Air conditioning unit with valve integrated damper

Abstract

The application relates to an air conditioning box with a valve type integrated air door, which comprises a valve type integrated air door, a comprehensive electric actuator, an air conditioning box shell assembly, a warm air core body, a blower and a volute inlet passage. The warm air core body is arranged in the inner cavity of the shell and separates a front heating cavity and a rear heating cavity; the shell side wall air inlet is connected with the volute inlet passage and the blower. The air outlet passage at the upper end of the shell is divided into a face blowing channel and a defrosting channel by a first partition rib plate, and a second partition rib plate and a third partition rib plate are arranged on the inner side of the shell. The semi-cylindrical hollow integrated air door is arranged in the rear heating cavity by two end rotating shafts and is driven to rotate by the comprehensive electric actuator; the outer arc surface of the air door cooperates with the three partition rib plates, so that the rear heating cavity is divided into four independent areas, three areas are connected with the face blowing channel, four areas are connected with the defrosting channel, and two areas are connected with the foot blowing channels on the two sides. The hollow air vent is changed by rotating the air door, single air door can realize seven air outlet modes including defrosting, face blowing, foot blowing and four combinations, and the air conditioning box has the advantages of few parts and compact structure.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of automotive air conditioning technology, and more specifically to an air conditioning unit employing a valve-type damper. Background Technology

[0002] With the increasing popularity of new energy vehicles, the demand for improving energy efficiency and reducing component costs in vehicles is becoming more and more apparent. As an important and complex component of new energy vehicles, the air conditioning system also has its own needs.

[0003] Traditional automotive air conditioning units contain numerous components. For example, the air vent mechanism is particularly complex. To achieve the three basic functions of defrosting, blowing air onto the face, and blowing air onto the feet, a traditional automotive air conditioning unit typically requires at least three air vents, three motor actuators, a mode dial, and other mechanisms. Figure 1 The device includes a defrost damper 1, a face blowing damper 2, a foot blowing damper 3, a defrost motor actuator 4, a face blowing motor actuator 5, a foot blowing motor actuator 6, and a mode mechanism plate 7. Its structure is extremely complex, and these components are primarily made of plastic. This complex structure leads to the following problems: (1) The reliability of the parts is reduced; (2) High component costs; (3) The assembly and production of parts is cumbersome; (4) The large number of actuators leads to complex electronic control circuits and low energy utilization of the whole vehicle; (5) Reduce noise problems such as abnormal noise and jamming caused by the transmission of the operating mechanism.

[0004] To address the shortcomings of traditional air conditioning unit damper structures, it is necessary to innovate and propose new structures based on the physical structure of the damper to improve the practicality and reliability of air conditioning in new energy vehicles. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this invention proposes an air conditioning unit that employs a valve-type integrated damper.

[0006] The above-mentioned objective of this invention is achieved through the following technical solution: An air conditioning unit employing a valve-type integrated damper is characterized by comprising a valve-type integrated damper, an integrated electric actuator, an air conditioning unit housing assembly, a heater core, an evaporator core, a blower, and a volute air intake channel. The heating core is fixedly installed in the inner cavity of the air conditioning unit housing assembly, dividing the inner cavity into a pre-heat exchange cavity and a post-heat exchange cavity. The evaporator core is located in the pre-heat exchange cavity. An air inlet is provided on one side wall of the air conditioning unit housing assembly, and the air inlet communicates with the pre-heat exchange cavity. The volute air intake channel is fixedly installed on the outside of the air conditioning unit housing assembly at a position corresponding to the air inlet, and the external air intake port of the volute air intake channel is aligned and connected to the exhaust port of the blower. The upper end of the air conditioning unit housing assembly is provided with an upper air outlet channel. The upper air outlet channel is divided into a side-by-side blowing air outlet channel and a defrosting air outlet channel by a first partition rib. An inner extending second partition rib and a third partition rib are provided on the inner side wall of the air conditioning unit housing assembly away from the blower installation position. The valve-type integrated damper adopts a semi-cylindrical hollow structure, with the hollow part forming a ventilation hole; the valve-type integrated damper is rotatably installed in the heat exchange cavity near the upper air outlet channel through the rotating support shafts at both ends; the rotating support shaft at one end is driven and connected to the integrated electric actuator fixed on the corresponding side wall of the air conditioning unit housing assembly. The outer arc surface of the valve-type integrated damper mates with the inner ends of the first, second, and third partition ribs, dividing the heat exchange cavity into four regions. The region between the outer arc surface of the valve-type integrated damper, the third partition rib, the warm air core, and the front wall of the air conditioning unit assembly forms the first heat exchange region. The region between the outer arc surface of the valve-type integrated damper, the second and third partition ribs, and the front wall of the air conditioning unit assembly forms the second heat exchange region. The second partition rib, the first... The area between the outer circular surface of the partition rib, the valve-type integrated damper, and the front side wall of the air conditioning unit housing assembly is the third area after heat exchange; the area between the outer circular surface of the first partition rib, the valve-type integrated damper, and the rear side wall of the air conditioning unit housing assembly is the fourth area after heat exchange; the third area after heat exchange corresponds to the air blowing channel, the fourth area after heat exchange corresponds to the defrost air blowing channel, and foot blowing channels are provided on the left and right side walls of the air conditioning unit housing assembly at positions corresponding to the second area after heat exchange and near the upper end; By rotating the ventilation holes of the integrated damper valve and the relative positions of the four heated areas, seven working modes can be switched: defrosting mode, face blowing mode, foot blowing mode, face and foot blowing combined mode, defrosting and foot blowing combined mode, defrosting and face blowing combined mode, and face, foot blowing and defrosting combined mode.

[0007] Furthermore, the air conditioning unit housing assembly is composed of a left air conditioning unit housing, a right air conditioning unit housing, and a lower air conditioning unit housing connected together.

[0008] Furthermore, the valve-type integrated damper includes a semi-circular door panel, end plates fixed at both ends of the door panel, a left-hand rotation support shaft and a right-hand rotation support shaft coaxially mounted outside the end plates, and a ventilation hole is provided near one side of the semi-circular door panel, the ventilation hole being a rectangular hole.

[0009] In addition, a sealing strip is fixed around the perimeter of the ventilation hole, and a sealing strip is fixed axially at one end of the semi-circular door panel near the ventilation hole.

[0010] Furthermore, reinforcing ribs are provided in the semi-circular door panel at the positions corresponding to the ventilation holes, both radially and axially.

[0011] Furthermore, in defrost mode, the first and fourth heat exchange zones are connected via ventilation holes on the valve-type integrated damper, while the first heat exchange zone is not connected to the second or third heat exchange zones. In the combined defrost and foot blowing mode, the first heat exchange zone is connected to the second heat exchange zone via ventilation holes on the valve-type integrated damper, and is also directly connected to the fourth heat exchange zone, but not to the third heat exchange zone. In foot blowing mode, the first heat exchange zone is only connected to the second heat exchange zone via ventilation holes on the valve-type integrated damper. In the combined face and foot blowing mode, a portion of the ventilation holes on the valve-type integrated damper are connected to the second heat exchange zone. In the defrosting and blowing mode, one part of the ventilation holes on the valve-type integrated damper is aligned with the third area after heat exchange, and the other part is aligned with the fourth area after heat exchange, so that the first area after heat exchange is simultaneously connected to the second and third areas after heat exchange; in the defrosting, foot blowing, and surface blowing coordinated mode, one part of the ventilation holes on the valve-type integrated damper is aligned with the third area after heat exchange, and the other part is aligned with the fourth area after heat exchange, so that the first area after heat exchange is simultaneously connected to the third and fourth areas after heat exchange; in the defrosting, foot blowing, and surface blowing coordinated mode, the ventilation holes on the valve-type integrated damper are aligned with the fourth area after heat exchange, and the first area after heat exchange is directly connected to the second and third areas after heat exchange.

[0012] The advantages and positive effects of this invention are as follows: 1. This invention adopts a valve-type integrated damper with a semi-cylindrical hollow structure, realizing the design concept of integrating multiple dampers into one physical mechanism, and achieving the practical application effect of freely switching between 7 modes.

[0013] 2. The application of the valve-type integrated damper of this invention reduces the number of motor actuators matched with the air conditioning unit, simplifies the complexity of the electronic control circuit, and improves the utilization rate of new energy vehicles.

[0014] 3. This invention adopts an innovative structure that matches the valve-type integrated damper with the housing, which simplifies the overall structure of the air conditioning unit, reduces the number of parts, and simultaneously meets the performance requirements of the air conditioning unit; it improves the reliability of the air conditioning unit, reduces the cost of the air conditioning unit, and simplifies the assembly and production of the air conditioning unit, thereby increasing the production efficiency.

[0015] 5. The valve-type integrated damper of this invention is directly driven by an integrated motor actuator, thereby reducing noise or jamming problems caused by gear and rack transmission when switching between multiple damper modes. The noise and jamming are significantly improved. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a traditional air conditioning unit damper structure; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the new air conditioning unit assembly; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of an explosion of a new type of air conditioner unit; Figure 4 Schematic diagram of valve-type integrated damper structure Figure 1 ; Figure 5 Schematic diagram of valve-type integrated damper structure Figure 2 ; Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the air conditioner housing structure; Figure 7 A schematic diagram of the airflow direction in the defrosting operation mode of the air conditioning unit assembly; Figure 8 A schematic diagram of the cross-sectional airflow direction of the air conditioning unit assembly in the combined blowing and defrosting mode; Figure 9 A schematic diagram of the airflow direction in the cross-section of the air conditioning unit assembly under foot blowing operation mode; Figure 10 A schematic diagram of the airflow direction in the cross-section of the air conditioning unit assembly in the coordinated mode of the blowing surface and the blowing feet. Figure 11 A schematic diagram of the airflow direction across the cross-section of the air conditioning unit assembly in its working mode (blowing surface). Figure 12 A schematic diagram of the airflow direction in the cross-section of the air conditioning unit assembly under the combined blowing and defrosting modes; Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of the airflow direction in the cross-section of the air conditioning unit assembly in the coordinated mode of blowing on the front and feet and defrosting. Detailed Implementation

[0017] The structure of the present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be noted that these embodiments are descriptive and not limiting.

[0018] Please refer to an air conditioning unit that uses a valve-type integrated damper. Figures 1-13Its main innovations are: the novel design of the valve-type integrated damper structure and the innovative structural design of the air conditioning unit shell. The matching application of the valve-type integrated damper and the air conditioning unit shell realizes the requirements of different air supply modes of the air conditioning unit.

[0019] The air conditioning unit using valve-type integrated dampers mainly includes valve-type integrated dampers 8, integrated electric actuators 9, left housing of the air conditioning unit 10, right housing of the air conditioning unit 11, lower housing of the air conditioning unit 12, heating core 13, evaporator core 20, blower 14, and volute air intake channel 15.

[0020] The left housing 10, right housing 11, and lower housing 12 of the air conditioning unit are connected to form an air conditioning unit housing assembly. The heater core 13 is fixedly installed in the inner cavity of the air conditioning unit housing assembly, dividing the inner cavity into a pre-heat exchange cavity and a post-heat exchange cavity. The evaporator core is located in the pre-heat exchange cavity. An air inlet is provided on one side wall of the air conditioning unit housing assembly, and the air inlet communicates with the pre-heat exchange cavity. A volute air intake channel is fixedly installed on the outside of the air conditioning unit housing assembly at a position corresponding to the air inlet. The external air intake port of the volute air intake channel is aligned with the exhaust port of the blower, enabling gas to be transported through the volute air intake channel to the pre-heat exchange cavity inside the air conditioning unit housing assembly. The blower is fixedly installed at a designated installation position outside the air conditioning unit housing assembly.

[0021] The upper end of the air conditioning unit housing assembly is provided with an upper air outlet channel. A first partition rib 21 is provided in the middle of the upper air outlet channel, dividing the upper air outlet channel into a side-by-side blowing air outlet channel 17 and a defrosting air outlet channel 18. A second partition rib 22 and a third partition rib 23 extending inward are provided on the inner side wall of the air conditioning unit housing assembly away from the blower installation position.

[0022] The valve-type integrated damper adopts a semi-cylindrical hollow structure, including a semi-circular door panel 86, end plates fixed at both ends of the door panel, and a left-hand rotation support shaft 85 and a right-hand rotation support shaft 84 coaxially mounted outside the end plates. A ventilation hole (corresponding to the hollowed-out area) is provided near one side of the semi-circular door panel, and the ventilation hole is a rectangular hole. Furthermore, a sealing strip 16 is fixed around the perimeter of the ventilation hole, and an axial sealing strip is fixed on the end of the semi-circular door panel near the ventilation hole. The sealing strip prevents air leakage under different operating conditions. To improve the structural strength of the valve-type integrated damper, radial and axial reinforcing ribs can be provided inside the semi-circular door panel corresponding to the ventilation hole positions, such as two radial reinforcing ribs (labeled 81 and 82 in the attached drawing) and one axial reinforcing rib 83.

[0023] The valve-type integrated damper is rotatably mounted in the heat exchange cavity near the upper air outlet channel via rotating support shafts at both ends. Specifically, a left shaft hole 101 is provided on the left housing of the air conditioning unit, and a right shaft hole 111 is provided on the right housing. The left and right shaft holes are coaxial. The valve-type integrated damper is rotatably mounted in the shaft holes at both ends via rotating support shafts. One rotating support shaft is driven and connected to an integrated electric actuator fixed to the corresponding side wall of the air conditioning unit housing assembly. The integrated electric actuator is based on existing electric actuators.

[0024] The outer arc surface of the valve-type integrated damper mates with the inner ends of the first, second, and third partition ribs, further dividing the heat exchange cavity into four regions. The region between the outer arc surface of the valve-type integrated damper, the third partition rib, the warm air core, and the front wall of the air conditioning unit assembly is the first region after heat exchange; the region between the outer arc surface of the valve-type integrated damper, the second and third partition ribs, and the front wall of the air conditioning unit assembly is the second region; the region between the second and first partition ribs, the outer arc surface of the valve-type integrated damper, and the front wall of the air conditioning unit assembly is the third region; and the region between the first partition rib, the outer arc surface of the valve-type integrated damper, and the rear wall of the air conditioning unit assembly is the fourth region. The third region corresponds to the air blowing channel, and the fourth region corresponds to the defrost air blowing channel. Foot air outlet channels are provided on the left and right side walls of the air conditioning unit housing assembly, corresponding to the second area after heat exchange and near the top.

[0025] This invention achieves switching between seven modes—defrosting mode, face blowing mode, foot blowing mode, combined face and foot blowing mode, combined defrosting and foot blowing mode, combined defrosting and face blowing mode, and combined face, foot blowing and defrosting mode—by rotating the ventilation holes of the valve-type integrated damper to different positions corresponding to the four heated areas mentioned above. This comprehensively meets the customer's needs for air conditioning modes under different ambient temperatures. Specifically: Accurate switching between different modes can be achieved by controlling the rotation steps or feedback voltage of the integrated motor actuator.

[0026] The initial state of the valve-type integrated damper is defrost mode, meaning the initial damper angle is 0°. In defrost mode, the first and fourth heat exchange zones are connected through the ventilation holes on the valve-type integrated damper, while the first heat exchange zone is not connected to the second or third heat exchange zones. See [link / reference]. Figure 7 .

[0027] Rotating the valve-type integrated damper clockwise by the first angle switches the defrost mode to a combined defrost and foot-blowing mode. In this mode, the first heat-exchange zone connects to the second heat-exchange zone via the ventilation holes on the valve-type integrated damper. Simultaneously, the first heat-exchange zone directly connects to the fourth heat-exchange zone, but the first heat-exchange zone does not connect to the third heat-exchange zone. (See [link]). Figure 8 .

[0028] Rotating the valve-type integrated damper clockwise by a second angle switches the mode to foot-blowing mode. In foot-blowing mode, the first heat-exchange zone is connected to the second heat-exchange zone only through the ventilation holes on the valve-type integrated damper. Air blown in by the blower, after being heated by the heater core, enters the second heat-exchange zone through multiple windows in the ventilation holes (see quotation marks 811 and 831 in the attached diagram), specifically through the pre-reserved airflow foot-blowing channel 19 between the left and right housings of the air conditioning unit. (See attached diagram). Figure 9 .

[0029] Rotating the valve-type integrated damper clockwise by the third angle switches the mode to a combined surface and foot blowing mode. At this time, part of the ventilation holes on the valve-type integrated damper aligns with the second area after heat exchange, and the other part aligns with the third area after heat exchange, thus achieving simultaneous communication between the first area after heat exchange and the second and third areas. (See [link / reference]). Figure 10 .

[0030] Rotating the valve-type integrated damper clockwise by four degrees switches the mode to surface blowing mode. In this mode, the ventilation holes on the valve-type integrated damper only connect to the third zone after heat exchange, ensuring that the first zone after heat exchange is only connected to the third zone. (See [link]). Figure 11 .

[0031] Rotating the valve-type integrated damper clockwise by the fifth angle switches the mode to a combined defrosting and blowing mode. At this time, part of the ventilation holes on the valve-type integrated damper aligns with the third zone after heat exchange, and the other part aligns with the fourth zone after heat exchange, thus achieving simultaneous communication between the first zone after heat exchange and both the third and fourth zones. (See [link / reference]). Figure 12 .

[0032] Rotating the valve-type integrated damper clockwise by the sixth angle switches the mode to a combined defrosting, foot blowing, and face blowing mode. In this mode, the ventilation holes on the valve-type integrated damper align only with the fourth heat-exchange zone, allowing the first heat-exchange zone to be directly connected to both the second and third heat-exchange zones simultaneously. At the same time, the first heat-exchange zone is connected to the fourth heat-exchange zone through the ventilation holes on the valve-type integrated damper. (See [link]). Figure 13 .

[0033] In summary, as the rotation angle of the valve-type integrated damper changes, the air conditioning mode changes synchronously, as shown in Table 1. The damper angles shown in the table are just examples. In actual air conditioning unit applications, the designed damper angles will vary depending on the required air volume and the size of the ventilation holes on the valve-type integrated damper.

[0034] Table 1:

[0035] The valve-type integrated damper is directly driven by the integrated damper motor, which has a fast response speed and saves the structural components such as the mode mechanism plate of the traditional air conditioning unit. This reduces the noise or jamming problems caused by the operation of the mode plate and other operating mechanisms when switching multiple damper modes. This is a very important improvement for new energy vehicles.

[0036] Although embodiments and drawings of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will understand that various substitutions, variations and modifications are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention and the appended claims. Therefore, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the contents disclosed in the embodiments and drawings.

Claims

1. An air conditioning unit employing a valve-type integrated damper, characterized in that: Includes valve-type integrated damper, integrated electric actuator, air conditioning unit housing assembly, heater core, evaporator core, blower and volute air intake channel; The heating core is fixedly installed in the inner cavity of the air conditioning unit housing assembly, dividing the inner cavity into a pre-heat exchange cavity and a post-heat exchange cavity. The evaporator core is located in the pre-heat exchange cavity. An air inlet is provided on one side wall of the air conditioning unit housing assembly, and the air inlet communicates with the pre-heat exchange cavity. The volute air intake channel is fixedly installed on the outside of the air conditioning unit housing assembly at a position corresponding to the air inlet, and the external air intake port of the volute air intake channel is aligned and connected to the exhaust port of the blower. The upper end of the air conditioning unit housing assembly is provided with an upper air outlet channel. The upper air outlet channel is divided into a side-by-side blowing air outlet channel and a defrosting air outlet channel by a first partition rib. An inner extending second partition rib and a third partition rib are provided on the inner side wall of the air conditioning unit housing assembly away from the blower installation position. The valve-type integrated damper adopts a semi-cylindrical hollow structure, with the hollow part forming a ventilation hole; the valve-type integrated damper is rotatably installed in the heat exchange cavity near the upper air outlet channel through the rotating support shafts at both ends; the rotating support shaft at one end is driven and connected to the integrated electric actuator fixed on the corresponding side wall of the air conditioning unit housing assembly. The outer arc surface of the valve-type integrated damper mates with the inner ends of the first, second, and third partition ribs, dividing the heat exchange cavity into four regions. The region between the outer arc surface of the valve-type integrated damper, the third partition rib, the warm air core, and the front wall of the air conditioning unit assembly forms the first heat exchange region. The region between the outer arc surface of the valve-type integrated damper, the second and third partition ribs, and the front wall of the air conditioning unit assembly forms the second heat exchange region. The second partition rib, the first... The area between the outer circular surface of the partition rib, the valve-type integrated damper, and the front side wall of the air conditioning unit housing assembly is the third area after heat exchange; the area between the outer circular surface of the first partition rib, the valve-type integrated damper, and the rear side wall of the air conditioning unit housing assembly is the fourth area after heat exchange; the third area after heat exchange corresponds to the air blowing channel, the fourth area after heat exchange corresponds to the defrost air blowing channel, and foot blowing channels are provided on the left and right side walls of the air conditioning unit housing assembly at positions corresponding to the second area after heat exchange and near the upper end; By rotating the ventilation holes of the integrated damper valve and the relative positions of the four heated areas, seven working modes can be switched: defrosting mode, face blowing mode, foot blowing mode, face and foot blowing combined mode, defrosting and foot blowing combined mode, defrosting and face blowing combined mode, and face, foot blowing and defrosting combined mode.

2. The air conditioning unit with valve-type integrated damper according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air conditioning unit housing assembly is composed of a left air conditioning unit housing, a right air conditioning unit housing, and a lower air conditioning unit housing.

3. The air conditioning unit with valve-type integrated damper according to claim 1, characterized in that: The valve-type integrated damper includes a semi-circular door panel, end plates fixed at both ends of the door panel, and a left-hand rotation support shaft and a right-hand rotation support shaft coaxially mounted outside the end plates. The ventilation hole is provided near one side of the semi-circular door panel, and the ventilation hole is a rectangular hole.

4. The air conditioning unit employing a valve-type integrated damper according to claim 3, characterized in that: A sealing strip is fixed around the perimeter of the ventilation hole, and a sealing strip is fixed axially at one end of the semi-circular door panel near the ventilation hole.

5. The air conditioning unit employing a valve-type integrated damper according to claim 3, characterized in that: Reinforcing ribs are installed inside the semi-circular door panel at the locations corresponding to the ventilation holes, both radially and axially.

6. The air conditioning unit employing a valve-type integrated damper according to claim 3, characterized in that: In defrost mode, the first and fourth heat exchange zones are connected via ventilation holes on the valve-type integrated damper, but the first heat exchange zone is not connected to the second or third heat exchange zones. In the combined defrost and foot blowing mode, the first heat exchange zone is connected to the second heat exchange zone via ventilation holes on the valve-type integrated damper, and is directly connected to the fourth heat exchange zone, but not to the third heat exchange zone. In foot blowing mode, the first heat exchange zone is only connected to the second heat exchange zone via ventilation holes on the valve-type integrated damper. In the combined face and foot blowing mode, a portion of the ventilation holes on the valve-type integrated damper is connected to the second heat exchange zone. One part aligns with the third area after heat exchange, while the other part aligns with the third area after heat exchange, enabling the first area after heat exchange to be simultaneously connected to the second and third areas after heat exchange. In the face blowing mode, the ventilation holes on the valve-type integrated damper are only connected to the third area after heat exchange. In the defrosting and face blowing combined mode, one part of the ventilation holes on the valve-type integrated damper aligns with the third area after heat exchange, and the other part aligns with the fourth area after heat exchange, enabling the first area after heat exchange to be simultaneously connected to the third and fourth areas after heat exchange. In the defrosting, foot blowing, and face blowing combined mode, the ventilation holes on the valve-type integrated damper align with the fourth area after heat exchange, while the first area after heat exchange is directly connected to the second and third areas after heat exchange.

Images