SPLIT COOLING SYSTEM OF INTERNAL COMBUSION ENGINE

Abstract

A split cooling system of an internal combustion engine may include a water pump configured to circulate cooling water; a cylinder head and a cylinder block configured to be supplied with the cooling water from the water pump; an integrated flow control valve configured to include an inlet provided to be supplied with the cooling water of the cylinder head and a plurality of valves that are configured to be opened or closed to distribute the cooling water introduced through the inlet to an oil heat exchanger, a heater core, and a radiator; and a split cooler configured to be mounted at the cylinder block to provide a split cooling channel in the cylinder block and the cylinder header.

Claims

1. A split cooling system of an internal combustion engine, comprising: a water pump configured to circulate cooling water; a cylinder head and a cylinder block configured to be supplied with the cooling water from the water pump; an integrated flow control valve configured to include an inlet provided to be supplied with the cooling water of the cylinder head and a plurality of valves that are configured to be opened or closed to distribute the cooling water introduced through the inlet to an oil heat exchanger, a heater core, and a radiator; and a split cooler configured to be mounted at the cylinder block to provide a split cooling channel in the cylinder block and the cylinder header.

2. The split cooling system of claim 1, wherein the split cooler is inserted into a water jacket of the cylinder block and includes: a base configured to enclose an outside of a cylinder along a shape of the cylinder; a coupling groove formed to be indented into an inside surface of the base; and a sealing member configured to be filled in the coupling groove and expanded when the temperature of the cooling water supplied into the water jacket is equal to or higher than a preset temperature to cut off a channel between the base and the cylinder, to increase a flow resistance of the cooling water and reduce a heat transfer rate, performing the split cooling.

3. The split cooling system of claim 2, wherein the base is formed from a lower side of the cylinder block to a ⅔ point of a height of the cylinder block.

4. The split cooling system of claim 2, wherein the coupling groove is formed along a horizontal direction of the base and is formed in a closed curve.

5. The split cooling system of claim 2, wherein the sealing member is ethylene propylene diene M-class (EPDM) rubber and is foamed and then compressed to be foamed when the cooling water is equal to or more than the preset temperature.

6. The split cooling system of claim 2, wherein siamese parts of the base are provided with a plurality of guide members.

7. The split cooling system of claim 1, wherein the cylinder block includes a moving channel through which the cooling water of the cylinder block moves to the cylinder head and the cooling water of the cylinder block moves to the cylinder head and then is supplied to the integrated flow control valve together with the cooling water of the cylinder head.

8. The split cooling system of claim 1, wherein the integrated flow control valve includes at least one motor to control an opening and closing of a first valve, a second valve, and a third valve.

9. The split cooling system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of valves of the integrated flow control valve include a first valve provided to supply the cooling water to the oil heat exchanger, a second valve provided to supply the cooling water to the heater core, and a third valve provided to supply the cooling water to the radiator.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a split cooling system of an internal combustion engine according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] FIG. 2 is a view illustrating an integrated flow control valve of FIG. 1.

[0026] FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a split cooler of FIG. 1.

[0027] FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are cross-sectional views illustrating that the split cooler is inserted into a water jacket.

[0028] FIG. 6, FIG. 7, and FIG. 8 are graphs illustrating the existing behavior of an engine.

[0029] It should be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarily to scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of various features illustrative of the basic principles of the invention. The specific design features of the present invention as disclosed herein, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations, and shapes will be determined in part by the particular intended application and use environment.

[0030] In the figures, reference numbers refer to the same or equivalent parts of the present invention throughout the several figures of the drawing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the present invention(s), examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described below. While the invention(s) will be described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it will be understood that the present description is not intended to limit the invention(s) to those exemplary embodiments. On the contrary, the invention(s) is/are intended to cover not only the exemplary embodiments, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalents and other embodiments, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

[0032] Hereinafter, a split cooling system of an internal combustion engine according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0033] FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a split cooling system of an internal combustion engine according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view illustrating an integrated flow control valve 400 of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a split cooler 800 of FIG. 1. Further, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are cross-sectional views illustrating that the split cooler 800 is inserted into a water jacket 310.

[0034] The split cooling system of an internal combustion engine according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes: a water pump 100 configured to circulate cooling water; a cylinder head 200 and a cylinder block 300 configured to be supplied with the cooling water from the water pump 100; an integrated flow control valve 400 configured to include an inlet 410 provided to be supplied with the cooling water of the cylinder head 200 and a plurality of valves 430, 450, and 470 that may be opened or closed to distribute the cooling water through the inlet 410 to an oil heat exchanger 500, a heater core 600, and a radiator 700; and a split cooler 800 configured to be mounted at the cylinder block 300 to provide a split cooling channel in the cylinder block 300 and the cylinder header 200. The plurality of valves 430, 450, and 470 of the integrated flow control valve 400 include a first valve 430 provided to supply the cooling water to the oil heat exchanger 500, a second valve 450 provided to supply the cooling water to the heater core 600, and a third valve 470 provided to supply the cooling water to the radiator 700.

[0035] The water pump 100 serves to provide the cooling water introduced from the oil heat exchanger 500, the heater core 600, and the radiator 700 to the cylinder head 200 and the cylinder block 300.

[0036] The integrated flow control valve 400 is a 3-port valve unit configured of the first valve 430, the second valve 450, and the third valve 470 and is supplied with the cooling water from the inlet 410 supplied with the cooling water from the cylinder head 200. The integrated flow control valve 400 includes at least one motor 490 to control an opening and closing of the first valve 430, the second valve 450, and the third valve 470. The first valve 430 is connected to the oil heat exchanger 500, the second valve 450 is connected to the heater core 600, and the third valve 470 is connected to the radiator 700. The content of the flow rate control of the cooling water among the water pump, the oil heat exchanger 500, the heater core 600, and the radiator 700 is already known, and therefore the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0037] The split cooler 800 is inserted into the water jacket 310 of the cylinder block 300 and includes a base 810 configured to enclose an outside of the cylinder 330 along a shape of the cylinder 330; a coupling groove 830 formed to be indented into an inside surface of the base 810; and a sealing member 850 configured to be filled in the coupling groove 830 and expanded when the temperature of the cooling water supplied into the water jacket 310 is equal to or higher than a preset temperature to cut off a channel between the base 810 and the cylinder 330, to thereby increase a flow resistance of the cooling water and reduce a heat transfer rate. The cylinder block 300 includes a moving channel 350 through which the cooling water of the cylinder block 300 moves to the cylinder head 200 and the cooling water of the cylinder block 300 moves to the cylinder head 200 and then is supplied to the integrated flow control valve 400 together with the cooling water of the cylinder head 200.

[0038] Describing in more detail it with reference to the drawing, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the base 810 may be integrally or monolithically formed in a shape to enclose an outside of the cylinder 330. The base 810 serves to divide the channel within the fluid jacket 310. Therefore, with respect to the base 810, the inside is a channel of the cylinder 330 side and an outside is a channel of an outside of the cylinder 330. Herein, the inside and an outside will be described as the inner and outer sides of the base 810. The cooling fluid of the cylinder block 300 may be supplied to the cylinder head 200 along the channel of an outside of the base 810 and the moving channel 350 may be formed at this point.

[0039] The base 810 is preferably formed from a lower side of the cylinder block 300 to a ⅔ point of a height of the cylinder block 300. There is a problem in that since the cylinder block 300 partially closes the cooling water channel when the conventionally typical split cooling is applied, the overall flow resistance of the cooling water is increased to reduce the whole flow rate of the cooling water. Therefore, the base 810 of the split cooler 800 is formed to enclose a ⅔ point from the lower side of the cylinder block 300 to prevent the problem from occurring and thus the whole of the water jacket 310 is not covered to minimize the increase in the whole flow resistance of the cooling water channel, thereby preventing the flow rate from being reduced. Therefore, compared to the existing split cooling structure, the efficiency of the heating performance and the cooling performance may be increased.

[0040] The coupling groove 830 is formed to be indented into the inside surface of the base 810. As illustrated in the drawing, the coupling groove 830 is formed along a horizontal direction of the base 810 and is preferably formed in a closed curve. The reason is that since the coupling groove 830 is filled with the sealing member 850 and the sealing member 850 cuts off the channel between the base 810 and the cylinder 330 to increase the flow resistance of the cooling water to reduce the heat transfer rate, when the sealing member 850 forms an opened curve, it is difficult to cut off the channel of the portion and thus it is difficult to effectively increase the flow resistance of the cooling water.

[0041] As illustrated in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the present exemplary embodiment illustrates and describes that the coupling groove 830 is formed over the base 810. However, only one coupling groove 830 may also be formed at a position where the sealing member 850 is applied. Further, the coupling groove 830 is formed in plural and thus the plurality of coupling grooves 830 may be positioned on the inside surface of the base 810 while being vertically spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval. The number and positions of coupling grooves 830 may be differently applied to each car model and therefore the number and positions of coupling grooves may be changed as many as you want depending on the design or environment. As a result, the number and positions of coupling grooves are not specifically limited.

[0042] The coupling groove 830 is filled with the sealing member 850. The sealing member 850 may be ethylene propylene diene M-class (EPDM) rubber. The EPDM rubber is thermoplastic synthetic rubber in which ethylene, propylene, and diene are terpolymerized and is a structure without a butadiene component unlike general synthetic rubber. Therefore, the EPDM rubber has weather resistance and electric insulation more excellent than those of the general synthetic rubber.

[0043] Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the sealing member 850 has a tolerance occurring upon the assembling of the base 810 but is foamed when the temperature of the cooling water is equal to or higher than the preset temperature due to the filling of the cooling water to seal between the cylinder 330 and the base 810. That is, the sealing member 850 is foamed and then compressed to be foamed when the temperature of the cooling water is equal to or higher than the predetermined temperature and thus is filled in the coupling groove 830.

[0044] Therefore, when the split cooler 800 is assembled in the water jacket 310, the split cooler 800 is manufactured having a tolerance required for the assembling to be easily inserted and when the cooling water is filled in the water jacket 310 and thus the temperature of the cooling water rises to be equal to or higher than a preset temperature, the sealing member 850 is foamed to cut off the channel between the base 810 and the cylinder 330 to split the up and down flow of the cooling water and increase the flow resistance, reducing the heat transfer rate.

[0045] Therefore, the portion encapsulated by the cylinder 330, the sealing member 850, and the base 810 has a narrow gap and the increased flow resistance to reduce the heat transfer rate of a wall surface of the cylinder 330, thereby increasing the temperature of the surface of the cylinder 330. Since the flow resistance of the inside of the base 810 is increased, and therefore most of the cooling water moves to an outside of the base 810 and an upper side of the cylinder block 300, thereby implementing the split cooling.

[0046] Further, a siamese part 870 of the base 810 is provided with a guide member 890. The guide members 890 are preferably provided at each siamese part 870 of the base 810. The guide member 890 may be formed at a height corresponding to the height of the cylinder block 300. Further, the guide member 890 is a triangular prism and may be configured to be positioned in a shape in which a vertex thereof is inserted into the siamese part 870. Therefore, the flow of the cooling water of the upper portion of the cylinder block 300 is guided by the guide member 890 to increase the cooling effect and the assembling direction is set by the guide member 890, such that the assembling may be facilitated and the upper and lower positions may be fixed.

[0047] The split cooler 800 as described above is mounted at the cylinder block 300, and thus only the three ports of the integrated flow control valve 400 may be used to perform the sufficient flow rate control and the split cooling may be effectively performed within the cylinder block 300 and the cylinder head 200. Therefore, the existing integrated flow control valve repeats the high load and the low load in the internal combustion engine to which the variable split cooling port is applied to repeat the application/release of the split cooling upon the operation, thereby solving the instability of the temperature of the cooling water occurring due to the excessive operation of the valve.

[0048] Therefore, according to the split cooling system of an internal combustion engine of the present invention, the port taking charge of the variable split cooling is removed and only three ports are thus configured in the existing integrated flow control valve 400, and the split cooler 800 is mounted at the cylinder block 300 to increase the oil temperature in the cylinder block 300, obtaining the split cooling effect continuously. Further, one port for implementing the split cooling may be removed, such that the package may be simplified and the weight and costs may be saved. As the variable split cooling control port is not configured in the integrated flow valve, it is possible to solve the control instability of the temperature of the cooling water due to the port control.

[0049] For convenience in explanation and accurate definition in the appended claims, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “inner”, “outer”, “up”, “down”, “upper”, “lower”, “upwards”, “downwards”, “front”, “rear”, “back”, “inside”, “outside”, “inwardly”, “outwardly”, “interior”, “exterior”, “inner”, “outer”, “forwards”, and “backwards” are used to describe features of the exemplary embodiments with reference to the positions of such features as displayed in the figures.

[0050] The foregoing descriptions of specific exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain certain principles of the invention and their practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to make and utilize various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, as well as various alternatives and modifications thereof. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the Claims appended hereto and their equivalents.