Support for a cooling device

A support for a cooling device which consists of a heat exchanger and a fan shroud for a cooling fan, has a resilient body portion adapted to simultaneously engage the heat exchanger and the fan shroud. Where the cooling device further comprises a second heat exchanger, such as a condenser, the support has a further portion adapted to engage the condenser. The support allows the assembled components to be protected from vibration.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
 The present invention relates to a support for a cooling device. In
 particular, an embodiment of the present invention relates to a support
 for supporting an automotive cooling device comprising a fan shroud and a
 heat exchanger within a vehicle.
 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 U.S. Pat. No. 5,219,016 (Bolton et al.) discloses a cooling device having a
 fan shroud, a radiator and a condenser supported as a combination within
 an automobile. The cooling device is assembled by hanging the condenser
 off one side of the radiator and the fan shroud off the other side of the
 radiator. The base of the radiator is supported by a part of the
 automobile and the assembled cooling device is held in a position within
 the automobile by a mounting panel which is disposed to apply a downward
 pressure on the fan shroud, the radiator and the condenser. Resilient
 material is used as an intermediary between the radiator and that part of
 the automobile which supports its base and the top of the radiator and the
 mounting panel. The resilient material helps to insulate the assembled
 cooling device from the vibrations of the automobile.
 The arrangement of the prior art is complicated to manufacture and
 assemble. Also, although the fan shroud, the radiator and the condenser
 are constrained to limit their movement relative to one another they are
 constrained by different elements and consequently different forces. This
 may permit relative movement between the fan shroud or condenser and the
 radiator, which may cause shear stresses to occur.
 It would be advantageous to address these problems and in particular to
 provide a simple support which allows for the assembled components of a
 cooling device to be protected from vibrations.
 An object of the invention is to provide a support which at least partly
 mitigates the problems of the prior art.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a
 support for a cooling device comprising at least a heat exchanger and a
 fan shroud, having a resilient body portion which is adapted to
 simultaneously engage the heat exchanger and fan shroud of the cooling
 device.
 Preferably the body portion has wall portions defining respective cavities
 for engaging said heat exchanger and said fan shroud, the cavities being
 dimensioned to resiliently retain said heat exchanger and fan shroud.
 Conveniently the body portion comprises elastomeric material.
 Advantageously the support comprises a first upper elastomeric layer, a
 second lower elastomeric layer and an intermediate layer of reinforcing
 mesh material.
 Conveniently said mesh material comprises steel.
 According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a
 support for a cooling device comprising a heat exchanger, a fan shroud for
 a cooling fan and a condenser, the support having a resilient body portion
 adapted to simultaneously engage the heat exchanger, the fan shroud and
 the condenser.
 Preferably the body portion has wall portions defining respective cavities
 for engaging said heat exchanger, said fan shroud and said condenser, the
 cavities being dimensioned to resiliently retain said heat exchanger, fan
 shroud and condenser.
 Advantageously the body portion is of elastomeric material.
 Conveniently the support comprises a first upper elastomeric layer, a
 second lower elastomeric layer and an intermediate layer of reinforcing
 mesh material.
 Advantageously the mesh material comprises steel.
 According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a
 support for a cooling device comprising a heat exchanger and a fan shroud
 associated with the heat exchanger, the support comprising a body having a
 peripheral edge, a fan shroud cavity and a heat exchanger cavity, said
 peripheral edge defining a periphery of the fan shroud cavity and
 separately defining a periphery of the heat exchanger cavity, wherein said
 fan shroud cavity extends into the body and is adapted to receive and
 engage a fan shroud and said heat exchanger cavity extends into the body
 and is adapted to receive and engage a heat exchanger.
 According to yet a further aspect of the present invention there is
 provided in combination:
 a heat exchanger having peripheral portions;
 a fan co-operating with the heat exchanger;
 a fan shroud associated with the fan and the heat exchanger having
 peripheral portions; and
 a support for engaging the fan shroud and the heat exchanger having a
 resilient body defining:
 a first wall portion adapted to engage portions of the periphery of said
 fan shroud;
 a second wall portion adapted to engage portions of the periphery of said
 heat exchanger; and
 spacer means for spacing said heat exchanger from said fan shroud,
 said body further comprising securing means for securing said heat
 exchanger to said support.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
 In the following description like reference numerals refer to like parts.
 Reference will first be made to FIG. 1 to illustrate the manner in which a
 fan shroud, a radiator and a condenser co-operates in combination to
 function as a cooling device for an automobile. The figure illustrates an
 exploded view of a cooling device 60. In use a fan shroud 40, a radiator
 50 and a condenser 60 are supported in close proximity to each other, with
 the condensor foremost with respect to the direction (shown in arrow A) of
 incoming air and the radiator 50 between the condensor and the fan shroud
 40. The fan shroud 40 houses a fan which moves air through the core 52 of
 the radiator 50 and the core 64 of the condensor 60. The fan shroud 40 has
 four fan shroud mounting portions 46 which are lugs, each having a planar
 portion with one semicircular end portion defining a fixing hole 44, the
 planar portion extending into a respective arm portion 48. Each arm
 portion 48 extends into an air guide portion 49 within which the fan 42
 rotates. Two of the fan shroud mounting portions 46 are illustrated in the
 figure.
 The radiator 50 has two tank portions 53 disposed vertically and opening
 into respective headers 54, 56. The headers 54, 56 are vertically
 disposed, and are connected by the tubes of the core 52 which run
 generally horizontally in the view of FIG. 2. To afford structural
 integrity the headers 54,56 are secured together by radiator side plates
 55, disposed top and bottom of the core 52. The side plates are generally
 rectangular channel members projecting from the core. The condenser 60 has
 two condenser tanks 62, coupled via the tubes of the condenser core 64.
 The tanks 62 are disposed vertically to each side of the core. They have a
 generally semicircular cross-section on the horizontal plane.
 In use, the fan 46 is caused to rotate by an associated motor which is
 supported by arms (not shown) within the circular air guide portion 49 of
 the shroud. The rotation causes a relatively reduced pressure within the
 confines of the fan shroud, and air is thus induced in the direction of
 the arrow A via the condenser 62 and the radiator 56, in the process
 condensing refrigerant in the condenser and cooling coolant in the
 radiator. The fan shroud, as known in the art, effectively prevents reflux
 of air from the downstream side of the fan into the reduced pressure
 region.
 In the embodiment, the fan shroud, the radiator and the condenser are
 engaged by four supports, each at a respective corner of the cooling
 module and composed of a resilient body. An exemplary ore of these will
 now be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4.
 The support 2 has a three dimensional body 4 which has a maximum thickness
 in a first direction which is less than its lateral width in a second
 direction, its lateral extent being less than its longitudinal length in a
 third direction. In the orientation shown in FIG. 2, the body has a
 generally planar lower surface 130, a first upper surface portion 38 which
 is generally planar to define a first region 37 of first thickness and an
 adjacent second upper surface portion 36 which is also generally planar.
 The second upper surface portion 36 is vertically offset from the first
 upper surface portion 38 to provide a second region 39 of greater
 thickness than that of first region 37, which as will be later described
 permits the condenser to be correctly supported. A peripheral edge of the
 body has a substantially straight portion which extends the length of the
 body and an irregular portion extending from one end of the straight
 portion to the other end of the straight portion. The irregular edge
 portion is tapered inwardly with respect to a vertical direction as seen
 in FIG. 2, from where it meets the generally planar surface towards the
 lower surface. Thus the extent of the lower surface 130 is less than that
 of the upper surface 36,38. The configuration of the irregular edge
 portion is selected for the reception of the body in a corresponding
 aperture in a vehicle structure. The lower surface 130 has an undulating
 contour which facilitates compression of the body.
 The body has three distinct cavities 6, 8, 16 defined therein and exposed
 at the generally planar upper surface. Each of the cavities extends
 downwardly as seen in FIG. 2 into the upper surface and in the second
 width direction from the straight portion of the edge to define cavities
 each of which has lateral and longitudinal extent in the second and third
 directions. The three cavities are hereinafter referred to as the fan
 shroud cavity 6, the radiator cavity 8 and the condenser cavity 16.
 The fan shroud cavity 6 is configured to receive the fan shroud mounting
 portion 46. The fan shroud cavity 6 has a fan shroud cavity wall 18
 defining the perimeter of the cavity, to correspond to configuration of
 the fan shroud mounting portions, namely having a semicircular cavity end
 portion. The base wall of the cavity has a hole 19 for receiving a fixing
 screw (not shown) passing in use through the hole 44 of the mounting
 portion and into the body work of the vehicle.
 The radiator cavity 8 is configured to receive the radiator header 54 and
 the radiator side plate 55. The radiator cavity 8 has a radiator header
 cavity 10 which is generally rectangular for engaging the walls of the
 header 54, and a radiator side plate cavity 12, which is also rectangular
 and extends into the base of the radiator header cavity 10 downwardly in
 the orientation of FIG. 2, for engaging the walls of the side plate 55.
 The condenser cavity 16 is adapted to receive a condenser tank 62, and
 accordingly has a condenser cavity wall defining the perimeter of the
 cavity to conformally engage the external semicircular shape of the
 condensor tank. It will of course be appreciated that the particular shape
 of the cavity will be determined by the shape of the condensor.
 The fan shroud cavity 6 is separated from the radiator cavity 8 by a first
 separating portion 26 of the body 4. The first separating portion 26 is an
 integral part of the body 4 in the illustrated preferred embodiment.
 The condenser cavity 16 is separated from the radiator cavity 8 by a second
 separating portion 28 of the body 4. The second separating portion 28 is
 an integral part of the body 4 in the illustrated preferred embodiment.
 Referring now to FIG. 3, it can be seen that the condenser cavity 16 is
 defined in the second region 39 of the body 4, which has a greater
 thickness than the first region 37 of the body 4 in which the fan shroud
 cavity 6 and the condenser cavity 16 are defined. The difference in
 elevation provides for the condenser 52 to be supported in the condenser
 cavity 16 at an elevation which is different to that at which the fan
 shroud 40 and radiator 44 are supported by their respective cavities. It
 should be appreciated that the particular disposition of cavities is
 determined by the form and disposition of the elements of the cooling
 device.
 The body 4 has three distinct layers: a first top layer 30; a second bottom
 layer 34 and an intermediate layer 32 disposed between the first layer 30
 and the second layer 34.
 The second bottom layer 34 is formed from a resilient material. This layer
 could be any elastomeric material such as natural or synthetic rubber. The
 layer 34 of the body is in use engaged in an aperture of a vehicle body,
 as has been discussed and the resilient material reduces the transmission
 of vibrations from the vehicle to the cooling device.
 The intermediate layer 32 is formed from a sheet of steel mesh to provide
 additional strength. The intermediate layer 32 lies between the first
 layer 30 and the second layer 34. It is preferably made of steel. The
 first and second layers 30, 34 are formed from rubber which may be natural
 or artificial.
 The fan shroud cavity 6 is formed wholly within the resilient: first top
 layer 30. The cavity has dimensions somewhat smaller than the dimensions
 of the fan shroud mounting portion. The size differential is selected in
 concert with the properties of the top layer to allow insertion of the fan
 shroud mounting portion. When the fan shroud mounting portion is inserted
 into the fan shroud cavity 6, the fan shroud cavity wall 18 is distorted
 outwardly from its equilibrium position to grip the fan shroud mounting
 portion, thereby to retain the fan shroud 40.
 The radiator cavity 8 is formed wholly within the first resilient layer 30
 and is likewise sufficiently smaller than the dimensions of the portions
 of the radiator header 48 and radiator side plate 50 it is designed to
 receive to allow insertion and retention of the radiator.
 The condenser cavity 16 is formed wholly within the resilient first layer
 30. The cavity is sized so that its dimensions are smaller than the
 dimensions of the portion of the condenser tank 54 it is designed to
 receive. When the condenser tank 54 is received by the condenser cavity
 16, the condenser cavity wall 22 is distorted from its equilibrium
 position, and grips the portions of condenser tank 54 adjacent the
 condenser tank edge portions 56, thereby facilitating the retention of the
 condenser 52 in the condenser cavity 16.
 The use of a resilient material for the first top layer 30 in which the fan
 shroud cavity 6, the radiator cavity 8 and the condenser cavity 16 are
 defined as well as providing retention of the associated components also
 dampens the transmission of vibrations to and between those components.
 The support 2 has holes 24 in its body 4. The holes pass through thickness
 of the body. In use screws or studs pass through the holes 24 for
 attachment of the support, or for attachment of retaining screws to the
 support.
 Referring now to FIG. 5 the support 2 is shown in combination with the
 condenser 60 and the radiator 50. A bolt 90 passes into one of the holes
 24 via a hole in a bracket 51 which extends outwardly from the tank 52 of
 radiator 50. This serves to secure the radiator to the support. A similar
 bolt passes through a similar bracket on the other side of the tank 56
 into the second hole 24 (obscured by tank 56).
 A bolt passes through the support of the fan shroud into the fixing hole 19
 of the fan shroud cavity (also obscured by radiator tank 56).
 As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art the support as
 particularly described above may have cavities of different shapes and
 size and of differing relative orientations and elevations when adapted to
 support a different cooling device.
 While the invention has been particularly shown and described with
 reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those
 skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made
 therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.