Inter cooler

Abstract

An intercooler may include an air-outlet tank, a condensate collector for collecting condensate separated off the intercooler, and a condensate line connected to the condensate collector via an entrance and that opens out into the air-outlet tank via an exit. There may be a pressure difference between the entrance and the exit of the condensate line during operation of the intercooler, and said pressure difference may allow differential-pressure-induced discharge of condensate from the condensate collector via the condensate line.

Claims

1. An intercooler comprising: an air-outlet tank; a condensate collector for collecting condensate separated off in the intercooler, the condensate collector being releasably connected to the air outlet tank; and a condensate line connected to the condensate collector via an entrance and that opens out into the air-outlet tank via an exit; wherein there is a pressure difference between the entrance and the exit of the condensate line during operation of the intercooler, and said pressure difference allows differential-pressure-induced discharge of condensate from the condensate collector via the condensate line; and wherein the air-outlet tank includes a connector on which the condensate collector is plugged via a coupling.

2. An intercooler according to claim 1, wherein the condensate collector is attached to the air-outlet tank.

3. An intercooler according to claim 1, wherein the condensate collector is attached to the air-outlet tank by welding, brazing, adhesive bonding, screw-connection or clipping.

4. An intercooler according to claim 1, wherein the condensate collector forms an integral constituent part of the air-outlet tank.

5. An intercooler according to claim 1, wherein one of: the exit of the condensate line projects into the air-outlet tank; or the exit of the condensate line projects into the air-outlet tank and is bent round in a flow direction of charge air.

6. An intercooler according to claim 1, wherein at least one of: the exit of the condensate line is designed in the form of a nozzle; and the exit of the condensate line has a diameter between 0.5 mm and 10.0 mm.

7. An intercooler according to claim 1, further comprising a connector provided on the air-outlet tank, and via which the condensate line is attached to the air-outlet tank.

8. An intercooler according to claim 1, further comprising a connector provided on the condensate collector, and via which the condensate line is attached to the condensate collector.

9. An intercooler according to claim 1, wherein one of: the condensate line runs in a wall of the air-outlet tank; or the condensate line runs along a wall of the air-outlet tank.

10. An intercooler according to claim 1, wherein the condensate line is formed from one of metal or plastics material.

11. An internal combustion engine comprising an intercooler having: an air-outlet tank; a condensate collector for collecting condensate separated off in the intercooler, the condensate collector being releasably connected to the air outlet tank; and a condensate line connected to the condensate collector via an entrance and that opens out into the air-outlet tank via an exit; wherein there is a pressure difference between the entrance and the exit of the condensate line during operation of the intercooler, and said pressure difference allows differential-pressure-induced discharge of condensate from the condensate collector via the condensate line; and wherein the air-outlet tank includes a connector on which the condensate collector is plugged via a coupling.

12. An internal combustion engine according to claim 11, wherein one of: the exit of the condensate line projects into the air-outlet tank; or the exit of the condensate line projects into the air-outlet tank and is bent round in a flow direction of charge air.

13. An internal combustion engine according to claim 11, further comprising a connector provided on the air-outlet tank, and via which the condensate line is attached to the air-outlet tank.

14. An internal combustion engine according to claim 11, further comprising a connector provided on the condensate collector, and via which the condensate line is attached to the condensate collector.

15. An internal combustion engine according to claim 11, wherein one of: the condensate line runs in a wall of the air-outlet tank; or the condensate line runs along a wall of the air-outlet tank.

16. An intercooler according to claim 6, wherein the exit of the condensate line has a diameter between 0.8 mm and 5.0 mm.

17. An intercooler according to claim 1, wherein the condensate line is a rubber hose.

18. An intercooler comprising: an air-outlet tank; a condensate collector for collecting condensate separated off in the intercooler, the condensate collector being releasably attached to the air-outlet tank; and a condensate line connected to the condensate collector via an entrance and that opens out into the air-outlet tank via an exit, the exit projecting into the air-outlet tank; wherein there is a pressure difference between the entrance and the exit of the condensate line during operation of the intercooler, and said pressure difference allows differential-pressure-induced discharge of condensate from the condensate collector via the condensate line; and wherein the air-outlet tank includes a connector on which the condensate collector is plugged so as to be releasably connected via a coupling.

19. An intercooler according to claim 18, wherein the exit of the condensate line is bent round in a flow direction of charge air.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) In the drawings, schematically in each case:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a sectional illustration through an intercooler according to the invention in the region of an air-outlet tank and of a condensate line arranged there,

(3) FIG. 2 shows an illustration as in FIG. 1, but with the condensate line opening differently into the air-outlet tank,

(4) FIG. 3 shows an illustration as in FIG. 2, but with the condensate line exiting in a bent-round state in the air-outlet tank,

(5) FIG. 4 shows the intercooler according to the invention with the condensate line running along a wall of the air-outlet tank,

(6) FIG. 5 shows an illustration as in FIG. 2, but with a condensate collector formed integrally on the intercooler, and

(7) FIG. 6 shows an illustration as in FIG. 5, but with a condensate line running in the wall of the air-outlet tank.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(8) In correspondence with FIGS. 1 to 6, an intercooler 1 according to the invention of an internal combustion engine 2, which is otherwise merely indicated, has a heat-exchanger block 3, an air-inlet tank, which is not shown but is located upstream of the heat-exchanger block as seen in the flow direction 4, and an air-outlet tank 5. Also provided is a condensate collector 6 for collecting condensate 7 separated off in the intercooler 1. The condensate 7 here runs via a discharge opening 8, which is arranged in the floor of the air-outlet tank 5, into the condensate collector 6, which is arranged therebeneath. In order for it to be possible to discharge the condensate 7 collected in the condensate collector 6, a condensate line 9 is provided, said condensate line being connected to the condensate collector 6 via an entrance 10. The condensate line 9 opens out into the air-outlet tank 5 via an exit 11, wherein a pressure difference p.sub.1>p.sub.2 prevails between the entrance 10 and the exit 11 of the condensate line 9 during operation of the intercooler 1, and said pressure difference gives rise to differential-pressure-induced discharge of condensate from the condensate collector 6 via the condensate line 9 into the air-outlet tank 5. Arranging the exit 11 in the air-outlet tank 5, with the smaller cross-sectional surface area of the air-outlet tank 5 there than in the region of the heat-exchanger block 3, gives rise to a so-called Venturi effect, which extracts the condensate 7 from the condensate collector 6.

(9) Looking at the intercooler 1 illustrated according to FIGS. 1 to 4, then it is possible to see that the condensate collector 6 is attached to the air-outlet tank 5, wherein the air-outlet tank 5 has, for example, a connector 12, on which the condensate collector 6 is plugged by way of a coupling 13. In order for it to be possible here to prevent condensate 7 from escaping in an undesirable manner, a seal 14 is provided between the connector 12 and the coupling 13. In addition, or as an alternative, it is also possible, of course, for the condensate collector 6 to be attached to the air-outlet tank 5 by welding, brazing, screw-connection, adhesive bonding or clipping, that is to say both by non-releasable connections and by releasable connections, wherein in particular the releasable connections have the great advantage that the condensate collector 6, in the case of maintenance and repair, can be removed from the intercooler 1, that is to say specifically from the air-outlet tank 5, and for example the discharge opening 8 can be cleaned. Of course, brazing the condensate collector 6 to the air-outlet tank 5 also has advantages since, in this case, the entire intercooler 1, that is to say along with the heat-exchanger block 3, air-outlet tank 5 and condensate collector 6, could be brazed jointly in a brazing furnace.

(10) In the case of the intercoolers shown according to FIGS. 5 and 6, in contrast, the condensate collector 6 is integrated in the air-outlet tank 5, that is to say it forms an integral constituent part of the same, in particular in the manner of a double floor.

(11) Looking again at the intercooler 1 according to FIG. 1, then it is possible to see that the air-outlet tank 5 has a connector 12, via which the condensate line 9 is attached by way of its exit 11. In the same way, it is also possible for the condensate line 9 to be attached, by way of its entrance 10, via a connector 12 (cf. FIGS. 1 to 3 and 5) arranged on the condensate collector 6. In this case, the condensate line 9 does not project into the air-outlet tank 5 by way of its exit 11.

(12) Looking at FIG. 2, then it is possible to see that the exit 11 of the condensate line 9 projects into the air-outlet tank 5 and, in particular as is illustrated according to FIG. 3, is bent round in the flow direction 4 of the charge air. It is possible here for the exit 11 of the condensate line 9, said exit projecting into the air-outlet tank 5, to be designed in the form of a nozzle and/or to have a diameter d between 0.5 and 10 mm, preferably a diameter d between 0.8 and 5.0 mm. It is also the case with the intercoolers 1 according to the rest of the figures that the condensate is extracted via the condensate line 9 on account of the so-called Venturi effect.

(13) Looking again, for example, at the intercooler 1 according to FIG. 4, then it is possible to see that the condensate line 9 runs along a wall 15 of the air-outlet tank 5 and is thus arranged in a compact manner. The condensate line 9 may be retained on the wall 15, for example, via clip elements 16, in particular if the condensate line 9 is formed from plastics material, for example in the form of a rubber hose. As an alternative, it is also possible, of course, to make provision for the condensate line 9 to be formed from metal, and therefore to be able to follow the progression of the wall 15 without any additional retaining means. Such an embodiment is illustrated, for example, according to FIG. 5.

(14) Looking at the intercooler 1 according to FIG. 6, then it is possible to see that the condensate line 9 runs in the wall 15 of the air-outlet tank 5 and is thus integrated in the same. This constitutes a particularly compact solution of the arrangement of the condensate line 9, wherein the condensate line 9 in this case is arranged, at the same time, in a protected manner in the wall 15.

(15) The intercooler 1 according to the invention gives rise to the following significant advantages over intercoolers known from the prior art:

(16) effective condensate management (collection and recirculation) in a single component, that is to say in the intercooler 1,

(17) rather than any activation or regulation being necessary, functioning is independent on account of the Venturi effect,

(18) cost-effective, so there is no need for any additional actuators and flaps or valves,

(19) the condensate 7 fed can be straightforwardly metered, determined in respect of quantity and shaped via a diameter of the condensate line 9 or the exit 11 thereof.

(20) In addition, the intercooler 1 according to the invention has the collecting and recirculating functions integrated in it (structural unit). This means that the intercooler 1 has the integrated condensate collector 6, a condensate inflow into the condensate collector 6 and a condensate-collecting means as well as recirculation of the condensate 7 within the intercooler 1 utilizing a pressure difference for the transportation of the condensate 7 (Venturi principle).