parallel flow arrangement relative to the air driver.
6\. The internal combustion engine powered system of claim 1, further comprising: a first conduit fluidly coupling the first stage turbocharger to the first stage air-to-air cooler; a second conduit fluidly coupling the first stage air-to-air cooler to the second stage turbocharger; a third conduit fluidly coupling the second stage turbocharger to the second stage air-to-air cooler; and a fourth conduit extending away from the outlet of the second stage air-to-air cooler, the first conduit, the second conduit, the third conduit, and the fourth conduit each extending parallel to one another at a location adjacent to the first stage air-to-air cooler and the second stage air-to-air cooler.
7\. The internal combustion engine powered system of claim 1, wherein the second stage air-to-air cooler forms an air conduit for the second charge air that directs the second charge air from a hot side of the engine to a cold side of the engine at lower temperature than the hot side.
8\. The internal combustion engine powered system of claim 1, wherein the outlet of the second stage air-to-air cooler is disposed on an opposite side of the engine as each of the inlet of the second stage air-to-air cooler, and both the inlet and outlet of the first stage air-to-air cooler.
9\. The internal combustion engine powered system of claim 1, further comprising a radiator, wherein the first stage air-to-air cooler and the second stage air-to-air cooler together surround the radiator on at least two sides.
10\. A charge air cooler assembly for air cooling, comprising: a first stage air-to-air cooler configured to receive first charge air, the first stage air-to-air cooler arranged to direct the first charge air along a first direction from an inlet of the first stage air-to-air cooler to an outlet of the first stage air-to-air cooler; and a second stage air-to-air cooler configured to receive second charge air, the second stage air-to-air cooler being separate from the first stage air-to-air cooler and arranged to direct the second charge air away from the first stage air-to-air cooler along a second direction from an inlet of the second stage air-to-air cooler to an outlet of the second stage air-to-air cooler, the second direction being different from the first direction.
11\. The charge air cooler assembly of claim 10, wherein the first direction is substantially perpendicular to the second direction.
12\. The charge air cooler assembly of claim 10, wherein the first direction is a vertical direction so that the outlet of the first stage air-to-air cooler is disposed vertically above the inlet of the first stage air-to-air cooler.
13\. The charge air cooler assembly of claim 10, wherein the second direction is a horizontal direction.
14\. The charge air cooler assembly of claim 10, wherein the inlet of the second stage air-to-air cooler is disposed adjacent to the outlet of the first stage air-to-air cooler, and wherein the outlet of the second stage air-to-air cooler is spaced horizontally apart from both the inlet of the first stage air-to-air cooler and the outlet of the first stage air-to-air cooler.
15\. The charge air cooler assembly of claim 10, wherein the inlet of the second stage air-to-air cooler, the outlet of the second stage air-to-air cooler, and the outlet of the first stage air-to-air cooler are each disposed vertically above the inlet of the first stage air-to-air cooler.
16\. The charge air cooler assembly of claim 10, wherein the first stage air-to-air cooler extends along a same reference plane as the second stage air-to-air cooler.
17\. The charge air cooler assembly of claim 10, wherein the first stage air-to-air cooler includes a first plurality of tubes extending along the first direction, and the second stage air-to-air cooler includes a second plurality of tubes extending along the second direction.
18\. A method of cooling charge air for an internal combusting engine system, comprising: compressing air using a first stage turbocharger to produce a first charge air; cooling the first charge air by passing the first charge air through a first stage air-to-air cooler along a first direction; compressing the first charge air using a second stage turbocharger to produce a second charge air; and cooling the second charge air by passing the second charge air through a second stage air-to-air cooler that is separate from the first stage air-to-air cooler and away from the first stage air-to-air cooler along a second direction that is different from the first direction.
19\. The method of claim 18, wherein passing the first charge air through the first stage air-to-air cooler includes passing the first charge air through a plurality of tubes of the first stage air-to-air cooler that extend in a vertical direction.
20\. The method of claim 18, wherein passing the second charge air through the second stage air-to-air cooler along the second direction includes directing the second charge air away from the first stage air-to-air cooler in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to the first direction.

OFFICE ACTION:
DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Objections
Claim 4 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 4 is grammatically incorrect and is missing a word . Suggested amendment: … wherein the first stage air-to-air cooler and the second stage air-to-air cooler are spaced apart from the engine by a substantially equivalent distance along a rotational axis of a driveshaft of the engine.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA  35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA  35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1 – 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Roithinger (DE 10309808).
With regards to Claims 1, 10, and 18:
Roithinger discloses an internal combustion engine (engine 1) powered system (Figures 1 – 7) and method thereof comprising:
an engine (engine 1);
an auxiliary device coupled to the engine (Paragraph 10 describes the engine on a vehicle, i.e. some inherent auxiliary device is present that is driven by the engine, e.g. transmission, wheels, etc.);
a first stage turbocharger (turbocharger 2) coupled to the engine;
a first stage air-to-air cooler (cooler 10) fluidly coupled to the first stage turbocharger (via conduit at pressure P1) to receive a first charge air therefrom (see Figure 1), the first stage air-to-air cooler arranged to direct the first charge air along a first direction from an inlet of the first stage air-to-air cooler to an outlet of the first stage air-to-air cooler (see arrows in Figure 7 showing flow through cooler 10);
a second stage turbocharger (turbocharger 3) fluidly coupled to the first stage air-to-air cooler (via conduit at pressure P2); and
a second stage air-to-air cooler  (cooler 11) fluidly coupled to the second stage turbocharger (via conduit at pressure P3) to receive a second charge air therefrom, the second stage air-to-air cooler being separate from the first stage air-to-air cooler (as shown in Figures 1, 2, 7) and arranged to direct the second charge air along a second direction from an inlet of the second stage air-to-air cooler to an outlet of the second stage air-to-air cooler, the second direction being different from the first direction (see arrows of flow through coolers 10, 11 in Figure 7, the air goes though the coolers in different directions).
With regards to Claim 2:
Roithinger discloses the first direction extends in a vertical direction between a lower end of the engine and an upper end of the engine (see Figures1, 2, and 7 and orientation of cooler 10, which extends at least partially vertically from its inlet near radiator 16 to its outlet near cooler 11 – note that the term “vertically” is relative and any orientation of Roithinger would qualify as vertical given lack of any other context in the claim language).
With regards to Claim 3:
Roithinger discloses the engine further comprises an intake manifold (intake manifold 20) and an exhaust manifold spaced apart from the intake manifold (exhaust manifold not labeled but shown on opposite side of intake manifold 20, see Paragraph 9: “the second exhaust gas turbocharger can be bypassed, preferably on the exhaust side”, wherein item 9 refers to the bypass and it is clearly shown in Figure 3 as being on the opposite side of the engine as the intake manifold 20), the second direction extending parallel to a reference line representing a shortest distance between the intake manifold and the exhaust manifold (see Figure 3 and cooler 11, which extends at least partially parallel along the shortest line connecting intake manifold 20 to the exhaust manifold).
With regards to Claim 4:
Roithinger discloses the first stage air-to-air cooler and the second stage air-to-air cooler [are] spaced apart from the engine by a substantially equivalent distance along a rotational axis of a driveshaft (crankshaft 1a) of the engine (looking at top down view in Figures 3 – 4a, coolers 10 and 11 begin at approximately the same longitudinal distance along the longitudinal axis, and would be approximately the same distance from the end of crankshaft 1a as shown in Figures 4, 4a).
With regards to Claim 5:
Roithinger discloses an air driver (radial fan 17) coupled to the engine and powered by the engine (Paragraph 31), the first stage air-to-air cooler and the second stage air-to-air cooler each disposed in a parallel flow arrangement relative to the air driver (see Figures 1, 7, radial fan 17 provides air to the coolers 10, 11 in parallel, i.e. simultaneously, not in series).
With regards to Claim 6:
Roithinger discloses a first conduit (see Figure 3, unlabeled conduit at pressure P1) fluidly coupling the first stage turbocharger to the first stage air-to-air cooler;
a second conduit (see Figure 3, unlabeled conduit at pressure P2) fluidly coupling the first stage air-to-air cooler to the second stage turbocharger;
a third conduit fluidly (see Figure 3, unlabeled conduit at pressure P3) coupling the second stage turbocharger to the second stage air-to- air cooler; and
a fourth conduit (see Figure 3, unlabeled conduit at pressure P4) extending away from the outlet of the second stage air-to-air cooler, the first conduit, the second conduit, the third conduit, and the fourth conduit each extending parallel to one another at a location adjacent to the first stage air-to-air cooler and the second stage air-to- air cooler (as shown in Figure 3, at the outlet of each of the coolers, the conduits all extend in a parallel direction towards the engine).
With regards to Claim 7:
Roithinger discloses the second stage air- to-air cooler forms an air conduit for the second charge air that directs the second charge air from a hot side of the engine to a cold side of the engine at lower temperature than the hot side (see flow arrows in Figure 1 indicating that charge air flows through the cooler 11 from the exhaust side, i.e. hot side, to an intake manifold side, i.e. cold side, of the engine).
With regards to Claim 8:
Roithinger discloses the outlet of the second stage air-to-air cooler is disposed on an opposite side of the engine as each of the inlet of the second stage air-to-air cooler, and both the inlet and outlet of the first stage air-to-air cooler (see Figure 7, outlet of cooler 11 at pressure P4 is at opposite side of engine 1 compared to inlet of cooler 10 at P1, outlet of cooler 10 at P2, and inlet of cooler 11 at P3, due to mostly vertical orientation of cooler 10).
With regards to Claim 9:
Roithinger discloses a radiator (radiators 14, 15, 16), wherein the first stage air-to-air cooler and the second stage air-to-air cooler together surround the radiator on at least two sides (see Figure 7, coolers 10 and 11 together surround the group of radiators 14 – 16 at least on two side under BRI).
With regards to Claim 11:
Roithinger discloses the first direction is substantially perpendicular to the second direction (see Figure 7, coolers 10 and 11 are “substantially perpendicular” under BRI).
With regards to Claim 12:
Roithinger discloses the first direction is a vertical direction so that the outlet of the first stage air-to-air cooler is disposed vertically above the inlet of the first stage air-to-air cooler (see Figure 7, the outlet of the cooler 10 at pressure P2 is vertically above the inlet of cooler 10 at pressure P1).
With regards to Claim 13:
Roithinger discloses the second direction is a horizontal direction (see Figure 7, cooler 11 extends in a substantially horizontal direction).
With regards to Claim 14:
Roithinger discloses the inlet of the second stage air-to- air cooler is disposed adjacent to the outlet of the first stage air-to-air cooler (see Figure 7, inlet of cooler 11 at P3 is adjacent to outlet of cooler 10 at P2), and wherein the outlet of the second stage air-to-air cooler is spaced horizontally apart from both the inlet of the first stage air-to-air cooler and the outlet of the first stage air-to-air cooler (see Figure 7, outlet of cooler 11 at P4 is spaced horizontally from inlet of cooler 10 at P1 and outlet of cooler 10 at P2).
With regards to Claim 15:
Roithinger discloses the inlet of the second stage air-to- air cooler, the outlet of the second stage air-to-air cooler, and the outlet of the first stage air-to-air cooler are each disposed vertically above the inlet of the first stage air-to-air cooler (see Figure 7, inlet and outlet of cooler 11 at P3 and P4, and outlet of cooler 10 at P2 are all disposed vertically above inlet of cooler 10 at P1).
With regards to Claim 16:
Roithinger discloses the first stage air-to-air cooler extends along a same reference plane as the second stage air-to-air cooler (see Figure 3, coolers 10 and 11 are along same plane longitudinally).
With regards to Claim 17:
Roithinger discloses the first stage air-to-air cooler includes a first plurality of tubes extending along the first direction, and the second stage air-to- air cooler includes a second plurality of tubes extending along the second direction (some form of tube is inherent given that charge air flows in the direction indicated in Figures 1 and 7, and the respective tubes must at least partially extend in the first and second directions to convey the charge air in the directions indicated in the Figures).
With regards to Claim 19:
Roithinger discloses passing the first charge air through the first stage air-to- air cooler includes passing the first charge air through a plurality of tubes of the first stage air-to- air cooler that extend in a vertical direction (some form of tube is inherent given that charge air flows in the direction indicated in Figures 1 and 7, and the tubes must at least partially extend vertically in cooler 10 to convey the charge air in the direction indicated in the Figures).
With regards to Claim 20:
Roithinger discloses passing the second charge air through the second stage air-to-air cooler along the second direction includes directing the second charge air away from the first stage air-to-air cooler in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to the first direction (see Figure 7, coolers 10 and 11 are “substantially perpendicular” under BRI).
Examiner’s Suggestion
For the sake of compact prosecution, examiner suggests applicant amend the independent claims to include the first and second coolers being perpendicular to one another, the first and second coolers surrounding a radiator on at least two sides, and an air driver positioned behind the radiator and first and second coolers, between the engine and the coolers. Such an amendment would overcome the art rejection above.
Inclusion of the air driver being behind the coolers by itself is insufficient given another Roithinger reference (US 6782849), where a first charge air cooler (10, Figure 6) has a first direction that is opposite a direction of a second charge air cooler (11), and an air driver (17) is located behind the coolers between the engine and the coolers – said reference meeting all requirements of the independent claims in a 102 rejection.
Additional References
Please see attached PTO-892 form for additional references which are made of record but not relied upon for the current grounds of rejection.
Fischer et al. (US 2002/0189786) – radial fan cooling arrangement where charge air cooler 20 is horizontally oriented.
Inquiries


NEXT OFFICE ACTION: Notice of Pre-AIA  or AIA  Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
EXAMINER'S AMENDMENT
An examiner’s amendment to the record appears below. Should the changes and/or additions be unacceptable to applicant, an amendment may be filed as provided by 37 CFR 1.312. To ensure consideration of such an amendment, it MUST be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee.
Authorization for this examiner’s amendment was given in an interview with Kyle Rule on August 18, 2025.
The application has been amended as follows:
In the claim set of 8/12/2025, please amend Claim 18, Line 1 to read:
A method of cooling charge air for an internal  combustion…
Reasons for Allowance
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
The prior art does not teach the features of the first stage air-to-air cooler and the second stage air-to-air cooler together surrounding the radiator on at least two sides, the air driver positioned axially between (i) the engine, and (ii) the first stage air-to-air cooler, the second stage air-to-air cooler, and the radiator, as is present in some form in all claims, in conjunction with the rest of the structure recited.
The closest art of record is Roithinger (DE 10309808), who teaches a radial fan as mapped in the rejection of 5/12/2025. Roithinger does not teach the air driver positioned axially between (i) the engine, and (ii) the first stage air-to-air cooler, the second stage air-to-air cooler, and the radiator, and it would not have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Roithinger without fundamentally changing the principal operation of Roithinger. Another Roithinger reference (US 6782849) teaches the above feature, but fails to teach the first stage air-to-air cooler and the second stage air-to-air cooler together surrounding the radiator on at least two sides. As such, the claimed invention as a whole is not known in the art and it would not have been obvious to modify any of these references to yield the claimed invention without improper hindsight reasoning from applicant’s disclosure.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee.  Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Inquiries

CITED REFERENCE SUMMARIES: Ref US6782849B2: [content unavailable]
Ref US20020189786A1: Claims:
A cooling system for a vehicle, the cooling system comprising: a radial fan rotatable about an axis to deliver a radial air flow to the cooling system; a plurality of heat exchangers spaced radially from the fan and arranged around the fan to receive the radial air flow therefrom, the heat exchangers bounding an interior space of the cooling system, one of the plurality of heat exchangers being a charge air cooler, the charge air cooler including a first flow path for a charge air flow in heat exchange relation with a second flow path for an engine coolant flow of the vehicle; and a surface associated with the charge air cooler to substantially block the radially air flow from exiting the interior space through the charge air cooler.
a radial fan rotatable about an axis to deliver a radial air flow to the cooling system;
a plurality of heat exchangers spaced radially from the fan and arranged around the fan to receive the radial air flow therefrom, the heat exchangers bounding an interior space of the cooling system, one of the plurality of heat exchangers being a charge air cooler, the charge air cooler including a first flow path for a charge air flow in heat exchange relation with a second flow path for an engine coolant flow of the vehicle; and
a surface associated with the charge air cooler to substantially block the radially air flow from exiting the interior space through the charge air cooler.
The cooling system of claim 1 wherein the charge air cooler comprises a pair of charge air manifolds arranged on opposite sides of the charge air cooler to direct the charge air flow to and collect the charge air flow from the first flow path, the charge air manifolds including rearward facing ends with at least one of a charge air inlet and a charge air outlet arranged thereon.
The cooling system of claim 2 wherein the charge air cooler further comprises a plurality of rows of flattened tubes extending between the charge air manifolds to define the first flow path, and a plurality of plate pairs arranged between the rows of flattened tubes, the plate pairs enclosing flow channels to define the second flow path for the engine coolant.
The cooling system of claim 3 wherein each of the plates pairs includes pairs of flanged openings that are connected with the flanged openings of any adjacent plate pairs to define a coolant inlet manifold and a coolant outlet manifold for directing the coolant to the flow channels and collecting the coolant from the flow channels, respectively, the inlet and outlet manifolds extending substantially perpendicular to the flow channels.
The cooling system of claim 3 wherein the flattened tubes extend transverse to the axis of the fan and at least one of the charge air manifolds extends adjacent a manifold of another of the plurality of heat exchangers.
The cooling system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the plurality of heat exchangers is a radiator for the engine coolant and includes a coolant outlet connected to a coolant inlet of the charge air cooler to direct the engine coolant to the second flow path.
The cooling system of claim 1 wherein the surface is defined at least in part by a broad side of the charge air cooler.
The cooling system of claim 1 wherein the surface is defined at least in part by a wall located between the charge air cooler and the fan.
The cooling system of claim 1 further comprising a rear wall that closes an opening to the interior space bounded by the plurality of heat exchangers and an additional heat exchanger arranged in the rear wall.
Ref DE10309808A1: Claims:
Cooling system for an internal combustion engine ( 1 ) with two-stage supercharging, with a charge air line ( 4 ) in which a first compressor ( 5 ) of a first exhaust gas turbocharger ( 2 ) and downstream of this a second compressor ( 6 ) of a second exhaust gas turbocharger ( 3 ) is arranged between the first and the second compressor ( 5 , 6 ) a first charge air cooler ( 10 ) and downstream of the second compressor ( 6 ) a second charge air cooler ( 11 ), characterized in that the second exhaust gas turbocharger ( 3 ), preferably is bypassable on the exhaust gas side and that the cooler group ( 12 ) consisting of the first and second charge air coolers ( 10 , 11 ) and a coolant cooler ( 13 ) is engine-fixed.
Cooling system according to claim 1, characterized in that the cooler group ( 12 ) is arranged radially around the circumference of a radial fan ( 17 ).
Cooling system according to claim 2, characterized in that the cooler group ( 12 ) arranged around the radial fan ( 17 ) on the motor side has a bulkhead ( 19 ) for the internal combustion engine ( 1 ).
Cooling system according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that at least between two coolers ( 10 , 11 , 13 ) of the cooler group ( 12 ) and / or in the bulkhead ( 19 ) at least one cooling slot ( 19 a) for cooling an auxiliary device, for example, an assembly, a vibration damper, an oil filter or the like is arranged.
Cooling system according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the charge air line ( 4 , 4 a) is at least partially designed as a multi-chamber component, preferably as a two-chamber component ( 22 ).
Cooling system according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the coolant line of the cooling system is at least partially designed as a multi-chamber component, preferably as a two-chamber component ( 22 ).
Cooling system according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that
at least one multi-chamber component as a combined coolant and
Charge air duct acts.
Cooling system according to claim 7, characterized in that the charge air space ( 33 ) in the multi-chamber component is insulated from the coolant space ( 34 ).
Cooling system according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that at least one charge air cooler ( 10 , 11 ) can be closed by a radiator blind ( 30 ).
Cooling system according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the fan ( 17 ) via a switchable clutch ( 17 a) is driven.
Cooling system according to claim 10, characterized in that the clutch ( 17 a) can be controlled externally via a cooling temperature sensor ( 17 b) and an electronic control unit (ECU).
Cooling system according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the fan ( 17 ) via a belt ( 17 c) through the crankshaft ( 1 a) of the internal combustion engine ( 1 ) can be driven, the belt ( 17 c) inside the cooler group ( 12 ) is arranged between the fan ( 17 ) and the bulkhead ( 19 ).
Cooling system according to claim 12, characterized in that the inlet nozzle ( 18 ) of the cooler group ( 12 ) and the fan ( 17 ) from the end facing the cooling air flow can be removed.
Cooling system according to one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the second charge air cooler ( 11 ) is arranged substantially in the transverse direction of the engine between the first charge air cooler ( 10 ) and an inlet header ( 20 ).
Ref US20020189786: Claims:
1. A cooling system for a vehicle, the cooling system comprising: 
a radial fan rotatable about an axis to deliver a radial air flow to the cooling system;  a plurality of heat exchangers spaced radially from the fan and arranged around the fan to receive the radial air flow therefrom, the heat exchangers bounding an interior space of the cooling system, one of the plurality of heat exchangers being a charge air cooler, the charge air cooler including a first flow path for a charge air flow in heat exchange relation with a second flow path for an engine coolant flow of the vehicle; and  a surface associated with the charge air cooler to substantially block the radially air flow from exiting the interior space through the charge air cooler.
2. The cooling system of claim 1 wherein the charge air cooler comprises a pair of charge air manifolds arranged on opposite sides of the charge air cooler to direct the charge air flow to and collect the charge air flow from the first flow path, the charge air manifolds including rearward facing ends with at least one of a charge air inlet and a charge air outlet arranged thereon.
3. The cooling system of claim 2 wherein the charge air cooler further comprises a plurality of rows of flattened tubes extending between the charge air manifolds to define the first flow path, and a plurality of plate pairs arranged between the rows of flattened tubes, the plate pairs enclosing flow channels to define the second flow path for the engine coolant.
4. The cooling system of claim 3 wherein each of the plates pairs includes pairs of flanged openings that are connected with the flanged openings of any adjacent plate pairs to define a coolant inlet manifold and a coolant outlet manifold for directing the coolant to the flow channels and collecting the coolant from the flow channels, respectively, the inlet and outlet manifolds extending substantially perpendicular to the flow channels.
5. The cooling system of claim 3 wherein the flattened tubes extend transverse to the axis of the fan and at least one of the charge air manifolds extends adjacent a manifold of another of the plurality of heat exchangers.
6. The cooling system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the plurality of heat exchangers is a radiator for the engine coolant and includes a coolant outlet connected to a coolant inlet of the charge air cooler to direct the engine coolant to the second flow path.
7. The cooling system of claim 1 wherein the surface is defined at least in part by a broad side of the charge air cooler.
8. The cooling system of claim 1 wherein the surface is defined at least in part by a wall located between the charge air cooler and the fan.
9. The cooling system of claim 1 further comprising a rear wall that closes an opening to the interior space bounded by the plurality of heat exchangers and an additional heat exchanger arranged in the rear wall.
Ref US6782849: Claims:
1. Cooling system for an internal combustion engine with two-stage supercharging, including a charge-air line in which is provided a first compressor of a first turbocharger and a second compressor of a second turbocharger downstream thereof, a first charge-air cooler being provided between said first and second compressors, and a second charge-air cooler downstream of the second compressor, wherein at least one of the two charge-air coolers is disposed upstream of the coolant cooler in a flow direction of the cooling air, and the second charge-air cooler is disposed immediately above or beside the first charge-air cooler.
2. Cooling system according to claim 1, wherein an inlet and an outlet of at least one charge-air cooler are provided on one and the same side relative to a vertical plane extending through a center of gravity of the charge-air cooler in the flow direction of the cooling air.
3. Cooling system according to claim 2, wherein the inlet and outlet of the first charge-air cooler are provided on one and the same side relative to the vertical plane.
4. Cooling system according to claim 1, wherein at least one charge-air cooler is provided with a separating wall through the center of gravity, which acts as a partition between incoming and outgoing charge-air streams, so that an essentially U-shaped flow path is obtained for the charge air flowing through the charge air cooler.
5. Cooling system according to claim 4, wherein the first charge-air cooler is provided with the separating wall through the center of gravity.
6. Cooling system according to claim 1, wherein a cooling assembly comprising first and second charge-air coolers and the coolant cooler is rigidly attached to the engine.
7. Cooling system according to claim 6, wherein the cooling assembly is rigidly attached to the vehicle frame.
8. Cooling system according to claim 1, wherein flexible hose elements are provided in the charge-air line between first compressor, first charge-air cooler, second compressor, second charge-air cooler, and an intake manifold.
9. Cooling system according to claim 1, wherein the second turbocharger is bypassed in a controlled manner.
10. Cooling system according to claim 9, wherein the second turbocharger is bypassed at the exhaust end.
11. Cooling system according to claim 1, including a fan for generation of a cooling air stream, wherein the fan is driven by a switchable coupling.
12. Cooling system according to claim 11, wherein the fan in an axial-flow type fan.
13. Cooling system according to claim 11, wherein the switchable coupling is provided with a visco-thermoelement.
14. Cooling system according to claim 11, wherein the coupling is controlled externally via at least one cooling-air temperature sensor and an electronic control unit.
15. Cooling system according to claim 1, wherein said second charge-air cooler is in contact with said first charge-air cooler.
16. Cooling system according to claim 15, wherein said second charge-air cooler is positioned above said first charge-air cooler.