Cooling Air Flap Sensor Mounting for PDC Integration
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The integration of Park Distance Control (PDC) sensors on vehicles is challenging due to their fixed installation requirements, which can conflict with other vehicle components like radiator grilles and cooling air openings, making it difficult to adjust the sensor position and increasing integration costs.
Innovation Solution
A cooling air flap device with an adjustable sensor mounted on a pivoting cooling air flap, allowing the sensor to adjust with the flap and prioritize surroundings sensing over cooling air requirements, using a control device to manage the flap's position based on vehicle speed and cooling needs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the sensor is installed in a fixed position on the vehicle body, then the sensor can sense surroundings, but the sensor position may collide with other vehicle components like cooling air openings, making integration difficult and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by mounting the sensor on an adjustable cooling air flap instead of a fixed vehicle body position. The cooling air flap can be moved between different positions (open, closed, intermediate) to accommodate both sensor functionality and cooling requirements. This dynamic positioning resolves the contradiction by allowing the sensor to be placed in regions that would otherwise be occupied by cooling air openings, thereby increasing position flexibility without requiring costly vehicle component reshaping.
2Productivity
If the cooling air opening cross section is changed by adjustable cooling air flaps, then cooling performance can be optimized, but the sensor position in the region of such flaps becomes problematic
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the sensor mounting function with the cooling air flap structure. Instead of treating the sensor installation as a separate issue from the cooling system, the sensor is integrated onto the cooling air flap itself. This merging allows the same component (the cooling air flap) to serve dual purposes: regulating cooling air flow and providing a movable mounting platform for the sensor, thereby resolving the conflict between cooling performance optimization and sensor installation ease.
Solution Approach 2:
By mounting the sensor on the movable cooling air flap, the sensor position becomes dynamic rather than fixed. The cooling air flap can be adjusted to different positions depending on cooling requirements, and the sensor moves with it. This dynamic arrangement allows the system to maintain both optimal cooling performance (through flap adjustment) and sensor functionality (through coordinated movement), making sensor installation easier without compromising cooling efficiency.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the sensor is mounted on a movable cooling air flap, then flexible sensor placement is achieved, but the sensor position changes with flap movement
Solution Approach 1:
The control device serves multiple functions: it controls the cooling air flap position for cooling performance optimization and simultaneously controls the sensor positioning or compensation to maintain sensing accuracy. This multi-functionality allows the system to handle both the benefit of flexible sensor placement and the requirement for reliable sensing, as the control device can coordinate both aspects based on system needs.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs feedback mechanisms where the control device monitors both the cooling air flap position and the sensor readings. When the flap moves to adjust cooling performance, the control device receives feedback about the flap position and can compensate for sensor position changes through electronic calibration or actuation adjustments. This feedback loop ensures that sensing accuracy is maintained even as the physical sensor position changes with flap movement, thereby resolving the contradiction between placement flexibility and sensing reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A cooling air flap device is for a motor vehicle. The cooling air flap device has a cooling air opening through which cooling air can flow. The cooling air flap device has: a cooling air flap, which is arranged in or on the cooling air opening so as to be adjustable in order to change an opening cross section of the cooling air opening through which the cooling air can flow; and a sensor configured to sense surroundings in a region of the cooling air flap device. The sensor is secured to the cooling air flap so that the sensor is adjustable together with the cooling air flap.