Intake-Air Cooling Device with Knocking Sensor Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing intake-air cooling systems for internal combustion engines, such as those using a supercharger, often lead to inefficient operation due to unnecessary cooling with refrigerant, which increases fuel consumption and reduces engine efficiency, as they indirectly determine the need for cooling and do not precisely target knocking prevention.
Innovation Solution
An intake-air cooling device equipped with a knocking sensor and an opening-and-closing valve that supplies refrigerant only when knocking is detected, allowing for targeted cooling of intake air without delaying ignition timing or enriching the air-fuel ratio, thereby improving engine efficiency and reducing fuel consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If refrigerant is supplied to the second heat exchanger to cool intake air, then knocking is prevented, but the refrigerant available for vehicle cabin cooling is reduced, requiring increased compressor performance and increasing fuel consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses a knocking sensor to detect actual knocking occurrence and feeds this information back to the control unit, which then activates the opening-and-closing valve to supply refrigerant only when knocking is detected. This feedback mechanism ensures refrigerant is used only when necessary for knocking prevention, avoiding unnecessary fuel consumption while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The opening-and-closing valve dynamically controls the refrigerant supply to the intake-air evaporator based on real-time knocking detection. The valve transitions between closed and open states according to knocking conditions, enabling adaptive refrigerant distribution that prevents both over-cooling (wasting energy) and under-cooling (allowing knocking).
2Reliability
If indirect determination of knocking risk is used by monitoring intake air temperature, then cooling is activated early to prevent knocking, but cooling occurs even when not necessary, decreasing engine operating efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces indirect temperature-based determination with direct feedback from a knocking sensor that detects actual knocking occurrence. This direct feedback eliminates the timing margin inherent in indirect methods, ensuring cooling is activated only when knocking actually occurs or is imminent, not based on conservative temperature thresholds.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces the thermal field-based indirect determination method with an acoustic/vibration-based direct detection method using a knocking sensor. This substitution allows precise detection of knocking events through vibration signals, eliminating the need for conservative temperature margins and enabling more accurate control of refrigerant supply.
3Reliability
If the opening-and-closing valve is opened to supply refrigerant, then intake air is cooled and knocking is prevented, but the air-conditioning performance may be compromised due to reduced refrigerant availability
Solution Approach 1:
The opening-and-closing valve dynamically allocates refrigerant flow between the intake-air evaporator and the air-conditioning system based on knocking detection. When knocking occurs, the valve opens to direct refrigerant to the intake-air evaporator; when knocking does not occur, the valve closes, allowing full refrigerant flow to the air-conditioning system, thus maintaining air-conditioning performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The refrigerant supply to the intake-air evaporator occurs periodically or intermittently based on knocking events rather than continuously. This periodic activation ensures refrigerant is available for air-conditioning during normal operation while providing immediate cooling protection when knocking is detected.
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 effectively prevents knocking in internal combustion engines by cooling intake air only when necessary, enhancing engine output and fuel efficiency while maintaining air-conditioning performance without unnecessary refrigerant usage.
Implementation Method 1
a knocking sensor that detects knocking of the internal combustion engine
Implementation Method 2
an intake-air evaporator that cools the intake air with refrigerant circulating in an air-conditioning refrigeration circuit
Implementation Method 3
an opening-and-closing valve that opens and closes a supply channel of the refrigerant to the intake-air evaporator
Data Source
AI summary
The invention provides an intake-air cooling device for an internal combustion engine that can be installed compactly. The invention provides an intake-air cooling device for a gasoline engine equipped with an intercooler that cool intake air with outside air and an evaporator that cools intake air with refrigerant circulating in a bypass refrigeration circuit, disposed in this sequence in an intake-air channel from a supercharger to the gasoline engine. The intercooler is disposed in an outside-air duct through which outside air passes, the evaporator is disposed inside a case through which the intake air passes, and a bottom plate of the case forms part of the outside-air duct.