Airflow Flap Buckling Actuation Outside Passage
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing air flow regulation devices for motor vehicles are complex and reduce air flow efficiency due to the presence of actuating means within the air stream, requiring rotational movement to deform flaps, which complicates the system and increases the risk of malfunction.
Innovation Solution
A simpler device where actuating means directly apply force to the ends of the flap, allowing for buckling and elastic deformation without the need for complex rotational mechanisms, positioning these means outside the air flow to maintain efficiency and protect them from environmental factors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If actuating means are positioned within the air stream to deform the flap, then the flap can be regulated, but the air flow is reduced and the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The actuating means are extracted from the air stream passage and positioned outside it, eliminating the obstruction to air flow while maintaining the flap deformation capability. This resolves the contradiction by removing the harmful presence of actuating components within the airflow path.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of rotating the flap to achieve deformation (conventional approach), the invention applies displacement force directly to the ends of the flap to cause buckling and deformation. This inverted approach simplifies the actuating mechanism and eliminates the need for complex rotational joints within the air stream.
2Reliability
If complex actuating means with connecting rods and hinging hoops are used to deform the flap, then the flap can be regulated, but the device complexity increases and the risk of malfunction increases
Solution Approach 1:
The actuating action is segmented and applied directly to the ends of the flap rather than using a complex integrated mechanism. This simplification reduces the number of moving parts and potential failure points while maintaining effective flap deformation capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The flap itself provides the deformation mechanism through its elastic properties and buckling behavior when force is applied to its ends. The flap's own structural characteristics are utilized to achieve the desired shape change without requiring complex external actuating mechanisms.
3Device complexity
If the flap is made flexible enough to allow buckling, then simpler actuating means can be used, but the flap may deform under its own weight or air flow
Solution Approach 1:
The flap is designed with different local properties: sufficiently rigid to maintain shape stability under normal conditions and resist deformation from weight and air flow, yet flexible enough at critical regions to allow buckling when displacement force is applied to the ends. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between flexibility and stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The flap's effective flexibility is controlled by changing the applied load parameters. Under normal conditions, the flap maintains rigidity, but when sufficient displacement force is applied to the ends, the flap transitions to a flexible state allowing buckling. This parameter-based control resolves the contradiction between required flexibility for actuation and stability for shape maintenance.
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 efficient and reliable air flow regulation by eliminating the need for complex actuating mechanisms within the air stream, reducing the risk of malfunction, and ensuring the flap remains functional under various conditions, including temperature and shock exposure.
Implementation Method 1
the flap is sufficiently rigid to allow an elastic deformation and therefore a spring effect of the flap between its flat and curved positions
Implementation Method 2
the actuating means of the device according to the invention act directly on each moved end of the shutter so as to cause it to buckle
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The airflow regulation device (14) comprises: - a flap (28) having two ends (30, 32) movable relative to each other, the flap (28) being deformable between a position in which the flap (28) is generally flat, its two ends (30, 32) being as far apart as possible, and a position in which the flap (28) is generally curved, its two ends (30, 32) being as close together as possible, - actuation means (50) for the displacement of at least one end (30, 32) relative to the other generating a displacement force arranged so that the displacement force is applied to each displaced end (30, 32) and so that the displacement of each displaced end (30, 32) causes the flap (28) to deform between its flat and curved forms.