Segmented controllable active airtight system

Abstract

The utility model discloses a kind of subsection controllable active air-tight systems, including first expansion piece and second expansion piece;The first expansion piece is set to first air-tight area, the inside of the first expansion piece is provided with cavity, and the air inlet end of the cavity in its inside is connected with the air outlet end of first gas supply device;The second expansion piece is set to second air-tight area, the inside of the second expansion piece is provided with cavity, and the air inlet end of the cavity in its inside is connected with the air outlet end of second gas supply device;The first gas supply device and the second gas supply device are configured as the gas source device that can provide compressed gas instantaneously;The first air-tight area and the second air-tight area constitute complete air-tight area, and the first air-tight area is below height reference line, and the second air-tight area is above the height reference line.The utility model solves the problem of sealing failure and carriage water inlet caused by traditional passive air-tight system due to uneven, dynamic water pressure.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of automotive sealing technology, and in particular to a segmented and controllable active airtight system. Background Technology

[0002] Current vehicles generally employ passive airtight systems, relying on the static preload of traditional sealing strips to achieve a seal, primarily addressing static wind noise and dust prevention. However, when a vehicle is wading through water, the water pressure on different parts of the vehicle body is dynamic, uneven, and highly variable. Traditional sealing strips can only provide a basic, average-level seal and cannot guarantee absolute airtightness of the passenger compartment under extreme and uneven dynamic loads. Furthermore, after long-term use, the sealing strips inevitably age and undergo plastic deformation, leading to a decrease in sealing pressure. Simultaneously, static seals are ill-suited to the manufacturing tolerances and deformations of vehicle door frames, making them highly susceptible to leakage at weak points when external water pressure increases, compromising seal reliability. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Purpose of the invention: In order to overcome the shortcomings of the existing technology, this utility model provides a segmented and controllable active airtight system, which solves the problem of sealing failure and water ingress in the carriage caused by the inability of traditional passive airtight systems to cope with uneven and dynamically changing water pressure.

[0004] Technical Solution: To achieve the above objectives, this utility model provides a segmented, controllable, active airtight system, comprising a first expansion member and a second expansion member; the first expansion member is disposed in a first airtight zone, and a cavity is provided inside the first expansion member, with the air inlet end of the cavity connected to the air outlet end of a first air supply device; the second expansion member is disposed in a second airtight zone, and a cavity is provided inside the second expansion member, with the air inlet end of the cavity connected to the air outlet end of a second air supply device; both the first and second air supply devices are configured as air source devices capable of instantly providing compressed gas; the first and second airtight zones constitute a complete airtight zone, with the first airtight zone located below a height reference line and the second airtight zone located above the height reference line.

[0005] Furthermore, the air outlet of the first air supply device is connected to the air inlet of the diversion air path, and the air outlet of the diversion air path is provided with two air outlets, which are respectively connected to the air inlets at both ends of the first expansion member.

[0006] Furthermore, the first gas supply device is a miniature diaphragm pump, whose inlet and outlet ports are simultaneously connected to the atmosphere and the internal gas of the first expansion member through a three-position four-way solenoid valve.

[0007] Furthermore, multiple first expansion members are respectively disposed on the fitting edges of multiple car doors and their lower door frames, each first expansion member is correspondingly connected to a first air supply device, and each first air supply device is integrated inside the corresponding car door.

[0008] Furthermore, multiple second expansion members are respectively disposed in multiple vertical gap areas of the door, and each second expansion member has an air inlet at its lower end and an air outlet at its upper end.

[0009] Furthermore, each of the inlets of the multiple second expansion members is equipped with a high-speed switching solenoid valve, and each of the outlets is equipped with an exhaust valve; the outlet of the second air supply device is connected to the inlet of a high-pressure main pipe, and the outlet of the high-pressure main pipe is connected to the inlet of the multiple high-speed switching solenoid valves through multiple branch pipes respectively.

[0010] Furthermore, each of the second expansion members integrates several pressure sensors, which are evenly distributed along the length of the corresponding expansion member. Each of the pressure sensors is electrically connected to a controller, and the signal output terminal of the controller is electrically connected to the control signal receiving terminal of the corresponding high-speed switching solenoid valve and the exhaust valve.

[0011] Beneficial Effects: This utility model discloses a segmented, controllable, active airtight system. Through independent segmented control, the system can implement independent and dynamic pressure control on each segment based on the actual water pressure experienced by different parts of the vehicle during wading. This achieves precise countermeasures against dynamic water pressure, fundamentally preventing leakage. The dual-end air intake and parallel zoned inflation design significantly improves the response speed of seal establishment, ensuring effective sealing before water arrives. It achieves "on-demand pressure supply," avoiding energy waste, excessive compression and wear of seals caused by continuous high pressure throughout the cycle, achieving an optimal balance between sealing performance, energy consumption, and component lifespan. Furthermore, a single segment failure does not affect the overall system operation, demonstrating high reliability. Attached Figure Description

[0012] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the system structure of the car door portion according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0013] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing the distribution of the first and second expansion members in the door area of ​​the embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0014] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0015] As attached Figure 1-2The segmented, controllable active airtight system includes a first expansion component and a second expansion component; both employ an inflatable sealing strip structure, with the overall structure resembling a rubber tube. It can replace the original door sealing strip or be additionally installed inside the original sealing strip. A high-strength fiber skeleton layer may be incorporated into the rubber wall to ensure that expansion does not result in excessive stretching along the length direction, but rather uniform radial expansion. Structurally, it adopts a cross-sectional shape adapted to the required sealing gap, possibly an asymmetrical cross-sectional design, to achieve better airtightness.

[0016] The first expansion member 1 is disposed in the first airtight zone, and the interior of the first expansion member 1 is provided with a cavity, and the air inlet end of the cavity is connected to the air outlet end of the first air supply device 3; the second expansion member 2 is disposed in the second airtight zone, and the interior of the second expansion member 2 is provided with a cavity, and the air inlet end of the cavity is connected to the air outlet end of the second air supply device 4; both the first air supply device 3 and the second air supply device 4 are configured as air source devices capable of providing compressed gas instantly; for example, an electric micro air pump or a disposable high-pressure gas canister.

[0017] The first airtight zone and the second airtight zone constitute a complete airtight zone, with the first airtight zone located below the height reference line 5 and the second airtight zone located above the height reference line 5.

[0018] Based on the above structure, this solution uses the height baseline 5 as the dividing line to realize segmented independent control of the airtight zones on the upper and lower sides, so that the airtight system can achieve dynamic adaptive sealing when dealing with special situations.

[0019] For example, in a car wading scenario, the height baseline 5 can be set to a position 50cm higher than the door sill. Then, the gaps in the car body below this height position will use the first expansion component, such as the lower edge of the door and the gaps on the chassis. The gaps in the car body above this height position will use the second expansion component, such as the front and rear and upper edges of the door, as well as the edges of the windows, sunroof, and front and rear windshields.

[0020] By inflating the two expansion joints through the first air supply device 3 and the second air supply device 4, parallel inflation in different zones can be achieved. Taking a car door as an example, it can be envisioned that after receiving a wading command, the system can simultaneously inflate key areas such as the lower sill section and the upper sill section. Since the volume of each section is much smaller than the volume of the entire circumference, the time required to inflate to the target pressure is significantly shortened, resulting in a faster overall response speed. Furthermore, since the external water pressure and the degree of water leakage risk differ between the upper and lower sections when a car is wading, zoned inflation can achieve pressure distribution as needed. The system can provide high pressure only to the sections that are truly under water pressure, and can quickly inflate only the sections with a real risk of water leakage (such as the lower edge of the door or chassis gaps), while slowly inflating to medium or high pressure for relatively low-risk sections. The roof section (the upper edge of the door or the edge of the sunroof, etc.) only needs to maintain the minimum holding pressure, or even not inflate at all. While achieving the same or even better sealing effect, the overall system operates at a lower average pressure, thus protecting the sealing strip, door, and energy.

[0021] The assessment of wading conditions can be detected by the vehicle's built-in sensors, such as ultrasonic radar or a front-view camera, to detect the water accumulation and water level on the road ahead. When the system detects that the vehicle is about to wade through water or the water level reaches the height baseline 5, it simultaneously sends instructions to the first air supply device 3 and the second air supply device 4 to inflate the first expansion member 1 with maximum air pressure to establish a basic seal. Throughout the wading process, this sealing strip maintains the highest expansion pressure, while the second expansion member 2 is inflated with medium-intensity air pressure. The pressure can be dynamically adjusted according to the specific wading conditions.

[0022] Preferably, the air outlet of the first air supply device 3 is connected to the air inlet of the diversion air path 31. The air outlet of the diversion air path 31 has two air outlets, which are respectively connected to the air inlets at both ends of the first expansion member 1. This achieves simultaneous inflation of the first expansion member 1 at both ends. Taking the door seal as an example, the sealing strip at the bottom of the door is a component with a very large aspect ratio, possibly exceeding 1.5 meters in length, but with a very small cross-sectional perimeter. With single-point inflation, the gas needs time to flow to the farthest end, which cannot achieve a rapid response when wading. Dual-end air intake is equivalent to shortening the inflation path by half, and the inflation time can be almost halved. Moreover, dual-end air intake can ensure that the entire sealing strip expands almost synchronously and uniformly, forming a consistent and rapid sealing surface. In addition, dual-end air intake puts less load on the air pump and airflow pipeline, which helps to miniaturize and quiet the system.

[0023] Building upon this, multiple first expansion members 1 are further disposed on the mating edges of multiple car doors and their lower door frames. Each first expansion member 1 is correspondingly connected to a first air supply device 3, and each first air supply device 3 is integrated inside the corresponding car door. This results in an extremely short path from the air source to the inflation target, enabling almost instantaneous inflation with a faster effect. Furthermore, a failure in a single car door does not affect other car doors, ensuring extremely high reliability.

[0024] In a preferred embodiment, the first air supply device 3 can employ a miniature diaphragm pump, which facilitates integration into the vehicle door, enabling extremely short-path inflation of the first expansion member 1. This facilitates rapid pressurization and sealing of the lower edge of the door, improving the response speed of the airtight system when the vehicle is wading through water. Its inlet and outlet ports are simultaneously connected to the atmosphere and the internal gas of the first expansion member 1 via a three-position four-way solenoid valve. Through the coordinated operation of the three-position four-way solenoid valve and the miniature diaphragm pump, simultaneous active suction of air from both ends of the first expansion member 1 can be achieved in addition to simultaneous inflation at both ends. The miniature diaphragm pump provides continuous unidirectional power, while the three-position four-way solenoid valve has three operating states: normally closed, inflation, and suction. It is equipped with four external ports, respectively connected to the inlet and outlet ports of the miniature diaphragm pump, the atmospheric connection pipe port, and the single-port port of the diversion air path 31. When the system receives a wading command, the solenoid valve switches to the inflation position, connecting the pump inlet to the atmosphere and the pump outlet to the sealing strip. The pump's operation inflates the sealing strip. When the expansion is complete, the air pump stops working, and the solenoid valve switches to the normally closed position, sealing all passages and keeping the gas inside the sealing strip. When the vehicle passes through the wading area, the solenoid valve switches to the suction position, connecting the sealing strip to the air pump inlet, while the air pump outlet is connected to the atmosphere. The air pump restarts, drawing air from the sealing strip and releasing it to the atmosphere. The sealing strip quickly contracts back to its original shape, ensuring that the user can open the door quickly after the vehicle leaves the water without affecting the door opening operation. It also prevents the residual positive pressure inside the sealing strip from drawing a small amount of water accumulated in the door gap into the passenger compartment at the moment of opening the door.

[0025] Taking the door sealing as an example, multiple second expansion members 2 are respectively set in multiple vertical gap areas of the door, such as the edges where the door meets the B-pillar. This sealing strip is the longest vertical part of the door gap. When wading through water, the vehicle pushes aside the water flow, creating eddies and dynamic surges on both sides of the vehicle body, thus generating unstable and changing lateral pressure on the B-pillar area. Therefore, this section can be sealed using a single second expansion member 2, with inflation and deflation operations using a bottom-intake and top-out airflow method.

[0026] Preferably, a high-speed switching solenoid valve 6 is installed at the lower air inlet, and an exhaust valve 7 is installed at the upper air outlet. Several pressure sensors are integrated within the inflatable sealing strip, evenly distributed along its length, and electrically connected to a controller. The signal output terminal of the controller is electrically connected to the control signal receiving terminals of the corresponding high-speed switching solenoid valve 6 and exhaust valve 7. The controller can rapidly open and close the high-speed switching solenoid valve 6 at a very high frequency. By adjusting the proportion of the open time within one cycle to the entire cycle (i.e., the duty cycle), the average flow rate and pressure entering this section of the sealing strip are controlled. Upon receiving a wading command, a relatively high duty cycle, i.e., a longer solenoid valve opening state, allows a large amount of high-pressure gas to rush in, rapidly raising the pressure of this section of the sealing strip to a medium pressure and maintaining it. Under this moderate pressure holding condition, the solenoid valve or the vent valve is selectively opened based on the pressure sensor readings. The solenoid valve opens with a low duty cycle, allowing for precise total pressure regulation by supplementing a small amount of gas. The vent valve actively releases air when pressure needs to be reduced. This allows for dynamic adjustment of the expansion pressure in different areas within this section based on the external water pressure sensed at different heights of the B-pillar. This section, in conjunction with the first expansion element 1, ensures the sealing integrity of the entire vertical gap.

[0027] For example, it can also be installed at the edges where the front door meets the A-pillar or the A-pillar and upper door frame, and at the edges where the rear door meets the C-pillar or the C-pillar and upper door frame. The former mainly deals with strong splashing water and frontal waves. When the front of the car pushes through the water, the water will surge upwards along the hood, impacting the A-pillar and windshield area. The latter mainly deals with the fact that when the vehicle drives through a flooded area, it will be in a low-pressure area at the rear of the vehicle, and the water flow may carry air bubbles and debris and attempt to infiltrate through the gaps at the rear. Similarly, dynamic adjustment based on actual conditions can be achieved by adding a high-speed switching solenoid valve 6, an exhaust valve 7, and multiple built-in pressure sensors.

[0028] Preferably, the first expansion member 1 and the second expansion member 2 located on the same door can be directly integrally molded into an annular sealing ring structure, and the cavities of adjacent expansion sections are isolated by synchronously molded diaphragms. This ensures the continuity of the door seal. Compared to a continuous full-circle sealing strip, segmented isolation may be more reliable. If a section of the full-circle sealing strip is damaged and leaks air, it will cause the entire system to lose pressure. In a segmented system, if a leak occurs in a certain section, the controller can close the valve of that section to isolate it, while ensuring that critical sections such as the lower sill section continue to work normally, allowing the vehicle to safely pass through standing water.

[0029] In addition, by pre-setting specific inflation combinations, other functions can be extended even when not wading through water. For example, when driving at high speeds, only the A-pillar and rearview mirror areas with the greatest wind noise can be sealed with medium pressure, significantly improving NVH, without requiring high-pressure sealing of the entire vehicle. Another example is in extremely hot or cold weather, where the entire vehicle can be sealed with low pressure to improve air conditioning efficiency, but the pressure is far lower than the high pressure required for wading, thus protecting the sealing strips.

[0030] Unlike the high-speed response and high-pressure requirements of the first expansion member 1, multiple second expansion members 2 throughout the vehicle can be supplied with air from the same second air supply device 4. Specifically, the outlet of the second air supply device 4 for multiple second expansion members 2 is connected to the inlet of a high-pressure main pipe 41, and the outlet of the high-pressure main pipe 41 is connected to the inlet of multiple high-speed switching solenoid valves 6 through multiple branch pipes. This enables independent dynamic adjustment of each second expansion member 2.

[0031] The above are merely preferred embodiments of this utility model. It should be noted that for those skilled in the art, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principle of this utility model, and these improvements and modifications should also be considered within the protection scope of this utility model.

Claims

1. A segmented, controllable, active airtight system, characterized in that, include: The first expansion member (1) is disposed in the first airtight zone. The first expansion member (1) has a cavity inside, and the air inlet end of the cavity inside is connected to the air outlet end of the first air supply device (3). The second expansion member (2) is disposed in the second airtight zone. The interior of the second expansion member (2) is provided with a cavity, and the air inlet end of the cavity is connected to the air outlet end of the second air supply device (4). Both the first gas supply device (3) and the second gas supply device (4) are configured as gas source devices that can provide compressed gas instantly; the first airtight zone and the second airtight zone constitute a complete airtight zone, and the first airtight zone is located below the height reference line (5), while the second airtight zone is located above the height reference line (5).

2. The segmented, controllable, active airtight system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outlet of the first air supply device (3) is connected to the inlet of the diversion air path (31). The outlet of the diversion air path (31) has two outlets, and the two outlets are respectively connected to the inlets at both ends of the first expansion member (1).

3. The segmented controllable active airtight system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first gas supply device (3) is a miniature diaphragm pump, whose inlet and outlet ports are connected to the atmosphere and the gas inside the first expansion member (1) through a three-position four-way solenoid valve.

4. A segmented, controllable, active airtight system according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: Multiple first expansion members (1) are respectively disposed on the fitting edges of multiple car doors and their lower door frames, each first expansion member (1) is connected to a first air supply device (3), and each first air supply device (3) is integrated inside the corresponding car door.

5. The segmented controllable active airtight system according to claim 4, characterized in that: Multiple second expansion members (2) are respectively disposed in multiple vertical gap areas of the car door, and each second expansion member (2) has an air inlet at its lower end and an air outlet at its upper end.

6. The segmented, controllable, active airtight system according to claim 5, characterized in that: Each of the multiple second expansion members (2) is provided with a high-speed switching solenoid valve (6) at its air inlet and an exhaust valve (7) at its air outlet. The outlet of the second gas supply device (4) is connected to the inlet of a high-pressure main pipe (41), and the outlet of the high-pressure main pipe (41) is connected to the inlet of a plurality of high-speed switching solenoid valves (6) through a plurality of branch pipes.

7. A segmented, controllable, active airtight system according to claim 6, characterized in that: Each of the second expansion members (2) integrates several pressure sensors. The pressure sensors are evenly distributed along the length of the corresponding expansion member. The pressure sensors are electrically connected to a controller. The signal output terminal of the controller is electrically connected to the control signal receiving terminal of the corresponding high-speed switching solenoid valve (6) and the exhaust valve (7).

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