Compact Control Valve With Sealed Rotor Gear Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing flow adjustment valves for air conditioning and battery cooling systems face challenges in compactness, energy efficiency, and precision control, with high manufacturing costs and complexity due to the need for precise sealing and high force generation, often resulting in inflexible dimensioning and potential fluid leaks.
Innovation Solution
A compact adjustment valve design utilizing a left or concurrent gear system with a sealing bell that eliminates dynamic sealing and allows for a significant reduction ratio, enabling axial compactness and flexibility while maintaining precise control, with the stator and electronics assembled outside a controlled pollution zone to reduce costs and complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a brushless electric motor is separated from the fluid circuit by a sealed non-magnetic element, then sealing of the refrigeration circuit is ensured, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the motor and reduction gear into a single integrated unit where the motor rotor directly drives the needle valve through a fixed nut and screw mechanism. This merging eliminates the need for separate sealed compartments and complex wiring arrangements, while maintaining reliable sealing through the fixed nut that prevents fluid leakage into the motor area.
Solution Approach 2:
The fixed nut acts as an intermediary element between the motor rotor and the needle valve. It transforms the rotational motion of the motor into linear motion of the needle while providing a sealed barrier that prevents fluid from entering the motor compartment, thus simplifying the overall sealing structure.
2Length of moving object
If a reduction device is integrated inside the motor rotor, then axial compactness is achieved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complex epicyclic gear train from the motor rotor and replaces it with a simpler fixed nut and screw mechanism. This extraction maintains axial compactness by keeping the reduction mechanism within the motor housing while significantly reducing manufacturing precision requirements through the use of standard threaded components.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the reduction mechanism from a high-precision epicyclic gear system to a threaded connection system. The screw thread provides mechanical reduction while being much more tolerant to manufacturing variations, thus achieving the same compactness goal with relaxed precision requirements.
3Force
If the needle section is increased to generate higher force, then the force generation capability is improved, but the axial footprint increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a fixed nut that is pre-threaded onto the motor rotor shaft. This preliminary arrangement of the reduction mechanism allows the needle to be driven efficiently by the motor's rotational force, generating high axial force without requiring a larger needle section or increased axial space.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the direct mechanical coupling of a large-section needle with a threaded mechanical advantage system. The screw mechanism converts rotational motor torque into amplified linear force on the needle, achieving high force generation in a compact axial package.
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 achieves a more compact, flexible, and reliable valve design capable of generating forces from 20 N to 400 N, with reduced axial footprint and lower production costs, ensuring precise fluid control and minimizing fluid leaks, thus enhancing the performance and reliability of air conditioning and battery cooling systems.
Implementation Method 1
The present invention is intended primarily, but not exclusively, for the field of flow control valves for air conditioning or battery cooling circuits... the actuation of which is carried out by a brushless electric motor
Implementation Method 2
A compact adjustment valve design utilizing a left or concurrent gear system with a sealing bell that eliminates dynamic sealing and allows for a significant reduction ratio
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a valve for controlling the circulation of a fluid, having a valve body comprising a movable control member, an electrical actuator comprising a stator and a rotor, a sealing cover extending from the valve body to the inside of the stator, the sealing cover being positioned at the interface between the rotor and the stator in such a way that the rotor is inside the cover and submerged in the fluid, the stator being isolated from the fluid, the rotor rotating about a first axis and being secured to a shaft extending along the first axis, the movable control member moving in a linear manner along a second axis or in rotation about the second axis, characterised in that the shaft has an end forming, with a toothed wheel driving the movable control member, a gear pair with non-intersecting or intersecting axes.