Replaceable Milling Unit Cooling Fan for Closed Oil Circuit Heat Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing milling units for earth working machines face challenges in effectively cooling the transmission oil without creating additional installation work or risking coolant loss and contamination, especially due to the mechanical wear and contamination from milled materials.
Innovation Solution
A milling unit with a heat exchanger that uses an open cooling-gas flow, where compressed cooling gas is depressurized and used for convective heat exchange, eliminating the need for a cooling-liquid circuit and minimizing structural requirements, and incorporating a cooling fan to ensure consistent gas flow, which can be arranged on the milling unit or machine frame for efficient operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a cooling-liquid circuit is used to cool the transmission oil, then effective cooling is achieved, but additional installation work is required and coolant loss/contamination risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the liquid-based cooling system with a gas-based cooling system. The heat exchanger is designed to cool transmission oil using ambient air instead of requiring a complex cooling-liquid circuit, thereby eliminating installation complexity and coolant loss risks while maintaining effective cooling of the transmission oil
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes gas flow (ambient air) through the heat exchanger to achieve cooling. The heat exchanger is configured with flow passages that allow ambient air to pass through and absorb heat from the transmission oil, providing a simple pneumatic cooling solution without requiring liquid coolant systems
2Temperature
If a fan rotor is placed in the radially inner region of the milling drum tube, then convective cooling is achieved, but mechanical wear from milled material increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the cooling function from the milling drum environment and relocates it to the milling drum housing where ambient air can be used. The heat exchanger is positioned on the housing to cool transmission oil indirectly, separating the cooling mechanism from the high-wear milling drum environment and eliminating mechanical wear on cooling components
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces the heat exchanger as an intermediary component that transfers heat from the transmission oil to ambient air. This intermediary allows cooling to occur without direct exposure of cooling components to milled material, thereby preventing mechanical wear while maintaining effective heat dissipation
3Adaptability or versatility
If the milling unit is designed for replaceable connection, then adaptability is improved, but maintaining closed operating-medium circuit integrity becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the heat exchanger as a self-contained component on the milling unit that uses ambient air for cooling. This self-service design eliminates the need for connections to external cooling systems, allowing the milling unit to be freely installed and removed while maintaining the integrity of the closed transmission oil circuit without risk of coolant loss
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution provides effective cooling of the operating medium without the need for a closed coolant circuit, reducing mechanical wear and contamination risks, while allowing for easy installation and removal of the milling unit, and maintaining operational readiness by utilizing ambient air as an inexhaustible cooling source.
Implementation Method 1
the heat exchanger being embodied for flow impingement by a cooling gas, separate from the operating medium, in an open cooling-gas flow
Implementation Method 2
a heat exchanger through which operating medium flows during circulating flow of the operating medium
Implementation Method 3
A cooling fan is provided which is embodied and arranged to drive the cooling gas for flow impingement onto the heat exchanger
Data Source
AI summary
A milling unit for an earth working machine including a milling drum and a milling drum housing; the milling unit comprising a closed operating-medium circuit that includes an operating-medium pump that is embodied to drive the operating medium to circulate in the operating-medium circuit; the operating-medium circuit including a heat exchanger through which operating medium flows during circulating flow of the operating medium; the heat exchanger being arranged on the milling drum housing. Provision is made that the heat exchanger is configured for flow impingement by a cooling gas separate from the operating medium; and that a cooling fan, which is embodied to drive the cooling gas for flow impingement onto the heat exchanger, is arranged on the milling drum housing.