Staggered Core Cooler for a Vehicle

Abstract

A core cooler for a vehicle includes a plurality of cooling cores successively arranged from a first end to a second end, each of the cooling cores being fluidly isolated from the other cooling cores and including a first tank each having a respective first fluid port, a second tank each having a respective second fluid port, and at least one fluid passage between the first tank and the second tank and defining a heat transfer surface. The second fluid ports of the second tanks extend toward and are associated with a common edge of the core cooler. Each second tank of the respective cooling cores is staggered relative to an adjacent second tank.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A core cooler for a cooling arrangement of a vehicle, the core cooler comprising:
 a plurality of cooling cores successively arranged from a first end of the core cooler to a second end of the core cooler, each of the plurality of cooling cores being fluidly isolated from others of the plurality of cooling cores and comprising a first tank having a respective first fluid port, a second tank having a respective second fluid port, and at least one fluid passage between the first tank and the second tank and defining a heat transfer surface, the second fluid ports of the second tanks extending toward and being associated with a common edge of the core cooler,   wherein each second tank of respective cooling cores is staggered relative to an adjacent second tank.   
     
     
         2 . The core cooler of  claim 1 , wherein two or more of the second tanks of the respective cooling cores are stacked on top of a successive second tank. 
     
     
         3 . The core cooler of  claim 1 , wherein the respective first fluid ports of the first tanks all extend in a first fluid flow direction and the respective second fluids ports of the second tanks all extend in a second fluid flow direction, wherein the second fluid flow direction extends through a plane defined by a side surface of the core cooler and the first fluid flow direction extends through a plane defined by the side surface of the core cooler. 
     
     
         4 . The core cooler of  claim 3 , wherein the second fluid flow direction is rotated 90° relative to the first fluid flow direction. 
     
     
         5 . The core cooler of  claim 1 , wherein the cooling cores each define a core height between their respective first tank and their respective second tank, the core heights of at least two cooling cores being unequal. 
     
     
         6 . The core cooler of  claim 5 , wherein the core heights of the cooling cores increase in a direction toward the second end of the core cooler. 
     
     
         7 . The core cooler of  claim 1 , wherein the respective second tank of each cooling core defines a tank width, the tank widths of at least two of the second tanks being unequal. 
     
     
         8 . The core cooler of  claim 7 , wherein the tank widths of the second tanks increase in a direction toward the second end of the core cooler. 
     
     
         9 . The core cooler of  claim 1 , wherein the fluid passages of the cooling cores all extend generally parallel to one another. 
     
     
         10 . The core cooler of  claim 1 , wherein two or more of the cooling cores have a different number of fluid passages and two or more of the cooling cores have a same number of fluid passages. 
     
     
         11 . The core cooler of  claim 1 , wherein the respective first fluid ports of the first tanks are inlets and the respective second fluid ports of the second tanks are outlets. 
     
     
         12 . The core cooler of  claim 1 , further comprising a cooling fan configured to flow cooling air across the plurality of cooling cores. 
     
     
         13 . A vehicle comprising:
 a core cooler comprising a plurality of cooling cores successively arranged from a first end of the core cooler to a second end of the core cooler, each of the cooling cores being fluidly isolated from the other cooling cores and comprising a first tank each having a respective first fluid port, a second tank each having a respective second fluid port, and at least one fluid passage between the first tank and the second tank and defining a heat transfer surface, the second fluid ports of the second tanks extending toward and being associated with a common edge of the core cooler, wherein each second tank of the respective cooling cores is staggered relative to an adjacent second tank; and   a plurality of components each fluidly coupled to a respective one of the plurality of cooling cores of the core cooler.   
     
     
         14 . The vehicle of  claim 13 , wherein each component is configured to output a heated fluid to a respectively coupled cooling core, two or more of the heated fluids being different from one another.