Cooling fan device
US-11833883-B1 · Dec 5, 2023 · US
Cooling fan device
US12330476B2 · US · B2
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Publication number | US-12330476-B2 |
| Application number | US-202318355413-A |
| Country | US |
| Kind code | B2 |
| Filing date | Jul 20, 2023 |
| Priority date | Jul 22, 2022 |
| Publication date | Jun 17, 2025 |
| Grant date | Jun 17, 2025 |
How to read this patent
A practical reading order for non-experts. Skip the full description unless you need deep technical detail.
- Title
What the patent document calls the invention.
- Abstract
A short plain-language summary of the technical disclosure.
- Assignees and inventors
Who owns or filed the patent and who is credited as inventor.
- Key dates
Filing, priority, publication, and grant dates set the timeline.
- First independent claim
The legal scope of protection — read this for what is actually claimed.
- CPC / IPC classifications
Technology tags used to group this patent with similar filings.
- Citations and related patents
Prior art links and similar publications in this corpus.
Abstract
Official abstract text for this publication.
A cooling fan device uses a cooling fan coupled to an engine via a fan clutch to generate cooling air flow for a radiator. The cooling fan device includes an electronic control unit configured to control an engagement rate of the fan clutch. The electronic control unit is configured to execute a first calculation process, a second calculation process, and an upper limit guarding process, thereby controlling the engagement rate based on a value of a coolant temperature requested engagement rate that has been subjected to an upper limit guarding process. A first upper limit rotation speed is set to a lower speed when a vehicle speed is relatively low than when the vehicle speed is relatively high.
First claim
Opening claim text (preview).
What is claimed is: 1. A cooling fan device configured to use a cooling fan coupled to an engine via a fan clutch to generate cooling air flow for a radiator, the cooling fan device comprising an electronic control unit configured to control an engagement rate of the fan clutch, wherein the electronic control unit is configured to execute: a first calculation process that calculates a coolant temperature requested engagement rate, the coolant temperature requested engagement rate being a requested value of the engagement rate in accordance with a cooling request for the engine coolant; a second calculation process that calculates, as a first guard value, a value of the engagement rate at which a rotation speed of the cooling fan is a first upper limit rotation speed based on a vehicle speed; and an upper limit guarding process that sets a value of the coolant temperature requested engagement rate to the first guard value when a calculated value of the coolant temperature requested engagement rate in the first calculation process exceeds the first guard value, thereby controlling the engagement rate based on a value of the coolant temperature requested engagement rate after being subjected to the upper limit guarding process, and the first upper limit rotation speed is set to a lower speed when the vehicle speed is relatively low than when the vehicle speed is relatively high. 2. The cooling fan device according to claim 1 , wherein the electronic control unit is configured to execute a third calculation process that calculates a second guard value based on a temperature of the engine coolant, the upper limit guarding process includes setting the value of the coolant temperature requested engagement rate to the second guard value when the second guard value is smaller than the first guard value and the calculated value of the coolant temperature requested engagement rate in the first calculation process exceeds the second guard value, and the third calculation process includes calculating, as the value of the second guard value, a value of the engagement rate that sets a rotation speed of the cooling fan to a specified second upper limit rotation speed when the temperature of the engine coolant is lower than a specified temperature, and sets the rotation speed of the cooling fan to a speed higher than the specified second upper limit rotation speed when the temperature of the engine coolant is higher than the specified temperature. 3. The cooling fan device according to claim 1 , wherein, when a vehicle is in a high-load traveling state, the electronic control unit controls the engagement rate based on the calculated value of the coolant temperature requested engagement rate in the first calculation process that has not been subjected to the upper limit guarding process. 4. The cooling fan device according to claim 3 , wherein, when a ratio of an intake air amount of the engine to the vehicle speed exceeds a specified value, the cooling fan device determines that the vehicle is in the high-load traveling state.
Assignees
Inventors
Classifications
with liquid cooling · CPC title
Control of clutches · CPC title
- F04D27/004Primary
by varying driving speed · CPC title
comprising a yielding coupling, e.g. hydraulic (a magnetic coupling F04D25/026) · CPC title
the components being ventilating, air admitting or air distributing devices · CPC title
Patent family
Related publications grouped by family.
External sources
Frequently asked questions
Answers are generated from the same data shown on this page.
- What does patent US12330476B2 cover?
- A cooling fan device uses a cooling fan coupled to an engine via a fan clutch to generate cooling air flow for a radiator. The cooling fan device includes an electronic control unit configured to control an engagement rate of the fan clutch. The electronic control unit is configured to execute a first calculation process, a second calculation process, and an upper limit guarding process, thereb…
- Who is the assignee on this patent?
- Toyota Motor Co Ltd
- What technology area does this patent fall under?
- Primary CPC classification F04D27/004. Mapped technology areas include Mechanical Engineering.
- When was this patent published?
- Publication date Tue Jun 17 2025 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) (B2). Legal status and post-grant events are not shown on this page.
- What related patents are in patentsdb?
- We list 4 related publications on this page (citations in our corpus or others sharing the same primary CPC).