Flexible heat accumulator for engine coolant
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorVolker Haupts
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A heat accumulator for a vehicle engine, comprising storing coolant in a flexible storage container with an inner body and an outer body, with an insulation device arranged between the bodies, and an inflow and an outflow for the coolant wherein the storage container can expand and deflate in response to the amount of coolant stored. The flexible storage container allows for the heat accumulator to conform to various under hood space constraints.
Claims20
A heat accumulator for a coolant of a vehicle engine, comprising:
- a flexible storage container with an inner body and an outer body, with an insulation device arranged between the bodies, and an inflow and an outflow for the coolant.
A system, comprising:
- a vehicle having an engine;
- and
- an engine cooling system including a heat accumulator for coolant, the heat accumulator comprising a flexible storage container with an inner body and an outer body, with an insulation device arranged between the bodies, and an inflow and an outflow for the coolant.
A heat accumulation method, comprising:
- filling a storage container within a heat accumulator with coolant from a cooling circuit;
- changing a shape of the storage container in response to coolant entering the storage container;
- ejecting coolant from the storage container during engine-on conditions;
- and
- changing the shape of the storage container to an original shape in response to ejecting coolant from the storage container.
A method for operating an engine system, comprising:
- cooling an engine by pumping coolant through the engine via an engine water pump and fluidically coupling the engine to a heater via a heater valve and to a cooler via a cooler valve;
- filling a heat accumulator and expanding a storage container by fluidically coupling the engine to the heat accumulator and fluidically decoupling the engine from the cooler by adjusting the cooler valve located downstream of the engine and upstream of the cooler and the heat accumulator;
- emptying a heat accumulator and deflating a storage container by fluidically decoupling the engine from the heater and fluidically coupling the heat accumulator to the engine by adjusting the heater valve located downstream of the heat accumulator upstream of the engine;
- and
- accelerating coolant into or out of the heat accumulator via a heat-accumulator water pump located downstream of the cooler valve and upstream of the heater valve.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.