MOTOR VEHICLE ENGINE COOLING DEVICE

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for cooling the engine (M) of motor vehicles, said device integrating a hydraulic circuit comprising a box (3) for receiving the hot liquid leaving the engine, a heat exchanger (1) in which the hot liquid is cooled by a flow of cold air from ventilation means and a pump ensuring the circulation of the liquid in the circuit, characterized in that said heat exchanger (1) comprises a network of tubes (10) of small diameter arranged on the internal walls of a box (11) inside which at least one fan is mounted. (Fig. 4)

Description

Title of the invention: DEVICE FOR COOLING THE ENGINE OF MOTOR VEHICLES

[0001] The invention relates, in general, to the field of cooling the engine of motor vehicles and is more particularly concerned with an improved engine cooling device.

[0002] The proper functioning of motor vehicle engines requires control of their temperature. The optimum temperature is, for a thermal engine, between 87°C and 120°C, for a hybrid engine, between 50°C and 120°C and for an electric engine, between 25°C and 80°C.

[0003] Traditional cooling devices integrate hydraulic circuits operating in a loop and comprising, in particular, a pump and a network of pipes intended to convey the hot liquid from the engine to a radiator or an exchanger to remove its calories before returning it to the engine.

[0004] Such a device is described, in particular, in patent FR3087967 where it is used for cooling the electric motor of a motor vehicle. This device comprises a fan and a heat exchanger intended to cool the air set in motion by the fan so that this air cools at least certain parts of the electric motor and, in particular, the winding.

[0005] Furthermore, patent EP1654466B1 describes a fluid cooling system comprising a fan, a first pump which sends a first fluid to a plate heat exchanger, a second pump taking a second fluid from a reservoir and conveying it to a lamella heat exchanger, the first exchanger ensuring a heat exchange between the two fluids while the second exchanger receives air from the fan in order to cool the second fluid.

[0006] However, these cooling devices or systems are not satisfactory because they include complex and bulky hydraulic circuits consisting of numerous pipes. In addition, due to their dimensions, these circuits contain a large volume of coolant, the circulation of which requires one or more high-power pumps.

[0007] In this context, the invention has sought a solution which, in its most general aspect, makes it possible to solve the technical problems posed by prior cooling devices by reducing the length of the cooling circuit and, in particular, the number of pipes to make it more compact, while modifying and simplifying its structure.

[0008] This object is achieved, according to the invention, by means of a device for cooling the engine of motor vehicles, said device integrating a hydraulic circuit comprising a box for receiving the hot liquid leaving the engine, a heat exchanger in which the hot liquid is cooled by a flow of cold air from ventilation means and a pump ensuring the circulation of the liquid in the circuit, characterized in that said heat exchanger comprises a network of small diameter tubes arranged on the internal walls of a box inside which at least one fan is mounted.

[0009] According to an advantageous characteristic of the device of the invention, the tubes are arranged in rows parallel to each other and perpendicular to the generatrices of the internal walls of the box.

[0010] According to another advantageous characteristic, each tube has a first longitudinal liquid inlet end communicating with the hot liquid receiving box and a second longitudinal liquid outlet end connected to a return pipe for the cooled liquid to the motorization.

[0011] Preferably, the respective liquid inlet and outlet ends of all the tubes communicate with each other by peripheral conduits.

[0012] According to a specific variant embodiment of the device of the invention, the hot liquid receiving box and the cooled liquid return pipe are mounted aligned in the same part of the box.

[0013] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the ventilation means comprise four fans mounted in the box so that the air flow is directed against the walls supporting the tubes.

[0014] According to another advantageous characteristic, the fans are separated by deflectors. Preferably, these deflectors consist of curvilinear walls partially surrounding the fans in the central part of the box.

[0015] According to an alternative embodiment, the box is in the shape of a parallelepiped and the tubes are arranged on its side walls.

[0016] Another object of the invention is a motor vehicle equipped with a device having the characteristics defined above for cooling its engine.

[0017] Thus, in principle, the invention proposes an improvement to traditional cooling devices, providing a simplification of their structure and a significant reduction in their size under the hood of the vehicle.

[0018] The structure of this improved cooling device comprises a new compact component in the form of an independent, attached box integrating both the heat exchanger and the associated ventilation means and which is directly connected, at the liquid inlet and outlet, to the other existing components.

[0019] The device of the invention makes it possible to eliminate hoses or at least to reduce the length of the hydraulic circuit while ensuring effective cooling.

[0020] Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge on reading the description which follows, with reference to the appended figures, for which:

[0021] [Fig-1] is an exploded perspective schematic view of one embodiment preferential embodiment of the cooling device of the invention.

[0022] [Fig.2] is a detailed perspective view from above of the device of [Fig.l].

[0023] [Fig.3] is another detailed perspective view from above of the device of [Fig.l].

[0024] [Fig.4] is an overall view showing the layout of the device of cooling of the invention.

[0025] For clarity, identical or similar elements are identified by identical reference signs throughout the figures.

[0026] Naturally, the embodiments of the invention illustrated schematically by the figures presented above and described below are given only as non-limiting examples. It is explicitly provided within the scope of the invention that different embodiments can be proposed and combined with each other to propose others.

[0027] The invention relates to the general field of cooling the engine of motor vehicles and is more particularly concerned with an improvement aimed at reducing the size of the cooling device and, in particular, the integrated hydraulic circuit.

[0028] In a known manner and as illustrated by [Fig.l], the cooling devices for motor vehicle engines integrate a hydraulic circuit comprising a box 3 for receiving the hot liquid leaving the engine M (thermal, hybrid or electric), a heat exchanger 1 in which the hot liquid is cooled by a flow of cold air from ventilation means 2 and a pump 4 ensuring the circulation of the liquid in the circuit.

[0029] Such a hydraulic circuit generally comprises a large number of hoses and / or pipes which make the device bulky and which contain a large volume of coolant, consequently requiring a pump of suitable power and capacity.

[0030] The invention therefore consists of improving this cooling device by modifying, in particular, the structure of the heat exchanger 1 and by proposing a compact component integrating both this exchanger and ventilation means 2. This component is directly connected to the other existing components and, in particular, to the box 3 for receiving the hot liquid and to the pump 4 via a pipe 40, as illustrated by figures 3 and 4.

[0031] For this purpose and as illustrated in detail by figures 2 and 3, the exchanger 1 of the invention comprises a network of tubes 10 of small diameter, arranged on the walls internals of a box 11 inside which the ventilation means 2 are mounted. Typically, the internal radius of the tubes (whose profile corresponds to half-cylinders) is of the order of 1 mm.

[0032] The tubes 10 are arranged in rows parallel to each other and perpendicular to the generatrices of the internal walls of the box 1. In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, the box 11 is here in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped (or square with a side length of approximately 50 cm) and the tubes 10 are arranged on its side walls 11a. The network of tubes comprises approximately 240 semi-cylindrical tubes.

[0033] Each tube 10 has a first longitudinal end 10a for the inlet of the liquid supplied by the box 3 for receiving the hot liquid and a second longitudinal end 10b for the outlet of the cooled liquid.

[0034] The respective inlet 10a and outlet 10b ends of the liquid of all the tubes 10 communicate with each other by peripheral conduits 12a, 12b which run along the side walls of the box 11, respectively here on its upper and lower edges, as illustrated by the arrows in [Fig.3]. The peripheral conduit 12b which collects the cooled liquid coming from the second ends 10b of the tubes 10 is connected to the conduit 40 for returning the liquid to the motorization M.

[0035] As illustrated by figures 1 and 3, the box 3 for receiving the hot liquid and the pipe 40 for returning the cooled liquid are preferably mounted in an aligned manner, and here superimposed, in the same part of the box 11.

[0036] In the embodiment of the device of the invention shown here in [Fig. 1], the ventilation means 2 comprise four fans mounted in the box 11 so that the air flow produced is directed against the internal walls 11a supporting the tubes 10.

[0037] For this purpose, the fans are separated by deflectors 21 consisting of curvilinear walls partially surrounding the fans 2 in the central part of the box 11. The walls of the deflectors 21 are here carried by a central star-shaped element 22. Thus, the pulsed air flows are uniformly distributed in the box, being directed and concentrated towards the tubes 10 so as to optimize the efficiency of the heat transfer of the cooling liquid.

Claims

Claims

1. Device for cooling the engine (M) of motor vehicles, said device integrating a hydraulic circuit comprising a box (3) for receiving the hot liquid leaving the engine, a heat exchanger (1) in which the hot liquid is cooled by a flow of cold air from ventilation means (2) and a pump (4) ensuring the circulation of the liquid in the circuit, characterized in that said heat exchanger (1) comprises a network of tubes (10) of small diameter arranged on the internal walls of a box (11) inside which at least one fan (2) is mounted, the deflectors (21) being made up of curvilinear walls partially surrounding the fans in the central part of the box (11).

2. Cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that the tubes (10) are arranged in rows parallel to each other and perpendicular to the generatrices of the internal walls (11a) of the box (H).

3. Cooling device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each tube (10) has a first longitudinal end (10a) for the liquid inlet communicating with the box (3) for receiving the hot liquid and a second longitudinal end (10b) for the liquid outlet connected to a return pipe for the cooled liquid to the motorization (M).

4. Cooling device according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the respective inlet (10a) and outlet (10b) ends of the liquid of all the tubes (10) communicate with each other by peripheral conduits (12a, 12b).

5. Cooling device according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the box (3) for receiving the hot liquid and the return pipe for the cooled liquid are mounted in an aligned manner in the same part of the box (11).

6. Cooling device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the ventilation means (2) comprise four fans mounted in the box (11) so that the air flow is directed against the walls (11a) supporting the tubes (10).

7. Cooling device according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the fans are separated by deflectors (21).

8. Cooling device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the box (11) is in the shape of a parallelepiped and the tubes (10) are arranged on its side walls (Ha).

9. Motor vehicle equipped with a device according to one of the preceding claims for cooling its engine (M).

Images