Flow control valve

• US 10,704,453 B2
• Filed: 11/28/2017
• Issued: 07/07/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group), Kia Motors Corporation (Kia Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group)
• Inventors: Park, Cheol Soo, Park, Jun Sik, Han, Bong Hoon, Chae, Dong Suk
• Primary Examiner(s): Dallo, Joseph J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Liethen, Kurt Philip
• Application Number:
  US15/824,603
• Publication Number:
  US 20190055877A1
• Time in Patent Office: 952 Days
• CPC Class Codes: F01M 5/002 Cooling
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 2003/027 Cooling cylinders and cylinder heads in parallel
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 2007/146 using valves
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 2025/32 Engine outcoming fluid temperature
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 2060/08 Cabin heater
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 2060/18 Heater
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 3/02 Arrangements for cooling cylinders or cylinder heads
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 7/14 the coolant being liquid
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 7/165 characterised by systems with two or more loops
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 26/30 Connections of coolers to other devices, e.g. to valves, heaters, compressors or filters; Coolers characterised by their location on the engine
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 11/08 comprising only taps or cocks
• CPC Class Codes: F16K 11/0856 having all the connecting conduits situated in more than one plane perpendicular to the axis of the plug

Abstract

A flow control valve is arranged to simultaneously perform coolant flow control and variable split cooling, according to control of a path opening degree of the flow control valve. The flow control valve can perform four-port control for variably controlling four ports at once by operation of the flow control valve, and thus can implement variable temperature control for increasing a temperature of an engine, rapid warming-up of the engine, while performing split cooling at the same time.

Claims

1. A flow control valve, comprising:

a valve housing including a block port connected to a coolant outlet of a cylinder block, a radiator port connected to a radiator, a heat exchanger port connected to an oil cooler or an EGR cooler, and a heater core port connected to a heater core;

a driving unit that provides a rotational force; and

a valve body that receives the rotational force provided from the driving unit to rotate in the valve housing at a predetermined angle, and has a first flow control hole, a second flow control hole, and a third flow control hole which are formed through the valve body such that the first flow control hole selectively communicates with the block port and the radiator port, the second flow control hole selectively communicates with the heat exchanger port, and the third flow control hole selectively communicates with the heater core port, according to changes of a rotation angle of the valve body,

wherein;

the valve body includes a first layer part, a second layer part, and a third layer part, which are discriminated from each other along an axial direction of the valve body;

the first layer part has the first flow control hole formed therethrough; and

the block port and the radiator port are independently arranged along a circumferential direction of the first layer part, and

wherein;

the second layer part has the second flow control hole formed therethrough, and the heat exchanger port is disposed on the second layer part; and

the third layer part has a third flow control hole formed therethrough, and the heater core port is disposed on the third layer part.

2. The flow control valve of claim 1, wherein:

the first flow control hole, the second flow control hole, and the third flow control hole are respectively arranged through the first layer part, the second layer part, and the third layer part, along circumferential directions of respective parts.

3. The flow control valve of claim 1, wherein:

the radiator port is configured to be opened before the block port as the valve body rotates from a first end to a second end among an entire rotation section of the valve body.

4. The flow control valve of claim 3, wherein:

an inside diameter of the radiator port is larger than that of the block port; and

the block port is configured to start opening before a time point at which the radiator port is maximally opened, as the valve body rotates from the first end to the second end.

5. The flow control valve of claim 4, wherein:

as the first flow control hole overlaps the radiator port and the block port, the first flow control hole communicates with the radiator port and the block port to allow flow of a coolant;

the first flow control hole is formed such that the first flow control hole does not overlap either the radiator port or the block port in a predetermined first section including the first end among the entire rotation section of the valve body;

the first flow control hole is formed such that the first flow control hole overlaps the radiator port and does not overlap the block port in a predetermined second section extending from the first section and connected to an opposite side of the first section;

the first flow control hole is formed such that the first flow control hole overlaps both the radiator port and the block port in a predetermined third section extending from the second section and connected to an opposite side of the second section; and

the first flow control hole is formed such that the first flow control hole does not overlap the radiator port and overlaps the block port in a fourth section which extends from the third section, is connected to an opposite side of the third section, and includes the second end.

6. The flow control valve of claim 5, wherein the third section comprises:

a (3-1)th section extending from the opposite side of the second section, wherein an overlapping state between the first flow control hole and the block port is converted at a boundary point between the (3-1)th section and the second section;

a (3-2)th section extending from an opposite side of the (3-1)th section, wherein an overlapping area between the first flow control hole and the radiator port is maximized in the (3-2)th section; and

a (3-3)th section disposed between the (3-2)th section and the fourth section, wherein an overlapping state between the first flow control hole and the radiator port is converted at a boundary point between the (3-3)th section and the fourth section.

7. The flow control valve of claim 5, wherein:

the heat exchanger port and the heater core port are configured to be opened before the radiator port as the valve body rotates from the first end to the second end.

8. The flow control valve of claim 7, wherein,

as the second flow control hole overlaps the heat exchanger port, the second flow control hole communicates with the heat exchanger port to allow flow of a coolant;

the second flow control hole is formed such that the second flow control hole does not overlap the heat exchanger port in a (1-1)th section which is shorter than the first section and includes the first end among the entire rotation section of the valve body;

the second flow control hole is formed to overlap the heat exchanger port in a (1-2)th section extending from the (1-1)th section and connected to an opposite side of the (1-1)th section, the second section, the third section, and a (4-1)th section which extends from the opposite side of the third section and is shorter than the fourth section; and

the second flow control hole is formed such that the second flow control hole does not overlap the heat exchanger port in a (4-2)th section which includes the second end, extends from the (4-1)th section, and is connected to an opposite side of the (4-1)th section.

9. The flow control valve of claim 8, wherein:

the second flow control hole is formed such that an axial width of a middle portion thereof is narrower than that of a remaining part thereof.

10. The flow control valve of claim 9, wherein:

as the third flow control hole overlaps the heater core port, the third flow control hole communicates with the heater core port to allow flow of a coolant;

the third flow control hole is formed such that the third flow control hole does not overlap the heater core port in a (1-1)th section which is shorter than the first section and includes the first end among the entire rotation section of the valve body; and

the third flow control hole is formed to overlap the heat core port in a (1-2)th section extending from the (1-1)th section and connected to an opposite side of the (1-1)th section, the second section, the third section, and the fourth section.

11. The flow control valve of claim 8, wherein:

the second flow control hole is formed such that the heat exchanger port has a minimum overlapping area with the second flow control hole in a section in which the radiator port has a maximum overlapping area with the first flow control hole among the third section.

12. The flow control valve of claim 11, wherein:

the third flow control hole is formed such that the heater core port has a minimum overlapping area with the third flow control hole in a section in which the radiator port has a maximum overlapping area with the first flow control hole among the third section.

13. The flow control valve of claim 11, wherein:

the third flow control hole is formed such that an axial width of a middle portion thereof is narrower than that of a remaining part thereof.