COOLANT EQUALIZING RESERVOIR WITH INTEGRATED VORTEX CHAMBER SPACED AWAY FROM THE RESERVOIR WALL ALONG ITS ENTIRE CIRCUMFERENCE

Abstract

A coolant equalizing reservoir for arrangement in a coolant circuit, having: a reservoir housing, a vortex chamber in the reservoir housing, a feed line for introducing coolant into the reservoir housing, and an outflow aperture for discharging coolant from the reservoir housing, where the feed line discharges into the vortex chamber, and wherein the vortex chamber is defined by a wall protruding from a base-wall section of the reservoir housing along a vortex chamber's axis, encircling the vortex chamber's axis in a closed manner, which in every direction orthogonal to the vortex chamber's axis is arranged at a distance from the reservoir housing.

Claims

1-12. (canceled)

13. A coolant equalizing reservoir for arrangement in a coolant circuit, comprising: A reservoir housing, A vortex chamber in the reservoir housing, A feed line for introducing coolant into the reservoir housing, and An outflow aperture for discharging coolant from the reservoir housing, Where the feed line discharges into the vortex chamber, wherein the vortex chamber is defined by a wall protruding from a base-wall section of the reservoir housing along a vortex chamber's axis, encircling the vortex chamber's axis in a closed manner, which in every direction orthogonal to the vortex chamber's axis is arranged at a distance from the reservoir housing.

14. The coolant equalizing reservoir according to claim 13, wherein the vortex chamber is accommodated in the reservoir housing with coolant able to flow completely around its outside in the circumferential direction.

15. The coolant equalizing reservoir according to claim 14, wherein the wall of the vortex chamber exhibits at least one passage aperture which penetrates completely through the wall in the thickness direction.

16. The coolant equalizing reservoir according to claim 15, wherein the wall of the vortex chamber exhibits a plurality of passage apertures which penetrate completely through the wall in the thickness direction, where at least two of the passage apertures are arranged at different circumferential positions in the circumferential direction about the vortex chamber's axis and/or are arranged at different positions in a direction along the vortex chamber's axis and/or exhibit different shapes and/or different aperture cross-sectional areas.

17. The coolant equalizing reservoir according to claim 13, wherein a flow baffle is arranged inside the vortex chamber.

18. The coolant equalizing reservoir according to claim 17, wherein the flow baffle proceeds in parallel to an inner wall surface of the vortex chamber at a distance to it.

19. The coolant equalizing reservoir according to claim 13, wherein the vortex chamber extends from the base-wall section of the reservoir housing along the vortex chamber's axis up to an end-wall section of the reservoir housing opposite the base-wall section.

20. The coolant equalizing reservoir according to claim 13, wherein the region inside the reservoir housing but outside the vortex chamber is subdivided into a plurality of chambers communicating with one another.

21. The coolant equalizing reservoir according to claim 20, wherein the partitions which separate two neighboring chambers from one another exhibit a communicating aperture through which coolant can flow from one of the chambers into the respective other one, where the communicating apertures of at least two partitions are arranged at different distances from the vortex chamber and/or are arranged at different positions in a direction along the vortex chamber's axis and/or exhibit different shapes and/or different aperture cross-sectional areas.

22. The coolant equalizing reservoir according to claim 21, wherein the partitions separating two neighboring chambers from one another extend from a reservoir bottom up to a reservoir top opposite the reservoir bottom.

23. The coolant equalizing reservoir according to claim 20, wherein the partitions separating two neighboring chambers from one another extend from a reservoir bottom up to a reservoir top opposite the reservoir bottom.

24. The coolant equalizing reservoir according to claim 13, wherein the outflow aperture is configured outside the vortex chamber in the reservoir housing.

25. A Motor vehicle with a coolant circuit with an equalizing coolant reservoir according to claim 13, wherein the coolant circuit comprises a pump which is configured to achieve during proper normal operation a coolant flow of more than 12 l/min.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] The invention may take physical form in certain parts and arrangement of parts, a preferred embodiment of which will be described in detail and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which forms a part hereof and wherein:

[0037] FIG. 1A sectional view through an equalizing reservoir according to the invention along a sectional axis parallel to the vortex chamber's axis,

[0038] FIG. 2A top view of the inside of the lower reservoir shell of the equalizing reservoir of FIG. 1, and

[0039] FIG. 3 A perspective view of the inner region of the lower reservoir shell of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0040] Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for the purpose of illustrating preferred and alternative embodiments of the invention only and not for the purpose of limiting the same, in FIG. 1, an embodiment form according to the invention of a coolant equalizing reservoir is denoted generally by 10. The equalizing reservoir 10 exhibits a reservoir housing 12 and is formed from an upper reservoir shell 14 and a lower reservoir shell 16.

[0041] The upper reservoir shell 14 comprises a reservoir top 18 and an upper side-wall 20 projecting integrally from the reservoir top 18, encircling in a closed manner, as sections of the reservoir housing 12.

[0042] The lower reservoir shell 16 comprises a reservoir bottom 22 which in the operational state of the equalizing reservoir 10 is opposite to the reservoir top 18 and a lower side-wall 24 projecting integrally from the reservoir bottom 22, encircling in a closed manner, as sections of the reservoir housing 12. The upper and the lower reservoir shell 14 and/or 16 respectively are bonded with one another, in particular welded, for example by mirror welding or by another suitable welding method, along a joint plane 26.

[0043] On the outside of the reservoir shells 14 and 16 there are molded functional formations, such as for example mountings 28, 30, and 32 for attaching the equalizing reservoir 10 to a structure surrounding it, in particular the structure of a vehicle V. A further functional formation is the sensor mounting 34 which in the depicted example penetrates through the upper reservoir shell 14, which holds a sensor arrangement 36 for detecting operational states of the equalizing reservoir 10 and/or properties of the coolant flowing through the equalizing reservoir 10.

[0044] In the region of the reservoir bottom 22, a tube 38 configured integrally with the lower reservoir shell 14 conducts at the lower reservoir shell 14 coolant into the equalizing reservoir 10 as part of a feed line 40. In the depicted example, the tube 38 and the feed line 40 proceed advantageously along a straight feed axis Z, conceived as penetrating centrally through the tube 38 and the feed line 40. The feed line 40 is part of a coolant circuit and/or cooling circuit respectively 41 in the motor vehicle V. This cooling circuit 41 comprises a pump 39, which during operation of the cooling circuit 41 produces volume flows of coolant of between 30 and 50 l/min.

[0045] Both reservoir shells 14 and 16 are produced in an injection molding process from a thermoplastic synthetic, preferably from polyethylene or polypropylene.

[0046] The equalizing reservoir 10 is depicted in FIG. 1 in its operational spatial orientation. The arrow g indicates the gravitational direction. This proceeds parallel to the drawing plane of FIG. 1 and orthogonally to the drawing plane of FIG. 2.

[0047] Inside the equalizing reservoir 10 there is configured a cylindrical vortex chamber 42 which extends continuously from the reservoir bottom 22 to the reservoir top 18. As an aid for easier description of the inner region of the equalizing reservoir 10, there is depicted a virtual vortex chamber's axis W which is conceived as penetrating centrally through the vortex chamber 42. Due to the cylindrical shape of the vortex chamber 42, the virtual vortex chamber's axis W coincides with the cylinder axis of the vortex chamber 42.

[0048] In the present case, the wall 44 of the vortex chamber 42 is configured in two parts with approximately equal parts in the upper reservoir shell 14 and in the lower reservoir shell 16. An upper vortex chamber wall 44a configured integrally with the upper reservoir shell 14 and a lower vortex chamber wall 44b configured integrally with the lower reservoir shell 16 meet in the joint plane 26 and are welded there with one another producing the wall 44 of the vortex chamber 42.

[0049] The feed line 40 penetrates through the lower side-wall 24 and discharges into the vortex chamber 42 at an outlet aperture 46. Coolant introduced into the vortex chamber 42 via the outlet aperture 46 eccentrically with respect to the vortex chamber's axis W flows into the vortex chamber 42 and after striking the inner surface of the wall 44 is deflected into a turbulent flow oriented anticlockwise when viewing FIG. 2.

[0050] The vortex chamber 42 extends with its lower vortex chamber wall 44b away from a base-wall section 44c towards an end-wall section 44d. The base-wall section 44c is formed by a section of the reservoir bottom 22, the end-wall section 44d by a section of the reservoir top 18.

[0051] Likewise along the vortex chamber's axis W there extends a flow baffle 48 away from the base-wall section 44c. Orthogonally to the vortex chamber's axis W there proceeds the flow baffle 48 at a distance from the lower vortex chamber wall 44b. The flow baffle 48, which is curved about an axis of curvature parallel to the vortex chamber's axis W, does not reach in the depicted example up to the joint plane 26, but ends at a distance from it. The flow baffle 48 extends, however, so far along the vortex chamber's axis W that its longitudinal end located distally from the reservoir bottom 22 is located nearer to the joint plane 26 than to the reservoir bottom 22.

[0052] The flow baffle 48 is indeed curved about the vortex chamber's axis W, but extends only incompletely about the vortex chamber's axis W and does not encircle it in a closed manner. The encircling angle of the flow baffle 48 about an axis P central in respect of the flow baffle 48 (s. FIG. 2), which unlike in the depicted embodiment example can be the vortex chamber's axis W, is approximately 180°.

[0053] As can be discerned in FIGS. 2 and 3, in the depicted example the flow baffle 48 is configured approximately part-cylindrically, where the cylinder axis P (s. FIG. 2) of the flow baffle 48 proceeds at a distance from the vortex chamber's axis W, such that the distance between the flow baffle 48 and the lower vortex chamber wall 44b opposite to it decreases counterclockwise in FIG. 2 along the circumferential extension of the two formations. The outlet aperture 46 of the feed line 40 faces towards a region between the flow baffle 48 and the lower vortex chamber wall 44b in which the distance between these is greater. Consequently, a coolant introduced into the gap 49 between the flow baffle 48 and the lower vortex chamber wall 44b flows counterclockwise when viewing FIG. 2 along the gap 49 and is accelerated through the decreasing gap size of the gap 49 along the flow path.

[0054] Coolant can flow from the vortex chamber 42 via several passage apertures 50 into the outside environment of the vortex chamber 42 between the wall 44 of the vortex chamber 42 and the reservoir housing 12. Only one passage aperture 50 is discernible in FIG. 1. FIG. 3, however, shows two passage apertures 50.

[0055] Outside the vortex chamber 42 there are configured expansion chambers 52, of which each two immediately neighboring expansion chambers 52 are separated from one another by a planar partition 54. The partitions 54 too, extend completely between the reservoir bottom 22 and the reservoir top 18. Like the wall 44 of the vortex chamber 42, every partition 54 in the depicted embodiment example is also formed by an upper partition 54a and a lower partition 54b which contact one another in the joint plane 26 and are preferably connected, especially preferably firmly bonded, with one another.

[0056] Since the two reservoir shells 14 and 16 are preferably produced by injection molding, in the depicted example the upper and lower partitions 54a and/or 54b respectively are configured integrally with the reservoir housing 12, that is, with the reservoir top 18, reservoir bottom 22, and side-walls 20 and 24.

[0057] In each partition 54 except for the partition between the feed line 40 and the outflow aperture 58, whose lower partition 54b′ can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, there is configured one communicating aperture 56 through which coolant can flow from one side of the partition 54 to the other side of the partition 54.

[0058] The vortex chamber 42 is configured in every direction orthogonal (radial) to the vortex chamber's axis W at a distance from the reservoir housing 12. A flow of coolant in the circumferential direction about the vortex chamber's axis W is possible through the communicating apertures 56.

[0059] The outflow aperture 58 through which coolant can exit from the equalizing reservoir 10, can be discerned in FIGS. 2 and 3. The outflow aperture 58 discharges directly from an expansion chamber 52′, such that coolant imperatively has to flow from the vortex chamber 42 into the expansion chamber 52′ with the outflow aperture 58 in order to be able to leave again the equalizing reservoir 10.

[0060] In order to increase the flow path and thereby the dwell time of the coolant in the equalizing reservoir 10, the vortex chamber 42 does not exhibit passage apertures 50 to the expansion chamber 52′ with the outflow aperture 58 and to the expansion chamber 52″ adjacent to this expansion chamber 52′ against the vortex direction of the coolant in the vortex chamber 42. The vortex chamber 42 does, however, exhibit one passage aperture 50 each in the rest of the expansion chambers 52 bordering the vortex chamber 42.

[0061] The partition 54 between the outflow aperture 58 and the feed line 40 does not exhibit a communicating aperture 56. It extends completely over the entire cross-sectional area of the interior space between the vortex chamber 42 and the reservoir housing 12. All the rest of the partitions 54 exhibit a communicating aperture 56 each. Consequently, all the expansion chambers 52 communicate with one another, with the exception of the immediately neighboring expansion chambers 52 through which the feed line 40 proceeds and the expansion chamber 52′ in which the outflow aperture 58 is located.

[0062] While considerable emphasis has been placed on the preferred embodiments of the invention illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated that other embodiments, and equivalences thereof, can be made and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiments without departing from the principles of the invention. Furthermore, the embodiments described above can be combined to form yet other embodiments of the invention of this application. Accordingly, it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the invention and not as a limitation.