A VEHICLE COMPONENT HEATING DEVICE

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a vehicle component heating device according to the preamble of claim 1.

The invention is applicable on different vehicles having components to be heated, such as trucks and private cars. The invention is, however, not restricted to such vehicles, but may also be used for example in wheel loaders, articulated haulers, and excavators.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A truck is usually provided with many auxiliary components. Such auxiliary components are for example tool box, storage space, steps, rear deck, urea hoses, urea containers, urea injection and dosage apparatus, splash guards, number plate, etc. Due to the use of the vehicle when the outdoor temperature is low it is desired to heat these auxiliary components so as to improve or ensure the function thereof.

According to prior art some auxiliary components are electrically heated. However, the electrical heating capacity of a truck is limited by the size of the generator and the number of the batteries. When adding more and more auxiliary components to be heated, electrical heating is not longer possible without increasing the battery capacity. In particular, the use of components for lowering the emissions such as nitrogen oxides has resulted in an increased number of components to be heated.

Another solution to enable heating of auxiliary components is to use the cooling water of the engine of the vehicle. Cooling water is led from the cooling water circuit to the component and back to the cooling water circuit by means of hoses or similar. Such a solution has drawbacks since the risk of loosing the requisite cooling of the engine due to a failure is increased. For example a leakage of a hose used to lead the cooling water to the present component could result in an engine breakdown. Furthermore, the heating of

the component can not be independently controlled, but is strongly dependent on the temperature and flow of the cooling water in the cooling water circuit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is to provide a vehicle component heating device of the kind referred to in the introduction, which heating device can use a heat source of a vehicle for heating one or more components of the vehicle while reducing the risk of loosing the requisite cooling of the engine and enabling a more independent control of the heating of the component.

The object is achieved by a heating device according to claim 1.

By the provision of a heat exchanger for transmitting heat from the cooling medium of a cooling medium circuit of an engine of the vehicle, or from the engine oil of an engine oil circuit of the vehicle, to the heating medium of the heating circuit, heat can be transferred from the engine to the component in a safer way because the cooling of the engine can be ensured also in case any failure in the heating circuit would appear. By using a heating circuit which is separated from the heat source circuit, and preferably provided with a flow and/or temperature regulator, the flow and temperature of the heating medium can be varied without affecting the flow of the medium in the heat source circuit. Thus, the heating device can be controlled more independently of the heat source.

In addition to the increasing demand for heating different components arranged on the vehicle (among other things due to new components used for lowering the emissions), there is also a strong need to increase the cooling capacity of the vehicle. The internal combustion engines used today which work with very high combustion temperatures so as to lower the emissions require a lot of more cooling capacity. The use of a heat device according to the invention implies that additional cooling of the engine can be obtain without increasing the capacity of the radiator usually arranged in the front portion of the vehicle. This means that in some cases heat can be transmitted to a component although the primary purpose is not to heat the component, but to lower the temperature of the engine.

The invention relates also to a vehicle comprising a vehicle component heating device according to the invention.

Further advantages and advantageous features of the invention are disclosed in the following description and in the dependent claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

With reference to the appended drawings, below follows a more detailed description of embodiments of the invention cited as examples.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a schematic illustration of a vehicle provided with a heating device according to the invention, and

Fig. 2 is a variant of the invention illustrated in figure 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Figure 1 illustrates an internal combustion engine 1 provided with a cooling medium circuit 2 and a radiator 3 for cooling the engine 1. These components are arranged on a vehicle 4, such as a truck. A vehicle component heating device 5 according to the invention is also arranged on the vehicle 4 and illustrated in figure 1. The heating device 5 comprises a heating circuit 6 including a heating medium for transmitting heat to a component 7 arranged on the vehicle 4. The heating device 5 further comprises a heat exchanger 8 for transmitting heat from the cooling medium of the cooling medium circuit 2 of the engine 1 to the heating medium of the heating circuit 6. The heat exchanger 8 can be a counter flow heat exchanger using the cooling medium on the primary side and the heating medium on the secondary side of the heat exchanger 8.

In addition to the internal combustion engine 1 , the cooling medium circuit 2 and the radiator 3 illustrated in figure 1, an oil circuit 9 and an oil tray 10 for the engine 1 of the vehicle 4 are illustrated in figure 2. Figure 2 illustrates a variant of the invention where the heat device 5 comprises a heat exchanger 8b for transmitting heat from the engine oil of

the oil circuit 9 of the engine 1 to the heating medium of the heating circuit 6, and further to the component 7. The heat exchanger 8b can be a counter flow heat exchanger using the oil on the primary side and the heating medium on the secondary side of the heat exchanger 8b. The heat exchanger 8b can be arranged on the oil circuit 9 for example close to the oil tray 10 or in the oil tray.

It should be emphasised that the two main embodiments using the cooling medium and the oil, respectively, as illustrated in figures 1 and 2 could also be combined by using two heat exchangers.

Irrespective of which main embodiment is applied, the vehicle component heating device 5 can comprise some other equipment mentioned beiow. Accordingly, the heating device

5 may have a pump 11 arranged on the heating circuit 6 for transportation of the heating medium in the heating circuit 6. The heating device 5 preferably comprises a container 12 for providing said heating medium to the heating circuit 6. The heating device 5 is further suitably provided with a flow and/or temperature regulator 13, which can be arranged on the heating circuit 6 for controlling the flow and/or temperature of the heating medium.

Furthermore, it is stressed that one or more components 7 of different kinds can be heated. The auxiliary components mentioned in the introduction in this application are to be regarded as examples of such components.

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings; rather, the skilled person will recognize that many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims.