Modular Electro-Mechanical Rotary Valve Packaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional electro-mechanical rotary valves for fluid cooling systems in vehicular powertrains face challenges due to the high cost and complexity of the outer housing, which is prone to failure and requires significant design effort, and occupies excessive packaging space.
Innovation Solution
A modular electro-mechanical rotary valve design that eliminates the traditional outer housing by integrating a mating cavity within a powertrain component, featuring a valve enclosure, rotary valve body, and actuator assembly, allowing for scalable, flexible, and simplified installation, reducing packaging space and component costs while enhancing robustness and serviceability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional outer housing is used for the electro-mechanical rotary valve, then the valve can be mounted and sealed to the engine with complex design specifications, but the component cost increases and the packaging space is occupied
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the traditional outer housing from the electro-mechanical rotary valve assembly. The valve body itself is redesigned to serve as the mounting interface, with mounting flanges and seal surfaces integrated directly into the valve body structure. This removes the separate outer housing component entirely, reducing part count and complexity while maintaining mounting and sealing functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the functions of the outer housing with the valve body. The mounting flanges, seal interfaces, and valve body are combined into a single integrated component. This consolidation eliminates the need for separate housing parts while preserving all necessary mounting, sealing, and fluid control functions in one unified structure.
2Weight of moving object
If a traditional outer housing is used for the electro-mechanical rotary valve, then the valve can provide light-weight solution with complex outer housing design specifications, but the component cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the outer housing component that, while designed to be light-weight, still represented a separate manufactured part requiring tooling, assembly, and quality control. By eliminating this component entirely and integrating its functions into the valve body, the patent reduces both material costs and manufacturing complexity despite the slight increase in valve body material.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve body is designed to perform multiple functions: fluid control, structural mounting, sealing, and actuator mounting. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate housing components that would otherwise be required to provide these functions, thereby reducing total component cost while maintaining the light-weight advantage.
3Ease of operation
If a traditional outer housing is used for the electro-mechanical rotary valve, then the valve can be mounted to the engine, but the packaging space is occupied and serviceability is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the outer housing that occupied packaging space within the engine bay. By integrating the mounting functions directly into the valve body, the overall assembly size is reduced, freeing up packaging space while maintaining all necessary mounting capabilities through integrated flanges and bolt patterns.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the mounting, sealing, and valve body functions into a single compact assembly. This consolidation eliminates the need for separate housing components and reduces the overall volume of the valve assembly, improving packaging efficiency while maintaining full mounting and sealing functionality through integrated features.
4Strength
If a traditional outer housing is used for the electro-mechanical rotary valve, then the valve can provide structural support, but the design requires the most time and effort to achieve production-worthy design
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the structural support function from the outer housing and transfers it to the valve body and actuator assembly. This eliminates the need for complex housing design iterations and reduces development time, as the structural requirements are now met by the core functional components rather than a separate housing structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the structural support function with the valve body and actuator assembly, eliminating the need for a separate outer housing. This integration reduces the overall design complexity and development time, as fewer components need to be designed, analyzed, and validated for structural integrity.
Data Source
AI summary
A modular electro-mechanical rotary valve (EMRV) designed to be installed and removed as a unit is provided. The modular EMRV includes a valve enclosure, at least one rotary valve body with at least one fluid pathway, and an actuator assembly. The valve enclosure, removably disposed within a mating cavity, includes a central axis, at least one inlet, at least one outlet, a hollow center, and at least one exterior seal interface to sealingly engage with at least one interior seal interface of the mating cavity. The at least one rotary valve body is disposed within the hollow center of the valve enclosure. The actuator assembly is engaged with an actuator interface of the at least one rotary valve body, providing rotational actuation. Various angular positions of the at least one rotary valve body are possible to manage fluid flow within a fluid system.