Condensate water self-cleaning structure and cleaning method for intercooler of vehicle heat dissipation system
By designing the automatic drainage structure of the flow pipe, solenoid valve, water pump and delay relay in the automotive cooling system, the problem of condensate accumulation is solved, and the automatic discharge of condensate is achieved, protecting the engine and extending its service life.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202411694168.7
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-11-25
- Publication Date
- 2025-03-07
AI Technical Summary
The accumulation of condensate in existing automotive cooling systems leads to engine damage and lacks an automatic cleaning mechanism, which increases maintenance complexity and engine failure risk.
Design a self-cleaning structure of condensed water in the cooler in the automotive cooling system, including a diversion pipe, solenoid valve, water pump and delay relay, and discharge accumulated condensate water before starting the engine after the vehicle is powered on through an automatic drainage procedure.
It realizes automatic discharge of condensate water, protects the engine from condensate water damage, improves the reliability of fuel combustion, and extends the service life of the engine.
Smart Images
Figure CN119572350A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of vehicle cooling systems, and in particular to a self-cleaning structure and a cleaning method for condensed water of an intercooler in a vehicle cooling system. Background Art
[0002] In the field of modern automotive technology, the performance and life of the engine are affected by many factors, among which the cooling system plays a vital role. Especially in supercharged engines, the intercooler is the core component of the engine intake cooling. Its main function is to reduce the temperature of the high-temperature gas after supercharging to improve the efficiency and performance of the engine. The intercooler cools the air entering the engine and increases the air density, thereby improving the combustion efficiency. However, in humid and hot climates, especially in areas with large temperature differences between day and night, condensed water easily accumulates inside the intercooler, which may cause problems such as engine cylinder damage, oil dilution or incomplete fuel combustion.
[0003] In traditional vehicle cooling systems, the design of the intercooler does not fully consider the accumulation of condensed water. In these systems, the intercooler is usually made of metal or composite materials, and the internal structure is designed to maximize the heat exchange efficiency. However, when the vehicle is parked at night, the hot air inside the intercooler cools and condenses into water, which accumulates at the bottom of the intercooler. Due to the lack of an effective drainage mechanism, this accumulated water may be sucked into the engine when the vehicle is restarted, causing a variety of potential engine problems. In addition, existing intercooler designs usually do not integrate automatic drainage or cleaning systems, and drivers or maintenance personnel need to manually perform drainage operations, which is not only inconvenient but also easy to be overlooked.
[0004] Therefore, the prior art has the following technical problems:
[0005] Condensation water accumulation: In humid, hot areas with large temperature differences between day and night, condensation water is easy to accumulate inside the intercooler after parking at night. This water may be sucked into the engine when the vehicle is restarted, causing engine damage.
[0006] Manual drainage is inconvenient: The existing intercooler design requires manual drainage, which not only increases the complexity of maintenance, but is also easily overlooked in actual operation, increasing the risk of engine failure.
[0007] Lack of automatic cleaning mechanism: There is no integrated automatic cleaning or drainage system, resulting in the condensation problem not being solved in time, affecting the performance and life of the engine. Summary of the invention
[0008] In view of the deficiencies in the prior art, an object of the embodiments of the present invention is to provide a self-cleaning structure and a cleaning method for condensed water in an intercooler of a vehicle cooling system.
[0009] In order to achieve the above objectives, the embodiments of the present invention provide the following technical solutions:
[0010] A self-cleaning structure for condensed water of an intercooler in a vehicle cooling system comprises: a guide pipe, a solenoid valve, a water pump and a time delay relay; a guide hole is arranged at the bottom of the intercooler, and the guide pipe is connected with the guide hole; the solenoid valve is a normally closed solenoid valve, the normally closed solenoid valve and the water pump are both arranged on the guide pipe, and the water pump is located at the rear side of the normally closed solenoid valve along the flow direction of water; the time delay relay is electrically connected to the normally closed solenoid valve and the water pump, the normally closed solenoid valve is opened and the water pump is started to drain water, and after a predetermined delay time, the normally closed solenoid valve is closed and the water pump is turned off.
[0011] Optionally, the guide pipe includes a branch pipe and a main pipe, one end of the branch pipe is connected to the guide hole of the intercooler, and the other end of the branch pipe is connected to the main pipe, and the normally closed solenoid valve and the water pump are both arranged on the guide pipe.
[0012] Optionally, the guide pipe includes a plurality of branch pipes, and the number of the guide holes arranged at the bottom of the intercooler is the same as the number of the branch pipes.
[0013] An embodiment of the present invention also provides a cleaning method for the self-cleaning structure of condensed water in the intercooler of the vehicle cooling system as described above, comprising: after the vehicle is powered on and before the engine is started, activating a condensed water drainage program, and determining whether drainage is required and the drainage time through the drainage program; if drainage is required, opening the normally closed solenoid valve on the guide pipe at the bottom of the intercooler and starting the water pump to drain the condensed water accumulated at the bottom of the intercooler; after the drainage time has passed, closing the normally closed solenoid valve and the water pump to complete the condensed water discharge process.
[0014] Optionally, the drainage procedure includes: obtaining the temperature, humidity and parking time of the vehicle's environment; performing data preprocessing on the temperature, humidity and parking time, and normalizing the preprocessed data to obtain normalized temperature, humidity and parking time characteristics; predicting the abnormal risk level of the engine based on the normalized temperature, humidity and parking time, and deciding whether to drain and the drainage time based on the predicted risk level.
[0015] Optionally, the data preprocessing includes removing outliers and extracting features.
[0016] Optionally, temperature normalization includes: determining a minimum threshold T1 of the ambient temperature and a maximum threshold T2 of the ambient temperature based on historical weather data, the lowest temperature actually measured at night is T; and the normalized temperature T0 is (T-T1) / (T2-T1).
[0017] Optionally, the normalization of humidity includes: determining a minimum humidity threshold H1 and a maximum humidity threshold H2 based on historical weather data, the average humidity actually measured at night is H, and the normalized humidity H0 is (H-H1) / (H2-H1).
[0018] Optionally, the normalization of parking time includes: a minimum parking time P1 and a maximum parking time P2 determined based on a vehicle usage pattern, an actually measured parking time P, and a normalized parking time P0 of (P-P1) / (P2-P1).
[0019] Optionally, a random forest model or a gradient boosting tree is used to predict the abnormal risk level of the engine according to the normalized temperature, humidity, and parking time.
[0020] One or more technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present invention have at least the following technical effects or advantages:
[0021] In order to solve the problem of condensed water accumulation in the intercooler in the prior art, the present invention introduces an intelligent self-cleaning technology to automatically discharge the accumulated condensed water after the vehicle is powered on (before the engine is started). This can not only protect the engine from damage caused by condensed water, but also improve the reliability of fuel combustion, thereby extending the service life of the engine.
[0022] Advantages of additional aspects of the present invention will be given in the following description, and in part will become obvious from the following description, or will be learned through practice of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0023] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the prior art descriptions are briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments recorded in the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work. In addition, the spacing or size between each other is exaggerated to show the position of each part, and the schematic diagram is only used for illustration.
[0024] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the self-cleaning structure of condensed water in the intercooler of the vehicle cooling system provided by an embodiment of the present invention;
[0025] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the flow path of condensed water at the bottom of the intercooler provided by an embodiment of the present invention;
[0026] In the figure: 1. Intercooler; 2. Flow guide pipe; 3. Solenoid valve; 4. Water pump; 5. Time delay relay; DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0027] It should be noted that the following detailed descriptions are illustrative and are intended to provide further explanation of the present invention. Unless otherwise specified, all technical and scientific terms used in the present invention have the same meanings as those commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. In addition, it should also be understood that when the terms "comprise" and / or "include" are used in this specification, it indicates the presence of features, steps, operations, devices, components and / or combinations thereof.
[0028] Example 1
[0029] In order to solve the technical problems mentioned in the background technology, this embodiment proposes a self-cleaning structure for condensed water in an intercooler of a vehicle cooling system, such as Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, it includes a guide pipe 2, a solenoid valve 3, a water pump 4 and a time delay relay 5. The key function of this structure is to achieve a self-cleaning function by automatically discharging condensed water, thereby preventing condensed water from accumulating at the bottom of the intercooler, thereby reducing the risk of corrosion and failure.
[0030] A guide hole is provided at the bottom of the intercooler 1, and a guide pipe is connected to the guide hole. The guide hole is used to guide the accumulated condensed water into the guide pipe. The guide pipe can effectively guide the flow of condensed water to prevent the condensed water from being retained inside the intercooler.
[0031] The normally closed solenoid valve is located on the guide pipe and is in a closed state. Under normal circumstances, condensed water is not allowed to flow out. The water pump is installed on the back side of the normally closed solenoid valve to promote the flow of condensed water during the drainage process. The normally closed solenoid valve is controlled to open and close through a time delay relay. After the water pump is started, the water flows through the guide pipe into the drainage channel.
[0032] The time delay relay controls the timing of the solenoid valve and the water pump. It can automatically close the solenoid valve and the water pump after a predetermined time, ensuring that the condensed water is completely discharged and preventing the water pump from overworking. This circuit structure helps to improve the reliability of the equipment and reduce energy consumption.
[0033] The flow guide pipe consists of a branch pipe and a main pipe. One end of the branch pipe is connected to the flow guide hole at the bottom of the intercooler, and the other end is connected to the main pipe. The normally closed solenoid valve and water pump are installed on the flow guide pipe to ensure the continuity of condensed water discharge.
[0034] The branch pipe is responsible for directing the condensed water to the main pipe, and then draining it through the main pipe. The branch pipe and the main pipe can be an integrated structure, and the branch pipe and the intercooler can be connected by threaded connection or quick-connect buckle connection, so that they can be easily disassembled during maintenance. Through the coordinated design of the branch pipe and the main pipe, the condensed water flow can be guided more efficiently.
[0035] There are multiple diversion holes at the bottom of the intercooler, and each diversion hole is connected to a branch pipe. Each branch pipe is responsible for diverting the condensed water from a diversion hole to the main pipe, ensuring that the condensed water can be discharged from all parts of the bottom of the intercooler in a timely manner. The number of branch pipes is the same as the number of diversion holes, which can effectively improve the discharge capacity of condensed water and avoid water flow blockage or accumulation. With multiple branch pipes working in parallel, the condensed water can be discharged in a shorter time, avoiding the problem of insufficient drainage that may occur in a single branch pipe, and improving the efficiency and stability of the entire drainage system.
[0036] Specifically, by adding three diversion holes at the bottom of the intercooler, the diversion pipe is connected in series with a normally closed solenoid valve (the normally closed solenoid valve prevents high-pressure air leakage) and a water pump. After the vehicle is turned on, the instrument issues a command according to the specific situation, energizes the delay relay, turns on the water pump and the normally closed solenoid valve, drains the accumulated water, and automatically cuts off the power to the module. At this time, the engine can be ignited and started smoothly.
[0037] Example 2
[0038] This embodiment proposes a cleaning method for the condensate self-cleaning structure of the intercooler in the vehicle cooling system described in Embodiment 1. The cleaning method includes activating a condensate drainage program after the vehicle is powered on and before the engine is started, and judging whether drainage is required and determining the drainage time through the drainage program.
[0039] Startup procedure: The first step of the cleaning method is to start the condensate drainage procedure, which is started when the vehicle is powered on and before the engine is started. At this time, the condensate drainage procedure can be activated by the electronic control system to determine whether drainage is required.
[0040] Drainage process control: If drainage is required, the system will open the normally closed solenoid valve at the bottom of the intercooler and start the water pump to drain. After the drainage process lasts for the set drainage time, the solenoid valve and water pump will automatically close to complete the drainage of condensed water. Through the time delay relay, the opening and closing process of the solenoid valve and water pump is precisely controlled to ensure the efficiency and safety of drainage work.
[0041] The drainage procedures include:
[0042] Step 1: Data Collection
[0043] 1.1 Collecting environmental and weather data
[0044] Night weather conditions: Use the vehicle’s built-in weather sensors or connect to external weather service APIs to collect night weather data while the vehicle is parked, including temperature, humidity, etc.
[0045] Temperature difference: record the change in ambient temperature before and after the vehicle is parked, especially the difference between the lowest temperature at night and the highest temperature during the day.
[0046] Humidity: Continuously monitor and record the humidity level where the vehicle is parked, especially in high humidity areas such as Hainan, Southeast Asia, South Asia, etc.
[0047] 1.2 Collect vehicle status data
[0048] Parking time: Through the vehicle's parking sensors or user input, record the vehicle's parking time on the previous day, especially the length of time parked at night.
[0049] 1.3 Collect historical drainage data
[0050] Historical drainage records: Extract the data of drainage events from the historical maintenance records of the vehicle, including drainage time, drainage volume, drainage frequency, etc.
[0051] Step 2: Data Preprocessing
[0052] 2.1 Outlier Processing
[0053] For the environmental and weather data collected in step 1, use statistical methods (such as IQR) to identify and handle outliers, such as extreme temperature or humidity readings.
[0054] 2.2 Feature Extraction
[0055] Key features: Extract features that have a significant impact on condensation formation from the collected data, such as the lowest temperature at night, peak humidity, parking duration, etc.
[0056] Feature selection: Use machine learning feature selection algorithms, such as recursive feature elimination (RFE) or model-based feature selection, to select the features that are most influential in predicting engine anomalies.
[0057] 2.3 Data Normalization
[0058] The extracted features are normalized and the data is scaled to the [0,1] interval using the minimum-maximum normalization method for subsequent machine learning model training.
[0059] Step 3: Data analysis and decision making
[0060] 3.1 Machine Learning Model Training
[0061] Use the normalized feature data to train a machine learning model, such as a random forest or gradient boosted tree, to predict the risk level of engine abnormality.
[0062] 3.2 Prediction result processing
[0063] Based on the model prediction results and the actual usage status of the vehicle, determine whether the drainage procedure needs to be started.
[0064] 3.3 Calculation of drainage time
[0065] Based on the predicted risk level and historical drainage data, an optimization algorithm is used to calculate the optimal drainage time to ensure that condensed water is effectively discharged before the engine is started.
[0066] Step 4: Control Execution
[0067] The prediction results and drainage decisions are converted into control signals, which are output to the engine management system through the ECU to perform drainage operations.
[0068] In order to make the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present invention clearer, the embodiment of the present invention is described with an example:
[0069] Date and time: 10:00 pm to 8:00 am the next day, xx / xx / 2024.
[0070] Location: xx city, xx province.
[0071] Weather conditions: Cloudy at night, temperature range 25℃ to 30℃, relative humidity 80%.
[0072] Temperature difference: The lowest temperature at night is 25℃, the highest temperature during the day is 30℃, and the temperature difference is 5℃.
[0073] Humidity: Average humidity at night is 80%.
[0074] Parking time: Vehicles are parked from 10 pm to 8 am the next day, a total of 10 hours.
[0075] Vehicle status: The vehicle is parked in an outdoor parking lot, all doors and windows are closed, and the vehicle is in safety mode.
[0076] Data collection:
[0077] Ambient temperature: Night minimum temperature T = 25 ° C. Humidity: Night average humidity H = 80%. Parking time: P = 10 hours.
[0078] Historical drainage data: In the past week, the vehicle was drained 3 times, with an average drainage volume of 102 ml.
[0079] Data preprocessing:
[0080] Outlier processing: The temperature and humidity data were checked and no outliers were found.
[0081] Feature extraction: Extract key features, including the lowest nighttime temperature T, average humidity H, and parking time P.
[0082] Data normalization:
[0083] Normalization of temperature: Based on historical weather data, the minimum threshold value T1=20°C and the maximum threshold value T2=30°C of the ambient temperature are determined. The lowest temperature actually measured at night is T; the normalized temperature T0 is (T-T1) / (T2-T1)=0.5.
[0084] Normalization of humidity: Based on historical weather data, the lowest humidity threshold H1=60% and the highest humidity threshold H2=100% are determined. The normalized humidity H0 is (H-H1) / (H2-H1)=0.5.
[0085] Normalization of parking time: Based on the minimum parking time P1=6 hours and the maximum parking time P2=12 hours determined based on the vehicle usage pattern, the normalized parking time P0 is (P-P1) / (P2-P1)=0.667.
[0086] Data analysis and decision making:
[0087] Machine learning model: Use the random forest model to input the normalized features: normalized temperature T0, normalized humidity H0, and normalized parking time P0, and output the engine abnormality risk level.
[0088] Prediction result: The model predicts that the engine abnormality risk level is “high”.
[0089] Control execution:
[0090] Drainage time calculation:
[0091] Based on historical data and model predictions, it is determined that when the risk level is "high", the drainage parameter is 0.8.
[0092] The standard dew point detection time is 5 seconds, and the drainage time is 5s*0.8=4s.
[0093] Control signal output: After receiving the prediction results of the model, the ECU starts the drainage program and lasts for 4 seconds.
[0094] Monitoring and feedback: After the drainage operation is completed, the ECU records the operation results and feeds back to the vehicle maintenance system.
[0095] Although the above describes the specific implementation mode of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, it is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should understand that various modifications or variations that can be made by those skilled in the art on the basis of the technical solution of the present invention without creative work are still within the scope of protection of the present invention.
Claims
1. A self-cleaning structure for condensed water in an intercooler of a vehicle cooling system, characterized in that: include: Flow guide pipe, solenoid valve, water pump and time delay relay; A flow guide hole is provided at the bottom of the intercooler, and the flow guide pipe is connected to the flow guide hole; The solenoid valve is a normally closed solenoid valve, the normally closed solenoid valve and the water pump are both arranged on the flow guide pipe, and the water pump is located at the rear side of the normally closed solenoid valve along the water flow direction; The time delay relay is electrically connected to the normally closed solenoid valve and the water pump. The normally closed solenoid valve is opened and the water pump is started to drain water. After a predetermined delay time, the normally closed solenoid valve is closed and the water pump is turned off.
2. The self-cleaning structure for condensed water in the intercooler of the vehicle cooling system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The flow guide pipe includes a branch pipe and a main pipe, one end of the branch pipe is connected to the flow guide hole of the intercooler, and the other end of the branch pipe is connected to the main pipe. The normally closed solenoid valve and the water pump are both arranged on the flow guide pipe.
3. The self-cleaning structure for condensed water in the intercooler of the vehicle cooling system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The guide pipe includes a plurality of branch pipes, and the number of the guide holes arranged at the bottom of the intercooler is the same as the number of the branch pipes.
4. A method for cleaning the self-cleaning structure of condensed water in an intercooler of a vehicle cooling system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: include: After the vehicle is powered on and before the engine is started, the condensate drainage program is activated to determine whether drainage is required and the drainage time; If drainage is required, open the normally closed solenoid valve on the guide pipe at the bottom of the intercooler and start the water pump to drain the condensed water accumulated at the bottom of the intercooler; after the drainage time, close the normally closed solenoid valve and the water pump to complete the condensed water discharge process.
5. The cleaning method according to claim 4, characterized in that: The drainage procedure includes: Obtain the temperature, humidity and parking time of the vehicle's environment; Performing data preprocessing on the temperature, humidity and parking time, and normalizing the preprocessed data to obtain normalized temperature, humidity and parking time characteristics; The abnormal risk level of the engine is predicted based on the normalized temperature, humidity and parking time, and whether to drain the engine and how long to drain the engine are determined based on the predicted risk level.
6. The cleaning method according to claim 5, characterized in that: The data preprocessing includes removing outliers and extracting features.
7. The cleaning method according to claim 5, characterized in that: Temperature normalization includes: determining the lowest threshold value T1 of the ambient temperature and the highest threshold value T2 of the ambient temperature based on historical weather data, the lowest temperature actually measured at night is T; the normalized temperature T0 is (T-T1) / (T2-T1).
8. The cleaning method according to claim 7, characterized in that: The normalization of humidity includes: determining the minimum humidity threshold H1 and the maximum humidity threshold H2 based on historical weather data, the average humidity actually measured at night is H, and the normalized humidity H0 is (H-H1) / (H2-H1).
9. The cleaning method according to claim 8, characterized in that: Normalization of parking time includes: minimum parking time P1 and maximum parking time P2 determined based on vehicle usage pattern, actual measured parking time P, and normalized parking time P0 is (P-P1) / (P2-P1).
10. The cleaning method according to claim 9, characterized in that: Based on the normalized temperature, humidity, and parking time, a random forest model or gradient boosting tree is used to predict the abnormal risk level of the engine.