Water reservoir device containing an oil exchanger, for an automobile radiator

Water reservoir device for a radiator of an automobile, comprising a water reservoir (12) communicating with an external appended receptacle (14) which contains an oil exchanger (16), the inlet and discharge pipes (58) of this exchanger passing in a sealed manner through a wall (44) of the appended receptacle and serving for the fixation and maintenance of the oil exchanger in the appended receptacle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The invention concerns a water reservoir device for an automobile radiator. 
The device contains an oil exchanger immersed in the coolant liquid 
circulating in the cooling radiator and is particularly applicable to the 
cooling of the lubricating oil of the engine and/or the transmission of 
automobiles. 
Devices of this type, which are intended to cool the oil which circulates 
in the oil exchanger by means of a coolant liquid, are already known. 
The oil exchanger of these known devices is placed in the water reservoir 
before the water reservoir is mounted on the end of a cluster of tubes or 
the body of an exchanger in the cooling radiator, the oil exchanger being 
introduced into the water reservoir through the open face of the reservoir 
which will then close the end of the body or of the cluster of tubes in 
the radiator. 
The oil exchanger traditionally comprises two connection pipes which pass 
through one wall of the water reservoir by means of a sealed passage and 
which serve for the fixation and maintenance of the oil exchanger in the 
water reservoir. These pipes are intended to join the oil radiator to the 
oil lubrication circuit of the engine and/or the transmission, for 
instance an automatic transmission. 
To allow for the mounting of the oil exchanger in the water reservoir, this 
water reservoir must be of a width which is essentially equal at least to 
the overall dimensions of the oil exchanger when in identical alignment, 
in other words generally speaking equal to the width of the oil exchanger 
with the addition of the length of the connector pipes. 
Consequently, the water reservoir must be relatively wide, and generally 
speaking greater than the width or the corresponding dimension of the 
cluster of tubes or of the exchanger body of standard radiators. 
That therefore leads to the requirement of using special water reservoirs, 
as well as collectors and special sealing joints, in place of the 
traditional water reservoirs, collectors and sealing joints, when it is 
desirable to place an oil exchanger inside a water reservoir. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The particular object of the invention is to overcome the aforementioned 
drawbacks. 
Another object is to disclose a water reservoir device wherein the oil 
exchanger can be mounted in a particularly simple manner. 
The invention concerns a water reservoir device for a radiator of an 
automobile in which an oil exchanger having two pipes, an inlet pipe and a 
discharge pipe, is immersed in the coolant liquid which circulates in the 
radiator. 
According to one important characteristic of the invention, this device 
comprises an appended receptacle which communicates with the water 
reservoir and which also contains the oil exchanger, wherein the inlet and 
discharge pipes of this oil exchanger pass in a sealed manner through a 
wall of the appended receptacle and serve for the fixation and maintenance 
of the oil exchanger in the appended receptacle. 
Thus in accordance with the invention, the water reservoir device is 
comprised of one part forming the water reservoir and one part forming the 
appended receptacle and containing the oil exchanger. 
This particular characteristic of the device of the invention allows for 
use of the same collectors and the same sealed joints as in the case 
wherein the water reservoir is of the traditional type and does not 
contain any oil exchanger. Besides, this provision allows the use of the 
same oil radiators as those which were formerly mounted in the large water 
reservoirs. 
According to another characteristic of the invention, the water reservoir 
and the appended receptacle form an assembly of one single block of 
material which can be molded of plastic material. 
Preferably, the water reservoir and the appended receptacle are generally 
of oblong shape and are generally parallel to one another. 
In the case wherein the water reservoir of the device has an open surface 
or face of rectangular shape which is of suitable dimensions to cap one 
end of the body or of the cluster of tubes of the radiator, the general 
alignment of the appended receptacle is then parallel to the two longer 
sides of the open face of the water reservoir. 
In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the wall of the appended 
receptacle, which has the oil exchanger pipes passing through it, is 
generally cylindrical and includes one end closed by one bottom wall and 
another open end which may be closed by a cover, after placement of the 
oil exchanger in the appended receptacle. 
In this case, the open end of the appended receptacle must have a width 
dimension which is greater than the dimensions, in the same alignment, of 
the oil exchanger and its pipes. 
Thus, in accordance with the invention, it is the width dimension of the 
appended receptacle which must be adapted to the width dimensions of the 
oil radiator, the width of the water reservoir being adapted only to the 
thickness or the width of the cluster of tubes or of the body of the 
exchanger which makes up part of the radiator. 
According to one other characteristic of the invention, the generally 
cylindrical wall of the appended receptacle is generally circular and also 
comprises a portion of flat wall which extends parallel to the axis of the 
cylinder and which includes two passage orifices for the two oil exchanger 
pipes. 
By virtue of this characteristic, each pipe can comprise an annular flange 
applied on the internal surface of the aforementioned flat portion of the 
wall, and an end part with exterior threading which extends from the other 
side of the wall, through the passage orifice, and which receives a nut to 
tighten this portion of the flat wall on the annular flange. 
According to still another characteristic of the invention, the water 
reservoir and the appended receptacle communicate with each other through 
two communication passages at some distance from each other. 
The invention provides besides that these two passages for communication 
open respectively into two separate compartments of the water reservoir, 
which are separated by an internal partition within the water reservoir. 
This allows the device according to the invention to be mounted on a 
radiator with either U or Z circulation. 
In the following description, provided solely as an example, reference is 
made to the attached drawing.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
The first references will be to FIGS. 1 to 3 which represent a water 
reservoir device 10 according to the invention comprising a water 
reservoir 12 and an appended receptacle 14 which are in combination with 
each other, the appended receptacle containing an oil exchanger 16. 
Water reservoir 12 is mounted in the traditional manner at one end of a 
cluster of tubes 18 by means of a collector or tubes plate 20 (FIG. 1). 
Cluster 18 in the traditional manner comprises an assembly of parallel 
tubes 22 which pass through an assembly of radiating flanges 24 which are 
parallel to each other and perpendicular to the lengthwise alignment of 
tubes 22. One end of each of tubes 22 is mounted in a sealed manner in 
holes 26 (FIG. 1) formed in the collector 20. 
At the other end of cluster 18 is mounted a water reservoir 28 provided 
with an inlet pipe 30. Water reservoir 12 of device 10 is provided with a 
discharge pipe 32 (FIG. 3). 
Water reservoir 12 includes a side wall 34 of semicircular upright cross 
section (FIG. 2) which is joined to a peripheral flange 36 which is 
rectangular, having two long sides 38 and two short sides 40. Flange 36 
with lateral wall 34 thus defines an open surface of rectangular shape 
which is suitable to be joined in a sealed manner with collector 20, for 
instance by welding, if this collector and the water reservoir are formed 
of plastic material. 
Appended receptacle 14 is of generally cylindrical shape of which the axis 
42 (FIGS. 1 and 2) extends parallel to the two long sides 38 which are 
defining the open surface of water reservoir 12. Appended receptacle 14 
presents a side cylindrical wall 44 of generally circular section of which 
the axis is 42. Wall 44 presents one closed end 46 closed by a bottom wall 
48 and one open end 50 which may be closed by a cover 52, after oil 
exchanger 16 has been placed and positioned in appended receptacle 14. 
Cylindrical wall 44 of appended receptacle 14 includes a flattened wall 
portion 54 which extends parallel to axis 42 of the cylinder and which 
includes two passage orifices 56 to receive the two pipes 58 for joining 
the oil exchanger to an oil circuit. 
Oil exchanger 16 in a traditional manner comprises two coaxial cylindrical 
walls 60 and 62 (FIG. 2) sealed at their opposed axial ends. The two pipes 
58 are arranged in the vicinity of these axial ends and open into the 
annular space located between cylindrical walls 60 and 62. Each of the 
pipes 58 is oriented perpendicular to the axis of oil exchanger 16, which, 
in the position shown in FIG. 2, is in alignment with axis 42 of appended 
receptacle 14. Each pipe 58 comprises an annular flange 64 engaged against 
the internal surface of the portion of flat wall 54 and one end part with 
exterior threading 66 which extends outward from the other side of the 
wall portion 54, through orifice 56, and which receives a nut 68 for 
tightening the annular flange 64 against wall portion 54 (FIG. 2). In 
addition, each annular flange 64 includes an annular groove which receives 
a sealing member 70 to assure the sealed passage of the two pipes 58 
through wall 44 of appended receptacle 14. 
The wall 44 of appended receptacle 14 and the open end 50 thereof present 
the same upright straight cross-section, providing a width dimension 
greater than the dimensions, in the same direction, of oil exchanger 16 
and its pipes 58. This allows for the simple mounting of oil exchanger 16 
inside appended receptacle 14 by sliding the oil exchanger and its pipes 
longitudinally into the receptacle 14. For that purpose, it suffices to 
introduce exchanger 16 axially into appended receptacle 14 so that the 
cylindrical wall 60 of the receptacle 14 is in the position shown in 
broken lines in FIG. 2, and the pipes 58 are oriented perpendicular to the 
flat wall portion 54. When these two pipes are facing the two 
corresponding orifices 56, then it suffices to displace exchanger 16 so 
that the two pipes 58 pass through the two corresponding orifices 56, and 
then to place and position the two nuts 68. 
Water reservoir 12 and appended receptacle 14 form an assembly made of one 
integral piece, which may be of a molded plastic material. Two parallel 
cylindrical conduits 72 and 74 both connect lateral wall 34 of the water 
reservoir and wall 44 of appended receptacle 14. These two cylindrical 
conduits are also formed integral with the water reservoir and the 
appended receptacle and the conduits extend parallel to each other and 
perpendicular to the open surface of water reservoir 12 and perpendicular 
to axis 42 of appended receptacle 14. Cylindrical conduits 72 and 74 thus 
define two communication passages between the inside of water reservoir 12 
and the inside of appended receptacle 14. 
In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3, water reservoir 12 comprises two 
internal partitions 76 and 78 which subdivide the interior of water 
reservoir 12 into three compartments 80, 82 and 84. Compartment 80 
communicates with appended receptacle 14 through cylindrical conduit 72. 
Compartment 82 communicates with appended receptacle 14 through 
cylindrical conduit 74. Compartment 84 is in communication with discharge 
pipe 32 from water reservoir 12. 
In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, water reservoir 28 comprises an internal 
partition 86 which separates this water reservoir into a compartment 88 
communicating with inlet conduit 30 and another compartment 90. 
The cooling radiator shown in FIG. 3 functions in the following manner. The 
coolant liquid, for instance a mixture of water and glycol, enters the 
radiator through inlet pipe 30 and thus passes into compartment 88. From 
there, it flows through one part of the tubes of the cluster in order to 
reach compartment 80, to pass through conduit 72 and enter into the 
interior of the appended receptacle in order to cool the oil which flows 
through oil exchanger 16. The coolant liquid then leaves appended 
receptacle 14 by passing through conduit 74 to reach compartment 82. From 
there, it flows through another part of the tubes of the cluster in order 
to reach compartment 90. Then it leaves compartment 90, passes through 
another part of the tubes of the cluster, reaches compartment 84 and is 
discharged from water reservoir 12 through pipe 32. The circulation of the 
coolant in this radiator is carried out in a Z-shaped circulation, forming 
a "triple circuit". 
Now reference is made to FIG. 4. In this embodiment, water reservoir 28 
comprises an inlet nipple 92 and a discharge nipple 94. An internal 
partition 96 subdivides the water reservoir into two compartments 98 and 
100 which communicate respectively with pipes 92 and 94. 
Water reservoir 12 is subdivided into two compartments 102 and 104 by a 
partition 106. Appended receptacle 14 thus communicates with compartment 
102 through conduit 72 and with compartment 104 through conduit 74. The 
radiator of FIG. 4 functions as follows. The coolant reaches compartment 
98 through pipe 92, passes through a part of the tubes of cluster 18, 
reaches compartment 102 and then passes into appended receptacle 14 
through conduit 72. In this receptacle, it cools the oil which circulates 
in exchanger 16. The coolant then leaves the appended receptacle by 
passing successively through conduit 74, into compartment 104, and through 
the other part of the tubes of cluster 18 to reach compartment 100, which 
it leaves through pipe 94. The cooling circuit is thus of the type called 
a "bi-circuit" or U-shaped circuit. 
In the two aforementioned embodiments, the cover 52 is affixed with a seal 
on the open end 50 of appended receptacle 14 for instance by welding or 
even by using a clamping ring. Cover 52 may be a simple plug or else, as 
shown in FIG. 1, may constitute a filling coupling, having its own cap 
108, thus allowing filling of the radiator with coolant liquid directly 
through appended receptacle 14. 
The water reservoir device of the invention offers the supplementary 
advantages of allowing that the oil exchanger be mounted in the appended 
receptacle either before final assembly, or following mounting of the 
water reservoir on the tube cluster. 
Besides, taking into consideration the cylindrical shape of the appended 
receptacle, the water reservoir device is adequately resistant to the 
pressure of the coolant liquid. 
Nonetheless, any desired shape of the appended receptacle may be 
considered, such as for instance a circular shape limited by a flat wall 
parallel to the open edge of the water reservoir and situated beyond the 
oil radiator. The lengthwise dimensions of the exchanger can be limited in 
this manner.