Suspension system cooling device for vehicle road test

Abstract

The utility model relates to vehicle test equipment technical field especially relates to a whole vehicle road test suspension system cooling device, including condensate water transmission structure, with the condensate water drainage of vehicle air conditioner connects;Cooling executive structure, arrangement is in the shell of vehicle N shock absorber;N is the natural number of >=1. Still include condensate water collection structure. Condensate water transmission structure includes N water pump and the matched transmission hose, and the water inlet of water pump is connected with the bottom water outlet of condensate water collection structure through transmission hose;Still include N atomization sprinkling structure, including the atomization nozzle of facing cooling executive structure: its inlet is connected with the transmission hose end from water pump, is used for atomizing and spraying condensate water to cooling executive structure. Still include the temperature control structure of setting in each shock absorber shell, for detecting shock absorber temperature and control water pump's working condition;The utility model can effectively utilize the condensate water of vehicle air conditioner system generation and cool shock absorber.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of vehicle testing equipment technology, and in particular to a cooling device for a suspension system in a whole vehicle road test. Background Technology

[0002] Vehicle road testing is a crucial step in the automotive development process to verify a vehicle's reliability, durability, and performance. During testing, the vehicle must travel on reinforced road surfaces (such as bumpy roads or mountain roads), where the suspension system, especially the shock absorbers, generates a significant amount of heat due to continuous vibration. The shock absorbers convert mechanical vibration into heat energy through the flow of fluid within their chambers, which is then dissipated through convection with the outside air via their outer shell.

[0003] However, under low-speed, high-intensity testing conditions, the airflow velocity around the vehicle is low, significantly reducing the effectiveness of natural air cooling and causing the temperature of the shock absorbers and their surrounding bushings to rise rapidly. Overheating can not only cause shock absorber oil leakage, performance degradation, or even failure, but also affect the overall performance of the suspension system, thereby reducing the accuracy and reliability of test data.

[0004] Currently, the common cooling method involves using an external water tank and an electric water pump to spray condensate onto the shock absorber housing for forced cooling. While this method has some effect, it has the following significant drawbacks: 1) The cooling device is large in size and heavy in weight, and the installation requires welding of brackets, which is complicated and costly. 2) Frequent replenishment of condensate water is required, making maintenance inconvenient; 3) Under high-temperature conditions, the water temperature inside the storage tank increases, and the cooling efficiency decreases; 4) It consumes a lot of energy and does not meet the requirements of green environmental protection.

[0005] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a suspension system cooling device that is simple in structure, easy to install, energy-efficient, and applicable to various vehicle models, in order to improve the reliability and accuracy of vehicle road tests. Utility Model Content

[0006] In view of this, this utility model proposes a cooling device for a suspension system in a vehicle road test, which can effectively utilize the condensate generated by the vehicle's air conditioning system to cool the shock absorbers, solving the problems of existing cooling devices being large in size, complex in installation, inefficient, and not environmentally friendly.

[0007] The technical solution of this utility model is achieved as follows: This utility model provides a cooling device for a vehicle road test suspension system, comprising: The condensate transfer structure is connected to the condensate drain outlet of the vehicle's air conditioning system. N cooling actuators are arranged on the housings of N shock absorbers in the vehicle to receive condensate from the condensate transfer structure and cool the shock absorbers by evaporation and heat absorption. The condensate transport structure is arranged with a natural downward slope; N is a natural number ≥ 1.

[0008] As a preferred technical solution, the cooling execution structure is an evaporative water curtain, made of cotton cloth, non-woven fabric or super absorbent polymer material.

[0009] As a preferred technical solution, a condensate collection structure is also included for collecting condensate generated by the vehicle's air conditioning system.

[0010] As a preferred technical solution, the condensate transmission structure includes N water pumps and matching transmission hoses, and the inlet of the water pumps is connected to the bottom outlet of the condensate collection structure through the transmission hoses.

[0011] As a preferred technical solution, it also includes N atomizing spray structures, including atomizing nozzles facing the cooling actuator: their inlets are connected to the end of a transmission hose from a water pump, for atomizing condensate and spraying it onto the cooling actuator.

[0012] As a preferred technical solution, a temperature control structure is also included, which is installed on the housing of each shock absorber; used to detect the temperature of the shock absorber and control the working status of the water pump.

[0013] As a preferred technical solution, the temperature control structure is a temperature control switch, which is electrically connected to the water pump. The water pump is started when the temperature of the shock absorber housing reaches the set upper limit threshold, and the water pump is turned off when the temperature of the shock absorber housing reaches the set lower limit threshold.

[0014] As a preferred technical solution, the temperature control structure is installed in the lower or middle part of the shock absorber housing.

[0015] As a preferred technical solution, the system also includes a storage battery, the positive terminal of which is connected to the negative terminals of N temperature control structures via a parallel circuit, and the negative terminal of which is connected to the positive terminals of N water pumps via a parallel circuit.

[0016] The present invention has the following advantages over the prior art: This invention cleverly transforms the condensate generated during air conditioning operation into a cooling medium. During vehicle road testing, the air conditioning system operates continuously, producing a large amount of condensate. This condensate could otherwise be directly discharged outside the vehicle, resulting in resource waste. However, this device treats this condensate as a valuable resource and achieves its full utilization through innovative dripping and spraying methods. This device effectively reduces the operating temperature of the shock absorbers by 10-25°C, preventing oil leaks, performance degradation, or failure due to overheating, and significantly improving the reliability and durability of the suspension system under harsh testing environments. Attached Figure Description

[0017] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this utility model or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this utility model. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the cooling device in Example 1; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the cooling device in Example 2.

[0019] Attached image labels: 1. Car air conditioner; 2. Transmission hose; 3. Cooling actuator; 4. Condensate collection structure; 5. Atomizing spray structure; 6. Temperature control structure; 7. Battery; 8. Water pump; 9. Shock absorber. Detailed Implementation

[0020] As a key component of automotive suspension, the shock absorber's role is to improve vehicle stability and comfort, and reduce the pressure on other components of the suspension system. Its working principle is based on the circulation of oil within its cavity, generating damping force, converting vibration energy into heat energy, and dissipating the heat to the external environment through the shock absorber's shell. In vehicle road reliability and durability tests, the high proportion of reinforced road surfaces (i.e., bumpy roads) causes the shock absorbers to heat up rapidly. If the accumulated heat cannot be fully dissipated, it may cause overheating of the shock absorber and its related bushings, leading to problems such as oil leaks, performance degradation, or even failure, thus affecting the accuracy of the suspension system and even the entire vehicle's verification. To address this urgent problem, the technical solution will be clearly and completely described below with reference to specific embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this utility model, not all of them. Based on the embodiments of this utility model, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this utility model.

[0021] Example 1 like Figure 1 As shown in the figure, this utility model discloses a cooling device for a vehicle road test suspension system, which utilizes the physical characteristics of existing vehicle systems to achieve automatic delivery and efficient evaporative cooling of the cooling medium. The following provides a detailed description of the placement, connection relationships, and collaborative working principles of each component.

[0022] The cooling device includes a condensate transfer structure 2 and a cooling execution structure 3; The condensate transfer structure 2 employs a flexible pipeline, preferably a heat-resistant and aging-resistant silicone hose. Its arrangement follows a natural downward slope, with one end sealed to the condensate outlet of the automotive air conditioning system 1 to collect condensate; the other end connects to the cooling actuator 3. When the automotive air conditioning system 1 operates in cooling mode, its evaporator components generate condensate. The condensate is discharged through the inherent air conditioning condensate drain outlet. The blower of the automotive air conditioning system 1 is located within the air conditioning housing and drives airflow through the evaporator, thereby creating a pressure distribution within the air conditioning housing.

[0023] N cooling actuators 3 are arranged on the housings of N shock absorbers 9 in the vehicle, and are made of cotton cloth, non-woven fabric, or super absorbent polymer material to form evaporative water curtains; N is a natural number ≥ 1. The cooling actuator 3 is fixedly attached to the upper part of the shock absorber housing by straps or clamps to ensure that it maintains close or adjacent contact with the surface of the shock absorber housing, thereby achieving effective heat exchange.

[0024] Since each vehicle is usually equipped with multiple shock absorbers, each shock absorber can be modified into the above-mentioned cooling execution structure 3. That is, the condensate outlet of the car air conditioner 1 is connected to the top of all the evaporation water curtains 3 through the parallel condensate transmission structure 2, and the evaporation water curtains are moistened by dripping.

[0025] The working principle of the cooling device described in this embodiment is as follows: When the air conditioner blower is working, it creates a negative pressure zone on its air inlet side and a positive pressure zone on its air outlet side. The air conditioner condensate drain outlet is usually located in the negative pressure zone or the area affected by it. When the drain outlet is connected to the external atmospheric environment through the condensate transmission structure 2, the external port of the hose is at normal pressure, while the port where the hose connects to the drain outlet is at negative pressure. This creates a pressure difference inside the hose generated by the blower. This pressure difference provides the initial force for the condensate to drain, overcoming resistance such as surface tension, and causing the condensate to enter the hose from the drain outlet.

[0026] After condensate enters the hose, it flows continuously towards the lower-positioned cooling actuator 3, propelled by subsequent condensate and its own gravity, eventually dripping or seeping onto the cooling actuator 3; the cooling actuator 3 becomes wet due to the absorption of condensate. During vehicle road testing, the shock absorber housing heats up due to reciprocating work, and this heat is conducted to the wetted cooling actuator 3 attached to it. The liquid water rapidly evaporates and vaporizes after absorbing the heat from the shock absorber housing. Because the evaporation of water absorbs a large amount of heat, the temperature of the shock absorber housing can be reduced efficiently and continuously, ultimately achieving the technical objective of cooling the oil in the shock absorber core.

[0027] The core advantage of this embodiment lies in completely eliminating the need for an electric water pump 8, automatically guiding the low-temperature air conditioning condensate to the heating element of the shock absorber for evaporative cooling. This process is highly energy efficient, requiring only the addition of hoses and an evaporative cooling pad. The structure is simple and compact, easy to install, and fully utilizes previously discarded resources, demonstrating excellent energy-saving and environmentally friendly characteristics. Its effectiveness is even more pronounced at higher ambient temperatures.

[0028] Example 2 like Figure 2 As shown, the vehicle road test suspension system cooling device disclosed in this utility model embodiment includes a condensate collection structure 4, a condensate transmission structure 2, an atomizing spray structure 5, a cooling execution structure 3, and a temperature control structure 6. The condensate collection structure 4 serves as a water storage unit, preferably a 5L water tank, and is installed in a suitable location with ample space inside the vehicle and below the air conditioning drain outlet. Its inlet is connected to the vehicle's air conditioning condensate drain outlet via a flexible hose to collect and temporarily store the continuously generated air conditioning condensate.

[0029] The condensate transmission structure 2 includes N water pumps 8 and matching transmission hoses 2. The inlet of the water pump 8 is connected to the bottom outlet of the 5L water collector through the transmission hose 2.

[0030] N atomizing spray structures 5 include atomizing nozzles facing the cooling actuator 3: their inlets are connected to the end of the transmission hose 2 from the water pump 8, and their function is to atomize condensate into extremely fine water droplets and spray them onto the cooling actuator 3.

[0031] The cooling actuator 3 is arranged on the housing of the automotive shock absorber 9 and is made of an evaporative water curtain using cotton cloth, non-woven fabric, or super absorbent polymer material with high water-holding capacity. The cooling actuator 3 is fixedly attached to the upper part of the shock absorber housing by straps or clamps to ensure that it maintains close or adjacent contact with the surface of the shock absorber housing, thereby achieving effective heat exchange.

[0032] The temperature control structure 6 is a temperature control switch, installed in the lower or middle part of the shock absorber housing. This position allows for the most accurate and rapid sensing of the actual operating temperature of the shock absorber. The temperature control switch forms a circuit with the water pump 8 and the battery 7 via electrical signal lines.

[0033] It also includes a storage battery 7, which serves as the power supply unit for the entire system. It can be the vehicle's main storage battery 7 or an independent auxiliary power source. The positive terminal of the storage battery 7 is connected to the negative terminals of N temperature control structures 6 through a parallel circuit, and the negative terminal of the storage battery 7 is connected to the positive terminals of N water pumps 8 through a parallel circuit.

[0034] The working principle of the cooling device described in this embodiment is as follows: The condensate generated during the operation of the automotive air conditioning system 1 is guided through a hose and stored in the condensate collection structure 4 for later use. When the temperature of the shock absorber rises to the activation temperature threshold of the temperature control switch due to continuous operation, the temperature control switch automatically closes, connecting the circuit, and the battery 7 supplies power to the water pump 8. The water pump 8 starts, draws condensate from the condensate collection structure 4 and pressurizes it, then delivers the high-pressure water flow to the atomizing nozzle through the transmission hose 2. The atomizing nozzle pulverizes the liquid water into extremely fine water mist with a very small diameter and sprays it evenly onto the cooling actuator structure 3 covering the surface of the shock absorber housing. The atomized water droplets have a huge total surface area, maximizing their contact area with the hot outer shell of the shock absorber. The water mist evaporates and vaporizes rapidly, absorbing a large amount of latent heat of vaporization during this phase change process, thus efficiently and quickly carrying away the heat from the shock absorber and causing its temperature to drop rapidly. As the cooling process continues, the temperature of the shock absorber gradually decreases. When the temperature drops back to the preset shut-off temperature threshold of the temperature control switch, the temperature control switch automatically disconnects, cutting off the circuit to the water pump 8; the water pump 8 stops working, the spray cooling stops, and the system re-enters the monitoring standby state until the next working cycle begins.

[0035] It is particularly noteworthy that the cooling efficiency of this device is especially outstanding under high-temperature conditions. This is because the increase in ambient temperature leads to a corresponding increase in the production of condensate from the automotive air conditioning system, thus providing the device with a more abundant cooling medium. Simultaneously, the heat dissipation requirements of the shock absorbers are more urgent under high-temperature environments. To verify the actual effectiveness of this device, we conducted numerous experiments and tests. The test results show that, under the same high-temperature operating conditions, the temperature of the shock absorbers using this device can be reduced by approximately 10 to 25 degrees Celsius compared to those without.

[0036] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present utility model and is not intended to limit the present utility model. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present utility model should be included within the protection scope of the present utility model.

Claims

1. A cooling device for a suspension system used in a vehicle road test, characterized in that, include: The condensate transfer structure is connected to the condensate drain outlet of the vehicle's air conditioning system. N cooling actuators are arranged on the housings of N shock absorbers in the vehicle to receive condensate from the condensate transfer structure and cool the shock absorbers by evaporation and heat absorption. The condensate transport structure is arranged with a natural downward slope; N is a natural number ≥ 1.

2. The vehicle road test suspension system cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cooling mechanism is an evaporative water curtain, made of cotton cloth, non-woven fabric, or super absorbent polymer material.

3. The vehicle road test suspension system cooling device according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a condensate collection structure for collecting condensate generated by the vehicle's air conditioning system.

4. The vehicle road test suspension system cooling device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The condensate transfer structure includes N water pumps and matching transfer hoses. The inlet of each water pump is connected to the outlet at the bottom of the condensate collection structure via the transfer hose.

5. The vehicle road test suspension system cooling device according to claim 4, characterized in that: It also includes N atomizing spray structures, including atomizing nozzles facing the cooling actuator: their inlets are connected to the end of a transmission hose from a water pump, for atomizing condensate and spraying it onto the cooling actuator.

6. The vehicle road test suspension system cooling device according to claim 4, characterized in that: It also includes a temperature control structure, which is installed on the housing of each shock absorber; used to detect the temperature of the shock absorber and control the working status of the water pump.

7. The vehicle road test suspension system cooling device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The temperature control structure is a temperature control switch, which is electrically connected to the water pump. When the temperature of the shock absorber housing reaches the set upper limit threshold, the water pump is started; when the temperature of the shock absorber housing reaches the set lower limit threshold, the water pump is turned off.

8. The vehicle road test suspension system cooling device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The temperature control structure is installed in the lower or middle part of the shock absorber housing.

9. The vehicle road test suspension system cooling device according to claim 6, characterized in that: It also includes a storage battery, the positive terminal of which is connected to the negative terminals of N temperature control structures through a parallel circuit, and the negative terminal of the storage battery is connected to the positive terminals of N water pumps through a parallel circuit.

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