Multi-Seal Nipple Assembly With Drainage for Coolant Leak Containment
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing nipple assemblies in power conversion apparatuses for vehicles fail to prevent leakage of cooling medium due to breakage of the sealed structure between the heat exchanger and the nipple, leading to potential safety hazards such as vehicle shutdown or fire.
Innovation Solution
A nipple assembly with multiple sealing units, including a first sealing unit to prevent leakage between the nipple and the heat exchanger, a flange portion for secure coupling, and a second sealing unit to further prevent leakage, along with a drainage channel to direct leaked medium outside the housing, minimizing internal leakage and enhancing safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a single sealing unit is used between the nipple and heat exchanger, then the structure is simple, but leakage occurs when the seal breaks
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing structure is divided into multiple independent sealing units: a first sealing unit at the nipple-heat exchanger interface and a second sealing unit at the flange-housing interface. This segmentation ensures that if one seal fails, the other continues to prevent leakage, thereby improving reliability without requiring a completely complex overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates a drainage channel that leads to a reservoir before the cooling medium can reach critical components. This beforehand cushioning mechanism captures leaked cooling medium in advance, preventing immediate damage and providing time for detection and response, thus enhancing system reliability.
2Reliability
If multiple sealing units are added to prevent leakage, then sealing reliability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The nipple assembly merges multiple functions into a single integrated component: the nipple body provides structural connection, the flange portion enables mounting to the housing, and both sealing units are integrated into the assembly. This merging approach improves sealing reliability while avoiding the complexity of separate discrete sealing components.
Solution Approach 2:
The nipple assembly serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides a sealed connection between the heat exchanger and cooling medium inlet/outlet, mounts securely to the housing via the flange, and includes integrated drainage capability. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate components, balancing reliability improvement with controlled complexity.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If cooling medium leaks into the power conversion apparatus, then safety hazards occur, but adding drainage channels increases structural complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The drainage channel extracts the harmful function of leaked cooling medium by providing a dedicated pathway that directs the leaked fluid away from critical electrical components and into a reservoir. This extraction approach minimizes the harmful effects of potential leaks without requiring complex active monitoring or containment systems.
4Reliability
If the seal between heat exchanger and nipple breaks, then cooling medium leaks causing safety issues, but enhancing sealing increases manufacturing complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The nipple assembly is pre-assembled with both sealing units, the flange portion, and drainage channels integrated into the structure before installation. This preliminary action ensures proper sealing geometry and alignment are built-in during manufacturing, improving sealing durability while maintaining ease of installation as a complete unit.
Data Source
AI summary
A nipple assembly includes nipple bodies configured so that one end portion of each of the nipple bodies is inserted into a housing so as to be coupled to a cooling medium inlet or a cooling medium outlet of a heat exchanger and a remaining end portion of each of the nipple bodies protrudes outwards from the housing, at least one first sealing unit sealing a gap between the one end portion of each of the nipple bodies and the cooling medium inlet or the cooling medium outlet, a flange portion formed at a position between two end portions of each of the nipple bodies to be coupled to the housing, and a second sealing unit including a first sealing portion sealing a gap between the flange portion and the housing and a second sealing portion configured to extend from the first sealing portion.