Heat Exchanger

Abstract

A heat exchanger for a vehicle is provided. The heat exchanger includes a housing, a portion of the housing defining a boundary of a coolant channel traversing the heat exchanger, the housing including a first and second opposing side having a layered construction, the first side positioned at a vehicle periphery and including a greater number of layers than the second side. The heat exchanger further includes coolant inlet and outlet ports fluidly coupled to coolant passages.

1 . A heat exchanger for a vehicle comprising:
 a housing, a portion of the housing defining a boundary of a coolant channel traversing the heat exchanger, the housing including first and second opposing sides having a layered construction, the first side positioned at a vehicle periphery and including a greater number of layers than the second side; and   coolant inlet and outlet ports fluidly coupled to coolant passages.   
     
     
         2 . The heat exchanger of  claim 1 , wherein the layers of the first and/or second side are folded. 
     
     
         3 . The heat exchanger of  claim 2 , wherein the housing is formed of a continuous piece of material. 
     
     
         4 . The heat exchanger of  claim 1 , wherein the second side includes a single layer of material. 
     
     
         5 . The heat exchanger of  claim 1 , wherein the coolant passages traverse a portion of an engine. 
     
     
         6 . The heat exchanger of  claim 5 , wherein the coolant passages traverse a cylinder head and/or a cylinder block, the cylinder head and the cylinder block forming at least one combustion chamber. 
     
     
         7 . The heat exchanger of  claim 1 , further comprising a second housing, a portion of the second housing defining a boundary of a second coolant channel traversing the heat exchanger, the second housing including a first and second opposing side each side having a layered construction, the first side positioned at the vehicle periphery and including a greater number of layers than the second side. 
     
     
         8 . The heat exchanger of  claim 7 , further comprising at least one fin extending between the first housing and the second housing. 
     
     
         9 . The heat exchanger of  claim 1 , wherein a portion of the housing defines a boundary of a second coolant channel traversing the heat exchanger, the second coolant channel positioned adjacent to the second side. 
     
     
         10 . The heat exchanger of  claim 1 , wherein the coolant inlet and outlet ports are fluidly coupled to coolant passages traversing a cylinder head and/or a cylinder block in an engine. 
     
     
         11 . A heat exchanger for a vehicle comprising:
 a housing formed from a continuous piece of ductile material, a portion of the housing defining a boundary of a coolant channel traversing the heat exchanger, the housing including a first and second opposing side each side having a layered construction, the first side positioned at a vehicle periphery and including a greater number of layers than the second side;   coolant inlet and outlet ports fluidly coupled to one or more coolant passages traversing an engine.   
     
     
         12 . The heat exchanger of  claim 11 , further comprising a second housing, a portion of the second housing defining a boundary of a second coolant channel traversing the heat exchanger, the second housing including a first and second opposing side each side having a layered construction, the first side positioned near a front of the vehicle and including a greater number of layers than the second side. 
     
     
         13 . The heat exchanger of  claim 12 , further comprising at least one fin extending between the first housing and the second housing. 
     
     
         14 . The heat exchanger of  claim 11 , wherein a portion of the housing defines a boundary of a second coolant channel traversing the heat exchanger, the second coolant channel positioned adjacent to the second side. 
     
     
         15 . The heat exchanger of  claim 11 , wherein a cross-section of the coolant channel perpendicular to the general direction of coolant flow is non-circular. 
     
     
         16 . The heat exchanger of  claim 11 , wherein the housing is constructed out of a ductile material. 
     
     
         17 . A heat exchanger for a vehicle comprising:
 a housing formed from a continuous piece of material, a portion of the housing defining a boundary of a coolant channel traversing the heat exchanger, the housing including a first and second opposing side each side having a layered construction, the first side positioned at a vehicle periphery and including a greater number of layers than the second side;   coolant inlet and outlet ports fluidly coupled to one or more coolant passages traversing a cylinder block and/or a cylinder head in an engine.   
     
     
         18 . The heat exchanger of  claim 17 , wherein the layers of the first side are folded and in face sharing contact. 
     
     
         19 . The heat exchanger of  claim 17 , further comprising a second housing, a portion of the second housing defining a boundary of a second coolant channel traversing the heat exchanger, the second housing including a first and second opposing side each side having a layered construction, the first side positioned near the vehicle periphery and including a greater number of layers than the second side. 
     
     
         20 . The heat exchanger of  claim 19 , further comprising at least one fin extending between the first housing and the second housing.