Slide Door Rib Structure for HVAC Air Passage Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional air passage opening and closing devices in vehicle air conditioners experience self-induced vibration due to uneven contraction of the slide door when heated, leading to clearance formation between the door body and the case-side sealing surface, which affects sealing performance.
Innovation Solution
The air passage opening and closing device incorporates a slide door with a rib protruding in the flow direction to increase reaction force against warpage, and optional features like annealing or a pressing part to maintain contact with the sealing surface, and disturbing parts at the door ends to disrupt airflow vortices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the slide door is located near the heater core to adjust air temperature, then the air mix function is improved, but the door body contracts un-uniformly due to heat, causing deformation and clearance formation
Solution Approach 1:
A rib is added to a specific location on the door body (the portion that may warp due to heat) to locally reinforce the structure. This rib protrudes from the door body surface and provides additional stiffness precisely where thermal contraction causes deformation, maintaining contact with the case-side sealing surface without requiring reinforcement of the entire door body.
Solution Approach 2:
The rib is pre-formed as an integral part of the door body structure before the door is installed in the air conditioner. This preliminary structural reinforcement ensures that when the door is later exposed to heat from the heater core, the warpage is already resisted by the pre-existing rib structure, preventing clearance formation before it occurs.
2Weight of moving object
If the door body is made thin to reduce weight, then the weight is reduced, but the door body deforms more easily when heated
Solution Approach 1:
The door body is segmented by adding a rib that divides the continuous plate structure into distinct regions. This rib creates structural compartments that resist bending and warpage, allowing the overall door body to remain thin and lightweight while the ribbed sections provide the necessary strength to withstand thermal deformation.
Solution Approach 2:
The door body structure becomes a composite of the thin base material and the rib reinforcement. This composite structure combines the low weight of the thin door body with the high stiffness of the rib, achieving a weight-strength optimization where the rib acts as a structural enhancer without significantly increasing overall mass.
3Strength
If a rib is added to the door body to prevent warpage, then the structural strength is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The rib is merged with the door body as an integral structure, formed simultaneously with the door body in a single molding process. This merging eliminates the need for separate rib components and assembly steps, reducing device complexity despite the added structural feature. The rib becomes an inherent part of the door body rather than an attached component.
Solution Approach 2:
The rib structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it reinforces the door body against warpage, maintains contact with the sealing surface, and is self-formed during the molding process without requiring additional manufacturing operations. The structure is self-sufficient in providing both aesthetic and functional requirements.
4Reliability
If the door body contacts the case-side sealing surface to seal the air passage, then the sealing performance is improved, but clearance forms when the door body warps due to heat
Solution Approach 1:
The rib is positioned specifically at the region of the door body that contacts the case-side sealing surface. This localized reinforcement ensures that the contact area maintains stable engagement with the sealing surface even when other portions of the door body undergo thermal contraction, preserving sealing performance under thermal conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The rib is designed to preemptively counteract the warpage that would otherwise cause loss of contact with the sealing surface. By providing this preliminary anti-action through the rib's structural support, the door body maintains stable contact with the sealing surface throughout thermal cycles, preventing clearance formation that would compromise sealing.
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
These features effectively suppress the self-induced vibration of the slide door by preventing clearance formation and maintaining sealing contact, thereby enhancing the sealing performance and reducing vibrations.
Implementation Method 1
the door body of the slide door is contracted un-uniformly when the slide door is heated partially
Implementation Method 2
the door body may be molded by resin-molding and annealed at a temperature that is higher than or equal to a temperature under a usage environment
Data Source
AI summary
An air passage opening and closing device has: a case defining an air passage; and a slide door provided with a door body that has a plate shape, the slide door slidably disposed in the case and opening or closing the air passage. The case is provided with a case-side sealing surface that is in contact with the door body when the slide door is located to close the air passage. The door body is provided with a rib that protrudes toward an upstream side in a flow direction of air and extends in a moving direction of the slide door.