Vehicle Air Conditioning Front Coupling Plate Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing air conditioning systems in vehicles require multiple seals and individual apertures for refrigerant, coolant, and air supply lines, leading to increased production and assembly efforts, noise-related issues, and higher costs due to the complexity of sealing and moisture management.
Innovation Solution
Bundling all connections (refrigerant, condensed water, and air supply) into a single opening in the front wall with a circumferential seal, using a front coupling plate that houses these connections, reducing the number of seals and apertures needed, and potentially using a plastic injection molded part for cost and quality efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple individual connections (refrigerant, coolant, air supply lines) are made through the front wall separately, then each connection can be sealed and connected individually, but the number of seals and apertures increases, leading to higher production effort, assembly effort, and susceptibility to leaks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separate connections (refrigerant line, coolant lines, air supply channel) into a single bundled connection that passes through one aperture in the front wall. This merging of multiple connections into one integrated bundle reduces the number of seals from multiple individual seals to a single circumferential seal, thereby reducing leakage susceptibility while maintaining all necessary connections.
Solution Approach 2:
The bundled connection structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides thermal insulation for refrigerant lines, guides multiple fluid channels, and maintains a single sealed interface with the front wall. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate sealing arrangements for each connection type.
2Ease of manufacture
If multiple individual apertures are provided in the front wall for each connection, then each line can be routed separately, but the production effort and costs increase due to multiple apertures and sealing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple separate apertures into a single aperture in the front wall. The bundled connection structure allows all necessary lines (refrigerant, coolant, air supply) to pass through this one aperture, eliminating the need to drill and seal multiple separate holes in the front wall, thereby reducing production effort and costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The front coupling plate is embodied as a plastic injection molded part, which allows for cost-efficient production with high quality. The plastic material can be molded into the complex bundled connection structure in a single manufacturing process, avoiding the need for separate fabrication and assembly of multiple components.
3Device complexity
If a single bundled connection is used for all lines, then the number of seals and apertures is reduced, but the connections must be bundled together in a specific structure
Solution Approach 1:
The front coupling plate is manufactured as a plastic injection molded part, which allows the complex bundled connection structure to be produced in a single, cost-efficient manufacturing process. The injection molding technique can create the intricate geometry of the bundled connections with integrated thermal insulation layers, eliminating the need for complex assembly of multiple separate components.
Solution Approach 2:
The bundled connection structure incorporates composite construction with thermal insulation layers (such as foam material) integrated with the plastic coupling plate. This composite structure provides both mechanical support and thermal insulation in a single manufactured component, simplifying the overall fabrication process.
Data Source
AI summary
An air conditioner for air conditioning a vehicle interior of a motor vehicle, comprising a coolant connection, a refrigerant connection, a condensed water connection, and an air supply channel connection which are each arranged in a front coupling plate and are surrounded by a circumferential seal.