Variable thermal capacity charge air cooler

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10465596-B2
Application number	US-201815908259-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 28, 2018
Priority date	Feb 28, 2018
Publication date	Nov 5, 2019
Grant date	Nov 5, 2019

Abstract

Methods and systems are provided for variable thermal capacity charge air cooler (VTC-CAC). In one example, the VTC-CAC includes a plurality of cooling channels and an integrated bypass that diverts air around the cooling channels. Division of boosted intake air between the cooling channels and the bypass is regulated by a positioning of dual-gate mechanism that is adjusted in response to manifold charge temperature.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A cooling system of an engine, comprising:
an intake passage configured to deliver boosted air to an intake manifold of the engine;
a charge air cooler adapted to received boosted air from the intake passage via an inlet and return boosted air to the intake passage via an outlet, the charge air cooler comprising an integrated bypass, a plurality of cooling channels, and a dual-gate mechanism including a first gate dividing the integrated bypass from the plurality of cooling channels and a second gate dividing the plurality of cooling channels into open channels and blocked channels, the blocked channels fluidically blocked from receiving intake air.

2. The cooling system of claim 1 , wherein the inlet is arranged in a first header tank and the outlet is arranged in a second header tank that is positioned at an opposite end from the first header tank of the charge air cooler, and wherein the plurality of cooling channels and the integrated bypass each fluidly couple the first header tank to the second header tank.

3. The cooling system of claim 2 , wherein the dual-gate mechanism is positioned in the first header tank, and wherein the engine is coupled in a hybrid-electric vehicle powertrain.

4. The cooling system of claim 3 , further comprising a stepper motor configured to actuate the dual-gate mechanism and drive simultaneous movement of the first gate and the second gate, the stepper motor arranged external to the first header tank.

5. The cooling system of claim 2 , wherein the second gate extends along an entirety of the first header tank in a first direction from the plurality of cooling channels to a top of the first header tank and in a second direction from a first side of the first header tank to a second side of the first header tank, and the open channels include each cooling channel on a hot side of the first header tank and the blocked channels include each cooling channel on a cool side of the first header tank, a boundary between the hot side of the first header tank and the cool side of the first header tank defined by the second gate, the inlet positioned on the hot side of the first header tank, and wherein the second gate is configured to move laterally in the first header tank to simultaneously adjust a number of cooling channels comprising the open channels and a number cooling channels comprising the blocked channels.

6. A variable thermal capacity charge air cooler (VTC-CAC), comprising:
an integrated bypass;
a plurality of cooling channels, arranged parallel with and adjacent to the bypass;
a dual-gate mechanism configured with a sliding gate positioned in a first header tank that fluidically couples openings of the cooling channels to an inlet of the VTC-CAC, a hinged gate positioned across an opening of the integrated bypass, and a threaded screw inserted through both the sliding gate and the hinged gate; and
a stepper motor coupled to the threaded screw to drive rotation of the threaded screw.

7. The VTC-CAC of claim 6 , further comprising a brake drum connected to the stepper motor, the brake drum housing a coil spring and a brake band surrounding the coil spring.

8. The VTC-CAC of claim 7 , wherein the coil spring is adapted to increase in tension when driven by the stepper motor rotating the threaded screw in a first rotational direction, and wherein the brake band is configured to maintain tension of the coil spring when the stepper motor is deactivated.

9. The VTC-CAC of claim 8 , wherein rotating the threaded screw in the first rotational direction drives a linear movement of the sliding gate across the openings of the cooling channels towards the bypass and simultaneously drives pivoting of the hinged gate to increase the opening of the bypass.

10. The VTC-CAC of claim 6 , wherein the threaded screw has a first portion with a first pitch size that engages with the sliding gate and a second portion with a second pitch size that engages with the hinged gate.

11. The VTC-CAC of claim 10 , wherein the first pitch size is different from the second pitch size so that the sliding gate travels a greater distance per turn of the threaded screw than the hinged gate.

12. The VTC-CAC of claim 11 , wherein the hinged gate has a threaded insert held within a spherical bearing, the threaded insert adapted with threading to mate with the second pitch size of the second portion of the threaded screw to translate rotation of the threaded screw into a pivoting of the hinged gate while rotation of the spherical bearing accommodates a change in angle of the hinged gate with respect to the threaded screw.

13. The VTC-CAC of claim 11 , wherein the sliding gate has a threaded insert adapted with threading to mate with the first pitch size of the first portion of the threaded screw and engages with the threaded screw to translate rotation of the threaded screw into a linear motion of the sliding gate.

14. The VTC-CAC of claim 6 , wherein the sliding gate includes a plurality of stacked sections, each section of the plurality of stacked sections configured with smaller dimensions than an adjacent section below so that each section nests within and slides in and out of the adjacent section below.

15. The VTC-CAC of claim 14 , wherein a top section of the plurality of sections includes high temperature bearings, the high temperature bearings adapted to constrain motion of the sliding gate along the openings of the cooling channels and maintain a sealing contact between the top section an upper surface of the VTC-CAC.

16. A method for a variable thermal capacity charge air cooler (VTC-CAC), comprising: adjusting a first flow volume of the VTC-CAC while also adjusting an intake air flow amount through an integrated bypass of the VTC-CAC based on manifold charge temperature; and wherein the adjusting of the first flow volume and the adjusting of intake air flow amount comprise actuating a dual-gate mechanism of the VTC-CAC with a single actuation action to both adjust the first flow volume and the intake air flow amount.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the VTC-CAC comprises a plurality of cooling channels, and wherein adjusting the first flow volume comprises adjusting a number of cooling channels of the plurality of cooing channels fluidically coupled to an inlet of the VTC-CAC, and further comprising as the number of cooling channels fluidically coupled to the intake passage decreases, increasing the intake air flow amount through the integrated bypass of the VTC-CAC.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein adjusting the number of cooling channels comprises adjusting a position of a sliding gate of the dual-gate mechanism by rotating a threaded screw that engages a threaded insert disposed in the sliding gate.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein increasing the intake air amount bypassing the cooling channels comprises adjusting a position of a hinged gate of the dual-gate mechanism by rotating the threaded screw that engages a threaded insert and a spherical bearing disposed in the hinged gate.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Farhat Hassan
• Gopal Ravi

Classifications

• F02B29/0493

  Controlling the air charge temperature · CPC title

• F02B29/0475

  the intake air cooler being combined with another device, e.g. heater, valve, compressor, filter or EGR cooler, or being assembled on a special engine location · CPC title

• F02B29/045

  Constructional details of the heat exchangers, e.g. pipes, plates, ribs, insulation, materials, or manufacturing and assembly · CPC title

• F02B29/0418 Primary

  the intake air cooler having a bypass or multiple flow paths within the heat exchanger to vary the effective heat transfer surface · CPC title

• F02B29/04

  Cooling of air intake supply · CPC title