Refrigerant manifold
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing refrigerant manifolds for electric and hybrid vehicles face issues such as sealing defects leading to leaks, increased size and weight due to structural and processing limitations, and complex pipe layouts, particularly in one-layer and two-layer structures.
Innovation Solution
A one-layer refrigerant manifold manufactured through forging processing with component insertion holes aligned in the same direction, featuring a connection flow path with height differences and straight flow paths to reduce package size and enhance durability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of stationary object
If a two-layer structure with stacked housings joined by brazing is used, then the refrigerant manifold can freely form refrigerant flow paths and reduce package size, but sealing defects occur at joined portions causing refrigerant leaks and degraded durability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple housings into a single integrated housing structure. The refrigerant manifold housing (100) is formed as one piece that accommodates multiple component mounting parts (200, 200') with different orientations, eliminating the need for stacked housings joined by brazing and thus preventing sealing defects at joints.
2Reliability
If a one-layer structure is used to eliminate joined portions and improve durability, then refrigerant leaks are reduced, but the package size increases due to structural and processing characteristics
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating component mounting parts (200, 200') with different local orientations on the same housing surface. This allows the housing to be a single piece (improving reliability) while accommodating components in various directions (optimizing space utilization and reducing package size).
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes the surface dimension of the housing by arranging component mounting parts in different orientations on the same surface plane. This dimensional arrangement allows compact packaging without requiring stacked structures, thus reducing package size while maintaining a one-layer structure.
3Ease of manufacture
If forging processing with upper and lower molds is used, then the refrigerant manifold can be manufactured as a one-layer structure, but component mounting parts with different directions from mold movement require completely filled interiors, increasing material weight and machining time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the housing into a main body and multiple component mounting parts (200, 200') with different orientations. This segmentation allows selective formation of mounting parts only where needed on the housing surface, avoiding the need to completely fill the entire housing volume with material, thus reducing material weight while maintaining the one-layer forged structure.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a refrigerant manifold including a housing, a plurality of component mounting parts disposed on one surface of the housing and having component insertion holes formed in the same direction, the component insertion holes being configured such that components are inserted into component insertion holes, and a connection flow path configured to connect the component insertion holes of the plurality of component mounting parts, in which the component insertion holes connected by the connection flow path are disposed with a height difference H1, thereby reducing a size of a package.