Cooling system for internal combustion engine
View Patent ↗During engine warm-up, a flow regulating unit in a cooling system operates in a fuel efficiency priority mode. In this mode, a head-side cooling water flow rate (Qhd) is regulated to be equal to or smaller than a first upper limit; a block-side cooling water flow rate (Qbk) is regulated to be equal to or smaller than a second upper limit; and cooling water flowing out of a block-side passage and a head-side passage flows mainly into a bypass passage. When a heating request to heat blown air is made during engine warm-up, the regulating unit operates in a heating priority mode. In this mode, Qhd is regulated to be equal to or smaller than a third upper limit; Qbk is regulated to be equal to or smaller than a fourth upper limit; and at least cooling water flowing out of the head-side passage flows into a heat exchanger.
1. A cooling system for cooling an internal combustion engine by a flow of cooling water through the engine such that temperature of the engine in normal operation falls within a predetermined temperature range, wherein:
at least a part of cooling water is used for a heat source for heating air blown toward an air-conditioning target space; and
the engine includes a cylinder block, a block-side passage through which cooling water for cooling the cylinder block flows, a cylinder head, and a head-side passage through which cooling water for cooling the cylinder head flows, the cooling system comprising:
a cooling water pressure-feeding unit configured to pressure-feed cooling water into the block-side passage and the head-side passage;
a heating heat exchanger configured to exchange heat between cooling water flowing out from at least one of the block-side passage and the head-side passage, and the blown air;
a radiating heat exchanger configured to exchange heat between cooling water flowing out of the block-side passage and the head-side passage, and outside air, so that cooling water radiates heat;
a bypass passage that guides cooling water flowing out of the block-side passage and the head-side passage to bypass the heating heat exchanger and the radiating heat exchanger and to flow into a suction side of the cooling water pressure-feeding unit; and
a flow regulating unit configured to regulate at least one of a block-side cooling water flow rate, which is a flow rate of cooling water flowing through the block-side passage, and a head-side cooling water flow rate, which is a flow rate of cooling water flowing through the head-side passage, wherein:
at a time of warm-up of the engine, the flow regulating unit is configured to operate in a fuel efficiency priority mode in which:
the flow regulating unit regulates the head-side cooling water flow rate to be equal to or smaller than a first upper limit, which is equal to or smaller than the head-side cooling water flow rate when the engine is in the normal operation;
the flow regulating unit regulates the block-side cooling water flow rate to be equal to or smaller than a second upper limit, which is equal to or smaller than the first upper limit; and
the flow regulating unit regulates the flow of cooling water such that cooling water flowing out of the block-side passage and the head-side passage flows mainly into the bypass passage; and
when a heating request to heat the blown air by the heating heat exchanger is made at the time of warm-up of the engine, the flow regulating unit is configured to operate in a heating priority mode in which:
the flow regulating unit regulates the head-side cooling water flow rate to be equal to or smaller than a third upper limit, which is equal to or smaller than the head-side cooling water flow rate when the engine is in the normal operation and higher than the first upper limit;
the flow regulating unit regulates the block-side cooling water flow rate to be equal to or smaller than a fourth upper limit, which is equal to or smaller than the third upper limit; and
the flow regulating unit regulates the flow of cooling water such that at least cooling water flowing out of the head-side passage flows into the heating heat exchanger.
2. The cooling system according to claim 1 , wherein a temperature of cooling water flowing out from one of the block-side passage and the head-side passage is used for the temperature of the engine.
3. The cooling system according to claim 1 , wherein in the heating priority mode, the flow regulating unit is configured to decrease the head-side cooling water flow rate in a range that is equal to or smaller than the third upper limit in accordance with an increase in a temperature of cooling water flowing out from one of the block-side passage and the head-side passage.
4. The cooling system according to claim 1 , wherein in the heating priority mode, a head-side outlet temperature that is a temperature of cooling water flowing out of the head-side passage is lower than a block-side outlet temperature that is a temperature of cooling water flowing out of the block-side passage.
5. The cooling system according to claim 1 , wherein in the heating priority mode, when the engine is brought into an operating condition where an amount of fuel injected into the engine needs to be increased so as to cool a catalyst, which is connected to an exhaust passage of the engine for purifying exhaust gas of the engine, the third upper limit is increased.
6. The cooling system according to claim 1 , wherein in the heating priority mode, the flow regulating unit regulates the flow of cooling water such that cooling water flowing out of the block-side passage and the head-side passage flows into the heating heat exchanger without flowing into the radiating heat exchanger.
7. The cooling system according to claim 1 , wherein in the fuel efficiency priority mode, the flow regulating unit is configured to increase the head-side cooling water flow rate within the first upper limit in accordance with an increase in a temperature of cooling water flowing out from one of the block-side passage and the head-side passage.
8. The cooling system according to claim 1 , wherein in the fuel efficiency priority mode, a head-side outlet temperature that is a temperature of cooling water flowing out of the head-side passage is lower than a block-side outlet temperature that is a temperature of cooling water flowing out of the block-side passage.
9. The cooling system according to claim 1 , wherein in the fuel efficiency priority mode, when the engine is brought into an operating condition where a catalyst, which is connected to an exhaust passage of the engine for purifying exhaust gas of the engine, needs to be cooled or an operating condition where the engine is likely to cause knocking, the first upper limit is increased.
10. The cooling system according to claim 1 , wherein in the fuel efficiency priority mode, the flow regulating unit regulates the flow of cooling water such that cooling water flowing out of the block-side passage and the head-side passage flows into the bypass passage without flowing into the heating heat exchanger.
11. The cooling system according to claim 1 , wherein the heating heat exchanger is configured to exchange heat between cooling water, which is a mixture of cooling water flowing out of the block-side passage and cooling water flowing out of the head-side passage, and the blown air.
12. The cooling system according to claim 1 , wherein the heating heat exchanger includes:
a first heat exchanging part that is configured to exchange heat between the blown air and cooling water flowing out of the head-side passage; and
a second heat exchanging part that is configured to exchange heat between the blown air passing through the first heat exchange part and cooling water flowing out of the block-side passage.
13. The cooling system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the flow regulating unit includes a first flow regulating valve where cooling water flowing out of the block-side passage is divided between cooling water flowing toward the bypass passage and cooling water flowing toward the heating heat exchanger; and
the first flow regulating valve is configured to regulate a flow rate of cooling water flowing out toward the bypass passage and a flow rate of cooling water flowing out toward the heating heat exchanger.
14. The cooling system according to claim 13 , wherein:
the flow regulating unit includes a second flow regulating valve where cooling water flowing out of the head-side passage is divided between cooling water flowing toward the bypass passage and cooling water flowing toward the heating heat exchanger; and
the second flow regulating valve is configured to regulate a flow rate of cooling water flowing out toward the bypass passage and a flow rate of cooling water flowing out toward the heating heat exchanger.
15. The cooling system according to claim 1 , further comprising a heating request input unit configured to make a request to heat the blown air through operation thereof by a user of the cooling system, wherein the heating request includes the request to heat the blown air through the operation of the heating request input unit.
16. The cooling system according to claim 1 , wherein the heating request includes an outside air temperature being equal to or lower than a predetermined base outside air temperature.
17. The cooling system according to claim 1 , wherein the heating request includes an inside air temperature in the air-conditioning target space being equal to or lower than a predetermined base inside air temperature.