Motor Vehicle Water Tank Deflection Chamber Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing motor vehicle water tanks face challenges in efficiently separating water droplets from incoming air, leading to increased energy consumption due to high resistance, and are often bulky and expensive to produce.
Innovation Solution
A water tank design featuring a deflection chamber with a deflection element extending from the top to the bottom wall, where air flowing in is deflected from a vertical to a horizontal direction, and a guide structure reduces turbulence, allowing air to flow around the deflection element with minimal resistance, enhancing water separation efficiency and reducing energy consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If the water tank is enlarged to reduce resistance, then energy consumption is reduced, but construction volume increases
Solution Approach 1:
The water tank is divided into multiple functional chambers: a deflection chamber for initial water separation, a droplet separation chamber for further separation using centrifugal force, and a water collection chamber. This segmentation allows each chamber to be compact while collectively achieving low resistance and high separation efficiency without requiring a large overall volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes vertical stacking of functional chambers to maximize space utilization. The deflection chamber, droplet separation chamber, and water collection chamber are arranged vertically, allowing the system to achieve effective separation performance in a compact footprint by exploiting the vertical dimension rather than requiring horizontal expansion.
2Reliability
If a two-chamber design is used to separate splash water and droplets, then water separation efficiency is improved, but manufacturing cost and construction volume increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple separation mechanisms into a single integrated water tank structure. The deflection chamber uses directional deflection for splash water separation, while the droplet separation chamber uses centrifugal force from a rotating element. These functions are merged into one compact unit rather than requiring separate external systems, achieving high separation efficiency without proportionally increasing construction volume or manufacturing complexity.
3Reliability
If a deflection element is added to deflect air flow, then water separation efficiency is improved, but air resistance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a rotating deflection element in the droplet separation chamber that spins at controlled speeds. This dynamic element creates centrifugal force that enhances water droplet separation from the air stream. The rotation speed can be adjusted to optimize separation efficiency while managing air resistance, allowing the system to adapt to different operating conditions and maintain low energy consumption during non-rainy periods.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotating deflection element operates periodically, spinning at high speed during water separation events and reducing speed or stopping when not needed. This periodic operation allows the system to achieve effective water separation when required while minimizing air resistance and energy consumption during normal operating conditions, resolving the contradiction between separation efficiency and energy use.
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 design achieves high-efficiency water separation with reduced air resistance and energy consumption, allowing for a compact and cost-effective water tank that effectively directs water droplets into the drainage opening, minimizing their entry into the vehicle's air conditioning system.
Implementation Method 1
the incoming fresh air is deflected at the deflection element and the deflected air reaches the air outlet opening. In the area of the air inlet opening, in particular in the area below the air inlet opening, and on the front side of the deflection element, splash water is deflected and guided to the water drainage opening. When the air flow is deflected, water droplets are simultaneously separated from the air and, due to their mass inertia, these drop down
Implementation Method 2
At least one guiding structure is advantageously provided in the deflection chamber in the area of the flow opening in order to direct air flowing through the deflection chamber around the side edge of the deflection element. Thanks to the guide structure, turbulence in the air flow, which occurs, for example, in the area of the side edge of the deflection element, is reduced or even largely eliminated
Data Source
AI summary
The water tank has a deflection chamber (2) comprising a top wall (3), a bottom wall (4) with a water drain opening (9), an air inlet opening (10), and an air outlet opening (11). A deflector (12) is arranged in the deflection chamber (2), by which air flowing in through the air inlet opening (10) and laden with water droplets is deflected. The deflector (12) extends substantially from the top wall (3) to the bottom wall (4). The air inlet opening (10) is located in the top wall (3), and the air outlet opening (11) is located in the top wall (3) and/or a rear wall (6). A flow opening (15) is arranged between at least one side wall (7, 8) of the deflection chamber (2) and a side edge (36) of the deflector (12).