Flywheel energy storage system for maintaining fan speed for cooling system
AssigneeCaterpillar Inc.
InventorDavid L. Lehman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A flywheel energy storage system for maintaining fan speed of a cooling fan on an internal combustion engine. The flywheel energy storage system allows a fan to rotate independent of the internal combustion engine and use energy stored in a flywheel for the continued rotation of the fan when a speed of the internal combustion engine falls below a predetermined speed. In this manner, the fan can provide an adequate air flow to cool the components of the internal combustion engine regardless of the speed of the internal combustion engine. To accomplish this, a fan is coupled to a clutch and a flywheel.
Claims18
A flywheel energy storage system for cooling components of an internal combustion engine, comprising:
- a fan connected to a connecting rod;
- an energy storing flywheel coupled to the fan via the connecting rod;
- and
- a driven pulley having a clutch bearing assembly coupled therein, the clutch bearing assembly being connected to the connecting rod for driving the fan,
- wherein the energy storing flywheel is mounted on said connecting rod and adjacent said drive pulley.
A method of cooling an internal combustion engine using a fan, comprising the steps of:
- engaging a clutch assembly located in a drive pulley to drive a connecting rod which is connected to the fan to drive the fan when the speed of the internal combustion engine is at or above the predetermined speed;
- storing energy in a flywheel adjacent the drive pulley and connected to the connecting rod when the clutch assembly engages the fan;
- disengaging the clutch assembly when the speed of the internal combustion engine is below the predetermined speed;
- rotating the fan independent of the internal combustion engine after the clutch assembly is disengaged;
- and
- maintaining a speed of the fan using the energy stored in the flywheel when the fan is independently rotating.
An internal combustion engine having a flywheel energy storage system, comprising;
- components attached to the internal combustion engine;
- a fan for cooling the components of the internal combustion engine, the fan being connected to a connecting rod;
- an energy storing flywheel coupled to the fan via the connecting rod;
- and
- a driven pulley having a clutch bearing assembly coupled therein, the clutch bearing assembly being connected to the connecting rod for driving the fan when a speed of the internal combustion engine is at or greater than a predetermined speed,
- wherein the energy storing flywheel is mounted on said connecting rod and adjacent said drive pulley.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.