Mixing Valve Flap Control via Eccentric Gears

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Solution Overview

Problem

Mixing valves in internal combustion engines have a high degree of dependence between the movements of intake and exhaust flaps due to a single driving mechanism, limiting the freedom in configuring their opening and closing movements.

Innovation Solution

A single servomotor drives the flaps using a gearwheel pair with noncircular or eccentric gearwheels, allowing for different angular speeds and configurations, including a concentric gearwheel with a control arm for lost motion, to decouple the flap movements and enhance versatility.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Device complexity

If a single driving device with fixed relationship mechanism is used to couple the movements of the flaps, then the device complexity is reduced, but the freedom in configuring the opening and closing movements of the flaps is limited

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedriving device structureVSAvoidfreedom in configuring flap movements

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The patent employs noncircular or eccentric gearwheels that convert the constant rotational speed from the single servomotor into variable angular speeds for the flaps. This dynamic transmission mechanism allows different opening and closing speeds for the exhaust duct flap and intake duct flap, providing configurational freedom while maintaining a single driving device.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Adaptability or versatility

If noncircular or eccentric gearwheels are used to drive flaps at different angular speeds, then the freedom in configuring flap movements is improved, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveflap movement configurationVSAvoidgearwheel geometry precision

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent utilizes noncircular or eccentric gearwheels with asymmetric geometries to achieve different angular speeds for the flaps. The asymmetric design allows customization of opening and closing characteristics by varying the gearwheel profiles, providing flexibility in movement configuration while managing manufacturing precision through standardized asymmetric components.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #4Asymmetry

3Adaptability or versatility

If a concentric gearwheel with a control arm is used to produce lost motion, then the versatility of control is improved, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontrol versatilityVSAvoidmechanism structure

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces a concentric gearwheel with a control arm as an intermediary mechanism between the servomotor and the intake duct flap. This intermediate component enables lost motion functionality where the intake duct flap can remain in its initial position while the exhaust duct flap opens, providing versatile control sequences without requiring multiple independent driving devices.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS9771898B2Mixing valve of an internal combustion engine

Publication Date: 2017.09.26 VITESCO TECHNOLOGIES GMBH

AI summary

A mixing valve of an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle includes: a flap arranged in a suction channel and a flap arranged in an exhaust gas channel. One single flap of the two flaps is drivable via a gear pair with non-round or eccentric gears. The drive of the other flap has lost motion, whereby the closing movements of the flaps can be formed in a particularly free manner with only a single actuating motor.