Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US6481387?dq=6,304,975
Timestamp: 2014-10-24 10:22:53
Document Index: 372634202

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 30', 'art 30', 'art 30', 'art 30', 'art 30', 'art 30', 'art 30', 'art 30', 'art 30', 'art 60', 'art 60', 'art 60', 'art 60', 'art 60', 'art 60', 'art 60', 'art 60']

Patent US6481387 - Cooling controller for internal-combustion engine - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsThe present invention relates to a cooling controller for cooling an internal-combustion engine such as an internal-combustion engine for an automobile, comprising a temperature detector for detecting the temperature of the cooling medium placed in a first or second circulation channel, and a flow control...http://www.google.com/patents/US6481387?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US6481387 - Cooling controller for internal-combustion engineAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS6481387 B1Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 09/787,026PCT numberPCT/IB1999/001482Publication dateNov 19, 2002Filing dateAug 5, 1999Priority dateAug 5, 1999Fee statusLapsedAlso published asDE69935923D1, EP1119691A1, EP1119691B1, WO2001011211A1Publication number09787026, 787026, PCT/1999/1482, PCT/IB/1999/001482, PCT/IB/1999/01482, PCT/IB/99/001482, PCT/IB/99/01482, PCT/IB1999/001482, PCT/IB1999/01482, PCT/IB1999001482, PCT/IB199901482, PCT/IB99/001482, PCT/IB99/01482, PCT/IB99001482, PCT/IB9901482, US 6481387 B1, US 6481387B1, US-B1-6481387, US6481387 B1, US6481387B1InventorsMitsuhiro SanoOriginal AssigneeNippon Thermostat Co., Ltd.Export CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (10), Referenced by (7), Classifications (20), Legal Events (5) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetCooling controller for internal-combustion engineUS 6481387 B1Abstract The present invention relates to a cooling controller for cooling an internal-combustion engine such as an internal-combustion engine for an automobile, comprising a temperature detector for detecting the temperature of the cooling medium placed in a first or second circulation channel, and a flow control for controlling the flow of the cooling medium placed in the first or second circulation channel.
The first circulation channel passes through the engine and the radiator as in a conventional cooling system. The second circulation channel, which is used in case of a detected failure of the radiator or thermostat valve, includes the heat exchanger of the automobile's air-conditioning system. When the failure is detected an air conditioner controller maximizes the amount of heat radiated from the air conditioning exchanger to prevent overheating.
What is claimed is: 1. A cooling system for an internal-combustion engine comprising:
a first heat exchanger; a first circulation channel for circulating a cooling medium between said internal-combustion engine and said first heat exchanger to radiate heat generated in said internal-combustion engine through circulation of said cooling medium; a second heat exchanger; a second circulation channel, wherein said second heat exchanger is located in said second circulation channel, and wherein said cooling medium flows through said second circulation channel; a temperature detector for detecting the temperature of said cooling medium, wherein said temperature detector is placed in at least one of said first or second circulation channels; a flow controller for controlling the flow of said cooling medium; an internal-combustion engine control unit for controlling said internal-combustion engine; an air conditioner for air conditioning said automobile cabin utilizing the heat radiation of said second heat exchanger; and an air conditioner controller for controlling said air conditioner; wherein said air conditioner controller outputs an operating signal which maximizes an amount of heat radiated from said second heat exchanger when an abnormality of any driving condition of said internal-combustion engine relating to engine overheat is detected via an abnormality signal from said internal-combustion engine control unit. 2. The cooling system for an internal-combustion engine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said flow controller opens or closes a valve based on a flow control signal from said internal-combustion engine control unit to control the flow of said cooling medium.
a cooling medium pump which circulates said cooling medium through said first and second circulation channels; wherein said first circulation channel includes a bypass channel for bypassing said first heat exchanger; wherein said first heat exchanger has an input channel portion and an output channel portion; wherein said flow controller is a three-way configured flow control device, having a normally-open-when-cool port connected to said bypass channel, a normally-closed-when-cool port connected to one of said input and output channel portions of said first heat exchanger, and an always-open common port connected to a channel portion leading to said cooling medium pump; wherein said flow controller is controlled to flow said cooling medium through said bypass channel when said temperature of said cooling medium is lower than a first designated temperature, and wherein said flow controller is controlled to flow said cooling medium through said first heat exchanger when said temperature of said cooling medium is higher than a second designated temperature. 6. The cooling system for an internal-combustion engine as claimed in claim 5, further comprising:
a fan for increasing heat dissipation from said first heat exchanger; and a fan controller for turning on said fan when said temperature of said cooling medium is higher than a third designated temperature. 7. The cooling system for an internal-combustion engine as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:
an air conditioning fan, wherein said air conditioner controller maximizes the flow of air by said air conditioning fan in order to maximize said amount of heat radiated from said second heat exchanger. 8. The cooling system for an internal-combustion engine as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a cooling controller for cooling an internal-combustion engine such as an internal-combustion engine for an automobile, and particularly to a cooling controller for an internal-combustion engine that can prevent an internal-combustion engine from overheating in the case where the thermostat or other parts may fail.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In an internal-combustion engine (hereinafter abbreviated as �engine�) for use in an automobile, a water-cooled type cooling device using a heat exchanger (hereinafter referred to as �radiator�) for cooling the engine has been utilized. In such a cooling device, a thermostat is utilized as a cooling control means to control the temperature of the cooling water. If the temperature of the cooling water is lower than a designated temperature, the thermostat is closed so the cooling water circulates within a bypass route, not through the radiator. If the cooling water becomes higher than a designated temperature, the thermostat is opened and the cooling water circulates within the radiator.
The conventional cooling controller for an internal-combustion engine is shown in FIG. 7. In the cooling controller 100 for an internal-combustion engine in this figure, a fluid passage shown by the arrow is formed within an engine E composed of a cylinder head 101 a and a cylinder block 101 b. Further, a cooling water channel 102 for circulating the cooling water is placed between the engine E and radiator R.
The cooling water channel 102 is composed of a cooling water channel 102 a connecting an outlet for the cooling water provided at an upper portion of the engine E with an inlet of the radiator R, a cooling water channel 102 b provided from an outlet of the radiator R to an inlet for the cooling water provided at a lower portion of the engine E, and a bypass channel 103 which connects the cooling water channel 102 a at the outlet side to the cooling water channel 102 b at the inlet side. A thermostat 104 is placed on a branch portion between the cooling water channel 102 a at the outlet side and the bypass channel 103. The thermostat 104 embeds a heat responding element, which expands or shrinks due to changes in the heat, like a wax does. When the temperature of the cooling water is high, the valve is opened by the expansion of the heat responding element to allow the cooling water flowing from the engine E to enter into the radiator R via the cooling water channel 102 a at the side of the outlet, and the cooling water having a low temperature due to the heat radiation by the radiator R passes through the bypass channel 103 to flow into the cooling channel within the engine E from the inlet of the engine E.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A cooling controller for a internal-combustion engine according to the present invention which solves the problems described above, includes:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a drawing showing a cooling controller for an internal-combustion engine according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A cooling controller for an internal-combustion engine according to a first embodiment of the present invention will now be described by referring to FIGS. 1 to 3.
At the connecting portion of the inlet 1 a of the first circulation channel 1 to the engine E, a fluid pump WP for circulating the cooling fluid W is provided. The fluid pump WP is a gear pump driven by the engine E, and cools the engine E by passing the cooling fluid W through a fluid channel formed within the engine E, and circulates the cooling fluid W into the fluid channel of the radiator R via an output 1 b of the circulation channel 1. The cooling fluid W circulated into the radiator R is cooled down by cooling air, which is suctioned by the radiator fan 4, and the cooling fluid W having been cooled is transferred to the engine E via the inlet 1 a of the first circulation channel 1. The radiator fan 4 is an electric fan which is driven by a motor 5, and the flow amount of air and ON-OFF switching are controlled depending upon the temperature of the cooling fluid W. The control is carried out by the engine control unit ECU based on the temperature of the cooling fluid W detected by the cooling fluid temperature sensor 3.
As shown in FIG. 2, the thermostatic valve 10 to be used in the cooling controller A for an internal-combustion engine is configured so that a valve body having a 3-way configured valve 11, having vanes 11 a and 11 b, is placed between the inlet 1 a, the bypass channel BC, and the channel branch 6 leading to the fluid pump WP, and the shaft 12 of the 3-way configured valve 11 is driven by a drive motor 14 via a deceleration mechanism 13 to open or close the 3-way configured valve 11. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, vane 11 a opens to allow flow from inlet 1 a to channel branch 6 as vane 11 b closes to cut off flow from bypass channel BC to channel branch 6, and vice versa. Between the deceleration mechanism 13 and the drive motor 14, an electronic clutch 15 is placed so as to break off the rotation of the drive motor 14. Between the valve body and the deceleration mechanism 13, a return spring 16 is equipped to apply a resilient force against the 3-way configured valve 11 in a direction so that the 3-way configured valve 11 returns to a fail-safe normal position.
An air mix door 23 is also placed on the body 20 of the device for the purpose of mixing the hot air transferred from the heater core 21 with the cooling fluid W for controlling the temperature. The air mix door 23 actuates to a given position according to the set temperature by means of an air mix door actuator 23 a based on control by the control part 30 for controlling the air conditioning. Further, an air blowing mode door 24 switches the air, controlled to a designated temperature at the air mix door 23, into an air blowing mode such as DEF, VENT, or FOOT, and is actuated by means of an air blowing mode actuator 24 a through control by control part 30 for controlling the air conditioning.
The body 20 of the device further possesses an evaporator 25 for forming cooling air for air conditioning. The evaporator 25 is driven by an outdoor unit 25 a for the air conditioner through a control signal of the control part 30.
Also, an intake door 26 for switching intake of the air from inside or outside of the automobile cabin is placed on the body 20 of the device. The intake door 26 has a configuration so as to be actuated by means of an intake door actuator 26 a based on a control signal from control part 30.
The control part 30 has a microcomputer etc., and drives the body 20 of the device according to an input signal input from an operation panel 31 placed on a dashboard, etc., in the automobile cabin. On the operation panel 31 are placed an air conditioning switch 31 a, which turns the air conditioner AC ON or OFF, a mode switch 31 b which switches the air-blowing mode to DEF, VENT, or FOOT, an intake switch 31 c which switches intake of the air from inside or outside of the automobile cabin, a temperature control switch 31 d, which controls the set temperature, and a display unit 31 e for displaying the contents set by these switches. Further, the control part 30 controls the blower fan 22, the air mix door 23, the air-blowing mode door 24, the intake door 26, etc., to desired operating points by comparing the conditions set at the operation panel 31 with the present temperature input from various temperature sensors 32, such as the external atmospheric temperature sensor 32 a, the internal atmospheric temperature sensor 32 b, and the solar sensor 32 c. Further, the control part 30 is configured so as to input the output signal from the engine control unit ECU. The output signal from the engine control unit ECU is configured so that it is output when any defect of the radiator fan 4 or the thermostatic valve 10 shown in FIG. 1 occurs, making the cooling fluid temperature at the cooling fluid temperature sensor 3 abnormal. In control part 30, when an abnormal signal is input from the engine control unit ECU, the blower fan 22 rotates at the maximum speed to maximize the heat radiation from the heater core 21. The control part 30 is configured so that when an abnormal signal is input from the engine control unit ECU, the occurrence of abnormality appears on the display unit 31 e of the display panel 31.
The cooling controller A configured as described above makes it possible to cool the cooling fluid W by radiating out heat through the heater core 21, even if the radiator fan 4 or the thermostatic valve 10 has a problem. Furthermore, a driver can deal with the abnormality in an adequate manner based on the display of the occurrence of the abnormality on the display unit 31 e, thereby preventing problems ahead of time.
At the channel portion between the inlet 1 a of the first circulation channel 1, the bypass channel BC and the channel branch 6 leading to the fluid pump WP, a thermostat 40 is provided as a variable flow control means which controls the flow of the cooling fluid W. The thermostat 40 includes a heat responding element 44 and opens or closes valves 42 and 48 depending on the cooling fluid temperature to control the flow amount of the cooling fluid W, as described later on.
At the connecting portion of the inlet 1 a of the first circulation channel 1 to the engine E, a fluid pump WP for circulating cooling fluid W is provided. The fluid pump WP is a gear pump driven by the engine E, and cools the engine E by passing the cooling fluid W through a fluid channel formed within the engine E, and circulates the cooling fluid W into the fluid channel of the radiator R via an output 1 b of the circulation channel 1. The cooling fluid W circulated into the radiator R is cooled down by cooling air, which is suctioned by the radiator fan 4, and the cooling fluid W having been cooled is transferred to the engine E via the inlet 1 a of the first circulation channel 1. The radiator fan 4 is an electric fan which is driven by a motor 5, and the air amount is automatically controlled depending upon the temperature of the cooling fluid W.
As shown in FIG. 5, the thermostat 40 which is used in the cooling controller B is placed at the channel portion between the first circulation channel 1, the bypass channel BC, and the channel branch 6 leading to the fluid pump WP. The movable valve 42 is placed within a frame 41 fixed on the wall of the circulation channel, and the valve 42 opens or closes the inlet 1 a from the radiator R. The movable valve 48 is attached to a casing 46 of a thermo element 43 which is stored within the frame 41, and the valve 48 opens or closes the inlet from the bypass channel BC. When the heat responding element 44 embedded in the thermo element 43 pushes the valves 42 and 48 by heat expansion, the cooling fluid W is gradually allowed to pass through the radiator R, and is eventually substantially prevented from flowing through the bypass channel BC. Specifically, when the heat responding element 44 thermally expands, a piston rod 45 is pushed up, but since the end portion of the piston rod 45 is held by the frame 41, the casing 46 of the thermo element 43 is conversely pushed down. For this reason, a push plate 47 pushes the valve 42 down to make a gap between the valve 42 and the frame 41, and causes the valve 48 to seal off the inlet of the bypass channel BC. The cooling fluid W is then routed through the radiator and substantially prevented from flowing through the bypass channel BC.
An air mix door 53 is also placed on the body 50 of the device for the purpose of mixing the hot air transferred from the heater core 51 with the cooling fluid W for controlling the temperature. The air mix door 53 is actuated to a given position according to the set temperature by means of an air mix door actuator 53 a, based on control by the control part 60. Further, an air blowing mode door 54 switches the air controlled to a designated temperature at the air mix door 53 into an air blowing mode such as DEF, VENT, or FOOT, and is actuated by means of an air blowing mode actuator 54 a through control by control part 60 for controlling the air conditioning.
The body 50 of the device further possesses an evaporator 55 for forming cooling air for air conditioning. The evaporator 55 is driven by an outdoor unit 55 a through a control signal of the control part 60.
Also, an intake door 56 for switching the intake of air from inside or outside of the automobile cabin is placed on the body 50 of the device. The intake door 56 has such a configuration so as to be actuated by means of an intake door actuator 56 a based on a control signal from control part 60.
The control part 60 for controlling the air conditioning has a microcomputer etc., and drives the body 50 of the device according to an input signal input from an operation panel 61 placed on a dashboard, etc. in the automobile cabin. On the operation panel 61 are placed an air conditioning switch 61 a, which turns the air conditioner AC ON or OFF, a mode switch 61 b which switches the air-blowing mode to DEF, VENT, or FOOT, an intake switch 61 c which switches intake of the air from inside or outside of the automobile cabin, a temperature control switch 61 d, which controls the set temperature, and a display unit 61 e for displaying the contents set by these switches. Further, the control part 60 controls the blower fan 52, the air mix door 53, the air-blowing mode door 54, the intake door 56, etc., to desired operating positions by comparing the conditions set at the operation panel 61 with the present temperature input from various temperature sensors 62, such as the external atmospheric temperature sensor 62 a, the internal atmospheric temperature sensor 62 b, and the solar sensor 62 c. Further, the control part 60 is configured so as to input the output signal from the cooling fluid temperature sensor 3. At the time of an abnormally high output from sensor 3, the microcomputer within the control part 60 causes the blower fan 52 to be rotated at the maximum speed to maximize the heat radiating out from the heater core 51. At this time, the occurrence of abnormality appears on the display unit 61 e of the display panel 61.
The cooling controller B for an internal-combustion engine configured as described above makes it possible to cool the cooling fluid W by radiating out heat through the heater core 51, even if the radiator fan 4 or the thermostat 40 has failed. Furthermore, a driver can deal with the abnormality in an adequate manner based on the display of the occurrence of the abnormality on the display unit 61 e of the operation display panel 61, thereby preventing problems such as overheating ahead of time.
When an abnormally high temperature of the cooling fluid W is detected by the cooling fluid temperature sensor 3, fail-safe can be more effectively carried out by the combination of maximum heat radiation measures such as by opening the intake door 56 for introducing external atmospheric air, driving the blower fan 56 at the maximum, stopping the outdoor unit 55 a of the air conditioner, and allowing the maximum heat to radiate out of the heater core 51.
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