ARRANGEMENT COMPRISING A PUMP FOR A COOLING CIRCUIT OF A MOTOR VEHICLE

An arrangement for at least one cooling circuit of a motor vehicle, wherein the arrangement has a pump that has a housing. A motor with a stator and a rotor are arranged in the housing of the pump. A pump chamber is provided in the housing and in which an impeller of the pump is arranged such that it can rotate and be driven by the motor. The impeller conveys the medium to be conveyed by the pump. The arrangement has a tank and/or a distributor device, and wherein at least a first part of the housing is formed in a part of the tank or of the distributor device of the arrangement.

This nonprovisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 (a) to German Patent Application No. 10 2023 114 427.8, which was filed in Germany on Jun. 1, 2023, and which is herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The invention relates to an arrangement for at least one cooling circuit of a motor vehicle, wherein the arrangement has a pump.

Description of the Background Art

Arrangements that have a distributor device are known from the prior art, for example from the documents DE 10 2021 106 969 A1, WO 2022/253381 A1, and WO 2017/223232 A2. Generally, this is a complex injection-molded plastic part to which pumps, lines, valves, tanks, and possibly other components of a cooling circuit can be connected. Formed in the distributor device are passages or lines which can connect the pumps and lines that are coupled to the couplings. The valves can control which couplings are connected to one another. In addition to the distributor devices, the arrangements generally include the pumps and valves and often the tanks as well.

Also known from the conventional art are variants of such arrangements in which a pump is not attached to the distributor device, but instead to a tank.

Reducing construction volume is an ongoing task for developers and designers of motor vehicles and automotive parts. It is likewise an ongoing task to reduce the number of parts required. The developers and designers of the abovementioned arrangements for cooling circuits in motor vehicles also face these tasks.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to reduce installation space and the number of parts of a cooling circuit.

This object is attained according to an example of the invention in that the arrangement has a tank and/or a distributor device, and that at least a first part of the housing of a pump is formed in a part of the tank or of the distributor device of the arrangement.

The tank or the distributor device can therefore form a part of the pump housing and in this respect also forms a part of the pump. As a result, an additional part, which up to now has formed this part of the pump housing, can be eliminated. Instead of connecting a complete pump to the distributor device or the tank as in the conventional art, according to the invention, a pump with an incomplete housing is fastened to the distributor device or the tank, by which means the complete pump is then formed.

An arrangement according to the invention can have multiple pumps. It is possible that the first part of the housing in one pump is formed by the distributor device and the first part of the pump housing in another pump is formed by the tank. It is also possible, however, that the first part of the housing in all pumps is formed by the distributor device or the tank. If, for example, three pumps are provided in an arrangement according to the invention, then three parts that are conventionally necessary to form a complete pump can be eliminated since they are replaced by first parts of the housing formed in the distributor device or the tank.

The first part of the housing can form a part of a boundary of the pump chamber. The first part can therefore have structures that form a wall or parts of a wall of the pump chamber, that project into the pump chamber, that interact with the impeller arranged in the pump chamber, etc.

In particular, the first part of the housing can form a wall that also delimits the pump chamber in the radial direction. An annular groove, in which a collar of the impeller of the pump engages, can be provided in the first part of the housing. In this way, the impeller can be supported in the pump housing.

A seal can be created between an inlet and the pump chamber by the meshing of the collar of the impeller and the annular groove of the first part of the housing or of the collar of the first part of the housing and the annular groove of the impeller. The seal can be a labyrinth seal or be similar to a labyrinth seal. Owing to this seal, an unwanted liquid flow between the pump chamber and the inlet is reduced and the efficiency of the pump is increased.

Owing to the collar of the impeller, which, instead of engaging in the inlet, engages in an annular groove of the first part of the housing surrounding the inlet, or alternatively owing to the collar of the first part of the housing surrounding the inlet, which engages in an annular groove of the impeller, a pump according to the invention can have a second bearing for the rotating parts of the pump, which bearing assists in supporting the rotating parts of the pump. This second bearing leads to smoother running of the rotating parts and, as a result, also leads to an improvement in the acoustic properties of the pump. The acoustic emissions produced by the pump in operation are lessened and/or are more pleasant as a result of the second bearing.

It is likewise possible that recesses that are open toward another part of the pump housing are provided in the first part of the housing, and that projections that engage in the recesses are provided on the other part of the housing.

The recesses preferably are oriented in a direction parallel to the rotational axis of the impeller.

If the projections and the recesses were not provided, flat surfaces of the first part of the housing and of another part of the housing would possibly abut one another, instead of the projections and the recesses. In contrast, a type of labyrinth seal is produced by the projections and recesses, providing improved sealing between the high-pressure region and the low-pressure region even without an additional seal.

The recesses and projections furthermore make it possible that the first part of the housing of the pump and the other housing part, which can, for example, be the second part of the housing, can only be assembled in one defined position to form the pump chamber. Incorrect assembly of the two housing parts with one another can be prevented by this means.

The recesses and/or projections can have approximately the shape of a right cylinder. This includes a slight inclination of side walls of the projections, which may be necessary when the housing parts are formed by injection molding, for example.

The right cylinders can have a base that resembles a sector of an annulus. The inner walls of the recesses can follow the spiral shape of the wall that radially delimits the pump chamber, for example.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The first pump has a multipart housing, namely a first part of the housing10, a second part of the housing20, a third part of the housing30, and a fourth part of the housing40, wherein a stator50of a motor of the pump is provided in the third part30. The motor of the pump is completed by a rotor60, which is rotatably mounted on the second part of the housing20and projects into the stator50. The stator50, in turn, projects into the second part of the housing20. Moreover, a circuit carrier70is provided, on which an electronic circuit80is provided, by which means the motor is supplied with electrical energy and is controlled. An electronics compartment E, in which the circuit carrier70and the circuit80are arranged, is delimited by the third part30and the fourth part40of the housing.

The housing parts10,20,30,40can be made of plastic, for example of Vyncolit. The stator50is molded into the third part30, preferably into a first wall301, which is formed by a skirt of the third part30.

The first part of the housing10and the second part20are connected to one another by screws. The fourth part40and the third part30, and the third part30and the second part20, are connected to one another by screws.

In order to achieve a more pressure-resistant connection between the first part10and the second part20, a flange101of the first part10has a continuous web102, which engages in an interlocking manner in an annular groove203of the second part20that is provided in a first flange201of the second part20. In this way, an expansion of the first part10and of the second part20during operation of the pump on account of the pressure present there can be avoided or at least reduced.

The first part10and a wall204of the second part20, namely a second wall through which a motor shaft601passes, enclose a pump chamber P in which the impeller90is located. The pump chamber P can be connected by an intake fitting103of the first part10to a line through which the liquid to be pumped is drawn in. The intake fitting103is arranged coaxially to a rotational axis of the rotor60.

The pump chamber P can be connected by an outlet fitting104to a line into which the pumped liquid is forced. An outside wall of the first part10and the impeller90delimit a spiral space S, which extends in a spiraling manner to the outlet of the pump chamber. The impeller90is designed in a manner known per se, for example in a manner shown in the document DE 10 2011 055 599 A1,FIGS.2,3, or5, to which reference is made for detailed explanation of a suitable impeller90for a pump according to the invention.

The pump has an impeller90, which is rotatably arranged in the first part10and is attached for this purpose to a shaft601of the rotor60, which shaft projects into the first part10.

On a side facing away from the second part20, the impeller90has a collar903. The collar903engages in an annular groove106in the first part10. (The collar and the annular groove are only provided in the case of the known pump according toFIGS.1and2, but not in the case of the pump fromFIG.3.) The annular groove106and the collar903have a larger diameter than the clear cross section of the inlet fitting103. The collar903therefore does not impede a liquid flow from the inlet fitting103into the pump chamber P. Nor does the collar903come into contact with the inflowing liquid, since the collar903projects into the annular groove106. A movement of the collar903therefore has no effect on the inflowing liquid.

The collar903of the impeller90is guided in the annular groove106of the first part10.

Present between the collar903and an inner wall108of the annular groove104and between the collar903and an outer wall107of the annular groove106is an inner or an outer annular gap, respectively. The collar903projecting into the annular groove106prevents a liquid flow past the impeller90from the intake fitting103to the outlet. At most a small leakage flow through the annular gaps is possible.

The impeller90has a bushing901, preferably made of metal, with a central through hole in which the rotor shaft601is inserted, so that the impeller90with the bushing901sits on the rotor shaft601in a rotationally fixed manner, preferably in a press fit. Parallel to the central through hole of the bushing901, the rotor has through holes902, through which a liquid can flow from a side of the impeller90facing the second part20to a side of the impeller90facing the inlet.

The wall of the first part10delimiting the pump chamber P in the radial direction tapers to the same extent that the spiral space S of the pump chamber P extends in a spiraling manner. Recesses105that are open toward the second part20are provided in this wall. In the case of the examples shown inFIGS.1to3, these recesses have approximately the shape of a right cylinder with a base that resembles the sector of an annulus. For this reason, the base of the cylinder in the examples shown is similar to a sector of an annulus, wherein the inner walls of the recesses105follow the spiral shape of the radial boundary of the pump chamber P or of the spiral space S of the pump chamber P. Recesses105that taper in the circumferential direction are produced as a result. This has the further result that the recesses105differ from one another.

In the pumps according toFIGS.1to3, projections205that are complementary to the recesses105are provided on the wall204which faces the second part20and through which the rotor shaft601passes; in the assembled state of the pump, said projections project into the recesses105.

Owing to the recesses105and the complementary projections205, the first part10and the second part20can only be put together in one unique position during assembly of the pumps.

A unique position of the first part10and of the second part20could also be achieved in other ways.

The recesses105and projections205also have another effect. The region of the first part10and of the second part20, in which the recesses105or the projections205are provided, separates the high-pressure region and the low-pressure region of the pump chamber P or of the spiral space S. These areas must be sealed from one another as well as possible so that a flow of liquid in the liquid circuit bypassing the lines connected to the pump is prevented as much as possible, and the pump can operate as effectively as possible. If the projections205and the recesses105were not provided, flat surfaces of the first part10and of the second part20would abut one another instead thereof. In contrast, a type of labyrinth seal is produced by the projections205and recesses105, providing improved sealing between the high-pressure region and the low-pressure region even without an additional seal.

Provided in the aforementioned wall204through which the rotor shaft601passes is a bushing206, which serves as a bearing for the rotor shaft601. The bushing206for supporting the rotor shaft is inserted in the aforementioned wall204and firmly connected to the other second part20. The bushing206has a through hole whose cross section is matched to the rotor shaft601. One or more grooves can be provided axially in the wall of the through hole, through which a liquid can flow between the pump chamber P and a motor chamber M delimited by the second part20and the skirt301, and vice versa, when the rotor shaft601is inserted. Small quantities of the liquid carried by the grooves207are entrained by the shaft601during rotation of the rotor and provide for lubrication between the rotor shaft601and the bushing206.

Provided in the wall204through which the rotor shaft601passes, in the region of the spiral space S, are one or more through holes208, which creates or create a connection between the spiral space S and an annular chamber R delimited by the motor housing20, the skirt301, and an end wall303of the electronics housing30. A liquid can be conveyed through the through holes208from the spiral space, which is located on the high-pressure side of the impeller90, into the annular chamber R.

The annular chamber R is connected to the motor chamber M by one or more radial through holes304in the skirt301. The through holes304are provided in the vicinity of the end wall303. A liquid that crosses from the annular chamber R into the motor chamber M can be conveyed through the motor chamber M, for example through a gap between the rotor60and the skirt301, to the side of the motor chamber M facing the pump chamber P with respect to the rotor60.

In the case of the pump, first through holes603and second through holes604are provided in a region of the rotor60between the shaft and the permanent magnet. The first through holes603extend parallel to the shaft601in a region directly adjacent to the shaft601. The second through holes603are radially further distant from the rotor shaft601, and thus closer to a permanent magnet that is embedded in the rotor. Both through holes connect a space of the motor chamber on a first side of the rotor and a space of the motor chamber on a second side of the rotor.

The liquid can be conveyed to the inlet side of the impeller90, which is to say to the low-pressure side of the impeller90, through the through holes603,604in the rotor60, the aforementioned and optionally provided grooves in the bearing bushing206of the rotor shaft601, the through holes209in the wall204, and the through holes902in the impeller90. A continuous connection thus exists from the spiral space S, which is to say the high-pressure side of the pump chamber P, through the through holes208between the spiral space S and the annular chamber R into the annular chamber R, from there through the through holes304between the annular chamber R and the motor chamber M into the motor chamber M, and from the motor chamber M through the through holes603,604, and through the grooves207in the bearing bushing206if applicable, the through holes209, and the through holes902in the bushing901of the impeller90to the inlet side of the impeller90, the low-pressure side of pump chamber P. A liquid flow is established along this path during operation of the pump that, despite being significantly smaller than the flow conveyed by the pump to the outlet, is nevertheless large enough to achieve adequate cooling of the pump at rated operation.

The distributor device V of an arrangement according to the invention shown inFIG.4ff. forms three first parts of a housing of a pump, as are known from the pump inFIGS.1and2. These first parts formed in the distributor device have all the features described above of the first part of the pump according toFIGS.1and2. Thus, the recesses105and the annular groove106that interact with the projections205of the second part20of the housing or with the collar903of the impeller90are, in particular, formed in these first parts. In addition, a continuous web102, an intake fitting103, an outlet fitting104, and an outer wall107are provided in the regions of the distributor device V forming the first parts10. These elements are designed in the same way as in the first part of the pump fromFIGS.1and2, at least in the case of the part interacting with the impeller90and the second part20of the housing. As a result, it is possible to fasten three pumps according toFIGS.1and2without the first part10of the housing, or pumps in which the second part20and the impeller90are designed as in the pump fromFIGS.1and2, to the distributor device V in order to thus form complete pumps. A pump of this nature is shown inFIG.6.