Truncation device for vortex generators, vortex generator and air conditioner

Abstract

The application discloses a vortex generator cutoff device, which comprises a ball valve and a shell. The ball valve comprises a rotating shaft. The ball valve is provided with a first opening in a first direction and a second opening in a second direction. A gas passage is formed in the ball valve and is in a curved shape to communicate the first opening and the second opening. The first direction is perpendicular to the extension direction of the rotating shaft. The second direction is at an angle greater than zero with respect to the first direction. The shell is provided with a receiving cavity. The ball valve is arranged in the receiving cavity through the rotating shaft. The shell is provided with an air inlet and an air outlet. The ball valve rotates around the rotating shaft to make the cutoff device conductive when the first opening is opposite to the air inlet and the second opening is opposite to the air outlet. The vortex generator cutoff device forms a curved gas passage composed of the second direction and the first direction in the ball valve. The flow direction of the gas flow is changed through the curved gas passage. The components of the vortex generator are less, and the overall volume is smaller. The application further discloses a vortex generator and an air conditioner.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of eddy current generator technology, and more specifically, to a cut-off device for an eddy current generator, an eddy current generator, and an air conditioner. Background Technology

[0002] A vortex generator can concentrate and target cold air delivery in the form of vortices. It consists of a fan, a shut-off device, and an air outlet. The fan forces cold air into the shut-off device, which periodically cuts off the airflow. The released cold air exits from the outlet, forming a vortex ring and thus generating a vortex. However, to achieve targeted delivery, a device for reversing the airflow direction is required, making the vortex generator too large and difficult to deploy in space-constrained applications. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This application provides a cut-off device for an eddy current generator, an eddy current generator, and an air conditioner.

[0004] This application provides a cutoff device for an eddy current generator, comprising: A ball valve, comprising a rotating shaft, having a first opening along a first direction and a second opening along a second direction, and having a gas passage formed within the ball valve, the gas passage being curved and connecting the first opening and the second opening, the first direction being perpendicular to the extending direction of the rotating shaft, and the angle between the second direction and the first direction being greater than zero; and The housing has a receiving cavity, and the ball valve is disposed in the receiving cavity via the rotating shaft. The housing has an air inlet and an air outlet. The ball valve rotates about the rotating shaft to conduct the shut-off device when the first opening is opposite to the air inlet and the second opening is opposite to the air outlet.

[0005] Thus, the shut-off device of the vortex generator includes a ball valve and a housing. A first opening and a second opening are respectively formed on the ball valve along a first direction and a second direction. After connecting these openings, a curved gas channel is formed inside the ball valve. An inlet and an outlet are formed on the housing housing the ball valve, which can communicate with the ball valve openings. When the vortex generator operates, airflow enters through the inlet and the first opening. After the airflow direction changes through the curved gas channel, it flows out through the outlet and the second opening, changing its direction from the first direction to the second direction. The ball valve with the curved gas channel design in this application eliminates the need for an additional channel at the outlet to change the airflow direction, resulting in fewer components and a smaller overall size for the vortex generator. Furthermore, since only the first opening can communicate with the inlet, each rotation of the ball valve generates one vortex ring. The vortex ring is only opened once per rotation, extending the ball valve closing time within each vortex ring formation cycle, improving the vortex ring quality, and enabling the vortex to deliver air further and more precisely.

[0006] In some implementations, the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction.

[0007] In this way, the second direction can be perpendicular to the first direction, causing the flow direction of the airflow before entering the ball valve to change by 90° with the flow direction of the airflow exiting the ball valve.

[0008] In some embodiments, the ball valve is an oblate spheroid, and the rotating shaft is arranged along the line connecting the two poles of the oblate spheroid.

[0009] Thus, the ball valve can be designed as a flattened sphere, with the rotating shaft extending along the short axis of the flattened sphere so that the ball valve can rotate around the short axis.

[0010] In some embodiments, the housing includes a first housing and a second housing, which together form the accommodating cavity, with the air inlet located in the first housing and the air outlet located in the second housing.

[0011] Thus, the housing also includes a first shell and a second shell, which together form a receiving cavity. An air inlet is formed on the first shell, and an air outlet is formed on the second shell.

[0012] In some embodiments, the housing includes an exhaust port communicating with the accommodating cavity.

[0013] Thus, the housing includes an exhaust port that communicates with the accommodating cavity, allowing airflow to be discharged from the exhaust port when the gas passage is cut off.

[0014] In some embodiments, the ball valve is formed with a cavity surrounding the gas passage.

[0015] In this way, the ball valve has a cavity surrounding the gas passage, which reduces the load on the motor and facilitates the rotation of the ball valve after the motor is connected to the shaft.

[0016] This application also provides an eddy current generator, including the cut-off device described above.

[0017] Thus, the vortex generator assembled using the cutting-off device of this application has fewer components and a smaller overall size. Furthermore, only the first opening can connect to the air inlet; therefore, one vortex ring is generated per revolution of the ball valve, and the vortex is only opened once per revolution. This extends the ball valve closing time within each vortex ring formation cycle, improves the vortex ring quality, and enables the vortex to deliver air further and more precisely.

[0018] In some embodiments, the eddy current generator includes a drive motor connected to the rotating shaft for driving the ball valve to rotate.

[0019] In some embodiments, the vortex generator includes a fan, the outlet of which is connected to the inlet.

[0020] This application also provides an air conditioner, including the aforementioned eddy current generator.

[0021] In this way, the centralized and targeted delivery of the cold air generated by the air conditioner can be achieved.

[0022] Additional aspects and advantages of embodiments of this application will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of embodiments of this application. Attached Figure Description

[0023] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of this application will become apparent and readily understood from the description of the embodiments taken in conjunction with the following drawings, wherein: Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an eddy current generator according to certain embodiments of this application; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the cut-off device according to some embodiments of this application; Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional view of the structure of a ball valve according to certain embodiments of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0024] The embodiments of this application are described in detail below. Examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the embodiments of this application, and should not be construed as limiting the embodiments of this application. It should be noted in particular that the terms "upper," "lower," "left," and "right" used in this application are directional descriptive terms based on the same view, used to describe the relative positions of the components in the same view. That is, "upper" in one view may be "lower," "left," and "right" in another view, and so on.

[0025] Air conditioners can generate vortex airflow through a vortex generator to achieve vortex air delivery. It can periodically drive the airflow through the air outlet to form a vortex airflow. The air is delivered to the far end of the room in a ring. Under the same air volume, the vortex generator can blow the air further, reduce energy consumption, and can also accurately deliver the air to a designated location in the room for zone temperature control, achieving precise long-distance fixed-point air delivery.

[0026] The vortex generator continuously generates airflow through a fan, which is periodically opened or closed by a shut-off device to drive the airflow. When the shut-off device of the vortex generator uses a ball valve with an internally designed straight gas channel, the airflow direction cannot be changed after passing through the ball valve. This necessitates adding a channel at the ball valve's gas outlet to change the airflow direction, resulting in an excessively large volume that is difficult to install in the equipment. Simultaneously, both the inlet and outlet of this vortex generator can be connected to the fan; therefore, one rotation of the ball valve in this vortex generator can generate two vortex rings.

[0027] Please see Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3This application provides a vortex generator 1000, which includes a fan 100, a drive motor (not shown), a shut-off device 200, and an air supply device 300. The shut-off device 200 includes a ball valve 210 and a housing 220. The ball valve 210 has two openings in two directions: a first opening 211 in a first direction and a second opening 212 in a second direction. A curved gas passage 213 is formed inside the ball valve 210, connecting the first opening 211 and the second opening 212. The angle between the first and second directions is greater than zero. The ball valve 210 also includes a rotating shaft 214, whose extension direction on the ball valve 210 is perpendicular to the first direction. The housing 220 includes a receiving cavity for accommodating the ball valve 210, which is disposed within the receiving cavity via the rotating shaft 214. The housing 220 has an air inlet 221 and an air outlet 222. The air supply device 300 is positioned relative to the air outlet 222 of the housing 220, and the fan 100 is positioned relative to the air inlet 221 of the housing 220. A drive motor is connected to the rotating shaft 214 of the ball valve 210 to drive the ball valve 210 to rotate. The ball valve 210 rotates about the rotating shaft 214 to activate the shut-off device 200 when the first opening 211 is opposite to the air inlet 221 and the second opening 212 is opposite to the air outlet 222.

[0028] The air conditioner (not shown in the figure) of this application embodiment includes the eddy current generator 1000 of this application embodiment, that is, the eddy current generator 1000 of this application embodiment can be used in the air conditioner of this application embodiment.

[0029] It should be noted that the formation of a first opening 211 along the first direction and a second opening 212 along the second direction on the ball valve 210 indicates that when the airflow passes through the ball valve 210, the airflow enters the gas passage 213 inside the ball valve 210 through the first opening 211 along the first direction, and after being guided by the gas passage 213, it flows out from the second opening 212 along the second direction.

[0030] Understandably, in the shut-off device 200 of this application, since the angle between the first direction and the second direction is greater than zero, and the first direction is perpendicular to the extension direction of the rotating shaft 214 of the ball valve 210, the airflow enters the gas channel 213 radially along the rotating shaft 214 and exits the gas channel 213 along the second direction which is at an angle to the first direction. This causes the ball valve 210 to rotate relative to the housing 220 when the ball valve 210 rotates around the rotating shaft 214 for one revolution. The shut-off device 200 is only turned on when the first opening 211 is opposite to the air inlet 221 and the second opening 212 is opposite to the air outlet 222. That is, the ball valve 210 of the shut-off device 200 is only opened once when it rotates for one revolution.

[0031] When the eddy current generator 1000 of this application is working, the fan 100 generates airflow, and the drive motor, connected to the rotating shaft 214, drives the ball valve 210 to rotate. The airflow flows through the fan 100 and reaches the air inlet 221. When the ball valve 210 rotates to a position where the first opening 211 is completely misaligned with the air inlet 221 of the housing 220, and the second opening 212 is completely misaligned with the air outlet 222 of the housing 220, the airflow output by the fan 100 is cut off and cannot flow through the cut-off device 200 to be delivered to the air supply device 300. When the ball valve 210 continues to rotate to the position where the first opening 211 can communicate with the air inlet 221 of the housing 220 and the second opening 212 can communicate with the air outlet 222 of the housing 220, the shut-off device 200 can be turned on, and the airflow enters the curved gas channel 213. After flowing through the gas channel 213, the airflow changes its flow direction and is delivered to the air supply device 300 from the second opening 212 and the air outlet 222, thereby causing the vortex generator 1000 to generate a vortex ring.

[0032] The ball valve 210 of this application extends the closing time of the shut-off device 200 at the same rotation frequency, which is beneficial to improving the quality of the vortex ring generated by the vortex generator 1000. Furthermore, when the airflow flows from the inlet 221 through the curved gas channel 213 and exits from the outlet 222, the airflow direction changes via the curved gas channel 213, changing from a first direction to a second direction. The ball valve 210 of this application, with its curved gas channel 213, eliminates the need for an additional channel at the outlet to change the airflow direction, resulting in a smaller overall size.

[0033] When the vortex generator 1000 needs to be installed in a space-constrained device, its small size allows for better installation. Meanwhile, the ball valve 210 rotates via the shaft 214 driven by the drive motor, while the housing 220 is fixedly connected to the fan 100 and does not rotate with the ball valve 210. Therefore, when the ball valve 210 rotates to the point where the first opening 211 connects with the air inlet 221 of the housing 220, and the second opening 212 connects with the air outlet 222 of the housing 220, the airflow generated by the fan 100 flows from the fan 100 through the air inlet 221 of the housing 220 and the first opening 211 of the ball valve 210, changes direction through the curved gas channel 213, flows out through the second opening 212, and then flows through the air outlet 222 of the housing 220 and the air supply device 300 before being discharged outside the vortex generator 1000.

[0034] Furthermore, the first opening 211 of the ball valve 210 is used for inputting airflow, and the second opening 212 is used for discharging airflow. The angle formed by the first direction and the second direction can be 70°, 83°, 90°, or 93°, which are all greater than zero degrees. In this embodiment, the angle formed by the first direction and the second direction is 90°, that is, the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction. Thus, the gas passage bends at 90° to connect the first opening 211 and the second opening 212. The outward direction of the airflow after passing through the ball valve 210 is perpendicular to the inward direction of the airflow entering the ball valve 210. For example, after the airflow flows into the ball valve 210 from a vertically upward direction, it changes to a horizontal direction and flows out of the ball valve 210.

[0035] In some embodiments, the ball valve 210 can be shaped like an ellipsoid, a sphere, or an oblate spheroid. In the illustrated embodiment, the ball valve 210 is an oblate spheroid, and the rotating shaft 214 passes through the center of the ball valve and is arranged along the line connecting the two poles of the oblate spheroid. The poles are defined as follows: among all straight lines passing through the center of the oblate spheroid and intersecting the oblate spheroid at two points, the distance between the intersection points of the straight lines intersecting the two poles of the oblate spheroid is the shortest.

[0036] In this way, the volume of the ball valve 210 can be reduced and the space design of the shut-off device 200 can be optimized while meeting the airflow requirements of the ball valve and the changes in airflow direction.

[0037] Furthermore, the rotating shaft 214 extends outward from the two poles of the oblate spheroid, the first opening 211 is opened on the ridge surface of the oblate spheroid along the first direction, and the second opening 212 is opened on one end face of the oblate spheroid along the second direction.

[0038] In some embodiments, the ball valve 210 is formed with a cavity 215 surrounding the gas passage 213.

[0039] Specifically, the ball valve 210 is a hollow component, formed around the gas passage 213, with a cavity 215 between the gas passage 213 and the outer wall of the ball valve 210. The cavity 215 structure reduces material usage, making the ball valve 210 lighter and reducing the load on the motor, which is beneficial for the drive motor to drive the ball valve 210 to rotate after connecting to the rotating shaft 214.

[0040] In the illustrated example, the ball valve 210 forms a cavity 215. Of course, in other embodiments, the ball valve 210 may form multiple cavities 215, and corresponding structures may be provided between the multiple cavities 215 to ensure the structural stability of the ball valve 210.

[0041] Thus, the ball valve 210 has a cavity 215, which surrounds the gas passage 213, reducing the load on the motor and facilitating the rotation of the ball valve 210 after the motor is connected to the rotating shaft 214.

[0042] In some embodiments, the housing 220 further includes a first housing 224 and a second housing 225, which together form a receiving cavity for accommodating the ball valve 210. An air inlet 221 is formed on the first housing 224, and an air outlet 222 is formed on the second housing 225.

[0043] Specifically, the first housing 224 and the second housing 225 can be detachably connected by threads or snaps, making it easy to remove the housing 220 from the ball valve 210.

[0044] When the vortex generator 1000 is working, the airflow enters the ball valve 210 from the air inlet 221 of the first housing 224 and then flows out from the air outlet 222 of the second housing 225.

[0045] Furthermore, the distance from the center of the second opening 212 to the axis of the rotating shaft 214 is equal to the distance from the center of the air outlet 222 to the axis of the rotating shaft 214, and the second opening 212 and the air outlet 222 are directly opposite each other when the shut-off device 200 is turned on. The opening size of the first opening 211 is adapted to the opening size of the air inlet 221, and the opening size of the second opening 212 is adapted to the opening size of the air outlet 222.

[0046] In some embodiments, the housing 220 may have a mounting portion, and the rotating shaft 214 is disposed in the mounting portion.

[0047] Thus, the mounting part can provide support and limit for the rotating shaft 214, and provide protection for the rotating shaft 214, ensuring that the ball valve 210 can rotate normally. The mounting part can be located in the first housing 224, or in the second housing 225, or in both the first housing 224 and the second housing 225.

[0048] In some embodiments, housing 220 includes an exhaust port 223 communicating with the accommodating cavity.

[0049] Thus, since the volume of the ball valve 210 is smaller than that of the housing 220, there is a gap between the ball valve 210 and the housing 220 forming the accommodating cavity. The housing 220 is provided with an exhaust port 223. When the gas passage 213 is cut off, that is, when the opening on the ball valve 210 and the exhaust port 222 and the inlet port 221 are completely misaligned, the airflow can flow into the gap between the ball valve 210 and the accommodating cavity and be discharged from the exhaust port 223 on the housing 220.

[0050] In the illustrated example, there can be multiple exhaust ports 223, with multiple exhaust ports located in the first housing 224 and the second housing 225. Of course, in other embodiments, multiple exhaust ports may be located only in the first housing 224 or only in the second housing 225, depending on the need.

[0051] In some embodiments, the housing 220 is provided with a horn-shaped connecting structure at the air inlet 221, and the fan 100 can be a centrifugal fan. The fan 100 is connected to the connecting structure by means of threaded connection and snap-fit ​​connection.

[0052] The smaller opening of the connecting structure forms an air inlet 221, which is connected to the fan 100. The channel formed by the connecting structure can increase the air intake, and the airflow delivered by the fan 100 can be accelerated to form turbulence in the connecting structure and enter the housing 220.

[0053] In some embodiments, the output shaft of the drive motor can pass through the housing 220 and be fixedly connected to the rotating shaft 214 of the ball valve 210 to drive the ball valve 210 to rotate relative to the housing 220.

[0054] Thus, the ball valve 210 can rotate under the control of the drive motor, causing the shut-off device 200 to periodically open or close, thereby periodically driving the airflow.

[0055] Specifically, the drive motor drives the ball valve 210 to rotate at a speed of 2-3 revolutions per second, thereby generating 2-3 vortex rings per second. At the same time, the time during which the airflow is guided is shorter than the time of this stage. In each rotation cycle of the ball valve 210, the ratio of the closing time to the opening time of the shut-off device 210 is large, the vortex quality is high, and accurate air delivery over long distances can be achieved.

[0056] In some embodiments, the air supply device 300 may be designed as a cylinder, and the air supply device 300 may be provided with components such as flow guides and / or flow collectors that are conducive to generating vortex rings.

[0057] In the description of this specification, the references to terms such as "some embodiments," "in one example," "exemplarily," etc., indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of this application. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples. Moreover, without contradiction, those skilled in the art can combine and integrate the different embodiments or examples described in this specification, as well as the features of different embodiments or examples.

[0058] Although embodiments of this application have been shown and described above, it is understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and should not be construed as limiting this application. Those skilled in the art can make changes, modifications, substitutions and variations to the above embodiments within the scope of this application.

Claims

1. A cutoff device for an eddy current generator, characterized in that, include: A ball valve, comprising a rotating shaft, a first opening along a first direction, a second opening along a second direction, and a gas passage formed inside the ball valve, the gas passage being curved and connecting the first opening and the second opening, the first direction being perpendicular to the extension direction of the rotating shaft, and the angle between the second direction and the first direction being greater than zero; and The housing has a receiving cavity, and the ball valve is disposed in the receiving cavity via the rotating shaft. The housing has an air inlet and an air outlet. The ball valve rotates around the rotating shaft to enable the shut-off device to conduct when the first opening is opposite to the air inlet and the second opening is opposite to the air outlet. The second direction is perpendicular to the first direction. The ball valve is an oblate spheroid. The rotating shaft is set along the line connecting the two poles of the oblate spheroid. The poles are the two points where the shortest line intersects the oblate spheroid, which passes through the center of the oblate spheroid and intersects the oblate spheroid at two points. The housing includes a first housing and a second housing. The first housing and the second housing enclose the accommodating cavity. The air inlet is located in the first housing, and the air outlet is located in the second housing.

2. The cutting device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The housing includes an exhaust port that communicates with the accommodating cavity.

3. The cutting device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The ball valve has a cavity surrounding the gas passage.

4. An eddy current generator, characterized in that, Includes the cutting device as described in any one of claims 1-3.

5. The eddy current generator according to claim 4, characterized in that, The eddy current generator includes a drive motor, which is connected to the rotating shaft to drive the ball valve to rotate.

6. The eddy current generator according to claim 4, characterized in that, The eddy current generator includes a fan, and the air outlet of the fan is connected to the air inlet.

7. An air conditioner, characterized in that, Includes the eddy current generator according to any one of claims 4-6.

Images