GB2289123A

GB2289123A - Oil cooler assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2289123A
Application number: GB9421541A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Bruce Laurence Evans; Helden Henri Pierre Theodo Van; Christopher Cosby; Nigel David Feltham
Original assignee: Long Manufacturing Ltd; AC DELCO SYSTEMS OVERSEAS CORP
Current assignee: Dana Canada Corp; AC DELCO SYSTEMS OVERSEAS CORP
Priority date: 1994-05-04
Filing date: 1994-10-26
Publication date: 1995-11-08
Anticipated expiration: 2014-10-26
Also published as: DE19515507A1; GB9421541D0; GB2289123B

Description

1 COOLER ASSEMBLY 2289123 The present invention relates to a cooler

assembly for cooling, for example, lubricant in a vehicle lubrication system, and to a method of cooling a lubricant.

A known type of cooler assembly for cooling lubricant, for example oil, in a motor vehicle comprises a cooler housing of generally rectangular cuboid shape. The housing includes a main body formed of five walls of the cuboid and a cover plate forming the sixth wall. The body includes an inlet and outlet for the passage of lubricant into the housing. The cover plate may form part of a cooler unit, which also includes a plurality of vanes disposed in parallel with one another and disposed in the body of the housing. A coolant inlet and a coolant outlet are provided in the cover plate at opposite ends of the cooler and form a coolant path through the vanes. The cooler unit may include a cover around the vanes which extends to or very close to the walls of the body of the housing. A gasket is usually provided between the housing walls and the cooler to prevent lubricant bypassing the cooler unit between the cooler unit and the housing.

In automotive applications in particular, it is common for the lubricant to be kept at relatively high pressure. This high pressure causes problems with respect to the cooler. For example, leaking of lubricant can occur through the gasket between the cooler unit and the housing, thereby causing a rise in lubricant temperature beyond the cooler. Additionally, it is necessary for the cover plate to be relatively thick and rigid and for relatively strong securing means to be used to secure the cover 2 plate to the housing body so as to ensure that no leakage of lubricant occurs out of the cooler housing.

The present invention seeks to provide an improved cooler assembly and method of cooling a lubricant.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cooler assembly for cooling a lubricant comprising a housing including inlet and outlet ports leading to a cavity in the housing, a cooler element including a plurality of cooling vanes and a cooler inlet and a cooler outlet, and a coolant circuit for supplying coolant to the cooler assembly, wherein the inlet and outlet ports are coupled to the coolant circuit and the cooler inlet and cooler outlet are coupled to a lubricant circuit, the inlet port being located adjacent the cooler outlet and the outlet port being located adjacent the cooler inlet.

Since the cooler element is typically a sealed unit, it is more able to contain the high pressures associated with, for example, engine lubricant. The lower pressure coolant passes through the area conventionally used for lubricant. Therefore, there is substantially no need for high pressure protection as with conventional systems. It will be apparent that this arrangement is opposite to that conventionally adopted.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of cooling a lubricant in a cooler assembly comprising a housing including first and second ports leading to a cavity in the housing. a cooler element including a plurality of cooling vanes and a cooler inlet and a cooler outlet; the method comprising the steps of passing coolant through the cavity via the first and second 3 is ports and passing lubricant to be cooled through the cooler element via the cooler inlet and cooler outlet and into the vanes of the coolant element, wherein coolant is supplied into the cavity through the port closest to the cooler outlet and coolant is drawn out of the cavity through the port closest to the cooler inlet.

An embodiment of the present invention is described below, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a rear elevational view in partial cross-section of an embodiment of cooler assembly forming part of a combined lubricant cooling and filtration system; and Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the cooler assembly of Figure 1 taken along line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the embodiment of cooler assembly shown forms part of a combined lubricant cooling and filtration system for a vehicle engine. The assembly includes a filter 10 and cooler 12 within the same cast housing 14. The housing 14 is preferably made of a metal, in this embodiment aluminium. The lubricant is typically oil.

The assembly forms part of a vehicle lubrication system in which lubricant flows in a circuit which passes through the engine to lubricate and clean the engine, through the cooler assembly 12 to reduce its temperature after being heated by the engine, through the filter 10 so as to be cleaned and then eventually back to the engine. The filter 10 may be of conventional type so will not be described in any further detail herein. In the preferred embodiment, the filter 10 has the construction 4 is described in our co-pending British patent application number 9404814.7.

The cooler 12 includes a cooler element 20 of generally rectangular cuboid shape (best seen in Figure 2). The cooler element 20 includes a plurality of substantially parallel spaced vanes 22, a lubricant inlet 24 and a lubricant outlet 26. The inlet 24 and outlet 26 are disposed at opposite sides of the vanes such that lubricant entering the cooler element 22 from the inlet 24 passes into the vanes at an inlet end of the cooler element 22 and then through the vanes towards the outlet 26. As can be seen in Figure 2, the inlet 24 and outlet 26 are formed within the housing 28 of the cooler assembly 12.

The housing 28 is of generally rectangular cuboid shape and includes a main body 30 formed of five walls of the cuboid and a cover plate 32 forming the sixth wall. The body 30 includes an outlet conduit 34 leading to a first aperture in the wall of the main body 30 and an inlet conduit 36 coupled to a second aperture in the wall of the main body 30. In the preferred embodiment, the outlet conduit 34 is located adjacent the inlet end of the cooler element 22, while the inlet conduit 36 is located adjacent the outlet end of the cooler-element 22. In an alternative-embodiment, the fluid to be cooled and the coolant flow in the same direction through the cooler assembly 12.

When installed in a vehicle, the inlet and outlet conduits 34,36 are coupled to the engine coolant system. The coolant may be water or a water/qlycol mixture to provide protection from freezing and corrosion.

As can be seen in Figure 2, the cover plate 32 of the cooler housing 28 is sealed to the main body by means of six bolts 38 located around the plate 32 (only four being shown in the drawings). The bolts 38 engage respective threaded bores 40 in a flange 42 extending around the aperture of the main body 30 of the housing 28, compressing a gasket between the plate 32 and the flange 42.

In use, hot dirty lubricant, for example oil from a vehicle engine, passes into the vanes of the cooler element 22 through the inlet 24. The passage through the vanes is progressive towards the outlet 26 of the cooler element 22. Since the cooler element 22 is fully sealed, it can contain the pressure of the lubricant. Cooling fluid, in this example water, passes into the housing 28 through the inlet conduit 36 and around the vanes of the cooler element 22 in a progressive manner towards outlet conduit 34. During this process, heat is transferred through the walls of the vanes from the hot lubricant to the coolant in the housing.

Since the pressure of the coolant does not need to be high, there is no need for the cover plate 32 of the housing 28 to be particularly rigid and the securing bolts 38 need not be particularly strong.

There is also no problem of coolant bypassing the vanes since substantially all the lubricant passing into the cooler assembly 12 will at some point be cooled by coolant.

6

Claims

Claims:

1. A cooler assembly for cooling a lubricant comprising a housing including inlet and outlet ports leading to a cavity in the housing, a cooler element including a plurality of cooling vanes and a cooler inlet and a cooler outlet, and a coolant circuit for supplying coolant to the cooler assembly, wherein the inlet and outlet ports are coupled to the coolant circuit and the cooler inlet and cooler outlet are coupled to a lubricant circuit, the inlet port being located adjacent the cooler outlet and the outlet port being located adjacent the cooler inlet.

2. A method of cooling a lubricant in a_ cooler assembly comprising a housing including first and second ports leading to a cavity in the housing, a cooler element including a plurality of cooling vanes and a cooler inlet and a cooler outlet; the method comprising the steps of passing coolant through the cavity via the first and second ports and passing lubricant to be cooled through the cooler element via the cooler inlet and cooler outlet and into the vanes of the coolant element, wherein Coolant is supplied into the cavity through the port closest to the cooler outlet and coolant is drawn out of the cavity through the port closest to the cooler inlet.

3. A cooler assembly substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

4. A method of cooling a lubricant substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.