Automotive Control Valve Layout for Cold-Start Coolant Circulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional control valves have insufficient cooling water flow rates due to small bypass passage sectional areas, which can lead to inadequate antifreezing of the throttle chamber in automotive cooling systems.
Innovation Solution
The control valve design includes a housing with a primary communication port, secondary communication ports, and a continuous circulation port that overlaps with the secondary communication ports in the axial direction, allowing for increased cooling water flow through a bypass passage and internal passage, ensuring sufficient flow rates by varying the overlap positions of openings and outlet ports based on rotational positions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a bypass passage is formed between the valve and housing, then cooling water circulation is enabled, but the flow passage sectional area is small resulting in insufficient cooling water flow rate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a continuous circulation port that extends in the axial direction to overlap with the secondary opening, adding a dimensional aspect to the flow path. This axial extension allows the cooling water to flow through a larger effective area by utilizing the overlap region between the continuous circulation port and secondary opening, thereby increasing the flow rate while maintaining the bypass passage structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing is divided into multiple functional ports: a continuous circulation port and a secondary communication port. The continuous circulation port is positioned to overlap with the secondary opening in the axial direction, creating segmented flow paths that can operate independently or in combination. This segmentation allows optimization of each port's function while achieving sufficient total flow rate.
2Device complexity
If the continuous circulation port is positioned to overlap with the secondary communication port, then structural compactness is achieved, but the flow passage area remains limited
Solution Approach 1:
The continuous circulation port extends in the axial direction to overlap with the secondary opening, utilizing the axial dimension to increase the effective flow area. This axial overlap creates an additional flow region without increasing the radial or circumferential dimensions, thereby maintaining structural compactness while expanding the functional flow passage area.
Solution Approach 2:
The continuous circulation port is positioned within the axial space occupied by the secondary communication port structure. The overlap arrangement allows the continuous circulation port to utilize the axial space of the secondary opening region, creating a nested spatial relationship that maximizes flow area within the compact housing structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A control valve according to the present invention is configured such that when a third opening part, which is an auxiliary opening part, and a third discharge opening, which is an auxiliary connection opening, do not overlap, the third opening part and a continuous discharge opening overlap. Thus, for example, when a flow rate of cooling water for continuous circulation is required, such as during a cold start, cooling water guided through an internal passage is discharged via the continuous discharge opening in addition to cooling water guided from a bypass passage, thereby ensuring a sufficient flow rate of cooling water for continuous circulation.