Vehicle Thermal Module With Magnetic Coupling and Leak Isolation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing thermal management modules in vehicles face issues with decentralized component arrangement, leading to high assembly effort, leakage risks, and short circuits due to long connecting hoses and cables, which affect reliability and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A thermal management module with a fluidically impermeable contour wall separating the magnetic field generation area from the fluid-handling area, allowing magnetic coupling through the wall and reducing the need for dynamic seals, thus minimizing leakage and heat loss while enhancing energy efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If components are arranged decentrally and connected via hoses and cables, then flexibility in component placement is improved, but assembly effort increases and reliability decreases due to leakage risks and short circuits
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges previously separate components (pump, valve, heat exchanger, electronic control unit) into a single integrated thermal management module housing. This consolidation eliminates the need for connecting hoses and cables between decentralized components, thereby reducing leakage risks and short circuit possibilities while maintaining design flexibility through the integrated architecture.
2Adaptability or versatility
If components are connected via long connecting hoses and cables, then flexibility in component placement is improved, but pressure and voltage losses increase
Solution Approach 1:
By integrating all fluid handling components and electronic control units within a single housing, the patent eliminates long connecting hoses and cables. This direct integration removes the sources of pressure drops in fluid lines and voltage losses in electrical connections, while flexibility is preserved through the internal arrangement of components within the integrated module.
3Reliability
If dynamic seals are used to connect housing sections, then fluid tightness is improved, but heat loss due to friction increases and energy efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the problematic dynamic seals from the system by using a magnetic coupling mechanism that allows the drive element to rotate the driven element through the contour wall without physical contact. This extraction eliminates friction-based heat loss while maintaining fluid tightness, as the magnetic field penetrates the wall without requiring seals.
4Ease of manufacture
If electronic control units are integrated with fluid handling components, then assembly effort is reduced, but risk of short circuits increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the housing into at least two separate housing sections: one containing fluid handling components and another containing the electronic control unit. This spatial segmentation physically isolates electronics from potential fluid contact and sources of electromagnetic interference, reducing short circuit risks while the overall integrated module design maintains ease of assembly.
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
This configuration reduces the risk of leakage and short circuits, eliminates the need for dynamic seals, and improves energy efficiency by maintaining separation between water-bearing and electronic components, resulting in a more reliable and efficient thermal management system.
Implementation Method 1
there is only a magnetic coupling between the means for generating a controllably variable magnetic field and the means movable by the generated magnetic field
Implementation Method 2
means for generating a controllably variable magnetic field arranged in the first housing section and means movable by the generated magnetic field arranged in the second housing section
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for handling fluid within an at least partially electrically powered vehicle, with: an apparatus housing including a first housing section and a second housing section. The first housing section and the second housing section are adjacent to each other by a fluidically impermeable contour wall. The contour wall includes a side oriented toward the first housing section and a side oriented toward the second housing section, a first fluid handling element and a second fluid handling element. The first fluid handling element and the second fluid handling element include a first element for generating a controllably variable magnetic field arranged in the first housing section, and a second element movable by the generated magnetic field and arranged in the second housing section. The fluidically impermeable contour wall is continuously configured between the first fluid handling element and the second fluid handling element.