JP2012092762A - Reserve tank - Google Patents

Abstract

A reserve tank capable of preventing or suppressing leakage of a coolant from a cap portion is provided.
A reserve tank (100) includes a tank body (12), a coolant inlet (14), a coolant outlet (16), a removable cap (10) having a pressure valve, and a deaeration valve (25) that can be opened and closed. Prepare. The tank body 12 is adjacent to the first chamber 18 with the cap 10 provided at the upper portion and the first chamber 18 via the first partition plate 32, and the second chamber with the deaeration valve 25 provided at the upper portion. And the third chamber 22 adjacent to the second chamber 20 via the second partition plate 34. A first communication hole 28 is formed in the first partition plate 32, and a second communication hole 30 and an air hole 26 are formed in the second partition plate 34.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a reserve tank for storing a coolant.

  In order to keep heating elements such as engines, motor generators, and inverters mounted on vehicles such as hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles at an appropriate temperature, a cooling system that circulates a coolant and exchanges heat is known. In the cooling system, generally, a reserve tank for buffering a change in volume accompanying a temperature change of the coolant is arranged (for example, Patent Documents 1 to 4).

JP 2010-019157 A JP 2009-121301 A JP-A-6-185358 JP-A-5-209522

  FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of a conventional reserve tank. A reserve tank 200 shown in FIG. 5 includes a tank main body 112, a coolant inlet 14, and a coolant outlet 16. The tank main body 112 includes a first chamber 118 having a cap 110 provided on the upper portion thereof, a second chamber 120 adjacent to the first chamber 118 via the first partition plate 132, and a second partition plate. A third chamber 122 adjacent to the second chamber 120 via 134 and provided with a coolant inlet 14 and a coolant outlet 16 at the lower portion thereof. Inside the cap 110, a pressure valve for adjusting the internal pressure of the tank body 112 is provided. Further, the first partition plate 132 and the second partition plate 134 have communication holes 128 and 130 that allow the coolant to flow, and air holes 124 that allow the air that exists above the coolant to flow. , 126 are formed respectively.

  The configuration and operation of the pressure valve provided in the cap 110 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B. As shown in FIG. 6A, the cap 110 includes a cap body 136, a spring 138 and a valve body 140 that constitute a main part of the pressure valve, vent holes 142, 144, 146, and a drain 148. The upper end of the spring 138 is fixed to the cap body 136 or the vicinity thereof, and the lower end is fixed to the central portion of the valve body 140.

  When the temperature of the coolant flowing through the cooling system rises, the pressure in the coolant flow path increases accordingly. When the internal pressure of the tank body 112 exceeds a predetermined pressure, the valve body 140 is pushed by the fluid pressure (for example, air) that flows in through the vent hole 142, and the spring 138 is compressed. Then, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the valve body 140 rises and the vent hole 142 and the vent holes 144 and 146 communicate with each other, the fluid is discharged from the drain 148 to the outside. In this way, the pressure inside the cooling system including the reserve tank 200 can be adjusted. Note that the fluid introduced through the vent hole 142 and discharged from the drain 148 is usually air in the reserve tank 200, but the coolant level fluctuates due to vibration during traveling, road surface inclination, and other various conditions. Thus, when the coolant is in contact with or close to the lower portion of the cap 110, the coolant may be included.

  When the reserve tank 200 having such a configuration is mounted on a vehicle, generally, the first chamber 118 side may be disposed on the front side and the third chamber 122 side on the rear side. At this time, for example, when traveling on a downhill, the coolant in the reserve tank 200 is placed under a condition in which the first chamber 118 side where the cap 110 is provided is positioned lower than the third chamber 122 side. May come into contact with the lower part of the cap 110 (see FIG. 6B).

  In addition, due to the demand for mounting space in the vehicle, the volume of the reserve tank 200 on the side where the cap 110 is disposed (for example, the front side) as shown in FIG. 7 may be smaller than other parts. In the reserve tank 200 having such a shape, the fluctuation of the coolant level becomes significant even with a slight inclination. Then, when the frequency of contact of the coolant with the lower side of the cap 110 increases due to the inclination of the reserve tank 200, the coolant is easily leaked to the outside of the reserve tank 200 by the operation of the pressure valve accompanying the increase of the internal pressure (FIG. reference).

  An object of the present invention is to provide a reserve tank that can prevent or suppress leakage of the coolant from the cap portion due to a change in the coolant level. Another object of the present invention is to facilitate the replacement operation of the coolant.

  The present invention is a tank body for storing a coolant, partitioned by a partition plate, an inlet for allowing the coolant to flow into the tank body, an outlet for allowing the coolant to flow out from the tank body, A detachable cap having a pressure valve for adjusting the internal pressure of the tank body, and an openable / closable deaeration valve for degassing from the inside of the tank body. A first chamber provided with the cap on the top, a second chamber adjacent to the first chamber via a first partition plate, and provided with the deaeration valve on the top; A third chamber adjacent to the second chamber via the partition plate and communicating with the inflow port and the outflow port. The first partition plate includes the first chamber and the first chamber. A first communication hole for allowing the coolant to flow between the two chambers is formed; The partition plate includes a second communication hole that allows the coolant to flow between the second chamber and the third chamber, and air between the second chamber and the third chamber. The reserve tank is formed with an air hole that enables the circulation of the gas, and the deaeration valve opens and closes in conjunction with the removal of the cap.

  It is possible to prevent or suppress leakage of the coolant from the cap portion due to the change in the coolant level.

It is sectional drawing which shows the outline of a structure of a reserve tank. It is a figure for demonstrating gas-liquid separation when the reserve tank shown in FIG. 1 is inclined. It is an enlarged view of the principal part containing a cap and a deaeration valve of a reserve tank. It is the figure which looked at the principal part containing the cap and deaeration valve shown in FIG. 3 in cross section. It is sectional drawing which shows the outline of a structure of the conventional reserve tank. It is the enlarged view which looked at the upper part of the tank main body containing a cap. It is the enlarged view which looked at the upper part of the tank main body containing a cap. FIG. 6 is a top view of an example of the reserve tank shown in FIG. 5. It is a figure for demonstrating gas-liquid separation when the reserve tank shown in FIG. 5 is inclined.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted in some cases.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the configuration of a reserve tank according to an embodiment of the present invention. A reserve tank 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes a tank body 12, a coolant inlet 14, and a coolant outlet 16. The tank body 12 is provided with a first chamber 18 having a cap 10 provided at an upper portion thereof, and a deaeration valve 25 provided at an upper portion thereof, and is adjacent to the first chamber 18 via a first partition plate 32. Two chambers 20 and a third chamber 22 adjacent to the second chamber 20 via the second partition plate 34 and provided with the cooling liquid inlet 14 and the cooling liquid outlet 16 at the lower portion thereof. By providing, favorable gas-liquid separation property is ensured. A pressure valve for adjusting the internal pressure of the tank body 12 is provided in the cap 10. In addition, the second partition plate 34 is formed with a communication hole 30 that allows the coolant to flow and an air hole 26 that allows the air existing above the coolant to flow. On the other hand, the first partition plate 32 is formed with a communication hole 28 that allows the coolant to flow.

  In the reserve tank 100 having such a configuration, since the first partition plate 32 is not provided with an opening corresponding to the air hole 124 shown in FIG. 5, the first chamber 18, the second chamber 20, and The movement of air existing in the upper part of the third chamber 22 is restricted. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 2, even when the reserve tank 100 is tilted so that the first chamber 18 side is lowered, an increase in the capacity of the cooling liquid inside the first chamber 18 is suppressed, and the cap The contact of the coolant to the lower side of 10 is suppressed. Further, by providing a deaeration valve 25 in the upper part of the second chamber 20 where the air flow between the first chamber 18 and the first chamber 18 is restricted, the cooling liquid is discharged and supplied by opening the cap 10. It can also contribute to good liquid injection properties at the time of discharge, particularly at the time of discharge.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that the deaeration valve 25 be configured to open and close in conjunction with the removal of the cap 10. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of the reserve tank 100 illustrating the outline of the configuration of the cap 10 and the deaeration valve 25 having such a configuration. The upper side of FIG. 3 is a top view, and the lower side is a cross-sectional view from the same side as FIG. The cap 10 illustrated in FIG. 3 includes an annular interlocking opening / closing member 50 for opening and closing the deaeration valve 25 in conjunction with the attachment / detachment of the cap body 36 between the tank body 12 and the cap body 36. The interlocking opening / closing member 50 is fixed to the surface of the tank body 12 via spring members 52 and 54, and is integrally formed with the deaeration valve 25 or bonded and fixed to the deaeration valve 25. For this reason, the deaeration valve 25 opens and closes in conjunction with the vertical movement of the interlocking open / close member 50. The cap 10 is also provided with a pressure valve for adjusting the internal pressure of the tank body 12 therein. The configuration of the pressure valve can be the same as that of the pressure valve provided in the cap 110 shown in FIG. 5, but the detailed configuration is not shown.

  In the reserve tank including the cap 10 and the deaeration valve 25 having such a configuration, when the cap body 36 is removed for the replacement work of the coolant, the interlocking opening / closing member 50 is pushed up by the action of the spring members 52 and 54, Accordingly, the deaeration valve 25 is opened (see FIG. 4). For this reason, the coolant can be discharged smoothly. On the other hand, when the cap body 36 is attached, the interlocking opening / closing member 50 is pushed down, and the deaeration valve 25 is sealed accordingly. That is, since the opening and closing of the deaeration valve 25 can be performed in conjunction with only the operation of attaching and detaching the cap body 36, not only the coolant can be replaced by the same operation procedure as before, but also the opening and closing of the deaeration valve 25 is performed. It can be implemented reliably.

  The present invention can be used in a cooling system for maintaining a heating element mounted on a vehicle such as a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle at an appropriate temperature.

  10, 110 Cap, 12, 112 Tank body, 14 Coolant inlet, 16 Coolant outlet, 18, 118 First chamber, 20, 120 Second chamber, 22, 122 Third chamber, 25 Deaeration Valve, 26, 124, 126 Air hole, 28, 30, 128, 130 Communication hole, 32, 34, 132, 134 Partition plate, 36, 136 Cap body, 50 Interlocking opening / closing member, 52, 54 Spring member, 100, 200 Reserve tank, 138 spring, 140 valve body, 142, 144, 146 vent hole, 148 drain.

Claims (1)

A tank body for storing a coolant, partitioned by a partition plate;
An inlet through which the coolant flows into the tank body;
An outlet through which the coolant flows out of the tank body;
A detachable cap having a pressure valve for adjusting the internal pressure of the tank body;
An openable / closable deaeration valve for degassing the inside of the tank body;
With
The tank body has a first chamber provided with the cap on the top, and a second chamber adjacent to the first chamber via a first partition plate and provided with the deaeration valve on the top. And a third chamber that is adjacent to the second chamber via a second partition plate and communicates with the inflow port and the outflow port,
The first partition plate is formed with a first communication hole that allows the coolant to flow between the first chamber and the second chamber,
The second partition plate includes a second communication hole that allows the coolant to flow between the second chamber and the third chamber, and the second chamber and the third chamber. Air holes are formed to allow air flow between them,
A reserve tank, wherein the deaeration valve opens and closes in conjunction with the removal of the cap.

Images