Oil cooler

Abstract

In an oil cooler, oil flow inlet and oil flow outlet are respectively opened on the laminated core itself at overlapped parts of a laminated core, the laminated core constituting a heat exchanger, and a base plate, with respect to at least one of the oil flow inlet and the oil flow outlet, a corresponding oil flow input or oil flow output port being formed on the base plate to be offset toward an outside of a projection configuration region of the laminated core and an oil passage is extended within the base plate to bridge over both of inside and outside of the projection configuration region of the laminated core to connect at least one of the oil flow inlet and the oil flow outlet to the corresponding oil flow input port of the base plate or oil flow output port of the base plate.

1 . An oil cooler comprising:
 a laminated core including a multiple number of plates laminated to form alternately a coolant chamber and an oil chamber between the mutually adjacent plates, the laminated core functioning to be a heat exchanger;   a base plate on which the laminated core is overlapped and having a configuration larger than a projection configuration region of the laminated core in a plate lamination direction of the laminated core, the base plate functioning to be an attachment section of the laminated core to a mating equipment;   oil flow input and output ports respectively opened at an attachment surface of the base plate to the mating equipment and connected to oil passages of the mating equipment opened at a seated surface of the mating equipment to the base plate;   oil flow inlet and oil flow outlet respectively opened on the laminated core itself at overlapped parts of the laminated core and the base plate, with respect to at least one of the oil flow inlet and the oil flow outlet, the corresponding oil flow input or oil flow output port being formed on the base plate to be offset toward an outside of the projection configuration region of the laminated core; and   an oil passage extended within the base plate to bridge over both of inside and outside of the projection configuration region of the laminated core to connect at least one of the oil flow inlet and the oil flow outlet to the corresponding oil flow input port of the base plate or oil flow output port of the base plate.   
     
     
         2 . The oil cooler as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the base plate is formed with at least two sheets of mutually overlapped plate elements and the oil passage of the base plate is formed between the two sheets of plate elements. 
     
     
         3 . The oil cooler as claimed in  claim 2 , wherein the oil passage of the base plate includes: an inner passage section located near to the projection configuration region of the laminated core; and an outer passage section located nearer to an opposite side of the projection configuration region of the laminated core than the inner passage section and located near to the laminated core with respect to a plate thickness direction of the base plate, both of the inner and outer passage sections being communicated with each other and being offset from each other in the plate thickness direction of the base plate. 
     
     
         4 . The oil cooler as claimed in  claim 3 , wherein the outer passage section is formed on one of the two sheets of the plate elements at the laminated core side and the inner passage section is formed on the other of the two sheets of plate elements at the opposite side of the laminated core, respectively. 
     
     
         5 . The oil cooler as claimed in  claim 4 , wherein an inner communication port connecting either the oil flow inlet or the oil flow outlet to the inner passage section and the outer passage section are formed on one of the plate elements located at the laminated core side and the oil flow input port connecting one of the oil passages of the mating equipment to the outer passage section and the inner passage section are formed on the other of the plate elements located at an opposite side of the laminated core. 
     
     
         6 . The oil cooler as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the mating equipment is a transmission casing of an automatic transmission mounted in a vehicle. 
     
     
         7 . The oil cooler as claimed in  claim 6 , wherein the oil flow input port of the base plate is offset with respect to the corresponding oil flow inlet) of the laminated core toward the outside of the projection configuration region of the laminated core. 
     
     
         8 . The oil cooler as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein a base plate main frame constituting the base plate and located at the opposite side of the laminated core is partially supported by the transmission casing. 
     
     
         9 . The oil cooler as claimed in  claim 8 , wherein the base plate main frame is embossed and protruded toward an inside of the transmission casing and joined with a boss section of the transmission casing. 
     
     
         10 . The oil cooler as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein an inner communication port connecting the oil flow inlet to the oil passage of the base plate is integrally formed with the oil passage of the base plate connected directly between the inner communication port and the oil flow inlet port without an offset of the oil passage of the base plate in a plate thickness direction of the base plate. 
     
     
         11 . The oil cooler as claimed in  claim 10 , wherein the base plate comprises: an embossed section protruded from the projection configuration region of the laminated core toward one of the oil passages of the transmission casing through which oil is caused to flow toward the oil flow input port; and a base plate main frame on which the oil flow input port is formed. 
     
     
         12 . The oil cooler as claimed in  claim 10 , wherein the base plate comprises: an embossed section formed on a base plate main frame of the base plate and protruded from the projection configuration region of the laminated core toward one of the oil passages through which oil is caused to flow toward the oil flow input port and a distance plate on which only the inner communication port is formed. 
     
     
         13 . The oil cooler as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein the oil passage of the base plate comprises: an inner passage section located near to the projection configuration region of the laminated core; an outer passage section located nearer to an opposite side of the projection configuration region of the laminated core than the inner passage section and located near to the laminated core with respect to a plate thickness direction of the base plate, both of the inner and outer passage sections being communicated with each other and being offset from each other in the plate thickness direction of the base plate and an inner communication port connecting the oil flow inlet to the inner passage section is formed on the base plate. 
     
     
         14 . The oil cooler as claimed in  claim 13 , wherein the base plate comprises a cover plate, a distance plate on which the inner communication port is formed, and a base plate main frame located at the seated surface of the transmission casing, the outer passage section being formed between the cover plate and the outer passage and the inner passage section being formed between the distance plate and the base plate main frame. 
     
     
         15 . The oil cooler as claimed in  claim 10 , wherein the base plate comprises a base plate main frame located at the seated surface of the transmission casing, a first distance plate, and a second distance plate located at the laminated core side, the inner communication port being formed on the second distance plate and the oil passage of the base plate being defined by the first distance plate, the second distance plate, and the base plate main frame. 
     
     
         16 . An oil cooler, comprising:
 a heat exchanger constituted by a plurality of plates laminated to form alternately a plurality of coolant chambers and a plurality of oil chambers, each coolant chamber being connected to coolant input and output pipes and each oil chamber being connected to a corresponding one of oil passages of a mating equipment mounted in a vehicle;   a plate form attachment section configured to attach the heat exchanger onto the mating equipment, the plate form attachment section being overlapped with the heat exchanger and having a configuration larger than a projection configuration region of the heat exchanger in a plate form lamination direction of the heat, exchanger;   oil flow input and output ports respectively opened at an attachment surface of the plate form attachment section to the mating equipment and connected to the oil passages of the mating equipment which are opened at a seated surface of the mating equipment; and   oil flow inlet and outlet respectively opened on the heat exchanger through which oil is caused to flow into and out of each oil chamber of the heat exchanger, a position of at least one of the oil flow input and output ports of the plate form attachment section being offset from the corresponding one of the oil flow inlet and outlet of the heat exchanger toward an external to the projection configuration region and the plate form attachment section having an oil passage extended over both of internal and external to the projection configuration region of the heat exchanger to connect at least one of the oil flow inlet and outlet to the corresponding one of the oil flow and output ports of the plate form attachment section.