Cover for heat source

#Modern vehicles include heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems for improving passenger comfort.

#In general, vehicle air conditioning systems include an evaporator heat exchanger in communication with a compressor and a condenser. A compressor receives heated refrigerant from the evaporator and compresses it into a high pressure gas for communication to the condenser. The condenser then cools the gaseous refrigerant into a cool liquid refrigerant for communication back to the evaporator. A blower forces air across the evaporator, providing cooled air into the passenger compartment.

#A vehicle heating system includes a heater core that receives hot engine coolant from the engine. A blower forces air across the heater core, providing heated air to the passenger compartment. The system may include one or more conduits carrying relatively hot fluid.

#The drawings can be briefly described as follows:

#FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a vehicle system.

#FIG. 2 illustrates a heater cover according to this disclosure.

#FIG. 1 illustrates a vehicle system 10 for thermally managing a heat source 12 of a vehicle 14. The heat source 12 could be an engine, a transmission, or any other heat generating component of the vehicle 14. The heat source 12 generates heat during operation of the vehicle 14 and therefore may need to be cooled during some conditions.

#In one embodiment, the vehicle system 10 includes a heat exchanger 16 and a thermal bypass valve (TBV) 18. A TBV 18 need not be present in all examples. A supply conduit 20 and a return conduit 22 connect the components of the vehicle system 10 in a closed circuit.

#In one non-limiting embodiment, the heat exchanger 16 is a transmission oil cooler configured as an air/oil heat exchanger. Other types of heat exchangers are also contemplated within the scope of this disclosure, including but not limited to, engine oil coolers or hydraulic fluid oil coolers. In addition, the heat exchanger 16 may exchange heat between any two different fluid exchange medium.