JP2015209906A - Thermostat device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an entirely small-sized, compact and inexpensive thermostat device that is used for opening or closing a fluid flow passage in response to a fluid temperature and having a relief function for opening or closing the fluid passage in response to a fluid pressure.SOLUTION: This invention comprises: a thermostat valve 20 arranged at the midway part of a fluid passage 12 and opened or closed in response to a fluid temperature; and a relief valve 30 integrally arranged on the upstream side of the thermostat valve 20 so as to open or close the fluid passage in response to the fluid pressure. As long as a temperature of the fluid in the fluid passage 12 is more than a predetermined temperature (a high temperature state) and a fluid pressure becomes more than a predetermined pressure, the fluid in the passage is communicated. In addition, when a fluid temperature in the fluid passage 12 is less than the predetermined temperature (a low temperature state), the thermostat valve 20 keeps its closed state, and even if the relief valve 30 becomes a closed state, the fluid in the fluid passage keeps non-communicated state.

Description

  The present invention relates to a thermostat device using a thermostat valve with a relief valve that is suitable for use in, for example, an oil cooler system having an oil warmer function.

  It is generally known that an oil cooler system having an oil warmer function is provided in order to immediately warm AT oil in a cooling water system of an automobile engine. In this type of oil cooler system, a thermostat is installed in a part of the cooling water passage connected to the oil cooler system so that the rising speed of the engine water temperature is not reduced more than necessary at a low temperature immediately after the engine is started. A configuration in which an apparatus is provided and the flow of cooling water is controlled according to the cooling water temperature has been conventionally employed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  That is, the flow of cooling water to the oil cooler system is limited at low temperatures, and the required flow of cooling water can be obtained at high temperatures to exhibit the function as an oil cooler.

  Moreover, as a thermostat device which controls the flow of the cooling water described above according to the cooling water temperature, for example, as shown in Patent Document 2, a valve body is provided at the tip of the piston that moves forward and backward from the thermo element, and the piston advances. A configuration has been adopted in which the valve body is opened by the operation and closed by the withdrawal operation.

  When such a thermostat device is used, the valve body maintains the closed state when the cooling water temperature is low, and the valve body opens when the cooling water temperature is high, and the cooling water is moved to the oil cooler side. It can be shed.

JP 2010-150998 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-157418

  By the way, according to the thermostat device described above, even if the cooling water temperature is low, if the pressure of the cooling water increases, the valve body may open, and the flow of the cooling water to the oil cooler There arises a problem that control cannot be performed properly.

  For this reason, in the cooling water passage, a relief valve is provided on the upstream side of the thermostat device so that the flow path is opened and closed according to the pressure of the cooling water, and the flow control of the cooling water by the cooling water temperature by the thermostat device is appropriate. However, there are problems such as an increase in the number of parts for flow control, an increase in the size of the apparatus, and an increase in cost.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and is used to open and close the flow passage of the fluid passage according to the fluid temperature, and has a relief function to open and close the fluid passage according to the fluid pressure, The object is to obtain a thermostat device that can be reduced in size and size as a whole, and can achieve low cost.

  In order to meet such an object, a thermostat device according to the present invention (the invention described in claim 1) includes a main valve that is provided in the middle of the fluid passage and opens and closes the fluid passage according to the fluid temperature, A relief valve that is integrally provided on the upstream side and opens and closes the fluid passage in accordance with the fluid pressure, and when the fluid temperature in the fluid passage is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature and the fluid pressure becomes equal to or higher than the predetermined pressure. As long as it is configured so that the flow path in the passage communicates.

  The thermostat device according to the present invention (the invention according to claim 2) is the thermostat device according to claim 1, wherein when the fluid temperature in the fluid passage is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature, the main valve remains closed and the fluid pressure fluctuates. Even if the relief valve is opened, the flow path in the passage is configured to maintain a non-communication state.

  The thermostat device according to the present invention (the invention according to claim 3) is the thermostat device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the thermostat device is held and fixed to a frame disposed in the fluid passage, and the flow direction of the fluid passage is And a valve element provided at the tip of the piston is moved to the downstream side of the flow path by the advancing operation of the piston to open the valve, and upstream of the flow path by the retreating operation. It is configured to move to the side and close the valve.

  The thermostat device according to the present invention (the invention according to claim 4) is the thermostat device according to claim 3, wherein a rod portion extending upstream of the flow path is provided at the bottom of the thermo element, and the tip of the rod portion is provided. Is configured such that the valve body for the relief valve to which the urging force is always applied to the upstream side of the flow path is held in a movable state, and this valve body serves as a check valve to block a part of the fluid passage. It is characterized by.

  A thermostat device according to the present invention (invention according to claim 5) is characterized in that, in any one of claims 1 to 3, the fluid in the fluid passage is leaked to a part of the relief valve or the main valve. A leak portion is formed.

  As described above, according to the thermostat device of the present invention, a main valve that is provided in the middle of the fluid passage and opens and closes the fluid passage according to the fluid temperature, and a fluid that is integrally attached to the upstream side of the main valve. A relief valve that opens and closes the fluid passage in response to pressure, and the flow path in the passage communicates only when the fluid temperature in the fluid passage is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature and the fluid pressure is equal to or higher than the predetermined pressure. By configuring as described above, various excellent effects listed below can be achieved despite the simple configuration.

1. A main valve that controls the amount of fluid in response to temperature and a relief valve that controls in response to fluid pressure are arranged side by side in the direction of fluid flow, and the control of the amount of fluid is controlled by temperature. In response to the pressure, each can be controlled in a required state, the whole can be made compact and compact, and the cost can be reduced. In addition, since the main valve and relief valve can be assembled in one place with the minimum necessary parts, it is possible to prevent the accumulation of unnecessary fluid in the fluid passage, so the load and capacity of the oil pump for fluid circulation can be prevented. Even if the pressure increases due to the number of revolutions of the oil pump, the burden on the oil cooler and the like is reduced, so that the durability of the apparatus is improved.

2. Even if the load device such as an engine becomes a high load state at a low temperature and the fluid pressure suddenly rises, the main valve is closed, so the oil does not flow to the oil cooler and heat exchange is not promoted. Early warming is possible. Also, if the specified pressure is not reached even at high temperatures (that is, at low load), the relief valve closes and no fluid flows, so heat exchange is not promoted and the high temperature state is maintained. Can be contributed to fuel efficiency improvement.

3. By opening the valve body of the main valve in the same direction as the direction of fluid flow, the valve opens smoothly just before the valve opens, and the fluid flows smoothly even when the valve is completely opened. Water resistance is also reduced, enabling more effective heat exchange with the oil cooler.
4. The thermo element is held and fixed to the frame, and the main valve valve body is opened and closed toward the downstream side of the fluid flow by the movement of the piston, and the relief valve valve body biased by the return spring is moved to the flow of the thermo element. Since it is arranged on the downstream side of the road, the relief valve can be operated regardless of the movement of the main valve, and the valve opening pressure of the relief valve can be adjusted without taking into account the movement of the piston of the thermo element that responds to temperature. Setting the desired valve opening pressure is very simple and reliable. Therefore, a freedom degree of design can be secured for the relief spring.

5. By providing the relief valve with a leak part, the relief valve is not opened and the temperature is sensed at once, but the temperature can be sensed in advance by the thermo element, and the main valve can be moved more accurately to the temperature. Is possible. In addition, when the main valve is provided with a leak portion, the main valve communicates with the main valve so that the main valve can be more accurately responded to the temperature.

It is principal part sectional drawing which shows one Embodiment of the thermostat apparatus which concerns on this invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing an open operation state of a main valve in the thermostat device of FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory diagram for illustrating the operations (I) to (IV) when the main valve and the relief valve are in an open state and a closed state, respectively, showing an embodiment of a thermostat device according to the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram of an oil cooler system suitable for applying the thermostat device according to the present invention.

  1 to 4 show one embodiment of a thermostat device according to the present invention. In these drawings, the thermostat device according to the present invention is added to the oil cooler system 1 as shown in FIG. The case where 10 is adopted is described.

  Here, the oil cooler system 1 is a system having an oil warmer function attached to an engine coolant system as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-150998. In the figure, 2 is an oil cooler, 3 is a transmission, 4 is a fluid passage for circulating cooling water between the oil cooler 2 and transmission 3, and the thermostat device 10. Of course, in the middle of the fluid passage 4, there is a portion for connecting the cooling water system of the engine, but the illustration and explanation here are omitted.

  As is apparent from FIGS. 3 and 4, the thermostat device 10 includes a cylindrical device housing 14 and a lid 15 that closes one end thereof, and a main valve (thermovalve) constituting the thermostat device 10 therein. 20 and a relief valve 30 are incorporated. In the figure, 11 is an internal space constituting a part of the fluid passage, 12 is a fluid inlet, and 13 is a fluid outlet, and these constitute a fluid passage in the thermostat device 10.

  The main part of the thermostat device 10 is configured as shown in FIGS. That is, the main valve 20 is a thermo valve that opens and closes in response to the temperature of the fluid. The main valve 20 is disposed in a device frame 21 having a cup shape as a whole and is held and fixed to the frame 21. An element 26 is provided. As is well known, the thermo-element 26 is incorporated so that a thermal expansion body such as wax that thermally expands and contracts due to temperature effects is enclosed therein, and the piston 27 moves forward and backward by the thermal expansion and thermal contraction. Is.

  The thermo element 26 is fixed by fitting and holding the lower end portion 26a of the thermo element 26 to the cylinder portion 21a on the lower end side of the frame 21. Of course, it is free to employ caulking, brazing, welding, or other means for this fixing.

  A flange 22 fixed to the device housing 14 side is fixed to the opening end of the frame 21 by caulking or the like, and a cylindrical portion 22a is provided at the center of the flange 22 in the advancing direction of the piston 27. The tip portion constitutes a valve seat 23 of the main valve 20.

In the figure, reference numeral 24 denotes a valve body of the main valve 20 configured to be able to close the distal end portion of the cylindrical portion 22a, and a cap member 25 fitted to the distal end portion of the piston 27 is provided at the center of the valve body 24. It is fixed by caulking. The cap member 25 is provided with a fitting recess into which the tip of the piston 27 is fitted, so that the valve body 24 opens and closes in the axial direction of the piston 27 in accordance with the forward / backward movement of the piston 27. Is configured to do.
Reference numeral 28 denotes a return spring that urges the valve body 24 in the valve closing direction, and 29 is a spring receiver that is partly assembled and fixed to the valve body 24 together with the cap member 25.

  According to such a structure, the thermo-element 26 thermally expands due to the temperature effect of the fluid, so that the piston 27 moves upward in the figure as shown in FIGS. The valve body 24 of the valve 20 is separated from the valve seat 23 and is opened. On the other hand, when the wax in the thermo element 26 is thermally contracted, the acting force for advancing the piston 27 disappears, so that the valve body 24 is seated on the valve seat 23 by the urging force of the return spring 28 and is closed. . These movements will be apparent from FIGS.

  That is, in the thermostat device 10 according to the present invention, the piston 27 of the thermo element 26 is configured to advance and retract along the flow direction of the fluid passage 11, and the valve body 24 provided at the tip of the piston 27 is The piston 27 is moved to the downstream side of the flow path by the fluid passage 11 by the advance operation of the piston 27 so as to be opened away from the valve seat 23, and the fluid passage 11 is driven by the withdrawal operation of the piston 27 and the urging force of the return spring 28. It is configured to be moved to the upstream side of the flow path and to be seated on the valve seat 23 and closed.

  On the other hand, a rod portion 31 is provided so as to protrude from the end of the thermo element 26 held and fixed to the frame 21 on the side opposite to the piston. A plate-like valve element 30a for the relief valve 30 is provided at the tip of the rod part 31 so as to be movable in the axial direction of the rod part 31, and is arranged between the valve element 30a and the bottom of the thermo element 26. The return spring 32 is urged and held at the tip of the rod portion 31.

In the normal state, the valve body 30a of the relief valve 30 is urged to the upstream side of the flow path by the urging force of the return spring 32 in the internal space 11 of the apparatus housing 14, thereby opening the opening by the fluid inlet 12. It is arranged to block. That is, the valve body 30a is a check valve that is elastically supported by the return spring 32 at the opening portion and moves by the differential pressure generated on the downstream side.
Then, as shown in FIG. 3, such a relief valve 30 opens and closes according to the differential pressure generated at both ends of the valve body 30a according to the fluid pressure.

  According to the present invention, in the thermostat device 10 having the above-described configuration, the main valve 20 provided in the middle of the fluid passages 11, 12, and 13 opens and closes the fluid passages 11 and 13 according to the fluid temperature, and the main valve 20. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 (IV), a fluid in the fluid passage is formed by using a relief valve 30 that is integrally attached upstream of the fluid passage and opens and closes the fluid passages 11 and 12 according to the fluid pressure. Only when the temperature is equal to or higher than the predetermined temperature and the fluid pressure is equal to or higher than the predetermined pressure, the flow path in the passage is configured to communicate.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, when the fluid temperature in the fluid passage 11 is equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature, the main valve 20 is kept closed as shown in FIGS. 1, 3 (I), and (III). Even if the fluid pressure fluctuates, for example, the differential pressure becomes 100 kPa or more and the relief valve 30 is opened, the flow path in the passages 11 and 13 is configured to maintain a non-communication state. Yes.

  According to the thermostat device 10 having the above configuration, the main valve 20 that controls in response to the fluid temperature and the relief valve 30 that controls in response to the fluid pressure are arranged side by side in the fluid flow direction and integrated. The fluid amount can be controlled in response to the temperature and pressure in the required state, and the overall size and size can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced. Further, since the main valve 20 and the relief valve 30 can be incorporated in one place with the minimum necessary components, unnecessary fluid can be prevented from staying in the fluid passages 11, 12, and 13, resulting in cooling. The load and capacity of the water circulation oil pump can be reduced, and even if the pressure increases due to the number of rotations of the oil pump, the burden on the oil cooler and the like is reduced, so the durability of the apparatus is improved.

  Even if the engine is in a high load state when the temperature is low and the fluid pressure suddenly increases, the main valve 20 is closed, so that the cooling water does not flow to the oil cooler 2 and heat exchange is not promoted. Warm up is possible. If the predetermined pressure is not reached even at a high temperature (that is, at a low load), the relief valve 30 is closed and no fluid flows, so heat exchange is not promoted and the high temperature state is maintained. It becomes possible to contribute to fuel efficiency improvement.

  Furthermore, by opening the valve body 24 of the main valve 20 in the same direction as the fluid flow direction, the valve opens smoothly just before the valve is opened, and the fluid flows smoothly even when the valve is completely opened. The water flow resistance is also reduced, and heat exchange with an oil cooler can be performed more effectively.

  Further, the thermo element 26 is held and fixed to the frame 21 by fitting or the like, and the movement of the piston 27 opens and closes the valve body 24 of the main valve 20 toward the downstream side of the fluid flow, and is energized by the return spring 32. Since the relief valve valve body 30a is disposed on the downstream side of the flow path of the thermo-element 26, the relief valve 30 can be operated regardless of the movement of the main valve 20, and the thermo-element 26 responding to the temperature can be operated. The opening pressure of the relief valve 30 can be set to a desired opening pressure without taking into account the forward / backward movement of the piston 27. Therefore, the design flexibility of the relief spring 32 can be ensured.

Here, in the above-described embodiment, a leak hole 33 is provided as a leak portion in a part of the relief valve valve body 30a, and the fluid flows into the inner space 11 where the thermoelement 26 is disposed. doing.
According to such a configuration, when the relief valve 30 is opened due to fluid pressure fluctuation, the thermo element 26 does not sense temperature at a stretch, but a small amount of fluid is guided around the thermo element 26 in advance to sense the temperature. This allows the main valve 20 to respond more accurately to temperature.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the structure described in the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that the shape, structure, and the like of each part constituting the thermostat device can be appropriately modified and changed.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the leak hole 33 as the leak portion is formed as a hole in the valve body 30a of the relief valve 30. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and may be formed by a groove or the like. It is not limited to the valve body 30a.

  Furthermore, as such a leak part, the fluid temperature should just be introduce | transduced into the arrangement | positioning part of the thermo element 26 beforehand, for example, it is needless to say that it may be provided in the valve body 24 etc. of the main valve 20, for example. . If it does in this way, a flow will arise for communication, and temperature sensitivity will improve further.

Moreover, although the case where the thermostat apparatus 10 by this invention was applied to the oil cooler system 1 was demonstrated in embodiment mentioned above, it can employ | adopt not only to this but the system and apparatus in various fields. Furthermore, the control fluid controlled by the thermostat device 10 according to the present invention is not limited to the cooling water as in the above-described embodiment, but may be oil, air, or other fluids.
In short, it goes without saying that any thermostat device that is provided in various fluid passages and controls the flow of the fluid in accordance with the fluid temperature and the fluid pressure can exert the effect.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Oil cooler system 2 Oil cooler 3 Transmission 4 Fluid path 10 Thermostat apparatus 11 Internal space (fluid path)
12 Fluid inlet (fluid passage)
13 Fluid outlet (fluid passage)
14 Device housing 15 Lid 20 Thermostat valve 21 Frame 22 Flange 22a Tube portion 23 Valve seat 24 Main valve valve body 25 Cap member 26 Thermo element 27 Piston 28 Return spring 29 Spring receiver 30 Relief valve 30a Relief valve valve body 31 Rod portion 32 Relief valve return spring 33 Leak hole (leak part)

Claims (5)

A main valve provided in the middle of the fluid passage for opening and closing the fluid passage according to the fluid temperature;
A relief valve that is integrally attached to the upstream side of the main valve and opens and closes the fluid passage according to the fluid pressure,
The thermostat device is configured so that the flow path in the passage communicates only when the fluid temperature in the fluid passage is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature and the fluid pressure is equal to or higher than the predetermined pressure. The thermostat device according to claim 1,
When the fluid temperature in the fluid passage is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature, the main valve remains closed, and even if the fluid pressure fluctuates and the relief valve opens, the flow path in the passage is not closed. A thermostat device configured to maintain a communication state. The thermostat device according to claim 1 or 2,
The thermostat device includes a thermo element having a piston that is held and fixed to a frame disposed in the fluid passage and is moved forward and backward in a flow direction of the fluid passage.
The valve body provided at the tip of the piston is moved to the downstream side of the flow path by the advancing operation of the piston and is opened, and the valve body is moved to the upstream side of the flow path by the withdrawal operation to be closed. A thermostat device characterized by comprising: The thermostat device according to claim 3,
The bottom of the thermo element is provided with a rod portion extending upstream of the flow path,
At the tip of this rod portion, a relief valve valve element, which is constantly applied with an urging force to the upstream side of the flow path, is held in a movable state, and this valve element serves as a check valve and part of the fluid passage. A thermostat device configured to be closed. The thermostat device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A thermostat device in which a leak portion for leaking fluid in a fluid passage is formed in a part of the relief valve or the main valve.

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