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DENSO Introduces Integrated Cooling Module for Automotive Market

29 August 2000

DENSO Introduces World's First Integrated Cooling Module for Automotive Market

    SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Aug. 29 Japan-based DENSO Corporation,
parent company of DENSO International America, today announced the product
introduction of an automotive cooling module with a combined engine-cooling
radiator and air conditioning condenser.
    "This is a first in the global automotive market," said DENSO Corporation
Managing Director Koichi Fukaya.
    The new module -- SF* Cooling Module -- is already in Toyota Motor
Corporation's Prius hybrid car, which was introduced in the U.S. this July and
will be launched in the European market this autumn.
    "Compared with the conventional approach of a separate radiator and a
separate air conditioner condenser, DENSO's new module achieves a 40 percent
reduction in thickness," Fukaya said.  "This offers greater space savings and
improves installation in vehicles."
    Fukaya added, "The SF Cooling Module also improves cooling performance of
both the engine coolant and air conditioner refrigerant by roughly 10
percent."
    The cooling fins of the module are shared by the radiator and condenser.
Heat transfer from the radiator to the condenser through shared cooling fins
has been an industry-wide issue.  Radiator coolant generally rises to a
temperature of about 90 degrees centigrade, which is higher than the 60
degrees centigrade of condenser refrigerant.  The difference in temperature
was considered to hinder air conditioning performance.
    "DENSO has solved the issue of heat transfer jointly with Toyota, by
developing a fin that incorporates a slit**, which optimizes radiator and
condenser performance," said Fukaya.  "For easy disassembly and increased
ability for module recycling, DENSO has eliminated the conventional resin
radiator tank and adopted all-aluminum materials."
    A radiator is a device for cooling the engine coolant while a condenser is
intended to remove heat from air conditioner refrigerant.  Both the radiator
and condenser are installed forward of the engine for better exposure to
cooling airflow during operation of the car.
    "Two approaches are taken in the modularization of auto components:
assembly modularization, wherein parts manufacturers undertake the assembly
process for the automotive maker; and function-intensive, value-added
modularization, through which the functions of two or more parts are
integrated into a single module," Fukaya said.
    According to Fukaya, DENSO's approach is to foster modularization with the
goal of creating greater added value.  To promote value-added modularization,
DENSO restructured its company organization, in January 1999, by integrating
functionally similar product lines into four business groups."
    The SF Cooling Module was developed through joint work between two
divisions of the Thermal Systems Group: the Cooling Systems & Components
Product Division, which is in charge of radiators, and the Air-conditioning
Product Division, which is in charge of air conditioners.