Electronic expansion valve structure of integrated sensor and vehicle

Abstract

The electronic expansion valve structure comprises a valve seat, only one refrigerant inlet and one refrigerant outlet are formed in the valve seat, an expansion valve mounting hole, a refrigerant flow channel and a sensor mounting hole are formed in the valve seat, the refrigerant inlet is communicated with the expansion valve mounting hole, the refrigerant flow channel is communicated with the refrigerant inlet, and the sensor mounting hole is communicated with the refrigerant outlet. The expansion valve mounting hole is communicated with the refrigerant flow channel, the refrigerant flow channel is communicated with the refrigerant outlet, the sensor mounting hole is communicated with the refrigerant flow channel, and the sensor mounting hole is located at the downstream of the refrigerant flowing direction of the expansion valve mounting hole; an electronic expansion valve is arranged on the expansion valve mounting hole, and a sensor is arranged on the sensor mounting hole. According to the invention, the deviation of refrigerant outlet temperature and pressure acquisition can be reduced, the risk of refrigerant leakage is reduced, the installation and operation processes are simplified, and the reliability and efficiency of a thermal management system are improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of electronic expansion valves, and specifically discloses an electronic expansion valve structure with integrated sensors and a vehicle. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, new energy vehicles have developed rapidly, and the demand for air conditioning systems and thermal management systems has also increased. Electronic expansion valves, temperature sensors, pressure sensors and other equipment have been widely used in the air conditioning and battery-side thermal management systems of new energy vehicles. Electronic expansion valves have become key equipment in thermal management systems due to their high sensitivity, fast response and precise adjustment.

[0003] However, there are some problems with the traditional arrangement of temperature sensors and pressure sensors. The traditional valve body usually adopts a "two-in, two-out" structure, and its structure is shown in CN111503344A and CN115027196A. The temperature sensor and pressure sensor in the above technical solution are installed on the pipeline at the outlet of the expansion valve. This arrangement will cause large deviations in the refrigerant outlet temperature and pressure collection. At the same time, the installation holes on the pipeline are prone to refrigerant leakage, and multiple sets of wiring harnesses need to be installed, which is inconvenient to operate. These problems will lead to operational failures of the thermal management system-level air-conditioning system, and then cause serious problems such as poor control of cooling and battery thermal management out of control.

[0004] Therefore, an electronic expansion valve structure is needed to solve these technical problems. Summary of the invention

[0005] In order to solve the shortcomings and deficiencies in the above-mentioned prior art, the present invention provides a structure and vehicle of an electronic expansion valve, which integrates a temperature and pressure integrated sensor in the expansion valve and unifies the interface output, thereby not only reducing the deviation of the refrigerant outlet temperature and pressure collection, but also reducing the risk of refrigerant leakage, simplifying the installation and operation process, and improving the reliability and efficiency of the thermal management system.

[0006] The present invention discloses an electronic expansion valve structure with an integrated sensor, comprising a valve seat, wherein the valve seat is provided with and has only one refrigerant inlet and one refrigerant outlet, an expansion valve mounting hole, a refrigerant flow channel and a sensor mounting hole are provided in the valve seat, the refrigerant inlet is connected to the expansion valve mounting hole, the expansion valve mounting hole is connected to the refrigerant flow channel, the refrigerant flow channel is connected to the refrigerant outlet, the sensor mounting hole is connected to the refrigerant flow channel, and the sensor mounting hole is located downstream of the expansion valve mounting hole in the refrigerant flow direction; an electronic expansion valve is provided on the expansion valve mounting hole, and a sensor is provided on the sensor mounting hole.

[0007] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the central axis of the refrigerant inlet and the central axis of the refrigerant outlet are arranged non-collinearly and parallel to each other, the central axis of the expansion valve mounting hole and the central axis of the refrigerant inlet are arranged perpendicular to each other, and the central axis of the sensor mounting hole and the central axis of the expansion valve mounting hole are arranged in parallel.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a controller component is disposed on the valve seat, and the controller component is disposed above the sensor mounting hole. One end of the controller component is electrically connected to the sensor, and the other end is electrically connected to the electronic expansion valve.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the controller assembly includes a housing fixedly connected to the valve seat and a controller disposed in the housing.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the shell includes an outer shell portion and a cover plate portion, the outer shell portion is provided with a bottom hole for evading the sensor and a side hole for connecting an electronic expansion valve, and the controller is fixedly connected to the outer shell portion.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the outer shell portion is provided with a dovetail guide hole for connecting with the cover plate portion, and the cover plate portion is provided with a dovetail guide boss that cooperates with the dovetail guide hole.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the controller is electrically connected to the coil assembly of the electronic expansion valve.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the refrigerant flow channel includes a first flow channel and a second flow channel arranged non-coaxially, the first flow channel is connected to the expansion valve mounting hole, the second flow channel is connected to the expansion valve mounting hole, and the diameter of the first flow channel is smaller than the diameter of the second flow channel.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sensor is a temperature and pressure sensor.

[0015] The invention also discloses a vehicle, comprising an electronic expansion valve structure with an integrated sensor.

[0016] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: in view of the technical defects that the traditional "two-in-two-out" valve body structure will lead to large deviations in the collection of refrigerant outlet temperature and pressure, the present invention proposes a "one-in-one-out" valve seat structure. By adding a sensor mounting hole on the valve seat and setting it downstream of the expansion valve mounting hole, the distance from the liquid flowing out of the expansion valve to the sensor can be effectively shortened, so that the present invention can collect refrigerant temperature and pressure data more accurately. This innovative design effectively improves the precise control capability of the thermal management system and the air conditioning system, and significantly reduces the measurement error.

[0017] Secondly, the present invention optimizes the valve body structure and significantly reduces the risk of refrigerant leakage. The traditional solution requires multiple installation holes to be opened on the pipeline, which not only increases the risk of refrigerant leakage, but also increases the complexity of the system. By integrating the sensor directly into the valve seat structure, the present invention achieves a more compact and sealed system design, effectively reducing the possibility of refrigerant leakage.

[0018] Furthermore, the layout design of the present invention is more reasonable and efficient. By adopting non-collinear refrigerant inlet and outlet, vertically arranged expansion valve mounting holes, and parallel arranged sensor mounting holes, not only the refrigerant flow path is optimized, but also the overall installation structure is simplified. This innovative layout helps to improve the system integration and installation convenience.

[0019] In terms of the control system, the present invention also introduces an integrated controller assembly. By tightly integrating the controller, sensor, and coil assembly of the electronic expansion valve, a more accurate and faster system response is achieved. This design not only reduces the wiring harness connection, but also improves the reliability and control accuracy of the overall system.

[0020] In the design of the refrigerant flow channel, the present invention further optimizes the refrigerant flow characteristics by using non-coaxial first and second flow channels and different diameter designs. This innovative flow channel design is conducive to improving the refrigerant flow characteristics and improving heat exchange efficiency.

[0021] Finally, the integrated sensor electronic expansion valve structure of the present invention is particularly suitable for the thermal management system of new energy vehicles. By solving the problems of measurement error, leakage risk and installation complexity existing in traditional solutions, this technical solution can effectively improve the performance and reliability of the air conditioning system and battery thermal management system of new energy vehicles.

[0022] Through innovative structural design and system integration, the present invention not only solves the key problems in the prior art, but also significantly improves the application value of the electronic expansion valve in the field of thermal management of new energy vehicles, and has significant technical innovation and practical application value. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments disclosed in the present invention, the drawings of the embodiments are briefly introduced below. These drawings are only used for illustrative purposes and are not intended to limit the protection scope of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 1 : A cross-sectional view of the electronic expansion valve of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 2 : Schematic diagram of the electronic expansion valve of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 3 : Schematic diagram of the controller assembly of the electronic expansion valve of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The technical solution of the present invention (including the preferred technical solution) is further described in detail below by means of the accompanying drawings and by listing some optional embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0028] like Figure 1-3 As shown, the present invention discloses an innovative electronic expansion valve structure, which is particularly suitable for the thermal management system of new energy vehicles. The present invention solves many technical problems of traditional electronic expansion valves in sensor arrangement and refrigerant flow through a unique design.

[0029] In the present invention, the core component of the entire electronic expansion valve structure is the valve seat. The valve seat of the present invention is only provided with a refrigerant inlet 1 and a refrigerant outlet 2. This simplified design effectively reduces the complexity of the system. Inside the valve seat, the expansion valve mounting hole 3, the refrigerant flow channel 4 and the sensor mounting hole 5 are cleverly integrated to form a highly integrated system structure.

[0030] The refrigerant flow path has made an outstanding substantial contribution to the present invention and has significant progress. The refrigerant first enters from the refrigerant inlet 1 and communicates with the expansion valve mounting hole 3. At the expansion valve mounting hole 3, an electronic expansion valve 7 is installed to accurately adjust the refrigerant flow rate. The refrigerant then enters the refrigerant flow channel 4 and is finally discharged through the refrigerant outlet 2. It is worth noting that the sensor mounting hole 5 is cleverly arranged downstream of the expansion valve mounting hole 3, which means that the sensor 8 can more accurately detect the state of the refrigerant after passing through the expansion valve, because compared with the traditional "two inlet and two outlet" valve body structure (its specific structure is shown in CN111503344A and CN115027196A, the working principle of the above structure is that all liquids flowing through the expansion valve need to be guided into the second flow channel through an external pipeline, so this structural design will lead to technical defects such as large deviations in the collection of refrigerant outlet temperature and pressure), the "one inlet and one outlet" valve seat structure proposed in the present invention, and by adding a sensor mounting hole on the valve seat and setting it downstream of the expansion valve mounting hole, can effectively shorten the distance from the liquid flowing out of the expansion valve to the sensor, so that the present invention can more accurately collect refrigerant temperature and pressure data.

[0031] Furthermore, the central axes of the refrigerant inlet 1 and the refrigerant outlet 2 of the present invention are arranged in a non-collinear parallel manner, and this design can optimize the refrigerant flow path. The central axis of the expansion valve mounting hole 3 is arranged perpendicular to the central axis of the refrigerant inlet 1, further enhancing the fluid dynamics characteristics of the system. The central axis of the sensor mounting hole 5 is parallel to the expansion valve mounting hole 3, ensuring the precise positioning of the sensor.

[0032] The controller assembly 6 of the present invention is the intelligent core of the system. It is arranged above the sensor mounting hole 5, and realizes efficient electrical connection between the sensor 8 and the electronic expansion valve 7. The controller assembly 6 consists of two key components: a shell 61 fixed to the valve seat and a controller 62 embedded therein. The shell 61 is further subdivided into a shell part 611 and a cover part 622. The shell part 611 is designed with a bottom hole and a side hole, which are used to avoid the sensor 8 and connect the electronic expansion valve 7 respectively.

[0033] To ensure assembly accuracy and sealing, the shell 611 and the cover 622 adopt an innovative dovetail guide design. The dovetail guide hole on the shell 611 and the dovetail guide boss on the cover 622 are precisely matched to ensure assembly stability and reliability. The controller 62 is directly fixed to the shell 611 and electrically connected to the coil assembly of the electronic expansion valve 7, achieving a more compact and efficient system integration.

[0034] The design of the refrigerant flow channel 4 also reflects engineering wisdom. By non-coaxially arranging the first flow channel 41 and the second flow channel 42 and adopting a design with different diameters, the refrigerant flow characteristics can be better adjusted. The diameter of the first flow channel 41 is smaller than that of the second flow channel 42. This differentiated design is conducive to controlling the expansion and flow speed of the refrigerant.

[0035] Sensor 8 uses a temperature and pressure sensor that can monitor the temperature and pressure of the refrigerant at the same time. Its precise installation position enables it to capture the refrigerant status after the expansion valve, providing more accurate real-time data for the thermal management system. Sensor 8 transmits the collected temperature and pressure signals to the expansion valve controller, which processes the signals and uploads them to the air conditioner or thermal management controller together with the control and feedback of the expansion valve through the LIN or CAN communication protocol to complete the unified management of the system.

[0036] The electronic expansion valve structure of the present invention effectively solves the problems of measurement error, refrigerant leakage and installation complexity existing in traditional solutions through innovative system integration design. Its unique structural layout, precise flow channel design and intelligent control system make it particularly suitable for air conditioning and battery thermal management systems of new energy vehicles, and has significant technical innovation value.

[0037] Furthermore, the invention also discloses a vehicle, including an electronic expansion valve structure with an integrated sensor.

[0038] It should be pointed out that the structures not described in detail in the present invention are all prior arts, such as the expansion valve body and expansion valve seat of the electronic expansion valve; the stator pole plates, skeletons and windings in the stator coil; the expansion valve body is composed of a rotor assembly, a valve core, a connecting sleeve, a valve core seat, a nut assembly, a sleeve and a sealing ring; wherein the valve core is welded to the rotor, the nut assembly is welded to the connecting sleeve, and the rotor assembly and the nut assembly are driven by threads; the expansion valve body and the valve seat are connected by threads, and the coil is connected to the valve seat by screws; and the expansion valve stator coil generates a magnetic field after receiving a pulse signal, which produces a magnetic pole angle with the magnetic rotor inside the expansion valve, thereby driving the rotor to move, and the magnetic rotor is connected to the valve core, and the valve core is threaded, which moves in coordination with the nut seat thread, so that the radial rotation of the rotor is converted into axial up and down movement, and the up and down movement of the valve core and the valve core seat form the opening and closing of the valve port, thereby finally forming the adjustment of the valve port opening of the expansion valve.

[0039] Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, combinations, replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present invention are included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An electronic expansion valve structure with an integrated sensor, comprising a valve seat, characterized in that: The valve seat is provided with one and only one refrigerant inlet (1) and one refrigerant outlet (2); the valve seat is provided with an expansion valve mounting hole (3), a refrigerant flow channel (4) and a sensor mounting hole (5); the refrigerant inlet (1) is connected to the expansion valve mounting hole (3); the expansion valve mounting hole (3) is connected to the refrigerant flow channel (4); the refrigerant flow channel (4) is connected to the refrigerant outlet (2); the sensor mounting hole (5) is connected to the refrigerant flow channel (4); the sensor mounting hole (5) is located downstream of the expansion valve mounting hole (3) in the refrigerant flow direction; the expansion valve mounting hole (3) is provided with an electronic expansion valve (7); the sensor mounting hole (5) is provided with a sensor (8).

2. The electronic expansion valve structure with integrated sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that: The central axis of the refrigerant inlet (1) and the central axis of the refrigerant outlet (2) are arranged non-collinearly and parallel to each other, the central axis of the expansion valve mounting hole (3) and the central axis of the refrigerant inlet (1) are arranged perpendicular to each other, and the central axis of the sensor mounting hole (5) and the central axis of the expansion valve mounting hole (3) are arranged in parallel.

3. The electronic expansion valve structure with integrated sensor according to claim 2, characterized in that: A controller component (6) is arranged on the valve seat. The controller component (6) is arranged above the sensor mounting hole (5). One end of the controller component (6) is electrically connected to the sensor (8), and the other end is electrically connected to the electronic expansion valve (7).

4. The electronic expansion valve structure with integrated sensor according to claim 3, characterized in that: The controller assembly (6) comprises a housing (61) fixedly connected to the valve seat and a controller (62) arranged in the housing.

5. The electronic expansion valve structure with integrated sensor according to claim 4, characterized in that: The shell (61) comprises an outer shell portion (611) and a cover portion (622); the outer shell portion (611) is provided with a bottom hole for accommodating the sensor (8) and a side hole for connecting the electronic expansion valve (7); the controller (62) is fixedly connected to the outer shell portion (611).

6. The electronic expansion valve structure with integrated sensor according to claim 5, characterized in that: The outer shell portion (611) is provided with a dovetail-shaped guide hole for connecting to the cover plate portion (622), and the cover plate portion (622) is provided with a dovetail-shaped guide boss that cooperates with the dovetail-shaped guide hole.

7. The sensor-integrated electronic expansion valve structure according to claim 6, characterized in that: The controller (62) is electrically connected to the coil assembly of the electronic expansion valve (7).

8. The electronic expansion valve structure with integrated sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that: The refrigerant flow channel (4) includes a first flow channel (41) and a second flow channel (42) that are non-coaxially arranged, the first flow channel (41) is connected to the expansion valve mounting hole (3), the second flow channel (42) is connected to the expansion valve mounting hole (3), and the diameter of the first flow channel (41) is smaller than the diameter of the second flow channel (42).

9. The electronic expansion valve structure with integrated sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sensor (8) is a temperature and pressure sensor.

10. A vehicle, characterized in that: An electronic expansion valve structure comprising an integrated sensor as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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