Vehicle Roof AC Housing With Integrated Cable Routing and Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The installation of components like solar panels and lights on recreational vehicle roofs often requires drilling holes and routing cables, leading to potential water leaks and increased costs, necessitating expert intervention.
Innovation Solution
An air conditioning unit designed with a housing that connects the outside to the inside as a tunnel, featuring a connection hub for securing and routing cables, and an air circuit that allows cable routing without additional openings, using a casing with a cutout region and cable guiding parts to protect cables from damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If additional openings are made in the vehicle roof for cable routing, then cable access is improved, but water leakage risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The air conditioning unit's housing is designed to serve multiple functions: it provides the primary air conditioning function while simultaneously serving as a cable routing conduit. The housing includes integrated cable ducts that allow cables to pass through the air conditioning unit itself, eliminating the need for separate openings in the vehicle roof. This multi-functional design resolves the contradiction by using the existing air conditioning structure for both cooling and cable access purposes.
Solution Approach 2:
The air conditioning unit acts as an intermediary structure between the outside environment and the vehicle interior. By routing cables through the air conditioning unit's housing and cable ducts, the system provides a protected pathway that mediates between the need for cable access and the need to prevent water leakage. The housing seals around the air conditioning unit's mounting flange, creating a weather-tight barrier while still allowing cable passage through dedicated ducts.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If cables are routed through the air conditioning unit housing, then additional roof openings are avoided, but cable protection from rotating fans becomes necessary
Solution Approach 1:
The air conditioning unit housing is segmented into functional zones: an outer housing that provides structural support and weather sealing, and an inner cable duct system that provides a protected pathway for cables. The cable ducts are positioned and configured to guide cables away from rotating fan components while maintaining a sealed connection to the housing. This segmentation allows the housing to simultaneously provide weather protection and cable protection from mechanical hazards.
Solution Approach 2:
The cable ducts serve as intermediary structures between the external environment and the internal fan area. These ducts provide a protected pathway that mediates between the need for cable access and the need to protect cables from fan damage. The ducts are designed to guide cables through the housing while maintaining a safe distance from rotating components, thus protecting cables without compromising the sealed connection.
3Ease of manufacture
If the air conditioning unit housing is used as a cable routing tunnel, then expert installation costs are reduced, but the housing structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is designed with integrated cable routing features as a standard component of the air conditioning unit. By making the housing multi-functional (providing both air conditioning and cable routing capabilities), the patent eliminates the need for separate cable conduit installations, thereby reducing overall system complexity and installation costs despite the enhanced housing design.
Solution Approach 2:
The cable ducts and routing pathways are pre-integrated into the housing structure during manufacturing. This preliminary action of incorporating cable routing features into the base housing design allows for simpler installation procedures, as the cable pathways are already formed and positioned correctly, eliminating the need for complex field modifications or additional installation steps.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to an air conditioning unit configured to be mounted externally on a vehicle and which comprises a housing that spatially separates an interior of the air conditioning unit from the environment, the air conditioning unit is configured such that a connection hub is removably mountable to the outside of the housing in order to route one or more cables from the environment to the interior of the air conditioning unit via the connection hub. The present invention further relates to a construction kit for the air conditioning unit, the construction kit including the connection hub.