Flexible Air Guide Ducts for Vehicle Serviceability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vehicle airflow systems for directing air to components like heat exchangers face difficulties in servicing due to rigid interconnecting elements, which can vibrate and cause wear during operation.
Innovation Solution
An air guide assembly featuring flexible ducts and rigid housings that compress and expand elastically to absorb motion, allowing for adjustable airflow paths and improved accessibility for maintenance, while maintaining an airtight seal and efficient airflow direction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If rigid interconnecting elements are used between vehicle components, then structural strength and stability are improved, but the system becomes difficult to service and prone to vibration and wear
Solution Approach 1:
The air guide system is divided into modular components including removable housings, separable ducts, and independent vehicle components. This segmentation allows individual components to be accessed, removed, and serviced without dismantling the entire system, thereby improving serviceability while maintaining structural integrity through proper reassembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces flexible ducts that can dynamically adjust to vibrations and motion between rigid components. This flexibility absorbs dynamic stresses that would otherwise transmit through rigid connections, reducing wear and vibration while maintaining the overall structural strength of the air guide system.
2Stability of the object's composition
If rigid interconnecting elements are used between vehicle components, then structural stability is improved, but vibration and wear increase during operation
Solution Approach 1:
Flexible ducts are used to connect rigid housings and vehicle components, acting as vibration-dampening elements that maintain airtight seals while absorbing mechanical vibrations and relative motions. This eliminates the transmission of harmful vibrations through rigid connections, reducing wear on connected components while preserving structural stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible duct serves as an intermediary element between rigid components, mediating the connection while isolating vibrations. This intermediary absorbs and dampens vibrational energy, preventing it from propagating through the rigid structural elements and causing wear.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If flexible ducts are used to absorb motion, then vibration and wear are reduced, but airtight seal maintenance becomes more challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible duct is constructed from composite materials that combine flexibility for motion absorption with properties that maintain airtight seals. This composite structure allows the duct to dynamically adapt to vibrations while preserving the integrity of the airflow path, ensuring both vibration reduction and seal reliability.
4Ease of repair
If removable connections are used between housings and ducts, then ease of servicing is improved, but connection reliability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The removable housing connections are designed with pre-configured sealing surfaces, gaskets, or sealing mechanisms that ensure reliable airtight connections upon assembly. This preliminary preparation of sealing interfaces maintains connection reliability while enabling easy removal and reassembly for servicing.
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 enhances the durability and maintainability of vehicle airflow systems by reducing structural fatigue and vibration, ensuring efficient airflow and easy servicing without compromising the airtight seal.
Implementation Method 1
the body of the first duct is compressible from an installed length to a length that is shorter than the installed length, and the body of the first duct is expandable from the installed length to a length that is longer than the installed length
Data Source
AI summary
An air guide assembly for a vehicle includes a first duct, a second duct, a rigid first housing, and a vehicle component. The first duct includes a flexible body, an inlet for receiving airflow from an exterior of a vehicle body, and an outlet, where the body of the first duct is compressible from an installed length to a length that is shorter than the installed length, and is expandable from the installed length to a length that is longer than the installed length. The second duct includes a flexible body, a first inlet for receiving airflow from the first duct, and an outlet, where the body of the second duct is compressible from an installed length to a length that is shorter than the installed length, and is expandable from the installed length to a length that is longer than the installed length.