US2677357A - Cooling system for internal-combustion engines - Google Patents

Description

y 4, 1954 J. z. BRUBAKER 2,677,357

COOLING SYSTEM FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed Oct. 24, 1951 N w n w Q H S2 u B N g INVENTOR.

JACOB Z. BRUBAKER A-r TORNEY Patented May 4, 1954 COOLING SYSTEM FOR INTERNAL- COMBUSTION ENGINES Jacob Z. Brubakcr, Manheim, Pa.

Application October 24, 1951, Serial No. 252,953

6 Claims.

This invention relates to cooling systems for internal combustion engines. More particularly, the invention relates to a cooling system adapted to maintain one portion of the engine in a desired temperature range while maintaining another portion of the engine in a different desired temperature range, said system includ ing means for adjusting the cooling conditions to render them most favorable under the weather temperatures existing at any given time. This application is, in part, a substitute for my prior application, Serial No. 765,482, filed August 1, 1947, now abandoned.

One of the most important parts of the modern motor vehicle is its cooling system. This is readily seen when it is realized that, generally speaking, with each explosion in the combustion space, a temperature of over 2000 F. is attained within each cylinder. The heat developed within the cylinder must be rapidly dissipated. The most widely employed method of cooling motor vehicle engines is by means of Water. The water is employed to conduct the heat from the hot engine castings. The water passes around the cylinder block and head and is conducted through suitable connections to the radiator core where it is allowed to flow through tubes or cells of the radiator. Heat is extracted from the water in the radiator by air which is forced past the thin walls of the radiator by means of a fan, the speed of the car through the air or both. Water may be forced through the cooling system by means of pumps or by means of the natural law of water circulation, systems employing natural circulation being known as thermosiphon systems.

As disclosed in my prior U. S. patents, Nos. 1,789,540, 1,962,134, 1,985,420 and 2,069,749, I have found that great advantages result in the operating eificiency of motor vehicles when their cooling systems are of such construction as to maintain the temperature of the cylinder head higher than the temperature of the cylinder block. I have termed this system the Dual temperature cooling system."

In accordance with the present invention 1 provide an improved dual temperature cooling system which may be readily adjusted to conditions of maximum efliciency for warm weather or cold weather driving conditions.

It is accordingly an object of my invention to provide a dual cooling system capable of maintaining the cylinder head at a higher temperature than the cylinder block while operating at maximum efliciency for the weather conditions prevailing.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a dual cooling system resulting in improved combustion and lubrication.

Still another object of my invention is the provision of a dual temperature cooling system which results in the development of increased horsepower by the engine.

Still another object of my invention is the provision of a novel means for controlling the flow of water or other cooling liquid in motor vehicle cooling systems.

These and other objects of my invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon becoming familiar with the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which like parts are designated by like numerals and in which:

Fig. l is a top plan View of an exemplary internal combustion engine embodying the dual temperature system comprising the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of one of the valves of the system shown in Fig. 1, part of said valve being broken away and shown in section to illustrate details thereof.

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of another valve embodied in said system.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of the valve illustrated in Fig. 3 but illustrating some of the elements thereof in a different position.

Fig. 5 is another fragmentary sectional view illustrating the operation of an auxiliary valve unit illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4.

As has been stated above, the present invention comprises a dual temperature cooling system for an internal combustion engine 20 which is illustrated in exemplary manner in Fig. 1. The engine comprises a block l2 and a head [4. A conventional radiator I6 is embodied in the system, said radiator having the usual upper and lower reservoirs between which the core extends. Water pressure is generated by a conventional water pump 18 which discharges water directly to the water jacket in the block [2. The pump 18 is connected by a hose conduit 20 to the lower reservoir of the radiator 15 so as to Withdraw water therefrom.

One of the principal purposes of the present invention is to maintain automatically a relatively lower temperature within the block than in the head of the engine 10, Preferably, by way of illustration, the temperature of the block 12 and consequently the lubricating oil in the crank case is maintained at approximately F. The water within the head is maintained, for example, at approximately F. Thus, the hotter temperature of the head will facilitate combustion whereas the relatively lower temperature of the block and crank case will serve to maintain the lubricating oil relatively cool and thereby enhance the efliciency thereof especially in hot summer weather or when the engine is driven at high speed and particularly during hard pulls such as in hilly country.

The foregoing object is achieved by mechanism now to be described in detail. Referring to Fig. l particularly, a block conduit 22 extends between the rearward end of the block 12 and a first thermostatic valve 24. Said valve 24 is relatively simple and comprises a housing 26 containing an expansible means 28 illustrated herein as a thermostatic bellows. Valve member 30 is actuated by the expansible means 28 relative to a valve seat 32. The valve 30 controls the flow of water between the block conduit 22 and a by-pass conduit 34. Also connected to the housing 28 is a valve conduit 38 which extends between the valve 24 and housing 38 of a second automatically operable thermostatic valve 40. The housing 38 has an inlet port 42 to which one end of the valve conduit 36 is connected as clearly shown in Fig. 3. Housing 38 also has an outlet port 44 to which a second hose conduit 46 is connected, the other end of hose conduit being connected to the upper end of the radiator 16 so as to directly communicate with the upper reservoir thereof. The housing 38 of valve 6 is supported at the forward end of the head !4 and an inlet port 48 in said housing directly communicates with the forward end of the water jacket of the head l4.

Operatively positioned within the housing 38 of valve 49 is a valve member 50 connected to an expansible member 52 which is illustrated herein as an exemplary thermostatic bellows. The valve member 50 is fixed to an extended thermostat tubing 54 of the member 50 and is movable thereby relative to a valve seat 56.

Assuming the system is conditioned for operation in summer or hot driving weather and the motor is started from a cold condition, the thermostat 28 will be contracted to close the valve member 36 of first valve 24 against seat 5| as illustrated in Fig. 2. Second valve 40 will be arranged as illustrated in Fig. 3 except that the valve member 50 will be closed against the valve seat 55 as shown in Fig. 4. Under these conditions, starting of the engine will cause the pump 18 to be actuated and thereby force cooling water from the forward end of the block through the same to the rearward end thereof and thence through the block conduit 22 to first valve 24. It

will be understood of course too that certain portions of the water jacket in the block l2 will communicate vertically with certain portions of the water jacket in the head M in accordance with customary construction. However, the cooling water entering first valve 24 will be discharged through conduit 34 to the lower reservoir of radiator i5 and thence back to the pump through hose conduit 20.

Due to this arrangement, the water of the block will be heated relatively rapidly to the desired operating temperature of 130 F., for example, and for which temperature the thermostat 28 of the first valve 24 is set to operate so as to move the valve member 30 into engagement with the seat 32, thereby discontinuing flow of cooling water through the by-pass conduit 34. When this occurs, all of the water entering the first valve 2 2 will be discharged through the valve conduit 3% to the housing 38 by way of inlet port 42. Inasmuch as valve member 50 will be closed under these conditions, the water will flow from the inlet port 42 to the outlet port 44 and enter the upper reservoir of the radiator it from which it passes downward through the radiator core so as to be cooled by in-rushing air passing through the core as the vehicle moves along, for example. Upon the water from block conduit 22 being cooled by the radiator 15 to a temperature below the exemplary F., the valve 36 will again be open to cause re-cycling of block cooling water through the by-pass conduit 34 and this portion of the system continues to re-cycle until the temperature of the water is raised above 130 F., whereupon the valve 24 sequentially functions as described above so as automatically to maintain the cooling water within the block at the temperature for which the expansible thermostatic means 23 is set such as 130 F., for example.

Inasmuch as the temperature of the cooling water within the head is normally desired at the substantially higher temperature of F., for example, the valve 56 will be actuated only after the first valve 24 has been actuated during the cooling of the block. Cooling water within the head, however, will be raised due to the combustion within the cylinders to the relatively higher temperature of 180 F. to be maintained within the head and, upon said temperature being attained by the cooling water within the head, the expansible member 50 will be actuated to open the valve 50 by separating it from the seat 56. When this occurs, water will flow upward through the housing 38 through the second valve 40 and be discharged into outlet port 14 to the upper reservoir of radiator l6. Said water will then be cooled by passing downward through the core of the radiator and will be forced by pump 58 into the block 12 as well as up into the water jacket of the head i4 and then back to the inlet port 10 of second valve 40. Re-cycling of the head cooling water will continue until the temperature is decreased below the exemplary 180 F, whereupon the valve 50 will close by contraction of thermostatic bellows 52 until the cooling water is again elevated to the temperature for which the expansible thermostatic member 52 is set to open valve 55. It will therefore be seen that the sequential cycling of the valve 50 automatically will maintain the operating temperature of the head at approximately 180 F. or any other operating temperature for which the expansible thermostatic member 52 is set to open the valve 50.

In extremely warm weather, the member 52 will expand to such an extent that the valve member 50 will be moved into engagement with an upper seat 58 formed within the housing 38 and when this occurs, the water passing through the conduit 22 will normally be stopped so as to permit the coooling function of the radiator Hi to concentrate upon cooling the water passing through the head I4 as in conventional arrangements. Such conditions will of course not endure for any long period of time and usually will only exist, for example, as when the vehicle is under a heavy pull in hot weather while going up a steep hill. When the temperature of the head cooling water begins to recede from the abnormally high temperature, the valve member 56 will recede from the upper seat 58 and thereupon permit water once more to be by-passed from the rearward end of the block through conduit 22 and by-pass conduit 34 or valve conduit 36.

The foregoin description has been made when the cooling system is operating under summer or hot weather driving conditions. Additional means are also embodied in the system, however, which are used in cold or winter weather, the principal purposes of these additional means being to afford a quick warm-up of the motor and, in addition, said means permit the thawing of frozen tors as will be described herein after. Said additional means comprises an auxiliary valve unit (it which is of relatively simple construction and positioned for movement within a cylindrical guideway 52 formed within the housing 38 of second valve 40. The guideway 62 extends through a projecting tube 64 integral with housin 38 and in axial alignment with the tubular extension 54 of expansible member 52 as is clearly shown in Figs. 3 and l. The valve unit Gil comprises a sleeve 86 and, if desired, an expansible packing or ring 68 may be used to insure a sealing engagement between the exterior of the sleeve to and the walls of guideway 62. Tube 65 is normally closed at the top by any means such as a threaded plu 10 and, in summer driving conditions, the auxiliary valve unit 66 is positioned within the upper portion of tube 64 as illustrated in Fig. 3.

The valve unit so also comprises a disk valve member '52 having a loop 74 fixed to the upper surface thereof. The disk valve member 12 is movable vertically relative to the upper end of sleeve 66 so to comprise a valve. Any suitable means, not shown, may be employed to insure suitable guiding of the valve member 72 relative to the sleeve 52.

During winter drivin conditions, the valve unit oil is positioned in the lower end of the cylindrical guideway 62 as illustrated in Fig. 4. Said unit may be pushed from the position shown in Fig. 3 for summer driving to the position shown in Fig. 4 for winter driving merely by removing the plu ii] and using a rod to slidably move the valve unit 60 to its lower position. Such movement is preferably made while the engine is cold and the valve member 50 is in engagement with its seat The valve unit to is moved downward with said rod until the disk valve member 12 engages the upper end of tubular extension 54 of the expansible member 52 as shown in Fig. 4. To restore the valve unit 69 to its sum mer operating position shown in Fig. 3, it is only necessary to remove the plug 10 and engage the loop 'M with a hook, as shown in said figure, and pull the valve unit 6i? upward to the position thereof shown in Fig. 3. stored to its operative position and the friction between the packin to and the walls of the cylindrical guideway 6?. is suiiicient to maintain the valve unit 88 in either its summer position shown in Fig. 3 or its winter position shown in Fig. 4.

When the auxiliary valve unit 60 is positioned for winter operation as shown in Fig. 5 and the engine is started when cold, the auxiliary valve 69 will be closed as shown in Fig. 4. Said valve thus prevents communication between inlet port 42 and outlet port M of the second valve to, whereupon the water initially circulating through the block 52 is prevented from passing through the valve conduit 36 and can pass only through lay-pass conduit 34 to the lower reservoir of radiator it. As the water in the block is gradually elevated in temperature, such elevated temperature will be imparted to the water in the lower reservoir of the radiator l6. In the eventv The plug E0 is then rethe radiator I6 is frozen and especially if it is I only slightly frozen, the elevated temperature of of water through the lay-pass 34 will then cease.

, Under these conditions, all circulation of water within the engine stops and it is obvious that the continued running of the engine will rapidly warm up the water in both the block and the cylinder head.

When the water in the cylinder head reaches the operating temperature at which the valve member 50 of the second valve 48 is set to open, such opening of the valve member 56 will also move the tubular extension 5% thereof upward so as to move the disk member 12 of the auxiliary valve unit 59 away from the upper end of the sleeve 66 on said unit and thereby open said auxiliary valve so as to restore communication between the inlet port 52 and the outlet port 44 of the second valve 49. The open position of auxiliary valve unit 50 is illustrated fragmentarily in Fig. 5. Such communication is possible due to the diameter of the tubular extension 54 being considerably less than the inner diameter of sleeve 85. In view of the employment of auxiliary valve Gil, it will be seen that,

in general, the flow of cooling water through the block particularly is more impeded in winter than in summer for the purposes of afiording a quick warm-up of the motor as well as providing an effective means for aiding in the thawing of a frozen radiator.

In view of the foregoing, it will be seen that the present invention includes a cooling system which automatically and effectively maintains the operating temperature of the block of an internal combustion engine at a materially lower operating temperature than the head thereof regardless of whether the engine is operated in cold winter conditions or hot summer conditions. Simple and effective valve means which are relatively inexpensive are employed in the system as well as a few conduits by which the valves are effectively placed in communication with the radiator and also the block and head of the engine. Operation of the valves is automatic and, once the expansible actuating means thereof are set for desired temperature ranges, no manipulation of valves is required during the operation of the engine in either winter or summer seasons. In order to more efiectively operate the system in winter conditions, additional auxiliary valve means are used in the system and such valve means are quickly and simply moved between the two operative positions thereof within one or the other thermostatically controlled materially lower temperature than the head cooling water results in the crank case lubricating oil being likewise maintained at a relatively low temperature so that the lubricating efliciency of the oil is greatly enhanced and the life of the motor is vastly increased. It will be understood of course that in the foregoing description where the term cooling water is used, said term is used generically to include any type of motor coolant commonly used in so-called water cooled internal combustion engines.

While the invention has been shown and illustrated in its several preferred embodiments, and has included certain details, it should be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the precise details herein illustrated and described since the same may be carried out in other ways falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

1. A cooling system for an internal combustion engine having intercommunicating water jackets in the head and block thereof and comprising in combination, a radiator having upper and lower reservoirs, a water pump communicating with one end of the water jacket of said engine block and the lower reservoir of said radiator and operable to pump coolin fluid from said reservoir to said block, a by-pass conduit extending between the other end of said block and said lower reservoir of said radiator, an automatically operable thermostatic valve in said by-pass conduit, and conduit means communicating with said valve and upper reservoir of said radiator, said valve being operable to cause cooling fluid to flow through said block and by-pass conduit to said lower reservoir of said radiator until a predetermined relatively low block temperature is attained and said valve then being operable to cause the fluid to pass through said by-pass conduit means into the upper reservoir of and. be cooled by said radiator until the temperature of said fluid is below said predetermined temperature and thereby cause said valve to operate to re-cycle fiuid through said by-pass conduit to the lower reservoir of said radiator.

2. For use with an internal combustion engine having a radiator, a cylinder block having a water jacket, and a cylinder head having a water jacket in communication with said cylinder blcck water jacket, a cooling system comprising a conduit extending from said cylinder head jacket to said radiator, a thermostatic valve in said conduit, a by-pass conduit communicating with said block and another thermostatically actuated valve operable to provide a path to said first thermostatic valve and also upon the attainment of a predetermined temperature by said water being operable to divert the stream of water flowing through said by-pass conduit to the bottom of said radiator, and conduit means connected to the bottom of said radiator and said water jacket of said block.

thermostatically controlled automatic dual temperature system for internal combustion engines compris n in combination, a cylinder block havinga water jacket, a cylinder head having a water jacket in communication with said cylinder block jacket, a radiator, a conduit extending from said cylinder head jacket to the upper part of said radiator and having a thermostatic valve therein, a conduit controlled by the action of said thermostatic valve and through which water from said cylinder block jacket may flow into said first named conduit,

. a conduit from the lower part of said radiator to the adjacent end of said cylinder block jacket,

a conduit from said cylinder block jacket to another thermostatic valve which is continuously in communication with said thermostatic valve and alternately in communication with a conduit to the lower section of said radiator and said first mentioned thermostatic valve.

l. For use with an internal combustion engine having inercommunicating water jackets in and said lower reservoir of said radiator, a first thermostatic valve within said. conduit, a second thermostatic valve havin a casing communicating with the water jacket 01 said head, a bellows-type actuating member within said casing hatdng a thermostat tube extension thereon extending through and to a disk valve movable by said actuating member toward and away from a valve seat within said casing, conduits etween said valve casing and upper reservoir of said radiator and also between said two thermostatic valves, said first valve being operable to cause cooling fluid to flow through said block and by-pass conduit to said lower reservoir of said radiator until a predetermined relatively low block tem erature is attained and then being operable to cause passage of fiuid from said first valve and through said second valve and into the upper reservoir of and be cooled by said radiator, and said second thermostatic valve being operable at a predetermined temperature setting higher than the setting of said first valve to ope-n and permit cooling fluid to flow from said head into the upper reservoir of sa d radiator so as to be cooled thereby and to close to prevent such flow when said fluid has been cooled below said temperature, whereby said block will operate at a cooler temperature than said head.

5. The structure set forth in claim 4 further characterized by said second valve casing including an auxiliary valve unit manually movable from an inoperative to an operative position therein, said auxiliary valve when in its operative position and closed preventing communication between said conduits connected to said second valve casing and said auxiliary valve being engageable by said thermostat tube extension when said bellows expands, whereby said auxiliary valve is then caused to open and is held open by said tube extension until said bellows contracts upon said fluid being cooled by said radiator.

6. The structure set forth in claim 5 further characterized by the auxiliary valve comprising a sleeve frictionally positionable within said second valve casing in its two positions, and a disk valve movably mounted relative to said sleeve, the inner diameter of said sleeve being greater than the outer diameter of said tube extension and surrounding the same when disposed in operative position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,789,540 Brubaker Jan. 20, 1931 2,422,924 Puste'r June 24, 1947

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