OIL COOLER

Abstract

An oil cooler may include at least two heat exchanger plates stacked in a stacking direction, and a cover plate. A fluid channel may extend between the cover plate and the adjacent heat exchanger plate. A thermostatic valve may be connected to the fluid channel in a fluid-transmitting manner via a thermostatic valve housing of the thermostatic valve. The cover plate may include at least two connecting pieces or an adapter plate may be arranged between the cover plate and the thermostatic valve housing and may include at least two connecting pieces. The thermostatic valve housing may include at least two connecting pieces configured complementary to the at least two connecting pieces of the cover plate or the adapter plate, and secured therein. The at least two pieces of the thermostatic valve housing may be soldered in the at least two connecting pieces of the cover plate or the adapter plate.

Claims

1. An oil cooler comprising: at least two heat exchanger plates stacked one over the other in a stacking direction, and a cover plate; a fluid channel extending between the cover plate and an adjacent one of the at least two heat exchanger plates; a thermostatic valve connected to the fluid channel in a fluid-transmitting manner via a thermostatic valve housing of the thermostatic valve; wherein: the thermostatic valve housing is a finished aluminium profiled element; the cover plate includes at least two connecting pieces protruding in a direction of the thermostatic valve, the at least two connecting pieces of the cover plate each having an edge; the thermostatic valve housing including at least two connecting pieces configured complementary to the at least two connecting pieces, of the cover plate and secured mechanically in the at least two connecting pieces of the cover plate; and the at least two connecting pieces of the thermostatic valve housing are soldered in the at least two connecting pieces of the cover plate; or an adapter plate is arranged between the cover plate and the thermostatic valve housing; the adapter plate including at least two connecting pieces protruding in the direction of the thermostatic valve, the at least two connecting pieces of the adapter plate each having an edge; the thermostatic valve housing including the at least two connecting pieces configured complementary to the at least two connecting pieces of the adapter plate and secured mechanically in the at least two connecting pieces of the adapter plate; and wherein the at least two connecting pieces of the thermostatic valve housing are soldered in the at least two connecting pieces of the adapter plate.

2. The oil cooler according to claim 1, wherein at least one of: the edge of each of the at least two connecting pieces of the cover plate or the adapter plate have a conical inner contour; and the at least two connecting pieces of the thermostatic valve housing have an outer contour that tapers towards a free end.

3. The oil cooler according to claim 1, wherein a first side of the cover plate facing the adjacent one of the at least two heat exchanger plates includes a solder plating.

4. The oil cooler according to claim 1, wherein the thermostatic valve housing is a finished aluminium extrusion profiled element or a rolled profiled element.

5. The oil cooler according to claim 1, wherein the thermostatic valve housing including the at least two connecting pieces is secured via a press fit in the at least two connecting pieces of the cover plate or in the at least two connecting pieces of the adapter plate.

6. A method for producing an oil cooler comprising: producing a thermostatic valve housing including at least two connecting pieces as an aluminium extrusion solid profiled element or a rolled aluminium solid profiled element; finish-processing the thermostatic valve housing via at least one of drilling, milling, and grinding a plurality of inner channels and the at least two connecting pieces on the thermostatic valve housing; providing at least two heat exchanger plates stacked one over the other in a stacking direction, covering the at least two heat exchanger plates with a cover plate, securing the at least two connecting pieces of the thermostatic valve housing in at least two connecting pieces of the cover plate, or providing at least two heat exchanger plates stacked one over the other in a stacking direction, covering the at least two heat exchanger plates with a cover plate and an adapter plate arranged between the cover plate and the thermostatic valve housing, securing the at least two connecting pieces of the thermostatic valve housing in at least two connecting pieces of the adapter plate; and jointly soldering the at least two heat exchanger plates, the cover plate, and the thermostatic valve housing together, or jointly soldering the at least two heat exchanger plates, the cover plate, the adapter plate and the thermostatic valve housing together.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein jointly soldering is performed via one of a Controlled Atmosphere Brazing method or under a vacuum.

8. The method according to claim 6, further comprising: incorporating at least one of a wax expansion element and a spring and a valve body into the thermostatic valve housing, and closing the thermostatic valve housing via a cover.

9. A motor vehicle, comprising: at least one oil cooler, the at least one oil cooler including: at least two heat exchanger plates stacked one over the other in a stacking direction, and a cover plate; a fluid channel extending between the cover plate and an adjacent one of the at least two heat exchanger plates; a thermostatic valve connected to the fluid channel in a fluid-transmitting manner via a thermostatic valve housing of the thermostatic valve; wherein: the thermostatic valve housing is a finished aluminium profiled element; the cover plate includes at least two connecting pieces protruding in a direction of the thermostatic valve, the at least two connecting pieces of the cover plate each having an edge; the thermostatic valve housing including at least two connecting pieces configured complementary to the at least two connecting pieces of the cover plate and secured mechanically in the at least two connecting pieces of the cover plate; and the at least two connecting pieces of the thermostatic valve housing are soldered in the at least two connecting pieces of the cover plate; or an adapter plate is arranged between the cover plate and the thermostatic valve housing; the adapter plate including at least two connecting pieces protruding in the direction of the thermostatic valve, the at least two connecting pieces of the adapter plate each having an edge; the thermostatic valve housing including the at least two connecting pieces configured complementary to the at least two connecting pieces of the adapter plate and secured mechanically in the at least two connecting pieces of the adapter plate; and wherein the at least two connecting pieces of the thermostatic valve housing are soldered in the at least two connecting pieces of the adapter plate.

10. The oil cooler according to claim 1, wherein the at least two connecting pieces of the thermostatic valve are one of caulked or wobble riveted to the at least two connecting pieces of the cover plate.

11. The oil cooler according to claim 1, wherein the at least two connecting pieces of the thermostatic valve are one of caulked or wobble riveted to the at least two connecting pieces of the adapter plate.

12. The oil cooler of claim 1, wherein the cover plate has the at least two connecting pieces protruding in the direction toward the thermostatic valve; the thermostatic valve housing including at least two connecting pieces configured to be complementary to the at least two connecting pieces of the cover plate and secured mechanically to the at least two connecting pieces of the cover plate; and wherein the at least two connecting pieces of the thermostatic valve housing are soldered in the at least two connecting pieces of the cover plate.

13. The oil cooler according to claim 12, wherein the thermostatic valve housing is mechanically secured to the cover plate via press fitting the at least two connecting pieces of the thermostatic valve housing to the at least two connecting pieces of the cover plate.

14. The oil cooler of claim 1, wherein the adapter plate is arranged between the cover plate and the thermostatic valve housing; the adapter plate having at least two connecting pieces protruding in the direction towards the thermostatic valve; the thermostatic valve housing having the at least two connecting pieces configured to be complementary to the at least two connecting pieces of the adapter piece; and wherein the at least two connecting pieces of the thermostatic valve housing are soldered in the at least two connecting pieces of the adapter plate.

15. The oil cooler according to claim 14, wherein the thermostatic valve housing is mechanically secured to the adapter piece via press fitting the at least two connecting pieces of the thermostatic valve housing into the at least two connecting pieces of the adapter plate.

16. The oil cooler according to claim 14, wherein the adaptor plate further comprises at least one deflection channel.

17. The method according to claim 6, further comprising forming an outer tapered contour on at least one edge of the at least two connecting pieces of the thermostatic valve housing.

18. The method according to claim 6, further comprising forming a conical inner contour on at least one edge of the at least two connecting pieces of the cover plate.

19. The method according to claim 6, further comprising forming at least one of a conical inner contour on at least one edge of the at least two connecting pieces of the adapter plate.

20. The method according to claim 6, further comprising providing a soldering plating on a first side of the cover plate facing the adjacent heat exchanger plate.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] There are shown, respectively diagrammatically,

[0020] FIG. 1 a view onto an oil cooler according to the invention with a thermostatic valve housing arranged on a cover plate;

[0021] FIG. 2 a view onto the cover plate;

[0022] FIG. 3 a view onto the thermostatic valve housing;

[0023] FIG. 4 an illustration as in FIG. 3, but with indicated inner contours;

[0024] FIG. 5 a sectional illustration through the oil cooler in the region of the cover plate and of the thermostatic valve housing soldered thereon;

[0025] FIG. 6 an exploded illustration of an oil cooler according to the invention with an additional adapter plate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] According to FIGS. 1 and 5, an oil cooler 1 according to the invention has at least two heat exchanger plates 2 stacked one over the other in stacking direction, and a cover plate 3. Generally, the term oil cooler 1, used previously and in the following, is also to comprise other heat exchangers by means of which other fluids are cooled or temperature-controlled. Such an oil cooler 1 is used for example in a utility vehicle 14. A fluid channel 4 extends between the cover plate 3 and the adjacent heat exchanger plate 2. Furthermore, a thermostatic valve 5 is provided, which is connected to the fluid channel 4 of the cover plate 3 in a fluid-transmitting manner by means of its thermostatic valve housing 6. Observing now FIGS. 1, 2 and 5, it can be seen that the cover plate 3 has two connecting pieces 7 protruding in the direction of the thermostatic valve 5, with an edge 8, whereas the thermostatic valve housing 6 has two pieces 9 formed complementary to the connecting pieces 7, which pieces are fastened mechanically in the connecting pieces 7 of the cover plate, in particular are caulked. According to the invention, the thermostatic valve housing 6 is now formed from a finished aluminium profiled element, in particular from a finished aluminium extrusion profiled element or from a rolled aluminium profiled element and is thereby produced from an aluminium alloy which can be soldered in an optimum manner. The thermostatic valve housing 6 is soldered here via its pieces 9 in the connecting pieces 7 of the cover plate 3.

[0027] Observing FIG. 6, it can be seen in the embodiment which is illustrated there that an adapter plate 15 is arranged between the cover plate 3 and the thermostatic valve housing 6, wherein the thermostatic valve housing 6 is soldered with its pieces 9 in connecting pieces 16 of the adapter plate 15. The adapter plate 15 has in this case two connecting pieces 16, protruding in the direction of the thermostatic valve 5, with an edge 8, wherein the thermostatic valve housing 6 with its pieces 9 is fastened mechanically in the connecting pieces 16 of the adapter plate. The adapter plate 15 is soldered here onto the cover plate 3, whereby additionally also an increase in the rigidity can be achieved. However, further advantages can be additionally realized with the adapter plate 15, namely in particular the arrangement of the connecting pieces 16 such that the thermostatic valve housing 6 does not have to be aligned to the connecting pieces 7 of the cover plate 3 lying rather far apart, but rather can be kept short and thereby light, optimizing the installation space and at a favourable cost. For this, for example, deflection channels 17 can be formed into the adapter plate 15. If these deflection channels 17 were formed directly into the cover plate 3, this could, under some circumstances, have a disadvantageous effect on the stability of the oil cooler 1. Hereby, an almost freely selectable positioning of the thermostatic valve 5 on the adapter plate 15 of the oil cooler 1 is possible, whereby external circumstances can be better taken into consideration.

[0028] Observing in particular FIGS. 2, 5 and 6, it can be seen that the respective edge 8 of the connecting piece 7, 16 has a conical inner contour 10, in particular in the manner of a chamfer, wherein additionally or alternatively the pieces 9 can taper towards a free end. Both the conical inner contour 10 and also the tapering pieces 9 can facilitate here the introducing of the pieces 9 into the connecting pieces 7, 16, likewise a fastening, in particular a caulking, of the pieces 9 in the connecting pieces 7, 16. On its side facing the adjacent heat exchanger plate 2, the cover plate 3 has a solder plating 11, whereby an additional solder addition during soldering of the thermostatic valve housing 6 to the cover plate 3 can be dispensed with.

[0029] The oil cooler 1 according to the invention is produced as follows:

[0030] Firstly, the thermostatic valve housing 6 is produced as an aluminium profiled element, in particular as an aluminium extrusion profiled element, wherein for example the outer contours of the thermostatic valve housing 6, produced as a solid profiled element, in particular extruded or rolled, is illustrated in FIG. 3 with a broken line. Subsequently, for example inner channels 12 and also the external pieces 9 or respectively further components of the thermostatic valve housing 6 are produced by finishing of the aluminium solid profiled element, for example by drilling, milling and/or grinding. For the further production of the oil cooler 1, at least two heat exchanger plates 2, stacked one over the other in stacking direction, are now covered by the cover plate 3, wherein previously or thereafter the thermostatic valve housing 6 is fastened with its two pieces 9 in the connecting pieces 7 of the cover plate 3, in particular is caulked wobble-riveted. The composite of thermostatic valve housing 6, cover plate 3 and heat exchanger plates 2 shown for example according to FIG. 1 can now be soldered in a single working step in a corresponding soldering furnace. Purely theoretically, it is also conceivable that the thermostatic valve housing 6 is soldered without mechanical pre-fastening and without pieces 9 directly to the connecting pieces 7 of the cover plate 3.

[0031] If alternatively in addition an adapter plate 15 is provided, then at least two heat exchanger plates 2, stacked one over the other in stacking direction, are covered by the cover plate 3 and the adapter plate 15, wherein previously or thereafter the thermostatic valve housing 6 is fastened with its two pieces 9 in the connecting pieces 16 of the adapter plate 15, in particular is caulked or wobble-riveted. Subsequently, the heat exchanger plates 2, the cover plate 3, the adapter plate 15 and the thermostatic valve housing 6 are jointly soldered. In this case, of course no separately formed connecting pieces 7 have to be provided on the cover plate 3.

[0032] The great advantage of this production is based on the fact that owing to the material selection for the thermostatic valve housing 6 (aluminium alloy capable of extrusion), a sealed soldering between the thermostatic valve housing 6 and the cover plate 3 or respectively the adapter plate 15 can be achieved without, for example, separate seals being necessary for this. Through the soldering jointly, also only one single leakage test is now sufficient, whereas in oil coolers known from the prior art, the tightness of the heat exchanger block and in addition also the tightness of the structural unit consisting of heat exchanger block and installed thermostatic valve had to be checked.

[0033] When the soldering process has been completed, further components can be incorporated into the thermostatic valve housing 6, such as for example a wax expansion element, a spring and a valve body, wherein this is subsequently closed by means of a cover which is not shown. Such a cover, for example, can be screwed into the thermostatic valve housing 6, for which for example a corresponding internal thread 13 is provided. A soldering of the thermostatic valve housing 6 with the cover plate 3, if applicable with the adapter plate 15 and the heat exchanger plates 2, takes place here usually by the so-called CAB method (Controlled Atmosphere Brazing) or under vacuum, wherein in particular the first-mentioned soldering method has already been used for many years in the producing of aluminium heat exchangers and is thereby well-proven. With the thermostatic valve housing 6, produced according to the invention for the first time from an aluminium solid profiled element, a distinct simplification of the installing of the oil cooler 1 can be achieved, because the thermostatic valve housing 6 is firstly pre-fastened via its pieces 9 in the connecting pieces 7 or 16, and is subsequently soldered together with the oil cooler 1 in the soldering furnace. Hereby, in particular, a hitherto necessary additional leakage test can be dispensed with, likewise additional sealing elements or fastening means, for examples screws, because the thermostatic valve housing 6, which is caulked and soldered on the cover plate 3 or on the adapter plate 15, is sufficiently fastened to the cover plate 3 or to the adapter plate 15.