Circulating cooling installation for piston internal combustion engines

Claim 2

A circulating cooling installation for piston internal combustion engines, which comprises cooling jacket means and control means operable to limit the cooling medium circulation through the cooling jacket means at least within the area of the combustion zones of the engine up to a first predetermined limit value after the cold start of the engine, above the first predetermined limit value to initially confine the circulation to a closed circulation by-passing a radiator means and avoiding a fresh water exchange, and above a further predetermined temperature limit value to include in the cooling medium circulation the radiator means and at least one of heat-exchanger means and fresh water exchange, the control means including a first means and a three-way thermostat means each having a separate control element, the first means being actuated after reaching the first limit value and the three-way thermostat means being actuated after reaching the further temperature limit value, characterized in that the control element of said first means is arranged at a place at which at least approximately the highest occurring cooling medium temperature becomes effective when the cooling medium stands still, whereas the control element of the three-way thermostat means is disposed in the flow area of the closed circulation.

Claim 3

An installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the first predetermined limit value is a predetermined first temperature value of the engine.

Claim 4

An installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the first predetermined limit value is a predetermined period of time after the cold start of the engine.

Claim 5

An installation according to claim 3, characterized in that the first predetermined limit value is a predetermined first temperature value of the engine.

Claim 6

An installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the first means is a cooling medium valve means.

Claim 7

An installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the first means is a cooling medium pump means adapted to be shut off.

Claim 8

An installation according to claim 6, characterized in that the first means is a cooling medium valve means.

Claim 9

An installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the control elements are expansion elements.

Claim 10

An installation according to claim 1, characterized in that the closed circulation includes a by-pass circulation means.

Claim 11

An installation according to claim 1, which includes a by-pass means, and in which a cooling medium valve means forming part of the first means and the three-way thermostat means are combined in a common thermostat housing means, characterized in that the cooling medium valve means and a disk valve means of the three-way thermostat means which controls the by-pass means, respectively open and close two control aperture means disposed in series with each other in the flow direction.

Claim 12

An installation with a line system with several cooling medium lines including a radiator return line and a cooling medium return line, according to claim 10, characterized in that the thermostat housing means includes two parts, and in that a simple-acting thermostat insert means is provided as cooling medium valve means and a double-acting thermostat insert means is provided as three-way thermostat means, said simple-acting thermostat insert means including one disk valve means and one expansion element while the double-acting thermostat insert means includes two disk valve means and one expansion element, the cooling medium valve means being arranged within the area of a branching place of one of said cooling medium lines, at which a line section connected with a cooling-jacket discharge aperture means located at a geodetically high place splits up into the by-pass means and into a free cooling medium line extending to the radiator means, in such a manner and being sealingly clamped by means of a fastening flange means connected with a valve seat means in a separating plane between the two housing parts in such a manner that the expansion element of the cooling medium valve means protrudes into said one cooling medium line, and the three-way thermostat means being arranged within the area of a combining place of the cooling medium lines, in which at least the by-pass means, the radiator return line and the return line to the cooling medium pump means terminate in such a manner and being sealingly clamped by means of a fastening flange means, at which is formed a valve seat means, between the two housing parts in such a manner that the expansion element of the thermostat means is located at least in part in the combining place and the disk valve means thereof alternately control the radiator return line and the by-pass means.

Claim 13

An installation according to claim 11, characterized in that the thermostat housing means essentially consists of a housing part containing essentially the branching and combining places, of an approximately cylindrical housing insert means which is arrangeD inside said housing part between the two separating planes and which includes an end face abutment collar for the support against the fastening flange means of the cooling valve means and of the three-way thermostat means as well as at least one radial aperture means for the return line to the cooling medium pump means, and of a housing cover which abuts with a flange surface in the separating plane containing the fastening flange means of the three-way thermostat means, against at least one of the two parts consisting of an end face of the housing part and an abutment collar of the housing insert means, forms a part of the radiator return line and receives a part of the three-way thermostat means.

Claim 14

An installation according to claim 12, characterized in that the control aperture means for the disk valve means of the three-way thermostat means controlling the by-pass means is arranged at the housing insert means.

Claim 15

An installation according to claim 13, characterized in that the control elements are expansion elements.

Claim 16

An installation according to claim 11, characterized in that the control aperture means for the disk valve means of the three-way thermostat means controlling the by-pass means is arranged at the housing insert means.