Vehicle oil cooling circuits
AssigneeCaterpillar Inc.
InventorsMaitreya V. Lagadapati, Edward William Mate, Thomas K. Aldridge, William N. O'Neill
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A cooling system can include a hydraulic oil tank. The cooling system can further include a return valve connected to the hydraulic oil tank to supply flow to a cooling circuit. The cooling circuit can include a hydraulic oil cooling (HOC) element and an axle oil cooling (AOC) element connected in series. The cooling system can include a flow control device to route oil away from the HOC and toward the AOC based on an oil condition or a system condition.
Claims22
A cooling system comprising:
- a hydraulic oil tank;
- a first return valve fluidically connected to the hydraulic oil tank and a cooling circuit and through which a first source of oil flows, the cooling circuit including a hydraulic oil cooling (HOC) element and an axle oil cooling (AOC) element connected in series;
- a second return valve fluidically connected to the hydraulic oil tank and the cooling circuit and through which a second source of oil flows, the second return valve arranged in parallel with the first return valve such that the first source of oil and the second source of oil are configured to flow to the cooling circuit;
- and
- a flow control device configured to route oil away from the HOC element and toward the AOC element based on an oil condition or a system condition.
A method for providing system cooling in a vehicle, the method comprising:
- connecting a hydraulic oil cooling (HOC) element and an axle oil cooling (AOC) element in series to form a portion of a cooling circuit;
- routing a first source of oil through a first return valve and a flow control device to the cooling circuit;
- routing a second source of oil through a second return valve and the flow control device to the cooling circuit;
- and
- controlling the flow control device to route oil around the HOC element to the AOC element based on an oil condition or a system condition.
A work machine comprising:
- a plurality of axles;
- a hydraulic oil tank communicatively coupled to a cooling circuit for the plurality of axles;
- a first return valve connected to the hydraulic oil tank and the cooling circuit, a first source of oil flowing through the first return valve;
- a second return valve connected to the hydraulic oil tank and the cooling circuit, a second source of oil flowing through the second return valve;
- and
- a flow control device,
- the cooling circuit including a hydraulic oil cooling (HOC) element and an axle oil cooling (AOC) element connected in series,
- the second return valve arranged in parallel with the first return valve such that the first source of oil and the second source of oil are configured to flow to the cooling circuit, and
- the flow control device configured to route oil around the HOC element to the AOC element based on an oil condition or a system condition.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.