Directional control valve and method for setting connections
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for controlling heating, air conditioning, and ventilation in interior spaces are complex and prone to failures, particularly due to the use of multiple flaps and slides in air ducts.
Innovation Solution
A directional control valve with a single disk-shaped switching element that connects air connections for exhaust, feed, outside, and waste air with functional connections in heating and cooling paths, allowing for simplified selection of operating modes by adjusting a single switching element.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple flaps and slides are used in air ducts to control heating, air conditioning, and ventilation, then the system can handle complex operating modes, but the system becomes complex and prone to failures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple flaps and slides into a single disk-shaped switching element with multiple cutouts. This switching element simultaneously controls all four operating modes (heating, cooling, winter ventilation, summer ventilation) by rotating to different positions, thereby reducing system complexity while maintaining full adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The single switching element serves multiple functions by controlling different air connections (exhaust air, feed air, outside air, waste air) to different functional connections (heating path, cooling path) depending on its rotational position. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate flaps and slides for each operating mode.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple flaps and slides are used in air ducts, then different operating modes can be controlled, but the risk of failures increases due to more moving parts
Solution Approach 1:
By merging multiple independent flaps and slides into a single disk-shaped switching element, the patent reduces the number of moving parts from multiple independent components to one integrated component. This reduction directly improves reliability by eliminating potential failure points associated with multiple separate moving parts.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of having multiple independent components that each need to function correctly, the invention inverts the approach by using one component where the entire switching function is concentrated. This inversion makes the system more reliable because there is only one component that can fail rather than multiple components.
3Reliability
If a single disk-shaped switching element is used, then the number of moving parts is reduced and reliability improves, but maintenance and cleaning may become more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the valve into separate subassemblies: a first subassembly containing air connections and a second subassembly containing functional connections, with the disk-shaped switching element between them. This segmentation allows each subassembly to be independently removed, cleaned, and maintained without disassembling the entire valve.
Solution Approach 2:
The disk-shaped switching element is designed to be rotatable, providing dynamic switching between different operating modes. This rotational mechanism, combined with the segmented subassemblies, allows for easy maintenance as components can be accessed and serviced without fixed mechanical constraints.
4Ease of operation
If air connections and functional connections are arranged in concentric circles about the axis, then the disk-shaped switching element can effectively connect them, but the valve body size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent arranges air connections and functional connections in concentric circles about a central axis, utilizing the radial dimension of the disk-shaped switching element. This dimensional arrangement allows multiple connections to be accessed simultaneously through cutouts at different radial positions, enabling effective switching without requiring a linear arrangement that would extend the valve body length.
Data Source
AI summary
A directional control valve including air connections for exhaust air, feed air, outside air and waste air; two respective functional connections of a heating path and a cooling path; a switching element that is configured to connect each of the air connections with exactly one of the functional connections so that the exhaust air is fed back through the heating path as the feed air in a heating position, and the exhaust air fed back through the cooling path as the intake air in a cooling position, and the outside air is fed through the heating path in a winter ventilation position as the feed air, and the outside air is fed through the cooling path in a summer ventilation position as the feed air.