Coolant recovery system of a vehicle

In a coolant recovery system of a vehicle, a coolant reservoir is connected at its upper portion to a radiator by a first pressure cap and a first ventilation hose, and to an engine by a second ventilation hose that is provided with a check valve thereon.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority of Korean Application No. 10-2003-0066785, filed on Sep. 26, 2003, the disclosure of which is incorporated fully herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Generally, the present invention relates to a cooling system of a vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to a coolant recovery system for a cooling system of a vehicle for exhausting vapor in the cooling system and for recovering and supplementing coolant thereto.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A conventional coolant recovery system includes a coolant reservoir disposed outside of an engine for storing a predetermined amount of coolant. The coolant reservoir is connected to the engine and a radiator by ventilation hoses. Therefore, vapors generated at the engine and the radiator are exhausted to the coolant reservoir through the ventilation hoses.

In addition, the coolant reservoir is also connected to the engine by a coolant supply line, so coolant is supplied to the engine through the coolant supply line when the engine becomes short of coolant.

The coolant reservoir is provided with a pressure cap, and an overflow hose is connected to the pressure cap such that air can be exhausted from the coolant reservoir when internal pressure within the reservoir becomes excessive.

Such a pressure cap of the coolant reservoir can be opened by anybody, so it can be easily lost or loosened.

A conventional coolant reservoir usually has many edges. As a result, different portions of the coolant reservoir receive different stresses due to the internal pressure in the coolant reservoir, and thereby portions receiving the most severe stresses can be easily cracked.

A radiator side ventilation hose connecting the radiator and the coolant reservoir is usually provided with a check valve for preventing reverse flow of air (or coolant) from the coolant reservoir to the radiator.

However, an engine side ventilation hose is not provided with such a check valve. Therefore, air from the coolant reservoir may possibly flow back to the engine through the engine side ventilation hose.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The motivation for the present invention is to provide a coolant recovery system for a vehicle that prevents reverse flow of vapor, enhances durability of a coolant reservoir, and secures a pressure cap in its closed position.

An exemplary coolant recovery system according to an embodiment of the present invention is adaptable for a vehicle having an engine and a radiator.

Such an exemplary coolant recovery system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a coolant reservoir having a first pressure cap formed at an upper portion thereof, a first ventilation hose connecting the first pressure cap and the radiator such that vapor from the radiator is supplied to the coolant reservoir through the first ventilation hose when vapor pressure in the radiator exceeds a predetermined pressure of, a second ventilation hose connecting the engine and the upper portion of the coolant reservoir, and a check valve disposed on the second ventilation hose for preventing reverse flow from the coolant reservoir to the engine.

In a further embodiment, the upper portion of the coolant reservoir has a circular cross-section.

In yet another embodiment, a coolant recovery system further includes a second pressure cap disposed at the upper portion of the coolant reservoir.

In still another embodiment, the second pressure cap has a projection portion, and a stopper for preventing rotation of the projection portion is attached to the coolant reservoir.

In another embodiment, a coolant recovery system further includes an overflow hose connected to the second pressure cap.

In yet another embodiment, a predetermined opening pressure of the second pressure cap is equal to or lower than a predetermined opening pressure of the first pressure cap.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1illustrates a cooling system of a vehicle and a coolant recovery system thereof according to an embodiment of the present invention.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an engine10and a radiator30are interconnected by coolant hoses such that coolant can circulate between the engine10and radiator30through the coolant hoses. The engine10is provided with a water pump12for forced circulation of the coolant, and a thermostat14for controlling the coolant circulation based on coolant temperature.

A coolant reservoir20is additionally provided in the cooling system such that air (or vapor) in the cooling system can be exhausted thereto. The coolant reservoir20is connected to the engine10by an engine side ventilation hose24such that air (or vapor) from the engine10can be gathered at the coolant reservoir20. In addition, for gathering air from the radiator30, the coolant reservoir20is also connected to the radiator30by a radiator side ventilation hose26. The coolant reservoir20is also connected to the water pump12by a coolant supply line9such that the cooling system can be refilled when it becomes short of coolant.

In an early period after starting the engine10, i.e., when the thermostat14is not yet open, the coolant circulates within the engine10driven by the water pump12. During this time, vapor formed in the engine10is supplied to the coolant reservoir20through the ventilation hose24. The coolant itself can also be supplied to the coolant reservoir20. Air (or vapor) is captured in the coolant reservoir20, and the coolant in the coolant reservoir20can be fed back to the engine10by the coolant supply line9.

When the coolant temperature increases, the thermostat14opens and the coolant in the engine10begins circulation between the engine10and the radiator30. In this case, vapor formed in the radiator30can be gathered at the coolant reservoir20through the radiator side ventilation hose26.

Accordingly, due to operation of the coolant reservoir20, the cooling system of a vehicle is filled with the coolant and thereby cooling efficiency is increased.

As shown inFIG. 2, a first pressure cap21is formed at an upper portion of the coolant reservoir20, and a second pressure cap23is formed at an uppermost portion of the coolant reservoir20.

As shown inFIG. 2, the upper portion of the coolant reservoir has a circular cross-section. Therefore, the pressure in the coolant reservoir20uniformly acts on each portion of the upper portion of the coolant reservoir20, eliminating high stress areas.

In this detailed description of an embodiment of the present invention, and also in the appended claims, the term of “upper portion of the coolant reservoir” denotes a portion above 50% of the interior volume of the coolant reservoir20. That portion of the coolant reservoir20below 50% of the interior volume of the coolant reservoir20is referred to as a lower portion.

A first ventilation hose26(i.e., the radiator side ventilation hose) interconnecting the radiator30and the coolant reservoir20is connected to the first pressure cap21. An overflow hose27is connected to the second pressure cap23such that air can be exhausted from the coolant reservoir20when the internal pressure of the coolant reservoir20is high.

A predetermined opening pressure of the first pressure cap21is hereinafter referred to as a first pressure, and a predetermined opening pressure of the second pressure cap23is hereinafter referred to as a second pressure. The second pressure is set equal to or lower than the first pressure.

When vapor pressure in the radiator30becomes greater than the first pressure, vapor in the radiator30flows into the coolant reservoir20through the first ventilation hose26.

As described above, the first pressure cap21is formed at the upper portion of the coolant reservoir20. Therefore, even if the vapor pressure in the radiator30is lower than the internal pressure of the coolant reservoir20, the vapor in the reservoir20does not flow back to the radiator when the internal pressure of the coolant reservoir20becomes greater than the first pressure (i.e., the opening pressure of the first pressure cap21).

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the second pressure (i.e., the opening pressure of the second pressure cap23) is set equal to or lower than the first pressure (i.e., the opening pressure of the first pressure cap21). Therefore, while the internal pressure of the coolant reservoir20increases, the vapor in the coolant reservoir20is exhausted through the overflow hose27without flowing back to the radiator30. This prevents reverse flow of vapor from the coolant reservoir20to the radiator30.

In addition, as described above, a second ventilation hose24(i.e., the engine side ventilation hose) is connected to the upper portion of the coolant reservoir20. A check valve25is installed in the second ventilation hose24such that vapor flow from the coolant reservoir20to the engine10is prevented.

A stopper22is removably attached to the coolant reservoir20in the vicinity of the second pressure cap23. An indentation29is formed at the stopper22and it receives a projection portion31of the second pressure cap23. Therefore, rotation of the second pressure cap23is prevented by the stopper22, and accordingly opening of the second pressure cap23is prevented.

Therefore, in order to open the second pressure cap23, the stopper22should first be disengaged, preventing easy opening of the second pressure cap23at the tope of the coolant reservoir20. Therefore, the second pressure cap23is not easily lost or loosened.

In addition, the overflow hose27connected to the second pressure cap23is held at the coolant reservoir20by a clip28such that the overflow hose27is not bent. Therefore, exhausting of air from the coolant reservoir20is ensured.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, reverse flow of vapor is efficiently prevented in a coolant recovery system.

In addition, durability of a coolant reservoir is enhanced is enhanced due to its simple shape.

In addition, a pressure cap can be secured to its closed position by a stopper, and thereby stable operation of a coolant recovery system is ensured.