Coolant pump for automotive use

• US 20030143084A1
• Filed: 12/30/2002
• Published: 07/31/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/1996
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Flowork Systems II LLC
• Original Assignee: Flowork Systems II LLC
• Inventors: Repple, Walter Otto, Fulton, John Robert Lewis
• Granted Patent: US 6,887,046 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 417/292
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 2005/125 Driving auxiliary pumps electrically
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 2007/146 using valves
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 2060/08 Cabin heater
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 2070/00 Details
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 5/10 Pumping liquid coolant; Arrangements of coolant pumps
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 7/16 by thermostatic control
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 7/161 by bypassing pumps
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 15/0027 Varying behaviour or the very pump F04D15/0055 and F04D29/46 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 15/0038 by varying the effective cross-sectional area of flow through the rotor
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 29/466 especially adapted for liquid fluid pumps
• CPC Class Codes: F04D 29/566 specially adapted for liquid pumps

Abstract

An impeller pump with thermostatically adjustable guide vanes is suitable for use as an automotive coolant pump. The pump is driven by a constant speed electric motor, and flow variation is controlled by varying the orientation of the vanes. Orientation of the vanes is effected by a wax-type thermostat, which senses coolant temperature: flow is increased when the coolant is hot, and decreased as the coolant cools. The variable guide vanes are mounted for pivoting about radial axes, and are located just upstream from the pump impeller.

Claims

1. A coolant pumping apparatus, wherein:

the apparatus is structured for pumping liquid coolant around the coolant circulation circuit of an engine and associated radiator;

the apparatus includes a fixed housing, having walls which define a pumping chamber;

the apparatus includes a pump impeller, having blades, and includes a rotary-driver for rotating the impeller;

the pump impeller lies inside the pumping chamber, and is effective to pump coolant through the chamber;

the walls of the pumping chamber include a radiator-port, for making coolant-conducting communication between the pumping-chamber and the radiator;

the apparatus includes a radiator-port-closer;

the radiator-port-closer is mechanically movable in a port-closure mode of movement, being movement between a port-open position with respect to the said radiator-port, and a port-closed position;

the apparatus includes a swirl-vane;

the swirl-vane is so arranged in relation to the impeller as to impart a rotary swirl motion to the flow of coolant passing through the impeller;

the apparatus includes a vane-mounting-structure, having a vane-orientation-guide;

the swirl-vane is mechanically movable in a vane-orientation mode of movement, its movement constrained by the vane-orientation-guide, being movement between a flow-reducing orientation of the swirl-vane relative to the blades of the rotary impeller, and a flow-boosting orientation;

the apparatus includes a thermal-unit, having a coolant-temperature sensor;

the thermal-unit includes a fixed-element and a movable-element;

the movable-element is movable relative to the fixed-element, in response to changes in the coolant-temperature sensed by the sensor;

the apparatus includes a thermal-driver;

the thermal-driver is a mechanically-unitary structure, which is so structured as to convert movement of the movable-element of the thermal-unit into both movement of the radiator-port-closer in the port-closure mode, and movement of the swirl-vane in the vane-orientation mode.

2. Apparatus of claim 1, wherein the thermal-driver is so structured that:

the radiator-port-closer substantially cannot move, in the port-closure mode, other than in correspondence with movement of the thermal-driver; and

the swirl-vanes substantially cannot move, in the vane-orientation mode, other than in correspondence with movement of the thermal-driver.

3. Apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the thermal-driver is so structured that movement of the thermal-driver, responsive to an increase in the coolant-temperature from cold to hot, is effective;

to move the radiator-port-closer, in the said port-closure mode, away from the radiator-port-closed position towards the radiator-port-open position; and

also

to move the swirl-vane, in the said vane-orientation mode, away from the flow-reducing orientation towards the flow-boosting orientation.

4. Apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the thermal-driver has an overall range of movement, from cold to hot;

the thermal-driver is so structured that the movement of the radiator-port-closer, in the port-closure mode, towards the radiator-port-open position, occurs as a radiator-port-closer portion of the overall range of movement of the thermal-driver;

and the movement of the swirl-vane, in the vane-orientation mode, towards the flow-boosting orientation, occurs as a vane-orientation portion of the overall range of movement of the thermal-driver.

5. Apparatus of claim 1, wherein the thermal-driver is so structured that:

the radiator-port-closer portion of the overall range of movement of the thermal-driver occurs when the temperature of the coolant is towards the cold end of the range;

the vane-orientation portion of the overall range of movement of the thermal-driver occurs when the temperature of the coolant is towards the hot end of the range.

6. Apparatus of claim 1, wherein the thermal-driver is so structured that:

there is no overlap between the radiator-port-closer portion of the overall range of movement of the thermal-driver and the vane-orientation portion;

in that the radiator-port-closer portion is finished, the radiator-port being then open to full flow of coolant therethrough, substantially before the vane-orientation portion commences,

7. Apparatus of claim 1, wherein the thermal-driver is so structured that:

over a unison-portion of the overall range of movement of the thermal-driver, there is overlap between the radiator-port-closer portion of the overall range of movement of the thermal-driver, and the vane-orientation portion;

in that, over the unison-portion, the thermal-driver constrains the swirl-vane and the radiator-port-closer to move together, in unison.

8. Apparatus of claim 1, wherein the thermal-driver is so structured that, over a lost-motion portion of the overall range of movement of the thermal-driver, movement of the thermal-driver produces corresponding movement of one of either the radiator-port-closer or the swirl-vane, while the other does not undergo corresponding movement.

9. Apparatus of claim 1, wherein the thermal-driver is so structured that:

over a cold-lost-motion portion of the overall range of movement of the thermal-driver, movement of the thermal-driver produces corresponding movement of the radiator-port-closer in the port-closure mode, while the swirl-vane does not undergo corresponding movement in the vane-orientation mode;

over a hot-lost-motion portion of the overall range of movement of the thermal-driver, movement of the thermal-driver produces corresponding movement of the swirlvane in the vane-orientation mode, while the radiator-port-closer does not undergo corresponding movement in the port-closure mode.

10. Apparatus of claim 1, wherein the coolant-temperature-sensor of the thermal-unit includes two sensors, being a radiator-port-temperature-sensor and a swirl-vane-temperature-sensor, which are physically separate, and are so located as to measure coolant temperatures at different locations of the coolant circulation circuit.

11. Apparatus of claim 1, wherein the coolant-temperature-sensor of the thermal-unit measures temperatures at one location of the coolant circulation circuit.

12. Apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the apparatus is structured to be suitable for pumping liquid coolant around a coolant circulation circuit that also includes an associated heater;

the walls of the pumping chamber include a heater-port, for making coolant-conducting communication between the pumping-chamber and the heater;

the apparatus includes a heater-port-closer;

the heater-port-closer is mechanically movable in a port-closure mode of movement, being movement between a port-open position with respect to the said heater-port, and a port-closed position;

the apparatus includes a heater-port-closer-linkage, which converts movement of the movable thermal-driver into corresponding movement, in the port-closure mode, of the heater-port-closer.

14. Apparatus of claim 1, wherein the thermal-driver comprises a mechanical thermostat, having a temperature-sensitive bulb which expands/contracts in accordance with the temperature of the coolant, and the movable-element comprises a movable stem of the thermostat.

15. Apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

a rate of the thermostat is the movement of the stem, in length units, per degree change in temperature of coolant, and;

the thermostat has two different rates, being an initial-opening rate, and a warmed-up rate;

the initial-opening rate is the rate of movement of the stem that obtains upon the coolant reaching a warmed-up temperature, to move the radiator-port closer from the closed to the open position;

the thermal-driver is a mechanically-unitary structure, which is so structured as to convert movement of the movable-element of the thermal-unit into both movement of the radiator-port-closer in the port-closure mode, and movement of the swirl-vane in the vane-orientation mode.

16. Apparatus of claim 15, wherein the warmed-up rate is in two parts, being a cooler part and a hotter part of the warmed-up temperature range, and the rate in the hotter part is greater than the rate in the cooler part.

17. Apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the swirl-vanes are situated close to the impeller, and upstream of the impeller;

the radiator port in the pump housing is situated upstream of the swirl-vanes;

coolant to be pumped is fed into the pump via an engine/heater port, which is situated upstream of the swirl-vanes;

pumped coolant emerges from the pump via an engine-return port, which is situated downstream of the impeller.

18. Apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the impeller has a set of primary blades and a set of secondary blades;

the impeller is of so shaped and configured that coolant emerging from the primary blades has such direction and velocity as to be partially deflected away from the entrances of the secondary blades;

whereby, when the impeller is rotating at slow rotational speeds, a relatively large proportion of the flow emerging from the primary blades enters the secondary blades, but, when the impeller is rotating at high speeds, only a relatively small proportion of the flow emerging from the primary blades enters the secondary blades.

19. Apparatus of claim 1, wherein the primary blades are predominantly axial and the secondary blades are predominantly radial.

20. Apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the walls of the pumping chamber include a heater-port, through which coolant from the engine, being coolant that has by-passed the radiator, can enter the pumping chamber;

the apparatus includes a heater-port-closer, which is effective to close the heater-port in accordance responsively to the temperature of the coolant.

13. Apparatus of claim x, wherein:

the structural arrangement of the radiator-port-closer-linkage, the heater-port-closer-linkage, and the vane-orientation-linkage is such that;

the heater-port-closer substantially cannot move, in the port-closure mode, other than in correspondence with movement of the thermal-driver;

movement of the thermal-driver, responsive to changes in the coolant-temperature from cold to hot, is effective also to move the heater-port-closer, in the said port-closure mode, from the port-open position to the port-closed position.