Patent Publication Number: US-2021178292-A1

Title: Light-weight coolant bottle

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/274,511, filed on Jan. 4, 2016. The subject matter of the aforementioned application is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This disclosure relates generally to methods, systems, and apparatus to de-gas a liquid, and more specifically to a vehicle cooling system reservoir configured to de-gas a vehicle coolant while providing room for expansion to the vehicle coolant. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Vehicle cooling systems generally use one or more liquids to regulate the temperature of various powertrain components. For example, many traditional internal combustion engines utilize a vehicle cooling system that directs a liquid through specially designed channels within the engine and then out into a radiator where the liquid is cooled by heat transfer to the surrounding environment. Some electric vehicles utilize a similar vehicle cooling system to transfer heat from the electric vehicle&#39;s motor and battery compartment via a liquid intermediary. 
     Vehicle cooling systems using internal combustion engines, electric motors, or any combination thereof often use cooling liquids with high specific heat capacity. Many such cooling liquids have a specific heat capacity that is much higher than that of the specific heat capacity of either the external atmosphere or the respective liquids&#39; gas state. However, as the cooling liquid absorbs heat from a vehicle&#39;s powertrain components it may undergo a phase change into its gas phase. Such gas in the cooling liquids may affect the cooling performance. 
     The disclosed systems and method are designed to de-gas the cooling liquid within the vehicle cooling system. 
     SUMMARY 
     The systems and methods of this disclosure each have several innovative aspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirable attributes. Without limiting the scope as expressed by the claims that follow, its more prominent features will now be discussed briefly. Disclosed herein is a lightweight, low cost, optimized vehicle coolant bottle that may provide de-gasification for a vehicle cooling system. 
     One aspect of the disclosure is directed to a coolant bottle. The coolant bottle may include a coolant entrance port configured to be in fluid communication with the vehicle cooling system, and a coolant egress port configured to be in fluid communication with the vehicle cooling system. The coolant egress port is directly connected to the vehicle cooling system. The coolant bottle may further include a plurality of baffle plates placed to divide an interior of the coolant bottle into a plurality of coolant channels. Each baffle plate may include a plurality of apertures configured to provide fluid communication between the plurality of coolant channels. 
     Another aspect of the disclosure is directed to a method of de-gasifying a coolant fluid using the coolant bottle above. The method may include feeding coolant fluid  108  to be degassed through coolant entrance port  103  into a top portion of coolant bottle  100 . The method further includes substantially degassing coolant fluid  108  while inside coolant bottle  100 . The method may also include directing the degassed coolant fluid to exit coolant bottle  100  and directly reenter a vehicle cooling system through coolant egress port  104  that is directly connected to vehicle cooling system  10 . 
     Yet another aspect of the disclosure is directed to a vehicle. The vehicle may include a vehicle cooling system using at least one coolant fluid, and a coolant bottle made of a material impermeable to the at least one coolant fluid used by the vehicle cooling system. The coolant bottle may include a coolant entrance port configured to be in fluid communication with the vehicle cooling system, and a coolant egress port configured to be in fluid communication with the vehicle cooling system. The coolant egress port is directly connected to the vehicle cooling system. The coolant bottle may further include a plurality of baffle plates placed to divide an interior of the coolant bottle into a plurality of coolant channels. Each baffle plate may include a plurality of apertures configured to provide fluid communication between the plurality of coolant channels. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The structures and function set out in this disclosure can be best understood from the description herein in conjunction with the accompanying figures. The figures are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrative principles. The figures are to be considered illustrative in all aspects and are not intended to limit the disclosure, the scope of which is defined only by the claims. 
         FIG. 1  depicts an exemplary schematic perspective diagram of a coolant bottle, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  depicts an exemplary cross-section view of a coolant bottle, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 3  depicts an exemplary front view of a coolant bottle, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 4 a    depicts an exemplary baffle plate, in accordance with one embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 4 b    depicts a perspective view of an exemplary set of parallel baffle plates with non-aligned aperture ports, in accordance with one embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 4 c    depicts a front view of an exemplary set of parallel baffle plates with non-aligned aperture ports, in accordance with one embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 5  depicts an exemplary cutaway bottom view of a coolant bottle, in accordance with one embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following description is directed to certain implementations for the purposes of describing the innovative aspects of this disclosure. However, a person having ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the teachings herein can be applied in a multitude of different ways. 
       FIG. 1  depicts an exemplary schematic perspective diagram of a coolant bottle  100 , in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. Coolant bottle  100  is configured to hold a liquid coolant  108  from a cooling system  10 . Coolant bottle  100  may include a coolant egress port  103 , a coolant entrance port  104 , a neck  104 , and a cap  101 . The liquid coolant may be filled with coolant  108  to a coolant level  102  of coolant bottle  100 . Coolant egress port  103  may be positioned below coolant level  102  during normal operation of cooling system  10 . Coolant entrance port  104  may be located above coolant level  102  during normal operation of cooling system  10 . Coolant cap  101  is removably coupled to neck  105  so that cap  101  and neck  105  may collectively seal coolant bottle  100 . Both coolant cap  101  and neck  105  may be located above coolant level  102  during normal operation of cooling system  10 . Neck  105  may be formed from a material that is impermeable to one or more liquid coolants. Neck  105  may be configured so that there is an aperture through the entire length of neck  105 . As a result, the coolant and/or gasses may flow freely through the entire length of neck  105 . 
     Coolant bottle  100  can be any shape, such as a rectangular cuboid as depicted in  FIG. 1 , a cube, a sphere, a cylinder, a cone, or any other suitable shape. In one embodiment, the volume of coolant bottle  100  may be designed such that under normal operating conditions coolant from the cooling system  10  will not fully fill coolant bottle  100  (i.e., coolant level  102  not all the way to the top of coolant bottle  100 ). Accordingly, coolant bottle  100  may contain a void where there is no coolant. For example, the void may be located above coolant level  102  during normal operation of the cooling system. Degasification of gases dissolved in coolant  108  may occur in the void. 
     Coolant bottle  100  may be made of a variety of materials impermeable to one or more vehicle coolants. For example, coolant bottle  100  can be manufactured from a plastic material using a 3D printing process, traditional form press manufacturing, injection molding, seam welding, or other suitable methods. Additionally, coolant bottle  100  can also be formed from any light weight corrosive-resistant metals or their combinations, such as aluminum or titanium, carbon fiber, fiberglass, a fiberglass reinforced plastic, or other composite materials. In some embodiments, coolant bottle  100  may have the interior areas of its surface marked with gashes between 0.1 mm and 0.5 mm in depth, pitted or otherwise scored to provide nucleation sites for de-gasification. 
     Coolant  108  may be any liquid known in the art that is useful in a vehicle heat pump system. An exemplary but non-exhaustive list of cooling fluids include: water, methanol, methanol and water, propylene glycol, propylene glycol and water, glycerol, glycerol and water, ethylene glycol, ethylene glycol and water, synthetic oil, poly-alpha-olefin (or poly-α-olefin, also abbreviated as PAO) oil, liquid dielectric cooling, and the like. 
     According to some embodiments, cap  101  may be attached to neck  105  and form an air tight seal. This configuration may allow cooling system  10  to operate at higher pressures and temperatures than would be possible under normal atmospheric temperatures and pressures. By operating at higher pressures, cooling system  10  may raise the boiling point of coolant  108  such that coolant  108  may absorb more energy without undergoing a phase change to a gas. Further, in a cooling system  10  optimized for operation at higher pressures, coolant bottle  100  may be further configured to withstand internal pressures of, for example, 0.5 atm-5 atm. 
     In other embodiments, cap  101  may further include a one-way pressure relief valve  107  that allows excess pressure in coolant bottle  100  to be released. Pressure relief valve  107  may expose coolant  108  to a lower partial pressure environment than that is in the rest of cooling system  10 . A lower partial pressure environment may be advantageous for de-gasification. When coolant  108  is exposed to a lower partial pressure, gases in coolant  108  may become less soluble and de-gasification occurs. Pressure relief valve  107  may be opened to release pressure when the internal pressure of coolant bottle  100  exceeds a predetermined threshold. Upon such a pressure release, the partial pressure of gases at the surface of coolant level  102  in coolant bottle  100  is lower than the partial pressure of gases dissolved in the rest of coolant  108 . 
     In some embodiments, coolant entrance port  104  may be located near the top portion of coolant bottle  100 . Various factors may be considered while determining the precise location of coolant entrance port  104 . For example, coolant entrance port  104  may be placed above the estimated average coolant level  102  in coolant bottle  100 . Coolant entrance port  104  may be communicatively attached to cooling system  10  via a connecting tube  106 . Connecting tube  106  may be made of materials such as, but not limited to, high temperature polymers, rubber, stainless steel braided hose, stainless steel pipe, copper pipe, silicone, or other suitable materials known to manufactures of automotive cooling systems. 
     In some embodiments, coolant egress port  103  may be located near the bottom portion of coolant bottle  100 . Coolant egress port  103  may be communicatively coupled to cooling system  10  such that no additional hoses or connectors are needed. In some embodiments, such a communicative coupling may not require the use of an additional connecting tube as used for coolant entrance port  104 , thus limiting the number of connecting tubes used in coolant bottle  100 . As a result, a vehicle cooling system implementing the disclosed coolant bottle  100  may be lighter in weight, cheaper to build, and easier to maintain. 
       FIG. 2  depicts an exemplary cross-section view of coolant bottle  100 , in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. As shown in  FIG. 2 , a plurality of baffle plates  400   a ,  400   b , . . .  400   n  (collectively referred to as baffle plates  400 ) are installed longitudinally reaching from the top surface to the bottom surface of coolant bottle  100  and further extending from the fore side wall to the aft side wall of coolant bottle  100 . Each of the plurality of baffle plates  400  may be positioned so that it is flush with the surface of both the top and bottom of coolant bottle  100 . Similarly, each of the plurality of baffle plates  400  may be positioned so that it is flush with both the fore side wall and aft side wall of coolant bottle  100 . The bottom, top, fore side wall, and aft side wall are all physically attached to the respective side of baffle plates  400  such that a tight seal is formed along the entire edge of each wall of the baffle plates  400 . This tight seal prevents coolant  108  in coolant bottle  100  from passing around baffle plates  400 . Thus the baffle plates  400  form a plurality of coolant channels  201   a ,  201   b , . . .  201   n , . . . (collectively referred to as coolant channels  201 ). Each of the plurality of coolant channels  201  are fluidly communicated with each other via a plurality of aperture ports  401   a ,  401   b , . . .  401   n , . . . (collectively referred to as aperture ports  401 ). Each of the plurality of aperture ports  401  may be located in the respective baffle plates  400  and are designed to allow both coolant  108  and gases to flow across each coolant channel  201 . Such a design may limit the movement of transverse waves from one coolant channel to the next thus limiting the spread of turbulence through the entire coolant bottle  100 . 
       FIG. 3  depicts an exemplary front view of coolant bottle  100 , in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. In some embodiments, coolant entrance port  104  may be connected in a location that is equidistant in the horizontal plane between the fore and aft side walls and in the upper quadrant of the vertical plane. In some embodiments, coolant bottle  100 &#39;s front face may be planar in geometry and substantially narrower than the fore and aft walls, as shown in the rectangular cuboid embodiments in  FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 5 . In other embodiments, coolant bottle  100  may have a front face that contains one or more angles, bulges, and/or indents to serve packaging and vehicle connectivity needs. Other minor deviations in coolant bottle  100  shape are contemplated and may not affect the features disclosed in the present application. 
       FIG. 4 a    depicts an exemplary baffle plate  400 , in accordance with one embodiment of the disclosure. Baffle plate  400  may be made from a variety of materials and in a variety of shapes and sizes suitable for the uses described herein. By way of an example, baffles plate  400  may be manufactured from a plastic material using a 3D printing process. Baffle plate  400  may also be formed from a light weight corrosive-resistant metal, such as aluminum or titanium, carbon fiber, fiberglass, a fiberglass reinforced plastic, or other composite materials. In some embodiments, battle plate  400  may have areas of its surface marked with gashes between 0.1 mm and 0.5 mm in depth, pitted, or otherwise scored to provide nucleation sites for de-gasification. 
     Baffle plate  400  may include a plurality of aperture ports  401 . In some embodiments, each aperture port  401  in baffle plate  400  may be located at an equidistance from the adjacent aperture ports and the edges of baffle plate  400 . Such a configuration may provide maximum structural rigidity for baffle plate  400 . 
     In some embodiments, aperture ports in two parallel baffle plates may be specifically configured so that locations of aperture ports  401  on the first baffle plate do not align with locations of aperture ports  401  on the second baffle plate. For example,  FIG. 4 b    depicts a perspective view of an exemplary set of parallel baffle plates  400   a  and  400   b  with non-aligned aperture ports  402  and  403 , in accordance with one embodiment of the disclosure, and  FIG. 4 c    depicts a front view of an exemplary set of parallel baffle plates with non-aligned aperture ports, in accordance with one embodiment of the disclosure. As shown in  FIGS. 4 b  and 4 c   , baffle plate  400   a  includes aperture ports  402  located near center and the four corners of the plate, and baffle plate  400   b  parallel to baffle plate  400   a  includes aperture ports  403  located near the center of each edge. As such, aperture ports  402  and aperture ports  403  do not align with each other. For example, from the front view shown in  FIG. 4 c   , aperture ports  402  and  403  form a 3×3 array. 
     In a further embodiment, baffle plate  400  may be configured with aperture ports  401  of different sizes. By way of an example, one embodiment of baffle plate  400  may include aperture ports  401  sized between 2.1 mm-10 mm in diameter. In other embodiments, baffle plate  400  may include aperture ports sized between 0.1 mm-2 mm. In a further embodiment baffle plate  400  may include larger aperture ports  401  located in the region that are generally submerged below coolant level  102  and smaller aperture ports  401  located in the void region located above the coolant level  102 . 
       FIG. 5  depicts an exemplary cutaway bottom view of coolant bottle  100 , in accordance with one embodiment of the disclosure.  FIG. 5  shows a plurality of baffle plates  400  parallel to each other. Each parallel baffle plate  400  may have one or more aperture ports  401  or no aperture port. This differentiation in horizontal locations of aperture ports  401  across a set of parallel baffle plates may direct coolant  108  to flow in a nonlinear fashion. Accordingly, wave energy flowing through coolant bottle  100  may be distributed among coolant channels  201 , thus limiting turbulence in coolant bottle  100 . 
     Consistent with the disclosure, a coolant de-gasification method can be performed using the disclosed coolant bottles, such as coolant bottle  100 . The method may include feeding coolant fluid  108  to be degassed through coolant entrance port  104  into a top portion of the coolant bottle  100 . Coolant fluid  108  may be substantially degassed while inside coolant bottle  100 . The method may than directing the degassed coolant fluid to exit coolant bottle  100  and directly reenter vehicle cooling system  10  through coolant egress port  103  that is directly connected to the vehicle cooling system. While inside coolant bottle  100 , coolant fluid  108  may be directed to flow cross coolant channels  201 . 
     Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing lengths, widths, depths, or other dimensions, and so forth used in the specification and claims are to be understood in all instances as indicating both the exact values as shown and as being modified by the term “about.” Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in the specification and attached claims are approximations that may vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained. At the very least, and not as an attempt to limit the application of the doctrine of equivalents to the scope of the claims, each numerical parameter should at least be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques. It is contemplated any specific value disclosed may vary within a reasonable range. 
     The terms “a,” “an,” “the,” and similar referents used in the context of describing the disclosure (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein is intended merely to better illuminate the disclosure and does not pose a limitation on the scope of any claim. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element essential to the practice of the disclosure. 
     Groupings of alternative elements or embodiments disclosed herein are not to be construed as limitations. Each group member may be referred to and claimed, individually or in any combination with other members of the group or other elements found herein. It is anticipated that one or more members of a group may be included in, or deleted from, a group for reasons of convenience and/or patentability. When any such inclusion or deletion occurs, the specification is deemed to contain the group as modified, thus fulfilling the written description of all Markush groups used in the appended claims. 
     Certain embodiments are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventor for carrying out the spirit of the present disclosure. Of course, variations on these described embodiments will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventor expects skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventor intends for the disclosure to be practiced otherwise than specifically described herein. Accordingly, the claims include all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is contemplated unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. 
     Though described with reference to vehicle cooling system, the present disclosure is not limited to use in a vehicle. For example, the disclosed coolant bottle may be used in other systems that uses coolant for cooling purpose. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the disclosed coolant bottle. Other embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the present disclosure. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope being indicated by the following claims and their equivalents.