Integrated Valve Block Layout for Compact HVAC Pipe Routing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing air conditioning systems face challenges with refrigerant leakage, leading to environmental impact and increased energy consumption due to the need for extensive piping and complex valve arrangements, which are costly and time-consuming to install.
Innovation Solution
A valve block and valve block unit that simplify and miniaturize pipe arrangements by integrating flow direction switching and flow rate control mechanisms, reducing the number of pipes and components required, and allowing for compact unit design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If extensive piping and complex valve arrangements are used to deliver refrigerant to indoor units, then the system can provide cooling and heating functions, but the installation time and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple valve functions (flow direction switching, flow rate control, and pipe routing) into a single integrated valve block. This merging of functions reduces the number of separate components and piping connections required, thereby simplifying installation and reducing installation time while maintaining the ability to provide both cooling and heating functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve block is designed as a multi-functional component that can switch between cooling and heating modes, control flow rates, and route refrigerant through different pipes. This universal design eliminates the need for separate dedicated components for each function, reducing overall system complexity and installation requirements.
2Adaptability or versatility
If high-pressure refrigerant is delivered to indoor units through extensive piping, then cooling and heating energy can be supplied, but the amount of refrigerant filled increases, causing environmental harm
Solution Approach 1:
By integrating multiple valve functions into a single compact valve block, the patent reduces the total length and volume of piping required in the refrigerant circuit. This reduction in piping volume directly decreases the amount of refrigerant that can be filled in the system, thereby reducing environmental harm while maintaining the ability to supply both cooling and heating energy.
3Ease of operation
If multiple separate valves and pipes are used for flow direction switching and flow rate control, then precise fluid control is achieved, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates flow direction switching valves and flow rate control valves into a single valve block with multiple ports and internal passages. This merging maintains the precise control capabilities of separate valves while reducing the total number of components, simplifying the system configuration and reducing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve block is designed as a multi-functional device that performs both flow direction switching and flow rate control within a single component. This universal design eliminates the need for multiple separate valves, reducing device complexity and cost while maintaining precise fluid control capabilities.
4Volume of moving object
If a compact valve block design is implemented to simplify piping, then the apparatus size is reduced and productivity increases, but the internal passage design becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The valve block employs a nested internal passage design where multiple flow channels are arranged concentrically or in overlapping configurations. This nesting allows multiple fluid paths to be accommodated within a compact volume, reducing the overall apparatus size while managing the complexity of internal passages through systematic spatial arrangement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes three-dimensional spatial arrangement of internal passages and ports within the valve block. By designing passages that extend in multiple dimensions and utilizing vertical stacking of functional elements, the patent achieves compact external dimensions while accommodating complex internal flow paths through efficient use of spatial relationships.
Data Source
AI summary
A valve block and a valve block unit which allow simplification and miniaturization of a pipe arrangement. The valve block includes at least one flow switching valve including a valve body, the valve selectively switching between conductions of a fluid (heat medium), a first pipe (heating outward-flow main pipe) and a second pipe (cooling outward-flow main pipe), switched by the flow switching valve, allowing the fluid to be conveyed therethrough, and a third pipe (first branch pipe) that selectively communicates with the first pipe or the second pipe, the flow switching valve, the first pipe, the second pipe, and the third pipe being connected to each other.