Exhaust heat recovery system
AssigneesHyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors Corporation
InventorsMin Jae Kim, Seung Tae Kong
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An exhaust heat recovery system may include a muffler including a muffler case, a pipe through which exhaust gas flows, a baffle partitioning an internal space of the muffler case into a first space and a second space, and a valve mounted on an end portion of the pipe to change a direction in which the exhaust gas flows, and a heat exchanger mounted outside the muffler to fluidically-communicate with both the first and second spaces, allowing the exhaust gas to be introduced thereinto and to be discharged therefrom, the heat exchanger including a cooling channel through which cooling water flows, and heat exchange between the exhaust gas and the cooling water being performed in the heat exchanger.
Claims16
An exhaust heat recovery system comprising:
- a muffler including a muffler case, a pipe through which exhaust gas flows, a baffle partitioning an internal space of the muffler case into a first space and a second space, and a valve mounted on an end portion of the pipe to change a direction in which the exhaust gas flows;
- and
- a heat exchanger mounted outside the muffler to fluidically-communicate with the first and second spaces, to allow the exhaust gas to be introduced into the heat exchanger and to be discharged from the heat exchanger,
- wherein the heat exchanger includes a cooling channel through which cooling water flows, so that heat between the exhaust gas and the cooling water is exchanged in the heat exchanger,
- wherein the exhaust heat recovery system further includes:
- a valve-opening and closing unit mounted outside the muffler and connected to the valve to selectively open the valve;
- and
- a valve-opening and closing-drive unit mounted outside the muffler and configured to operate the valve-opening and closing unit to change a direction in which the exhaust gas flows, and
- wherein the valve-opening and closing-drive unit includes:
- a case portion, a first end portion of which is connected to a cooling-water-introduction pipe, wherein the case portion includes a material configured to expand or contract depending on temperature, and wherein the cooling water is introduced into the case portion from the cooling-water-introduction pipe;
- and
- an elastic body mounted in the case portion between a second end portion of the case portion and the valve-opening and closing unit and elastically supporting the material of the case portion, wherein the elastic body is configured to be expanded or compressed to selectively move the valve when the material contracts or expands depending on temperature of the cooling water.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.