Compact control valve
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing control valve systems for air conditioning and battery cooling circuits face challenges in compactness, energy efficiency, and precision due to axial bulk and interference from guide elements and transverse flux motors, which affect the performance and compactness of the system, and lack effective position sensors for the needle or rotor.
Innovation Solution
A compact brushless polyphase motor with radial main magnetic flux, integrated position sensors, and a unique stator shape allowing axial fixing without welding, along with a thermally conductive element for temperature compensation, enabling precise position detection and efficient force adaptation during fluid flow regulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If a transverse flux motor is used, then the motor can generate torque, but the axial displacement of the rotor induces progressive imbalance in the torque generated by each phase, degrading the regularity of the total torque and performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the transverse flux motor with a radial flux brushless motor, substituting the mechanical configuration to eliminate the torque imbalance issue. The radial flux design with properly positioned magnets and coils ensures uniform torque generation throughout the rotor's angular displacement, resolving the reliability issue while maintaining power output.
2Reliability
If guide elements and fixing means are added to the motor, then the rotor can be guided and fixed, but the axial bulk increases and compactness is penalized
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the guidance and fixing functions into the motor's existing structural components. The stator and rotor designs incorporate integrated fixing surfaces and alignment features that eliminate the need for separate guide elements, thereby maintaining reliability while reducing axial bulk and improving compactness.
Solution Approach 2:
The motor components are designed to perform multiple functions: the stator and rotor structures simultaneously provide magnetic flux paths, mechanical support, and fixing interfaces. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for dedicated guide elements, reducing the overall axial dimension while ensuring proper rotor guidance and secure mounting.
3Reliability
If the stator and rotor are immersed in the fluid, then sealing is achieved, but the axial height of the stator must be greater than the rotor, increasing bulk
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional arrangement by making the rotor taller than the stator in the axial direction. This inversion allows the rotor to extend beyond the stator ends, providing natural sealing surfaces against the fluid while the stator remains compact. The rotor's extended structure serves both as a sealing element and as a carrier for the magnets, resolving the contradiction between sealing effectiveness and axial compactness.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a more compact, efficient, and precise control valve system with integrated position sensing, allowing for optimized electrical consumption and improved temperature stability, addressing the issues of axial bulk and interference while enabling precise position measurement.
Implementation Method 1
a brushless polyphase motor with radial main magnetic flux
Implementation Method 2
radial main magnetic flux
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to a valve for controlling the circulation of a fluid, having a valve body (2) and a housing containing an electric motor composed of a stator and of a rotor, a needle, a sealing bell and also a fixed screw or a fixed nut, said fixed screw or said fixed nut being secured to the valve body, the stator being secured to the valve body via said housing, the sealing bell being positioned at the interface between the rotor and the stator in such a way that the screw/nut, the rotor and the needle are within this bell and submerged in said fluid, the stator being isolated from said fluid, the rotor having the function of a nut or of a screw and having a helical movement imposed by said fixed screw or said fixed nut and driving the needle axially, characterized in that the motor is a brushless polyphase motor with radial principal magnetic flux.