JP2024061525A - Cooling device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a cooling device capable of suppressing waggle of a hose while suppressing an increase in the number of components.SOLUTION: A cooling device has a plurality of components connected via piping members and is equipped with a cooling circuit through which cooling liquid circulates. The piping members include a first hose that connects a first component and a second component of the plurality of components for leading the cooling liquid flowing out from the first component to the second component, and a second hose that connects the second component and a third component of the plurality of components for leading the cooling liquid flowing out from the second component to the third component. The cooling device is equipped with a restraint member that restrains the first hose and the second hose to each other at a portion where the first hose and the second hose are adjacent to each other, and the restraint member is not fixed to a fixing member.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a cooling device.

Patent Document 1 discloses a cooling device that cools an engine with coolant supplied from a radiator. In this cooling device, the hoses connecting the radiator and the engine include two hoses, one on the radiator side and one on the engine side, and these two hoses are connected via a connecting pipe. This connecting pipe is fixed to the engine via a clamp and a bracket.

JP 2019-074005 A

In the configuration described in Patent Document 1, the connecting pipe is fixed to the engine via a clamp and a bracket, which makes it possible to suppress vibration of the hose connected to the connecting pipe. However, the configuration described in Patent Document 1 requires a radiator-side hose, an engine-side hose, a connecting pipe that connects them, and a bracket that fixes the connecting pipe to the engine. This results in a large number of parts.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a cooling device that can suppress hose vibration while suppressing an increase in the number of parts.

The present invention relates to a cooling device having a plurality of components connected via piping members, comprising a cooling circuit through which a coolant circulates, the piping members including a first hose that connects a first component and a second component of the plurality of components and guides the coolant flowing out of the first component to the second component, and a second hose that connects the second component and a third component of the plurality of components and guides the coolant flowing out of the second component to the third component, the cooling device further comprising a restraining member that restrains the first hose and the second hose to each other in a portion where the first hose and the second hose are adjacent to each other, and the restraining member is not fixed to a fixing member.

With this configuration, the restraining member that restrains the first hose and the second hose is not fixed to the fixing member, so no parts are required to fix the restraining member. In addition, the restoring force generated in the first hose due to vibration and the restoring force generated in the second hose due to vibration act on the first hose and the second hose via the restraining member. Therefore, it is possible to suppress hose vibration.

The inlet of the second component may be provided closer to the inlet of the third component than the outlet of the first component, the outlet of the second component may be provided closer to the outlet of the first component than the inlet of the third component, the first hose and the second hose may be arranged to cross each other at their midsections, and the restraining member may restrain the portion where the first hose and the second hose cross.

With this configuration, the intersecting portion of the middle portion of the first hose and the middle portion of the second hose is restrained by the restraining member, so vibration of the hose can be suppressed.

In the present invention, the restraining member that restrains the first hose and the second hose is not fixed to the fixing member, so no parts for fixing the restraining member are required. In addition, the restoring force generated in the first hose due to vibration and the restoring force generated in the second hose due to vibration act on the first hose and the second hose via the restraining member. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the vibration of the hose.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a cooling device according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic structure of a cooling circuit. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a clamp.

The cooling device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described below.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a cooling device in an embodiment. The cooling device 1 is mounted on a vehicle and cools vehicle components with a refrigerant. The refrigerant is a cooling liquid having insulating properties. For example, the refrigerant is composed of insulating oil. The cooling device 1 includes a cooling circuit 2 through which the cooling liquid circulates.

The cooling circuit 2 has multiple components that are connected via piping members. The cooling circuit 2 has the following multiple components: an electric oil pump (EOP) 3, an oil cooler (O/C) 4, and a power transmission device 5.

The electric oil pump 3 is driven by an electric motor to discharge the coolant. When the electric oil pump 3 discharges the coolant, the coolant is pressurized in the cooling circuit 2. The electric oil pump 3 draws in the coolant from the suction port 11 and discharges it from the discharge port 12. A first hose 21 is connected to the suction port 11 of the electric oil pump 3. A second hose 22 is connected to the discharge port 12 of the electric oil pump 3.

The first hose 21 and the second hose 22 are piping members made of a soft material. For example, the first hose 21 and the second hose 22 are made of an elastic material such as rubber. The first hose 21 is a piping member located upstream of the intake port 11 of the electric oil pump 3. The second hose 22 is a piping member located downstream of the discharge port 12 of the electric oil pump 3. In this description, piping members include hoses made of a soft material and pipes made of a hard material.

The oil cooler 4 cools the coolant in the cooling circuit 2. The oil cooler 4 is a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between a refrigerant in a system separate from the cooling circuit 2 and the coolant in the cooling circuit 2. The oil cooler 4 cools the coolant in the cooling circuit 2 by transferring heat from the coolant in the cooling circuit 2 to the refrigerant in the separate system. A second hose 22 is connected to the inlet 13 of the oil cooler 4.

The inlet 13 of the oil cooler 4 is connected to the outlet 12 of the electric oil pump 3 via the second hose 22. The second hose 22 guides the cooling liquid flowing out from the outlet 12 of the electric oil pump 3 to the inlet 13 of the oil cooler 4. The cooling liquid discharged from the electric oil pump 3 is supplied to the oil cooler 4 via the second hose 22. The oil cooler 4 cools the cooling liquid supplied from the electric oil pump 3. The oil cooler 4 then causes the cooled cooling liquid to flow out from the outlet 14 to the piping member 23. In the cooling circuit 2, the cooling liquid flowing out from the outlet 14 of the oil cooler 4 is supplied to the power transmission device 5.

The power transmission device 5 transmits the power output from the power source to the drive wheels. In the cooling circuit 2, the cooling liquid flowing out from the oil cooler 4 is supplied to the power transmission device 5 via the piping member 23. The piping member 24 is connected to the inlet 15 of the power transmission device 5. The inlet 15 of the power transmission device 5 is connected to the outlet 14 of the oil cooler 4 via the piping member 24 and the piping member 23. The piping member 23 and the piping member 24 are made of a hard material. For example, the piping member 23 and the piping member 24 are made of a resin material such as polyvinyl chloride or a metal material. The piping member 23 and the piping member 24 are connected via a hose. The downstream opening of the piping member 23 is connected to the upstream opening of the piping member 24 via a hose.

The power transmission device 5 also includes a transaxle. The transaxle is housed inside the transaxle case. The inlet 15 of the power transmission device 5 is the inlet of the transaxle case. In the case of an electric vehicle, the motor is housed inside the transaxle case. In this case, the coolant cooled by the oil cooler 4 is supplied to the inside of the transaxle case, and the motor is cooled by the coolant. For example, a cooling pipe connected to the piping member 24 is disposed inside the transaxle case. This cooling pipe is disposed above the motor, and sprays the coolant supplied from the piping member 24 toward the top of the motor. After cooling the motor, the coolant flows out from the outlet 16 provided at the bottom of the transaxle case.

The outlet 16 of the power transmission device 5 is an outlet provided in the case. A first hose 21 is connected to the outlet 16 of the power transmission device 5. The outlet 16 of the power transmission device 5 communicates with the suction port 11 of the electric oil pump 3 via the first hose 21. The first hose 21 guides the cooling liquid that flows out from the outlet 16 of the power transmission device 5 to the suction port 11 of the electric oil pump 3. As a result, the cooling liquid that has cooled the power transmission device 5 flows back to the electric oil pump 3.

In the cooling circuit 2 configured in this way, the intake port 11 and the discharge port 12 of the electric oil pump 3 are arranged in the opposite direction to the general arrangement. In a general cooling circuit, when three components are connected by piping members, the outlets and inlets of the upstream component, midstream component, and downstream component are often oriented in the direction of a straight line. In this arrangement, if the components are arranged apart from each other, the distance between the components becomes longer, and the piping members become longer. If the piping members become longer, the hose included in the piping members will swing more. To address this, in a general configuration, space is taken in consideration of the hose's swing width to avoid interference with other components when the hose swings. Alternatively, in a general configuration, a bracket is attached to the hose and the bracket is fastened to a frame or unit to fix the hose. However, these require a large space, or a fastening member such as a bracket is required, which increases the number of parts. Furthermore, in a structure in which the bracket is fastened to the case, processing such as providing fixing holes and reinforcing ribs in the case is required, which leads to an increase in costs due to the processing. Therefore, the cooling device 1 does not require additional processing on the case, etc., saving space and limiting the increase in parts while suppressing hose vibration.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the cooling device 1, the intake port 11 of the electric oil pump 3 is provided closer to the inlet 13 of the oil cooler 4 than the outlet 14 of the power transmission device 5. The intake port 11 of the electric oil pump 3 is arranged closer to the inlet 13 of the oil cooler 4 than the outlet 14 of the power transmission device 5. In the cooling device 1, the discharge port 12 of the electric oil pump 3 is provided closer to the outlet 14 of the power transmission device 5 than the inlet 13 of the oil cooler 4. The discharge port 12 of the electric oil pump 3 is arranged closer to the outlet 14 of the power transmission device 5 than the inlet 13 of the oil cooler 4. In the cooling device 1, three components are connected by piping members. The electric oil pump 3 is a midstream component. The power transmission device 5 is an upstream component. The oil cooler 4 is a downstream component. The piping members connecting these components include a first hose 21 and a second hose 22.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the cooling device 1, a first hose 21 connected to the intake port 11 of the electric oil pump 3 and a second hose 22 connected to the discharge port 12 of the electric oil pump 3 are arranged to intersect. The first hose 21 and the second hose 22 extend to intersect and pass through positions close to each other. The cooling device 1 is provided with a clamp 30 that holds the first hose 21 and the second hose 22 together at a portion 25 where the first hose 21 and the second hose 22 are close to each other.

The clamp 30 is a restraining member that restrains the first hose 21 and the second hose 22 from each other. The clamp 30 is attached to the middle of the first hose 21 and the middle of the second hose 22. In the cooling circuit 2, as shown in FIG. 2, the middle of the first hose 21 and the middle of the second hose 22 are arranged so that they are close to each other. In a portion 25 where the first hose 21 and the second hose 22 are close to each other, the hoses are arranged in parallel so that the flow directions of the cooling liquid flowing through them are opposite to each other. In this portion 25 where the hoses are close to each other, the clamp 30 restrains the first hose 21 and the second hose 22.

As shown in FIG. 3, the clamp 30 has a first clamp portion 31 that clamps the outer periphery of the first hose 21, a second clamp portion 32 that clamps the outer periphery of the second hose 22, and a connecting portion 33. The connecting portion 33 is a portion that connects the first clamp portion 31 and the second clamp portion 32. The first clamp portion 31 and the second clamp portion 32 are provided in symmetrical positions with respect to the connecting portion 33. The first clamp portion 31 and the second clamp portion 32 are integrated via the connecting portion 33.

The first clamping portion 31 has a pair of claws 34 formed in a semi-cylindrical shape. The tips of the pair of claws 34 are spaced apart from each other. The gap between these tips is smaller than the outer diameter of the first hose 21. The tips of the pair of claws 34 deform to widen this gap, and the first hose 21 can be fitted inside the pair of claws 34. The pair of claws 34 clamp the outer periphery of the first hose 21. The tips of the claws 34 face the opposite side to the tips of the claws 35 with respect to the connecting portion 33.

The second clamping portion 32 has a pair of claws 35 formed in a semi-cylindrical shape. The tips of the pair of claws 35 are spaced apart from each other. The gap between these tips is smaller than the outer diameter of the second hose 22. The tips of the pair of claws 35 deform to widen this gap, and the second hose 22 can be fitted inside the pair of claws 35. The pair of claws 35 clamp the outer periphery of the second hose 22. The tips of the claws 35 face the opposite side to the tips of the claws 34 with respect to the connecting portion 33.

In addition, the clamp 30 restrains the first hose 21 and the second hose 22 without being fixed to a fixing member. When the cooling device 1 is mounted on an electric vehicle, the clamp 30 is not fixed to the frame or the unit. The clamp 30 is not fixed to the power transmission device 5, which is a component of the cooling device 1. In other words, the clamp 30 is not fixed to the transaxle case. When vibration is input from the outside to the first hose 21, the clamp 30 can be displaced together with the first hose 21. When vibration is input from the outside to the second hose 22, the clamp 30 can be displaced together with the second hose 22. In this case, a restoring force due to an external force is generated in the first hose 21. Similarly, a restoring force due to an external force is generated in the second hose 22. And the first hose 21 and the second hose 22 are restrained by the clamp 30. Therefore, when the first hose 21 vibrates, in addition to the restoring force generated by itself, the restoring force generated by the second hose 22 acts on the first hose 21 through the clamp 30. When the second hose 22 vibrates, the second hose 22 is subjected to a restoring force generated by itself as well as a restoring force generated by the first hose 21 through the clamp 30. As a result, the amplitude of the vibration of the first hose 21 and the second hose 22 can be reduced.

As shown in FIG. 2, the first hose 21 extends so as to bend in multiple directions between the power transmission device 5 and the electric oil pump 3. The first hose 21 includes a portion extending from the outlet 14 side of the power transmission device 5 to one side in the X direction, a portion to which the clamp 30 is attached, a portion extending to one side in the Y direction, and a portion extending to one side in the Z direction. Note that the X direction and the Y direction are perpendicular directions. The Z direction is perpendicular to the XY plane. When the cooling device 1 is mounted on a vehicle, for example, the X is the front-rear direction, the Y direction is the vehicle width direction, and the Z direction is the up-down direction.

The second hose 22 extends so as to bend in multiple directions between the electric oil pump 3 and the oil cooler 4. The second hose 22 includes a portion extending from the discharge port 12 side of the electric oil pump 3 to the other side in the Z direction, a portion extending to the other side in the Y direction, a portion to which the clamp 30 is attached, and a portion extending to one side in the X direction. In this way, the direction in which the restoring force is large in the first hose 21 is different from the direction in which the restoring force is large in the second hose 22. Therefore, the restoring forces of the first hose 21 and the second hose 22 can be added together against vibrations in various directions.

As described above, according to the embodiment, by restraining the middle portion of the first hose 21 and the middle portion of the second hose 22 with the clamp 30, the amplitude of the hose vibration can be reduced. Therefore, the space required to accommodate the hose vibration can be reduced, and the peripheral gap can be reduced. Furthermore, since it is sufficient to restrain the hoses with the clamp 30, there is no need to fix the clamp 30 to a fixing member. Therefore, a fixing member is not required, and the number of parts can be reduced.

The vehicle in which the cooling device 1 is mounted is not particularly limited. The cooling device 1 may be mounted in a vehicle powered by an engine or a vehicle powered by a motor. The cooling device 1 can be mounted in a hybrid vehicle (HEV), a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV), an electric vehicle (BEV), etc. Furthermore, the X direction can be rephrased as the length direction of the vehicle, the Y direction as the left-right direction of the vehicle, and the Z direction as the height direction of the vehicle.

The components of the cooling circuit 2 are not limited to the combination of the electric oil pump 3, the oil cooler 4, and the power transmission device 5. There are also no particular limitations on the arrangement on the path through which the coolant circulates. For example, the cooling circuit 2 may be a circuit through which the coolant circulates to cool the engine. In this case, the cooling circuit includes an engine, a pump, and a radiator as three components connected via piping members. The engine is an upstream component, the pump is a midstream component, and the radiator is a downstream component.

Furthermore, the first hose 21 only needs to form part of the path connecting the electric oil pump 3 and the oil cooler 4. The first hose 21 does not necessarily have to be directly connected to the suction port 11 of the electric oil pump 3, and does not necessarily have to be directly connected to the outlet 14 of the power transmission device 5. For example, a metal pipe is connected to the outlet 14 of the power transmission device 5, and the first hose 21 is connected to the pipe. In this case, the first hose 21 communicates with the outlet 14 of the power transmission device 5 via the metal pipe. In this way, a pipe made of a hard member may be included between the electric oil pump 3 and the oil cooler 4.

The second hose 22 only needs to form part of the path connecting the power transmission device 5 and the electric oil pump 3. The second hose 22 does not necessarily have to be directly connected to the discharge port 12 of the electric oil pump 3, and does not necessarily have to be directly connected to the inlet 13 of the oil cooler 4. A pipe made of a hard material may be included between the electric oil pump 3 and the oil cooler 4.

The shape of the clamp 30 is not particularly limited. Furthermore, the material from which the clamp 30 is made is also not particularly limited. For example, the shape of the claw portion 34 of the first clamp portion 31 and the shape of the claw portion 35 of the second clamp portion 32 are not limited to the shape exemplified in FIG. 3. Furthermore, the clamp 30 can be made of rubber, resin, metal, etc.

The configuration between piping member 23 and piping member 24 is not particularly limited. For example, a reservoir tank can be provided between piping member 23 and piping member 24. If piping member 23 and piping member 24 are configured with pipes, they can be connected with a hose. Furthermore, piping member 23 and piping member 24 are not limited to being made of hard materials, and may be made of soft materials.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Cooling device 2 Cooling circuit 3 Electric oil pump 4 Oil cooler 5 Power transmission device 11 Intake port 12 Discharge port 13 Inlet port 14 Outlet port 21 First hose 22 Second hose 23, 24 Piping member 30 Clamp 31 First clamp portion 32 Second clamp portion 33 Connection portion 34, 35 Claw portion

Claims (2)

A cooling circuit includes a plurality of components that are in communication with each other via piping members, and a cooling liquid circulates through the cooling circuit.
The piping member is
a first hose that connects a first component and a second component among the plurality of components and guides the cooling liquid flowing out of the first component to the second component;
a second hose connecting the second component and a third component among the plurality of components and guiding a cooling liquid flowing out of the second component to the third component,
a restraining member that restrains the first hose and the second hose from each other at a portion where the first hose and the second hose are adjacent to each other,
The cooling device, wherein the restraining member is not fixed to a fixing member. The inlet of the second component is provided closer to the inlet of the third component than the outlet of the first component,
The outlet of the second component is provided closer to the outlet of the first component than the inlet of the third component,
The first hose and the second hose are arranged to cross each other at a midsection,
The cooling device according to claim 1 , wherein the restraining member restrains a portion where the first hose and the second hose intersect.

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