The invention relates to a stacking disk oil cooler for a motor vehicle engine, comprising several trough-shaped plates which, with their upright edges situated inside one another, are stacked in a spaced manner and are soldered together for forming adjacent hollow chambers, the lowest plate being mounted on a base plate.
Stacking disk oil coolers of this type are known from European Patent Document EP 0 623 798 A2. In the case of constructions of this type, the lowest of the trough-shaped plates, which is mounted on the base plate, forms the weakest link with respect to the stability. Oil coolers are generally fastened directly by means of the base plate on the engine block and, during the operation of the engine, are therefore subjected to extremely high lateral acceleration forces. As a rule, stacking disk oil coolers of the above-mentioned type do not withstand such forces. During the operation, the lowest disk may deform so that the effect of the cooler becomes doubtful.
It is an object of the present invention to further develop a stacking disk oil cooler of the initially mentioned type such that it corresponds to the stability requirements also when it is mounted directly on the engine block so that it will not be necessary to use other cooler constructions for these types of mountings.
For achieving this object, it is provided according to the invention in the case of a stacking disk oil cooler of the initially mentioned type that a reinforcing disk is arranged between the base plate and the lowest plate, which reinforcing disk is provided with a rim surrounding the edge of the lowest plate. By means of this arrangement, the thin edge of the lowest plate, which when installed directly on the engine block is subjected to the risk of buckling, is reinforced so that in a relatively simple manner stacking disk oil coolers are also suitable for a direct mounting on the engine block. Because of their higher stability, oil coolers according to the invention can also be used for different purposes if higher stability is important, according to other contemplated embodiments.
As a further development of certain preferred embodiments of the invention, the rim has the shape of upright tabs which rest only against the longitudinal and transverse sides of the edge of the rectangular plate. This permits a very simple development of the reinforcing disk which, however, nevertheless results in the desired reinforcing effect. In a further development of certain preferred embodiments of the invention, the tabs may project from the reinforcing plate at an angle which is adapted to the angle of slope of the edges of the plate, and are correspondingly bent for this purpose. In this case, it is not necessary that a contact takes place in the bending area with the edge bend of the lowest plate. It is sufficient for the tabs to rest against the longitudinal and transverse sides of the upright edge of the lowest plate so that, as a result, they project into an area in which, because of its construction, the stacking disk oil cooler already has a higher stability. An adaptation of the tabs of the reinforcing disk also in the bending area, which is more difficult to implement, is usually unnecessary but, if the use is extreme, can also be implemented.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.