Method for determining when cooling system is restricted

• US 9,133,756 B2
• Filed: 04/02/2012
• Issued: 09/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AGCO Corporation
• Original Assignee: AGCO Corporation
• Inventors: Soldan, Daniel, Nafziger, Brendon
• Primary Examiner(s): Ali, Mohammad
• Assistant Examiner(s): LAUGHLIN, NATHAN L
• Application Number:
  US13/437,149
• Publication Number:
  US 20120247709A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,261 Days
• Field of Search: 700/276, 700/278, 700/299, 700/300
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00378 for tractor or load vehicle cabins
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/32 Cooling devices B60H1/00478, B60H1/005 take precedence; vehicles adapted to transport refrigerated goods B60P3/20
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/3227 characterised by the arrangement or the type of heat exchanger, e.g. condenser, evaporator condensed liquid drainage means B60H1/3233
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 11/12 Filtering, cooling, or silencing cooling-air
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 11/14 Indicating devices; Other safety devices
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 5/02 Pumping cooling-air; Arrangements of cooling-air pumps, e.g. fans or blowers
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 5/04 Pump-driving arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 7/02 the coolant being cooling-air
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 7/026 Thermostatic control
• CPC Class Codes: F01P 7/04 by varying pump speed, e.g. by changing pump-drive gear ratio
• CPC Class Codes: F28D 1/0443 Combination of units extending one beside or one above the other F28D1/0452 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F28F 19/01 by using means for separating solid materials from heat-exchange fluids, e.g. filters
• CPC Class Codes: F28F 27/00 Control arrangements or safety devices specially adapted for heat-exchange or heat-transfer apparatus control arrangements in general G05
• CPC Class Codes: F28G 13/00 Appliances or processes not covered by groups F28G1/00 - F28G11/00; Combinations of appliances or processes covered by groups F28G1/00 - F28G11/00
• CPC Class Codes: F28G 15/003 Control arrangements

Abstract

A method for determining when a cooling system for a work vehicle is restricted with debris. A first temperature difference between an inlet and an outlet of a heat exchanger is determined when the airflow though said heat exchanger is substantially unrestricted. When a subsequent temperature difference is less than the first temperature difference by a predetermined amount, the direction of the airflow is reversed to remove debris from the heat exchanger.

Claims

1. A method for managing a plurality of cooling systems of a work vehicle, said method comprising the steps of:

providing an airflow to a plurality of heat exchangers with an air mover, wherein said airflow is divided such that each of said plurality of heat exchangers receives a portion of said airflow;

receiving a temperature input from each of said plurality of heat exchangers comprising;

determining a temperature of said portion of the airflow received by each heat exchanger at an inlet to each of said plurality of heat exchangers and determining a temperature of said portion of the airflow received by each heat exchanger at an outlet of each of said plurality of heat exchangers;

determining a temperature difference between said inlet and outlet temperatures of said plurality of heat exchangers;

determining if said temperature differences for the plurality of heat exchangers are increasing over time;

determining airflow requirements for each of said plurality of heat exchangers, said determination comprising the step of performing an initializing reverse of said airflow prior to determining said temperature difference to determine a temperature difference representative of when said airflow through said plurality of heat exchangers is maximized;

determining which one of said plurality of heat exchangers requires the most airflow;

generating airflow across each of said plurality of heat exchangers based on the requirements of said one of said plurality of heat exchangers requiring the most airflow; and

reversing direction of said airflow to remove debris from said plurality of heat exchangers.

2. The method of claim 1 comprising the step of waiting to reverse said airflow until said temperature difference reaches a predetermined value less than said temperature difference determined when said airflow through said plurality of heat exchangers had been maximized.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said determining steps are performed with a specific airflow.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said air mover is a fan and said determining steps are performed when said fan is operating at a specific speed.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of determining the temperature differences for the plurality of heat exchangers is performed after a period of time after said initializing reverse.

6. The method of claim 4 further comprising delaying reversing of the fan for a period of time between consecutive occurrences of reversing the fan.