Cooling system for automotive engine
First Claim
1. A cooling system for an internal combustion engine comprising:
- a coolant jacket formed about structure of said engine subject to high heat flux;
a radiator in which coolant vapor is condensed to its liquid form;
a vapor transfer conduit leading from said coolant jacket to said radiator;
means for returning liquid coolant from said radiator to said coolant jacket in a manner to maintain said structure subject to high heat flux immersed in liquid coolant and define a vapor collection space within said coolant jacket;
a reservoir containing liquid coolant;
valve and conduit means for selectively establishing fluid communication between said coolant jacket and said reservoir;
valve and conduit control means including circuitry for;
(a) conditioning said valve and conduit means so as to establish fluid communication between said reservoir and a cooling circuit which includes said coolant jacket, said radiator and said second vapor transfer conduit, when the temperature of the coolant within said coolant jacket is below a first predetermined level and the pressure prevailing within said cooling circuit is below ambient atmospheric pressure by a second predetermined amount;
(b) conditioning said valve and conduit means so as to introduce excess coolant from said reservoir into said cooling circuit when the engine is started and the temperature of the coolant in said coolant jacket is below a third predetermined level and thus purge out any non-condensible matter in said cooling circuit;
(c) conditioning said valve and conduit means so as to permit coolant to be displaced from said engine under the influence of the vapor pressure produced within said cooling circuit when the engine is running and the temperature of said coolant is above said third predetermined level, and for terminating the displacement when said the amount of coolant contained in said cooling circuit has been reduced to a predetermined desired level; and
(d) monitoring the operation of said liquid coolant returning means to determine if the correct amount of coolant has been retained in said cooling circuit and for conditioning said valve and conduit means to permit correction of the amount of coolant to said desired level.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vapor cooled type internal combustion engine is provided with an auxiliary reservoir and a coolant management system. The management system establishes fluid communication between the reservoir and a cooling circuit of the engine in a manner to fill the latter with liquid coolant when the engine is not in use and thus exclude contaminating non-condensible air from same, and monitors the operation of the system when operating in a closed mode to determine if too much or too little coolant has been retained in the circuit following a warm-up mode wherein the excess coolant which fills the system when cold, is displaced by its own vapor pressure. The management system also ensures that the cooling circuit is not switched from closed to open states while the possibility of superatmospheric pressures developing therein exist and thus prevents violent displacement of coolant out of the circuit to the reservoir in a manner which invites spillage of coolant and the entry of large amounts of contaminating air.
18 Citations
13 Claims
-
1. A cooling system for an internal combustion engine comprising:
-
a coolant jacket formed about structure of said engine subject to high heat flux; a radiator in which coolant vapor is condensed to its liquid form; a vapor transfer conduit leading from said coolant jacket to said radiator; means for returning liquid coolant from said radiator to said coolant jacket in a manner to maintain said structure subject to high heat flux immersed in liquid coolant and define a vapor collection space within said coolant jacket; a reservoir containing liquid coolant; valve and conduit means for selectively establishing fluid communication between said coolant jacket and said reservoir; valve and conduit control means including circuitry for; (a) conditioning said valve and conduit means so as to establish fluid communication between said reservoir and a cooling circuit which includes said coolant jacket, said radiator and said second vapor transfer conduit, when the temperature of the coolant within said coolant jacket is below a first predetermined level and the pressure prevailing within said cooling circuit is below ambient atmospheric pressure by a second predetermined amount; (b) conditioning said valve and conduit means so as to introduce excess coolant from said reservoir into said cooling circuit when the engine is started and the temperature of the coolant in said coolant jacket is below a third predetermined level and thus purge out any non-condensible matter in said cooling circuit; (c) conditioning said valve and conduit means so as to permit coolant to be displaced from said engine under the influence of the vapor pressure produced within said cooling circuit when the engine is running and the temperature of said coolant is above said third predetermined level, and for terminating the displacement when said the amount of coolant contained in said cooling circuit has been reduced to a predetermined desired level; and (d) monitoring the operation of said liquid coolant returning means to determine if the correct amount of coolant has been retained in said cooling circuit and for conditioning said valve and conduit means to permit correction of the amount of coolant to said desired level. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
-
-
6. A method of cooling an internal combustion engine comprising the steps of:
-
introducing liquid coolant into a coolant jacket formed about structure of said engine subject to high heat flux in a manner to immerse said structure in a predetermined depth of liquid coolant; allowing the liquid coolant in said coolant jacket to boil; condensing the vapor produced by the boiling in said coolant jacket to its liquid form in a radiator; transferring the coolant vapor from said coolant jacket to said radiator using a vapor transfer conduit; returning liquid coolant from said radiator to said first coolant jacket using a coolant return arrangement in a manner to maintain said structure subject to high heat flux immersed in said predetermined depth of liquid coolant and define a vapor collection space within said coolant jacket; storing additional coolant in a reservoir; conditioning said valve and conduit means so as to establish fluid communication between said reservoir and a cooling circuit which includes said coolant jacket, said radiator and said second vapor transfer conduit, when the temperature of the coolant within said coolant jacket is below a first predetermined level and the pressure prevailing within said cooling circuit is below ambient atmospheric pressure by a second predetermined amount; conditioning said valve and conduit means so as to introduce excess coolant from said reservoir into said cooling circuit when said engine is started and the temperature of the coolant in said coolant jacket is below a third predetermined level and thus purge out any non-condensible matter in said cooling circuit; conditioning said valve and conduit means so as to permit coolant to be displaced from said engine under the influence of the vapor pressure produced within said cooling circuit when the engine is running and the temperature of said coolant is above said third predetermined level, and for terminating the displacement when the amount of coolant contained in said cooling circuit has been reduced to a predetermined desired level; monitoring the operation of said liquid coolant returning arrangement to determine if the correct amount of coolant has been retained in said cooling circuit; and correcting the amount of coolant retained in said cooling circuit in the event that said step of monitoring reveals that the amount of coolant retained in said cooling circuit is not at a desired level. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
-
Specification