Vehicle Air Conditioning Unit With Shared Blower Shaft
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing air conditioning systems for vehicles, particularly electric vehicles, are inefficient due to the use of complex heat pump systems with refrigerant/cooling water channels and require multiple blowers, increasing weight and volume.
Innovation Solution
An air conditioning unit that integrates cooling and heating systems without a refrigerant-changing heat pump, using a single blower motor with a rotary shaft, a cooling core, a heating core, and a bypass channel, along with control doors to manage air flow, allowing for cooling and heating without refrigerant flow reversal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a heat pump system with refrigerant/cooling water channels is used for heating, then heating function is achieved, but system complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the refrigerant flow reversal mechanism from the heat pump system, maintaining only the essential heating and cooling functions through separate air channels. This removes the complex refrigerant switching valves and四通阀 while preserving the core thermal management capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system is segmented into independent first and second air channels, each with dedicated blowers and temperature control. The first channel handles cooling through the evaporator, while the second channel handles heating through the condenser, eliminating the need for a single complex refrigerant circulation system.
2Ease of operation
If multiple blowers are used for separate cooling and heating channels, then air flow control is improved, but weight and volume increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the driving mechanisms of multiple blowers into a single integrated blower unit with a shared motor and rotary shaft. This merging reduces the number of independent drive systems while maintaining separate air channels, thereby reducing overall weight and component count while preserving independent air flow control capability.
3Ease of operation
If multiple blowers are used for separate cooling and heating channels, then air flow control is improved, but system volume increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple blower assemblies into a single integrated unit where the first and second blowers share a common motor, rotary shaft, and housing structure. This consolidation significantly reduces the space required for the air moving components while maintaining the ability to independently control air flow in separate channels.
4Adaptability or versatility
If complex refrigerant channels are used for heat pump operation, then heating and cooling functions are achieved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the complex refrigerant circulation system including compressors, expansion valves, and四通阀 from the vehicle air conditioning system. By extracting these components, the system becomes simpler to manufacture while maintaining essential thermal management functions through direct air channel heating and cooling.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces expensive, complex refrigerant-based thermal management with a simpler air-channel system using evaporators and condensers directly in the air flow paths. This substitution with simpler, more manufacturable components reduces production costs and complexity while achieving the same functional goals.
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 system complexity, weight, and volume, enabling efficient cooling and heating while integrating a blower motor, improving performance and reducing costs by eliminating the need for multiple blowers and complex refrigerant channels.
Implementation Method 1
a cooling core disposed in the first channel between the first blower fan and the inlet of the first channel
Implementation Method 2
a heating core disposed at the outlets of the first channel and the second channel
Data Source
AI summary
An air conditioning unit for a vehicle includes a first channel and a second channel, a blowing unit including a first blower fan and a second blower fan that rotate together by sharing a rotary shaft and a driving unit, a bypass channel, and a control door disposed among the outlets of the first channel and the second channel, the heating core, and the bypass channel to control air discharged from the first channel or the second channel to pass through the heating core or not to pass through the heating core through the bypass channel.