Tangential Cooling Module With Roll-Up Shut-Off for Low Pressure Loss
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional ventilation devices for motor vehicle cooling modules suffer from non-uniform heat exchange due to turbulent air flow and large footprint, which complicates integration and increases pressure losses when not in use.
Innovation Solution
A ventilation device module featuring a tangential turbomachine with a bladed wheel and a motor-driven, flexible covering body that can be wound to selectively open or close an air passage, reducing footprint and pressure losses, and allowing for independent operation of multiple modules.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If a blower-wheel fan is used to generate air flow for heat exchange, then heat exchange capability is improved, but the device footprint becomes large and integration becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The ventilation device is divided into multiple independent modules, each with its own tangential turbomachine and air outlet. This segmentation allows the system to achieve effective cooling through distributed, smaller units rather than requiring a single large blower-wheel fan, thereby reducing overall device footprint while maintaining heat exchange capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a conventional axial or radial fan configuration to a tangential turbomachine arrangement where air outlets are positioned to blow air tangentially across the heat exchanger surface. This dimensional change in airflow direction enables more effective heat exchange with a compact device layout, reducing the footprint requirement.
2Power
If a blower-wheel fan is used to ensure effective engine cooling, then cooling performance is improved, but the device complexity and integration difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is segmented into multiple independent modules, each capable of operating autonomously. This modular approach simplifies integration into the vehicle by allowing standardized units to be installed in various configurations, reducing the overall complexity compared to integrating a single large blower-wheel fan system.
Solution Approach 2:
Each module is designed as a universal unit that can be deployed in different positions and configurations within the vehicle's cooling system. The tangential turbomachine design with adjustable air outlets provides multi-functionality, enabling the same module to serve different cooling requirements, thereby reducing integration difficulty.
3Use of energy by moving object
If the fan is switched off when not necessary, then energy consumption is reduced, but the blades obstruct ambient air flow toward the heat exchanger
Solution Approach 1:
The air outlets of the tangential turbomachines are made movable or adjustable, allowing them to dynamically change position or orientation. When the fan is off, the air outlets can be repositioned to clear of the heat exchanger surface, eliminating obstruction to natural convection airflow while maintaining the ability to provide forced cooling when needed, thus resolving the conflict between energy savings and air flow obstruction.
4Productivity
If a large blower wheel is used to achieve effective cooling, then cooling efficiency is improved, but the device footprint and integration difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling function is distributed across multiple smaller tangential turbomachines rather than concentrated in one large blower wheel. Each smaller unit contributes to the overall cooling efficiency, and their distributed arrangement achieves effective heat exchange without requiring a large footprint, as each module can be compactly positioned near the heat exchanger sections it serves.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs tangential airflow generation instead of conventional axial or radial flow patterns. This dimensional change in airflow direction creates a different cooling mechanism that is more space-efficient, allowing effective cooling to be achieved with a smaller device footprint through optimized air distribution across the heat exchanger surface.
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
The solution provides a compact, efficient ventilation system with reduced pressure losses and improved heat exchange uniformity, facilitating easier integration into motor vehicles and adaptable airflow management.
Implementation Method 1
a ventilation device is often used in addition, to generate or increase a flow of air directed toward the tubes and the fins
Implementation Method 2
the shut-off means comprise a covering body suitable for being wound on itself about an axis, in order to leave the opening clear
Implementation Method 3
the module comprises a motor rotating a shaft fastened to the covering body, so that the rotation of the motor winds the covering body around the shaft
Implementation Method 4
the module further comprises winders, connected to the covering body by means of cables, the winders elastically urging the covering body towards the position in which the opening is shut off
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a module, comprising: —at least one, preferably only one, tangential turbomachine (28-1; 28-2) comprising a bladed wheel (32-1; 32-2) and a motor (33-1; 33-2) for rotationally driving the bladed wheel (32-1; 32-2), —a frame (30-1; 30-2) forming an opening (60-1; 60-2), preferably only one opening, —a shut-off means (62-1; 62-2) designed to selectively shut off the opening (60-1; 60-2), the shut-off means (62-1; 62-2) having at least two regions which, in contact in a position of the shut-off means (62-1; 62-2) in which the opening (60-1; 60-2) is left free, are at a distance apart in a position in which they shut off the opening (60-1; 60-2).