Air Intake Valve Sealing via Segmented Seal Surfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional intake devices for internal combustion engines suffer from significant air leakage between the valve element and the bottom surface of the receiving portion in the valve closing state, leading to a decrease in intake flow.
Innovation Solution
The intake device features a housing with an arc-shaped recessed receiving portion on its bottom wall and a valve element with an arc-shaped outer surface and raised seal portions that extend along the edge, minimizing clearance and ensuring a tight seal in the valve closing state.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional valve element with seal portion is used, then the structure is simple, but air leakage occurs between the seal portion and the bottom plate end edge
Solution Approach 1:
The seal portion is divided into multiple seal surfaces (first seal surface, second seal surface, third seal surface) that contact different surfaces of the bottom plate (end edge, side surface, bottom surface). This segmentation allows each seal surface to specifically target and seal against particular leakage paths, comprehensively addressing air leakage from multiple directions without requiring a completely redesigned valve element structure.
Solution Approach 2:
Different seal surfaces are positioned at specific locations on the valve element to contact corresponding surfaces of the bottom plate. The first seal surface contacts the end edge, the second seal surface contacts the side surface, and the third seal surface contacts the bottom surface. This local quality approach ensures that sealing is applied precisely where leakage occurs, maximizing sealing effectiveness while maintaining structural simplicity.
2Reliability
If clearance between seal portion and bottom plate is reduced, then air leakage is decreased, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of relying on a single narrow clearance between the seal portion and bottom plate, the sealing function is segmented across multiple surfaces (end edge, side surface, bottom surface). This distributes the sealing requirement across multiple contact points, reducing the stringency of clearance control needed at each individual interface while maintaining overall sealing effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The multiple seal surfaces act as intermediary contact zones between the valve element and the bottom plate structure. These intermediary surfaces provide dedicated sealing interfaces that facilitate reliable sealing without requiring extremely tight clearances, as each surface can independently contribute to the overall seal.
Data Source
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AI summary
An air intake device (1) having a plurality of valves (44) that open and close part of each air intake passage. Each valve (44) is: swingably supported by a housing (10) via rotating shafts (48, 50) each provided in a pair of side wall sections (46) positioned on both ends of each valve; and offset from the center of the rotating shafts (48, 50) towards the outside in the radial direction. An outside surface (54) of each valve (44) forms an arc having the rotating shafts (48, 50) as the center thereof and seal sections (60, 62) are provided protruding from a long edge (54a, 54b) of each outside surface (54). When opened, each valve (44) is housed in a valve housing section (40) recessed in a housing passage (20) and the seal sections (60, 62) face a bottom surface (40a) of the valve housing section (40), having a minute clearance therebetween. When the valves are closed, a first seal section (60) is positioned in a downstream-side section of the valve housing section (40), in a state overlapping the bottom surface (40a) of the valve housing section (40).