Structural cooling pack

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11014440-B2
Application number	US-201916524234-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 29, 2019
Priority date	Jul 29, 2019
Publication date	May 25, 2021
Grant date	May 25, 2021

Abstract

A structural cooling assembly for a vehicle includes a housing defining a first pocket between a front face and a back face. The housing comprising a single integrated part including a fluid reservoir portion, a vane portion, a fan shroud portion, a bolster portion, and at least one mounting portion mountable to a frame of a vehicle. A condenser is mounted within the first pocket, a charge air cooler is mounted in a second lower packet, a fan assembly is mounted within the fan shroud portion and a radiator is mounted to the back face.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A structural cooling assembly for a vehicle comprising:
a housing including a first pocket between a front face and a back face, the housing is a single integrated part including a fluid reservoir portion, a vane portion, a fan shroud portion, a bolster portion, a top portion and at least one mounting portion mountable to a frame of a vehicle, wherein the fluid reservoir is part of the top portion;
a condenser mounted within the first pocket;
a fan assembly mounted within the fan shroud portion;
a radiator mounted to the back face; and
an air intake passage through the housing, the top portion includes the air intake passage and the air intake passage is part of an airflow path to an air intake system of the vehicle, wherein the housing includes a washer fluid reservoir portion separate from the fluid reservoir portion, the washer fluid portion disposed partially within the top portion and a side portion of one of the front face and the rear face.

2. The structural cooling assembly as recited in claim 1 , wherein the top portion extends from the forward face aft past the back face and over a top of the radiator.

3. The structural cooling assembly as recited in claim 2 , including a hatch latch assembly attached within a latch pocket formed as part of the top portion.

4. The structural cooling assembly as recited in claim 1 , including a conduit disposed within the washer fluid reservoir for placing a hot flow in thermal communication with fluid within the washer fluid reservoir.

5. The structural cooling assembly as recited in claim 1 , wherein the housing includes an integral horn trumpet portion.

6. The structural cooling assembly as recited in claim 1 , wherein the fan shroud portion comprises a plurality of ribs extending radially outward from a fan mount portion.

7. The structural cooling assembly as recited in claim 1 , wherein the housing is formed as a single integral part from a plastic material containing fiber reinforcement material.

8. A structural cooling assembly for a vehicle comprising:
a housing including a first pocket between a front face and a back face, the housing is a single integrated part including a fluid reservoir portion, a vane portion, a fan shroud portion, a bolster portion, and at least one mounting portion mountable to a frame of a vehicle;
a condenser mounted within the first pocket;
a fan assembly mounted within the fan shroud portion;
a radiator mounted to the back face; and
an air intake passage through the housing, the air intake passage is part of an airflow path to an air intake system of the vehicle, wherein the housing includes a second pocket defined below the first pocket between the front face and the back face and a secondary cooler is mounted within the second pocket.

9. The structural cooling assembly as recited in claim 8 , wherein the secondary cooler includes a bottom closure panel that attaches to a bottom portion of the housing to provide structural stiffness and close of a bottom opening of the second pocket.

10. The structural cooling assembly as recited in claim 9 , wherein the condenser includes a side closure panel that attaches to a side portion of the housing to provide structural stiffness and close off a side opening of the front pocket.

11. The structural cooling assembly as recited in claim 10 , wherein the vane portion comprises a first vane portion disposed on the front face for directing airflow into the first pocket and a second vane portion disposed on the front face for directing airflow into the second pocket.

12. The structural cooling assembly as recited in claim 11 , wherein at least one of the first vane portion and the second vane portion comprises an active grille shutter assembly.

13. A method of assembling a structural cooling assembly comprising:
forming a housing as single integral plastic reinforced part with an additive manufacturing process to include a first pocket between a front face and a back face, a degas chamber portion, a vane portion, a fan shroud portion, a bolster portion, a horn trumpet portion and at least one mounting portion mountable to a frame of a vehicle;
mounting a condenser within the first pocket and attaching a side closure panel of the condenser to a side portion of the housing to provide structural stiffness and close a side opening of the first pocket;
mounting a fan assembly within the fan shroud portion;
mounting a radiator to the back face such that the fan assembly is disposed axially between the radiator and the condenser; and
assembling a secondary cooler into a second pocket formed below the first pocket and attaching a bottom closure panel of the secondary cooler to the housing to provide structural stiffness and close a bottom opening of the second pocket.

14. The method of assembling a structural cooling assembly as recited in claim 13 , including forming a washer fluid reservoir portion as an integral part of the housing separate from the degas chamber portion and assembling a conduit within the washer fluid reservoir portion for placing a hot flow in thermal communication with fluid within the washer fluid reservoir portion.

15. The method of assembling a structural cooling assembly as recited in claim 14 , including forming the housing to include a top portion with a latch pocket and mounting a hatch latch assembly within the latch pocket of the housing such that the housing structure transfers latch loads to a frame of the vehicle.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Glickman David Brian
• Coghlan Sean Terence
• Acre James Alan
• Nayak Darshan Arun

Classifications

• B33Y70/00

  Materials specially adapted for additive manufacturing · CPC title

• B29L2031/30

  Vehicles, e.g. ships or aircraft, or body parts thereof {(vanes or blades B29L2031/08, air bags B29L2022/027)} · CPC title

• B33Y80/00

  Products made by additive manufacturing · CPC title

• B60K11/04 Primary

  Arrangement or mounting of radiators, radiator shutters, or radiator blinds · CPC title

• B60K11/06

  with air cooling · CPC title