Floating Vent Valve With Buoyant Ball to Prevent Coolant Loss
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing floating valves for air ventilation in vehicle cooling systems cause a decrease in coolant flow rate, leading to increased coolant pump RPM requirements, which is exacerbated in environment-friendly vehicles with varying cooling line heights, resulting in coolant loss and reduced cooling performance.
Innovation Solution
A floating valve design featuring an upper and lower port with a hollow cylindrical structure portion and a movable, elastic, spherical floating ball that seals the upper port when coolant flows, minimizing coolant flow loss by using a material with lower specific gravity than the coolant and preventing flow into the surge tank.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a floating valve for air ventilation is mounted in the vehicle cooling system, then air ventilation performance is improved, but coolant flow rate decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The floating valve employs a movable floating ball that dynamically responds to coolant flow conditions. When coolant flows, the ball rises to seal the upper port, automatically preventing coolant loss. This dynamic mechanism allows the system to adapt between air ventilation mode (when ball is down) and coolant flow protection mode (when ball is up), resolving the contradiction between maintaining air ventilation capability and preventing coolant flow rate decrease.
2Reliability
If the coolant pump rotates at higher RPM to compensate for coolant loss, then cooling performance standard is satisfied, but energy consumption and noise increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention converts the potential harmful effect of coolant leakage into a beneficial automatic control mechanism. The floating ball utilizes the coolant flow itself to trigger the sealing action - the flowing coolant raises the ball to close the upper port, thereby preventing further coolant loss. This self-regulating mechanism ensures cooling performance standards are met without requiring excessive pump RPM, thus reducing energy consumption and noise.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple floating valves are provided due to varying cooling line heights, then adaptability to different vehicle packages is improved, but coolant loss becomes severe
Solution Approach 1:
Each floating valve incorporates a dynamic floating ball mechanism that automatically seals when coolant flows through it. This ensures that even with multiple valves installed across different vehicle packages with varying cooling line heights, each valve independently prevents coolant loss at its specific location. The dynamic response of each valve to local flow conditions eliminates the cumulative coolant loss problem that would occur with multiple static valves.
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
This design minimizes coolant flow rate loss, maintains required cooling performance standards, reduces cooling fan RPM, and improves durability and reduces noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) in vehicle cooling systems.
Implementation Method 1
a floating ball provided to be movable inside the structure portion so that the floating ball floats to seal an opening of the first hollow in the upper port when cooling fluid flows into the structure portion
Data Source
AI summary
A floating valve for air ventilation mounted in a vent hose connected to a surge tank of a vehicle cooling system includes: an upper port including a first hollow, wherein an upper end portion of the first hollow is connected to the vent hose; a lower port including a second hollow, wherein a lower end portion of the second hollow is connected to the vent hose at a location facing the upper port; a structure portion provided to connect the upper port and the lower port to each other in fluidical communication with the upper port and the lower port; and a floating ball provided to be movable inside the structure portion so that the floating ball floats to seal an opening of the first hollow in the upper port when cooling fluid flows into the structure portion.